There is a god in the sky

Chapter 227 The Mummified Corpse Case 20

Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Xiao Ji's lips twitched slightly.

Sui Feng went in to check on Sun Wei's condition and came out to tell him, "He's not dead, but one of his shoulders is broken."

"Move him to the mountain villa and let him die suddenly that night."

Sui Feng glanced around and asked in a low voice, "Are you really going to continue investigating that matter? Even if it's true, wouldn't it be too dangerous?"

"Investigate secretly, collect evidence first, you never know when it might come in handy."

Sui Feng thought to himself: After the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the Tong family will be the most powerful maternal relatives. Unless they threaten the new emperor's power, the Tong family will be glorious for at least several more decades.

"Don't overthink it. Do your best and leave the rest to fate. If the Tong family knows when to stop, this matter may be buried forever."

At night, just as the prisoner was being moved, a death row inmate was placed in the cell.

A jailer walked in with his head down, and as he passed the cell, he dropped a pill into a bowl of water.

Half an hour later, another jailer came to take over and found that the prisoner in this cell was dead, bleeding from all seven orifices.

He hurriedly reported the news.

Xiao Ji was still in the yamen and was not surprised to hear the news.

But when Sui Feng told him, "We didn't kill the person, but rather they were poisoned. I didn't even have time to do anything about it."

Someone killed "Sun Wei" before they could.

Xiao Ji was surprised for a moment but quickly regained his composure. He thought the other party wouldn't care about such a minor character, but he had overestimated them.

"Luckily, we moved the people out in time."

Xiao Ji added a paragraph at the end of the file, then stamped it with the seal of the Criminal Investigation Department and handed it to Sui Feng.

"After cremating the body, send it back to Sun Wei's hometown. Tomorrow, send the case file to the Ministry of Justice and say that the case is closed."

"Yes, about Young Master Liu's case?"

Xiao Ji asked him to look at the case file. He identified three victims in the case, one of whom was Liu Xianyang.

"Won't the Liu family agree?"

"Minister Tong is busy investigating the murderer of his son and has no time to deal with him for the time being. It's time to create some trouble for him so that he won't bother me too often."

Xiao Ji took out an old scroll from a drawer and asked Sui Feng to take it to Magistrate Xu.

“Tell him that there’s progress in the case, and I will now do my utmost to thoroughly investigate it.”

The case he presented was a mummified corpse case from over a decade ago.

Sun Wei said he knew who did it, but it was just speculation and could not be taken as evidence.

But it's okay, he can check.

Sui Feng said with a mischievous grin, "Then Magistrate Xu will definitely be angry again."

He had urged Xiao Ji to take over Tong Juntao's case three times, but Xiao Ji always found an excuse to refuse.

Shen Lan has been staying at the Xiao residence for the past few days without venturing out.

No one in the Xiao family cared, since a coroner's status meant he didn't need to go out every day.

The servants sent by the Liu family to keep watch returned and reported the truth.

"She returned to the city a little later than Lord Xiao, but I heard that she was collecting ancient books outside the city and hasn't left the Xiao residence since."

Liu Engui listened to the servant's report but did not take Shen Lan seriously.

She was just a female coroner.

"No need to monitor her anymore. Continue to send more people to search for Shen Qing. Search outside the city, and don't miss any docks, inns, or post stations!"

Madam Liu had been in a daze these past few days. Upon hearing the name "Shen Qing," she screamed, "Find that lowly servant! I want him to be buried with Yang'er!"

"Madam, the murderer is already dead. He was just a servant; it makes no difference whether he is buried with the murderer or not."

"Who said that? Yang'er loves them the most. He must be so bored down there all alone. Burning more paper figures for him will make him happy."

Madam Liu cried and then fainted again.

The Liu residence was in complete chaos.

The Tong family gradually calmed down.

Neither Magistrate Xu nor Minister Zhao fared well after the murderer was caught; both were personally reprimanded by the Emperor.

The Tong family set up a mourning hall, and after the funeral notices were sent out, each family originally sent someone to pay their respects.

However, since it was a junior who died, the elders of each family naturally couldn't go to offer incense to a junior.

However, Madam Tong felt that since her son had died tragically and there were so many guests that day, everyone was a suspect. So, she sent people to invite them one by one according to the guest list from that day.

Regardless of your seniority, you must come to the Tong residence to offer incense.

This move was met with considerable criticism within the court.

The Emperor did not object, and the Empress only gave Madam Tong a few mild reprimands afterward, which were not serious.

Everyone can see that the Empress is protecting the Tong family.

Moreover, even the Crown Prince went; who would dare to say that their status is more noble than the Crown Prince's?

"Strange, with such a major event happening in the Tong family, Headmaster Tong hasn't returned!"

"Teacher Tong is dedicated to teaching and nurturing students, and he generally doesn't leave the mountain unless there's something extremely important."

"After all, it was his own grandson who died."

"Perhaps Headmaster Tong doesn't care. Tong Juntao is no good either. He bullies men and women and does all sorts of evil. Didn't we hear before that he killed Miss Qingman?"

"Why is Qingman being dragged into this?"

"Rumors..."

The cause of Qingman's death suddenly became known for some unknown reason, including the fact that she had been humiliated by Tong Juntao.

The Tong family didn't take the news seriously. After all, there were quite a few women who had been bullied by Tong Juntao. How long could a dead person be remembered?

It wasn't until Tong Juntao's coffin was buried that news spread that Qingman was someone he had snatched from the Crown Prince.

Since the Crown Prince was involved, Minister Tong had no choice but to take it seriously.

Especially after receiving his father's letter, he no longer had time to grieve.

Once some things come to light, they will be detrimental to both the Tong family and the Crown Prince.

"Xiao Ji, the eldest son of the Xiao family, is indeed capable, but would he choose to oppose us?"

Minister Tong was flipping through Xiao Ji's files, from childhood to adulthood, down to the smallest detail.

The advisor had already reviewed it and pondered, saying, "He's about to become the Zhao family's son-in-law; it shouldn't be like this."

"Although Zhao Kaizhi is loyal to the Crown Prince, he is, after all, a high-ranking official, and there is no guarantee that he might switch sides at the last minute."

"Your Excellency is overthinking it. Among the princes now, none can surpass the Crown Prince."

As long as the emperor has no intention of deposing the crown prince, the crown prince's position is the most secure.

But Minister Tong felt it wasn't safe enough. "Hasn't the Second Prince always been very close to the Eldest Princess? That woman is no pushover."

"No matter how capable she is, she's still a woman and can't influence such a major decision as choosing an heir!"

The advisors thought that Minister Tong was overthinking things.

The most terrifying thing about the harem is if the crown prince is the only son.

The emperor would probably prefer to see himself with many children, and all his sons becoming successful.

Tong Shangshu wrote a letter and asked his staff to polish it.

"It would be best to ask him to come out and have a chat. If he is a stubborn rock, then I will have no choice but to remove the obstacle."