Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Chapter 181 The Zhao Family Murder Case

After Cui Zhihao had finished giving Zhao Decai a warning, he told them to leave and took Shi Wanxia to the backyard.

The Zhao residence was a three-courtyard complex, larger than her own home. It boasted pavilions, terraces, rockeries, streams, gardens, and bamboo groves—everything one could desire.

Unexpectedly, Master Zhao is quite the connoisseur of luxury; the decoration and layout of this courtyard are truly impressive! The backyard is rather secluded, and their group, led by the Zhao family's steward, made several turns before finally arriving. It was a rather desolate place.

The county yamen runners cordoned off the crime scene. Cui Zhihao inquired about the autopsy from the coroner while observing her surroundings.

The coroner, dressed in burial clothes, respectfully began to report on the autopsy. "Sir, the deceased was named Chunhe, thirteen years old. She was struck on the back of the head with a heavy object, lost consciousness, and was then thrown into the pond in the garden. The girl struggled in the pond for a long time before drowning. The time of death was midnight two days ago."

"By the way, sir, this girl was assaulted before she died, and before her body was retrieved, someone tried to destroy the contents of her body."

What could the coroner say about the deceased's fate? She was a pitiful girl; hopefully, she could be reborn into a good family in her next life.

After examining the body, the coroner reported to Cui Zhihao, who listened with a grave expression. He nodded slightly and instructed the head constable to ask the maids and servants in the mansion if anyone had seen the deceased in the back garden before midnight. He then ordered the others to take the body back to the county office.

The setting sun cast its rays upon the garden, yet it could not dispel the somber atmosphere. Choi Ji-ho looked around, pondering various possibilities.

Suddenly, he saw Shi, a young woman, pausing frequently to observe the pond from afar. Shi Wanxia, ​​this intelligent and courageous woman, often assisted Cui Zhihao in solving cases; she possessed keen insight and exceptional intelligence.

Cui Zhihao stepped forward and asked, "Miss Shi, have you found anything?"

Shi Wanxia handed him a tattered purse that she had just found. It had the character "Lan" on it, which must be related to the deceased.

She frowned slightly and analyzed, "Sir, the water in this pool isn't deep, only about three feet. That girl wasn't short either, yet she drowned; the fatal head injury must have been quite severe."

The skull is the hardest part of the human body, so it's possible that it was done by a man. Shi Wanxia wasn't being discriminatory, but rather because women in this era were mostly delicate and frail girls.

Choi Ji-ho took the purse, examined it carefully, and pondered to himself. He looked at the pond; the water was clear, yet it seemed to conceal endless secrets.

“Miss Shi is absolutely right, this case is indeed strange.” He instructed his men to continue searching for clues in the garden, while he and Shi Wanxia went to the county government office to further investigate the identity and background of the deceased.

Upon returning to the county government office, Cui Zhihao immediately sent people to inquire about families surnamed Lan in the city. At the same time, he and Shi Wanxia began to organize the clues they had gathered.

“My lord, the fabric of this purse is not from an ordinary family. Although the deceased was a maid, she shouldn’t be able to afford such material. Perhaps it belongs to the murderer. The fabric is of high quality, so the murderer must have come from a wealthy family,” Shi Wanxia said.

Choi Ji-ho nodded in agreement: "Moreover, the fatal wound on the back of the head must have been inflicted by someone with considerable strength. If, as you say, it cannot be ruled out that it was done by a man, then we must start our investigation with the men who had connections with the deceased."

Soon after, the scouts returned with a report that there was a wealthy merchant family in the city named Lan, whose daughter had been unmarried and showed no signs of distress. Cui Zhihao and Shi Wanxia immediately went to the Lan family's house.

When Master Lan heard that the officials were looking for his daughter, he suspected they had connections to Xiong'an. He cried out that his daughter had never left the house!

He described his daughter's appearance and habits to Choi Ji-ho. According to him, his daughter was gentle and kind, rarely went out, and he had never heard of her having any enemies.

Cui Zhihao and Shi Wanxia searched around the Lan family home, hoping to find some clues. In their daughter's room, they found a letter that mentioned a man named Young Master Li, and the letter seemed to express a great liking for him.

“It seems that this Young Master Li is a prime suspect,” Shi Wanxia said.

Cui Zhihao decided to send people to find Young Master Li. After some twists and turns, they finally found him. Young Master Li was astonished upon hearing this.

He vehemently denied any involvement in the victim's death, claiming that he did not know Miss Lan, nor did he know any of the Zhao family's maids.

Cui Zhihao and Shi Wanxia naturally wouldn't easily believe his words. They continued their investigation and discovered that Young Master Li had recently had a dispute with another wealthy young man, who had also met Miss Lan once before.

As the investigation deepened, more and more clues emerged, and the case became increasingly complex. Cui Zhihao and Shi Wanxia meticulously combed through the clues and analyzed various possibilities. They left no detail overlooked, determined to find the real culprit and bring justice to the victim.

In the process, they encountered numerous difficulties and obstacles. Some tried to cover up the truth, while others deliberately provided false clues. But Cui Zhihao and Shi Wanxia never gave up, and with their keen insight, they gradually approached the truth.

Finally, after several days of arduous investigation, they uncovered the truth behind the pond mystery. It turned out that the murderer was the wealthy young man who had argued with Young Master Li. Driven by jealousy of Young Master Li's relationship with Miss Lan, he committed the crime in a moment of impulse.

When the truth came to light, Cui Zhihao and Shi Wanxia were filled with emotion. However, a maid from the Zhao family happened to be present, and the wealthy young master was none other than the second young master of the Zhao family, a dissolute and lecherous playboy.

He often stayed drunk in brothels. One day, he happened to meet a young and beautiful girl named Lan. He had evil intentions, but was stopped by Young Master Li.

The two fought fiercely, both suffering injuries. Young Master Zhao stormed home, only to find that the new maid his mother had assigned to him had taken a liking to Chunhe's beauty and forcibly defiled her.

Chunhe couldn't accept it and wanted to inform the madam. Zhao Er, fearing punishment from his father, picked up an inkstone from the study, knocked Chunhe unconscious, and then threw her into the pond in the backyard.

That purse was left behind at that time. With the case clear, Cui Zhihao sent people to bring Chunhe's family and the criminal Zhao Er to the county government.

Accompanying him were the entire Zhao family, who all knelt down and begged for forgiveness, hoping Cui Zhihao would pardon Zhao Er's crimes. But how could he possibly agree?

Although Chunhe was not of low social status, she was still a living human being! Even though Zhao Decai privately promised Chunhe's parents that he would compensate them with one hundred taels of silver and ask that his son's fault not be pursued.

However, Cui Zhihao had no intention of letting them off easily. He then sentenced Zhao Er to exile in Guazhou.

For a time, the hall was filled with cries of agony and pleas for mercy, one after another, never ceasing.