“Yes,” Lu, the chief flag officer, responded.
He once again dispatched his men to investigate.
The scattered scouts, known as "Di Qi," began returning with information.
“Reporting to Your Excellency, aside from the two instructors who were reciting poetry together, and several students drinking and singing, no one was moving around alone after the second watch of the night,” one reported.
It couldn't be. Someone was clearly not telling the truth.
Li Xuan looked at the students from Class A and said loudly,
“There was a cup of tea left on the table in the deputy headmaster’s living room. Someone must have visited him.”
“If this person doesn’t come forward, I’ll assume they’re the murderer. When we find out who it is, don’t blame me for being arbitrary.”
Seeing the students below start to discuss amongst themselves, Li Xuan gestured to the Di Qi who had reported the news: “Go, talk to each student individually again. Give this person a chance to confess privately.”
Besides the one who admitted to their wrongdoings, who else could have gone to see the deputy headmaster last night?
Not long after, the Di Qi who had been investigating the deputy headmaster's reputation also returned.
“Reporting to Your Excellency, Jin Shang Rong came from a commoner background. He was a scholar who passed the provincial exams in the 30th year of the Taikang reign. At 25 years old, he was a prodigy. He rose through the ranks, becoming a teacher at the Jintai Academy, and eventually achieved the position of deputy headmaster,” the Di Qi reported.
“While he appeared to be loyal and upright, in reality, he was morally corrupt, indulging in debauchery.”
“He wouldn’t reveal the names of the students who made mistakes, instead telling them to seek him out privately. On the surface, it seemed like he was protecting their reputations. However, the truth was that he was using their errors to extort money by threatening to expose them.”
“He lived a lavish lifestyle, and many held grudges against him. Strangely, his home appeared to be quite austere. We’re looking into whether he has a mistress.”
“In the past few days, Jin Shang Rong has been behaving normally, with nothing out of the ordinary.”
If they hadn't been limited by time, they probably would have already discovered if he had a mistress, and if so, where she lived.
“Go inside and tell the clerks to thoroughly examine his records, looking for any evidence of improper relationships or other incriminating material.”
“Yes!”
Li Xuan stroked his chin.
It seemed that the Jin Yi Wei’s investigative abilities were quite impressive. They weren’t like the incompetent officials you saw in ordinary dramas.
Perhaps his first case would be solved using one of the most difficult techniques in the detective world: armchair detection.
He wouldn’t need to investigate himself. He’d simply need to analyze the information gathered by others to solve the case.
They would even be able to uncover the truth without his input.
He glanced at the headmaster, Lin, who was eavesdropping nearby, or to be more polite, supervising the progress of the case.
His face had turned gloomy.
It was understandable.
At his age, nearing eighty, the academy made him the headmaster simply for his reputation.
If they had really asked him to handle administrative duties, it would have been enough to wear him down.
Because he didn’t pay much attention to matters, now a big problem had arisen.
Extorting money by blackmailing students?
Could he really take advantage of the wealthy and influential people at the academy?
After a short period of time, about fifteen minutes, the Di Qi who had been investigating those who had entered and left the academy returned.
“Reporting to Your Excellency, no outsiders entered the academy yesterday.”
“However, three days ago, an envoy from Fusang who came to Beijing said he admired the culture of the Celestial Empire and visited the Jintai Academy. There were a total of 15 people who entered and left at that time.”
Li Xuan couldn’t help but look at him.
Whenever something bad happened, they would immediately put the blame on the Japanese. It was a sure thing!
He instructed them, “Go investigate. Find out who interacted with them that day, what they said, and what they did.”
“Yes!”
And so on and so forth.
Li Xuan didn’t keep everyone gathered together. They dispersed.
It wasn’t until near the beginning of the Shen hour (3:00 PM) that Chief Flag Officer Lu arrived with two students and a teacher.
