The massive fire raged for an entire night, and by the end, every available person in Sumao City had been mobilized.
However, the fire had started abruptly, and with little rain recently, the weather was extremely dry.
The entire yamen was primarily constructed of bamboo and wood, and a strong wind had been blowing that night.
By dawn, the City Lord's mansion had been completely reduced to ashes.
Several clerks who couldn't escape in time were burned to a crisp in the inferno.
Looking at the tragic scene, Zhang Jing felt an urge to vomit blood.
"Sir, you must take care of yourself!"
Seeing him swaying precariously, the subordinates beside him quickly stepped forward, advising him in hushed tones.
"Investigate this for me! How could this fire spread so quickly? What exactly happened!"
After a few heavy breaths, Zhang Jing finally regained some semblance of reason.
Almost all buildings in Sumao City were made of bamboo and wood; how could such a city neglect fire prevention?
Furthermore, the fire last night had been too sudden, giving them no time to fight it before it engulfed the entire yamen.
From any perspective, last night's fire did not seem like an accident.
"Yes..."
Hearing him say this, the constables beside him could only offer wry smiles.
The fire had already turned into this mess; how were they supposed to investigate?
Let alone whether anyone had left any traces, even if they had, it would be impossible to identify them now.
"Sir, should the escort of the prisoners continue today..."
Although he knew Zhang Jing was furious, Feng Sihai, who was in charge of the matter, still had to ask cautiously.
"Do I need to ask about such a thing?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jing glared at him fiercely.
He had gone through great lengths to solidify this case; how could he possibly give up now?
"But sir, what about the documents..."
Hearing Feng Sihai's words, Zhang Jing was startled and suddenly realized.
With the City Lord's mansion burned to this state, the documents salvaged altogether were less than a box. Without the documents, how could they send people to Shenglong Prefecture?
"Go find Liu Yutang now and have his confession re-copied!"
After taking a deep breath, Zhang Jing quickly lowered his voice and said.
"Lord Zhang!"
Just as Feng Sihai was about to say something, Liu Heng arrived with a group of Liu family servants.
"Shopkeeper Liu, what brings you here?"
Seeing Liu Heng and his group approaching, Zhang Jing's expression turned grim. Was this fellow here to gloat?
"I am here to plead for justice for my young master!"
Liu Heng said without hesitation.
"What did you say?"
Hearing him, Zhang Jing's pupils constricted.
A strange thought suddenly crossed his mind: could this fire have something to do with them?
"I said I am here to plead for justice for my young master. Liu Yutang does not only know my young master in this city. Sir, based solely on his word, you accuse my young master of colluding with bandits; is that not too biased?"
"Your young master has already confessed to this matter; are you, his subordinate, trying to retract his confession?"
"Who says my young master confessed? Where are the documents? Sir, words are not enough!"
"Docu..."
Zhang Jing's face darkened; this fellow was clearly doing this on purpose!
"You must have seen the fire last night. The documents were destroyed by the fire. However, even without the documents, I still have witnesses. If you wish to overturn this case, I'm afraid you are thinking too much!"
As Zhang Jing spoke, a glint of killing intent appeared in his eyes.
"Since Your Excellency has witnesses, why not bring him here to be questioned? There are so many people present today, they can also bear witness for my young master!"
Hearing this, Zhang Jing's heart tightened.
He suddenly recalled the matter of drawing men to fight the fire last night.
Could it be...
"Go check if Liu Yutang is still in prison!"
After taking a deep breath, Zhang Jing quickly lowered his voice and whispered to Feng Sihai standing beside him.
"Yes!"
After responding, Feng Sihai no longer dared to delay and quickly turned towards the direction of the dungeon.
However, he hadn't run far before he saw two prison guards stumbling towards them.
"What happened?"
Seeing this scene, Feng Sihai's heart sank.
"Reporting to you, sir, Liu Yutang committed suicide in prison last night out of guilt!"
"What did you say?"
Hearing them, Feng Sihai almost wanted to curse.
If that fellow had committed suicide out of guilt, would he have waited until now?
"Sir, we were all mobilized to fight the fire last night, but when we returned, we discovered Liu Yutang had poisoned himself in prison..."
"You're talking nonsense!"
Furious, Feng Sihai slapped the prison guard across the face.
With the matter reaching this point, without his confession, they would have no way to convict Director Liu.
All testimonies and documents had been burned, and now the key witness was dead.
A perfectly solid case had now been overturned by Director Liu.
Zhang Jing, as the City Lord of Sumao City, was not afraid, but their situation was different.
In the yamen, it was too common to flatter those in power.
After Director Liu fell into trouble, many had taken the opportunity to kick him while he was down.
If he were to make a comeback, all of them would suffer.
"Sir..."
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Feng Sihai could only return to report nervously.
"Didn't I tell you to check the prison?"
Seeing him return so soon, Zhang Jing frowned.
"The prison guards just reported that Liu Yutang committed suicide in prison out of guilt..."
"Bastard!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Jing slapped him across the face.
"Sir, you should still have witnesses, shouldn't you?"
Liu Heng said, a cold sneer on his face.
"Shopkeeper Liu, you certainly have your methods!"
Looking at the smug expression on Liu Heng's face, Zhang Jing gritted his teeth and said.