Chapter 420 A Loving Family [Two in One]

While Liang Yue was thinking, Chen Ju, fulfilling his duty as a master, asked, "Have you checked all these things? If they are highly toxic, there should be some residue, right?"

"It has already been sent to the coroner for examination." Liang Yue said without looking up, "The blood of the underworld snake is bright in color and insoluble in matter. If it sticks to something, it is easy to see and very conspicuous. These things obviously don't have it, but it's impossible to tell whether they have been contaminated before."

"The only edible item among these items was definitely the sweet-scented osmanthus cake, and he did eat half of it, but we can't be sure whether he touched the other items before eating it."

"If the blood of the underworld snake is so conspicuous, it is impossible for it to be in his daily meals." A jailer said, "Every meal delivered will be checked by several people. Even if someone poisoned it, it is impossible for it to be so obvious."

"We should consider their own family members as the cause. Even if someone from the Criminal Justice Department is involved, they are at most hiring someone to kill or assist." Liang Yue nodded and said, "Call the Qi family members over. I am going to talk to them all individually."

The notice from the Criminal Justice Department was delivered to the Qi family. Soon, several members of the Qi family's eldest branch arrived in unison.

Under normal circumstances, even if the government wanted to find Qi Delong, it would not be so easy. How could the head of the Qi family allow you to come whenever you call?

But Liang Yue has the prince by his side and the emperor behind him, so the Qi family definitely gives him much more face than ordinary prison officials.

After everyone arrived, Liang Yue was inside the yamen and asked someone to bring Qi Delong in first.

Although he had just experienced the pain of losing his son, the head of the Qi family was still quite calm. He sat down opposite Liang Yue with a calm expression and said, "After a night, I wonder if Lord Liang has gained anything?"

"We are still in the stage of understanding the situation, please don't be impatient, Mr. Qi." Liang Yue said: "We will definitely do our best to investigate this case as soon as possible. Of course, the premise for this is that your family members will cooperate more."

"Since I'm sitting here, it means that the Qi family will definitely cooperate with Lord Liang." Qi Delong said lightly.

"That would be the best." Liang Yue responded with a smile, and then asked, "Are these two books the only things Mr. Qi has sent to the prison during this period?"

There were two brand new books on his side, one was "Qi Family Instructions" and the other was "Yin Fa Tong De", which were books that Qi family members had to read since childhood. Qi Delong gave his son these two books.

"That's right." Qi Delong closed his eyes slightly and said, "Although my son is naughty, he has always been filial to me, and the relationship between father and son is good. This time I know that he has made a big mistake and his life is in danger. I gave him these two books in the hope that he will reflect more in prison and repent as soon as possible."

"Then why didn't you send it before?" Liang Yue asked again.

"He was arrested by Zhao Faxian, the previous Lord Zhao..." Qi Delong's eyes darkened for a moment when he mentioned this name, and then he said, "He is a very upright person and does everything according to the rules. He does not allow anything to be sent to the prison, and neither does our Qi family. It was only after Lord Zhao disappeared that we found a way to send him some things."

"The relationship between the Qi family and Lord Zhao is not very good?" Liang Yue asked casually.

"Lord Zhao's relations with the major families are not good. He doesn't give face to anyone, not just my Qi family." Qi Delong answered calmly.

Liang Yue only touched upon the topic briefly and did not discuss it in depth. Anyway, if the Qi family was really related to Zhao Faxian's disappearance, they would not tell you in person.

So he continued, "The most likely thing your son has come into contact with the poison is the things your family sent in. Do you have any suspects?"

"Lord Liang, do you want me to doubt my own family?" Qi Delong said sarcastically.

"After all, you know more about the Qi family. If you want to find out the real culprit as soon as possible, you still need to provide me with some ideas." Liang Yue said.

"I have always attached great importance to the education of my children. The younger generations of the Qi family are very friendly and have a good relationship with each other. Boqing and his wife are also very loving." Qi Delong pondered for a moment and said, "If I must suspect someone, then after Boqing's death, Zhongqing will become the first heir to the family head. He is indeed the most likely to do so."

"Okay." Liang Yue nodded, "Thank you Mr. Qi for your cooperation."

……

A moment later, a young woman in plain white clothes sat opposite Liang Yue. She was crying and wiping her tears, her face still full of charm.

She was Qi Boqing's first wife, named Chen Meijiao, and she was also from a wealthy family in Qingdu. If you count carefully, she might be somewhat related to Chen Ju.

"Madam Qi, please accept my condolences." Liang Yue consoled her and said, "The dead cannot be resurrected. We should find the murderer as soon as possible so that his soul can rest in peace."

"Yes." Madam Qi's eyes were still tearful. "I'll follow Lord Liang's arrangements."

"Before he died, Qi Boqing only ate the osmanthus cake you sent him, and the poison also came out of his stomach. From this point of view, it seems that you are the most suspicious." Liang Yue said bluntly.

