Wife is hell

Chapter 68 The Murderer is Caught
If we follow the pattern of the murderer's previous killings, the time of death today should be Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

However, it was beyond people's expectations.

When the high-ranking officials of the patrol office, who were still asleep, were woken from their beds by the guards and learned that Miss Yun had drowned in her own pond at midnight, they were all stunned.

An hour later, they received another report.

The young master of the Zhang family fell to his death from a high altitude.

At this moment, everyone realized that something was wrong.

They began to send more people to provide tighter protection for the remaining survivors, while also increasing patrols.

But, to no avail.

At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the second young master of the Tong family was hanged from the roof beam.

At dawn, the eldest son of the Tong family, whose spirit had completely collapsed, insisted on leaving the city in a panic, despite the advice of the patrol officers.

He was struck by lightning and killed shortly after leaving the city.

In the end, only one name remained on the death list.

……

The innermost cell in the jail of the patrol office.

A young master dressed in a brocade blue silk robe huddled in a cold corner, trembling uncontrollably.

His face was filled with deep fear and regret.

The young master's name is Wang Haiqiu.

His family ran a silk shop, making them typical spoiled and dissolute young men.

The pleasure boat he rented for the lake trip that day was one of his own.

After the fishing boat carrying Huang Xiang'er's family was capsized, it was he who, in a drunken stupor, took the lead in preventing the servants from going into the water to rescue them, while he and his companions laughed and watched.

"This kid was terrified and confessed to all the bad things he had done, including peeping at his own cousin while she was taking a bath. He just begged us to put him in jail to save his life."

Huang Kezi looked at the terrified Wang Haiqiu and said.

Yu Zhengqing said calmly:

"He's gambling, gambling that the police station's cell is safer than outside."

Zhang Huan sneered, "How arrogant you were when you were harming others, and now that you're about to die, you're afraid?"

Yu Zhengqing's gaze swept across the deep passageway, and he gave the order:

"This is the last survivor. If the murderer wanted to kill him, he would definitely appear near the police station. You all need to investigate thoroughly, even if you have to tear the ground up, to find the murderer!"

"Yes!"

Everyone accepted the order in unison.

Zhang Huan looked at Huang Kezi, his tone somewhat angry:

“When the last victim was killed, your men had a chance to catch her, and it was obvious that the woman was seriously injured, but she still managed to escape.”

Huang Kezi's face darkened, and he retorted stubbornly:

"Can you blame me entirely? Who knew that there was an abandoned secret passage hidden in that godforsaken place?"

An official standing nearby interjected thoughtfully:

"It's strange, why did the two most promising opportunities to capture the murderer fall into the area under your jurisdiction, Master Huang, yet... both times you failed?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Kezi's face flushed red: "Old Shen, what do you mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it, I just felt that the person surnamed Huang was very smart. Oh, I was referring to Huang Xiang'er."

"you……"

"grown ups!"

Just as the two were about to start arguing, Chang Liang rushed over, his face beaming with excitement, "We caught Huang Xiang'er!"

"?"

Everyone present was stunned, their faces showing astonishment.

Yu Zhengqing immediately asked, "Where was it caught?"

Chang Liang, unable to contain his excitement, said:

"We followed the trail of blood and found her in Sanyuan Alley, right outside the patrol office! The woman was seriously injured and unconscious on the ground, which is why she couldn't escape."

"Where is the spirit?"

"I didn't see it," Chang Liang shook his head. "The others are searching."

Yu Zhengqing said no more and quickly walked out of the prison.

Others quickly followed.

Upon entering the courtyard, they saw a woman covered in blood being dragged along by two guards, one on each side, with shackles already on her body.

The woman was deathly pale and unconscious.

The crowd looked at the woman who had stirred up such a storm in the city with complicated expressions.

After so many days of pursuit and countless hours of effort, finally capturing the person brought little joy; instead, a strange heaviness settled in. "Judging from the situation, this woman seems to be nearing her end."

