There is a god in the sky

Chapter 204 Who is the Murderer 11

"The arrow struck right in the center; one shot, one kill," Minister Zhao said after only one glance.

Xiao Ji wanted to pull out the arrow to take a look, but Minister Tong stopped him.

"My son has been murdered. I beg Lord Xiao to solve the case as soon as possible!"

His words were curt, and his eyes were cold.

Xiao Ji withdrew his hand, put his hands behind his back, and replied, "Lord Tong should know that an autopsy is the first step in investigating a case."

"What's there to verify? The cause of death is obvious at a glance." Minister Tong looked at everyone present, cupped his hands and said, "I'm truly sorry, but I have already ordered the guards to guard all the entrances and exits to prevent the murderer from escaping."

Please, distinguished guests, stay at the Tong residence for a while longer. If anyone can help the Tong family catch the murderer, I, Tong, will be eternally grateful!

Everyone whispered.

Minister Zhao asked, "Lord Tong, how do you know the murderer is still in the mansion? Perhaps he has already escaped?"

"Yes, the guards said when they were chasing him that he was incredibly fast and had mastered light footwork. He must have already escaped by now."

Just then, a guard ran up to report: "Sir, the assassin broke into the study, triggered the mechanism, and has already escaped."

Someone whispered, "It seems the assassin came for the theft; the killing was just a diversionary tactic."

"This man is brave and resourceful, but also reckless. If he escapes, it will be difficult to catch him again."

Minister Tong was well aware of this, which is why he was determined to capture the man!

"Pass down the order: check the number of all guests who entered the manor today. Anyone who is short or too many will be removed!"

Sui Feng and Sui Ying exchanged a glance, both with unease in their eyes.

If Miss Shen were still in the Tong residence, she would definitely have been caught.

Moreover, given what happened, they can no longer help Miss Shen.

Xiao Ji raised his hand and asked, "Lord Tong, may the Criminal Investigation Department take away your son's body?"

"No!" Minister Tong immediately refused.

Xiao Ji took a step back, "Then I'm afraid I can't help with this case."

Minister Tong didn't expect him to solve the case alone; Xiao Ji wasn't the only one present who could solve it.

Ultimately, the case was taken over directly by the Ministry of Justice.

Xiao Ji retreated into the crowd.

Sui Feng felt indignant on his behalf, but Xiao Ji shook his head at him, saying that he had no reason to take on the case and that it would be better if he had a reason to refuse.

Tong Juntao deserved to die.

Xiao Ji didn't want to investigate why the murderer killed him.

The stewards of the Tong family all set out, taking the guest list and beginning to check and verify it.

At such times, there is no need to separate male and female guests, and even the servants who were kept in the side rooms are released.

Lin Miaoniang was also invited.

She stood with the twenty-four dancers, being questioned.

"After Miss Lin came down from the stage, she parted ways with us. The twenty-four of us waited behind the stage."

Because of her different status, Lin Miaoniang was given a private rest room in the Tong family.

She said, "I have been resting in the side room. I fell asleep soon after lying down. I was just woken up by the noise in the mansion. I haven't stepped out of the room."

She was alone in the house, with no one to testify.

But no one doubted her.

After all, everything she brought with her when she entered the manor had been checked, and there was no bow or arrow among them.

Xiao Ji simply listened and watched, offering no opinion.

If we investigate using his method, we must first find out where those arrows came from, where the person died, how they died, and how they ended up hanging on this pagoda.

The wife of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's heir is being questioned.

"The lady is missing a maid. What is her name?"

“Yanni, after she entered the manor, she was kept outside because her zodiac sign clashed with mine, and I haven’t seen her since.”

Everyone knows about this, so there's nothing to doubt.

But if someone disappears midway, they naturally become a suspect.

Someone stepped forward and asked, "Is it that little maid with the tight lock?"

"Who are you?" the old woman in charge of questioning asked.

“This servant is from the Zhao family. If you are talking about that little maid, I saw her being taken away by a maid from the Tong family.”

"A maid from the Tong household? What's her name?"

She said her name was Xiaolan.

There were many maids in the Tong household, including one named Xiaolan, but after being brought over for questioning, none of them were the person in question.

If it weren't for the fact that many people witnessed this, everyone would have suspected that the Zhao family's maid was lying.

The wife of the Marquis of Zhenyuan immediately said, "It seems that thieves have infiltrated the Tong residence to cause trouble. My maid is too weak to even kill a chicken, she must have already been killed."

Madam Tong rushed over upon receiving the news and slapped the wife of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's heir without saying a word.

The other party was stunned and asked incredulously, "What does Madam Tong mean by this?"

"I don't care who snuck in, your maid is guilty for being involved. Who knows if she was acting on your orders?"

"You...you are so slanderous!"

Madam Tong waved her hand and said, "Guards, detain everyone in the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence. We'll decide what to do after we find the murderer."

The Crown Prince's wife cried out, "Absurd! My Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion is a noble family, how can we allow you to fabricate charges against us like this?"

But this is the Tong residence, and no matter how reasonable she is, she cannot resist.

The other families were also terrified, fearing that they would be implicated.

Besides the missing Yanni, there were also servants from several households who left along the way. Although there were reasons for each of them, Madam Tong ordered people to find them one by one.

On this birthday banquet, the Crown Prince also came to offer his congratulations. However, due to his special status, he gave the old lady a gift and then left.

Upon hearing of what had happened at the Tong residence, the Crown Prince immediately dispatched his guards to provide support, which deterred the guests from harboring any thoughts of resistance.

Xiao Ji sat calmly in the hall, drinking tea.

Sui Feng admired his composure; he was extremely anxious, fearing that Miss Shen would be caught.

"Sir, shouldn't we send a message out?"

Xiao Ji put down his teacup and said, "With such tight defenses, if you send a message out now, we'll be the next ones interrogated."

Officials have already been taken away.

Xiao Ji didn't ask why.

At this point, reasoning with the Tong family is futile, and he also lacks the ability to save them.

Moreover, the Tong family is only conducting an interrogation; they would never kill someone without any evidence. If the Tong family dares to disregard human life, the Crown Prince will definitely be impeached in court tomorrow.

The emperor would never allow anyone to arbitrarily kill his ministers.

Not long after, Xiao Ji reunited with the rest of the Xiao family.

Aside from the fact that they couldn't leave, the Tong family didn't treat them badly; they were provided with plenty of food and drink.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice all pitched in, but their interrogation yielded nothing.

In truth, everyone knows that the assassin comes and goes freely, and no one even knows whether he is male or female, making it impossible to trace him.

As night fell, the entire Tong residence was searched, but apart from finding Yanni hidden behind the Buddha statue, the assassin was not found.

Jenny woke up feeling groggy.

She was dragged directly to the dungeon for interrogation, but apart from revealing the identity of the maid who called herself Xiaolan, they couldn't get anything else out of her.

She vaguely sensed the woman's malice towards the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence, and dared not reveal their conversation or their visit to the pagoda to watch the play.

She only said that she was kidnapped, then knocked unconscious, and after that she knew nothing more.

The pagoda is the site of Tong Juntao's death, and Yan Ni is a suspect regardless of her reason for being there.