Everyone followed the sound and looked over, only to see that the one who had spoken was actually a young yamen runner in an official uniform.
Tang Jinxian’s beautiful eyes lit up, and her heart settled somewhat.
This fellow had finally stopped playing dead.
Jiang Mu ignored the gazes around him and stepped into the hall.
Wu Jue absolutely could not be released.
Once he was let out, Jiang Mu would be plunged completely into danger.
Tang Jinxian was right. From the moment he had been dragged into this matter, there was no way for him to withdraw unscathed.
He could only go forward!
Seeing most people frown in confusion, Tang Jinxian introduced him:
“This is Mu Jiang, nephew of Constable Chief An Chenghu from the county yamen. Throughout this case, he has been assisting this official with the investigation.
“Of course, this official had originally intended to assign more capable personnel, but alas, someone secretly sent word to the yamen, and I could not even borrow a single soldier or runner. Heh…”
Hearing Tang Jinxian’s mockery, some people instinctively turned their gazes toward Yu Zhengqing.
Yu Zhengqing’s expression, however, remained as calm as ever.
Seeing Jiang Mu come forward of his own accord, he asked, “I wonder what brilliant insight Yamen Runner Mu has to offer?”
Jiang Mu first bowed to Tang Jinxian, then said in a clear voice, “May I ask Chief Commissioner to have Hall Master Yan Qingshan brought out first? This humble subordinate has a few questions he wishes to ask him face-to-face.”
“Very well.”
Tang Jinxian instructed the female official beside her, Xiuxiu, “Go invite Hall Master Yan over.”
“Yes.”
Xiuxiu accepted the order and hurried away.
Madam Wu, who was at the side, stared fixedly at Jiang Mu with an icy gaze. “It was you? You were the one who came to my house yesterday! So it was you scheming behind the scenes to harm my son!”
Jiang Mu paid her no attention.
Seeing this, Madam Wu grew even more furious and was just about to start cursing when Tang Jinxian said coldly:
“Madam Wu, if you wish to submit a memorial to the court, do as you please! But right now, the Patrol Office is handling official business. If you make any more noise and interfere with our duties, do not blame this official for ordering someone to ‘invite’ you out!”
Madam Wu trembled all over with anger, but she did not dare truly challenge the authority of the Patrol Office. She could only let out a hateful cold snort.
“Fine! Fine! Today, this humble woman will keep her eyes wide open and see exactly how you intend to wrong my son!”
Very soon, Yan Qingshan was brought into the hall.
Yan Qingshan, who was nearly forty, had very ordinary features. His figure was rather tall and thin, the sort that would be difficult to pick out if thrown into a crowd.
“Yan Qingshan, this is Mu Jiang from the county yamen. He has some questions for you. Answer truthfully.”
Tang Jinxian spoke indifferently.
Yan Qingshan cupped his hands and said, “Yes. This subordinate will speak without concealment.”
Jiang Mu sized up Yan Qingshan’s figure and went straight to the point. “Hall Master Yan, may I ask where you were around midnight last night?”
Yan Qingshan said, “Naturally, I was at home.”
“Is that so?”
Yan Qingshan said calmly, “My wife and children can testify for me.”
Jiang Mu stepped forward, his gaze sharp.
“Does Hall Master Yan know that these past few days, under Chief Commissioner Tang’s orders, we have been secretly monitoring you?”
As soon as these words came out, everyone once again looked toward Tang Jinxian, their expressions growing even stranger and more complicated.
Tang Jinxian pressed her rosy lips together and did not deny it.
Yan Qingshan frowned, finally looking directly at Jiang Mu. He sneered, “You are nothing but a petty yamen runner. What ability do you have to monitor me? And even if you did, so what? I, Yan Qingshan, have nothing to hide.”
Clearly, Yan Qingshan was betting that Jiang Mu was bluffing.
“Last night, we saw you go to Liuyang Street, into the alley beside Laiyun Gambling House, where you secretly met someone. I presume Hall Master Yan will not deny that?”