An official looked at the weakened Huang Xiang'er and frowned, saying, "Once the owner of a spirit object dies and the spirit object is not captured, it will seek out another owner, causing endless trouble."

"Wake her up."

Yu Zhengqing said calmly.

A guard brought a bucket of cold water and poured it over the woman's head.

"Cough cough..."

The biting cold made Huang Xiang'er cough violently, and she slowly woke up.

She struggled to lift her eyelids, her unfocused gaze slowly sweeping over the faces around her, some indifferent, some scrutinizing.

"Where is the spirit?"

Yu Zhengqing walked up to Huang Xiang'er with an indifferent expression.

Huang Xiang'er gave a bitter smile, a few drops of blood frothing at the corner of her lips, her voice weak yet tinged with sarcasm:

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you, but doesn’t your patrol office have the ‘Thousand-Machine Compass’? I’m right here, you can use it to track down the whereabouts of the spirit.”

Yu Zhengqing's eyes flickered slightly, and he gave Huang Kezi a wink.

Huang Kezi glanced at Huang Xiang'er with a complicated expression, then turned and quickly left.

A short while later, he returned carrying an object.

It is a bronze compass, about the size of a regular pot lid, with its surface covered in verdigris and engravings.

Huang Kezi placed the compass on the ground.

Upon receiving the signal, the two guards lifted Huang Xiang'er up and made her stand on the compass.

hum-

The compass trembled slightly, and a soft white light rose from its center.

It coiled around Huang Xiang'er like a serpent several times, then turned and headed towards the left courtyard wall.

"Quick! Keep up with it!"

Upon seeing this, Chang Liang and the others quickly led their men to chase after the white light.

-

Inside Tang Jinxian's study.

Jiang Mu sat leisurely in the chair, his eyes half-closed, his fingers gently tapping his thigh as he hummed a little tune.

Tang Jin stood quietly at the door.

Hearing the commotion and footsteps outside, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.
"Not planning to go and see what's going on?"

Jiang Mu laughed and said, "It's all just illusion and deception. Let's ignore the superficial excitement and just wait for the outcome."

Tang Jinxian sneered, "Didn't you say she would turn herself in? She still got arrested."

"There's not much difference; I reckon she's really past her prime."

Jiang Mu sighed softly, a hint of melancholy in his voice, "She's really overusing her spiritual artifacts; she clearly didn't intend to live."

Tang Jinxian seemed to be deep in thought.

She turned and walked back into the room, her face regaining its usual solemnity, and said calmly:

"There's one thing I don't understand. If the murderer is Huang Xiang'er, how could she, an ordinary peasant woman, accurately identify all the participants on the pleasure boat that day?"

The county government initially described the case as an "accident," and the details were never made public.

Given Huang Xiang'er's status and abilities, even if she obtained the spiritual object, there was absolutely no way she could single-handedly capture everyone on the ship without exception.

Tang Jinxian sat in the chair, her slender fingers brushing over a few wrinkles on her dress, and continued:
"More importantly, I have actually observed the deployment of the patrol office these days. There were at least three times when they could have caught her, but she managed to escape each time."

"What do you want to say?" Jiang Mu asked with a smile.

Tang Jinxian narrowed her phoenix eyes and asked bluntly:

"Do you think Yu Zhengqing knows that there's a mole among his men... who's been secretly helping Huang Xiang'er? Huang Kezi? Zhang Huan? Chang Liang? Or someone else?"

Jiang Mu countered, "What do you think?"

Tang Jinxian remained silent.

Jiang Mu relaxed his body, leaned back lazily in his chair, and smiled:
"No one who can enter the Patrol Office is a real fool; they all wear a mask and put on an act."

Just as Tang Jinxian was about to speak, Jiang Mu raised his hand:

"It's time to go, Chenshi (7-9 AM). The last person... should also set off."

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(End of this chapter)