There is a god in the sky

Chapter 174 The Dance Competition Scandal 9

When Shen Lan arrived, Xiao Ji was sitting by the campfire, making a fire, wrapped in a thick gray fur cloak.

The little maid was tied to a rack nearby, her head hanging low, lifeless.

Shen Lan rarely witnessed Xiao Ji interrogating prisoners. She exchanged a glance with him and followed Sui Feng further inside.

"All the guards here have been replaced. The deceased was a death row inmate in disguise, and the body is still in the cell."

"What was the cause of death?"

"He hanged himself from the iron gate with a belt."

Shen Lan had already reached the cell and saw the bloody characters on the wall.

"I killed the girl, I am guilty."

It's a very straightforward statement, but someone who sincerely confesses wouldn't resort to such fancy tricks; it's not like they're putting on a show for others.

Shen Lan also didn't believe that a person's finger could bleed so much.

She went in, sniffed near the wall, frowned, and said, "It's just chicken blood. Do they think the Chief Justice's Office is stupid?"

Sui Feng smiled helplessly.

He didn't know about the other officials in the Judicial Commission, but Lord Xiao was quite angry.

He had just returned to Beijing and was injured, but before he could even rest, he was used as a target by his superiors.

If this case can be solved soon, Xiao Ji will naturally be credited, and might even be promoted quickly.

But if it can't be broken, then it's hard to say.

Shen Lan squatted down and lifted the deceased's two hands. All ten fingers were worn raw. Although the blood wasn't entirely hers, the words were probably written from those hands.

Looking at the others, the people were indeed strangled, but the symptoms were the same as Qingman's—they were all strangled and then hung up.

Shen Lan parted the hair covering the deceased's face and saw an old face.

"Are you sure the other party didn't realize this was a scapegoat?" Shen Lan herself thought it was impossible.

The murderer isn't blind.

Sui Feng also said, "Knowing that he still killed someone, this is just a show for the authorities. The murderer is fearless."

Shen Lan wiped her hands clean and walked out of the cell. When she returned outside, she saw Qiaoyu obediently replying.

"My daughter lost her virginity three years ago, and her first client was the Crown Prince."

At first, we didn't know his identity. The girl was sent to a separate house, and the mother in the house told her to take good care of him, as he was sure to rise to prominence soon.

Later, the girl was sent there every few days, and sometimes the maids weren't allowed to go with her.

She was quite happy at first, and it was clear that she genuinely wanted to serve him, and she received many rewards in return.

I advised you, young lady, that if you could seize the opportunity to have a nobleman redeem you, you could even take him back as a concubine!

The girl said she didn't want to be a mistress; she wanted to enter the mansion and serve him openly and honestly.

How could this be? Before we knew his identity, we could have imagined it, but once we found out, the illusion was shattered.

Another year passed, and the Crown Prince rarely summoned the girl to serve him anymore. The girl was absent-minded all day long, but she tried every means to see the Crown Prince but could not.

Until the beginning of this year, the young woman met a gentleman who claimed he could arrange a marriage between her and the Crown Prince.

"Who has such great ability?" Xiao Ji couldn't help but ask.

If he's so powerful, why would he help Qingman?

"He claimed to be the Crown Prince's cousin and the second son of Minister Tong. The first time, he did succeed, and the girl met the Crown Prince."

But the Crown Prince no longer wanted her; in fact, when Young Master Tong asked for the girl, the Crown Prince agreed without hesitation.

Qiaoyu burst into tears.

"My daughter is heartbroken; her world has collapsed."

After that, my daughter seemed to have lost her soul. That young master Tong only managed to seduce her twice before he got tired of her and actually... he actually called a bunch of his cronies to defile my daughter..."

Shen Lan could hardly imagine how Qingman had survived under those circumstances.

"So the baby in her belly..."

Qiaoyu smiled bitterly: "I don't know whose it is. The girl's period is irregular. When we found out, she was already three months along. At that time, she had already decided to participate in the dance competition."

We all know that if we can win the championship, we might be able to escape the cage; that's the only chance to see the light of day.

But it still didn't work out; the girl lost. Do you know how desperate she was? She even had a huge fight with Miao Niangzi, and even wanted to kill her!

Shen Lan asked her, "You said before that the incident on the cruise ship that night was caused by Qingman?"

Qiaoyu nodded, "Yes, it was Miss who begged Young Master Tong. That Miao Niangzi is as soft as a boneless woman and naturally alluring. She must be a formidable opponent!"

Moreover, she deliberately brought up Lady Miao in the hopes that Young Master Tong would shift his focus and let her go.

Shen Lan was no longer sure whether she should sympathize with Qing Man.

Her experience was indeed tragic, but to drag others down with her misfortune is a despicable act.

"Back to the case, what did you do while you were out yesterday? I want to hear the truth."

Xiao Ji turned the iron branding iron in the brazier.

The thing was already burning red-hot.

Qiaoyu shrank back, answering in terror, "I said, I was looking for Young Master Tong, not... not Young Master Lu."

"What are you doing with him?"

"I...I..." Qiaoyu bit her lip and said in grief and indignation, "Young Master Tong's attendant came to find me and asked me...asked me to take someone to...to the young lady's room."

Xiao Ji's gaze sharpened. "You brought it?"

"……Yes."

"who is it?"

Qiaoyu shook her head vigorously, "I don't know, I've never seen him, but the people who appeared in Bixiao Tower that day were all rich and powerful."

Therefore, Xiao Ji's original guess that the murderer was the child's father was wrong; the murderer was someone else.

“It didn’t look like anyone else had been in the room at the time, and Qingman hadn’t been violated before she died, and there were no marks on her body.”

If she had just been assaulted, there would definitely be signs left behind.

It's possible that the man didn't succeed.

Shen Lan stared at Qiaoyu and asked, "Are you working for someone surnamed Tong?"

"I...I had no choice, he forced me!" Qiaoyu cried out in anguish.

“He said that if I didn’t listen to him, he would sell me to the lowest-class brothel. I would rather die than go to such a place.”

Shen Lan refused to listen any longer and said to Xiao Ji, "My lord, I want to go and see Qingman's body again."

Xiao Ji nodded and watched Shen Lan leave.

There are still some things he can't understand.

"If that's the case, why would that person want to kill you?"

The person who should have killed Qiaoyu was Tong Juntao, but there's always a reason for killing someone.

Qiaoyu remained silent.

"My lord, I have confessed everything I need to. Please investigate thoroughly!"

In the study of the Tong family mansion, Tong Juntao was slapped to the ground.

Minister Tong sat behind his desk, while his eldest son pointed at his younger brother and scolded him with exasperation, "You've really made something of yourself, daring to steal things from the house."

Tong Juntao realized he had caused trouble, so he quickly got up and knelt down.

"Father, elder brother, I know I was wrong. I didn't know that book was so important. She wanted it, so I gave it to her."

"Are you sure you can't find it? Didn't you say it was probably with her maid?"

“I went to look for her myself last night, but there were people in the Criminal Investigation Department who were on guard and had hidden the maid beforehand.”

Tong Juntao, enduring the pain on his face, shouted, "It must have been Xiao Ji! Could the item have fallen into his hands?"