Jiang Mu deliberately emphasized the word “we” without saying how many people there were.
Yan Qingshan’s expression changed slightly.
Though he concealed it extremely quickly, it did not escape the eyes of many seasoned old hands present.
Without waiting for Yan Qingshan to organize his words and refute him, Jiang Mu quickly said:
“Very good. It seems Hall Master Yan will not deny it. May I ask what Hall Master Yan was doing there in the dead of night instead of resting? What shameful business were you conducting?”
“I…”
“The person you secretly met was a cripple, correct?”
“I…”
“Just answer yes or no!”
“…”
Yan Qingshan was left somewhat stunned by Jiang Mu’s rapid-fire questioning. Realizing that forcefully denying it now would be futile and would only make him appear more guilty, he could only darken his face and say sullenly:
“…Yes.”
The corner of Jiang Mu’s mouth lifted.
What he wanted was for Yan Qingshan to admit it with his own mouth!
“Good, very good. Then let me speak about this corpse.”
Jiang Mu did not continue questioning Yan Qingshan. Instead, he walked over to Yang Wushun’s corpse, tore open the man’s trousers, pointed at the obviously twisted right knee joint, and said:
“Everyone, please look. Yang Wushun’s right knee has an old injury that healed in a deformed manner. He was clearly a cripple. I believe every lord present can tell that at a glance, yes?”
Everyone’s expressions changed at once, and their gazes swished over in unison, all focusing on Yan Qingshan.
Tang Jinxian’s beautiful eyes lit up.
So the cripple she had seen last night was Yang Wushun.
In that case, Yang Wushun was a scapegoat.
Yan Qingshan opened his mouth to speak, but Jiang Mu gave him no opportunity. He bowed toward Deputy Chief Commissioner Yu Zhengqing and asked:
“Commissioner Yu, do you believe that this Yang Wushun is the true culprit behind the series of women’s disappearances, torture, and murders?”
Yu Zhengqing’s gaze flickered slightly, and he said calmly:
“I discovered personal garments belonging to the previous victims in Yang Wushun’s home. Madam Yan personally heard Yang Wushun say that he tortured and killed those women, and the specific details all matched.”
Yu Zhengqing was very clever. He did not directly answer whether Yang Wushun was the murderer.
He merely stated what he had discovered, along with Madam Yan’s testimony as a witness.
Jiang Mu nodded, raising his voice by several degrees.
“Speaking of the details of the crimes, I wonder if all you lords still remember that from the whip marks and abuse wounds on the victims’ remains, it could be proven that the torturer was left-handed.”
Jiang Mu swept his gaze around and deliberately asked:
“This point, I presume all you experienced lords here saw long ago, yes? Surely no one failed to notice it?”
Everyone present was part of the core personnel of the Patrol Office.
Even if someone really had overlooked this detail back then, now that a mere yamen runner was questioning them like this in public, who would be willing to admit their own negligence? One after another, they voiced their agreement:
“We saw it.”
“That’s right. He was indeed left-handed.”
“Correct. The moment I saw the corpse, I could tell at a glance that the killer was left-handed.”
“…”
Dark lines nearly fell across Tang Jinxian’s forehead.
When the victims’ bodies had first been discovered, no one had said anything about the murderer being left-handed.
It was An Chenghu who had first brought it up.
Jiang Mu grabbed the corpse’s left and right hands and displayed them to everyone.
“Deputy Chief Commissioner Yu has already ascertained that Yang Wushun was a gambling addict. And someone who has shaken dice cups for years will inevitably have calluses of uneven thickness on the finger joints and tiger’s mouth of his dominant hand.
“Look at his right hand. At the base of the thumb, index finger, and middle finger, the calluses are thick and hard. These are precisely the marks left from years of shaking dice cups.
“Now look at his left hand. Although it is somewhat rough as well, there are absolutely no thick calluses in those specific areas like on his right hand.
“This is enough to prove that Yang Wushun was a genuine right-hander, and does not match the killer’s characteristics!”
