At this time, more and more passersby gradually appeared on the streets.
Most were merchants scraping out a living, servants from various households sent out to make purchases, female family members, and yamen runners and officials who had to report for roll call.
Even in such torrential rain, they still had to go out.
Thus, whenever they passed Zhennan Street,
all those coming and going noticed the judicial officers outside the residence facing the street.
Unable to resist their curiosity, most would step forward and ask the people gathered nearby in the rain.
"Brother, what happened inside? It's a complete mess."
"A heaven-shaking case. I heard the corpses are piled up inside, their necks twisted so far their heads are pressed against their backbones."
"Look at the judicial officers' faces, all scorched brows and ruined eyes."
"There were already few clues, and then this ghostly downpour came along. The murderer's footprints have been trampled by the rain until they're a sloppy mess."
Shuzhou dialect rose and fell all around, yet the passersby understood it clearly enough.
Each of them revealed some fear on their faces.
In peaceful times, how often did ordinary folk see blood?
Only during the New Year holidays when pigs were slaughtered, or when evildoers were sentenced to beheading by the Prefectural Yamen, could they see some bloody scenes outside the east and west markets.
They might be frightened at the time, but once it had passed, it had passed.
But a major case involving human lives was different.
Before the murderer was caught, the people nearby would inevitably lie awake at night with their hearts in turmoil.
At that moment, a figure emerged from the grand residence.
It was Fang Hongxiu, the Hundred-Household Commander of Shuzhou's Judicial Department, who was in charge of investigating this case.