Chapter Fifteen: Li Yi Delivers Judgment (Part Two)

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Not long after, Li Yi and the two women arrived at the county government office of the provincial capital, heading straight for the main hall. Inside, layers of guards had surrounded the place so tightly that not even a mosquito could slip through—a sight that pleased Li Yi, who nodded in satisfaction.

Everyone inside was waiting for Li Yi. Li Junqian, upon seeing his arrival, nodded to him, a gesture Li Yi returned before leading the two women, Jiang Lichen, and Li Zihan to stand on the right side of the hall. Li Yi, however, walked over to Li Zihao, who stood alone on the left. Soon after, with a sharp bang of the wooden gavel from Li Junqian, the trial began.

“Who is kneeling in the court?”

“A humble commoner, Dai Chunlin!”

“Do you confess to the murder of Li Zimo?”

“I confess, my lord!”

“Very well. Since you admit it, tell us your motive and how you committed the murder.”

“Wait!” Dai Chunlin was just about to speak when Li Yi interrupted him. After bowing to Li Junqian, Li Yi said, “Honorable Prefect, I don’t believe it’s necessary to waste time on him. Allow me to question the suspect first.”

“Go ahead, ask as you like,” Li Junqian replied.

Li Yi bowed again, then turned to Dai Chunlin. “Dai Chunlin! We meet again! I told you before, you should try to be a little smarter, but you wouldn’t listen. Yesterday, you let yourself be used as a pawn; today, you show up to play the murderer. Do you think anyone can just step into the role of a killer? Do you even have the brains for it? You say you’re the culprit, so tell me—what evidence do you have to prove it?”

A ripple of laughter spread through the hall at Li Yi’s words, easing some of the tension and sorrow that had weighed down the room.

Dai Chunlin was struck dumb. He had prepared a torrent of explanations, but Li Yi was not one to follow convention.

“All right, I won’t waste any more time with you. Here’s the deal: if you can answer my questions perfectly, I’ll admit you’re the murderer.”

“Hmph! Ask away!” Dai Chunlin shot back.

“Very well, listen closely! First: At midnight last night, Li Zimo, the Prefect’s eldest son, was found hanged in his home. The door to his room was bolted from the inside. Explain, then—how did you escape? Second: The clothes the victim wore at the time of death were key evidence. Why didn’t you destroy them? Why did you hide them inside the Prefect’s residence? Third: If you believed I could identify the murderer from an old garment, why didn’t you come at night, but instead boldly appeared in broad daylight? Fourth: What exactly were you searching for in the victim’s room? And finally: During the search, the Prefect’s residence was surrounded by soldiers. How did a frail scholar like yourself slip in unnoticed and take the clothes right under the soldiers’ noses?”

“I... I...” Dai Chunlin stammered, unable to say more than a single word.

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“Really? You can’t even come up with a single answer? I pity the real murderer—how could he have chosen you to take the fall for him? Turns out, even being a scapegoat isn’t for just anyone. I pity you as well. May you be a wiser man in your next life!”

“My good nephew, is it true? He really isn’t the murderer?” Li Junqian was dumbfounded by Li Yi’s line of questioning. The case they had believed airtight now revealed gaping flaws. Was the gap between people truly that vast?

Dai Shunde, standing to the side, immediately shifted from grief to elation, as it was now clear his son was not the culprit.

“Yes. He’s merely a scapegoat set up by the real killer. I can answer those five questions for him. First, how did the murderer leave the scene? In fact, the killer never left—he remained at the crime scene the entire time!”

“What? How is that possible?”

“There’s nothing impossible about it. From the chaos at the scene, we deduced the murderer killed for something—perhaps several things. After the crime, he staged the scene, then searched the room. But the victim was adept at hiding things, so the killer found nothing. Just then, footsteps sounded outside—the killer realized he’d be discovered, so he put on the victim’s clothes and hid behind the door. When you all burst in, he emerged, pretending to have just arrived. With everyone’s attention fixed on the victim, and the killer being someone familiar to you, no one noticed him. Thus, everything fits perfectly.”

The crowd shivered at this revelation.

Li Yi pressed on, “As for the second point, it’s simple. The victim’s clothing was indeed the most important evidence, but since the killer was a familiar face, no one would suspect him. So his own room became the safest place to stash the clothes.”

“Then why not destroy the clothes entirely?” Li Junqian asked, puzzled.

“Hmph! If he destroyed them, how could he frame someone else? That’s the brilliance of the murderer—if no one discovered it was a homicide, all would be well. But if the murder was uncovered, the clothes would be the most damning evidence. Whoever was found with them would be assumed the killer, and no one would look further. The murderer would thus escape unscathed.”

