Secretary Li's expression changed rapidly, quickly switching to one of puzzlement, as if he couldn't understand why Mu Qinglan had appeared here.
"Princess Mu is here too?"
He pretended to be confused and asked: "I have always admired Lord Prince Qi. I don't know why the princess would bring the Six Bureaus to bully me. I've always been kind to others and should not have made enemies with you."
"Not made enemies?"
Mu Qinglan repeated, saying with interest:
"Secretary Li, you harbored and sheltered the assassin who attempted to assassinate me at Prince Qi's mansion last night. Can we still say we have no enmity?"
"Assassin?" Secretary Li looked aggrieved: "What assassin? What are you talking about? How could I possibly know when I made enemies with you!"
His psychological resilience is quite good.
Mu Qinglan watched Li Xin's performance, her eyes profound.
Truly worthy of someone who would later become the Vice Minister of Revenue...
Last night, after clarifying the current situation, Mu Qinglan had begun to search and consider who the perpetrator of last night's assassination might be, based on information from the game.
Mu Qinglan herself had died early, and there were only a few pieces of information about her in the game.
But when recalling a certain character's side quest, she did discover some clues.
In a side story from version 3.0 of the game, the protagonist would encounter a demon assassin being hunted down, and after saving her, would temporarily form an alliance with her.
And when discussing her past, she had revealed that she had committed several shocking crimes in the capital that remained unsolved to this day.
Among them was the assassination of herself.
Identifying the assassin's identity was not enough.
To find the assassin and completely eliminate the threat, she first needed to locate her hiding place.
Fortunately, in that side quest, the assassin had also mentioned her past collaborator.
That was the composed Secretary standing before Mu Qinglan now.
...Still pretending?
Mu Qinglan narrowed her eyes slightly, deciding to add some spice to his act.
"Hui Yue."
Mu Qinglan spoke from her superior position: "Does Secretary Li know this person?"
This was the name of that demon assassin.
A name spoken by her own mouth in the game.
"!!?"
Li Xin's expression froze, panic rising in his eyes, his mouth open but not knowing what to explain.
How did she even know the name!!
Could she have betrayed him?
But wasn't she a demon? Surrendering to humans, did she think she would have a good outcome? How could the people behind her possibly spare her!!
Hearing this unfamiliar name, Shen Yao turned her head in confusion.
Mu Qinglan's expression remained cold and calm, revealing nothing.
But when she turned back, she saw the extremely obvious shock on Secretary Li's face, which he hadn't had time to conceal.
Was this name important?
Shen Yao's mind stirred, feeling like she'd discovered something, but not daring to be certain.
At the same time, she couldn't help but wonder, could Mu Qinglan's plan really have a chance of success? Were the preparations she had asked her to make earlier for this purpose?
But how did she know all this?
Shen Yao thought, feeling as if Mu Qinglan was shrouded in a mysterious veil, making her unclear to see.
She became somewhat curious.
"It seems you do know. Man? Woman?"
Mu Qinglan's voice was sharp as a knife, piercing into Secretary Li's chaotic heart.
She actually knew the general appearance of the assassin. Such interrogation was merely to make Li Xin reveal his weakness, so she could attribute her ability to find the assassin to her interrogation skills and his fragile psychological state.
Secretary Li's psychological resilience wasn't actually weak.
But Mu Qinglan, having grasped his weakness, wouldn't give him a chance to calm down and think.
Naturally, she would—
Strike while the iron was hot!
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Secretary Li hurriedly shouted.
"A woman then."
"Nonsense!"
Mu Qinglan continued to ask on her own: "Human? Demon? Fiend?"
"..."
Li Xin realized that the girl before him seemed to have the ability to see through people's hearts. He simply endured the humiliation, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips together, burying his entire face in the not-yet-dried puddle on the floor.
This way, his thoughts surely wouldn't be seen through.
Li Xin thought with fear.
"So it's a demon."
Mu Qinglan's calm voice angered him enough to curse.
At the same time, Li Xin couldn't help but be shocked and doubtful—how did Mu Qinglan see through these things? She clearly wasn't an extraordinary person, and he had never heard of any supernatural interrogator having this mind-reading ability during questioning.
If such ability truly existed, there would be no need for interrogation officials.
