Chapter 217 - 215: Reward for Xu Jing (Part 2)

Chapter 217: Chapter 215: Reward for Xu Jing (Part 2)

Xu Jing’s eyes curved slightly, "Of course, I’ve had lunch. Madam Cen and the others wouldn’t let me leave otherwise. But you, there’s no need for you to take time to see me when you’re so busy."

The woman’s smile was as radiant as a blooming flower, as dazzling as the summer sun. Xiao Yi couldn’t help lowering his gaze slightly and said, "I just publicly announced our remarriage yesterday, so many people will be watching us during this time."

Xu Jing immediately understood. This was why Xiao Yi made a point to come, to show how important she was to him.

She felt an inexplicable emotion rise within her, perhaps disappointment? She suddenly felt a bit absurd; what was there to be disappointed about?

Before she could think further, Xiao Yi said, "I also have a few important things to discuss with you. Our remarriage decree will be coming down in a few days, and now that your identity is no longer a secret, the Holy Emperor is aware of the merits you’ve achieved in the recent cases, and has granted you some rewards."

This indeed surprised Xu Jing. She raised her eyebrows slightly and asked, "What kind of rewards? And under what pretense?"

Even though she had contributed significantly to several major cases before, she never thought she would receive rewards; her identity then was unsuitable for public disclosure, and her involvement in the work of a forensic doctor was not something to be made public easily.

Xiao Yi seemed to find it amusing and said, "Under what pretense could it be? Naturally, it’s under the pretense of assisting the court in solving several major cases. Miss Xu, do you wish to be openly involved in investigations?"

Xu Jing was slightly stunned.

She... certainly wished for it, but she never dared to think of it before!

Seeing her expression, Xiao Yi understood what she was thinking and said gently, "I always said, your talent is such that few in the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Justice could match. Although women cannot enter court as officials like men to fully showcase their talents, it doesn’t mean a woman’s talents will go unnoticed.

The Great Chu has only been founded for thirty-eight years, but even in these few decades, many heroic women have emerged. For example, Old Madam Zhao, who once followed her husband to the battlefield to kill enemies and was named Lady Rongguo by the Grand Ancestor Emperor. In previous dynasties, there were also many instances where women displayed their talents and were recognized by those in power.

You didn’t dare to make your forensic investigations public before because you feared the accompanying trouble would ruin your life. But now, with me and the Holy Emperor here to protect you and let you display your talents in the most suitable place, we can still achieve that."

Xu Jing’s heart involuntarily began to beat faster, bit by bit.

One of the purposes of her remarriage with Xiao Yi was indeed to leverage his status to make her career smoother, but back then, she only thought about her medical clinic career, not realizing Xiao Yi valued her investigative talents more than she thought.

What to say? In this situation, she really hit the jackpot?

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say. After a while, she gave a low chuckle and said, "If possible, I’d rather not have my involvement in forensic work be made public for now..."

"Certainly, forensic work is too sensitive and bizarre, not something most people can accept. You’ll still need to develop your medical clinic, and making this public would do more harm than good for you."

Xiao Yi said warmly, "So when the Holy Emperor gave you rewards, he only mentioned your assistance in solving court cases, especially the case of Zheng Shouyan, which concerned the Great Chu’s safety, making any amount of reward insufficient."

Being a person who always acted with great discretion, Xu Jing couldn’t help but smile more brightly, her curiosity piqued, "Then what are the rewards the Holy Emperor gave me?"

"A... "

Xiao Yi paused for a moment, chuckled lightly, and said, "A residence solely your own, as well as a large amount of gold, silver, and jewels. The Holy Emperor has also granted that, before our remarriage, you can establish your own household, so you don’t need to worry about the Xu Family using this against you."

Her father, Xu Guangyi, valued benefits above all else. Knowing she would remarry Xiao Yi, he would certainly try every means to bring her back to the Xu Family.

Xu Jing had originally been troubled by this issue, but unexpectedly, the Holy Emperor’s reward resolved it at once!

As for the matter of the house, she couldn’t help but wonder if the Holy Emperor had some kind of divine insight. How did he know exactly what she needed most?

Of course, Xu Jing wasn’t foolish and could naturally guess that it wasn’t divine insight from the Holy Emperor, but rather the man in front of her knew what she wanted and worked behind the scenes to make it happen.

Her eyes couldn’t help but brighten. After a moment, she softly sighed, "You’ve helped me so much, I don’t even know how I could repay you. By the way, since we’re about to remarry, shouldn’t we change how we address each other? If the current terms seem too distant, it might raise suspicions. Should I just call you Xiao Yi from now on? That feels a bit stiff, or perhaps... Yanci?"

His friends among those around him seemed to call him directly by his courtesy name.

As the woman across spoke, her clear, bright eyes were unconsciously fixed on him, making Xiao Yi’s heart beat fiercely all of a sudden, and he had trouble breathing.

He lowered his gaze again without showing any signs, his tightly clenched fists seemingly burning hot, and said, "Miss Xu can call me whatever you wish."

"Alright, then I’ll call you Yanci."

Xu Jing smiled and said, "You can also, like Shaohua and the others, simply call me Jing."

Jing...

He originally thought it would take a long time to call her by her name directly.

Just lightly uttering that name in his heart already made him feel as if he was burning all over, restless and uneasy. Xiao Yi felt if he didn’t do something soon, the sound of his ever-quickening heartbeat would be noticed by the person across from him.

He took a light breath, turned his head to look towards the nearby window, and said as evenly as possible, "By the way, I interrogated Qingyun all night yesterday. Although she still refuses to name the person behind her, she revealed quite a few details about the case."

Xu Jing was momentarily stunned at his demeanor.

Perhaps he wasn’t used to calling her by her name just yet, which makes sense; he supposedly didn’t have any romantic feelings for her, and the sudden progress must have made him a bit uncomfortable.

Xu Jing subtly pursed her lips and followed his topic, "Did she say how she managed to get Steward Liao to go to Madam Cen’s room yesterday afternoon? And how she led him to the warehouse later?"

Xiao Yi, having calmed himself, looked at the woman across from him again, "She said she deceived Steward Liao, claiming she had evidence of his and the woman brought by his elderly mother engaging in a private relationship. Steward Liao’s wife is rather hot-tempered, and the servants at Duke Liang Mansion privately say Steward Liao is quite afraid of his wife, who had previously caused a ruckus over the woman brought by his mother. Hearing this from Qingyun, he panicked and didn’t have the mind to verify its authenticity. He went to Madam Cen’s room yesterday afternoon according to Qingyun’s instructions.

Qingyun then used this to demand he be at the backend of the warehouse at the specified time she had set."

Xu Jing remained silent.

About the domestic affairs of Steward Liao, Xu Jing was not too familiar and wasn’t in a position to comment. She could only admit that Qingyun was indeed powerful, seizing precisely on Steward Liao’s weaknesses.

She chose that precise moment to kill Steward Liao because she calculated that it was the exact time when Duke Liang would be having a toxic episode. The Duke Mansion would inevitably be in chaos, with nobody having the mind to care about what happened in the backyard.

Just as Xiao Yi mentioned, there must be a mastermind guiding Qingyun step by step!

Xu Jing raised her eyes and asked Xiao Yi, "Is the person behind her, Prince Xing?"

Xiao Yi was silent for a long while before shaking his head, "It probably isn’t."