Chapter 30

Prince Prince Jia Shun looked surprised and muttered to himself: "Why did he come? We only reported it to the Zhen'an Prefecture; how did he get the news?"

As he spoke, Prince Prince Jia Shun looked back at Zhen'an Prefecture Magistrate Zhang Shou'an, his gaze filled with questioning.

Zhang Shou'an was stunned for a moment and was about to say that he hadn't informed the Investigation Court, but he soon reacted, and his face turned somewhat ugly.

The Zhen'an Prefecture must have planted spies from the Investigation Court, which was why the news leaked so quickly.

When the Investigation Court was first established forty years ago, its authority was outside the three judicial offices, investigating secret and major cases, with imperial authority, penetrating everywhere.

When the current Emperor first ascended the throne, the political situation was turbulent, with remnants of the Wu Prince's party inside and remnants of the Hidden Sect causing chaos outside. To stabilize the situation, the Emperor had heavily used the Investigation Court to sweep away obstacles.

Although the Investigation Court had performed great services for the Emperor, its actions were arrogant and cruel; countless civil and military officials died at the hands of the Investigation Court. At that time, the three words "Investigation Court" could stop children from crying at night in the Love Shenjing.

Later, when the Emperor sat firmly on the dragon throne, the officials in the court were deeply disgusted by the disaster of the Investigation Court and repeatedly risked their lives to jointly submit memorials to abolish it.

To appease the internal and external disputes, and because the Investigation Court had already achieved its purpose, it was time to put the sword back into the sheath.

Thus, the authority of the Investigation Court to arrest, interrogate, and gather intelligence was divided among the three judicial offices, the Five Military Commissions, and the Ministry of War.

Prince Prince Jia Shun's Nanxi Literary Gathering this time had been full of bad luck; midway, Xuanfu insulted others in public, ruining the elegance of the literary gathering, and later, Jinrong was actually killed in broad daylight.

"This official heard that Wu Wu Jinrong, a junior compiler of the Hanlin Academy, was killed, so I came to investigate."

Prince Prince Jia Shun had the reputation of a virtuous prince and had a natural repulsion for this notorious cruel official.

Now that he had attracted the notorious cruel official Junxing to his door, it really stained the reputation of this Nanxi Literary Gathering, and Prince Prince Jia Shun was in a very low and angry mood.

"Subordinate Zhou Zhou Junxing, Junior Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, pays respects to the Prince."

"What's more important is that Wu Wu Jinrong might have been harmed by remnants of the Hidden Sect. Curbing the Hidden Sect is the primary duty of the Investigation Court, so this official must investigate to the end."

"The Investigation Court has always investigated secret and major cases. Wu Wu Jinrong was killed in this Prince's villa, which is a criminal matter."

Behind him stood more than ten sturdy men, all dressed in black, each carrying swords and other sharp weapons. When Zhou Zhou Junxing entered the capital that day, Jia Cong had seen these people always guarding his sides.

Now, for some reason, they were being reused by the Emperor. There is no such thing as an invincible government office in this world; there is only the Emperor's arbitrary will, the Emperor's heart like iron, turning hands to clouds and hands to rain.

Before this Zhou Zhou Junxing took office, the Investigation Court had been abandoned for many years, but in just ten days, he had actually planted nails in important government offices like the Zhen'an Prefecture; the efficiency and intent were truly somewhat shocking.

"He was indeed a subordinate of my Investigation Court. This official is in charge of the Investigation Court; my subordinate was killed, so naturally, I cannot sit idly by."

This person might have the name of a cruel official, but his talent was not ordinary; he was a person not to be underestimated.

Jia Cong stood in the crowd and saw that Zhou Zhou Junxing was in his thirties, with a refined face, regular features, and a beautiful short beard. He looked imposing and didn't look like a treacherous official.

"Master Zhou is in charge of the Investigation Court; why do you have time to come to my villa today?"

The Investigation Court had become a mangy dog with its claws pulled out, and for the past six or seven years, it had become an idle government office with no sense of existence.

"This Prince has already reported it to the Zhen'an Prefecture, and Prefecture Magistrate Zhang is already investigating this case. It seems there is no need to trouble Master Zhou."

"The Prince does not know that Wu Wu Jinrong was recommended by me, and with the Emperor's approval, he was to be transferred to the Investigation Court as a consultant. He was just waiting for the Ministry of Personnel to issue the appointment after the New Year to enter the court and take office."

Civil and military officials in the court might be three parts afraid of this cruel official of the Investigation Court, but Prince Prince Jia Shun was a dignified Prince and had no such scruples; his words were practically an order to leave.