The grieving Li Xin could never have imagined that Mu Qinglan hadn't deduced anything at all.
She was merely slowly revealing the results.
So no matter how he struggled, it was completely meaningless.
As for why she did this, what was the purpose?
Many people had seen the changes in Secretary Li's expression, and with that look, no one would believe there was nothing suspicious in his heart.
These were all evidence.
Evidence affirmed by the rising star constable of the Six Bureaus, the disciple of a Martial Saint with boundless prospects.
It was also a means to dispel her doubts.
"This is Secretary Li's residence, what are you all gathering here for?!"
And at this moment, a commotion came from outside the door.
It seemed the guards stationed outside had come into conflict with some unknown people.
Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, Li Xin's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, a glimmer of hope flashing in them.
He still had backing!
He still had a chance to survive!
As long as he made it through now, his backers wouldn't abandon him!
Li Xin had recognized the voice—outside were colleagues under the Seventh Prince's command. Once they arrived, his chances of survival would likely increase.
After all, Mu Qinglan couldn't possibly kill him, a defenseless man, in front of two of his colleagues.
Even a princess couldn't be that arrogant.
After calming down, Li Xin understood—Hui Yue couldn't have betrayed him. At most, the other party had obtained some dubious information from somewhere, without concrete evidence, which was why they came to search rather than directly interrogating him.
If that was the case, then he had a way out.
Li Xin calculated in his heart.
First, the Seventh Prince would try his best to save him.
Because he was overtly a member of the Seventh Prince's faction and an official of considerable status.
More importantly, Mu Qinglan was accusing him of 'colluding with a demon and attempting to assassinate a princess.' If she succeeded, the entire faction of the Seventh Prince would not escape investigation.
No one could bear such an accusation.
Second, the Crown Prince would secretly save him.
Because although he was overtly the Seventh Prince's man, he was covertly under the Crown Prince, holding a high position, specifically responsible for liaison with the demon faction.
The assassination of Mu Qinglan was also his order.
Though there were prohibitions to prevent betrayal, the Crown Prince certainly wouldn't want to test the methods of the Six Bureaus with his life.
So, his best strategy would definitely be to save him.
At any cost.
As long as his innocence was established before the Six Bureaus could interrogate him with supernatural methods, all crises would be resolved.
Execution would be the last resort.
After all, if he died, it would automatically confirm the charges, and the Six Bureaus would thoroughly investigate the case.
Of course, all this had one premise—
That the evidence of his collusion with a demon wasn't found.
But how could that be possible?
His meetings with the demon were only in the basement, which could only be opened with a secret method, and each meeting was repeatedly checked by the assassin to prevent any accidents.
All these preparations were for today!
He simply didn't believe that Mu Qinglan had the ability to find it!
Li Xin kept his head down, his eyes full of resentment.
Once this storm passed, he would definitely find a chance for revenge, letting the demon completely eliminate this woman in the wheelchair!
But what Secretary Li, who could only lie on the ground with an extremely limited field of vision, didn't see was that behind Mu Qinglan, the black-haired woman's eyes now revealed obvious astonishment.
Her advance instructions and preparations...
Had she predicted this scene? That's why she had asked her to arrange trustworthy subordinates and even prepare false evidence, all for this moment.
Predicting that the Seventh Prince would send people was within the realm of understanding.
But what was the meaning of the false evidence?
Why use false evidence at this time? Wouldn't it be exposed? Could she really be so confident?
Shen Yao became confused.
At this moment.
A constable ran over from the backyard, holding a slender black hair, and shouted urgently:
"Found it! It's a black demon hair!"
"!!?"
Li Xin suddenly raised his head, his face drastically changing, his gaze filled with disbelief.
How is this possible??
He was certain no evidence could have been left!
But why was the evidence found by the constable so convincing?
Others might not know, but he knew very well that the demon assassin's original form was a black cat!!
Was it a coincidence, or...
Had he really left evidence?
Li Xin lay on the ground, looking up at Mu Qinglan's indifferently curled lips, dumbfounded, cold sweat streaming down his face.
Could it be...
Could it be... that he had truly been careless?
Under the irrefutable evidence, this Secretary, who hadn't shown much abnormality from beginning to end, finally showed a drastic change in his expression.