Li Zihan blurted out, “Is such a person even human? Perhaps I’m just too slow-witted!” The others nodded in agreement, unsure whether to praise Li Yi or admire the cunning of the murderer.

Li Yi cleared his throat and continued, “The third and fifth points are related. The reason Dai Chunlin was able to appear in the Prefect’s residence without a sound is because he was hiding inside the residence all along!”

“What?”

“Impossible!”

“That’s too much of a coincidence!”

Li Yi smiled faintly. “Not at all. It’s a matter of cause and effect. This actually traces back to last night, during the Lantern Festival at the Yibin Pavilion poetry gathering, I...” Li Yi then recounted the events of that night for all to hear—mainly for Li Junqian’s benefit, as he was the only one there unfamiliar with the details.

“What? You unfilial wretch! How could you do such a thing? Why?!” Li Junqian’s anger flared, then gave way to doubt—nothing about this case made sense.

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Li Yi glanced at the impassive Li Zihao and spoke calmly, “I was puzzled at first. Beyond our connections through Zihan and Zixuan, Li Zihao and I had no interaction. Yet the moment we met, he wanted me dead. I initially thought it was because of Xueyan, but he had no feelings for her. Given the complexity of the situation, I put it aside to focus on surviving his schemes. But just as I was reconsidering, Dai Chunlin jumped out—his first time being used as a puppet.”

Li Yi paused, then continued, “To get to the bottom of things, I decided to stir the waters. Before leaving, I told Dai Chunlin our past grievances were settled, but he’d need to pay a ransom. I sent Lichen to collect the money, never expecting such an astonishing windfall!”

“What did you find?” The crowd had thought Li Yi was veering off topic for self-aggrandizement, but now realized he was about to unveil a monumental secret.

“Heh, actually, the reason I could so quickly clear Dai Chunlin as a suspect was because of what I learned that night. He’s so timid; when Lichen pressed him, he instantly produced five hundred taels of gold as compensation. Tell me, how could such a coward commit murder?”

“What? Five hundred taels of gold? That’s as much as several months’ taxes for Luoyang! Brother Shouzhi, this...” Li Junqian was stunned—five hundred taels of gold was an astonishing sum. Yet what mattered most was the purpose behind that gold—if it was what he feared, the implications would be earth-shattering.

Dai Shunlin was so shocked he was left speechless.

Li Yi continued, “At first, I thought Dai Chunlin had stolen the gold from home, so today I tested the Assistant Prefect. Judging by his reaction, he knew nothing of it, so I concluded Dai Chunlin was backed by an organization, and the gold had been collected by them and embezzled by him.”

“In the end, when I pieced everything together, I realized who this organization’s leader in Luoyang was. Isn’t that right, Third Young Master Li Zihao?”

“Third Brother?”

“Cousin?” At Li Yi’s words, Jiang Lichen immediately shielded Li Xueyan and the others, ready in case Li Zihao turned desperate.

“What? Zihao? Impossible! Zimo was his own elder brother! Nephew, do you have proof?” Li Junqian was now utterly distraught. First his eldest son died at home, then a mysterious organization in Luoyang was revealed, and now he was told his third son was the murderer. The blows were almost too much to bear.

“Haha! Brilliant! I really underestimated you. But isn’t it rather base of you to use this to settle yesterday’s grudge? Do you have proof I’m the murderer?”

“Patience. Let me lay it out for you. That night, you returned from the Yibin Pavilion furious over what happened with me, seeking comfort in a keepsake left by the one you love. But when you opened your secret cache, it was empty. Not only was the handkerchief gone, but so was something that could expose your identity. You questioned your servants and soon learned your elder brother had entered your room in search of a book. Fastidious as he was, he tidied the room, and in doing so, made a discovery.”

Li Yi paused, then pressed on, “Realizing your secret had been uncovered, you panicked. At that moment, Dai Chunlin arrived to discuss the ransom money. You were furious at first, but then a vicious plan took shape. For the sake of that nameless organization, you resolved to kill your brother: with his death, your identity would remain safe, the scapegoat was at hand, and the gold could be blamed on him—a triple victory. After conferring with Dai Chunlin, you put your plan into action. You found your brother in his study, pleaded with him to lower his guard, then drugged him with a mild sedative in the wine you prepared. Once he was unconscious, you staged the scene, searched for your belongings, hid behind the door, and made your escape. Only after unraveling all this did I understand why you tried to kill me at first sight: you are a madman, devoid of human feeling—a brute. This is why Zihan and Zixuan always showed such loathing whenever your name was mentioned.”

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