Chapter 222 - 220: Three Dead Victims (First Update)

Chapter 222: Chapter 220: Three Dead Victims (First Update)

Xu Jing was slightly taken aback, Zhao Shao Hua frowned and said, "Xiao Liu, don’t you have to go to the barracks today?"

"After visiting my teacher yesterday, I couldn’t shake off my worries, so I took the afternoon off to find Miss Xu."

Zhao Jingming said, "The Imperial College had another student incident a few days ago. I could see that the teacher was under a lot of pressure. You should know about this, Sister Xi."

Xu Jing immediately thought of the case Zhao Shao Hua mentioned, about the students at the Imperial College coming to harm one after the other, and said, "Let’s talk about it in the carriage."

Back when the Holy Emperor was still the Crown Prince, Mr. Song served as his teacher, and Xiao Yi, Xiao He, and Zhao Jingming were all study companions to the Crown Prince. It seems that Zhao Jingming has deep feelings for Mr. Song as his teacher.

Once they got into the carriage, Zhao Jingming eagerly said, "The teacher is under so much pressure. I don’t know how to help him, so I thought of Miss Xu. Miss Xu is so talented in solving cases; she can definitely help the teacher.

Yesterday afternoon, I already asked around for the details of the case. For over three months now, students at the Imperial College have been getting into incidents one after another. Including the recent death of a student, three students have already died.

Currently, the Ministry of Justice is in charge of this case, but they haven’t found any leads yet."

Zhao Shao Hua glanced at him helplessly, "I noticed that after you went to the Imperial College yesterday, you’ve been restless and even asked when I plan to find Jing. I knew you wanted Jing’s help.

Though Jing’s ability to investigate cases has been recognized by the Holy Emperor, it still depends on whether the people from the Ministry of Justice are willing to let Jing help. I remember this case is being handled by Wang Qilang, who is now serving as a Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice. That guy is very aloof and has always secretly considered Yanci as his imaginary rival. I doubt he’d let Jing get involved in this matter."

Zhao Jingming immediately said, "He’s been investigating this case for over three months without progress. What’s he got to be proud of? Whether he likes it or not, it’s none of his business if we investigate privately!"

Actually, he wanted to ask for Xiao Yi’s help, but Xiao Yi was also busy with matters at the Ministry of Justice. After much thought, Xu Jing was still more suitable.

Zhao Shao Hua shook his head helplessly, "Forget it, it’s not the first time you’ve been reckless, but you better not force anyone. It depends on whether Jing is willing to help you."

Seeing Zhao Jingming’s eager and expectant look, Xu Jing had no choice but to say, "I’m not very clear about the case at the Imperial College. Why don’t you tell me about the specifics of the case first?"

This case involved three deaths, making it a complicated case. Until they returned to Xu Jing’s home, Zhao Jingming continually described this case.

The Imperial College is the highest educational institution of Great Chu, selecting outstanding students from various states and counties to enroll each year. Although there are some commoner students, most of the students are children of officials, especially those from families of officials ranked seventh grade or above in the Western Capital, who are given priority admission. Therefore, it can be said that the Imperial College is filled with students from most of the prestigious families in Great Chu.

Recently, the three students who died all had significant backgrounds.

The first student to have an incident was the sixth son from the Suyi Earl’s household, named Zhang Zhengbo, aged nineteen. He was found dead in the sewage pit of the Imperial College over three months ago, on July 2nd. Cause of death was asphyxiation, with injuries on the back of his head and marks of binding on his hands and feet. The forensic doctor concluded he was forcibly pressed into the sewage pit to death.

The Imperial College employs two night soil men; both of them were found passed out in their usual resting room on the day of the incident.

The second student was the second son of a Commander from the Heavenly Martial Army, surnamed Cai, named Cai Yuanlang, aged eighteen. He was found dead in a well behind the Imperial College over two months ago, on August 3rd. He was also found with injuries on the back of his head, binding marks on his hands and feet, and the cause of death was asphyxiation.

Moreover, both of the above cases occurred late at night. According to the Ministry of Justice’s investigation, Zhang Zhengbo’s incident happened around 1 a.m., while Cai Yuanlang’s incident occurred around midnight.

Zhao Shao Hua couldn’t help but say, "The students at the Imperial College board at the school. I heard the management is very strict, with lights out by 9 p.m. How did those two students end up out so late, and in those places?"

One is the night soil dumping place, and the other is the back kitchen. Who would purposely go there?

Zhao Jingming was momentarily stunned and said, "I’m not quite sure. The person I sent to inquire didn’t mention it."

Xu Jing said calmly, "This matter can be deduced. Those two students sneaked out late at night, definitely without letting those in charge of them know. However, whether they were habitual offenders or if they sneaked out for some reason that day needs further investigation. And as Shao Hua mentioned, whether they were enticed to those places by someone or taken there by someone also requires investigation."

Zhao Shao Hua immediately said, "It would be hard to take a living person to those places, right? Although the supervision at the Imperial College isn’t as strict as in various departments, there are still guards patrolling."

After all, most of the students have prestigious backgrounds, and anything happens to one of them, it’s a major case.

Xu Jing glanced at Zhao Shao Hua, "What you said makes sense, but I suggest not jumping to conclusions before an investigation. Zhao Liulang, go on."

Zhao Jingming nodded, "The third deceased student was He Anming, the legitimate third son of the family of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, aged nineteen. He was found dead five days ago, on September 25th, in the bed of a courtesan at Gui Xiang House. He was strangled to death in his sleep, with clear strangulation marks on his neck, and his hands and feet were bound as well. When discovered, the woman sleeping next to him was also tied up, with cloth stuffed in her mouth.

Moreover, the Ministry of Justice found ashes with sedative effects in the room where He Anming died."

Hearing this, Xu Jing’s brow twitched.

Zhao Shao Hua couldn’t help but say, "Why did this third case occur outside the Imperial College? And these cases sound somewhat familiar..."

If not for the binding marks on the third deceased’s limbs and the fact that asphyxiation was the cause of death, it would be hard to associate it with the first two cases.

Pausing for a moment, Zhao Shao Hua had a revelation, "That’s right! Doesn’t this resemble Steward Liao’s case? Especially the third case, the perpetrator clearly used a sedative, yet specifically tied up both people on the bed. This clearly shows fear that they might wake up during the act and obstruct the crime!"

Back when Qingyun knocked out Steward Liao, she specifically tied him up because she felt she wasn’t physically superior to Steward Liao.

Could these cases be the same situation?