Yi Qing stared at Deng Xiao's back in disbelief. Could a man be so shameless?
"Let's kick him out," Yi Qing said, looking at Xiao Jinghan.
Xiao Jinghan knew Yi Qing was joking. "The emperor gave Xu Maozhi three days to solve the case of Xie Hongyi. Today is the first day."
"Xu Maozhi definitely won't be able to solve the case in such a short time," Yi Qing said with certainty.
"Are you underestimating him?" Xiao Jinghan asked, looking at Yi Qing.
"It's not that I'm underestimating him. It's just that this case might be quite complicated," Yi Qing said, folding her arms and propping her chin. "The culprit knew Xie Hongyi very well. It's very likely that they're from the Sifang Restaurant. Even if they're not, there must be someone inside helping them. General, come with me to the Sifang Restaurant tonight to meet a wine girl named Wan'er."
"Do you think there's something wrong with her?"
"She was the last person to drink with Xie Hongyi. I just want to take a look," Yi Qing said, not quite sure herself.
"Are you saying that the culprit is that wine girl?" Xiao Jinghan asked suspiciously.
Yi Qing shook her head. "I'm not sure."
By this time, it was getting late. The two of them changed their clothes and headed to the Sifang Restaurant.
The Ghost Lord was right. The place was even more beautiful at night than during the day. Countless candles illuminated the pavilions and towers. Some people were boating and drinking at night. It was so enjoyable.
Xiao Jinghan led Yi Qing to the place where Xie Hongyi had fallen into the pond. It had already been repaired, and there were no traces left.
"The Xie family has really declined. Xie Hongyi's death didn't have any impact on the Sifang Restaurant at all," Yi Qing said, looking at the happy diners coming and going, bowing and chatting with each other.
"He didn't die in the restaurant. Moreover, this restaurant belongs to the Duke of Mu. Even when the officials come to question the people here, they have to be polite. Let alone when they come to investigate a case," Xiao Jinghan said, protecting Yi Qing and avoiding the diners.
"People in the capital are really rich. A single meal at the Sifang Restaurant costs dozens of taels. The meal Qing Zijin invited us to was over a thousand taels, and the business is still so good."
"This place is not just about eating and drinking."
The two of them said they were looking for Wan'er, and the waiter at the Sifang Restaurant led them to the backyard. Wan'er was washing clothes there.
"Are you Wan'er?" Yi Qing asked, looking at Wan'er who was squatting by the pool, washing clothes.
Wan'er raised her hand to wipe the sweat off her forehead. "If you're asking about Young Master Xie, I really don't know anything. I've already told the official everything I know."
"No. I heard that you're very knowledgeable about wine. I came to ask you to taste some wine," Yi Qing said.
Wan'er shook her head. "People come here to have fun. Young Master Xie died right after drinking with me. The supervisor won't let me serve at the tables anymore."
The Sifang Restaurant did have such a rule.
"Wipe your hands and stand up," Yi Qing ordered.
Wan'er wiped her hands on her skirt and stood up. "What do you want, Madam?"
Yi Qing walked over and grabbed Wan'er's hand, feeling her hand bones repeatedly.
Wan'er tried to pull her hand back. "What are you doing, Madam?"
"What a dexterous pair of hands. It's a pity to be washing clothes here," Yi Qing said, letting go of Wan'er. "Why don't you come back with me?"
"You're joking, Madam. I'm not sold to the Sifang Restaurant. I'm just working here. I have my own things to do. I don't need to do anything else," Wan'er said.
Yi Qing suddenly understood. "Sorry to bother you." She led Xiao Jinghan away.
"I didn't know you could read bones," Xiao Jinghan said jokingly.
"It's not her," Yi Qing said with certainty.
"Many people saw Wan'er in the restaurant when Xie Hongyi had the accident. How could it be her?" Xiao Jinghan thought Yi Qing was being overcautious.
