A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 402 Ending (71)

Lin Shuban was suddenly shocked. "You...you saw it?"

Before Mu Qingcheng could answer, he lowered his eyelids in a panic, feeling embarrassed, ashamed, and wishing he could stop breathing at that moment.

After learning that Lin Fu harbored feelings for her, Mu Qingcheng took a gamble in order to force the missing Lin Fu out. She deliberately had Xiao Linzi and Hou Yiping spread the news that she was about to marry Shen Che.

As expected, Lin Fu regained consciousness and showed up on his own initiative.

She had put in a lot of effort and meticulously planned for this case, but now that she had achieved the desired result, she felt no joy whatsoever.

"If I live, I will return; if I die, I will forever yearn for you."

The verses lingering in her mind, and the blue hair tie with a butterfly embroidered at the end but stained with vermilion, stirred up Mu Qingcheng's heart. A deep sense of powerlessness made her emotions somewhat out of control. "Secretary Lin, which is more important, face, integrity, or life?"

Lin Shuban paused for a moment, then slowly looked into Mu Qingcheng's pained and indignant eyes. "I know that Master Mu believes that life is more important than anything else, but... this is my choice, and I don't regret it."

Song Shuyu stared into Lin Shuban's dark eyes, his gaze deepening. "Since it's your choice, you can leave the rest to me."

"I will repay your kindness in my next life!" Lin Shuban said with tears in his eyes. With Song Shuyu's promise, he could rest in peace.

Song Shuyu squeezed Mu Qingcheng's arm and whispered, "I know you're sad, and so am I. All we can do now is ensure that Secretary Lin's sacrifice wasn't in vain. He persevered until now because he wanted to see the murderer brought to justice. So, you must hold on too!"

Mu Qingcheng nodded, forcing back the tears welling in her eyes. "I understand."

Then, she returned to the main topic and asked loudly, "Secretary Lin, who were there at the crime scene when you were murdered? The mastermind behind your killing was Guo Xuan, and the executor was Guo An. Are you sure?"

Lin Shuban replied, "At the time, there were four people present besides me: Guo Xuan, Guo An, Pingping, and Guo Yuanke. Pingping was probably tricked into the palace by Guo Xuan. She was completely unaware of the situation. When she saw Guo An chopping off my finger, Pingping tried to stop him and even tried to shout for help, but Guo Xuan knocked her unconscious. After that, I was stabbed and also passed out. I can confirm that it was Guo Xuan who instructed Guo An to poison me."

"Okay." Mu Qingcheng nodded. "So, before you lost consciousness, Pingping was still alive, just knocked unconscious, right?"

"Yes!" Lin Shuban replied affirmatively.

Mu Qingcheng turned around and asked, "Guo An, does Secretary Lin have any objections to the above?"

"No," Guo An said in a trembling voice.

“I remember you said that Lin Fu disappeared in the palace three days ago.”

“This humble citizen knows his guilt. I originally thought Lin Fu was dead and there was no way to verify the truth, so I fabricated the story that Lin Fu had disappeared. As long as his body could not be found, the truth could be covered up and I would not have to bear the blame for the murder. I never expected that Lin Fu was not only alive, but also appeared in court.”

"What? Didn't the people transporting the swill truck tell you that Lin Fu ran away halfway?"

"He didn't say. He probably didn't do a good job and doesn't dare to come to me for a reward."

"Who disposed of the body at the Lin Shu office?"

“It was me, a commoner. After killing Lin Fu, I carried him to the backyard of the imperial kitchen and threw him into the swill bucket.”

"So, it was Guo Xuan who instructed you to kill and dispose of Lin Fu's body?"

"Yes..." Guo An answered casually, but then suddenly remembered something and quickly changed his words, "Not entirely. The murder and disposal of the body were done by me alone. My master did not instruct me!"

Mu Qingcheng almost laughed out of anger, "Really? Then why did you kill Lin Fu?"

