"Then I won't disturb you any further." Seeing Zeng Anmin completely engrossed in the case file, a bizarre smile crept onto Xu Yunfeng's face. He gently stroked the mustache at the corners of his mouth and took his leave.
Zeng Anmin thoughtfully watched Xu Yunfeng's retreating back. His old man arranging for him to be the Left Chief Clerk in the Observation Department was definitely not an idle move.
"Jin Taiping... The Shen family..." Zeng Anmin cast a calm glance at the case file, feeling a slight sense of clarity.
"This case is inextricably linked to Prince Jiang's Mansion! It very likely hides some unspeakable secrets! What could those secrets be?" Zeng Anmin thought, his interest piqued. He slowly lowered his head to look at the file in his hands, his eyes flashing with contemplation as he remained silent. All the details of the entire case were documented within.
"The current patriarch of the Shen family is named Shen Liu. He was forty-one years old and died of consumption fifteen days before the incident."
The file contained a detailed record of Shen Liu. He had been aggressive and fond of fighting in his youth, only settling down after taking over the family business. He had made a name for himself traveling far and wide with the family's merchant fleet.
The crucial point of the case was this: When the entire Shen family was holding the funeral for Shen Liu, his widow, Mrs. Shen, was murdered while keeping vigil in the mourning hall.
"At a quarter past the Yin hour, the congzi, Shen Jun, entered the hall drunk, intending to keep vigil for his uncle, but rushed out in a panic at three-quarters past the Yin hour."
A 'congzi' referred to a nephew.
"At a quarter past the Mao hour, the servants outside entered the hall and found the widow, Mrs. Shen Liu, dead from asphyxiation. There were finger marks on her neck, and she was clutching Shen Jun's Jade Pendant.
"At the Chen hour the following day, a Red-clothed Guard of the Observation Department apprehended the nephew, Shen Jun, at the Imperial Music Bureau. After three days in the Imperial Prison, Shen Jun vehemently denied the murder of his aunt, so the case was thus delayed."
At first glance, it was a clear and unambiguous case file. Not only did it detail the state of Mrs. Shen Liu's death, but it also clearly listed the testimonies of everyone involved. However, in Zeng Anmin's eyes, not a single word could withstand careful scrutiny.
He looked up, gazing out the window, and murmured, "What was Shen Jun's motive for murdering his aunt?"
This was an incredibly important question. Everything in the entire file was clearly recorded, but this motive alone was not explicitly stated. Furthermore, besides this point, there was another exceedingly crucial issue. After killing his aunt, Shen Jun's first thought wasn't to flee, but to go to the Imperial Music Bureau? What? Was it currently popular to go visit a brothel after committing a murder?
Nonsense.
Zeng Anmin narrowed his Dan Feng eyes slightly. The Shen family's shipping business occupied a highly important economic position within Liangjiang Commandery, and after Shen Liu's death, Shen Jun became the sole heir to the Jin Taiping shipping business. If this case was not handled well...
Zeng Anmin slowly raised his head, his eyes deep and serene. Then it would probably implicate a great deal of things. However, looking at the dense, small text in the case file, the corners of Zeng Anmin's mouth curled up slightly. He already knew how to solve the case.
In the Imperial Prison.
Zeng Anmin looked with a grim expression at the "prisoner" before him, who lay deathly pale in a pile of straw, his condition unknown. The man was clad in a pitch-black prison uniform, emitting a pungent stench. He lay motionless on the straw. Only the faint rising and falling of his chest indicated that he was not dead. This man was none other than Shen Jun.
It was evident that he had endured severe torture. It was no exaggeration to say that entering the Observation Department's Imperial Prison was tantamount to losing half one's life.
Zeng Anmin simply cast a mild glance at the Governmental Constable beside him. Though young, he harbored Vast Righteous Qi within, exuding considerable authority in his every action.
"Let him out!"
"Yes, sir."
Two Red-clothed Guards respectfully unlocked the cell door. Then, as if tossing a corpse, they dragged the young man up from the ground.
