Chapter 19 Arrest the suspect!

Chapter 19: Arrest the suspect!
Two days later, Ye Xuan's Jinyiwei had completed the investigation, including the protection of witnesses and evidence, and was basically ready.

"Sir, this is all the information we have collected from the woods outside the city in the past few days about the murder of the county magistrate!"

Song Zhenshan handed a stack of documents to Ye Xuan: "This is a list of all the people in the county government. Except for Deng Hu and the two servants who were ordered by the master, the houses of everyone else have been searched!"

"Oh?"

Ye Xuan picked up a pile of information and looked through it. He suddenly said, "It looks like it's correct. We can just go with Wang Feihu to capture these three people. If we encounter resistance, arrest them immediately!"

Without Ye Xuan saying much, Song Zhenshan also knew that Ye Xuan wanted to arrest Deng Hu, Ma Wu and Zhou Liu. Now that these three people have been eliminated as the most suspicious, in order not to alert the enemy, they have not been touched in the past two days.

But they didn't have the courage to run away. The Jinyiwei would never show mercy when doing things. If they confessed honestly, they might have a chance to survive.

Inside the court, Ye Xuan made a cup of tea and waited early. On both sides stood several capable Jinyiwei men with swords at their sides, acting as yamen runners. As for the original yamen runners, they all stood timidly behind the Jinyiwei, waiting to be dispatched.

Who would have thought that before Song Zhenshan and Wang Feihu arrived, it was the county magistrate Zhang Qingzhi who came in first, accompanied by a trembling yamen runner. Zhang Qingzhi looked ingratiating, probably to sound out the situation.

"Captain Ye, I heard that you sent people to arrest Zhou Liu and the other two?"

"Why, are you teaching me how to do things?"

Ye Xuan's cold response frightened Zhang Qingzhi, so he quickly explained: "No, no, I dare not, your humble servant... If you need help, your humble servant will definitely do his best to help you!"

Ye Xuan put down his teacup and snorted coldly. The Jinyiwei on both sides drew their swords at the same time. The crisp and uniform sound of the swords being drawn scared the several yamen runners behind Zhang Qing so much that their legs went limp.

Seeing this, Zhang Qingzhi's face became a little unnatural and he couldn't help swallowing.

He had just received the news from Song Zhenshan, so he hurried over, fearing that Ye Xuan would act recklessly under his governance and mess up the job, which would then be difficult for him as the county magistrate to explain.

"No... I dare not... Hundred Household Ye misunderstood. Am I not here to remind you?"

Zhang Qingzhi forced a smile and said, "Zhou Liu is Zhou Pu's personal servant. Although he is a servant, he has been with him for many years. Moreover, his wife and children all work in the county government. If something happens to him, wouldn't it be..."

"hehe."

Ye Xuan glanced at him and said, "Master Zhang, just wait by the side. The truth will be revealed soon."

Hearing this, Ye Xuan could only stand aside in disappointment. But after a while Zhou Liu, Deng Hu and Ma Wu were brought in by the Jinyiwei, tied up!

Looking at the scene in front of him, Ye Xuan's eyes suddenly narrowed, with a cold light flashing in his eyes. He stared at the three people and said coldly: "Tell me, how did you kill Zhou Pu?"

Deng Hu, Zhou Liu, and Ma Wu looked at each other, and then said in unison: "Lord Ye is innocent! How have we harmed the county magistrate?"

"Injustice?"

Ye Xuan sneered: "To tell you the truth, I went to the small woods outside the city where the incident happened and walked there myself. If you want to get to the woods from there, you must pass through a muddy road, and that muddy road is red mud!"

"But what's strange is that there is no red mud on the soles of County Magistrate Zhou Pu's shoes. What does this mean?"

After hearing these words, Deng Hu and the other two were completely panicked.

They never imagined that Ye Xuan knew every detail of the muddy road they had walked on, and even tracked them here!

This is too meticulous!

"Master Ye...Master Ye, we really didn't harm the County Master..."

Deng Hu explained with sweat on his forehead and a trembling voice. Zhang Qingzhi and the yamen runners who were on good terms with him, who were about to plead for mercy, dared not say a word. After all, the evidence was there. Ye Xuan was no fool. Anyone who dared to say anything might become an accomplice!
As soon as he said this, Song Zhenshan had already drawn his sword and placed the sharp Xiuchun Knife on Deng Hu's neck, leaving a faint blood mark.

Suddenly the entire courtroom fell silent, not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Ye Xuan stood up with satisfaction, and walked to the three people seemingly casually, stopping in front of Deng Hu: "I know you still have a fluke mentality, why not listen to me finish this biggest doubt!"

"County Magistrate Zhou's ambush on the thief was a secret operation, and only the three of you knew about it. But he was killed. This can only mean one thing - the murderer is among you three!"

It's either one or all!

However, the latter is obviously more likely. After all, it takes two to tango. It is impossible for one person to create such a difficult case.

Hearing this, a trace of bitterness appeared on the faces of the three people, and Deng Hu said with a sad face: "Master Ye, you are joking... This... How is this possible? We are all from the county government..."

Ma Wu and Zhou Liu also agreed, "Your Excellency, please be wise. We have been following you for many years and have been loyal to you. How can you doubt us?"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Ye Xuan almost couldn't suppress the smile.

Although these three people each had their own story, Ye Xuan already had a general idea in his mind. All he lacked now was evidence.

He raised his head and looked at Deng Hu and the other two, then slowly said, "It's a bit late to talk about loyalty at this time. If I'm not sure, I won't arrest anyone casually."

Deng Hu and the other two were stunned. They looked at each other and lowered their heads. It was unclear whether they were out of guilt or fear, but it looked very suspicious.

Many servants who were loyal to Zhou Pu angrily rebuked him: "Liu Zhou, the master has been very kind to you. How could the three of you do such a treasonous thing?"

"Liu Shang, I advise you to admit it quickly. Maybe you can save your life. If you still refuse to change, don't blame us for being rude!"

"That's right! Killing someone means paying with your life. It's only natural!"

Deng Hu and Ma Wu's faces twitched violently, but they still denied it with gritted teeth.

The law is merciless. People’s expressions can lie, and only the most genuine reactions are the basis for solving the case.

Ye Xuan's expression suddenly turned stern, and he waved his hands as if he had lost interest.

"Torture me! I don't believe I can't pry your mouths open!"

Hearing Ye Xuan's order, two Jinyiwei rushed up without saying a word, took out ropes and tied up the three people tightly.

"You...you are wrongly accusing me!"

Deng Hu and the other two struggled desperately, but the two Jinyiwei were extremely strong. They held them down on the left and right, making it impossible for the three to move at all.

One by one, torture instruments were carried up, with blood stains on them, indicating that many people had been tortured there.

These torture instruments include branding irons, nails, sticks, whips... there are various types, more than a dozen in total.

Deng Hu, the bravest one, fainted directly, but Ye Xuan would not give up.

"Song Zhenshan, interrogate the three of them separately, and bring these torture instruments over to try them out one by one."

"As ordered!"

(End of this chapter)