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Minister Xing had absolute trust in Xiao Liulang. Firstly, Xiao Liulang was just a weak scholar, and Minister Xing believed he could never commit the crime of killing and silencing a ruthless criminal. Secondly, Xiao Liulang had always been perceived as someone who was unworldly, upright, and honest.
Anyone could falsify information, but not Xiao Liulang!
Minister Xing was not worried about Xiao Liulang falsifying information; instead, he was concerned that witnessing a live person die in front of him might weigh heavily on Xiao Liulang's conscience, leaving a shadow on the investigation.
Minister Xing completely failed to remember that Xiao Heng used to do a coroner’s work. He had dissected corpses before, so why fear a live person dying?
This was mainly due to Xiao Heng’s current appearance as if he had really taken a hit, "...if I had administered a heavier dose, he wouldn't have recovered so quickly, and I could have extracted more information."
Indeed, the man only confessed that the other party was an imperial princess without revealing which one.
This was where Xiao Heng's cleverness lay. contemporary romance
Sometimes, a bit of regret and imperfection make the case seem more logical.
Minister Xing patted his shoulder and reassured him, "You've done well. Not everyone could extract any clues."
"I also appealed to him with empathy and reason..." Xiao Heng started saying, hesitating midway.
Minister Xing instructed two constables, "You two go in and clean up. Liulang, come with me."
"Yes."
Xiao Heng followed Minister Xing to his office.
"Do you have something else to say?" Minister Xing asked.
Xiao Heng said, "Bai Kun didn't commit suicide out of fear, he dared not reveal the mastermind behind the scenes, so he bit his tongue to death."
Minister Xing looked strangely at the documents that had just been placed on the table, "Then, this confession letter..."
Xiao Heng nodded, "The confession letter is genuine. I... used some coercive methods, but he only dared to say this much. He was deeply secretive about that person's identity, refusing to reveal it under any circumstances."
This made more sense.
Minister Xing was actually puzzled earlier. Why would an assassin easily commit suicide out of fear? Why become an assassin if he was afraid of committing crimes?
Minister Xing reflected, "It seems, that person is extremely capable to make an assassin remain silent even in death. But who could it be?"
Calls the current Emperor ‘elder brother.’ It meant it was the current Emperor's younger sister.
The late Emperor had many offspring, including seven princesses. However, only four were younger than the current Emperor, namely, Princess Ning'an, Princess Xinyang, Princess Deqing, and Princess Huaiqing.
Among them, Princess Deqing died of illness two years ago.
Princess Huaiqing's birth mother, Ling Zhaoyi, was the late Emperor’s cousin.
Ling Zhaoyi was favored in her early years but after giving birth to a foolish daughter, both mother and daughter fell out of favor.
So, was the Young Owner of the Heavenly Music House the foolish Princess Huaiqing, or perhaps Princess Xinyang, or Princess Ning'an?!
"I'll enter the palace. Also, Bai Kun committed suicide out of fear." Minister Xing said.
"Yes."
Torture might be associated with forced confessions. To avoid unnecessary trouble for Xiao Heng, Minister Xing decided to handle Bai Kun's case under the guise of suicide out of fear.
Whether others would believe it or not depended on Minister Xing's skills.
Minister Xing advised, "The Emperor may summon you. Just remember, you didn't use torture. You appealed to him with empathy and reason, making him confess willingly."
"Yes."
Xiao Heng added, "My Lord, there's something else I forgot to mention."
"What is it?" Minister Xing asked.
Xiao Heng said seriously, "Hua Xiyao is in collusion with them. She's also a crucial witness. I believe she knows something."
……
Regarding the events before returning to the Ministry of Justice, Xiao Heng wrote a detailed report.
In the document, he openly stated that Mo Qianxue was still alive and approached Gu Jiao while posing as a patient. However, he omitted the fact that they were acquaintances, stating that Gu Jiao was unaware that the other person was a courtesan from the Heavenly Music House, thinking she was just an ordinary patient.
Out of a physician’s compassionate heart, she picked her up along the way and brought her back to the medical hall for treatment.
In the meantime, Heavenly Music House assassins attempted to assassinate Mo Qianxue once, intending to confuse the situation and create an opportunity for Mo Qianxue to harm Gu Jiao.
Unaware of the situation, Gu Jiao fought desperately to protect Mo Qianxue and ended up getting injured in the process.
Touched by Gu Jiao's actions, Mo Qianxue abandoned the idea of assassinating Gu Jiao.
Then, three days ago, Hua Xiyao from the Heavenly Music House approached Mo Qianxue, urging her to lure Gu Jiao out of the capital.
Understanding the danger Gu Jiao would face, Mo Qianxue couldn't bring herself to harm her.
Mo Qianxue devised a plan to drug both Gu Jiao and Hua Xiyao, allowing her to disguise Hua Xiyao as Gu Jiao and escape the capital under the pretext of sending "Gu Jiao" out of the city.
Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng had been observing her early on. They followed her out of the city, leading to the subsequent confrontation and killing of some skilled experts and the capture of Hua Xiyao and another person, whom they took back to the Ministry of Justice.
Minister Xing knew Gu Jiao, the miracle physician from the medical hall and Xiao Heng's wife.
The mastermind behind the scenes seemed to have a grudge against Gu Jiao or conflicting interests with her.
Princess Huaiqing could basically be ruled out. Aside from being a fool, she didn’t reside in the capital and had no connection or conflict of interest with Gu Jiao.
That left Princess Xinyang and Princess Ning'an, both of whom returned to the capital within the past year.
"My Lord, there's something I'm not sure if I should mention."
"Liulang, speak."
"The Imperial Son-in-law... was killed by the Gu Family siblings."
Minister Xing remained pondering in his office for a long time...
Given the gravity of the situation involving the imperial family, Minister Xing must report to the Emperor regardless of the details of the case.
Xiao Heng knew that Minister Xing would go to the Emperor.
Learning from Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing’s incident, Xiao Heng would no longer leave the decision solely to the Emperor.
He wanted all officials to be aware, he wanted the whole world to know!
If the Emperor preferred to act behind the scenes, that would be great. However, if he refused to take action, then he would let the entire world force him to act!
On his way, Minister Xing's carriage encountered Grand Secretary Yuan's carriage.
He held a lower official position than Grand Secretary Yuan, so he naturally got down from his carriage to salute to Grand Secretary Yuan. Unexpectedly, Old Chief was also in Grand Secretary Yuan's carriage.
In terms of official rank, Minister Xing outranked the Chief of the Imperial Academy by one and a half ranks. However, everyone knew that Old Chief had served two dynasties and was a trusted confidant of the Emperor, making him comparable to Grand Secretary Yuan in terms of experience.
Both sides exchange polite greetings.
Grand Secretary Yuan looked at him and asked, "Minister Xing, you seem in a hurry. Has something happened?"
"Ah, well..." Minister Xing could not disclose the details of the case, so he simply said, "It's a case involving the Heavenly Music House. This lower official got some clues and plans to report them to His Majesty."
Old Chief, puzzled, asked, "Must you alarm His Majesty for just a few clues? Does this case have something to do with His Majesty?"
Minister Xing smiled awkwardly, "Well, this lower official can't say much, hoping Grand Secretary Yuan and Chief Huo can forgive this lower official."
"No problem." Grand Secretary Yuan nodded understandingly, gesturing for him to return to his carriage.
Minister Xing cupped his hands, "Then, this lower official shall take his leave."
However, just as Minister Xing turned around, Old Chief suddenly exclaimed and fell out of Grand Secretary Yuan's carriage.
[T/N: title means to do something that prevents an activity from continuing.]
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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