Lu Geng sneered slightly, feeling a bit nauseated by Jiang Zhe and Ge Hengtai’s act, but he suppressed the disgust in his heart and said solemnly, "Indeed, my junior brother Duan Rong did enter Divine Cloud Prefecture a few days ago, but he was under the orders of our master to secretly investigate spies within Divine Cloud Prefecture. He is absolutely unrelated to Li Shensi’s death."
Anger flashed across Jiang Zhe’s face as he mocked, "Brother Lu, you truly have a heavenly insight! I think you might as well set up a fortune-telling stall at the street corner."
"You..."
Jiang Zhe continued, "Just because you say there’s no relation doesn’t make it true! I think your junior brother looks pretty suspicious!"
Before Jiang Zhe arrived, Ge Rusong had already instructed him to pin the blame on Duan Rong, establish the crime, and draw out Zhu He. From the moment he stepped in, he hadn’t intended to speak reasonably with Lu Geng.
Lu Geng sneered, "Brother Jiang, we’re investigating a case, not bickering. We can’t rely solely on suspicion; there must be evidence."
Jiang Zhe replied, "Well said! Evidence comes after the interrogation."
Jiang Zhe then suddenly looked at Chen Shanmeng, who was still leaning at the front of his desk, and shouted, "Master Chen, bring your people from the Ministry of Justice and escort Duan Rong here for questioning!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Shanmeng gasped, his expression hesitant, unsure of how to respond.
But Lu Geng said, "Wait! My junior brother has a task at hand, he has no time to play your games. It’s documented that the Ministry of Justice’s forensic doctor has already examined and found Li Shensi was not poisoned."
Jiang Zhe retorted, "The poison from the Dark Forest can’t be detected by mundane forensic doctors. I’ve brought a sect pharmacist along."
Lu Geng replied, "Since you’ve brought a pharmacist, let’s have him test for poison first."
Lu Geng knew that Duan Rong had mentioned the poison on Li Shensi had fully dissipated, and not even a pharmacist could detect it, which is why he suggested it, to prevent Duan Rong from being humiliated.
Jiang Zhe said, "There’s suspicion, so interrogate first then test."
Lu Geng responded, "Test first, then interrogate!"
The two argued, both turning to Yang Yi, who was sitting aside. "Yang Yi, what do you say?"
Since the case was managed by the three of them, and two held opposing views, it was up to Yang Yi to agree with one side.
Yang Yi saw them looking at him but remained calm. Having followed Yang Sixuan through countless cases, although his cultivation wasn’t great, his mind was very clear.
Yang Yi turned his head towards the elder in the corner, asking, "Pharmacist Guo, how long will it take to test for poison from the Dark Forest?"
The elder opened his eyes when spoken to but stared into empty space, not looking at Yang Yi and the others, he said, "Quickly, it can be tested in a short while. Slowly, it would take at most an hour."
Yang Yi smiled slightly, looking at Jiang Zhe and Lu Geng, and said, "I think perhaps we should have Pharmacist Guo test first. At most it’ll take just an hour."
Jiang Zhe saw Yang Yi speaking this way and sat with a stiff face, saying nothing.
Yang Yi, seeing Jiang Zhe and Lu Geng silent, then turned to Chen Shanmeng, asking, "Master Chen, where is Li Shensi’s corpse?"
Before Chen Shanmeng could speak, Ge Hengtai interrupted, saying, "Reporting, master, Li Shensi’s corpse was taken back to the Ministry of Justice’s office the day it was found and sealed in the ice cellar! The Ministry of Justice, Advisory Bureau, and Guanglu Mansion have people jointly guarding it."
Yang Yi said, "Good, then lead us, Master Ge, together with Pharmacist Guo, to see Li Shensi’s corpse. We can’t just handle a case for hours without even seeing the corpse, can we?"
Yang Yi, at the Judgment and Rectification Department, spent years handling cases on the front line, and was very displeased with Jiang Zhe and Lu Geng’s style of using documents to argue.
Yang Yi said, then turned his head towards Jiang Zhe and Lu Geng, asking, "Master Jiang, Master Lu, shall we go together?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhe and Lu Geng stood up alongside Yang Yi, and the group altogether left the main hall.
After everyone departed, Chen Shanmeng slumped down, and suddenly, a hand supported him, it was Lin Yuan from the Secretariat.
Lin Yuan helped up the slightly weakened Chen Shanmeng, saying, "Master Chen, you did well today!"
Chen Shanmeng’s forehead was covered in sweat as he smiled bitterly, "Master Lin, there’s nothing good about it, I could only do this. The whirlpool of struggle between these two parties can’t be touched at all!"
Lin Yuan sighed, "Indeed! It’s certainly not something to get involved in."
"Walking on thin ice!" Chen Shanmeng said while wiping sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
Lin Yuan replied, "Though standing on the shore is stable, if you stand wrongly, you’ll die terribly. The ice looks dangerous, but if you’re good at swimming, you won’t drown, right?"
Chen Shanmeng chuckled, "You’re insightful! Truly insightful!"