Xuanxia

Chapter 398 Where did the dagger go?
It's getting dark.

The trial of the stolen books alone lasted into the night.

Gu Jinchen gave out the name of the so-called library clerk. It naturally takes time to summon witnesses and to interrogate them.

Afterwards, the clerk said that Lan Shaozhong had given him a considerable sum of money... That was stolen money and considered evidence, so naturally someone had to be sent to retrieve it.

After such a tortuous trial, Lan Shaozhong was finally convicted and taken into custody to be sentenced at a later date.

Of course, the petty official was considered an accomplice and had to serve his sentence, but although he cried and screamed with a look of regret when he was dragged away, Fu Qingzhou did not see much regret in his eyes.

This must be because Lan Hongjun gave him a large sum of money to settle down...

Fu Qingzhou yawned and glanced at Yue Heng secretly.

At this moment, Yue Heng also cast a complicated look at him.

Fu Qingzhou knew that he might have also seen through the trick.

It's not surprising. Brother Yue is just a little straightforward and naive, but he is not stupid. He can definitely see the problem.

But... it doesn't matter right now.

Gu Jinchen's move was to join forces with Lan Hongjun to put all the blame for the book theft on Lan Shaozhong.

But what's next?
Fu Qingzhou turned his gaze to Gu Jinchen again, only to see that he was still pretending to be trembling.

Well, it’s not over yet.

The theft of the book was a matter of certainty, but the injury had not yet been decided.

Yue Heng said before that he saw Lan Hongjun took out a dagger, so he decided to use magic to protect himself, and thus injured someone.

If this is realized, then Yue Heng's crime will be reduced to a very light level, and he may even be convicted of self-defense... and released without charge.

"Lan Hongjun."

Dali Zheng frowned and asked, "Did you wear a dagger when you went to the Sword Academy that day?"

"Sir... I don't have any." Lan Hongjun said weakly, "The Sword Academy is a place of saints. How dare I bring such a deadly weapon in?"

Yue Heng pursed his lips.

Dali Zheng looked at Gu Jinchen again: "You are Lan Hongjun's servant. Do you know whether your master was carrying a weapon that day?"

"Your Excellency, I, I don't know." Gu Jinchen said with his head down.

Dali Zheng frowned even more tightly: "Yue Heng, do you still remember what that dagger looked like?"

"The student... vaguely remembers."

Yue Heng said in a deep voice: "It is a gorgeous dagger, about eight or nine inches long, with a snow-white blade and a golden handle, which seems to be inlaid with gems."

Neither Lan Hongjun nor Gu Jinchen said anything.

Dali turned his gaze to the secret envoy from Mingjian Pavilion who was listening.

Liu Xingyuan and Wang Dahai understood each other and looked at each other.

"Your Excellency wishes us to look for that dagger?"

Liu Xingyuan said: "But if what Yue Heng said is true, and the dagger is missing, then there is only one possibility..."

"Lan Hongjun's companions were at the scene and took the dagger away and hid it." Wang Dahai took over the conversation and shook his head, saying, "It is even possible that they have already discarded it."

"Um……"

Dali was stroking his beard and said, "This dagger is not a murder weapon, and no one was hurt. If you ask the secret envoys to investigate, it would be an exaggeration..."

"Then let's leave this matter to the Ministry of Justice." An official from the Ministry of Justice said, "We can ask the prefect of Yanping to send some detectives to search for him."

Dali Zheng nodded slightly: "Yes, then I'll trouble you, sir. Please carefully investigate all the people at the crime scene that day and carefully screen those who are related to Lan Hongjun."

"Understood." The official from the Ministry of Justice responded.

During the whole process, Lan Hongjun and Gu Jinchen did not speak a word and looked calm, as if they really did not know that there was such a dagger.

Fu Qingzhou believed that Yue Heng would not tell lies... He glanced at Yue Heng. Yue Heng's eyes were firm and his face was calm, without any strange look on his face.

That means there really was a dagger at the scene, but it disappeared. Fu Qingzhou narrowed his eyes.

