Captain Wang sat in the main seat with a solemn expression, not saying a word.

These days, the first thing County Magistrate Zhu did when he woke up was to ask about the progress of the case. Captain Wang couldn't give any valuable information, so he vented his frustration.

All the pressure was on him as the captain, and his subordinates hid under his umbrella, not only not sharing his worries but also arguing with him!

Captain Wang had a reason to be angry. He felt that he was bearing the pressure that he shouldn't have at his age.

Xu Qi'an, who received the file, sat at the table and carefully examined it. His colleagues surrounded him, exchanging silent glances.

Xu Qi'an's idea was to solve the case to please Old Wang. If that wasn't possible, he could invite Old Wang to go to the Peach Blossom Cave for fun. They had known each other for so many years, and their friendship was still strong.

Moreover, Xu Qi'an didn't want to hinder Old Wang's slacking off, not just because it didn't align with his values but also because he wanted to share Old Wang's worries.

"The victim's name is Zhang Yourui, 51 years old this year. He was a wealthy man living on Kangping Street. He owned more than ten hectares of farmland in Changle County's suburbs, and there were three shops in the capital selling silk, rouge, and sundries. His first wife died, and he remarried a young woman twenty years his junior. Zhang Yourui had a son left by his deceased wife, and no other children," the file read.

Xu Qi'an couldn't help but complain in his heart about the twenty-year age gap between the old man and his new wife. This was what they called, "As long as you work hard to make money, your future wife will still be in kindergarten?"

"Four days ago, Zhang Yourui went to collect rent in the countryside and returned home around the hour of the tiger. His sleeping wife suddenly heard a scream and went outside to investigate. Zhang Yourui was already dead in the courtyard. His wife saw a black shadow jump over the wall and escape," the report continued.

That was how the incident happened.

After Xu Qi'an read the coroner's report and the testimonies of the deceased's family and servants, he closed his eyes and organized his thoughts.

Captain Wang sneered and taunted, "May I ask, Detective Xu, who is the culprit and where are they?"

"Don't worry, boss," Xu Qi'an opened his eyes. "I saw in the file that there were footprints left on the wall outside Zhang's house. You deduced that the thief escaped by jumping over the wall, and the woman's statement is true."

Captain Wang grunted in agreement.

"The footprints face outward, so they were left when the culprit fled," Xu Qi'an said.

"What's the problem?" Captain Wang frowned.

"Why were there footprints?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"Because there was mud on the soles of their feet."

"Why was there mud?"

Search "pawread.com" for the original.

"Because there was a flower bed next to the wall."

Xu Qi'an nodded. "Then why weren't there any footprints inside the courtyard in the file?"

Captain Wang froze.

In silence, the other detectives felt that he had lost face and tried to make up for him. "Xu thinks that the thief noticed this and didn't leave any traces when he entered."

Another person said, "But after killing, in a hurry to escape, he left footprints in a hurry."Xu Qi'an glanced at them and said, "It's possible. Then, is there any footprint left in the flower bed below the wall from when they infiltrated? In theory, if the thief could jump over the flower bed without leaving any footprints, then this means...that they have excellent lightness skills. So, when he escaped, he didn't need to step on the wall for leverage."

The group looked at each other and couldn't answer.

Xu Qi'an knew the answer without their response. It wasn't a matter of "yes" or "no," but rather they didn't know.

The constables didn't investigate this.

"Ning Yan, what's the point of arguing about this?" someone said in disagreement.

Xu Qi'an didn't answer and looked at the frowning and contemplative head constable. He continued, "The deceased was hit in the back of the head with a blunt object and died on the spot, right?"

The head constable nodded. "He died on the spot."

Xu Qi'an said, "I have a question. Why use a blunt object? If the killer was doing this kind of thing, they would naturally have a weapon on them. Wouldn't it be more straightforward to use a knife or sword to kill?"

The reception room fell silent. Obviously, everyone realized this problem. Xiao Li guessed, "Perhaps the thief didn't intend to kill at first?"

"No!"

This time, it wasn't Xu Qi'an refuting, but the head constable. He stood up, his eyes slightly widened. "A blunt object hit the back of the head and killed him instantly. It was a murderous intention."

He sat back in his chair and muttered, "Yes, why use a blunt object? Why not use a sharp one?"

"Unless the killer didn't have a handy weapon at the time," Xu Qi'an said.

The head constable's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had caught something, but he hadn't fully grasped it yet.

