As if sensing the question in Lin Qingge's eyes, Ling Han shook his head, indicating it had nothing to do with him.
At that moment, Captain Li Yi stepped forward. "Reporting to Your Excellency, when this subordinate led men to apprehend Wang Ergou, he offered fierce resistance. In the struggle, this subordinate accidentally dislocated his jaw."
"Dislocated?" Lin Qingge looked at Wang Ergou, whose jaw was severely deformed and the mandible completely fractured. Her gaze flickered, and she then leaned down to crouch.
"Wuwu... wuwu..." For some reason, Wang Ergou suddenly became very agitated, his head shaking back and forth non-stop.
"Your Excellency, be careful! This criminal has no remorse and is extremely aggressive. Do not let him injure you!"
"It's nothing." Lin Qingge waved her hand, signaling Li Yi that she was fine. She then introduced herself to the man before her. "This official is the new Prefect of Fengtian Prefecture, Lin Jingxing. Are you Wang Ergou?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Ergou became much calmer. He looked at Lin Qingge warily and slowly nodded.
"Do you know Zhao Si?"
Wang Ergou nodded again.
"Then did you see Zhao Si the night before last, have an argument with him, and in the argument, strike Zhao Si on the head with a brick?" It was already past midnight after a night of work, so Lin Qingge was asking about the night before last. Wang Ergou hesitated for a moment, then nodded again.
"Did you kill Zhao Si?" This time, Wang Ergou did not nod. Instead, he shook his head vigorously.
"Your Excellency, do not fall for the tricks of these villains! I've seen many like him. To save their own lives, even if they committed the crime, they would absolutely never admit guilt! In my opinion, to deal with such stubborn and unyielding suspects, a few dozen strokes with the rod will make him realize Your Excellency's might!"
Lin Qingge remained silent. She tilted her head to look at Lu Mingxuan nearby, who immediately understood and said, "Captain Li, apprehending the culprit is important, but aren't you trying to force a confession?"
"Hmph, what do you, a mere prisoner, know?" Seeing that the person's gaze was still on him, Lu Mingxuan braced himself and retorted, "So what if I'm a prisoner? Did I steal your family's belongings, or eat your family's rice? Yes. I am a prisoner! But if even I, a prisoner, understand this principle, won't you, Captain Li, understand it too? In the absence of conclusive evidence, forcing a confession from a suspect, allowing the true culprit to escape, is this the duty of you constables?"
"You are seeking death!" Li Yi, who had never been ridiculed by a prisoner like this before, was instantly enraged. But just as he was about to draw his saber, Lin Qingge, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, "Ling Han, Lu Mingxuan drank too much wine tonight and is talking nonsense. Take him back to the cells to rest."
"Yes." Ling Han responded, grabbed Lu Mingxuan by the back of his collar, and dragged him out. Lu Mingxuan seemed truly exhausted, his head drooping. He neither struggled nor resisted, allowing Ling Han to drag him away as if he were cargo...
Meanwhile, Lin Qingge rubbed her sore neck as she stood up and instructed, "Captain Li, it's very late. Let the brothers go back and rest. We'll discuss anything tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
As Lin Qingge passed Ling Han's cell, her gaze swept over Wang Ergou, and she then gave Ling Han a knowing look. Ling Han nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Passing through the backyard, the strong aroma made Lin Qingge knit her brows. She looked at Ye Shengxiao, who was standing in the bushes in the backyard late at night with incense sticks in both hands, and felt her blood pressure rising.
"Lord Lin, this young master is definitely not harboring any improper thoughts about Lady Lin!"
Hearing this self-defeating statement, Lin Qingge was amused to the point of laughter. "Ye Shengxiao, do you not know how to write the word 'death'?" After speaking, Lin Qingge noticed the indentation in the grass nearby and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Someone has been here?"
"N-no, it was this young master, I was bored at night and rolled around here!"
Lin Qingge said with a forced smile, "Then roll around again for this official to see?"
"This..." Thinking of the two cold faces of his beloved and Ling Han, Ye Shengxiao gritted his teeth, extinguished the nearly burnt incense sticks in his hands, and with the determination of a warrior cutting off his own arm, he rolled from one side to the other, and finally rolled back to Lin Qingge's feet. At the end, he even let out a realistic cry: "Awooo~~"
Xiao Hei, lying by the wall: ???
Although she knew that Ye Shengxiao's thought process was unusual, Lin Qingge, who had never expected it to be so eccentric that it could rival Yan Tinghao, raised her hand and rubbed her throbbing temples, then walked back to her room.
The next moment, the door was pushed open from the outside. Leng Ningyue walked in with a basin of warm water. "Wash up first, then sleep."
"Oh." Lin Qingge, who had intended to collapse onto the bed, obediently washed her hands, face, and changed her clothes. After doing so, she casually asked, "Sister Ningyue, was there anything unusual in the manor tonight?"
"Everything is well in the manor. It's just that a few mice were scurrying outside at night looking for food, their running around was quite bothersome, so I asked Ling Han to catch them and throw them elsewhere. As for you, on your first day in office, there's already a murder case?"
Hearing the tone of helplessness but also a hint of 'as expected', Lin Qingge stiffened her neck and retorted, "What does this have to do with me? It must be that silly Yan Tinghao who attracts trouble, he never lets me have a moment's peace wherever I go!"
Leng Ningyue chuckled and agreed, "Yes, it's all Constable Yan's fault. But I heard the suspect has been caught?"
Mentioning the case, Lin Qingge's previously relaxed brows furrowed again. "He was caught, but he might not be the real killer."
"But have you discovered something?"
"It's not certain yet. I plan to visit a few more places tomorrow."
"Constable Yan is not back. Have Ling Han accompany you when you go out tomorrow."
"No. Both the cells and Ye Shengxiao require Ling Han's supervision. I'll take Lu Mingxuan with me." Recalling the performance of the latter tonight, Lin Qingge's lips curved slightly. "Sister Ningyue, don't underestimate Lu Mingxuan. Although he usually has no presence, he's surprisingly useful!"
However, Leng Ningyue shook her head. "That won't do either. No matter how useful Lu Mingxuan is, he can't even protect his own life at a critical moment, so how can he protect your safety?"
Lin Qingge rubbed her chin and thought, "How about I bring Advisor Hua?" This time, Leng Ningyue did not refuse, tacitly agreeing.
Therefore, the next day, Lin Qingge called Hua Jinrong and Lu Mingxuan to accompany her. Before leaving, she sent a message via Er Niu to Qi Yun Society. She told them that they wouldn't be able to go for the next two days and instructed the Yu family brothers not to be lazy and to train hard. If they failed to win the championship in the competition, they would all have to go to the red-light district to sell themselves to pay off their debts. She believed that the Yu family brothers, being strong and vigorous, would be very popular!
The Yu family brothers, whose菊花 tightened, seemed to have been injected with chicken blood. They led the disciples in training day and night, making the disciples only want to go home to their mothers. But upon remembering that they would be playing Cuju with the Prefect, they gritted their teeth and persevered.