A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 260 Headless Female Corpse (48)

The Pingnan Earl's Mansion.

Just after breakfast, the troops from the Jingzhao Prefecture arrived at the door in great force!
The leader was none other than Mu Qingcheng, the legal advisor!
Chief Constable Liu Heng of the Jingzhao Prefecture followed closely behind, with more than ten armed constables exuding an imposing aura. How could the servants guarding the gate of the Earl's Mansion dare to ask any questions? Especially when they saw that Mu Qingcheng was the girl who had visited the day before, their eyes widened for a long time. By the time they came to their senses, the group had already entered the gate in a grand manner!

When Lord Wu Feiyan failed to return from the morning court session, his wife, upon hearing the news, rushed over with her servants. The two groups met in the outer courtyard of the main hall.

Lady Bo looked around and saw that the constables from the Jingzhao Prefecture were all like demons descending, extremely intimidating, which made the servants of the Bo Mansion tremble and dare not breathe!
"Master Mu?"

The aunt spoke coldly, a clear displeasure rising in her eyes, "Such a large commotion, are you here to arrest someone?"

"We apologize for disturbing you, Madam!" Mu Qingcheng clasped her hands in greeting, making sure to complete the proper etiquette, before replying, "We have come today in the name of the Jingzhao Prefecture to formally interrogate the masters and servants of the Pingnan Marquis's residence. As for whether or not we will arrest anyone, that depends on the results of the interrogation and the degree of cooperation from your household."

Today, Mu Qingcheng was dressed the same as the day before, but she stood straight in front of people, exuding the authority and coldness of a leader, which made people feel a little scared for no reason!

Even though Madam Bo was of noble birth, and even though Mu Qingcheng was just a lowly woman without official rank or status, at this moment, Madam Bo was overwhelmed by Mu Qingcheng's powerful aura and could hardly resist it!

But as the mistress of the Marquis's mansion, the Marquis's wife had to put on a show for the sake of face. She took a deep breath, quickly adjusted her mindset, and replied, "Master Mu, what if you can't get an answer? My Pingnan Marquis's mansion is a respectable noble family. With such a show of force today, where does it put my master? What will outsiders think of my Pingnan Marquis's mansion?"

Mu Qingcheng remained calm and composed. Her gaze swept lightly over the servants of the Earl's mansion, and she said in a slightly cool tone, "How does Madam know that my actions are not to save the Earl's mansion from dire straits?"

Madam Bo was stunned, not understanding what Mu Qingcheng was up to!

Mu Qingcheng glanced sideways and gave Liu Heng a look. Liu Heng understood and waved his hand at the constables behind him, ordering, "Enter the compound and search for people!"

The constables quickly dispersed and rushed to various courtyards of the Earl's mansion!

Madam Bo was shocked. "What...what is going on? Master Mu, didn't you want to question people? Why are you searching the courtyard and looking for people? Who are you looking for?"

"Madam, please calm down!" Mu Qingcheng raised her hand to calm him down and said, "Now that the Pingnan Marquis's Mansion is involved in the case, it is impossible for them to remain uninvolved. However, Madam, cooperating with the Jingzhao Prefecture to find out the truth and arresting the criminals as soon as possible is the best way to save yourselves, isn't it? Otherwise, if we cause even greater trouble and implicate more people, wouldn't it be even more impossible to control?"

The lady was so speechless that she was completely stumped!
In just two brief exchanges, this young woman's brilliance was truly undeniable. She was quick-witted, targeted, composed, and exceptionally intelligent!
And these are the people who are the most difficult to deal with!

Lady Bo composed herself, thinking to herself, "The Jingzhao Prefecture is a law enforcement agency, and the Jingzhao Prefect, Song Shuyu, is a man of distinguished lineage. If I were to confront him directly, I'm afraid I'd suffer a loss today." Therefore, she knew when to yield and immediately softened her tone, saying, "Master Mu, it's freezing outside. Why don't we go inside and talk? I'll have someone prepare some tea to warm everyone up."

"Alright, thank you very much, Madam." Mu Qingcheng accepted without any formalities.

Lady Bo was overjoyed and quickly invited everyone from the Jingzhao Prefecture into the main hall. Then, she pulled her personal maid aside and whispered a few words to her.

The old woman hurried away.

Mu Qingcheng's eyes flickered, but she pretended not to see it.

After taking her seat, she feigned surprise and asked, "Where is the Crown Prince's wife?"

Lady Bo was taken aback, then quickly replied, "The Crown Prince's wife has gone back to her parents' home to visit her mother."

"Oh? What day did you go? How long have you been gone?" Mu Qingcheng raised her eyebrows slightly. Madam Bo said, "She left the manor yesterday and has not yet returned. Madam Xu is ill and misses her daughter, so she sent someone to invite her. Yu Ying is filial and wants to return to the Imperial Censor's Mansion to serve her mother, so I granted her request."

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingcheng smiled noncommittally, "Madam, are you sure the Heir Apparent's wife left the manor yesterday? Did you see the Heir Apparent's wife before she left?"

Lady Bo sensed something was wrong and quickly said, "It was definitely yesterday, around 9:00 AM. The head maidservant from the Crown Prince's wife's side came to report. Although I felt that the Crown Prince's wife lacked manners, I didn't say anything out of consideration for common sense."

"At the hour of Si?" Mu Qingcheng narrowed his eyes. "Please have Madam summon the head maid. I have some questions to ask."

Lady Bo dared not delay and hurriedly sent someone to find the head maid.

To everyone's surprise, the head maidservant went back to her parents' home with the young master's wife.

Seeing the helpless expression on the Lady of the House of the Censor's face, who seemed unsure of how to explain, Mu Qingcheng smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's alright, it's not too much trouble for us to make another trip to the Censor's Office."

The lady remained outwardly calm, but her mind grew increasingly heavy. It seemed that Xu Yuying had truly gotten herself into trouble!

"Master Mu, the person has been brought!"

At this moment, Liu Heng entered the main hall, followed by two constables who dragged one of the men in with his arms twisted behind his back!

Upon seeing this, Madam Bo was startled and abruptly stood up. "Butler An?"

The constables arrest people based on their portraits.

Upon hearing that Madam Bo had confirmed Steward An's identity, Mu Qingcheng nodded. "Alright, since he's fine, let him go. We can't be too rough around the edges in the master's mansion. If he refuses to cooperate or deliberately lies and disrupts the investigation, take him back to prison. Whether he needs to be flogged or put in torture devices, you can decide for yourselves."

"Yes!"

The two constables released their grip.

Butler An's legs went weak and he fell to the ground, his face filled with panic and his whole body trembling.

Madam Bo looked at Butler An, then at Mu Qingcheng, her expression blank. "What exactly happened? Master Mu, is it... is it the headless female corpse case you mentioned the other day?"

Mu Qingcheng took out an engagement document from her sleeve and handed it to the aunt, saying, "I've come today for this matter."

Lady Bo hurriedly opened the document, and after reading it carefully, she was still puzzled. "Master Mu, the matter of my family taking a concubine has been registered with the Jingzhao Prefecture. However, some changes occurred along the way, and the case has not yet been closed by the Jingzhao Prefecture. If this is the reason, I will send someone to the yamen to handle it immediately!"

Mu Qingcheng did not answer, her gaze falling downwards. "Butler An, where is Liao Ruyi's letter of annulment?"

"This servant has handed it over to the Madam," Butler An swallowed hard and replied in a low voice.

Lady Bo was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, it was indeed given to me. I will send someone to fetch it right away."

(End of this chapter)