Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Hu Sheng's funeral was the most extravagant in Gaoyang in recent years. Two enormous coffins, made of heavy nanmu wood and lacquered to a gleaming black, were pulled by two muscular oxen, slowly making their way along the main road leading to the cemetery outside the village. Eighteen pallbearers lined both sides, chanting low, labored calls. Even so, the coffins seemed unusually heavy, the carrying poles creaking under their weight, and the pallbearers' foreheads bulged with veins, their steps heavy. Paper money was scattered like snowflakes along the way, and the suona horns blared deafeningly, yet they couldn't drown out the murmurs of the surrounding villagers. This hasty yet lavish funeral, amidst the white mourning clothes, carried an inexplicable sense of strangeness.

The coffin stopped before the double-pit burial chamber that had been dug beforehand. A shaman dressed in ritual robes chanted incantations, brandished a peach wood sword, and finally twisted off the head of a rooster, sprinkling its blood onto the coffin lid, completing the "exorcising" ritual. The pallbearers adjusted the ropes and poles, preparing to lower the coffin into the deep burial chamber.

"Wait a minute!"

A clear shout came from outside the crowd. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Magistrate Zhang Jingwei, dressed in his official robes, escorted by his clerk Yuan Liang and dozens of constables wielding fire and water clubs and carrying steel knives. He parted the crowd and walked directly to the edge of the tomb. The constables quickly dispersed, subtly surrounding the entire cemetery, and the atmosphere instantly froze.

Liu Yuan, dressed in mourning, paled upon seeing this, but forced herself to remain calm and stepped forward, her voice trembling with tears and accusation: "My lord! Today is the day my late husband is laid to rest, what... what is the meaning of this? Are you not even allowed to let the deceased rest in peace?" She tried to elicit sympathy from those around her.

Zhang Jingwei's gaze was sharp as a knife, sweeping over Liu Yuan, over the two huge coffins about to be buried, and finally landing on Hu Rong and Hu Jiao, who were kneeling before the coffins, also dressed in mourning clothes but expressionless. His voice was clear and powerful, echoing throughout the entire cemetery: "I have come here today not to disturb the peace of the deceased, but to—apprehend the real culprit, comfort the wronged souls, and uphold the law!"

"The real culprit?!"

These words immediately caused an uproar around the cemetery. Villagers whispered among themselves, discussing the matter animatedly.

"What real culprit? Didn't Hu Hai confess? Could it be... that Madam Liu really did kill him?"

"I don't think so. Liu is a weak woman... she's probably some servant who holds a grudge."

"Could it be..." someone whispered, glancing at the kneeling Hu sisters, "his two biological daughters? I've heard that Hu Sheng treated them, mother and daughters, very badly..."

"Pah! What nonsense!" someone immediately retorted. "Parricide? How can they make up something as outrageous as that? How old are they?"

Zhang Jingwei listened to the crowd's discussions but offered no explanation. Instead, he raised his voice and declared, "Fellow villagers! The case is complex and cannot be explained in a few words. To find out the truth and the murderer's identity, come with me to the county court! Today, in front of all the elders of Gaoyang, I will bring this case to a thorough investigation, leaving the true culprit nowhere to hide and allowing the innocent to rest in peace!"

……

The courtroom of Gaoyang County Government had never been as "lively" as it was today. Beneath the plaque above the entrance, a dense crowd of people knelt on the ground.

At the very front stood the two sisters, Hu Rong and Hu Jiao. Though kneeling, their backs were ramrod straight. Hu Rong's face was ashen, her lips tightly pressed together; Hu Jiao clenched her fists, her eyes filled with stubbornness and a hint of barely perceptible panic. Behind them was Hu Hai, his expression complex and hesitant, and Liu Yuan, her expression terrified and her eyes darting around. Further back were several servants and maids from the Hu family who had been detained, as well as a few villagers who might be connected to the case. The courtroom was almost completely filled with kneeling people, and outside, it was packed with people who had rushed to the scene. The constables had to double their manpower to maintain order, as countless eyes were fixed intently on the courtroom.

Zhang Jingwei sat upright behind the official desk, his official robes impeccable. His gaze, sharp as lightning, slowly swept over the two kneeling girls at the front. He cut to the chase, his voice deep and resolute:

"Hu Rong, Hu Jiao." He paused, each word crystal clear, "Why...why did you kill your own father, Hu Sheng?"

