“Charles Bennett, what's there to argue about?” someone protested.

Andrew Bennett didn’t answer, but looked at the frowning, thoughtful Walker, and continued: “The victim died from a heavy blow to the back of the head with a blunt object, right?”

Walker nodded. “Died on the spot.”

Andrew Bennett said, “I have a question: why a blunt object? Someone committing this kind of crime would naturally be carrying a weapon. Wouldn’t it be quicker and cleaner to kill with a blade?”

The side hall fell silent for a moment. Clearly, everyone realized this question.

Little John guessed, “Maybe the thief didn’t intend to kill at first?”

“No!”

This time, it wasn’t Andrew Bennett refuting, but Walker. He stood up, eyes widening slightly: “A blunt object to the back of the head, killing in one blow—that’s definitely murderous intent.”

He sat back down, muttering, “Yes, why use a blunt object? Why not a sharp weapon?”

“Unless the killer didn’t have a weapon at hand at the time,” Andrew Bennett said.

Walker’s eyes suddenly lit up, as if he’d caught onto something, but hadn’t fully figured it out yet.

“There’s one last thing, which I’m particularly concerned about,” Andrew Bennett glanced at the case file. “When the victim’s family was brought to the county office for questioning, Zhang Yang-shi suddenly fainted from kneeling too long. After the doctor examined her, it was discovered she was pregnant.”

“It’s a posthumous child.”

“How pitiful, the child lost his father before even being born.”

The onlookers were annoying, chiming in one after another.

“Zhang Yang-shi has been married to the victim for nearly ten years, right? Why is she only pregnant now?” Andrew Bennett waited for them to finish before speaking again.

“Maybe the child isn’t the victim’s at all?”

If both husband and wife are healthy, it’s impossible not to have children for ten years, unless they were deliberately avoiding it.

One party must have a physical issue, making it hard to conceive. And with ancient medicine’s ability to treat infertility, while not impossible, the success rate would be very low.

Walker’s breathing suddenly grew heavy. “Charles Bennett, explain yourself, explain clearly...”

Andrew Bennett took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. “Maybe this wasn’t a burglary at all, but a crime of passion. Zhang Yang-shi was having an affair behind her husband’s back. The lover was either an outsider or the victim’s own son. The two secretly met while the victim was out collecting rent. Who would have thought the victim would return early, catching them in the act? A conflict broke out, and in a fit of rage, the lover grabbed a vase or some other blunt object and killed the victim.”

“Zhang Yang-shi and her lover hurriedly cleaned up the scene and dragged the victim’s body into the courtyard, staging it as a burglary.”

“Since the lover planned to meet, he would have scouted the area in advance and learned the patrol patterns of the night guards, which is why he wasn’t caught by the Imperial Blade Guards. If it really was a thief after money, he wouldn’t have chosen that night to act. He would have waited until the victim exchanged the rent silver for banknotes, which could be easily taken away.”

“Zhang Yang-shi’s statement conveniently used the rent collection as an excuse, steering your thinking toward ‘robbery.’”

The roomful of constables were dumbfounded.

“This, this... you can deduce the killer just by reading the case file?”

“Charles Bennett, this isn’t a joke, don’t talk nonsense.”

“But, doesn’t it make a lot of sense?”

Andrew Bennett’s analysis gave them a feeling best described as: ‘not sure what’s going on, but it’s impressive.’

“I’m just making a bold guess based on the case details. This may not be the truth—it needs to be verified,” Andrew Bennett replied to his astonished colleagues.

The process of solving a case is collecting clues, then reasoning and analyzing, and finally verifying; gathering evidence.

The thief evaded the night patrol... the timing of the burglary was off... the murder weapon was blunt, not sharp... Zhang Yang-shi’s pregnancy... After Andrew Bennett’s deductions, these seemingly trivial details formed a logical chain of clues.

Walker felt as if a new door had opened in his career. He took a deep breath to calm his excitement, and after careful thought, found one thing in Andrew Bennett’s words that puzzled him: “Why do you think the lover is the victim’s son?”

“I have two reasons for suspecting him,” Andrew Bennett slowly sipped his tea, and under the eager gazes of Walker and the others, explained unhurriedly:

“The victim’s son, Zhang Xian, said in his statement that he was in the study reviewing accounts that night, not sleeping with his wife. Since he was awake, how could he not have heard the commotion in the courtyard?”

“Zhang Yang-shi was awakened by the screams, which means it was very loud. Yet he, who was awake, didn’t hear a thing—does that make sense?”

“Second,

if no traces are found in the flowerbed of a thief sneaking in, then this so-called thief probably never existed. Based on this, the victim’s son is highly suspicious.”

A sudden realization dawned.

Walker asked, “So, the footprints on the wall were probably left on purpose to mislead us?”

Andrew Bennett guessed, “Yes. By the way, go directly compare the victim’s son’s boots.”

“He definitely wouldn’t leave his own footprints,” Walker said.

Andrew Bennett looked full of admiration and flattered him: “Chief, you are truly wise and brilliant, quick on the uptake. Truly the divine constable of Da Feng.”