Wei Shuxuan strode into Laifu Restaurant. The shopkeeper at the front desk was terrified as soon as he saw her. When he saw Xin Zizhao following behind Wei Shuxuan, he became so frightened that he even stammered when he spoke.
"U-un-unable to tell what the two of you are here for this time..." The shopkeeper greeted them with an obsequious smile on his face.
"Shopkeeper, we're here to find the waiter on duty that day. We have some questions for him."
"O-okay, I'll go and call him right away. Please wait a moment, sirs."
On the night when the murder occurred, it happened to be Zhang Xiaoer's turn to be on night duty at Laifu Restaurant.
Zhang Xiaoer was called out of the kitchen by the shopkeeper. As soon as he saw Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao, his legs started to tremble. He had been scared out of his wits when these two barged in last time without explanation. However, since they were from the government, he guessed they wouldn't do anything to him.
Wei Shuxuan looked at this waiter who trembled at the sight of them. She had seen many such witnesses who were afraid of being questioned in modern times. Usually, she would first put the other party at ease before cross - examining them.
"Hey, waiter, why did you come out so late? My brother and I have some questions for you," Wei Shuxuan raised the corners of her mouth, then turned her head and shouted to the shopkeeper on one side, "Shopkeeper, give us a secluded table and serve us some good wine and dishes."
"Sure thing!"
"Waiter, come and sit down. Don't be afraid. Come and sit."
Wei Shuxuan warmly invited Zhang Xiaoer to sit down. "You don't need to worry. We're just here to ask you some questions. There's no other meaning. You just need to answer my questions honestly."
"......Okay, sir."
"What were you doing on the night when the murder happened?"
Seeing that Wei Shuxuan really just wanted to ask him questions, Zhang Xiaoer thought for a while and then slowly began, "That night, it was actually my turn to be on night duty..."
The night duty at Laifu Restaurant meant that there would be a waiter downstairs to serve the guests in need until midnight.
According to what Zhang Xiaoer said, that night, Mama Zhang and the two human traffickers had asked him to bring them some wine. But he left the room immediately after putting the wine in.
"Did the three of them eat anything else?" Wei Shuxuan asked the waiter again.
"No. After the three of them checked into the room, they stayed inside all the time. And they only ordered wine once. They didn't order anything else."
"Okay, thank you, waiter. If I have other questions, I'll come and find you again."
Zhang Xiaoer nodded and quickly left.
From the way the waiter answered, Wei Shuxuan thought he really seemed to know nothing. And the wine must have been poisoned. But if it was really the waiter who did it, what was the motive for the murder? She couldn't see it at all. Was he just hiding it too well, or was he really innocent?
Seeing Wei Shuxuan deep in thought, Xin Zizhao poured himself a glass of wine. There was no expression on his face.
After dinner, Xin Zizhao accompanied Wei Shuxuan to question other people in the restaurant. At the time when Zhang Xiaoer brought in the wine, there were still some people drinking and chatting downstairs.
They all said that they saw Zhang Xiaoer go in with the wine and then come out. During that time period, Zhang Xiaoer simply didn't have the time to commit the crime. So Zhang Xiaoer's suspicion could be ruled out.
But if that was the case, how did the murderer poison the wine?
This question puzzled Wei Shuxuan.
"Hey, Mr. Iceberg, how do you think the murderer poisoned the wine?"
Xin Zizhao still had that expressionless face. "I don't know."
However, this answer didn't make Wei Shuxuan feel frustrated. Instead, she let out a snort of laughter. She patted Xin Zizhao on the shoulder. "It doesn't matter if you don't know. Let's go and check other things now."
Since Mama Zhang from Cuiqing Tower colluded with the human traffickers who pretended to be mountain bandits like Ai Xiashan to traffic young girls, the three human traffickers who had been captured had all confessed. The government also sent people to seal up Cuiqing Tower.
The county magistrate didn't dare to offend Xin Zizhao. This man might be the offspring of the current emperor.
Relying on Xin Zizhao's status, Wei Shuxuan could make the county magistrate do whatever she wanted. This gave her a taste of what it was like to have power and influence.
"Your Honor, are all the girls from Cuiqing Tower here?"
The county magistrate didn't want to answer Wei Shuxuan's question at first. But when he met Xin Zizhao's eyes following behind Wei Shuxuan, he immediately cowered.
"They're all waiting in the interrogation room."
"Good. Then the two of us will go in and question the girls."
The so - called interrogation room was next to the prison. It was a stone room. When Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao walked in, they found that all kinds of torture instruments were hanging on the walls, such as whips, splints, and some torture instruments that Wei Shuxuan couldn't name.
"Wow, this is really exciting. If this was in our time, we'd definitely be accused of extracting confessions by torture."
Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but think of things in modern times.
Hearing Wei Shuxuan's muttering, Xin Zizhao frowned slightly. He turned his head and saw that she looked like a lost soul. "Hey, go and start questioning quickly."
Xin Zizhao's cold voice brought Wei Shuxuan back to her senses. She couldn't help but smile bitterly. Why was she still thinking about modern times? Anyway, she couldn't go back to that world.
"......Got it. Don't keep urging me all the time."
"You're too slow."
Was this guy really in such a hurry? Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but complain about Xin Zizhao in her heart.
The girls who came to the interrogation room for the first time were a little scared, afraid that the torture instruments on the walls would be used on them.
Wei Shuxuan tidied up her appearance and walked over with a smiling face. She first bowed politely. "Greetings, ladies. I'm sent by the government to take your statements. Please don't be afraid. We won't torture you for confessions."
Wei Shuxuan disdained to use the means of torture to extract confessions. She had many other ways to take statements.
When Ying'er, sitting in the crowd, saw Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao, she couldn't help but widen her eyes. So the two gentlemen last time were from the government!
At this moment, Ying'er just hoped that Wei Shuxuan wouldn't notice her. She quietly moved her body and hid behind another girl. But things often didn't go as expected.
"Miss Ying'er, we meet again. I heard from the girls that you're Mama Zhang's good helper. How about we start with you?"
"Sir, I really don't know anything!"
Looking at Ying'er's tear - stained face, Wei Shuxuan smiled.