Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The tense atmosphere in Ningguo Prefecture did not diminish at all as time passed.

The prefect personally led his henchmen to the scene to investigate, but the results were not ideal.

Aside from being able to roughly reconstruct the scene of the crime, nothing substantial was found.

There was only a pool of blood downstairs and some bloodstains on the railing on the third floor; otherwise, there was nothing unusual.

"Second Master, the entire territory of both mansions, including the garden under construction, has been thoroughly searched, but no trace of any assassins has been found."

Back in the front yard, Zhao Sheng and the others came to report.

Jia Lian angrily retorted, "How could we not find a single trace? Did the assassin grow wings and fly away?"

When Jia Lian got angry, Zhao Sheng and the others immediately fell silent.

Weng Ziqin hurriedly said, "General Jia, please don't be angry. Could it be that the assassins escaped before you surrounded your residence?"

Jia Lian shook his head: "Lord Weng, you may not know this, but my household has a large number of servants. Even at night, all the gates are guarded."

Based on the coroner's deduction, the time between when I led my men to surround my residence and the time of the incident should not have been more than fifteen minutes!

Our two prefectures cover a vast area, and in such a short time, it is absolutely impossible for an assassin to escape unnoticed and silently.

Therefore, I firmly believe that the assassin is still within our two mansions!

Weng Ziqin did not refute Jia Lian's words.

When he went to Tianxiang Tower earlier, he also noticed that the atmosphere of the Duke's mansion was indeed different from other mansions.

Without someone to guide him, he would most likely get lost inside.

He then replied, "Is it possible that the assassin was very familiar with your residence and had planned an escape route before committing the crime, escaping by scaling the wall?"

Even if the Ningguo Mansion is vast, if one plans the route carefully and makes preparations, a quarter of an hour is definitely enough time to escape after killing someone.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian found it reasonable and immediately instructed Zhao Sheng: "You immediately lead your men to carefully search along the high walls of both mansions. If the murderer climbed over the walls, he will surely leave clues! If you find anything, report back immediately."

Zhao Sheng immediately accepted the order and left.

Weng Ziqin didn't actually suspect the assassin had escaped; he was simply ruling out possible scenarios.

In fact, he, like Jia Lian, felt that it was unlikely that the murderer could escape from the Duke's mansion in such a short time after killing someone, and that no one would have seen him!

As for Zhao Sheng and others' claim that they searched both prefectures, I'm afraid that's not necessarily true!

He knew that such aristocratic families had many women, and their servants would never dare to search their houses and buildings. Therefore, if an assassin was hiding inside, he would most likely not be found.

Moreover, there is the most likely scenario:

There was no assassin at all; the murderer was someone from the Jia family!

The coroner had previously told him in secret that, judging from the fact that Jia Zhen had been stabbed in the chest and there were not many signs of struggle on his body, the murderer was likely someone Jia Zhen knew, which was why he was caught off guard and stabbed from the front.

Someone Jia Zhen knew? Clearly, the murderer might be hiding among the people in this Duke's mansion.

In that case, even if you dig three feet into the ground, you still won't find the assassin.

He glanced discreetly at the Jia family members around him, taking in their varied expressions, but didn't voice his thoughts. Instead, he straightened his expression and said to Jia Lian:

"I have served as an official for many years and have solved hundreds, if not thousands, of criminal cases. I believe I have some experience in solving cases."

"If General Jia trusts me, I do have some interrogation methods. Perhaps we can trace the killer's motives and circumstances to find him."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian countered with, "Oh, who does Lord Weng wish to interrogate?"

"I dare not discuss interrogation. What I mainly want to ask about General Wei Lie's usual habits and hobbies, whether he has offended anyone recently, and who else can keep track of General Wei Lie's whereabouts, etc."

The best personnel would be those who regularly served General Wei Lie.

Jia Lian understood Weng Ziqin's meaning, turned to Lai Sheng, and ordered, "Send men to summon all of Master Zhen's attendants, servants, and maids who serve him in the house!"

Lai Sheng's heart skipped a beat; in fact, he was also one of Jia Zhen's regular servants.

They dared not be negligent; if the murderer could not be found, they would all likely meet a bad end!

After Lai Sheng left, Jia Lian instructed Jia Rong: "Go and inform your mother to bring all the favored concubines in Brother Zhen's room to the side hall to await the Prefect's inquiry!"

Jia Lian's cooperative attitude prompted Weng Ziqin to clasp his hands in gratitude.

