Who would have thought that just as he was about to leave, Mo Litian suddenly stopped in his tracks. Looking at the weeds on the ground, a flicker of doubt flashed across his eyes.
Seeing this, Liu Rumei stopped walking. Frowning slightly, she asked, "What's wrong?"
Mo Litian immediately crouched down. "The ground here is soft, as if it has just been dug over. There should be something buried here."
This was not a farmland, so no one cultivated it. Moreover, it was a desolate suburb. Who would bury something here?
"Dig this place up!" Mo Litian didn't hesitate to order the two constables.
The two bowed respectfully. "Yes."
Zhang Yan and the other also stepped forward to help.
In less than a moment, a fair arm appeared in everyone's sight.
Yun Xi was suddenly shocked. "There's a person buried here!"
Qi Dahai also felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
Everyone was slightly stunned and quickly accelerated their movements!
A moment later, a naked female corpse was dug out. The body hadn't rotted yet, so it should have been buried not long ago!
Liu Rumei immediately stepped forward. Looking at the marks on the naked female body, they were exactly the same as those on Mrs. Li's daughter!
There were obvious rope marks on the woman's wrists, and there were also marks of being strangled on her face.
Her pupils were dilated and her chest was expanded. She should have been suffocated to death!
There were also signs of being violated under the woman's body!
After the three of them finished the examination, Zhang Yan immediately took off his coat and covered the female corpse with it.
"Go and check around to see if there are any other bodies?"
It was really terrifying. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hadn't noticed something was different, this skeleton might have been buried here for a long time.
Liu Rumei said calmly, "Let's go back first!"
They had no clue here, so they could only go back to the yamen to see how Magistrate Xue was doing.
Xiao Heyuan also had the same idea and immediately nodded.
Seeing the dirt on Liu Rumei's hands, Mo Litian tore off a corner of his clothes and handed it to her. "Wipe it off for now."
Liu Rumei thanked him with a smile, her eyes filled with a faint smile.
Xiao Heyuan beside her couldn't help winking at Zhang Yan, as if he was already confident of winning the previous bet!
In front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Prince of Guoan, Magistrate Xue was really out of the league.
Zhang Yan also sighed and shook his head helplessly. Magistrate Xue, please don't let me down!
Xue Zhan was also very efficient.
When they returned to the yamen, Xue Zhan already had the results.
When they came back, his eyes instantly fell on Liu Rumei. His face was full of a brilliant smile. "Miss Liu is back!"
Seeing the dirt on Liu Rumei's hands, he immediately ordered a constable to fetch a basin of clean water.
After Liu Rumei washed her hands, she couldn't help asking, "Has Magistrate Xue found anything here?"
When it came to business, Xue Zhan's expression became solemn. The lazy look on his face disappeared instantly. "The victim did get on the wedding sedan chair, and the wedding was indeed completed by Qi Dahai alone! According to the Qi family, the bride really didn't enter the Qi family's gate! The matchmaker can prove it!"
The matchmaker was the only one who followed from the Li family in the east of the city to the Qi family in the south of the city! She watched the bride get on the wedding sedan chair with her own eyes, but the bride was nowhere to be seen when she got off the sedan chair.
Liu Rumei frowned and asked, "Was there any accident on the way?"
Xue Zhan gave her an appreciative smile. "As soon as the wedding sedan chair left the east of the city, a large group of beggars swarmed onto the street. The wedding procession was almost scattered. Fortunately, it was quickly stabilized, but the bride never stepped out of the sedan chair!"
Mo Litian said slowly, "There's something wrong with the wedding sedan chair!"
Otherwise, the bride wouldn't have disappeared for no reason!
Xue Zhan gave him a cold look, with a hint of displeasure in his eyes, but he still said calmly, "There's a secret compartment under the wedding sedan chair, and one can leave from under the sedan chair!"
Among so many beggars, it was easy to mix in with them without being noticed!
"I sent someone to investigate. Someone paid those beggars to rush towards the wedding sedan chair to cover the bride's departure, but that person was wearing a mask all the time, so they couldn't see his face."
Therefore, the murderer was not from the Qi family in the south of the city!
However, during the whole process, no suspicious person appeared, and no one approached the wedding sedan chair. It seemed that the bride left by herself!
To put it bluntly, it was an elopement! Finding the person who eloped with her might lead to finding the murderer.
Qi Dahai, who was standing beside them, was full of anger. "This bitch!"
He had been kind enough to marry her, but she dared to elope with someone else! How hateful!
Looking at Qi Dahai's gloomy face, Xue Zhan's face showed that brilliant smile again. He winked at Liu Rumei and said mysteriously, "I also heard a piece of news. Would Miss Liu like to talk to me alone?"
Hearing this, Mo Litian immediately frowned! A hint of displeasure also appeared on his gentle and elegant face.
Before Liu Rumei could say anything, Xue Zhan felt his clothes being tugged a few times!
He couldn't help but look down, and a face smiling brightly appeared in his sight.
Seeing this, Xue Zhan's smile deepened. "Little one, do you have something to say?"
Yun Xi nodded seriously, and the smile on his face didn't diminish. His somewhat childish voice suddenly rang out in the main hall. "Magistrate Xue, do you want to court my sister?"
Such a straightforward question made Xue Zhan stunned for a moment, and then he smiled. "So what if I do?"
Hearing this, Yun Xi's smile deepened instantly. "You? Dream on!"
As soon as he said this, the smile on Xue Zhan's face froze instantly. "Get out of here. What are you little kids messing around for?"
Liu Rumei couldn't help laughing. "Yun Xi..."
Yun Xi waved his hand indifferently. With his hands behind his back, he looked at Xue Zhan seriously. "Look at you. Your looks are ordinary, your family background is ordinary, and your official position is ordinary. What makes you think you can court my sister?"
He had been living in the streets since he was a child, so observing people's expressions was his instinct. With just one glance, he could tell that although Magistrate Xue looked decent, he was actually a complete playboy!
Hearing this, Mo Litian couldn't help laughing, and there was a hint of schadenfreude in his heart.
Yun Li also nodded seriously. After thinking for a moment, he also asked, "How much is your salary?"
Xiao Heyuan held back his laughter and said, "The magistrate's salary is 100 taels of silver and 50 dan and 3 dou of rice!"
Yun Xi couldn't help pouting. "Your salary is so low. Even the silver my sister earns from solving a case is more than yours!"
Xue Zhan was already standing there in a daze. He considered himself to be suave, good-looking, from a decent family, and a fourth-rank official. How could he be so worthless in the mouths of these two brothers?