Chapter 112 Catch Together
Ye Chenting shook his head: "I am not worried about Chen Xi and the others. We are here to seek justice for Master Ling Xuan."

"Xuan...Xuan'er?" Qu Jie's expression changed: "Second Young Master, are you joking with me? I really don't feel like joking with you right now."

"We are here to help you solve the case and redress the injustice for your nephew. How can you be joking?" Chu Anlan said with a smile: "Master Qu, please go to the court."

Seeing that the three men looked confident, Qu Jie finally changed his expression.

He cried out in his heart: Oh no!

Qu Jie's expression darkened, and he was about to turn around and ask someone to pass the message.

Chu Anlan stepped forward to stop him: "Master Qu, what are you going to do? We don't drink tea, so you don't have to ask someone to prepare it. The tea in the county government is not as good as the tea you have hidden at home. Prince Duan likes to drink tea. He has brought people to your house to drink it for us. You should come and help your nephew get revenge first."

Qu Jie's face turned completely black: "What do you want to do?"

"Isn't what I said straightforward enough?" Chu Anlan moved closer to him and said word by word: "I am threatening you."

Qu Jie gritted his teeth and said, "Please come in."

Chu Anlan smiled brightly, turned around and said loudly: "County Magistrate Qu is going to investigate a case. Anyone interested, come and have a look! Today we are investigating the case of Master Ling Xuan!"

Passers-by stopped one after another.

Qu Jie was almost angry to death.

After a cup of tea, the county government began to hear the court session.

Officials of all ranks from the county government arrived one after another, and the entrance was blocked by the people.

One of the people raised his voice and said, "Sir Qu, you must find out the murderer and avenge Master Ling Xuan!"

"The murderer must be severely punished, and the murderer must pay with his life!"

"Kill for life!"

Qu Jie felt very uncomfortable: "I will handle this impartially."

Ye Chenting stepped forward at the right time and said, "Ling Zenghuang's second son Ling Han knocked out this year's spring imperial examination candidate Ling Xuan with a boat paddle at midnight the night before, and pushed him into the lake. He then framed the eldest princess' son Ye Chenxi, Huayao County Prince Chu Shaozhen, Xiaoye Young Prince Chu Shengxi and other innocent people. Lord Qu, please arrest the murderer Ling Han immediately."

Murderer Ling Han?

Qu Jie's expression changed completely: "This is a serious matter. Do you have any evidence for what you said, young master? It would be bad to wrongly accuse an innocent person."

At the door, the onlookers also came back to their senses from their shock.

"How could Ling Han kill his brother?"

"Ling Han spends all his time in brothels and gambling houses. He has been drained of his body by alcohol and sex at such a young age. How could he kill Master Ling Xuan?"

"Why would Ling Han kill his brother for no reason?"

"..."

Seeing that the people were standing on his side, Qu Jie straightened his back a lot.

Seeing his expression, Chu Anlan laughed: "Lord Qu doubted that we had no evidence, so he was unwilling to arrest the murderer. Then, what evidence did Lord Qu have when he arrested Chu Shaozhen and others as the murderer?"

"Of course the people saw it." Qu Jie replied with a serious face.

"What did you see?" Chu Anlan asked, "Did you see Chu Shaozhen and Ye Chenxi kill Ling Xuan personally?"

Chu Anlan continued, "What you call witnesses only saw the dispute between Ling Xuan and Chu Shaozhen in the daytime. Ling Xuan clearly died in the middle of the night. When Ling Xuan died, Chu Shaozhen and his friends were already drunk and fell asleep in the pleasure boat, being looked after by the boat's servants. We have witnesses and physical evidence to prove that Ling Han killed Ling Xuan. Do you have evidence to prove that Chu Shaozhen and his friends killed Ling Xuan?"

Cold sweat oozed from Qu Jie's back.

His hands, placed on the table, were trembling slightly.