Guo An hurriedly replied, "Because Lin Fu disobeyed your orders, I couldn't stand it, so... so in a fit of anger I decided to kill him."

"Nonsense!" Secretary Lin was so angry that he couldn't stop coughing. Mu Qingcheng frowned. "Secretary Lin, why are you in such a hurry? Guo An carried you to dispose of the body. The person who killed Pingping was either Guo Xuan or Guo Yuanke, or they were a gang. No matter how many people are killed, a murder case must be punished with the death penalty."

At this point, she suddenly changed the subject, "Don't you think so, Guo Yuanke?"

Guo Yuan was horrified and blurted out, "It wasn't me! I didn't kill anyone! It was my father who ordered Guo An to kill Lin Shuban, and it was also my father who killed Pingping!"

Upon hearing this, the people who had been quietly observing the proceedings could no longer contain themselves, and their criticisms and curses instantly flooded the venue!

"Guo Xuan actually murdered his daughter!"

"Has this man gone mad? How could he bear to kill his only two daughters?"

"Even tigers don't eat their cubs! This...this is worse than an animal!"

"It's hard to imagine that such a ruthless murderer was actually the former Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"

"With such scoundrels in power, who knows how many wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice the Court of Judicial Review has fabricated..."

"..."

The common people's words were like slaps to the face, resounding blows to the emperor's cheek!

The emperor glanced at the empress dowager, who was trying to remain calm, and his eyes flashed with anger. However, with the matter still unresolved, he ultimately kept his composure and remained silent.

Mu Qingcheng gestured to stop the enraged crowd.

She said sternly, "Guo An, are you still going to protect your master? Who exactly is the mastermind behind Lin Fu's murder?"

Guo An's face turned ashen, and he prostrated himself on the ground, weeping bitterly, "It was my master, Guo Xuan, who ordered me to kill Lin Fu. I deserve to die a thousand deaths. I only beg that my family not be implicated!"

Guo Xuan's sinister eyes were fixed on Guo An and Guo Yuan Ke. "You traitors, you think that by implicating me, you can prove that I killed them? Without physical evidence, I will never admit it, even if it kills me!"

"I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, you can't deny it!" Guo Yuanke's face turned pale. She was terrified, but in order to clear her name, she still stubbornly confronted Guo Xuan.

What should have been an unbreakable family fell apart in the face of life and death, and under Mu Qingcheng's various schemes, revealing their true and despicable faces!

"Guo Xuan, let's see how long you can keep up your stubbornness!" Mu Qingcheng sneered, then said, "Lord Liang, bring me the records of Guo Xuan's statements before and after Pingping's murder, regarding his whereabouts!"

Liang Ruoming found the relevant case files and presented them to Mu Qingcheng.

Mu Qingcheng read quickly, her brain working at high speed, analyzing and looking for loopholes as she read. After she finished reading, she pondered for a moment and then calmly asked, "Guo Xuan, can't you understand why, even though you are a relative of the victim, Minister Qin placed you under house arrest in the Ministry of Justice the day after the incident, cutting off all your contact with the outside world?"

Guo Xuan was indeed confused, but he did not answer. He knew that too much talk could lead to mistakes, and he had to be wary of Mu Qingcheng's verbal traps.

Mu Qingcheng scoffed: "Because from the very beginning, I knew you were the murderer!"

"Absurd!" Guo Xuan blurted out in denial. "Stop trying to be mysterious!"

"Do you still remember the play you sang when you were identifying the body at the Jade Wine Pavilion?"

"What play? My daughter died, isn't it right for me to be sad?"

“It’s understandable to be sad, but I saw with my own eyes that there were several bloody scratches on the web of your left hand, and I found skin flakes under the fingernails of the deceased’s right hand!”

As Mu Qingcheng spoke, he stretched out his claws and clamped them onto Guo Xuan's left arm. "Let's verify this on the spot!"