Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

"The second strange thing is Liu Yuniang, and Wang Hu."

Lin Wantang continued speaking, her cool voice reflecting her thoughts with meticulous detail.

"Although the former intended to deceive and even tried to escape, he became friendly and willing to confess everything after being caught. The latter, on the other hand, was arrogant, vehemently denied everything, and even sought suicide. What caused these two to behave so abnormally?"

Li Jinzhi paused repeatedly while grinding his ink, then narrowed his eyes, looking at Lin Wantang with a puzzled expression: "What do you think? Do you suspect they're trying to... bite people randomly?"

As expected, a smart person understands immediately.

Lin Wantang nodded: "It's not impossible. When we came here before, our investigation wasn't thorough enough. At first glance, we all thought that Wang Hu was blinded by greed and forced Liu Yuniang to collude with him. But what if that's not the case? What if Wang Hu is the knife being manipulated, and Liu Yuniang is the evil tiger hiding behind it all?"

Whether Wang Hu denies it to the death or is cunning and unreasonable, once he is escorted to the Eastern Depot the next day and subjected to severe torture, it will only take a few days for them to pry open his mouth, no matter how stubborn he is.

The problem is, if Wang Hu is not the mastermind at all, but just a tool being used, then even if he confesses, what useful information could he possibly reveal?

Could it be that what he confessed, which he thought was real, was also deliberately arranged by someone behind the scenes?

"For example, Wang Hu believes that Shen Huai'an was the one who instigated him to do these things, but given his position, he certainly wouldn't have access to Shen Huai'an. So who would he implicate?"

Lin Wantang countered with a question, her brows furrowed in deep thought: "Let me give you an example. If the person he was in contact with was Wang San, and he confessed to being involved with Wang San, then if you torture him to find out who else he knows, he won't be able to confess anything further."

After a pause, she looked at Wei Wujiu again and said, "As for Liu Yuniang, she's very cooperative. She can tell the so-called truth without torture. If she also implicates Wang San, the evidence will seem conclusive. Commander, you can draft a memorial and submit it to the Emperor, and at the same time, arrest Wang San and interrogate him rigorously. Who will Wang San implicate?"

Will they really implicate Shen Huai'an? Or will they implicate another insignificant person, and then continue arresting and torturing people along this line? The longer it goes on, the more the emperor's patience will be exhausted. In the end, it will either lead to an endless, massive, and cumbersome case, or it will go in circles and the arrow will return to Wei Wujiu.

Otherwise, why would Shen Huai'an in this life still do all this? And it's completely different from the previous life. This time, Shen Huai'an even wants to frame and implicate Lin Rucong. Is it really because Lin Wantang broke off the engagement that Shen Huai'an holds a grudge?

Lin Wantang felt this didn't make sense; there were huge problems involved.

"Governor, the longer this line drags on, the more passive we become. We can't afford to wait any longer; we need to act quickly and decisively," Lin Wantang advised.

Wei Wujiu was instantly wide awake, his sharp eyes darkening. He understood Lin Wantang's worries and had already been considering whether or not to let Liu Yuniang and Wang Hu enter the capital alive.

"Don't rush," he spoke first, gesturing to an octagonal table to the side. "Have a seat and some tea. Have you eaten yet?"

Without Lin Wantang needing to respond, he simply glanced at Li Jinzhi.

With a heavy heart, Li Jinzhi walked out of the study and ordered someone to bring some food. He placed the dishes on the table one by one, and Lin Wantang did not refuse. She sat down and slowly drank tea and began to eat.

Wei Wujiu had little appetite, so he remained seated on the couch, fiddling with the Bodhi hand he carried with him, and pondered, "The message I secretly sent couldn't be wrong, unless..."

"The tribute was indeed looted and sent here, but it has been destroyed."

Lin Wantang finished the last of his porridge and, following his thoughts, said, "That's possible. Dozens of boxes of tribute would be difficult to hide or sell. The best way would be to burn all the boxes the night they arrived, dismantle the treasures inside, pack them up separately, and have the servants take them out of the courtyard one by one."

As long as they colluded with passing caravans, tribute goods could easily be smuggled out of Ding County and far from the capital, making inspections as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

Only that rare luminous pearl was too conspicuous and difficult to confuse.

Li Jinzhi was still grinding the ink when he interjected, "Speaking of destruction, there really is a burn mark in the backyard. It's quite large, and it looks like a lot of things were burned there. Liu Yuniang said it was the place where Wang Hu burned yellow paper after doing all sorts of bad things."

Lin Wantang took a bite of her side dish and shook her head slightly: "No, it should be the one that burned the tribute boxes a few days ago."

"Since this proves it, the only thing we can find now is the luminous pearl. But the question is, if the luminous pearl isn't here, where could it be?"

Wei Wujiu already had a general idea in mind, but he still raised a question.

Lin Wantang held her chopsticks for a moment, then suddenly loosened her grip. Her expression changed abruptly, her heart sank, and she instantly stood up: "I've guessed one possibility! Commander, things are about to go wrong!"

Wei Wujiu also sensed something, but he wasn't as anxious as Lin Wantang. Instead, he reassured her, saying, "Sit down first, and eat properly."

Lin Wantang gasped, but obediently sat down again. However, she lost her appetite and looked at the table full of delicious food with a worried expression.

Li Jinzhi, listening and watching from a short distance away, kept blinking: "Hey, wait, why did you stop talking? Did you guess something? And why is it going to ruin things?"

How come these two people understand each other so well after just a few words and a glance?

They've only known each other for a short time, yet Wei Wujiu and Lin Wantang have already developed such a tacit understanding. Furthermore, Lin Wantang's wisdom and strategic thinking are reminiscent of a strategist or advisor. Li Jinzhi feels increasingly that his position is in grave danger.

Wei Wujiu, however, didn't bother with him. After a moment, he simply gave him a dismissive look: "Use your brain, or it'll grow weeds."

Li Jinzhi was taken aback, vaguely sensing that he had been disliked by his senior brother. He scratched his head, feeling a bit angry but unable to express it. Looking at the Xuan paper spread out on the table, he lost all interest in writing a folding scroll and simply threw the brush away.

Wei Wujiu clicked his tongue slightly upon hearing the noise, still sounding disdainful: "What's all this fuss about? Go and give the order to kill Liu Yuniang and Wang Hu, then come back and write the memorial."

"What? This..."

Li Jinzhi was a little out of the loop, but he knew that his senior brother was always prescient and prepared for anything. Besides, Liu Yuniang and Wang Hu were birds of a feather, neither of them were good people, and they deserved to die.

"Alright then." Li Jinzhi then went out to give instructions.

Lin Wantang forced herself to eat a few more bites, then sighed and put her hand to her forehead: "Governor, we should not leave these two alive to avoid raising a tiger to cause trouble. If these two die, it may seem that our clues have been cut off, but in reality, we need to break out of the schemes and plans of the people behind the scenes and try to go from the open to the shadows."