Merit-based card draws, quickly become a Heavenly Emperor

At this moment, Sun Xianrong's face was covered in snot and tears.

If he confesses to these crimes of dereliction of duty and abuse of power, he will surely face imprisonment.

He looked up at Fang Zheng and pleaded, "Lord Fang, I beg you, please go and take my family away quickly."

Otherwise, if Zhu Hongcai knew I betrayed him, he would definitely take action against my family!

Fang Zheng shook his head and said, "I will send someone there immediately."

But you haven't said the most crucial thing yet.

Sun Xianrong wasn't stupid either. He raised his red and swollen eyes and asked, "Are you talking about the case of Chu Tiankuo's murder?"

I really didn't know about this; Zhu Hongcai never told me.

Fang Zheng stared at him for a long time before looking away.

It seems that Sun Xianrong was indeed unaware of the hidden details of that case.

If he had known things would come to this, he would have had no reason not to speak up.

Fang Zheng stood up and said to Guan Tieyi, "Brother Guan, please arrange for people to go to Liuxiang in the east of the city to pick up the person."

Go report to Lord Lü again, and prepare the imperial edict for the arrest of Zhu Hongcai.

Guan Tieyi responded and turned to leave.

.........

Outside the interrogation room, Fang Zheng carefully collected Sun Xianrong's confession and then went through the details of Chu Tiankuo's case from beginning to end.

If the county magistrate or the Cao family were truly behind it, then these people would have been extremely meticulous in their actions.

The crime of murdering the chief supervisor of the imperial court would be so serious that once the charge was proven, the execution would not even have to wait until the autumn harvest.

Therefore, not a single word will be leaked to outsiders.

Those who take action should either be sent far away or silenced.

Outsiders like Sun Xianrong could never possibly know the inside story.

So it's normal that Sun Xianrong didn't know. It would be strange if he really knew something.

However, the case has already found a breakthrough: Zhu Hongcai, the son of the county magistrate.

He definitely knows far more than Sun Xianrong.

If we follow this lead, the mastermind behind it all will be caught.

However, Fang Zheng still had a few questions in his mind that he couldn't answer.

Today, while investigating Chu Tiankuo's residence, he discovered something amiss.

The flowers and trees in the yard had clearly been neglected for a long time, and the pond had long since dried up.

It's the first month of the lunar calendar now, and judging from the rampant growth of vegetation and the traces of the pond, it hasn't been disturbed for at least two months.

That's strange.

Chu Tiankuo was murdered less than two months ago. While he was alive, there must have been someone taking care of him in the mansion.

There were also candlesticks in the dormitory room; the candles had long since burned out, and the wicks hadn't been changed, as if no one had lived in the room for a long time.

The study also had an odd feel to it; one of the paintings of ladies on the wall was missing.

In addition, the study is too clean. A dignified supervisor and official would not be without documents and records on his desk.

Even if Chu Tiankuo loved cleanliness, he wouldn't be meticulous in his daily routine, let alone after being suddenly murdered.

But the study Fangzheng saw had a clean desk and neatly stacked files, as if someone had deliberately organized it.

However, the case file clearly states that after Chu Tiankuo's death, everything in the mansion remained unchanged, and no one touched it.

These anomalies might hold the key to solving the case.

Fang Zheng was lost in thought until Guan Tieyi came in from outside, followed by Lü Zhengfeng and several unfamiliar officials.

His eyes narrowed. He thought they were going to arrest Zhu Hongcai overnight, but the atmosphere felt a little off.

Lu Zhengfeng's expression remained calm, revealing neither joy nor anger. He raised his hand and introduced, "Fang Zheng, this is Fan Wensong, a ninth-rank prison officer from the State Prefectural Magistrate's Office. He has come to interrogate Sun Xianrong on the orders of Lu Qingyun, the Military Advisor."

Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow. The Prefectural Magistrate's Office?

Lu Zhengfeng had previously told Fang Zheng that Chu Tiankuo's case was a big deal, and even the Youzhou Prefecture was keeping a close eye on it, with the Prefecture Magistrate's Office and the Supervisory Office both investigating.

