The shadowy figure seemed to pay no mind, leaping towards the window as if to escape through it.
However, upon pushing the window open, the figure came face-to-face with Yan Tinghao, who was already waiting there.
"Give up. You can't escape, Constable Li."
The voice wasn't Yan Tinghao's, but came from the doorway.
Upon hearing the last three words, the shadowy figure froze in place.
After a moment, the figure slowly raised a hand, pulled off the black mask, revealing a face familiar to everyone present.
"Constable Li!!!"
Yan Tinghao was the first to exclaim in shock.
Ignoring the noisy Yan Tinghao, Li Yi, dressed in night-blooming clothes, fixed his gaze on the person standing outside the door, surrounded by guards, and said coldly,
"My lord, when did you begin to suspect your subordinate?"
"What made me suspicious from the start was that you, Constable Li, as a constable, came to the crime scene but did not approach to examine the body.
It's understandable for a rookie like Constable Yan.
But for an experienced constable like you, even with a coroner present, you would have gone forward to investigate immediately.
After all, seeing is believing.
It felt as though you, Constable Li, already knew who the deceased was.
And then, setting aside the unauthorized arrest and forced confession, the fact that you, Constable Li, were already acquainted with Wang Ergou and Zhao Si, was enough to make you highly suspicious."
"My lord, even if I am acquainted with Zhao Si and Wang Ergou, I cannot simply not arrest them because I know them, can I?
And what was my motive for killing Zhao Si?"
"I must admit, you are very clever, or rather, after being a constable for so many years, you are adept at such matters. You even shamelessly framed Wang Ergou for the crime.
As for your motive for murder, it's likely because of this, isn't it?"
Saying this, Lin Qingge took out two ragged pages from his怀, "These are the lists of debtors that I had someone repair. Your name, Constable Li, is prominently written in the first column.
Perhaps to avoid confusion from common names, the recorder added a note in parentheses next to the name, specifying 'Constable.'
There is only one constable in our Fengtian Prefecture yamen, and that is you, Constable Li!
And Zhao Si was extorting you precisely because he knew this."
"My lord, it is true that I owe gambling debts, but there was no extortion."
Seeing that Li Yi still refused to confess, Lin Qingge continued unhurriedly,
"Constable Li, you may not know this, but Zhao Si inadvertently revealed his extortion of you to his paramour at Ruyifang.
According to Zhao Si's paramour, Zhao Si has been spending lavishly recently, and his gambling has become increasingly larger.
I presume Zhao Si demanded money from you more than once.
It was Zhao Si's insatiable greed that led you, Constable Li, to develop a murderous intent towards him.
Looking at the weapon, a cushion, it's likely that it was a crime of opportunity for you."
With the situation as it was, realizing that escape was impossible once surrounded, Li Yi couldn't help but clap his hands after hearing this:
"As expected of you, my lord. I concede defeat!
As you said, my lord, although I harbored deep resentment towards Zhao Si, killing him was a spur-of-the-moment act, or rather, he brought it upon himself!"
Towards the end, Li Yi's words carried a hint of gnashing teeth.
"My lord, you may not believe me when I say this.
I actually don't have a gambling addiction. I was just playing a few rounds with friends after getting drunk. Because I didn't have enough money on me, I had to sign and put my seal on the gambling house's IOUs!
Since I was too drunk at the time, I didn't remember this the next day, which led to my gambling debts accumulating.
Even so, I still paid that debt when Zhao Si came to collect.
But who knew that Zhao Si would stick to me like a piece of dog-skin plaster.
To avoid further complications, I gave Zhao Si some money. But who would have thought that Zhao Si, in his insatiable greed, after having an affair with Wang Ergou's wife, would also covet my wife!
I was immediately enraged. By the time I came to my senses, I had already smothered Zhao Si to death in his bed."
After Li Yi confessed, Yan Tinghao, who had been guarding the window, could no longer hold back and cursed furiously,
"My lord, a despicable person like Zhao Si, who extorts money from others and covets their wives, deserves to die! He deserves a thousand deaths!
After all, you know best how it feels when someone covets your wife, my lord. You have the most..."
Lin Qingge shot him a sharp glare, and Yan Tinghao promptly shut his mouth.
"By the way, there is one thing I am still unclear about.
Who or which group of people dumped that body into the Liu River?"
"Now that you mention it, my lord, I had forgotten about that."
Li Yi looked Lin Qingge up and down with a meaningful gaze and sighed with a hint of regret, "Seeing you standing here intact, I presume that group failed."
"Failed? What failed?"
"My lord, to be frank, when I was killing Zhao Si, I was unfortunately seen by someone.
That group seemed to know Zhao Si, but upon seeing my constable's uniform, they changed their minds and offered to help me dispose of Zhao Si's body.
But the condition was a map of the yamen's layout and the guards' patrol routes.
These were easily within my grasp.
If this were exchanged for Zhao Si's 'disappearance,' it would have been perfect.
But who would have thought they would directly throw Zhao Si's body into the Liu River.
Looking back now, it's possible they never intended to handle the body properly from the beginning, and even wanted the body to be discovered sooner to confuse your line of sight and lower your guard, my lord.
But I must admit, my investigative intuition over the years has been quite accurate, and you, my lord, are indeed exceptionally intelligent and not to be underestimated.
Unfortunately, that group was incompetent and only managed to mess things up."
Lin Qingge, feeling that the other party still had a slight regret, thought of the innocent people within the yamen, such as Leng Ningyue, Lin Zimo, and Xiao Cao, and a nameless rage surged within her.
She took several deep breaths before speaking sternly, word by word,
"Constable Li, as a constable, you are half an official of the court, yet you frequented gambling houses. You were in the wrong from the start.
But instead of repenting, you murdered to cover up your crimes, which is compounding your guilt!
Constable Li, ask yourself, are you worthy of the title 'Constable'? Are you worthy of the constable's uniform you wear? Are you worthy of the wife and children and aged parents who hold great hopes for you in your home?"
Lin Qingge's soul-stirring triple question made Li Yi lower his head in shame, and he remained silent.
"Guards, apprehend Li Yi!"
"Yes!"
To avoid suspicion, Lin Qingge did not dispatch constables that night, but arranged for the yamen's guards.
Because they were dispatched temporarily and were initially under the guise of training, none of them had the opportunity to tip Li Yi off, even if some had good relationships with him.
Of course, the equally unaware person was Yan Hanhan, who was now mumbling behind her.