This scene caught Pan Chi off guard, and even Shen Du beside him furrowed his brow. This woman was truly thoughtless. If she was investigating, why did she keep touching his body?
It felt as if she was interested in him. Didn’t she understand the importance of avoiding suspicion?
Zhu Yan pinched the powder in her hand and sniffed it. “If I’m not mistaken, this should be the legendary Mandala fragrance, right?”
Xu Jize’s face instantly turned pale as he looked at the remnants of the incense in Zhu Yan’s hand, unable to utter a complete sentence.
After a moment of quick thinking, he still tried to quibble, “No, that’s not mine. I don’t know why it was on me. Please investigate thoroughly, Your Honor. I didn’t kill anyone. I have nothing to do with Miss Du’s abduction.”
“Nothing to do with it? You came to attend the wedding today, and you were even a groomsman. If you had no connection to those criminals, how did the incense residue end up on you?” Zhu Yan questioned mercilessly.
Xu Jize’s face was filled with panic, and his eyes began to blink rapidly.
After a long silence from Xu Jize, Zhu Yan sneered, “Can’t explain it, can you? Even if you’re not the murderer, you must have been involved in Miss Du’s abduction. You might even be the mastermind!”
“No, it’s not like that. It wasn’t me,” Xu Jize shook his head repeatedly. The panic in his eyes could no longer conceal the fact that he was guilty, and cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
“Is it not you?” Pan Chi chimed in, presenting another piece of evidence. He held up a piece of torn fabric that matched Xu Jize’s clothes perfectly. “This fabric was found on the victim’s body, and it matches your clothes exactly. Still want to claim you’re not involved?”
“It’s not me. That’s not my clothes,” Xu Jize argued. “There are so many clothes in the tailor’s shop. How can you randomly pick out a piece of fabric and claim it’s from my clothes?”
“Still so stubborn,” Pan Chi took another piece of clothing from a constable behind him and threw it in front of Xu Jize. “We found this robe on the road. Is it yours?”
Xu Jize looked at the outer robe on the ground, his face exceptionally pale. It was indeed the robe he had discarded while fleeing.
“This…” Xu Jize was panicked and uneasy, unable to think of how to refute. Zhu Yan quickly added, “At this point, do you still want to claim this robe isn’t yours?”
As she spoke, Zhu Yan crouched down and pulled out a silver thread from the collar of the robe on the ground. This silver thread was identical to those remaining on Xu Jize’s clothes.
Zhu Yan’s lips curled into a meaningful smile, her face filled with anger. “In your haste to escape, you carelessly threw away your outer robe, not realizing that silver threads from the collar remained on your clothes. In the face of such irrefutable evidence, what else do you have to say?”
“You’re the mastermind behind this kidnapping, and you even killed your accomplice, didn’t you?” Pan Chi’s tone became exceptionally sharp, his eyes fixed fiercely on Xu Jize.
Xu Jize was at a loss for words, too guilty to know where to look.
Seeing that the Du and Li families were about to lose their temper, Xu Jize fell to his knees, begging for mercy amidst tears and sweat. “No, it’s not like that. I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t. I was just confused for a moment, coveting the bride’s beauty. I wanted to abduct her and make her mine, then sell her off afterward. But I didn’t kill anyone, Your Honor. You must believe me. Even if I had a hundred times more courage, I wouldn’t dare to kill someone.”
Xu Jize’s explanation instantly caused discomfort among everyone present. He was truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing, with such wicked intentions.
Zhu Yan, frustrated, stepped forward and began lecturing him, “How can you be so vicious? Every young woman is raised with care by her parents. The debt of nurture is immeasurable. How can someone like you trample on others so casually? Men like you with evil intentions who harm young women deserve to be struck by lightning and never find peace in the afterlife. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
As she spoke, Zhu Yan became increasingly emotional and was about to strike Xu Jize.
Shen Du quickly stepped forward and grabbed Zhu Yan’s hand. At this moment, he also noticed that Mo Qianzhi’s expression seemed somewhat different from the others.
“What? Are you trying to protect such a scoundrel?” Zhu Yan was surprised by Shen Du’s intervention and looked at him with frustration.
“Of course not,” Shen Du quickly explained. “A person like him deserves to die a thousand times over. It’s just that you’ve been working hard on this case and must be tired. Besides, hitting him would hurt your hand. Let me handle this.”
After saying this, he glanced at Jing Lin, who understood and turned to take a fire-tipped club from one of the constables, stepping forward to punish Xu Jize.
Mo Qianzhi suddenly spoke up, “Wait.”
Hearing Mo Qianzhi’s interruption, Zhu Yan turned to look at him. “With things as they are, Your Honor, will you not convict him?”
“Madam Shen, please don’t be angry,” Mo Qianzhi quickly explained. “Regarding the conviction, this official has his arrangements. Xu Jize abducted the bride on her wedding night, and there was even a death. This case is extremely serious. If we don’t use severe interrogation methods, I’m afraid he won’t confess everything.”
After saying this, Mo Qianzhi didn’t forget to strike the judge’s bench forcefully with his wooden gavel.
Hearing Mo Qianzhi’s words, Zhu Yan’s heart eased a little.
Shen Du pulled Zhu Yan to one side and whispered, “No matter what, this is a matter for the court. Let him handle it.”
Zhu Yan realized her impulsiveness and didn’t know what to say. She just nodded slightly and looked back at the situation in the courtroom.
Some torture instruments were brought into the court, and Mo Qianzhi chose the finger press.
“Bring the finger press,” Mo Qianzhi said, throwing down a command token.
As the token fell, there was no turning back. The nearby constables acknowledged the order.
Xu Jize shook his head in terror, but his hands were already firmly grasped by the constables, and the finger press was applied.
“Ah…”
A scream like that of a slaughtered pig echoed through the courtroom. Xu Jize’s face turned exceptionally pale, cold sweat pouring down like rain.
“Your Honor, have mercy! I’ll confess everything,” Xu Jize quickly begged for mercy, crying and wailing. He had never experienced such torture in his life and couldn’t bear it for even a moment.
Mo Qianzhi raised his hand to stop the torture. “Then quickly confess all the details of this case to this official!”
Xu Jize collapsed on the ground, his face devoid of color, his hands trembling constantly.
To Zhu Yan’s surprise, this man couldn’t withstand even a little torture and was ready to confess. It was truly beyond her expectations.
“Speak quickly!” Mo Qianzhi struck his wooden gavel again as Xu Jize remained silent for a long time.