Merit-based card draws, quickly become a Heavenly Emperor

There are too many suspicious points here, which makes Fang Zheng very eager to understand Chu Tiankuo in more depth.

The previous case files were very one-sided, so Fang Zheng wanted to see what Chu Tiankuo had been doing all these years and whether he had gone to various places in Yongqing County to conduct undercover investigations.

Fang Zheng quickly consulted the records of people entering and leaving the city gates.

Sure enough, Chu Tiankuo had entered and exited the city gates dozens of times in the past year.

Compared to other officials, Chu Tiankuo entered and exited the city gates several times more often.

Clearly, Chu Tiankuo was a good official, spending most of his time in various parts of Yongqing County observing the people's conditions.

Especially in the one or two months before the incident, he entered and exited the city gates more frequently, which is consistent with Liu Qingyu's previous statement.

However, there is no record of him entering or leaving the city gates in the week before he was murdered.

This is somewhat abnormal.

Either Chu Tiankuo was unwell and rested for a whole week, to the point that he didn't even leave the city gate.

Either Chu Tiankuo is unable to leave for some reason.

This timing is extremely special.

Because when Fang Zheng investigated the Chu residence, he discovered that the Ling Shuang flower in the Chu residence had stopped being tended to a week before Chu Tiankuo was murdered.

Fang Zheng gripped the book tightly, his guesses becoming clearer.

If Chu Tiankuo had been under house arrest a week before his murder, then all of this makes sense.

But who has the audacity and ability to detain and control a supervising officer?

You should know that this is not something just anyone can do.

Although the Chu residence was not luxurious, it did have some servants and menial tasks. Could it be that they had all been bribed?

Or perhaps, the servants had been gradually replaced by another group of people long before, which is why questioning them afterwards yielded no clues and allowed the situation to remain completely undetected.

Fang Zheng felt that this was highly likely.

Proving this is quite simple; just find someone familiar with the servants of the Chu household to identify them.

Taking a deep breath, Fang Zheng returned to the supervisory office and reported his discovery to Lü Zhengfeng.

Lu Zhengfeng acted decisively, ordering the servants of the Chu family to come immediately to assist in the investigation, while secretly having Guan Tieyi carefully examine whether there was anything unusual.

In just over half an hour, the supervisor's courtyard was already packed with more than a dozen people.

However, the result refuted Fang Zheng's previous guess.

These servants were originally from the Chu family.

These people had been in the Chu household for as little as six months, and for as long as five or six years.

There was even an old woman named Granny Gui who had followed Chu Tiankuo for nearly ten years, having come from another place.

Even the Cao family and the county magistrate's men couldn't have planned this so early.

Their accounts were all identical, perfectly consistent, and showed no abnormalities.

Either they colluded beforehand and had already prepared their story, or they have a clear conscience and have no problem at all.

Fang Zheng also questioned the handyman in charge of gardening and flower maintenance. According to the latter's answer, the flowers and plants in the backyard had long been taken care of by Chu Tiankuo himself.

As for Ling Shuanghua, she was left unattended because Chu Tiankuo had been frequently reviewing case files in his study for more than a week before his death.

Even with Fang Zheng's all-seeing eyes, he couldn't detect anything unusual.

In short, there was no evidence to prove his conjecture that Chu Tiankuo was under house arrest.

Fang Zheng was at a loss for words. If this conjecture was overturned, the case of Chu Tiankuo's murder would still be difficult to break through.

During this period, Lü Zhengfeng also had no smile on his face. There was only one month left to solve the case, and the longer it dragged on, the greater the pressure became.

Moreover, it is said that the supervisory team has made some progress, but the supervisory authorities do not know the specifics.

But one thing is certain: Lu Qingyun, a seventh-rank judicial officer, is definitely not a simple man.

Lu Zhengfeng and Lu Qingyun are rivals, and it remains to be seen who can solve the case of Chu Tiankuo's murder first.

At this moment, Fang Zheng also temporarily suppressed his guesses and prepared to look for other directions.

At this moment, an old woman came over with servants from the Chu household and said to Fang Zheng, "Lord Fang, if there's nothing else, we'll head back now."

This is Granny Gui, who has been with Chu Tiankuo for nearly ten years, managing the household affairs of the Chu family. She is now over sixty years old.

Fang Zheng said very politely, "Grandma Gui, it's alright. It's so late, and you've already gone to all this trouble with your help."

Grandma Gui shook her head tremblingly: "We all understand that Lord Fang is doing his duty and investigating the case."

We hope that Your Excellency can solve the case as soon as possible and give Lord Chu justice.

besides......"

Seeing her troubled expression, Fang Zheng asked, "Is there anything else?"

Granny Gui said, "I once heard Lord Chu say that he had a daughter who was lost in Yongqing County when he was young, and she should be of legal age now."

We urge you gentlemen to put in the effort; if you can find Lord Chu's lost daughter, it will bring him peace in heaven.

Fang Zheng's eyes narrowed, but he pretended to be surprised and said, "Lord Chu actually has a daughter who has been left behind outside?"

Grandma Gui, don't worry, we will definitely do our best to find her.

Granny Gui bowed to Fang Zheng and the other officials, then left with her entourage.

Fang Zheng watched them leave, then turned around and ordered the supervisors to disperse, leaving only Guan Tieyi behind.

"Brother, you should get some rest too." Guan Tieyi knew that Fang Zheng had been working hard on the case these past few days, which had taken a toll on his energy.

Fang Zheng shook his head, then suddenly remembered something and gestured for Guan Tieyi to go inside.

Inside the room, he looked at the files scattered across the table, stretched out his left palm, and summoned Liu Qingyu.

"Brother Guan, Qingyu, if I were to assume that Lord Chu was secretly placed under house arrest a week before his murder, I ask you, in the entire Yongqing County, who could have done that?"

Fang Zheng still felt that his previous guess was correct, but he had not found any evidence. However, this did not prevent him from making assumptions and deductions.

Guan Tieyi thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "A person who can imprison a supervising official must have immense power in Yongqing County."

After much thought, I believe there are at most three people with this ability.

County magistrate, county assistant magistrate, county commandant.

Only these three people possess such power.

Liu Qingyu shook her head and said, "No, if any one of them had done this, the other two would have been completely unaware."

"That's right, but actually there's one more person besides those three who can do this!" Fang Zheng nodded.

Guan Tieyi clearly didn't believe him: "Who?"

Fang Zheng said decisively, "The steward of the Chu family is Granny Gui, who was just now."

Guan Tieyi thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead and nodded, saying, "That's right, to do something like this, you don't necessarily need to be a powerful person."

I was mistaken just now, thinking that only those with power and influence could do it.

However, if he were the steward of the Chu family, in charge of the entire Chu family, he would indeed have such an ability.

only……"

Brother Guan, I know what you're thinking.

You might think that a housekeeper has such advantages, but how could she possibly imprison and control a high-ranking official of the eighth rank who is well-known in official records, blessed with good fortune, and skilled in officialdom?

Yes and no?

Fang Zheng's eyes gleamed, and his guess became even clearer.

Guan Tieyi nodded quickly, his face full of curiosity.