THUD!
The young man was thrown to the floor, his body dragging limply with the momentum. Only then did Zeng Anmin get a clear look at his face. His eyes were lifeless, his body covered in bruised, dark blood, and his face was numb.
"Shen Jun!" Zeng Anmin looked down and spoke to him in a deep, composed voice. "I am the newly appointed Left Chief Clerk. I intend to retry your case regarding the murder of your aunt. You must confess truthfully and hold absolutely nothing back!"
His voice was sonorous and full, very much carrying the demeanor of a just and upright magistrate. Hearing these words, Shen Jun paused for a moment on the ground, then struggled to turn his eyes toward Zeng Anmin.
Zeng Anmin's face was calm as he met his gaze. He saw a complex mix of emotions in Shen Jun's eyes: numbness, resilience, stubbornness...
"I've already said everything I have to say. I stand upright and walk straight; I did not kill my aunt."
Shen Jun had said these words an unknown number of times. But every official who came to investigate him would routinely subject him to another round of torture. He had long grown accustomed to it.
"Mhm." Expressionless, Zeng Anmin sat on the chair a Clerk had brought for him, gently turning the Jade Ring on his thumb—a ring he had swiped from his old man. After a long while, he asked in a deep voice, "What I want to ask is: was your aunt the only person in the mourning hall that night?"
Shen Jun's heart sank upon hearing this, his face full of bitterness. Every official who interrogated him started with this exact question.
"Yes." Shen Jun answered fluidly.
"What exactly happened in the mourning hall? Why did your Jade Pendant end up in her hands?"
Zeng Anmin had only read the case file once and didn't have a thorough understanding of the case. Now, he needed to extract more information directly from Shen Jun. Of course, as the suspect, Shen Jun's words couldn't be trusted completely.
"I..." Shen Jun pursed his lips. "My uncle was childless and treated me as his own since I was young. We had a very deep bond. After hearing the news of his death from illness, I was in agony for days. That day, I hid in my room and drank some wine alone to drown my sorrows.
"After entering the mourning hall, my aunt...
"She actually tried to take advantage of my drunkenness to seduce me, wanting to perform such a shameful act right there in the mourning hall!"
Zeng Anmin could hear the intense hatred in Shen Jun's tone. He thought, "This... is there actually something this shocking in the world? That was in a mourning hall! Even with the island nation's adult industry being so advanced, they've never produced this kind of genre! If there's any hope of me transmigrating back, shouldn't I... Ahem, I'm getting sidetracked!"
Zeng Anmin continued to look at Shen Jun with a solemn expression.
"My uncle had always treated her extremely well. Who would have thought she... my uncle's coffin was right there!" Whenever Shen Jun thought of this, his face would turn red with anger. "I stormed off in anger. Perhaps because I left too hastily, she snatched my Jade Pendant in her hand... After leaving the mourning hall, I went to the Imperial Music Bureau..."
Zeng Anmin's mouth twitched slightly. "This guy is a real man," he thought. "But judging from his tone, no matter how you look at it, it sounds exactly like his aunt seduced him in the mourning hall, causing him to lose his mind in a fit of rage and strangle her to death... No wonder you're covered in so many bruises; who wouldn't suspect you? Fortunately, you ran into me."
"In other words, your aunt died after you left?"
"Mhm."
Seeing the smile tugging at Zeng Anmin's lips, Shen Jun felt a bit uneasy.
"Good." Zeng Anmin slowly stood up, looking at his face with a playful smile. "Then let me ask you: after leaving the mourning hall and going to the Imperial Music Bureau, which lady did you seek out?"
"The courtesan, Shiyi." Shen Jun answered fluidly.
"An Shiyi..." The most famous courtesan of the Imperial Music Bureau in Liangjiang Commandery. Zeng Anmin fell into thought, then called out, "Dachun!"
"Young Master!"
"Let's go. Accompany your Young Master on a trip to the Imperial Music Bureau!"
"Right away!"