“Eh?” Robert Lincoln widened his eyes, not expecting the other party to admit it so frankly, openly expressing his disdain, and was momentarily at a loss for words.

You’re being a bit too straightforward, aren’t you?

“Hahaha, of course we, the Imperial Guards, respect the Ministry of Justice. But since Captain Lincoln wants to take my brother away, you’ll have to convince us first.” With a hearty laugh, a broad figure flashed in from outside the door.

At this critical moment, the junior officer stationed at Fukang Ward, Henry Howard, finally arrived.

“Mr. Howard...” George Lambert looked over.

Although he often joked about Henry Howard being petty, in front of outsiders he always protected his own and would never easily give up on his subordinates. His timely arrival gave George Lambert a bit more confidence.

“Hey.” Henry Howard waved his hand, signaling him not to panic, and continued, “George Lambert is the most promising young guard at our station. He just captured a Jiuyang spy not long ago. Someone who’s made such a great contribution can’t just be taken away at your word. We, the Imperial Guards, should also be allowed to investigate.”

“He caught a Jiuyang spy?” Robert Lincoln looked at George Lambert again, a bit surprised.

The words “Jiuyang spy” carry extraordinary weight in today’s Yin Dynasty. Anyone who achieves such a feat is bound to be regarded differently.

“If Captain Lincoln doesn’t believe it, you can ask at the Zhuxie Yamen,” said Henry Howard.

“All right.” Robert Lincoln turned aside, making way, and pointed, “Then I’ll allow you to come in and observe, but you must not disturb any evidence. Otherwise, I’ll arrest you on the spot!”

George Lambert nodded slightly, then straightened his expression and stepped into the study.

……

This was his second time entering this room. When he first arrived, he never imagined he’d get caught up in something like this.

His gaze began to roam around the study, observing every item.

There wasn’t much to see in the outer room—still the same furnishings, and that wall, which looked no different from before.

Under the watchful eyes of several Ministry of Justice constables, he lifted the beaded curtain again and saw Charles Jennings’s corpse and the crime scene.

The corpse’s eyeballs bulged, blood vessels burst, and the eyes were filled with terror. There was a sunken purple mark on the neck, clearly indicating that the real cause of death was not hanging.

The rope used for hanging was a length of gold-threaded red silk, looking very luxurious and of excellent quality.

On the table lay a book. When he first arrived, Charles Jennings had been reading a letter, then covered it with this book, as if trying to hide it.

George Lambert stepped forward and saw the book was titled “Blueprints for Building the Tower of Heaven.” He wanted to move the book to look underneath, but as soon as he reached out, there was a thud.

Robert Lincoln swept his palm sideways, the scabbard spinning through the air and striking the table. “Don’t touch anything.”

“I won’t.” George Lambert smiled. “Then could Captain Lincoln please move the book?”

Robert Lincoln stepped forward and moved the book, only to find nothing underneath.

The letter was gone.

George Lambert made a mental note of this, but for now, the most pressing question was: who killed Charles Jennings?

If he was right, after they left, this study became a sealed room. To solve the case, the best place to start was the surroundings of the room.

If Henry Jennings was lying...

It seemed unlikely. This was about his own father; even if he had a grudge against Peter Lambert, he wouldn’t frame someone unless he was the killer himself.

He’d been beaten today and would be punished to kneel when he got home. In such a strict family, a sudden act of parricide wasn’t impossible.

However...

George Lambert glanced at Henry Jennings, whose face was purple with grief and looked about to faint, and shook his head. Even setting aside whether he had the guts, someone who couldn’t even beat Peter Lambert definitely didn’t have the ability to kill his own father.

To shatter a person’s throat with a single finger without damaging the skin required extremely precise control of internal force. Even George Lambert, a first-level martial artist, would find it difficult.

The killer was most likely stronger than himself.

There was no problem at the main door, so was the issue with the window?

The window latch was perfectly intact, with no sign of damage. The first people to enter were the The Jennings Family, so it was impossible for them to have secretly latched it.

George Lambert bent down, examining the window frame closely, then looked at the footprints on the floor. Unfortunately, too many people had come and gone, and the dust had been completely disturbed.

“Sigh...”

George Lambert sighed. He couldn’t expect too much from people of this era, even the professionals from the Ministry of Justice.

It was as if he was being led by a string, crouching as he examined the floor, then lifting the beaded curtain and returning to the outer room. Finally, he straightened up and looked at the ceiling.

Then—

George Lambert suddenly broke into a relieved smile.

Robert Lincoln watched him frown and smile by turns, thinking he might be losing his mind from fear, and spoke softly in a gentler tone: “If you really can’t find any clues, just come back with us for questioning. There’s no need to waste time here. Trust me, if you’re truly innocent, the Ministry of Justice will never wrongly convict you.”