“Mm.” Henry Walker nodded and said, “I already had an impression of this case before. Now that I’ve looked at it again, I finally realize something’s off—the Zhao family’s actions are too abnormal, completely harming others without benefiting themselves. There must be someone behind the scenes, instructing or even coercing them, making them relentlessly target the Lin family!”

“That person is very likely the murderer of the female corpse!” Henry Walker closed the case file and said in a deep voice, “I remember that before my father put aside your sister-in-law’s disappearance case and focused all his efforts on the unidentified female corpse case, it was when Mr. Clark came to Fuyang!”

In David Walker’s memory, Judge Brooks was counting on solving the case before the inspector arrived, to avoid being punished for any mistakes. So he ordered my father to take Sheriff Hill and trace upstream along the riverbank where the female corpse was found, investigating village by village. At that time, the magistrate was pressing hard, comparing progress every three to five days, and even had my father beaten, so David Walker remembered it clearly.

“You mean, the murderer, seeing he was about to be exposed, incited the Zhao family to accuse Judge Brooks as well?” Miss Foster said in disbelief, “Would the Zhao family really be that foolish?” Although in the early Ming, commoners suing officials didn’t get beaten, if you failed, how could you continue living in the county? Even if you succeeded, how would the other officials treat you? What would the new magistrate think of you?

In fact, although the Zhao family won the lawsuit, these past two years have not been easy. They have never been favored by the new county magistrate, and the subordinates always assigned the most difficult tasks to their family. Now the Zhao family is living in disgrace, barely surviving...

“That’s not the issue. That person behind the scenes must have a way to coerce the Zhao family, leaving them no choice but to comply.” Henry Walker thought for a moment, then said coldly, “He thinks he can hide in the shadows, unnoticed, but after stirring up trouble for so long, he’s bound to slip up eventually!”

After hearing Henry Walker’s seamless reasoning, Miss Foster moved her lips but held back from speaking.

Unexpectedly, Henry Walker seemed to see through her thoughts and sneered, “If you go and report now, saying your sister-in-law isn’t dead, this case will be completely ruined.”

“Why?” Miss Foster was startled; it was clear that’s what she had been thinking.

“Judging by that person behind the scenes, he’s ruthless, sinister, and deeply familiar with the Zhejiang officialdom—his influence is beyond imagination!” Henry Walker said in a deep voice, “So if you tell the authorities, he’ll find out very quickly, and will surely silence witnesses and destroy evidence! By then, with no proof, everything will be over!”

“How do you know he’s familiar with the officialdom?” Miss Foster’s mind was in a whirl. She found it hard to believe that Henry Walker could deduce so much from just a case file, as if he had witnessed it himself.

“As the saying goes, ‘Leave room for maneuver, so you can meet again in the future.’ That’s even more true in official circles. When Mr. Clark arrived in Fuyang County, he made a big fuss over small matters, using torture to extract confessions. Especially when he tortured my father, it was clear he wanted to drag Judge Brooks down with him! Who would believe there was no grudge?” Henry Walker said calmly, “If he wasn’t certain of this, would the Zhao family dare take such a huge risk?”

“Mm.” Emily Foster nodded, confirming his guess. She had heard from some clerks while networking in the provincial capital that Judge Brooks’s father was the famous Yongle court official Chen Ying, which was why the case had dragged on for so long. Early this year, Chen Ying was imprisoned and ordered to die, and only then was the verdict delivered.

As for why Mr. Clark dared to go after Chen Ying’s son two years ago, when Chen Ying was still at the height of his power, it was because back when Chen Ying was handling the Jianwen treason case, he had executed Mr. Clark’s father and brothers, and even Mr. Clark himself had nearly lost his life. Later, it was proven to be a wrongful conviction, and he was reinstated, but ever since then, Mr. Clark hated Chen Ying to the bone. Even when Chen Ying was all-powerful, he still seized the chance to ruin his son!

This also explains why my father would risk everything to protect Judge Brooks. He must have known who Judge Brooks’s father was. If he dared to drag Chen Ying’s son down, he would surely be sentenced to death. It was better to hope that Judge Brooks would survive the ordeal and then help him in return.

If it were me, Henry Walker would have made the same choice. But no one can see the future—who could have known that the mighty Chen Ying would be imprisoned and executed in less than two years?

……

“Then... what should we do?” Miss Foster realized she kept repeating this question.

“Find your sister-in-law without anyone knowing.” Henry Walker lowered his eyes and said, “There’s no other way.”

“This...” Miss Foster had thought, after hearing his thorough analysis, that he must have a good idea. But upon hearing this, she couldn’t help but shake her head, “My family has been searching for her for two years, but there’s been no news at all. Now with the autumn executions approaching, the Zhao family will be even more cautious.”

“If your sister-in-law is still alive, she shouldn’t be with the Zhao family.” Henry Walker said in a deep voice, “Since the Zhao family knows it’s a false accusation, and the case is getting bigger, with so many people in their household, they definitely wouldn’t dare hide her at home.” He paused, not entirely certain, “She’s very likely in the hands of that person behind the scenes...”

“So, now we should first find that person behind the scenes?” Emily Foster said, her eyes lighting up.