The magistrate once again spoke, “Oh, not at all. He has quite a few siblings. The eldest is that Madame Jiang, while his second oldest sister is- ”
“That’s enough. Go send the order to arrest him.”
“Ah?”
“I said you can arrest him now.” Ji Yunshu spoke with a serious face.
The magistrate blanked out for a bit, before revealing joy on his face as he clapped. “The murderer is Li Zhao, right?”
By this time, black lines started appearing on Ji Yunshu’s forehead. “Are you going to arrest him or not?”
“Arrest, arrest, of course I’ll arrest him. I’ll arrest him right away!”
The case was about to be solved, of course the magistrate was happy. He ran out and hurriedly sent the order for people to bring Li Zhao in for questioning.
Ji Yunshu’s grip on the button tightened. She covered the bones with the cloth before following the Magistrate.
Not too long after, Li Zhao was dragged to the courtroom by a yamen runner, who forced him to kneel. Ji Yunshu asked the yamen runner, “Where was he caught?”
His reply was, “A gambling den.”
‘No wonder Madame Jiang didn’t tag along. This way it’s better, it saves me the trouble of having to deal with arguments!’
“What are you doing? What right do you have to arrest me? Do you know who my father is? Do you know who my grandfather is?” Li Zhao roared.
‘Yeah, we know, your grandfather is Old General Li!’
The magistrate was enraged as he slammed his gavel down. “What are you yelling for? I ordered people to arrest you. Any complaints?”
“Yes.”
“Go ahead and tell me.”
“I didn’t break the law, how dare you arrest me? What, is gambling illegal now?!”
Li Zhao clenched his fists in fury.
Yesterday, he had been as docile as a kitten with Madame Jiang around. Now though, he appeared quite arrogant.
At that time gambling really was not illegal, so the magistrate could only look to Ji Yunshu for help.
Ji Yunshu unhurriedly advanced a few steps, stopping by Li Zhao’s side. She lowered her head to ask him, “Li Zhao, let me ask you: Were you not the one who murdered Master Jiang?”
Li Zhao’s gaze visibly trembled as he swallowed before speaking, “I’ve already said, it wasn’t me. I didn’t kill my brother-in-law. He was my brother-in-law, how could I have killed him?”
“I will repeat myself, were you the murderer or not?”
“It wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me. The day my brother-in-law died, I wasn’t at home.”
“You are still lying.” Ji Yunshu rebuked.
Li Zhao’s body trembled suddenly as his gaze refused to meet Ji Yunshu’s. “I- I’m not lying.”
Ji Yunshu’s gaze was cold, and there was a pressuring aura around her as she spoke. “You said that you weren’t home the day your brother-in-law died?”
“Y-Yes.”
“More lies. How did you know on which day he died? And by extension, how are you so certain that you weren’t home the day Master Jiang died? Madame Jiang also stated that you only moved to the capital after Master Jiang went missing. Then the question is, why would you state the obvious and say you weren’t home had Master Jiang died after your move to the capital?”
“I…” Li Zhao’s face was filled with panic.
“The truth was really that Master Jiang had died before your move to the capital. And for the sake of escaping the consequences, you lied, saying that you weren’t at home. However, it is this very statement that exposed that you were lying. Master Jiang’s killer… is you!” Ji Yunshu’s voice shook all the listeners present!
Everyone in the courtroom was jarred.
Li Zhao, who, at this point, paled to a chalk-white expression, lost the strength in his legs and sat paralysed on the ground.
“Not me, it wasn’t me, I didn’t kill anyone. It really wasn’t me, really wasn’t me ah…” His voice was trembling as his pupils dilated from anxiety.
Ji Yunshu did not press for an immediate confession. Instead, she took out the button and said, “Li Zhao, you know very well why I’m showing this to you, don’t you!”