"boom--!"

Like a drop of cold water splashed into boiling oil, the courtroom and its surroundings instantly erupted in chaos! Exclamations, sobs, and incredulous whispers exploded, nearly lifting the roof off! Although there had been speculation at the gravesite, the shock of hearing the question so directly from the magistrate's mouth was still unparalleled! Patricide! This is the most unforgivable sin in the realm of natural justice and human morality!

Hu Rong's body swayed almost imperceptibly. She abruptly raised her head, her eyes flashing with shock and anger, which quickly turned into a cold defensiveness, but her voice remained calm as she tried her best to remain calm: "My lord! Without any evidence, you are making baseless accusations! As an official, how can you publicly frame two unmarried women with such a vile charge! We are already heartbroken by the tragic death of our father, are you going to rub salt into our wounds?!" Her words were sharp, carrying the logic of a scholar and a touch of the aloof self-restraint of a Taoist.

"Injustice? Framed?" Zhang Jingwei sneered, not angered by her rebuttal. Instead, he leaned forward slightly, an invisible pressure spreading out. "This case seems simple and clear—adultery exposed, scholar commits murder. In reality, it's full of twists and turns, shrouded in mystery! If it were any other official, upon finding Hu Hai confessing, they might simply close the case to save themselves some trouble. But you've encountered—me, Zhang Jingwei!"

His tone suddenly became more forceful, carrying an undeniable confidence and awe: "What I fear least is trouble! What I hate most is someone playing tricks, confusing right and wrong, deceiving the law, and even trampling on human ethics right under my nose!"

He seemed genuinely angry, his chest heaving slightly. He turned to Yuan Liang beside him, took a breath, and tried to remain calm as he said, "Tang Jing, I'm losing my temper right now. If I were to speak from here on out, I'm afraid I would utter foul language, which would be unbecoming of an official. You will be in charge of reconstructing and deducing the nature of this case."

Yuan Liang cupped his hands in greeting and replied, "Haha, this student would be more than happy to." He turned to the kneeling Hu sisters, his expression still gentle, but his eyes sharp as a scalpel. "Ladies, next, this student will try to reconstruct the events of the night of the incident and the events before and after. If there are any omissions or misunderstandings, I hope you will not hesitate to point them out, so that we can work together to improve this 'story,' shall we?"

Without waiting for a reply, he began to speak eloquently, his voice clear and his logic meticulous, as if he had witnessed it firsthand:

"In fact, from the very beginning, we fell into a carefully orchestrated trap. The body that the servant of the Hu family found in the backyard of the coal processing plant on the morning of the incident was not Hu Sheng himself at all."

Another low gasp rippled through the audience.

"When the body was first sent to the county mortuary, the coroner examined it hastily, focusing only on the fatal back and rib wound and noting characteristics such as 'killed by a single blow,' without delving into whether the deceased's face and body details completely matched Hu Sheng. This was because everyone had preconceived notions and believed that the deceased was Hu Sheng."

"The second time, when our county's senior coroner, Old Huang, personally performed an autopsy, why did we still find nothing? Because the body in the mortuary at that time was the real Hu Sheng! You cleverly switched the bodies. And it was this second 'no big deal' autopsy that led us to our first breakthrough—there was a special, sticky white paste-like substance left on Hu Sheng's face."

Yuan Liang's gaze was fixed on Hu Rong's pupils, which contracted instantly. He continued, "That was neither soap nor ordinary face cream. Considering the high-end cosmetic box belonging to you, Miss Hu Rong, that was found in Hu Hai's house, and the special materials that may have been in it... we speculate that you most likely used some method to create a highly realistic 'human face mold' beforehand."

“On the night of the incident, the real Hu Sheng may have already met with misfortune elsewhere. You secretly transported his body to the storage room in the backyard of the coal leaching workshop. At the same time, you arranged for someone—perhaps someone who used that 'human face mold' and was skillfully made up—to impersonate Hu Sheng and move around in Hu Sheng's usual residence, creating the illusion that he was still at home that night, in order to confuse the determination of the time of death.”