The prefectural supervisor appointed Lü Zhengfeng, a seventh-rank official, as the supervisor, while the prefectural military governor's office also sent a seventh-rank judicial officer to oversee the case.

Judging by the timeline, this judicial officer should be arriving in Yongqing County soon.

Fang Zheng looked up at the newcomers. The leader, a prison guard, was about forty years old, wearing a black jade hat and with a tuft of beard on his chin. He looked refined but also had a ruthless and decisive air about him.

The jailer smiled slightly when he saw Fang Zheng: "I am Fan Wensong, greetings to Lord Fang Zheng."

He brandished a token. "Lord Fang, Lord Lu will lead a team to Yongqing County early tomorrow morning to oversee the case of Chu Tiankuo's murder."

As the advance team, we'll be making preparations ahead of schedule tonight.

I know you arrested Sun Xianrong, a key suspect in the Chu Tiankuo case.

This case is of great importance, and the Judicial Officer, General Lu, specifically ordered me to come and take custody of the person.

This is an order from the supervisor; please do me the favor.

Fang Zheng understood perfectly well that they had come to reap the benefits.

The other party had been secretly monitoring the prison warden's actions and knew that Sun Xianrong was a key criminal. As soon as the night arrived, they came to his door.

The most troublesome thing is that supervisory order, which is a special supervisory order issued by the state magistrate's office.

Wherever the order is issued, the officials in the supervised area must cooperate.

Although Lü Zhengfeng held the rank of seventh grade, he was, after all, only the chief official of a county-level supervisory office.

Even if one were to encounter an official warrant from the prefectural governor's office, one could not directly refuse.

Guan Tieyi, being a straightforward person, was enraged by what he heard and couldn't help but say, "You suddenly appeared out of nowhere, without putting in any effort, and you want to take away the criminals?"

Is this reasonable or not?

Fan Wensong glanced at him, his face displeased: "How do you know we didn't contribute?"

This case is of great importance; the criminals must be taken into custody by the Prefectural Magistrate's Office.

Guan Tieyi glared angrily: "I think you're all here to steal the credit!"

"presumptuous!"

Fan Wensong's face turned cold. "Even if you are a county supervisor, how dare you speak so rudely and obstruct the prefectural governor's office from handling the case? What are your intentions?"

Seeing the two men on the verge of exchanging blows, Lü Zhengfeng coughed lightly and said, "We're both here to investigate the case, there's no need for you two to argue."

Fan Yucao was acting under orders and had a supervisor in his hands, so he had to obey both reason and law.

Fang Zheng, hand over the prisoner properly.

We have made some breakthroughs in the cases of Fan Yucao and Chu Tiankuo.

We originally planned to arrest the suspects tonight, but since you have produced the order to bring in the criminals, we will cooperate.

If you have any information or leads, please share them with us. Together, we will strive to bring justice to the deceased.

These words, spoken with a sense of the bigger picture and consideration for the overall situation, were not only meant for Fang Zheng and Guan Tieyi, but also for Fan Wensong.

Fan Wensong quickly bowed respectfully.

"Lord Lü, Lord Guan, please forgive my slip of the tongue and offense just now."

If we extract anything from prisoners, we will inform the superintendent.

With both sides working together, we will surely be able to get to the bottom of this case.

He spoke eloquently, but he had a plan in mind.

Bringing Sun Xianrong back and handing him over to Lord Lu tomorrow would be a great achievement.

If anything is discovered during the investigation, the prefectural governor's office can solve the case before the supervising official.

The officials in the state only care about the results, not the process.

Fang Zheng was also somewhat helpless. His superior had spoken, and he was under orders from the supervisor, so he had to hand over the criminal.

Fortunately, the interrogation took place overnight, and all the necessary questions were asked and confessions were obtained.

Fan Wensong probably never imagined that in just one hour, Fang Zheng had already pried open Sun Xianrong's mouth.