There is a god in the sky

Chapter 55 The Murder of a Wealthy Family in Jianzhou (Part 18)

Shen Lan went in and bowed to Xiao Ji. "My lord, I went to the Liu family's estate yesterday and heard from the servants that Wu Shi is dead, but the rest of the people don't know anything about it."

Lu Yaxuan pounded the ground, his fists stained with blood, and roared angrily, "Liu Ji must have killed her! I should have killed him too!"

Prefect Jiang emerged from the back hall, his expression solemn.

Xiao Ji stood up and offered him his seat.

When Shen Lan first met this official, she only felt that he was stern and imposing.

After sitting down, Prefect Jiang slammed his gavel down hard.

“You have committed such a serious crime yet you still do not repent. You are only focused on killing people and have long lost your humanity. According to the laws of Da Xi, you can be punished with the most severe penalties.”

The heaviest punishment is the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Upon hearing this, Lu Yaxuan's expression became unnatural.

He kowtowed and said, "My lord, I will take full responsibility for my actions!"

"But why don't you let Wu Zhongjin take responsibility for his actions alone? You killed his entire family, and I'm going to kill your entire clan. Why are you dissatisfied?"

Lu Yaxuan slumped to the ground.

Xiao Ji still had questions to ask, but Prefect Jiang acted faster and delivered a verdict directly.

Although the sentence was not to exterminate nine generations of the family, it was to exterminate three generations of the direct and collateral relatives.

As the prisoners were led away, Shen Lan stood there, still feeling a sense of unreality.

She felt there were still many things that hadn't been verified, and some points that didn't make sense.

Prefect Jiang seemed relieved, a smile spreading across his face. He patted Xiao Ji on the shoulder and praised, "Lord Xiao is truly young and promising! Such a major case has been solved in just a few days! Haha, I must submit a memorial to the emperor to recommend you for credit!"

Xiao Ji said with a solemn expression, "My lord, there are still doubts in this case that need to be confirmed. It is too early to sentence someone at this time."

In major cases like this, Xiao Ji usually reviews them several times to avoid any mistakes or omissions.

Prefect Jiang knew he was cautious in his work, but this time he didn't go along with it.

“Nephew, I don’t mean to interfere with your handling of the case, but there’s an official document from above that says this case must be solved as soon as possible.”

Moreover, he voluntarily confessed, and his account of the case was very complete. If it weren't for him, why would he have implicated three generations of his family without recanting his confession?

"This……"

"Alright, the case is closed. Just wait for good news from Bianjing!"

Prefect Jiang clearly knew that Xiao Ji wouldn't stay in Jianzhou Prefecture for long.

Shen Lan silently followed behind Xiao Ji, and the two walked together towards the backyard.

After passing through the circular archway, Xiao Ji stopped and turned to face her.

"Does Coroner Shen have something to say?"

"The adults themselves are full of their own thoughts, how can they be concerned about their subordinates?"

"Heh." He shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Actually, there's nothing I can't figure out. He confessed, and most of the details match up. It's just that I didn't ask him a few questions. It's nothing."

Shen Lan kicked at the small stones on the ground and said in a low voice, "His account was too complete, like he had memorized a script beforehand. A normal person who killed so many people would have broken down mentally by now, and his account would be incoherent."

Moreover, it's strange that he went to the Wu residence to borrow money in the middle of the night. Why didn't he go during the day? Why didn't he go after dinner? Normal people would be asleep at that time.

He could have killed Wu Zhongjin out of spite, but killing over forty people in one go couldn't have been just a matter of venting anger, could it?

"Never try to empathize with the killer; you are not him, and you don't understand why he would do such a thing."

If you could understand that, perhaps you too would become a serial killer like him.

Shen Lan paused, a wave of bitterness washing over her.

Yes, she just killed two people last night, even if she didn't kill them with her own hands.

If she hadn't been carrying Wu's body, she would have killed Liu Zhuangtou as well.

How is she different from Lu Yaxuan?

She looked up, her gaze intense. "My lord, when will Lu Yaxuan be executed?"

"The case file has to be sent to the Ministry of Justice. Such a major case can only be executed after it has gone through the Ministry of Justice, which will take at least three months."

Shen Lan was also thinking of burying Wu Shi and Lu Yaxuan together, so that if they really had feelings for each other, it would be a way of fulfilling their wishes.

However, she probably won't be able to stay in Jianzhou City for three months.

Fu Qingyan and Guan Shu returned from outside, followed by a charming and lovely young woman dressed in mourning clothes and wearing a white flower in her hair.

Judging from her attire, she must be a woman who has lost a loved one in her family.

"Miss Shen! So you've been here all along!"

Fu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief, fanning himself as he said, "I went to your house earlier and found the gate locked. I was worried something had happened to you."

Shen Lan was relieved that he hadn't broken down the door, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to explain why Wu's body was in her house.

He called the woman behind him over, "This is Linglong, the maid I bought for you."

Linglong walked over reluctantly, glanced at Shen Lan, and then gave Fu Qingyan a flirtatious wink.

"Young Master Fu, are you really going to give me away?"

Her voice was like a nightingale's, her cheeks like peach blossoms, and her figure alluring. She seemed more like someone who needed to be waited on than Shen Lan, this pretty young girl.

Fu Qingyan remained unmoved. "It was originally bought for Miss Shen to have a maidservant, and you said you were willing to serve her."

At the time, Linglong just wanted to find someone to rely on. She was overjoyed to see that Fu Qingyan was handsome and generous.

Who would have thought that he would have to serve a young girl?

Besides, this girl doesn't look like she's rich at all.

Shen Lan declined his offer, saying, "I don't need any maids to serve me. Thank you, Young Master Fu."

She bowed to Xiao Ji and said, "My lord, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

She walked very fast. Fu Qingyan wanted to chase after her, but Linglong grabbed his arm.

"Young master, shall I serve you instead?"

Xiao Ji frowned upon hearing this and only said one sentence: "I don't keep maids in my backyard."

Guan Shu grabbed Linglong and scolded her, "Don't you have any manners? How dare you touch your master's body?"

He said to Fu Qingyan, "Young Master, why don't we send this maid over? How can Miss Shen live alone?"

"Okay, you can take it over there." Fu Qingyan chased after Xiao Ji.

He had heard outside that the Wu family's case had been solved, and he was full of curiosity, so he didn't care about a little maid.

Xiao Ji stopped to wait for him. Seeing that he was covered in sweat from running, he scolded him, "Others learn from their mistakes, why don't you learn from them?"

"What do you mean by that, cousin?"

"That girl's eyes are full of ulterior motives. Why did you buy her? Does she think she has too good a reputation?"

Fu Qingyan scratched his head. "Yesterday, when I saw her selling herself to bury her father, I casually tossed her a piece of silver. Who knew she would follow me like that?"

She said she wanted to sell herself to me, and since I happened to be looking to buy a maid, I took her to the government office to sign the contract.

"Don't put her next to Miss Shen."

"Why?"

Xiao Ji really wanted to punch him, and said aggressively, "Don't corrupt Miss Shen!"

"The way you're so protective of your own, anyone who didn't know better would think Miss Shen is your daughter."

"I could never have a daughter that big."