Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 82 Accomplices
At this point, everyone had already conceded that Qi Ming was the real culprit of the serial rape and murder case.

However, Qi Ming is now seriously injured and unconscious, and the doctor said that he will not wake up for a while, so Si Buping can only let the internal guards take care of him and plan to formally interrogate him after he wakes up.

It was already late at night. After watching the excitement, the guests felt that what was happening next had nothing to do with them and wanted to say goodbye and leave.

Yan Ciwan was very interested in the locked wooden box. She pulled out her hairpin and inserted it into the keyhole, trying to pry open the lock.

However, this lock was much more delicate than the door lock of the Haoyue Zhai study. She poked it several times with a hairpin but failed to open it.

She had no choice but to give up picking the lock and prepare to ask the guards for help and break it open with violence.

Xiao Wang stretched out his hand: "Can you let me see it?"

Yan Ciwan was very surprised: "You can also open the lock?"

"Well, I've read the General History of Hundred Locks before and learned a little bit."

Facts proved that Xiao Wang had not read the book in vain. He borrowed silver earrings from Yan Ci Wan, then straightened the hook of the earrings into a thin silver wire, and only pinched a small curved hook at the end of the silver wire.

He inserted the silver wire into the keyhole, twisted it left and right, found the right position, and pulled it outwards, and the lock opened.

The wooden box was opened, and there were indeed some gold and silver valuables inside. Among them, a handkerchief attracted Yan Ciwan's attention.

She picked up the towel, looked at it carefully, and suddenly spoke.

"You guys can't leave yet!"

The guests paused and looked at her, not understanding what this little maid was trying to do.
Yan Ciwan said slowly: "Qi Ming just told me that he did not kill anyone, and the deaths of the nine murdered women had nothing to do with him."

Chao Yuanzhi had always disliked her, and at this moment he couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.

"Just now you confidently pointed out that Qi Ming was the real murderer, but now you suddenly change your words and say that he didn't kill anyone. You are so inconsistent. Can we still believe what you say?!"

Yan Ciwan had long expected that someone would question her, so she was not panicked at all.

"The scars on the bodies of the murdered women were indeed caused by Qi Ming, but the murderer of those women was someone else."

Si Buping was quite interested in her words and ordered the guests not to leave for the time being.

Unexpectedly, there would be a follow-up to the case. The guests were not afraid of trouble. They all looked at Yan Ci Wan, wanting to see what shocking news she could find out.
Chao Yuanzhi was the only one present who had a bad feeling in his heart.

He pleaded, "My wife is still ill, and I am worried about her. Can the Grand Lord please make it convenient for me and my son to go back and take care of her first?"

Si Buping did not give a direct answer, but threw the question to Yan Ciwan.

"Ning Ci, do you think you can let them go back?"

Yan Ciwan said without hesitation: "No!" Chao Yuanzhi frowned: "We can't help you if we stay, why can't you let us go home?"

"Because I suspect Qi Ming has an accomplice, and that accomplice is hiding among you."

When Yan Ciwan said this, all the guests present changed their expressions.

Chao Yuanzhi's reaction was the biggest. He quickly retorted, "Impossible! You have no evidence to prove that Qi Ming has an accomplice. Even if he does have an accomplice, it could be someone he trusts. How could it involve outsiders like us?!"

The other guests nodded in agreement, expressing their approval of what Chao Yuanzhi said.

They all thought that Yan Ciwan was talking nonsense and that there was no way that there could be an accomplice of the murderer among them.

At this time, the tear marks on Yan Ciwan's face had been wiped away, leaving only a little red mark at the corner of her eyes. She looked around at everyone present, and in the face of many questioning gazes, she remained calm and composed, as if everything was under control.

"Don't worry, Chao Canjun. Let me tell you slowly. The nine murdered women were first knocked unconscious and abducted, then tortured, and finally killed and their bodies dumped. It is very difficult for one person to complete this series of operations without leaving any traces. I once learned from a surviving victim that when Qi Ming was torturing the victims, he smelled strongly of alcohol. He must have drunk a lot of alcohol. He was already very drunk, and torturing the victims required a lot of effort. How could he suffocate the victims to death after doing all this? This doesn't make sense, so I suspect that the murderer is not just one person, Qi Ming must have an accomplice."

Chao Yuanzhi guessed that the survivor she was talking about was most likely his daughter Chaolu.

He was afraid that others would ask who the survivor was. If that happened, Chaolu's reputation would be ruined, and Chaolu and Xiao Wang's engagement would also be ruined.

So he quickly answered.

"Even if your analysis makes sense and Qi Ming really has helpers, the most likely ones are people he trusts, such as his attendants, or his family guards, or even his parents and teachers. They are more suspicious than outsiders like us."

Chao Yuanzhi said this when the Qi family just got into trouble, in order to avoid being suspected of adding insult to injury, but everyone present nodded in agreement, because they all wanted to use this to clear themselves of suspicion.

Yan Ciwan said slowly, "Originally, I also suspected the people around Qi Ming, such as the slaves. Their indentures were in Qi Ming's hands, and Qi Ming could drive them to do anything at will. I even suspected Qi Ming's parents. After all, Qi Ming was their only child. Sometimes parents would do anything to protect their children. However, that accomplice did something wrong. He should never, ever frame me."

When she said this, her eyes fell on Chao Yuanzhi and Chao Yue.

Chao Yuanzhi's heart skipped a beat for unknown reason, and the uneasy premonition became stronger and stronger.

In order to make himself look calm and natural, he smiled casually and said, "Are you talking about the sachet found in Tingfeng Courtyard? I was there at the time, and I have asked everyone in the family, but no one knows where the sachet came from. Don't suspect anyone without reason."

"Assuming that the accomplice was a servant or follower of Qi Ming, I had never met Qi Ming at that time and had no relationship with the entire Qi family. How could they think of framing me? In such a big world, why did they choose me as a scapegoat?"

Chao Yuanzhi couldn't answer.

"After I woke up from my coma, I have been staying in the backyard of the Chao Mansion. There are always people around me, so General Chao should know that I have never had contact with outsiders, and I have no connection with the Qi family. Until the fifth day after I woke up, I offended General Chao and Chao Yue. I was afraid of revenge from you and your son, so I had to quietly leave the Chao Mansion. Who knew that as soon as I left, someone anonymously reported that I was the murderer of a serial rape and murder case, so the constables came to my house and searched for evidence from the Tingfeng Courtyard where I lived. In Xiangzhou City, the only people who have a grudge against me are you and your son, so you are naturally the ones who have the most motive to frame me."

Yan Ciwan's tone became heavier as he finished speaking, and Chao Yuanzhi's heart tightened when he heard it.

He said word by word: "These are all your unfounded speculations!"

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(End of this chapter)