"Oh my!" Madam Qi cried even louder. "Listen to what you are saying. How can a person say such cold words? Do you suspect that I killed my husband?"

She cried even more fiercely, sliding off the chair and falling to the ground. "My husband and I have been married for several years, and we love each other very much. Who in the Qi family doesn't know this? How could I possibly harm him?"

"The reason why I sent him sweet-scented osmanthus cake is because I felt sorry for him because he couldn't eat anything good in prison, so I made some cakes he liked and sent them in. Now he died in your prison, and you suspect our own family..."

"Madam Qi, I'm just mentioning this suspicion." Liang Yue felt his eardrums rumbling and said quickly, "But I also know that this method of poisoning is too obvious, you probably won't choose it."

"You're smart." Mrs. Qi sat back in her chair, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and regained her composure.

"Then were you watching the whole process of the osmanthus cake from the time it came out of the oven to the time it was delivered to the jailer?" Liang Yue asked again.

"That's right. I personally watched the maids do it, and then sent them to the prison." Madam Qi looked behind Liang Yue and said, "You should be more suspicious of your own people. I think the person standing behind you doesn't look like a good person."

Chen Ju smiled when he heard this, looked around, and found that he was the only one behind Liang Yue, so he glared, "Hey!"

"Alright, alright." Liang Yue raised his hand and said, "We will definitely conduct a thorough investigation of the personnel in the Criminal Justice Department, so Madam Qi doesn't need to worry about it. But among you, who do you suspect the most?"

"What a joke!" Madam Qi frowned and said, "Everyone knows that my Qi family is the most harmonious one. It goes without saying that my husband and I are of one mind, and their fathers, sons and brothers are also in harmony. How could someone kill my husband?"

Liang Yue thought to himself that if I hadn't happened to hear your conspiracy that day, I might have really believed your lies.

So he nodded and said, "I know all this, I just want to ask you for your thoughts."

"If I really want to say it..." Madam Qi pondered, "I still doubt the second son more. After all, if Boqing dies, then Zhongqing will inherit the family business. From the perspective of interests, he has a chance."

……

After a while, a young boy sat opposite Liang Yue.

It can be seen that he is still growing up. Although he is already very tall, he looks very thin. He is wearing a scholar's robe and there is a circle of fuzz at the corner of his mouth. He looks gentle and refined.

"I am Qi Shuqing, a student. Nice to meet you, Lord Justice Officer." He bowed seriously as he came in.

Compared with the eldest brother who killed people in the street and the second brother who seduced the eldest sister-in-law, the third brother of the Qi family is indeed more humane and even a little polite.

"Qi Shuqing, why did you send in a pair of boots for your elder brother?" Liang Yue asked straight to the point.

"It's cool in winter, and the heating in the prison is definitely not as good as at home. I was afraid that my brother would catch a cold, so I gave him a pair of winter boots to keep him warm." Qi Shuqing replied. "That's quite thoughtful." Liang Yue asked, "Are you brothers on good terms?"

"My eldest brother treats me very well. He often takes me out to play. He always remembers me first when there is something delicious or fun. Naturally, I have to be nicer to my eldest brother too." Qi Shuqing said slowly.

"Is that so?" Liang Yue nodded and said, "Among the people in your family, who do you think is most likely to have sent the poison in?"

"It's impossible." Qi Shuqing shook his head. "Father thinks highly of my eldest brother and has been trying to rescue him. My eldest sister-in-law loves my eldest brother deeply and cries every day. My second brother has also been busy with my eldest brother's affairs and has not had time to go home to rest in recent days... With such deep feelings between them, how could they harm my eldest brother?"

Listening to him say these words, Liang Yue couldn't help but mutter inwardly that the child was still a little naive.

Where has your second brother gone since he is away from home every day? What does your eldest sister-in-law use to wash her face every day...it's hard to say.

"It doesn't mean that the murderer must be in your house. Just help me analyze it. After all, I don't know the situation as well as your family members." Liang Yue added.

"If I have to talk about it, it can only be about my second brother." Qi Shuqing continued, "Regarding my eldest brother's imprisonment..."

At this point, he suddenly hesitated, and after a long pause he continued, "I have always suspected that it was my second brother who designed this."

Liang Yue's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Oh?"

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

I didn't expect to find new things from this child.

But Qi Shuqing just said softly: "I am just guessing. If Lord Liang wants to find the truth, he should check it himself."

……

"Brother!"

The last person to be called over was Qi Zhongqing. He sat on a chair and cried bitterly.

"We agreed to be good brothers for life, why did you suddenly abandon me? My big brother——"

"Okay, take a break first." Liang Yue waved his hand to tell him to stop crying. For him, the day of crying was still to come, so he asked, "Why did you send a dice to Qi Boqing for no reason?"

