Chapter 1148: Not Necessarily
"Sect Leader, I am innocent. If I don’t leave, they will arrest me. How can I help my father find the real culprit then?"
"That might not be the case!"
A voice suddenly emerged from the crowd; indeed, it was Chen Tianlong who had been silently observing the turn of events.
Everyone turned to look at Chen Tianlong.
Chen Tianlong did not speak. Instead, he walked straight up to the Sect Leader and Du Nong, and said somewhat mysteriously, "Sect Leader, Young Master Du Nong, I have a way to catch the real culprit. Would you be willing to try it?"
"You’re talking nonsense; Du Nong is clearly the real culprit, why bother catching anyone else."
Du Min had a personality that once he settled on something, he would not change. He was convinced that it was Du Nong who had done it to his father, and he would hold onto that belief firmly.
"Oh? Chen Tianlong, what’s your method? Let’s hear it."
Pure Yang Daoist saw a glimmer of hope and felt much relieved, momentarily ignoring Du Min’s impulsive remarks.
Chen Tianlong thought for a moment, his eyes shifting, and said, "Why don’t you all come with me."
Pure Yang Daoist immediately understood that Chen Tianlong was being deliberate. He suspected that the murderer was among them and feared alarming them by speaking out.
"Hmm, alright."
Pure Yang Daoist readily agreed, so everyone began to exit the room, while Peng Niang, who was walking at the back, seemed somewhat nervous, and all this was caught by Chen Tianlong’s keen eyes.
After coming out, Chen Tianlong suddenly turned back and asked, "By the way, Peng Niang, where is your room? I’d like to take a look and see if there are any other clues."
With these words, everyone was taken aback, but one person was incredibly surprised, and that was Du Fei’s wife, Peng Niang.
Her face turned pale in an instant, but she quickly regained her composure, trying hard to stay calm.
"Over there."
She pointed to the third room near Du Fei, the Vice Sect Leader’s room.
Still, her eyes showed some signs of distraction, and she thought to herself, "Could this boy have discovered something? It can’t be. I’ve handled everything flawlessly... Oh no, that teapot, I rushed and forgot to pour it out."
Thinking this, she made an effort to keep calm, "No matter what I say, I need to make sure that teapot is disposed of later."
In no time, everyone arrived outside Peng Niang’s boudoir. Because it was a lady’s room, not too many people could enter; only Sect Leader Pure Yang Daoist, Chen Tianlong, Lin Wushuang, the two brothers of the Du family, and Peng Niang went inside, while others stayed outside at the door.
When Chen Tianlong opened the door, a familiar scent greeted him, and he silently rejoiced; it was what he hoped to find, confirming his suspicions.
But he knew that just with this alone, he could not prove that the deceased was killed by the owner of this room, so he had to find that sedative.
"Sedative? It’s likely incense or tea, or wine." Chen Tianlong thought.
Thus, upon entering the room, he began to examine everything carefully, afraid of missing anything.
Pure Yang Daoist and Peng Niang nearly entered simultaneously, and Chen Tianlong followed in after them. Soon, his gaze fell on a teapot. Chen Tianlong slightly smiled, knowing that the evidence might be inside that teapot.
However, Chen Tianlong did not go over immediately, intentionally searching around for other items to make the murderer lower her guard and then reveal her flaws.
Indeed, as Peng Niang saw that Chen Tianlong did not immediately inspect the teapot, instead looking around, she assumed that he had not thought of it and planned to find an opportunity to accidentally knock over the teapot later.
Pure Yang Daoist and Chen Tianlong looked around in the room for a long time, seemingly unable to find any clues, making Pure Yang Daoist frustrated enough to ask, "Chen Tianlong, what is your method? We’ve been searching for ages."
"Haha, Sect Leader, don’t worry, it will be clear soon."
Chen Tianlong deliberately spoke louder to let Peng Niang hear it.
