Merit-based card draws, quickly become a Heavenly Emperor

Granny Gui spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, and a strange smile appeared on her face.

"You young man are indeed different from those corrupt officials."

Since that's the case, I'll grant your wish.

Chu Tiankuo, that corrupt official, was investigating the case of the He family's massacre at the time.

I saw a lot of materials related to the Ho family massacre in his study, but he destroyed them all later.

The county constable was taken aback, then sneered repeatedly, saying, "The He family's case has long been closed. You, a mere patrol inspector, actually listened to this criminal woman spreading rumors."

That's ridiculous!

Faced with such sarcasm, Fang Zheng remained calm and composed, which impressed both Lü Zhengfeng and Lu Qingyun.

It is truly rare for someone of Fang Zheng's age, who has only been in office for a month, to have such a state of mind and composure.

Fang Zheng looked at Granny Gui and asked, "Do you have any of Lord Chu's investigation records from that time?"

Wu Gui shook his head and said in a hoarse voice, "I only took a portrait of his daughter; I didn't have any other materials."

Fang Zheng nodded, then went straight to the point: "Gentlemen, in addition to Wu Gui's confession, I have also conducted extensive investigations and have preliminarily confirmed that before Lord Chu was murdered, he was indeed investigating the case of He Tingtao, the owner of Xixinzhai, who murdered his entire family."

Most suspiciously, when I retrieved the case files at the county government office, I learned that the files for the He family massacre had been destroyed in a fire a month earlier.

There are many doubts surrounding this...

Just as Fang Zheng was speaking, the county constable said, "I also tried this case back then."

All seven members of the He family died from sword wounds. The perpetrator clearly knew martial arts and killed them with a single sword strike.

After the murder, they looted all the gold and silver belongings in the He family's home, clearly indicating that it was the work of bandits and outlaws.

It must have been planned in advance; they killed, robbed, and then made their escape. How can you investigate a case like this?

Fang Zheng smiled and said, "Your Excellency has a good memory. I'm sure you investigated this matter carefully before."

The fact that the case remained unsolved and became a cold case had nothing to do with the county magistrate.

Rather, it was because someone deliberately fabricated evidence to deceive superiors and subordinates that the He family case was classified as a crime committed by bandits and thus left unresolved.

The county constable was taken aback and asked, "You said someone deliberately fabricated evidence to deceive their superiors and cover up the truth. Who is this person?"

How could I not know?

Fang Zheng then took out a confession and placed it on the table: "This person is none other than Sun Xianrong, an eighth-rank clerk in Yongqing County."

Previously, I had already arrested Sun Xianrong and obtained his confession.

However, during the process of handing him over to the investigation team, Sun Xianrong was kidnapped.

The leader of the thieves was a seventh-grade Night Wanderer Realm Dao cultivator, and he acted with extreme arrogance.

At this moment, Zhu Tianhua, who had been observing coldly, said with a gloomy face and a forced smile: "I have also heard about what Inspector Fang said, but this is only Inspector Fang's own opinion."

Regardless of the veracity of Sun Xianrong's confession, the very reason for his arrest by the supervisors remains to be discussed.

Now that Sun Xianrong is not here, and his fate is unknown, Inspector Fang can say whatever he wants.

Because no one can confront you.

I even suspect that it was your inspector who did something to our Clerk Sun.”

Clearly, Zhu Tianhua's words were extremely insidious, almost a counterattack.

The atmosphere in the hall immediately changed.

Zhu Tianhua's words were already a question. Being questioned by a county magistrate of the eighth rank was enough to silence any official below the eighth rank with just that kind of official authority.

Even Lu Qingyun and Lü Zhengfeng frowned, thinking to themselves that Zhu Tianhua was bullying the younger generation.

Fang Zheng naturally sensed this overwhelming official power.

If it were someone else, they would definitely be confused and might even be unable to speak properly.

But Fang Zheng is no ordinary person. With the blessing of various attribute cards drawn from the [Painting Path Spring and Autumn] card pool, his divine soul far surpasses that of others of the same level.

Despite the immense pressure from the official, he remained calm and composed, as if a gentle breeze were caressing his face, and said, "What Lord Zhu said makes sense. If one has a clear conscience, there is indeed nothing to fear."

Zhu Tianhua stared at Fang Zheng, but seeing that he had no way to deal with him, he had no choice but to withdraw his official power.

"In short, with Sun Xianrong absent, the authenticity of those testimonies cannot be proven."

"Inspector Fang, your inference is just that—an inference—and it's not convincing."

After Zhu Tianhua finished speaking, he sat up straight again, seemingly unconcerned.

Fang Zheng was naturally not discouraged by Zhu Tianhua; on the contrary, he was very pleased.

Zhu Tianhua's questioning, and even this counterattack, demonstrates how important this matter is to him.

It was like hitting a snake right where it hurts, which is why the other side retaliated in this way.

At this moment, Lü Zhengfeng, who had been silent all along, also spoke up. As Fang Zheng's superior, he naturally could not sit idly by and watch Zhu Tianhua bully the weak.

He said, "Lord Zhu is overthinking it. Since it is a deduction, there are truths and falsehoods. In the end, we still need to rely on evidence and facts to speak for ourselves."

Why don't you let Fang Zheng finish speaking, shall we?

Zhu Tianhua glanced at Lü Zhengfeng and chuckled, "It seems I've interrupted Inspector Fang's report. Inspector Fang, please continue."

However, the look in his eyes when he looked at Fang Zheng was as fierce as a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, as if he would unleash a thunderous attack at the slightest provocation.

Fang Zheng nodded, seemingly unaffected, and said lightly, "The specifics of Sun Xianrong's confession are not yet clear enough for you gentlemen to know now."

But the previous events are enough to prove that there is at least one mastermind in Yongqing County who can instruct a seventh-rank Daoist to rescue prisoners.

This person must be closely related to the He family massacre, and consequently to the murder of Lord Chu.

How can one jump to the conclusion that Wu Gui murdered Chu Tiankuo when the facts are clearly in doubt?

Having said that, Fang Zheng looked directly at Zhu Tianhua and said in a deep voice, "If anyone insists on forcibly extracting a confession from Wu Gui, causing him to die from the unbearable torture..."

I then reasonably suspected that this person had something to hide and wanted to silence him, forcing me, the supervising judge, and the investigation team to hastily close the case!

Every word he uttered sent chills down the spines of everyone in the hall, and all eyes turned to Zhu Tianhua.

No wonder Zhu Tianhua was angry just now, because at this moment, Fang Zheng was directly pointing the finger at Zhu Tianhua, and anyone would find it difficult to remain calm.

At this moment, the county constable slammed his fist on the table: "How dare you spout nonsense in court without any evidence?"

Fang Zheng, aren't you afraid of losing your job?

This time, Fang Zheng responded sharply to the criticism.

"Sir, whether you lose your position or not is not up to you."

Even if I have violated official regulations, the supervisors will deal with me.

Now listen carefully and do not interrupt my proceedings.

After saying that, he flicked his sleeve, leaving the county magistrate speechless.

The officials were terrified; anyone with eyes could see that something terrible was about to happen.

Now everyone understands Fang Zheng's purpose: to postpone the interrogation, conduct further investigations, and thoroughly uncover the truth.

This was completely contrary to the ideas of the officials in Yongqing County.