"We brothers have a deep affection for each other since childhood and often play together. Now that my eldest brother is in prison, no one feels more sorry for him than me!" Qi Zhongqing said sadly, "I was worried that he would be bored in prison, so I sent him a small item to play with."

"But as far as I know, your eldest brother was addicted to gambling before, and was always punished by your father. He even said publicly that if he gambles again, he will not be allowed to inherit the family business." Liang Yue said: "You gave him the dice. Did you have bad intentions?"

"Lord Liang is exaggerating. He is just playing by himself. I don't want him to go out and gamble." Qi Zhongqing looked at Liang Yue and still felt a little embarrassed.

After all, I thought he was just a minion following Chen Ju, but who would have known that he was actually the genius of the time who had just won the battle to capture the city not long ago, the newly promoted third-rank immortal official, and now temporarily serving as the fourth-rank prison official.

Fortunately, the prince was not there, otherwise Qi Zhongqing might not have dared to come in.

"Is your family close?" Liang Yue asked again.

"Of course." Qi Zhongqing said, "Our Qi family's ancestral motto is that a harmonious family brings prosperity. No matter what, we must be harmonious with our family members. My eldest brother has always set an example."

"But..." Liang Yue stretched out his voice and said, "Just now I asked those people who was most likely to kill Qi Boqing, and they all suspected you. Now it seems that you are indeed the most suspicious."

"What?" Qi Zhongqing glared at him and stood up immediately, "How could it be me?"

"Because they all say that the Qi family is very harmonious, and only you have a conflict of interest with him because of the issue of the order of succession to the head of the family." Liang Yue said.

"Oh, what a joke!" Qi Zhongqing suddenly put one foot on the stool and said, "Are they in harmony?"

"My father appears to be righteous and moral in disciplining my eldest brother, but he has actually been unhappy with him for a long time. The third and fourth concubines he married had affairs with my eldest brother. A few days ago, I went to see my eldest brother and found the sixth concubine coming out of his room in a panic. She had her outer clothes on, but I just felt something was wrong. So I went up to touch her, and guess what? The sixth concubine had no underwear at all! I asked her what was wrong, and she said she liked to go out like this to keep cool! Ha, she was just fooling around!"

"Brother is like this with several concubines. Do you think my father can not hate him?"

Listening to Qi Zhongqing's convincing words, Chen Ju suddenly asked, "Where did you touch?"

"Hmm?" Qi Zhongqing was suddenly stunned. After a moment's pause, he said, "It's not important."

He continued, "Not to mention my eldest sister-in-law. This woman hopes that my eldest brother dies early so that she can become a widow and share the family property. My eldest brother is a food-protecting person. He can go out and seduce women everywhere, but his women can't even say a few words to men. My eldest sister-in-law has had so many affairs that she has long been afraid that my eldest brother will chop her to death! She has a tattoo of the word "Yan" on her thigh. I asked her what happened and she said that an adulterer named Yan tattooed it while she was sleeping. She told my eldest brother that it was because she liked little swallows! Do you think she doesn't hope that my eldest brother will die early?"

"How did you see her tattoo?" Chen Ju suddenly asked again.

"What's wrong with you?" Qi Zhongqing frowned, "It doesn't matter."

Then he continued, "Shuqing is even more mean and mean. He seems to like reading a lot, but that's all fake. He was the one who reported most of the things that my eldest brother did to the gambling house. Of course, he had his reasons. When he was young, my eldest brother saw that his father doted on him and was afraid that he would threaten his position as the head of the family in the future. He pushed Shuqing into the river several times. It was me who was fishing downstream, thinking that there was a big fish, so I caught him! If it weren't for me, he would have become a water ghost. How could he not hate my eldest brother?"

"..."

Qi Zhongqing's outburst completely tore apart the previous illusion of a loving father and filial son in the family.

After they finished chatting individually, Liang Yue walked out and looked at the Qi family members sitting together, saying, "Everyone, I have understood everything. I will continue to investigate the case with all my strength. I hope everyone will give us some time. I also have some understanding of your family's affairs. I believe that with the family tradition of the Qi family, you should not be suspected of murdering Qi Boqing."

"Of course." Qi Delong stood up. "In my Qi family, harmony is the most important thing. How could there be such an immoral thing?"

"That's right." The others also responded, and they supported each other and went out happily.

"Dad, let me help you."

"Be careful, sister-in-law, the road ahead is slippery."

"Brother, you cried too much, please take care of yourself."

……

As soon as they left, Chen Ju immediately made a decision: "It seems that the murderer is one of their family members. There is no escape. Even among the major families, it is difficult to find such a beastly family."

"Maybe this is the family tradition." Liang Yue shook his head and sighed, then asked, "Who do you think is the most suspicious?"

Chen Ju stroked his chin and said, "I choose Qi Zhongqing, he is the one that everyone wants!"

(End of this chapter)