There is a god in the sky

Chapter 226 The Mummified Corpse Case 19

Shen Qing opened the bundle and found not only several sets of new clothes, but also a bag of silver, and inside the cloth bag containing the silver was a household registration document.

The household registration certificate bears the official seal of the government, so it is genuine.

Shen Qing had mixed feelings.

He was not familiar with that Lord Xiao, so it was certain that this generous gift was because of Shen Lan.

"Won't this cause trouble for Lord Xiao?" Shen Qing was afraid of implicating Xiao Ji.

Suiying chuckled, "It's just a household registration certificate, nothing special. It didn't pass through my master's hands. But if you commit a crime in the future, it will be easy to find you."

Shen Qing carefully placed the household registration paper close to her body, and then returned the other items to Sui Ying.

“I accept this generous gift. I will repay your kindness in the future. However, I do not intend to leave the capital, so there is no need for this luggage.”

Suiying retrieved the bundle and instructed Shen Lan, "The master wants you to rest for a few days. Xiao Ding is looking after the shop, so don't worry."

Seeing that the two still had something to say, he left first.

Shen Qing carefully placed the paper close to her body and sighed, "I never thought I would be able to be Shen Zhiyuan again one day."

He used a false name when he signed the indenture and had no household registration, so he was essentially an unregistered resident.

Looking back now, the Liu family must have bought a lot of servants like him to avoid trouble with the government after a person's death.

Shen Lan walked around to face him and stared at his face for a while.

"Since we're going to change our identity, we should at least change our appearance."

All Shen Lan could think of was makeup. As long as he dressed up before going out, the Liu family might not recognize him.

As the sun began to set, Shen Qing urged her to go back.

"It's not appropriate for us to go into the city together. You should go back first, and I'll come find you another day."

"Alright, take care, cousin. If you need anything, you can send a message to Jifeng Study."

Now that their relationship is out in the open with Xiao Ji, and Xiao Ji is clearly willing to cover for them, their interactions will be much easier.

Shen Lan rode back to the city, and Shen Qing watched her leave until not a speck of dust remained.

He touched his face and muttered to himself, "This face is indeed a problem."

Three days later, the Liu family sent news of the death to various prefectures.

Liu Xianyang's body was not found, but the authorities discovered an unburnt, charred corpse in the earthen kiln.

Sun Wei has been in prison for three days and has confessed everything he was supposed to.

“I said… I… did not kill… Liu Xianyang…” He kept repeating as he coughed up blood.

Liu Engui came to interrogate him personally, and frowned upon hearing this.

"You say you didn't kill my son, then how did he die? And how did he happen to die at the very spot where you committed the crime?"

"Hehe...who knows..."

"There were two other people present at the time: a servant boy from the household and Lord Xiao's coroner, right?"

Sun Wei looked up, laughing non-stop, "Yeah, the two of them are on good terms, who knows if they're having an affair."

A whip landed on him, the pain rendering him speechless.

Xiao Ji said to Liu Engui, "Minister Liu, as I have already said, Counselor Shen was chasing after the murderer and made marks along the way, which allowed me to catch the murderer successfully. She has nothing to do with Young Master Liu's disappearance."

Liu Engui believed this.

He had also investigated and found that the woman was brought back by Xiao Ji. She had been in the capital for less than a month and it was impossible for her to have made an enemy of Liu Xianyang.

But Shen Qing...

Thinking of this person, Liu Engui's face turned fierce.

"A runaway slave has emerged from my household. I request that Lord Xiao issue a warrant for his arrest!"

Many people saw Shen Qing return to the academy, and they also saw him going down the mountain with the government officials.

As for where he went, no one paid attention at the time, so naturally no one could answer that.

"Although there is no evidence to prove that he killed Young Master Liu, the coincidence of his disappearance is too suspicious."

Sui Feng chimed in, "Maybe they ran away because they were afraid of being punished by their master?"

In families with strict rules, those who fail to protect their master will be executed.

Regardless, the person must be found, but how to deal with them after they are found is not up to the Liu family.

In the past few days, Liu Engui has not only been frantically searching for his son, but has also investigated a lot of things about Sun Wei.

If it can be proven that Sun Wei had a grudge against his son, then it's a certainty that he committed murder.

As it turned out, he actually found something.

"Lord Xiao, I have a few questions I'd like to ask this person privately. Would it be possible to clear the area?"

Xiao Ji hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, but please, Lord Liu, show mercy. The prisoner still needs to be tried and sentenced."

Liu Engui hummed in agreement.

After everyone left, the dimly lit prison was filled with a sinister atmosphere.

Liu Engui picked out a suitable iron hammer from a row of torture instruments and approached Sun Wei step by step.

Sun Wei was terrified, but he bared his teeth and asked in a bloody grin, "Lord Liu, if you don't believe me, the real killer who brought your son to justice will go unpunished."

Liu Engui pressed the iron hammer against his shoulder and asked, "You threatened my son and extorted one hundred taels of silver, didn't you?"

Sun Wei was surprised that he was talking about this, and laughed heartily.

"Young Master Liu is young, and with a little trickery, he gave in."

Actually, there are plenty of masters like him in the world. What's the big deal about beating and killing a few servants?

But Young Master Liu has a sense of shame; he was afraid I'd spread the word, so he voluntarily gave me money to shut me up—it wasn't something I asked for.”

Sun Wei only wanted to use this as an excuse to get close to Liu Xianyang and let Liu Xianyang know that he had something on him.

Unexpectedly, Liu Xianyang would try to settle things with money.

He wasn't short of a hundred taels, so he deliberately agreed, actually intending to use this as a pretext for his own purposes.

Having failed the imperial examinations multiple times, he gradually lost confidence. Upon learning that Vice Minister Liu was on good terms with Minister Tong, he wanted to use the Liu family's connections to climb the social ladder to the Tong family.

As long as the Tong family agrees, a Jinshi degree will be easily secured.

He stuck his head out, stared into Liu Engui's eyes, and said softly, "Lord Liu, killing me now won't help anything. I've already confessed everything, whether I should or shouldn't have."

It's not just about your son beating and killing a servant; there's also... how he got into the academy, how he passed the imperial examination—don't you know best?"

Liu Engui slammed his hammer down, and screams echoed from inside the prison.

"Boy, you are courting death!"

Sun Wei screamed repeatedly, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and cursed, "You corrupt officials...you won't have a good end either!"

"What else do you know?"

Sun Wei was in unbearable pain and did not want to talk to him.

Moreover, that was all he knew. He wanted to use this as leverage to exchange for some favors from Xiao Ji, but he didn't expect the other party to not care at all.

Sure enough, officials protect each other; how could he possibly investigate the Tong family?

When the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the Tong family will rule the court, and the Xiao family will have to avoid their sharp edge.

He thought Xiao Ji was a good official who hated evil, but he didn't expect him to be a coward.

When Liu Engui left, his eyes were red, clearly from grief.

Xiao Ji comforted him for a few words and politely saw him onto the carriage.

Liu Engui held his hand and said earnestly, "Wangchuan, we've worked together for three years. You're a promising talent, so don't listen to slander and go down the wrong path."

Xiao Ji withdrew his hand, bowed, and said, "Don't worry, Lord Liu."