Prince Prince Jia Shun's face changed: "You say the murderer is a remnant of the Hidden Sect. Do you have any evidence?"

Since the founding of the Great Zhou, the Hidden Sect had been banned, and all successive monarchs viewed the Hidden Sect as a major threat. Any involvement with the Hidden Sect was a crime of treason, which had to make Prince Prince Jia Shun alert.

Zhou Zhou Junxing's face was like still water, showing no anger or joy, and he said: "There are already signs of this, but there is no final proof, so this official cannot say much."

Prince Prince Jia Shun couldn't be sure if Zhou Zhou Junxing was using the Hidden Sect matter to control him or if the murder was indeed committed by the Hidden Sect.

"Hmph, since that's the case, Master Zhou, you can investigate the case together with the Zhen'an Prefecture. Catch the murderer as soon as possible to relieve everyone's worries and bring justice to the deceased."

At this moment, a black-clad man beside Zhou Zhou Junxing walked to his side and whispered a few words in his ear.

Jia Cong in the crowd saw clearly that this black-clad man seemed to hold a position in the Investigation Court. Just now, he had exchanged a few words with Zhen'an Prefecture Magistrate Zhang Shou'an, likely asking about the progress of the investigation.

Zhou Zhou Junxing stepped forward and asked: "Prince, the Zhen'an Prefecture has already questioned those participating in the literary gathering, and no suspicious signs have been found for the time being."

"May I ask the Prince, besides those participating in the gathering, is there anyone else who can enter or leave?"

Wang Dong stepped forward and answered: "I am Wang Dong, the Director of the Prince's mansion. Besides those participating in the literary gathering, only the maids serving tea and wine in the Prince's mansion would enter or leave."

"The Prince's mansion guards are all guarding the perimeter and would not easily approach or disturb."

Zhou Zhou Junxing asked: "Could I ask Master Wang to gather all the maids on duty today here? This official wants to ask some questions to see if we can find any clues."

Jia Cong in the crowd heard this and thought to himself that this Zhou Zhou Junxing was indeed meticulous. That Zhen'an Prefecture Magistrate Zhang Shou'an only spent his efforts on the group of scholars participating in the literary gathering.

He didn't realize that those maids who could enter and leave the literary gathering site at will without attracting attention actually had more convenience to commit the crime. Comparing the two, Zhou Zhou Junxing was much more brilliant than Zhang Shou'an.

Wang Dong's face turned serious; this was suspecting the maids of the Prince's mansion. He looked back at the Prince, and Prince Prince Jia Shun nodded slightly at him.

Before long, a female official gathered all the maids on duty today together; there were more than twenty of them in total.

Zhou Zhou Junxing asked: "This Master, are all the maids on duty today here? Is there anyone missing?"

Wang Dong looked at this group of maids carefully and suddenly asked: "Why is Ruizhu missing? I remember she was on duty today."

A maid next to her answered: "I saw her today, but I don't know where she went just now."

Wang Dong's face changed, and Zhou Junxing raised his eyebrows: "This Ruizhu has a problem. Find her quickly!"

Liu Liu Xiangyong left some troops to guard the stone pavilion.

He took a portion of the guards himself, while Zhou Junxing led the more than ten black-clad men and the group from the Zhen'an Prefecture, splitting into three routes to search every corner of Shuyun Villa.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, someone discovered a maid in a remote side room in the villa, stripped of her palace attire, hands and feet bound, and stuffed under the bed.

Upon asking, it was indeed that missing Ruizhu. She only said she didn't know how she had been knocked unconscious, and she didn't know what happened afterward.

Zhou Zhou Junxing and Wang Dong were both sharp-eyed people; seeing this fourteen or fifteen-year-old maid trembling all over and sobbing constantly, they both concluded that she was unaware of the situation.

And the killer's method of committing the crime was basically clear: she must have knocked Ruizhu unconscious, stripped off her palace attire, changed into it, and disguised herself as a maid to mix into the literary gathering site.

At that time, because Jia Cong wrote that 'Ode to the Plum Blossom', which amazed everyone, many people were moving around and gathering around the recording desk, and the scene was somewhat chaotic.

The killer seized this opportunity to kill Wu Wu Jinrong without anyone noticing and then quickly fled.

Although the Prince's mansion guards strictly guarded the four gates at the first opportunity, there was a period of time from when the killer killed Wu Wu Jinrong to when Qiu Qiu Xuanfu discovered Wu Wu Jinrong was dead.

Had the killer already taken the opportunity to escape Shuyun Villa? Or were they still trapped somewhere in the villa because the Prince's mansion guards were guarding the four gates?

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(End of chapter)