Sure enough, Peng Niang’s face changed color dramatically, but others were focusing on searching for evidence, paying little attention. Only Chen Tianlong was secretly observing Peng Niang’s reactions.
Suddenly, Peng Niang slipped, about to fall, her body aiming directly toward the table, and as her hands flailed chaotically, she knocked the teapot, sending it swiftly falling off the table.
There was joy in Peng Niang’s eyes, as if she was about to be relieved.
Chen Tianlong, quick and nimble, knew the teapot was evidence and could not overlook Peng Niang’s attempt to destroy it, so he dashed forward, and with a stretch of his hand, caught the teapot.
"Sorry, I didn’t have time to catch you, so it’s good I saved the teapot. We wouldn’t want to dirty the room, now would we?" Chen Tianlong said with a slight smile to Peng Niang.
"Hmm, it’s okay."
Peng Niang saw her plan fail, feeling anxious inside.
Seeing this scene, Pure Yang Daoist was also taken aback and walked over to ask with concern, "Mrs. Peng, are you alright?"
"Thank you for your concern, Sect Leader. I’m fine. I just slipped a bit, luckily the table was there, or I would have fallen." Peng Niang calmly thanked him.
At this moment, Chen Tianlong silently admired her; Peng Niang’s composure was not ordinary, managing to stay calm in such situations.
Looking at the teapot beside him, Chen Tianlong suddenly said, "Ah, I’m a bit thirsty. Mrs. Peng, may I borrow a cup of tea?"
Chen Tianlong pointed to the teapot, not waiting for Peng Niang to respond, he immediately took an empty teacup to pour himself some tea. At this point, Peng Niang’s face changed, "This is bad. If he drinks it, and then passes out, everything will be exposed."
Hence, Peng Niang hurriedly walked over and said, "Brother Chen Tianlong, this tea is from a couple of days ago, I haven’t changed it. How about I brew you a fresh pot?"
"Haha, don’t trouble yourself, Mrs. Peng, it’s fine. I can make do with a couple of sips."
Chen Tianlong appeared unconcerned as he spoke.
"No! Brother Chen Tianlong."
Peng Niang was startled and immediately stopped him, fearing that if Chen Tianlong drank it, he would pass out soon and everything would be exposed.
Worried about this, Peng Niang started to panic, her expression a bit pale. At this moment, Pure Yang Daoist seemed to notice something suspicious, so he walked over and said, "Mrs. Peng, why are you so concerned about the tea? Could there be something mysterious within it?"
Pure Yang Daoist said this as he took an empty cup himself and poured some tea. At this point, Peng Niang completely broke down. If both of them drank, the matter would be immediately revealed. There was no way to escape now, so she might as well admit it.
Peng Niang suddenly knelt on the ground, her expression somewhat frantic as she said, "Please, Sect Leader, have mercy. I was foolish for a moment and committed a heinous crime, deserving of extreme punishment. I just beg you to show some leniency."
"Hmph, I actually saw through it earlier, the teapot contains a sedative, doesn’t it?"
Pure Yang Daoist, furious, glared at Peng Niang.
"Mom, how could you kill Dad?"
On one side, Du Min was stunned. He never expected the real murderer to be his own mother. How could it be that his mother would kill his father? He couldn’t believe it.
"Peng Niang, what did you say? You killed Dad?"
Du Nong was shocked upon hearing this, simultaneously furious, saying she killed him was killing him, yet she framed him, trying to put him to death.
"Yes, it was in a moment of confusion that I made such a deadly move."
Peng Niang continued, "Earlier this afternoon, he came to me saying that Du Nong should participate in the trial, but Du Nong insisted on not going. I wouldn’t agree, and wanted him to change his mind to allow Du Nong to go. But he refused stubbornly. I hated how he only cared about that woman’s child, never placing my Min’er in his heart, so in a moment of bitterness, I did something wrong."
"Then why did you frame me? You know Dad is my only relative in this world; you killed him and tried to harm me too, what was the point?" Du Nong said angrily.