Liu Rumei was slightly startled. "Was he like this back then too?"
Xiao Heyuan looked at the stack of documents and nodded with a cold face. "Back then, he broke into two houses one after another overnight without a trace, defiled the young ladies, and caused a death. Instead of feeling ashamed, he even boasted about it. After the magistrate took office, he openly ruined several more girls. The magistrate sent people to arrest him, but they failed to catch him for half a year! Does Miss Liu know where this man was hiding?"
Liu Rumei shook her head, her eyes full of curiosity. "Where was he hiding? Even Magistrate Xue couldn't find him?"
During these days, she had witnessed Xue Zhan's capabilities. Although he usually acted carelessly, he was relentless when handling cases. This man was able to escape from Xue Zhan's hands. His methods must be extraordinary.
Seeing this, Mo Litian curled his lips into a sneer, and his gentle voice slowly came. "That man was hiding right under his nose!"
Liu Rumei was shocked. "You mean he was hiding in the yamen?"
Zhang Yan's expression also showed a bit of gnashing of teeth. "Yes, he pretended to be a yamen runner and had been lurking in the yamen for half a year. If he hadn't accidentally revealed his identity, we might have really thought that this man had left the capital!"
Mentioning this man, Xiao Heyuan also sighed. "We let this man escape back then. Now that he's back, he probably has evil intentions."
The disappearance of these more than twenty young girls might also be his doing!
Hearing this, a cold light flashed in Liu Rumei's eyes. "This man really defies the law!"
"But it's also good news. Knowing what this man looks like will make it easier for us to arrest him!" Mo Litian said with a faint smile. At least this was not bad news for them. Finding this man might lead them to the missing more than twenty young girls!
Xue Zhan also nodded. "It's indeed as Your Highness the Crown Prince said. But this man is extremely cunning. He probably won't show up easily!"
Otherwise, he would have arrested him long ago. "This time, I will surely bring him to justice and avenge my previous humiliation!"
Liu Rumei's eyes flashed, and she curled her lips into a smile. "I actually have a method we can try."
Xue Zhan and the others all raised their eyebrows. "What brilliant plan does Miss Liu have?"
Liu Rumei smiled. "Since this man is good at hiding, how about we set a trap for him?"
Zhang Yan couldn't help but frown. "What does Miss Liu mean?"
Liu Rumei stood up and said to Xue Zhan, "What does Magistrate Xue think of me?"
Xue Zhan immediately understood what Liu Rumei meant and couldn't help but shake his head. "Miss Liu, how can we let you put yourself in danger?
It's better to be safe than sorry. If anything happens to Miss Liu, I won't be able to explain it to Mo Liandi.
The smile on Mo Litian's face also disappeared instantly. "Miss Liu has a good idea. I will send someone else instead! Please don't put yourself in danger, Miss Liu!"
If something were to happen to her, he couldn't even imagine...
Sixi also tugged at Liu Rumei's sleeve, pursed her red lips, and said worriedly, "Miss Liu, this won't do!"
Then, as if making up her mind, she said to everyone, "How about letting this maid go instead!"
She was just a maid. Even if something happened to her, it didn't matter!
Xue Zhan couldn't help but look at Sixi and immediately nodded. "I think it's okay. How about letting Sixi give it a try?"
Sixi twitched the corner of her mouth and couldn't help but glare angrily at Xue Zhan. She knew this lecherous man had bad intentions. He was waiting for her here!
Liu Rumei frowned and was about to speak when Mo Litian suddenly spoke first. "I'll handle this matter. I will choose two women who know some martial arts!"
Xue Zhan said with a faint smile, "Don't blame me for not warning you. This Zhao San is extremely cunning! If we scare him away, it will be counterproductive!"
Liu Rumei frowned and said, "It's better for me to go. I'm just an ordinary civilian girl. Frequent appearances outside the city are related to the investigation. It won't arouse suspicion. As for safety, with the Night Guards around, I'll be fine."
Mo Litian subconsciously wanted to object when he saw a yamen runner rushing in from outside. "Your Honor, the proprietress of the Youyuan Inn, Hengniang, is here."
Hearing the name Hengniang, Xue Zhan subconsciously twitched the corner of his mouth and subconsciously wanted to find a place to hide.
Unexpectedly, Hengniang and A Nan had already barged in directly. When Xue Zhan saw this, his body suddenly stiffened. Obviously, the previous blow was still fresh in his memory.
However, Hengniang didn't even look at him and directly threw herself into Liu Rumei's arms. Her delicate face was full of grievance. "A person died in my inn! I don't care. You have to help me find out the truth. Otherwise, I won't be able to run my inn anymore!"
This time, A Nan bowed politely to everyone. His eyes fell on Xue Zhan, and he pursed his lips and said, "This morning, A Nan and I went out for shopping. When we came back, the person was already dead."
Liu Rumei was shocked. Another person had died!
A cold light also flashed in Xue Zhan's and Mo Litian's eyes. Damn it! He even dared to commit murder right under their noses!
Without hesitation, the group immediately headed towards Hengniang's Youyuan Inn.
The deceased was a girl who came to the capital to seek refuge with her relatives. Who would have thought that she would encounter such a thing as soon as she arrived in the capital.
Liu Rumei, Zhang Yan, and Xiao Heyuan carefully examined the body as usual. A cold light flashed in their eyes. She had been defiled by the murderer again! How despicable!
Xiao Heyuan looked at the incense burning in the room and said coldly, "This is top - grade sleeping powder. Just a little whiff of it will make one fall into a coma!"
This was obviously left by the murderer!
"Who gave this incense?"
A Nan frowned and said, "There has never been such a thing in our inn. Moreover, there are only A Nan and Hengniang in this inn. We only receive a few guests every day, all depending on Hengniang's mood. So this incense must have been brought by the murderer."
When he came back, he also smelled this strange fragrance, so he noticed something was wrong and then pushed the door open...
All depending on her mood? This inn was really interesting. No wonder there weren't many people when they came in.
Liu Rumei looked at the neatly arranged table and couldn't help but frown. "When did this girl check into the inn?"
She didn't even touch the tea on the table. There were clearly some mud on this girl's feet, but there was nothing in this room! It was simply too clean!
Admiring Liu Rumei's incredibly sharp observation skills, A Nan was just thinking of finding an excuse to get away with it when Hengniang said leisurely, "This girl checked in early this morning. The murderer fought with A Nan when he left!"
Saying this, Hengniang glared at A Nan frustratedly. "But this useless man still let the man go!"