“However, the plan took an unexpected turn.” Yuan Liang’s voice suddenly turned somber. “When you finished dealing with Hu Sheng’s real body and returned home, you discovered—the person who impersonated Hu Sheng was also dead! Dead in the coal drying room of the coal processing plant! And, he died from the same stab wound to the back! This unexpected second corpse completely disrupted your plan. You had to deal with it hastily, and perhaps this left you with even more flaws…”

"I don't know what nonsense you're spouting!!" Hu Rong finally couldn't hold back any longer, interrupting sharply, her face pale, but her eyes still defiant. "These are all your baseless speculations! What evidence do you have?!"

“Don’t rush to deny it, Miss Rongrong.” Yuan Liang said calmly, gesturing for the constable to bring out the “Yang Shulin” dowry again. “Your dowry is here. Dowries of this caliber are expensive, and the shops often have a ‘lifetime maintenance’ policy, registering the purchaser’s information at the counter to provide after-sales service for dignitaries, similar to the ‘membership system’ my master pioneered. Should I send someone to invite the manager of ‘Yang Shulin’ right now for a face-to-face confrontation, to ask under whose name this dowry, worth ten thousand coins and clearly numbered, is registered?”

Hu Jiao suddenly looked up and said urgently, "This dressing case is mine! My sister bought it for me!" She tried to take it.

"Jiaojiao!" Hu Rong shouted sharply, a hint of desperate pain flashing in her eyes.

Yuan Liang, however, seemed to have grasped the key point and immediately pressed on, "Oh? Miss Jiao Jiao admits that this dressing case belongs to you? Then, is this tattered 'face' in my hand, made from special animal glue and not yet completely removed, also your work? Making such an exquisite and realistic mask requires not only materials but also superb makeup skills and patience. Miss Jiao Jiao, you... are also skilled in martial arts, so I'm afraid you can't calm your mind for this, right?" His words were directed at Hu Rong.

Hu Jiao opened her mouth, looked at her sister, feeling anxious and regretful, not knowing what to do.

Yuan Liang sighed, his tone turning heavy with almost pity: "Jiaojiao, although I don't know why you sisters would do such a cruel thing to your biological father, 'Heaven sees what man does.' You are also cultivators, you should know the principle that 'Heaven's retribution is inescapable.' You have violated human ethics and the way of Heaven. Even if the laws of the mortal world cannot punish you for it, how can the laws of the underworld let you off lightly? I'm afraid I, a mortal scholar, need not say more about these things."

"I...I..." Hu Jiao's mental defenses seemed to be collapsing. She looked at her sister's pale profile and recalled the scene from that night. The immense pressure, the fear of the past few days, and the panic of having her secrets exposed all intertwined, making her breath quicken and her eyes redden.

"Enough! Stop asking!" Hu Rong suddenly shouted hoarsely, straightening her back abruptly as if she had made up her mind. She looked resolutely at Zhang Jingwei and Yuan Liang, and said, word by word, "It was me... I killed them! I did all the planning! It has nothing to do with my sister! Arrest me!"

"Sister! It's clearly not him! It's clearly him..." Seeing her sister about to bear the burden alone, Hu Jiao couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, but she stopped herself halfway through her sentence, leaving only rapid breathing and rolling tears.

"Him what?" Yuan Liang, with his keen insight, immediately seized upon this word, his gaze piercing. "'Him' what? 'Hisself'? Ladies, at this point, is there any hidden secret that can't be told? Did Hu Sheng do something himself?"

The courtroom was deathly silent; everyone held their breath and stared intently at Hu Jiao.

Hu Jiao felt as if she had been pushed to the edge of a cliff. Her last line of defense crumbled completely under her sister's accusing gaze and Yuan Liang's relentless questioning. She suddenly looked up, tears streaming down her face. Years of humiliation, anger, fear, and the horrific memories of that night erupted like a volcano. With all her might, she screamed:

"It was him! It was that beastly father of mine! He tried to rape my sister!!! I caught him... I... I accidentally killed him!!!"

"hiss--!"

The entire courtroom, along with the onlookers outside, fell into a deathly silence, with only Hu Jiao's shrill and desperate cries echoing in the air.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingwei, who was sitting upright behind the desk, suddenly had his pupils contract and his body trembled. The solemnity and sharpness that he had maintained on his face were instantly replaced by great shock. He couldn't help but gasp!

The truth is far more cruel and outrageous than imagined.