Seeing this, the attendant beside him called him in a low voice: "Sir..."

"Pah!" Qu Jie slapped the case-handling table and said, "Prince Dun, don't think that just because you are the crown prince, you can arbitrarily interfere with the court officials' investigation. In Lin'an City, only my words count!"

Chu Anlan pretended to be frightened when he heard this, and covered his chest and said, "Lord Qu has such great authority, it really scared me to death. Lin'an City, you have the final say? What's going on? Lord Qu has drawn Lin'an City from the geomancy map of the Western Wei Dynasty. Are you going to declare yourself king?"

Qu Jie was so angry that he almost vomited blood: "I can't bear such a false accusation. Please don't slander me, my lord."

Chu Anlan said: "So, in order to prove your innocence, Lord Qu should quickly release the princes and young masters in prison."

Qu Jie frowned. He was in a dilemma.

There has been no news from the Ling family since this morning, and now his family has been used as a tool to threaten him.

Is he going to admit defeat?
No.

impossible!
Qu Jie said in a deep voice: "Prince Dun, I still say the same thing. As an official appointed by the court, there was a murder in my jurisdiction, and I must give an explanation to the people and the family of the deceased! Before there is enough evidence to solve the case, everyone who had contact with Ling Xuan on the day of the incident is a suspect. I arrested them to protect them, and also to uphold the laws of the Western Wei Dynasty. If I release them without reason, where will the laws of the Western Wei Dynasty and the face of the court be?"

Chu Anlan's face turned cold: "You don't plan to let this man go, right?"

Qu Jie was firm in his attitude: "Once the case is solved, I will release the man immediately, apologize in person, and plead guilty to the emperor."

Chu Anlan was so angry that his teeth were itching.

He wanted to say something else, but Ye Chenting held his shoulders.

Ye Chenting whispered beside him: "An Lan, calm down."

Chu Anlan sneered.

The atmosphere in the court was tense.

At the door, the onlookers were all whispering, and the noise was particularly irritating.

Qu Jie sat in the chair with his eyelids slightly drooping, his mind racing, trying to find someone to pass the information on.

At this time, Ye Wanqing spoke slowly: "Lord Qu said that on the day of the incident, all those who had contact with Ling Xuan were suspects, so Chu Shaozhen and the others should be detained. Then, in order to show fairness, Ling Han should be arrested as well. Arresting Chu Shaozhen and the others, but leaving Ling Han alone, is this what Lord Qu calls fairness?"

As soon as the words fell, the people at the door echoed:

"That's right, we must catch them all together!"

"It's only fair if we catch them together!"

"Support the arrest of Ling Han!"

"..."

Qu Jie's eyelids twitched violently.

His gloomy gaze fell on Ye Wanqing, who was standing by the column, wearing a smoky green veil and had not spoken a word since entering the room.

Through the gauze curtain, Ye Wanqing looked back coldly.

Qu Jie ordered the yamen runners: "Pass on the official message and bring Ling Han here immediately."

The bailiff received the order and went out.

About a cup of tea later, a yamen runner hurried back to report: "Sir, it's bad, Master Ling Han is missing!"

Missing?
Qu Jie was so shocked that he almost stood up.

Chu Anlan folded his arms in front of him, smiling: "Master Qu, could it be that Ling Han heard the rumors and fled for fear of the crime?"

The veins on Qu Jie's forehead were throbbing.

A bad guess arose in his mind.

Facing the inquiring gazes of the people, Qu Jie ordered the yamen runners: "Send more people to find Ling Han immediately, and we must see his body!"

Want to see the body after death?

Ye Chenting and Ye Wanqing looked at each other through the gauze curtain.

Is Qu Jie planning to have his men attack Ling Han so that there is no evidence against him?

Fortunately, they got the person away first.

In the court, Qu Jie felt uneasy.

The dripping sound is clearly audible.

Qu Jie had never felt time was so difficult to bear.

(End of this chapter)