"What you see with your own eyes may not be the truth," Yi Qing said, looking back at Wan'er. "She had a fairly well-off childhood. At least she didn't have to do rough work."
"How do you know?"
"The hands of someone who was pampered as a child are different from those of someone who has been working hard since childhood," Yi Qing said and walked away.
They waited at the Sifang Restaurant until the time when Xie Hongyi had left the restaurant and then walked out. There were still many carriages outside.
As soon as they walked out of the restaurant, they were not used to the dim lights outside. They couldn't see clearly. The lanterns on the carriages were very dim. They saw a drunk man being helped into a carriage, and then the carriage left.
Yi Qing and Xiao Jinghan got into their carriage and stopped at the alley where Xie Hongyi had been killed.
"Turn at the T-junction alley," Yi Qing looked around. "If we get off here, no one will notice us on either side." She said and walked into the alley with Xiao Jinghan.
At that time, Xie Hongyi was so drunk that he didn't know where he was when he was being helped here. He was staggering along.
"Two people," Yi Qing suddenly said.
"How do you know?" Xiao Jinghan was surprised.
"I've seen the wounds on Xie Hongyi's body. The size of the wound was only big enough for his internal organs to squeeze out. The culprit's hands weren't very big. It's very likely to be a woman. But Xie Hongyi was eight feet tall and quite strong. A single woman couldn't have supported such a tall man," Yi Qing said. She had originally thought it was just one person.
"Did you think it was the wine girl Wan'er?"
Yi Qing shook her head. "Her hands couldn't have done it. The culprit was very familiar with this area. They found the most unlikely place to be discovered."
There was still the outline of Xie Hongyi's body on the wall when he died. The blood on the ground had attracted flies that were flying around, as if it was their last carnival.
Yi Qing looked for a while and then left with Xiao Jinghan. The Xie family had offended too many people. Yi Qing had torn off the Xie family's disguise. She didn't know how many people hated the Xie family to the core. So it was too difficult to investigate a revenge killing.
But Yi Qing was sure that the culprit had been preparing to kill Xie Hongyi for a long time.
Xu Maozhi was really in a difficult situation. Although some people's deaths were not directly related to the Xie family, quite a few people had died because of Xie Xiuxian. How long would it take for him to investigate?
The key was that the culprit had cleaned up the scene too well. There was no evidence at all.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Xu Maozhi hadn't found out anything and was directly locked up in the Supreme Court. Ran Ran ran to Yi Qing's place and cried.
"I should have known better than to be an official. It's so tiring on a normal day, and if you can't do your job well, you'll be locked up," Ran Ran complained.
Ran Ran wasn't an unreasonable person. She might really be angry this time.
"Did the emperor really do that? Lock up Xu Maozhi. Who will do his job then?" Yi Qing frowned.
"I heard it's been transferred to the Ministry of Justice," Ran Ran said angrily.
Yi Qing looked at Ran Ran. "You seem to be quite concerned about these things."
"Can I not be concerned?" Ran Ran said tiredly. "He's the kind of person who just keeps his head down and does his work. He doesn't even know who he's offended. Especially those people in the court. None of them are easy to deal with."
"As long as the emperor is wise, there's nothing wrong with Xu Maozhi being like this," Yi Qing thought Ran Ran's analogy was wrong.
"So what should we do now?"
"Don't worry. This case is a hot potato now. It's not a bad thing for Xu Maozhi to be locked up. You can go and see him when you have time," Yi Qing thought for a while and understood.
Although Xu Maozhi was very capable, he was still young after all. There were many people who were not convinced of him. It was good for him to suffer a setback at this time. It would also serve as a warning to others not to rely on their seniority without enough ability and not do their work properly.
"Really?" Ran Ran looked at Yi Qing suspiciously.
"Of course it's true," Yi Qing said with certainty. Whether it was true or not, it had to be true.
"Then I'll be relieved. I'll make some food for him and send it over. I'll leave Xier at your place for now," Ran Ran said and left.