The accompanying clerk said,
“In the past month, instructor Ma Boyong has been in contact with Strychnine due to illness.”
“Zhang Wei, the son of a censor, stole the exam questions for this month's academy exam and went to see Jin Shang Rong at night. When he arrived, Jin Shang Rong was fine.”
“Liao Yongchang, a student from a poor family, was approached by Jin Shang Rong privately regarding a plagiarism incident. He was asked to visit him at night. When he arrived, Jin Shang Rong was already dead.”
“All of the above information is based on the self-reported statements of the individuals involved. The authenticity of these statements is still being investigated.”
Li Xuan subconsciously asked, “What plagiarism incident?”
Ma Boyong looked like a typical middle-aged scholar. He had a handsome and spirited appearance, but he seemed a bit weak.
Although Zhang Wei was said to be the son of a censor, his steps were somewhat concealed, indicating he had some martial arts skills.
As for Liao Yongchang, he had a small mustache. He wasn’t ugly, but there was something about him that seemed a little sleazy. Perhaps it was because he was always slightly bent over and had somewhat crooked legs?
The clerk flipped through the investigation records and said, “Liao Yongchang wrote a romance novel about a commoner who becomes a talented scholar and falls in love with a noblewoman. It became very popular.”
“The son of a wealthy merchant came forward and claimed that it wasn’t Liao Yongchang’s writing. He said it was his own work, and he had asked Liao Yongchang to help polish it. However, Liao Yongchang published it himself without his permission.”
“They both stuck to their stories. Because the contract with the bookseller was signed by Liao Yongchang, the matter was ultimately left unresolved.”
Li Xuan pressed further, “Was that wealthy merchant’s son from the academy?”
The clerk shook his head, “Reporting to Your Excellency, he was not.”
Now, it was down to three suspects, a classic case of three choices.
Li Xuan pointed at them and asked Chief Flag Officer Lu, “How do you usually solve cases?”
Chief Flag Officer Lu said coldly, “Take them to the Imperial Prison, and they will naturally confess.”
Li Xuan: “….”
Headmaster Lin: “….”
The teachers and students: “….”
Ma Boyong, Zhang Wei, Liao Yongchang: “….”
Before they could get up in arms and accuse the Jin Yi Wei of using torture to force confessions, Li Xuan said, “I recall that the Jin Yi Wei’s functional departments seem to have tracking dogs.”
“Send someone to get three.”
“Also, have someone bring back some aconite poison and Strychnine.”
He had lost his mind.
Why did he always have to be like Conan, always trying to solve mysteries through deduction?
He could just have the “police dogs” sniff around and find out who in the academy had the poison. Why go through all this trouble?
He could clearly sense that Chief Flag Officer Lu’s eyes had changed.
He ordered a Di Qi to fetch the poison and Strychnine while he personally rode back to the Jin Yi Wei headquarters.
They had tracking dogs, falcons, and even elephants. The Jin Yi Wei had everything!
When they returned, they had the tracking dogs sniff the aconite and Strychnine. They then searched the rooms of the three suspects one by one.
In Ma Boyong’s room, the three dogs simply circled around the medicine jars and packages, barking.
They searched Zhang Wei’s room thoroughly, but the three dogs left without finding anything.
However, in Liao Yongchang’s room, the dogs both found poison and barked at several different spots.
The evidence couldn’t have been more obvious.
They weren’t stupid. Everyone who was standing close to Liao Yongchang immediately backed away.
The Jin Yi Wei’s Di Qi surrounded him.
At that moment, Liao Yongchang was still wide-eyed, “Impossible. How is this possible? How could there be poison in my room?”
“It wasn’t me. I didn’t kill him. The deputy headmaster wasn’t killed by me!”
As he spoke, he backed away.
Li Xuan noticed his fingers moving subtly before he stopped himself.
This wouldn’t do.
What was the point of just catching a murderer?
This murderer had to have an identity. He had to be someone who was plotting something!