After Julie returned home, she took off her disguise, removed the wooden hairpin, laid down with her clothes on, covered herself with a blanket, and closed her eyes to rest.
Meanwhile, in another place.
The adviser Dong Miao took a deep breath and knocked rhythmically on County Magistrate Wei Zhen's door.
He knocked once, paused for two seconds to make sure the person inside could hear it.
There was no response, so Dong Miao knocked twice more, making sure not to knock more than three times.
Wei Zhen's voice sounded impatient and hoarse, as if she had just woken up: "Come in."
She pushed away the young man she had been holding in her arms. The young man looked about sixteen or seventeen years old.
Wei Zhen was around thirty years old, the prime age for a woman at that time.
Her appearance matched the beauty standards of that era — rough features, yellowish skin, and a broad face. Because she had indulged too much in pleasure, eating, drinking, and playing, her body had started to become fat and out of shape.
The young man looked upset and pouted, not wanting to leave.
Wei Zhen was still very fond of him, so her tone softened: "Be good, go back to your room first. I'll come find you later." After speaking, she lightly patted his round butt.
The young man blushed, put on his clothes, and reluctantly left.
Dong Miao stood at the door with her head down, waiting until the young man had gone before stepping inside.
She respectfully reported everything that had happened outside the government office that morning, including bringing the land deed and the confession letter written by Lizheng.
She waited for Wei Zhen's instructions, wondering if she should bring Lizheng's husbands and Julie in for questioning, or if they should just rule it as a suicide and close the case.
As soon as Wei Zhen heard that someone had hanged themselves at her government office door, she jumped up from the bed.
She angrily said, "Unbelievable, unbelievable! Did Pan Li eat a bear's heart or a leopard's gall? How dare she come and bring bad luck to me first thing in the morning? Isn't it obvious? She must have done too many guilty things. Since she confessed her crime, and the coroner already checked and confirmed there was no murder or poisoning, what's the point of questioning anyone? Dong Miao, go immediately and have someone sprinkle some dew water at the entrance, let the sun shine on it for a few hours. We can't let any bad luck stay... and also… get some Taoist priests to do a cleansing ritual."
Wei Zhen was so anxious that she kept pacing back and forth.
Seeing that Dong Miao was still standing there, she shouted angrily, "Why are you still standing there? Go! Are you deaf?"
Dong Miao stayed calm and respectful, not showing any emotion because of Wei Zhen's attitude: "Master, doing rituals during the daytime might attract too much attention." Even though doing rituals was common in that era.
Still, it wasn't smart to do it so openly. Recently, the royal court had sent inspection officials to secretly visit different areas.
No one knew when they might arrive here.
If the inspection official started investigating... it would be hard to explain.
One simple question — why would someone hang themselves at the government office door instead of at home?
Wasn't it because the official had lost the people's trust?
Wei Zhen clearly realized this too...
"You're right, you're right. We can't do it now... Wait until nighttime to get two Taoist priests to quietly do a ritual inside the residence. Also, you run to Dashan Village for me... send the body back... and warn them clearly. She killed herself, and they must not spread any rumors. If I hear any gossip coming from them before the inspection official arrives, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Damn it, what a mess.
If she had to die, why couldn't she die somewhere else?
At this moment, Wei Zhen even had the urge to whip Pan Li's corpse.
She completely forgot that over the years Pan Li had given her quite a lot of silver as tribute.
Now she just thought Pan Li was wicked and deserved to die.
Dong Miao then asked about another matter: "Master, what about the land deed and the woman Julie mentioned in Pan Li's letter?"
Wei Zhen hated dealing with such small matters.
She thought she was a talented and refined person. How could she let these petty things tie her down every day?
"You handle it yourself." After saying that, she planned to go bathe, change clothes, tidy up a bit,
then have breakfast with the young man and go boating afterward.