……

The interrogation proceeded smoothly, but after fifteen minutes, they still hadn't gotten anything useful out of them.

For the past month or so, Jia Zhen has been busy building the garden and has hardly gone out.

Because of the garden construction, he scolded several of the servants in charge...

Weng Ziqin was a meticulous man who didn't overlook any possibility. He immediately asked Jia Lian to help summon all the servants and stewards so that he could interrogate them one by one.

"Oh, by the way, yesterday morning, because Master Rong was flirting with Chunmei in Master's room, he was caught by the master and given a good beating..."

Faced with interrogation by his masters and officials, a servant with poor mental fortitude immediately confessed to his recent affairs related to Jia Zhen.

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned to look at Jia Rong.

The matter concerning Jia Rong and his son was generally known to people in both households, but no one brought it up on their own initiative.

With Jia Zhen dead, Jia Rong became the sole heir of the Ningguo Mansion, instantly elevating his status to a position of great prestige, and no one would dare to make things difficult for him.

However, that doesn't mean they wouldn't have their own suspicions.

After all, Jia Rong had just been beaten by Jia Zhen yesterday for being disobedient and unfilial, and dared not return to the mansion. He had just returned today when Jia Zhen was stabbed to death!

Jia Rong's expression changed drastically, and he immediately glared at them, saying, "You dog of a servant, what nonsense are you spouting? I... I think you're tired of living!"

When Jia Rong first heard that Jia Zhen had been killed, he was shocked and even horrified.

But when he saw Jia Zhen's corpse, for some reason, he felt a secret sense of joy.

Thanks to the assassin, I, the young master, have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel and no longer have to live under the old man's tyranny!

Forcibly suppressing his inner joy, he only hoped to help Jia Lian and the others find the murderer as soon as possible, and then, amidst boundless grief, helplessly inherit the family title and become the next king of Ningguo Mansion...

However, the killer's methods were so secretive that no clues could be found even after a long time.

It wasn't until Weng Ziqin began searching for people with motives that he suddenly became somewhat worried.

Because he also realized that he had just had a "conflict" with the old man, and it seemed like he had a motive!

Although Jia Zhen often beat and scolded him before, who told the old man to die so mysteriously? He died right after he came back.

Uninformed bystanders might speculate about him.

So he was secretly worried. Fortunately, his second uncle Lian and the second master (Jia Zheng) seemed to be very protective of him and did not mention his matter to the prefect.

Who knew that this damn lackey would be so clueless as to try to drag him into this mess!

In his anger and desperation, he kicked the servant to the ground without saying a word.

No one stopped him from venting his anger.

Weng Ziqin guessed that Jia Rong must be Jia Zhen's son, but seeing that neither Jia Lian nor Jia Zheng had expressed their opinion, he pretended not to see it.

Only after Jia Rong had vented his emotions and turned back to look at everyone sheepishly did he ask with a smile, "I don't know, what happened?"

Jia Rong didn't dare hesitate and quickly explained, "Because of a misunderstanding, I was beaten by my father yesterday..."

However, it was common for my father to beat me, and my second uncle and second grandfather can testify to this. Your Excellency, please don't be misled by this lackey.

My father was strict with me, but I always respected him the most. I would never dare to disobey him, let alone do anything rebellious.

Besides, at the time of the incident, I was in my study...reading. My servant Laifu can vouch for that!

Jia Rong is a naive person. Afraid of being misunderstood, he stammered in his haste, making people doubt the truthfulness of his words.

Of course, Jia Lian, Jia Zheng, and others still trusted him to a certain extent, because they all knew Jia Rong's cowardly nature.

Patricide?

I'd give him twelve lives!

However, Weng Ziqin and other officials of Shuntian Prefecture did not think so.

They frequently witnessed horrific cases of brothers fighting each other and fathers and sons killing each other.

However, the Ningguo Mansion was no ordinary family, and Weng Ziqin dared not arbitrarily convict the young master of the Duke's Mansion. He simply smiled and said, "Young master, there is no need to worry. I am a judge with strict judgment and will not arbitrarily suspect you based on some unfounded circumstances..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhao Sheng and the others rushed over in a panic.

"Second Master, we've made an important discovery!"

"Give it to me!"

Jia Lian, Weng Ziqin, and others rallied.

Zhao Sheng then took a wrapped white cloth from his subordinate and unfolded it in front of everyone on the steps.

Inside, there was a blood-stained dagger...

... (To be continued)