The Prodigal Son

Before long, a large group of cavalry appeared in everyone's sight.

Looking up, it was densely packed and stretched as far as the eye could see.

Seeing this scene, more people began to sweat, and one official even collapsed to the ground.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid!"

Upon seeing this, Qin quickly smiled and addressed the group of officials: "You may not know, but when I was in Jiankou County, Yuanzhou, I was ambushed by hundreds of men! I'm timid and afraid of being ambushed again, so I specially transferred five thousand elite cavalry from Yinzhou to protect me..."

Qin Yu's smile was clearly gentle, but in many people's eyes, it was terrifyingly cold.

Guards?

Do we need five thousand elite cavalry for the escort?

These are hardly guards!

This is clearly a warning and deterrent to those with ill intentions.

Just as everyone was filled with unease, the leading cavalry general swiftly rode up to Qin Yu, dismounted abruptly, and knelt on one knee: "This humble general, Shen Jue, greets Your Excellency!"

"Why is it you?"

Qin Yu looked at Shen Jue in surprise.

Unexpectedly, an old acquaintance showed up!

Shen Jue replied, "This humble general is deeply indebted to you, sir. Last year, I was hastily transferred to Yinzhou and didn't even have a chance to properly thank you! When I learned that you needed to send troops to support us, I volunteered to lead my troops to serve you!"

Shen Jue, a man in his forties, bowed to Qin Yu without showing any discomfort.

His life was saved by Qin Yu!

If it weren't for Qin Yu, he wouldn't have been able to be transferred to Yinzhou to continue leading troops; he would have been lucky to even survive!

"Good! Very good!"

Qin Yu helped Shen Jue up. "After the Southern Frontier, we can fight side by side again!"

"That's what I think too!"

Shen Jue nodded slightly, then looked at Nan Que'er with a smile and teased, "Miss Que'er, please don't cast any more spells on me! I'm too old to take any more of this."

Nan Que'er smiled sheepishly, "I was forced into this situation in the past and offended many people. I hope General Shen will forgive me! Let's just consider this a case of 'no fight, no friendship'!"

"Exactly! We became friends after a fight!"

Shen Jue laughed heartily.

It's clear that Shen Jue is doing quite well in Yinzhou.

He was much more energetic than when he returned to the capital from Luzhou.

"Alright, everyone's here, let's go into the city!"

Qin Yu called out to the crowd, then said with a smile, "Hey you, don't just stand there like an idiot! Quickly help up the person who's exhausted from standing!"

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, the officials of Jiangning Prefecture noticed the official who was paralyzed beside Bei Xia and quickly helped him up.

Qin Yu gave the man a meaningful look and gestured for Fu Mingzhu to lead the way.

Fu Mingzhu glanced absently at the endless cavalry, then led the way with a bitter expression.

Qin Yu has directly transferred so many cavalry from Yinzhou. This time, a major earthquake is likely to occur in the land of Kyushu.

After this devastating earthquake, it's unknown how many people here will survive.

Faced with this upheaval, anyone who dares to have any ideas should first consider whether their entire family combined is enough to kill these five thousand cavalry!

Led by Fu Mingzhu, the group entered Jiangning Prefecture in a grand procession.

To be on the safe side, Qin Yu also ordered Shen Jue to send 500 elite cavalry to garrison the salt warehouses near the Pingjiang River.

This salt warehouse is the largest in the Liangjiang region. A large portion of the salt transported from Haizhou or Yuanzhou is concentrated here before being transported to various places by waterway.

The main streets of Jiangning Prefecture were lined with onlookers, and heads were poking out of the windows of the houses on both sides.

Looking at the endless cavalry, the man standing at the window suddenly changed his expression.

After the long procession had passed, the man quickly returned inside and began writing on a piece of paper.

As Qin Yu and his group headed to the governor's mansion, several carrier pigeons flew out from various hidden corners of Jiangning Prefecture.

……

At noon, Fu Mingzhu ordered a lavish banquet to be prepared for Qin Yu and his group to welcome them back.

During the banquet, Fu Mingzhu told Qin Yu that the governor's mansion had just suffered a death and had been partially burned down, which was considered unlucky.

He has already found a fine mansion for Qin Yu in the city for him to stay temporarily.

Qin Yu rejected Fu Mingzhu's suggestion and decided to stay at the governor's mansion.

During the meal, many people were distracted, fearing that Qin Yu would give an order to take them down.

However, their worries seem somewhat unnecessary.

Qin Yu did not touch them until the banquet ended, but simply let them each perform their duties.

After leaving the governor's mansion, many people felt as if they had survived a disaster.

Afterwards, at Qin Yu's request, Fu Mingzhu led him to the back hall of the governor's mansion.

This is where Sun Min's family used to live.

After the fire, half of the entire back room was burned down, and traces of the fire could be seen everywhere.

Fu Mingzhu followed behind Qin Yu, smiling obsequiously, "Originally, I intended to carry out repairs, but I thought Your Excellency should assess the situation first, so I did not make any repairs."

"Hmm, well done!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly. "Have all the burned areas been searched?"

"The search has been completed."

Fu Mingzhu replied, "This humble official found some melted silver and a considerable amount of gold in the burned-down house, which have been sealed as evidence. Your Excellency can inspect them at any time!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly, then ordered, "Di Rong, take your men and search again carefully! See if you've missed anything!"

"yes!"

Di Rong accepted the order and immediately led his men into the ruins to search.

Fu Mingzhu glanced at them, then pointed to the house in the middle of the ruins and said, "That's Lord Sun's room, next to it is his study, and on the other side is Young Master Sun's courtyard, which has already been searched..."

Fu Mingzhu introduced the place to them along the way.

"Alright, I'll take a look myself!"

After understanding the general layout, the question arose: "By the way, when we found Madam Sun and her daughter, where were their bodies located?"

"This humble official will take you to see!"

Fu Mingzhu quickly led the way.

Led by Fu Mingzhu, they arrived at the location where Madam Sun and her daughter had been burned to death.

At the location where the bodies of the mother and daughter were found, a ring of lime was scattered.

Based on the shape of the limestone rings, one can roughly determine the state of the bodies when they were discovered.

Qin Yu squatted down and looked around, then asked, "When the body was found, were there any signs of struggle at the scene?"

Yes, but not many.

Fu Mingzhu nodded and said, "According to our deduction, when the fire first started, Madam Sun and her daughter were still alive. They instinctively struggled in the flames, leaving some traces of their struggle. However, they quickly died from suffocation due to the thick smoke, so there aren't many traces of their struggle..."

Ah!

The presence of signs of struggle indicates that the person was not smothered to death and then thrown into the fire.

Qin Yu pondered for a moment, then asked, "Don't you guys think there's anything wrong with this case?"

"this……"

Fu Mingzhu looked at Qin Yu with a puzzled expression, "What problem have you noticed, sir?"

Is it that amazing?

They investigated for so long but couldn't find anything wrong!

This perfectly meets the criteria for dying by self-immolation!