Hearing this, everyone’s expressions became meaningful.
Yan Qingshan’s fist, hanging at his side, trembled faintly.
Tang Jinxian asked at just the right moment:
“Since Yang Wushun was not left-handed, why did he possess the personal garments of the previous victims? And why was he able to know the details of how those victims were tortured and killed so thoroughly?”
“Chief Commissioner asks an excellent question!”
Jiang Mu immediately picked up the thread, his gaze sweeping across the entire hall.
“All you lords present are experts who solve cases like gods and perceive the finest details. I imagine you already have the answer in your hearts. My lord, what do you think?”
Jiang Mu looked toward Huang Kezi.
This fellow had been barking the loudest earlier.
Huang Kezi was caught off guard by being called on. He had wanted to say he did not know, but under everyone’s eyes, how could he admit he was foolish?
He took a deep breath and followed the logic to infer:
“In this official’s view… that Yang Wushun was likely taking the blame for the true culprit. Those garments and details of the crimes must have been provided to him by the real murderer to mislead us.”
“Clap!”
Jiang Mu clapped his hands once, cupped his fists, and said, “My lord is wise, seeing through the key point at a glance. Truly a divine judge! I admire you, I admire you!”
Tang Jinxian’s eyelid twitched.
This fellow—why did he look so deserving of a beating?
As for Huang Kezi, his expression was uglier than if he had eaten shit. After all, not long ago he had confidently declared that the murderer was Yang Wushun.
Now he had slapped his own face.
Jiang Mu rubbed his chin, pretending to be puzzled.
“Aiya, now this is strange. Then who exactly is the true culprit? This seems very hard to guess. My lords, do any of you have any clues? In any case, he is definitely left-handed.”
No one in the hall answered.
But everyone’s eyes involuntarily drifted toward Yan Qingshan.
He was a well-known left-hander within the Patrol Office.
It was just that many people still did not want to believe Yan Qingshan, as a hall master, would do such a thing.
There was no reason for it.
Yan Qingshan finally could not hold himself back and said angrily:
“Utter nonsense! I admit that I met a cripple last night, but he was not Yang Wushun. He was merely a distant relative from my wife’s maiden family. Because of some private matters, so—”
“Hall Master Yan need not prove your own innocence.”
Jiang Mu interrupted him. “Since Yang Wushun chose to pay with his life and take the blame for the true culprit, that means the true culprit must have given him a bargaining chip he could not refuse.
“Commissioner Yu said there was only one person in Yang Wushun’s household, but that does not mean he had no relatives. Parents, or perhaps a wife and children from before—as long as we investigate carefully, we will eventually find them.
“Many gambling addicts end up alienating everyone, ruining their families and destroying their homes. But there are always one or two who, at a certain moment, suddenly repent and feel guilt toward the kin they have wronged, wanting to make it up to them.
“Perhaps Yang Wushun was the latter.
“Investigate his parents, or the wife and children he once had. See whether they received any money or other assistance. I believe that some clues can always be found.”
Hearing these words, Yan Qingshan seemed to have all his strength drained from him, and his body staggered.
All color left his face, leaving only ashen dejection.
His lips trembled. He still wanted to argue something, but in the end, he could not utter a single word.
Seeing Yan Qingshan’s reaction, no one in the hall had any doubts left.
Madam Wu was even more stupefied.
She stared blankly at this cousin of hers, as if seeing him for the first time.
She had come here to save her son. She had never imagined that in the blink of an eye, her own cousin would become the true culprit!
“Cousin, is… is this true?”
Madam Wu asked in a trembling voice.
“Men, seize Yan Qingshan!”
Tang Jinxian shouted sternly.
Several yamen guards immediately stepped forward.
But Yan Qingshan suddenly drew his blade and charged toward Jiang Mu. “I’ll slaughter you, you meddling little bastard!!”
Thanks to Gongze Lingying for the tip.
Thanks to Hua Luo Shui Jia for the tip.