Liu Xiang'er stared at the man stammering about his relationship with Zhu Yin, recalling how she had been similarly deceived. She was so enraged she almost choked.
She glared fiercely at Xiao Chu. If Zhong Li hadn't been there, she would have rushed forward and torn him to shreds!
"So you killed Zhu Yin, didn't you? Didn't you?" Liu Xiang'er screamed hysterically.
Upon hearing the word "killed," Xiao Chu's eyes widened in panic. "Liu Xiang'er, don't spout nonsense. I might have deceived Zhu Yin for her body and money, but I didn't kill anyone."
"You didn't?" Liu Xiang'er shouted angrily. "Then where is Zhu Yin? Where did she go? Where are you hiding her?"
As she spoke, Liu Xiang'er could no longer control herself and lunged forward, clawing at Xiao Chu's face.
Xiao Chu's screams echoed from the Xiangsi Garden, drawing curious glances from passersby.
By the time Lin Jin and the others pulled the berserk Liu Xiang'er away, Xiao Chu's face was covered in blood, his once handsome features utterly ruined.
"You...!" Xiao Chu trembled with pain, pointing a finger at Liu Xiang'er. "You deliberately injured me! I'm reporting this to the authorities!"
"Report it? Who saw anything?" Liu Xiang'er retorted defiantly.
"Everyone around..." he began, but then noticed everyone had turned their heads to look out of the window, pretending not to see.
"Xiao Chu!" Zhong Li's arm tightened, the tip of her blade now close to Xiao Chu's neck. "You'd best answer truthfully. Where is Zhu Yin? Otherwise, don't think this blade isn't sharp; with a little more force, I can still pierce your throat."
"I..." Xiao Chu, terrified, had forgotten the pain on his face. He said pitifully, "Lord Judicial Inspector, I, I truly don't know where Zhu Yin went."
"Then when was the last time you saw her?" Zhong Li asked.
Xiao Chu thought for a long time before cautiously replying, "Around early autumn last year."
Early autumn? Zhong Li narrowed her eyes. She remembered Zhu Yin disappearing around the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"What happened during your meeting?" she pressed.
"At that time, I had actually parted ways with Zhu Yin long before. But she seemed to realize she had been deceived. We bumped into each other by chance in Yongcheng, and she grabbed me, demanding her money back," Xiao Chu said truthfully.
"And then?"
"Then he killed Ah Yin!" As Zhong Li finished speaking, Liu Xiang'er reappeared, causing more trouble.
"I didn't! I really didn't kill anyone!" Xiao Chu hastily defended himself.
Zhong Li exchanged a look with Lin Jin.
After Lin Jin had led away the hysterical Liu Xiang'er, Zhong Li looked at Xiao Chu and smiled coldly. "Xiao Chu, do you know why the Prince and I have come to find you?"
Xiao Chu nodded, looking at Liu Xiang'er. "Because I slept with the Prince's woman?"
Lu Wuxie, who had only intended to listen, stiffened upon hearing this. The teacup in his hand began to crackle, and he was only a little more force away from shattering it.
Zhong Li took a deep breath and looked at the utterly clueless Xiao Chu. "Do you know Qi Shuishui?"
Xiao Chu nodded obediently.
"If I tell you that Ah Yin, with whom you had relations, and Qi Shuishui are both dead, how would you explain that?"
Finally, Xiao Chu understood why he had been captured. He was so terrified that his lower body trembled, and a foul odor of urine filled the room.
Zhong Li's delicate eyebrows furrowed.
"Your Highness! Lord Judicial Inspector! It truly wasn't me, it truly wasn't me! I admit I am greedy for wealth and lustful, but I know that murder warrants a life. Even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare!" Xiao Chu's tears were on the verge of falling as he spoke.
Zhong Li observed Xiao Chu, her gaze not missing a single expression, and confirmed he wasn't lying. She withdrew her blade. "Qi Shuishui's death occurred roughly between New Year's Eve and the Little New Year. Were you in contact with anyone then?"
Xiao Chu blinked.
"Xiao Chu," Zhong Li said coldly. "You'd better provide some clues to the Dali Temple, otherwise... if this case cannot be solved, and the Emperor insists on finding someone..."
"I'll talk, I'll talk!" Xiao Chu was not stupid and quickly responded. "Qi Shuishui and I had a falling out. That woman was very shrewd. I couldn't trick any money out of her. She used all the money to buy herself out of servitude. Later, she seemed to realize I was a fraud, and we had a big argument before she left Jinzhou."
"Do you know why she came to Yongcheng?" Zhong Li asked.
Xiao Chu thought for a moment. "She said there was an old client in Yongcheng, a Master Shang, who had said he would take her as a concubine."
"Shang?" Zhong Li glanced at Lu Wuxie.
Lu Wuxie shook his head. His memory was quite good. He had previously reviewed the Yongcheng case files and found no prominent families surnamed Shang. It seemed she had been deceived.
"Anything else?" Zhong Li asked again.
Xiao Chu shook his head. He truly only knew this much.
"Guards!" Lu Wuxie, seeing that Xiao Chu had no value in solving the case, spoke. "Take this fraud to the Yongcheng Prefectural Governor's mansion. Let Lord Dong thoroughly investigate this man's case and punish him severely!"
"Ah?" Xiao Chu thought that by saying a few things, he might mitigate his punishment. To his surprise, this was the outcome.
He was about to beg for mercy when Liu Xiang'er rushed in, having procured a pair of worn socks from somewhere, and stuffed them into his mouth. Xiao Chu could only weep inwardly.
"Your Highness wishes to know if there are any prominent families in Yongcheng surnamed Shang?"
Lu Wuxie and Zhong Li escorted Xiao Chu to the yamen. Upon meeting Dong Qing, Lu Wuxie voiced his doubt. Though confident in his memory, he felt it prudent to ask.
Dong Qing thought for a moment and replied, "Indeed, there is."
Zhong Li, hearing this, inquired, "Where?"
"However..." Dong Qing scratched his head and sighed. "That Shang family no longer exists in Yongcheng. Their entire family died seven or eight years ago."
"What do you mean?" Zhong Li, who had thought she had found a lead, never expected it to be a dead end.
"Does Judicial Inspector Zhong know the Meng family?" Dong Qing asked.
"I know a little," Zhong Li replied, wondering what connection there was between the Shang family and the Meng family.
"The current Meng family resides in the former Shang residence," Dong Qing said, seemingly recalling an unpleasant memory, his body involuntarily shivering. "The Shang family was considered quite wealthy in Yongcheng. But everyone knows that for every gain in business, there's a loss. Eight years ago, the Shang family encountered a tsunami at sea. Not only was all their cargo lost, but many of the sailors who went out to sea also perished.
Old Master Shang was not only financially ruined but even mortgaged his concubines. Unable to bear it, Old Master Shang, along with his wife and only son, hanged themselves in their mansion."
"And then? Did Meng Yuan buy this mansion?" Zhong Li asked.
Dong Qing nodded. "Meng Yuan is quite a figure in Yongcheng."
Zhong Li remained silent. The richest man in Yongcheng was indeed a significant figure.
"Judicial Inspector Zhong might have misunderstood my meaning," Dong Qing said, quickly clarifying as he saw Zhong Li's thought. "When I said 'figure,' I meant that Meng Yuan is not afraid of ghosts!"