“Seize the heir of Marquis Changxing!” Zhen Shicheng shouted sternly.
A subordinate who had been standing beside the heir the whole time immediately restrained him.
Marquis Changxing was shocked: “Official Zhen, what do you mean by this?”
Zhen Shicheng pointed at the heir’s clothes and said loudly: “Marquis, are you going to turn a blind eye? The jade buttons on your son’s clothes are identical to the one found in the female corpse’s hand!”
Marquis Changxing was already in a state of panic.
He had only this one son. Although he was usually a bit cold in temperament, compared to those good-for-nothing young masters in the capital who brought shame to their fathers and grandfathers, he was already quite good.
He never imagined his son would kill someone!
No, impossible, how could his son kill anyone? There must be some mistake!
“Official Zhen, aren’t you being a bit too hasty in arresting me?” At this moment, the heir of Marquis Changxing still maintained his composure.
Zhen Shicheng narrowed his eyes as he looked over.
He didn’t just look at people’s faces; true emotions were often reflected in the whole body.
Although the heir appeared calm now, to Zhen Shicheng, it was forced composure.
He wanted to see how this vicious murderer would quibble.
“The evidence is conclusive. I’m not being hasty at all,” Zhen Shicheng said calmly.
The heir sneered, pointing at the jade bat-patterned buttons on his clothes: “Just because the buttons are the same, you can prove I’m the murderer? Isn’t Official Zhen being too rash?”
“Is the young master trying to tell me that even the servants in your household use jade buttons?”
“Hehe, I’m a generous person. What’s wrong with giving my worn clothes to the servants?”
“So you’re saying the murderer is a servant who received clothes from you as a reward?” Zhen Shicheng’s lips curled in a mocking smile.
He had seen many like the heir of Marquis Changxing, struggling in their last moments.
“Anzi, where are the clothes I rewarded you?” the heir called out.
Anzi shuddered, almost collapsing to the ground: “This lowly one, this lowly one—”
He couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
At this point, even if the young master was found to be the murderer, what difference would it make? As an accomplice, he had no chance of survival anyway.
Meeting the heir’s meaningful gaze, Anzi instantly made up his mind.
Take the blame!
Either way meant death, but by taking the blame for the young master, at least his family could receive good treatment.
“This lowly one burned them—”
“Why did you burn them?” the heir asked eagerly, hiding his excitement.
He knew Anzi would take the blame for him!
Anzi was already in tears: “This lowly one’s mind was clouded by greed, and I harmed these innocent women. Recently, I noticed a button was missing from the clothes and, fearing trouble, I burned them. Sir, this lowly one admits guilt and begs for mercy!”
Zhen Shicheng completely ignored Anzi and slowly scanned the household servants, asking: “Has anyone seen this person wear clothes with jade buttons?”
The servants remained silent.
Of course, they had never seen such a thing, but who dared to say so?
Anzi was the young master’s servant. By now, these servants could easily guess who the real murderer was and were already terrified, their legs weak.
The heir’s icy gaze swept towards Luzi.
Luzi shuddered, a chill running up his spine, and blurted out: “This lowly one has seen it!”
After saying this, he swayed as if about to faint.
He should be grateful; at least Anzi was taking the blame for the young master now. He might still have a chance to live!
Zhen Shicheng looked at Luzi. That all-knowing gaze almost made him lose his balance, and he fell to his knees with a thud.
“This lowly one has seen Anzi wear clothes with jade buttons. I was even envious at the time. I never thought he was this kind of person!”
Jiang Si listened to Luzi’s nonsense, a cold smile on her lips.
The heir of Marquis Changxing truly wouldn’t shed tears until he saw his coffin, still trying to push the blame onto servants at this point.
She flipped her right hand, and a faint light rose from her palm. Because it was daylight, it was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
The phantom firefly flew along the messy ground to Luzi’s side, following Jiang Si’s will, it crept up his clothes bit by bit, finally entering his ear.
The girl’s emotionless voice suddenly sounded: “Liars will go to hell and have their tongues pulled out.”
Because this came so abruptly, everyone was stunned for a moment. Just as they were about to search for the source of the voice, Luzi, kneeling on the ground, suddenly screamed and jumped up.
This scream immediately attracted everyone’s attention, and no one paid any more attention to who had spoken.
Luzi’s face showed terror. After jumping up, he covered his mouth and was about to run.
“Stop him!” Zhen Shicheng shouted.
Two yamen runners immediately grabbed Luzi’s shoulders.
Luzi struggled desperately, his eyes wide as if seeing something terrifying: “Let me go, don’t pull out my tongue, don’t pull out my tongue!”
Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard.
What was going on?
“Who’s going to pull out your tongue?”
“Ghosts, evil ghosts!” Luzi was so scared he had lost all reason, flailing about wildly. “I’ve seen them, Anzi has seen them too. Yes, yes, they’ve come for revenge, they’ve come to take revenge on us!”
“You killed them?” Zhen Shicheng pressed.
The servant before him seemed to have been frightened out of his wits. Judging by his expression, it didn’t seem to be an act. It was the perfect time for interrogation.
Luzi shook his head like a rattle drum: “We didn’t kill them, it was the young master! All those young ladies were killed by the young master. Anzi and I were only responsible for burying the bodies… I’m not lying, I’m not lying, please let me go…”
Suddenly, crimson blood trickled from the corner of Luzi’s mouth.
Zhen Shicheng made a quick decision and shouted: “Pry open his mouth, be careful he doesn’t bite off his tongue!”
Two yamen runners forcefully opened Luzi’s mouth, revealing his bloodied tongue.
Fortunately, it wasn’t severed.
Zhen Shicheng secretly sighed in relief, then looked at Anzi, who was already scared stiff, and shouted: “At this point, do you still want to cover for your master? Remember, there are gods three feet above your head, and heaven’s net has large meshes, but lets nothing through!”
Anzi’s whole body trembled, his lower body already wet, collapsed on the ground like mud, resigned to his fate: “Brother Luzi is right, those young ladies were… were killed by the young master…”
Now he believed that there were ghosts in this world.
Otherwise, what had they seen that night? Otherwise, why had Luzi gone mad after lying?
He had helped the young master do so many unconscionable things. Even if he died as a scapegoat, would the wronged spirits of those killed by the young master spare his family?
Certainly not!
The guilty should be punished. He might as well tell the truth. At least those female ghosts wouldn’t take out their anger on his family.
“You, you bastards!” The heir of Marquis Changxing knew the game was up, his face as pale as snow.
Zhen Shicheng curled his lips slightly and waved his hand: “Take him away!”
“Let go of me, on what grounds are you arresting me? I am the heir of Marquis Changxing!” The heir shouted hoarsely, having lost all semblance of a noble young master.
Madam Changxing had woken up at some point, and seeing her son being arrested, she rushed forward, disregarding her image.
Seeing this, Jiang Qian ran over as well.
Stop him, she must stop him from implicating her!