"There's one last point that I'm particularly concerned about," Xu Qi'an looked at the case file. "When the deceased's family brought Zhang Yang to the county yamen for questioning, she fainted suddenly due to prolonged kneeling. After the doctor diagnosed her, it was discovered that she was pregnant."

"It's a posthumous child."

"It's really pitiful. The child lost their father before they were even born."

The onlookers were annoying, interrupting each other with their opinions.

"Zhang Yang has been married to the deceased for almost ten years. Why did she only get pregnant at this time?" Xu Qi'an waited for them to finish before he spoke.

"Perhaps the child isn't the deceased's at all?"

If a man and woman are healthy, it's impossible not to have a child for ten years unless they deliberately avoid having one. One of them must have a physical problem, making it difficult to conceive. With ancient medical techniques for infertility, it's not impossible, but the success rate is definitely very low.

The head constable's breathing suddenly became heavy. "Ning Yan, explain clearly, explain clearly..."

Xu Qi'an took a sip of tea and said, "Perhaps this isn't a burglary case, but a murder case caused by an affair. Zhang Yang cheated on her husband with either an outsider or the deceased's son. The two secretly met while the deceased was out collecting rent. Who would have thought that the deceased would return early and catch them in the act, leading to a conflict between the two. Then, in a fit of anger, the lover grabbed a vase or other blunt object and killed the deceased.""Zhang Yang and her lover quickly cleaned up the scene and dragged the victim to the courtyard, disguising him as a thief who broke in."

"Since the lover wanted to have a secret meeting, he checked the routine of the night patrol soldiers in advance and was not seen by the imperial guards. If the thief was really after money, he would not have acted on that night, but would have waited for the victim to exchange the rent money for silver notes and take it away in his pocket."

"The excuse given by Zhang Yang is just borrowing the wind of collecting rent to lead your thoughts in the direction of 'seeking money'."

The catchers in the room were dumbfounded.

"Just by looking at the case file, you can determine the killer?"

"Ning Yan, this is not a joke, don't talk nonsense."

"But, doesn't it make sense?"

Xu Qi'an's actions gave them the feeling of "mysterious and powerful".

"I am just making a bold guess based on the details of the case. This may not be the truth and needs to be verified," Xu Qi'an responded to his surprised colleagues.

The process of solving the case is to collect clues, then reason and analyze, and finally verify; collect evidence.

The thief deceived the night patrol soldiers...the time of the break-in was wrong...the murder weapon was blunt instead of sharp...Zhang Yang was pregnant...after Xu Qi'an's deliberation, these seemingly insignificant details merged into a logical clue.

The head catcher felt that his career had opened up a whole new door. He took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and carefully pondered it. He found that there was a point in Xu Qi'an's words that puzzled him: "Why do you think the lover is the son of the victim?"

"I suspect that there are two reasons for him," Xu Qi'an took a slow sip of tea and said slowly in the eager eyes of the head catcher and his colleagues:

"The victim's son Zhang Xian said in his testimony that he was looking at the accounts in the study that night and did not sleep with his wife. Since he was awake, how could he not hear any movement in the courtyard?"

"Zhang Yang was awakened by the screams, indicating that the noise was very loud, but he, who was awake, did not hear any noise. Is it reasonable?"

"The second point is that if we cannot find the footprints left in the flowerbed by the thief when he entered, then this so-called thief may not exist. Based on this, the suspicion of the victim's son is very high."

Enlightening.

The head catcher asked, "So, the footprints on the wall are likely to be deliberately left to confuse us."

Xu Qi'an guessed, "Yes, by the way, let's directly compare the victim's son's boots."

"He certainly wouldn't leave his own footprints," the head catcher said.

Xu Qi'an was full of admiration and gave a rainbow fart, "Boss is really wise and brave, and he understands everything at once. He is truly a great Feng god catcher."

Xu Qi'an had just made a long speech and threw out amazing words, establishing his image, and then turned his head to lick in a 350-degree angle, which was very comfortable...The head catcher's dark and weather-beaten face burst into a smile.

He felt that his image had also been greatly elevated."I'll go find Lord Zhu immediately. You guys get ready and come with me to the Zhang mansion." Wang the headcatcher's dark, weathered face showed an impatient expression as he pointed at Xu Qi'an and let out a couple of tractor-like laughs before hurrying out of the lounge to find the county magistrate in the back hall.

PS: Thanks to the four big shots "Little Dolphin's Ling Xiaochen", "Big Brother Takes Me Flying", "Xi Piyou", and "Li Peiyun" for their tips.

I'll remember it first, and the leader should remember it too. When it's published, we'll all be together.