When Gu Jinchen explained things to me before, he didn't mention the dagger at all.

This servant boy really was hiding something from me.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed that Liu Xingyuan and Wang Dahai, the two secret envoys of Mingjian Pavilion, were secretly winking at him.

Not only them, but even the official from the Censorate was winking at him.

Fu Qingzhou was stunned. What does this mean?
He glanced at Yue Heng, Lan Hongjun and others beside him, and suddenly a flash of light came into his mind.

Yes! Why am I here?

The whole case has nothing to do with me! Just to prove that Yue Heng learned magic from me, there is no need to call me over!

Including the so-called evidence he provided, it is completely dispensable.

So, the Censorate and Mingjian Pavilion made up a special excuse to get themselves here?
For...

"Ha, they can't handle the evidence, so they asked you to find a way."

The voice of the smoker sounded in Fu Qingzhou's mind, and he laughed: "Fu boy, you are well-known for your treacherous schemes."

Fu Qingzhou ignored it, suddenly came to his senses, took a step forward, bowed, and said loudly: "Sir, wait a minute!"

Originally, the court was already beginning to get a bit chaotic and everyone was preparing to call it a day, but after he shouted, everyone fell silent and looked at him.

The Dali frowned slightly: "Witness Fu Qingzhou? What do you want to say?"

"grown ups."

Fu Qingzhou said in a deep voice: "In fact, it may not be necessary to spend so much manpower and resources to find the dagger."

Dali snorted: "You are just a witness..."

"grown ups."

At this moment, the official from the Censorate suddenly spoke up: "If he has any opinions, why not listen to them?"

"That's right." Liu Xingyuan of Mingjian Pavilion also clasped his fists and said, "Sir, please listen to what he has to say."

Dali was obviously startled, then he seemed to realize something and nodded slightly: "In that case, Fu Qingzhou, tell me."

"Yes."

Fu Qingzhou clearly felt how important Brother Bai Jin was, but for now he was still focused on the case and said slowly, "May I ask, sir, how many days have passed since Yue Heng severely injured Lan Hongjun?"

"How many days?"

Dali was flipping through the files and replied, "Less than ten days."

"Less than ten days..." Fu Qingzhou grinned, "In ten days, Master Lan was seriously injured again. He should not have enough time and energy to repair a boot in the midst of all the hustle and bustle."

Lan Hongjun's expression suddenly changed!
On the contrary, Yue Heng's eyes lit up.

Not only Yue Heng, but also the officials who were trying the case or listening to the trial on the stage, all had their eyes light up.

Only Gu Jinchen raised the corners of his mouth in an extremely invisibly way, and then calmed down again.

"Everyone knows that a dagger has a sheath, but if you want to put the dagger in your boot and pull it out at a critical moment, it is unlikely to hide a sheath in your boot."

Fu Qingzhou said leisurely, "Since there is no sheath, the dagger is tightly inside the boot, the blade is rubbing against the boot shaft, and the tip of the knife is against the sole of the foot. There is no way there would be no traces, right? Young Master Lan has been seriously injured in bed these days, so the boots he used that day were not thrown away, right?"

"me……"

Lan Hongjun was obviously panicking: "After I got injured, I moved from Qingteng Yayuan to Lan Family Villa. I had too many things, and during the move, the boots disappeared a long time ago!"

"Ah?" Fu Qingzhou raised his eyebrows. "With so many things, and Master Lan paralyzed in bed, he still knew that a pair of boots was missing? What a twist of human nature... No, is he just talking nonsense, or was he afraid of something happening and threw the boots away in advance?"

Lan Hongjun shut his mouth and didn't dare to speak anymore. He slumped in the wheelchair, not daring to move, and of course not being able to move. Only his head tilted slightly and trembled slightly.

"Someone is coming."

At this time, Dali Zheng had already understood something and said in a deep voice: "Follow Lan Hongjun to the Lan Family Villa and look for...his pair of boots."

(End of this chapter)