On the other side.
Lin Qingge and the other two arrived at the doorstep of a house by the Willow River.
"My lord, your student inquired with the constables under Constable Li, and the person who claimed to have seen Zhao Si and Wang Ergou arguing by the Willow River the night before last lives here."
Hua Jinrong finished speaking and gestured for Lu Mingxuan to knock on the door.
Lu Mingxuan, who was under someone else's roof, had no choice but to obey. Soon, the eyewitness was called out.
To their surprise, it was an elderly aunt.
Regardless of whether she was willing or not, Lu Mingxuan's years of professional habit allowed him to coax the aunt into smiling broadly with just a few words.
Standing beside them, Hua Jinrong fanned himself and sighed:
"My lord, Lu Mingxuan is indeed someone who lives by his looks. Unlike me, who could have relied on a handsome and unparalleled appearance, but instead insists on achieving success through skill and talent~"
Lin Qingge, whose skin crawled instantly, moved several steps away. "Master Hua, no one would think you were mute if you didn't speak."
"My lord, what I mean is that Lu Mingxuan shows promise in gathering information."
"This official knows. So, Master Hua, please mentor him when you have the time.
After all, this official cannot always rely on Master Hua, can she?"
Hearing Lin Qingge's seemingly nonsensical words, Hua Jinrong paused his fanning, then cupped his hands and said:
"My lord, you are being too formal with me. Your student guarantees that as long as you are in office for one day, I will be your advisor for that day~"
Lin Qingge, who felt no moved and instead found the other's words similar to Yan Hanhan's previous promise to "follow my lord all my life, plead for the people, and eliminate evil," blurted out the words "That's not necessary at all."
However, Hua Jinrong heard this and said with a smile:
"My lord, your student knows you are shy. Even though you are overjoyed inwardly, you must maintain a facade of reserve.
But please rest assured, my lord. As a man of integrity and a son of Great Xia, I always stand by my word~"
A string of subtitles that would require mosaic to be broadcast rolled across Lin Qingge's head. She opened her mouth, about to say something, when Lu Mingxuan walked over and cupped his hands at her:
"Reporting to my lord, I asked the woman, and she indeed saw Zhao Si and Wang Ergou arguing by the river the night before last. Moreover, Wang Ergou did pick up a brick from the ground and hit Zhao Si.
However—
According to the woman's description, Zhao Si's injuries were not severe. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Although he stumbled and fell, it only took him a moment to get up from the ground himself, and then he cursed and walked away."
"The murderer is indeed not Wang Ergou."
Lin Qingge recalled that Murong Bai had said during the autopsy that although Zhao Si's back of the head had marks of being struck by a hard object, it was not a fatal wound.
Therefore, the murderer was someone else.
"By the way, my lord, while I was chatting with the woman, her child ran out from the house and said that his playmate A Qiang saw a large dark shadow moving towards the Willow River when he got up to relieve himself the night before last."
"Did you ask where A Qiang's home is?"
"Yes, I did. A Qiang's home is relatively secluded, near the small woods."
"Let's go take a look."
The three quickly found A Qiang's home. This time, they didn't rush to knock but instead circled the house and looked around.
"My lord, look here!"
Lin Qingge, following the direction pointed by Hua Jinrong's fan, looked and her brows furrowed into the shape of the Chinese character '川'.
Besides a clear drag mark on the ground, there were also many disordered footprints.
This place was hidden and secluded, and according to the information Lu Mingxuan gathered, A Qiang lived with only his elderly grandmother.
Therefore, she was almost certain that these relatively new marks were left by the killer when disposing of the body.
In other words, there was more than one killer?
After instructing Lu Mingxuan to find some Xuan paper to make rubbings of the footprints on the ground, the three of them came to Shuanggui Alley in the east of the city.
As soon as they reached the alley entrance, a young and beautiful woman walked towards them.
The woman smiled and nodded at Lu Mingxuan in greeting.
Lu Mingxuan also nodded in return. Seeing that the adult beside him was looking at him with suspicion, as if he were "you kid, back to your old ways," he quickly explained:
"My lord, please don't misunderstand. The lady just now is Constable Li's wife. Madam Li often brings meals to the yamen, and I've only met her twice!"
"Brings meals? Why have I never seen her?"
"My lord, Madam Li enters through the back door to deliver meals, usually to the clerks' offices or the prison. How could you possibly see her?"
"Oh."
Lin Qingge nodded and said thoughtfully:
"I didn't expect Constable Li's home to be here."
After speaking, Lin Qingge continued to walk inside. Suddenly, an old woman holding a cleaver rushed out from the roadside.
Lin Qingge, who had sensed it beforehand, was about to dodge when her waist suddenly felt heavy.
The next moment, she was pulled aside by a force and crashed heavily into a lean embrace.
"My lord, be careful~"
Listening to the annoying male voice with an upward inflection from above her head, Lin Qingge ignored the throbbing pain in her nose and sprang ten feet away.
"My lord, there are no needles in my arms. Must you avoid me like a venomous snake?
Your student was merely seeing you in danger and giving you a hand~"
"This official thanks Master Hua for his kindness, but men and women should not be too intimate. In the future, please let this official remain in danger."
After speaking, Lin Qingge couldn't help but scratch her numb scalp.
In her past life, the police force was mostly men, and there had been such 'close contact' during training. But the person who made her hair stand on end and made her want to distance herself, apart from that guy, this Hua Jinrong was the second.
By the way, that guy had come back from a mission and discovered her interrogating an old man by the roadside, which led to his death. Wouldn't he have to stand at her tombstone and laugh for a day and a night?
"My lord, my lord!"
The shouts pulled Lin Qingge back to reality. She looked at the old woman who had knelt on the ground and placed the cleaver on her own neck, a hint of confusion in her eyes.