Chapter 230 - 228: Practically Soaring to the Sky (Part 1)

Chapter 230: Chapter 228: Practically Soaring to the Sky (Part 1)

Zhao Shaohua immediately let go of Xu Jing’s sleeve, but Zhao Jingming had already sensed something was amiss. He furrowed his brows and quickened his pace, "What’s wrong with Miss Xu?"

"A scoundrel attacked Jing earlier, and I’ve already sent Jade to check it out."

At the mention of this, Zhao Shaohua couldn’t help but grit her teeth.

Her personal maids had some skills, but she wasn’t sure if they could catch the attacker.

Zhao Jingming quickly inquired about the details and, upon learning that Xu Jing had only been struck on the arm by a rock, he let out a long sigh of relief.

If something had happened to Miss Xu, he’d certainly blame himself to death.

He frowned and said, "So, is someone at the Imperial College specifically targeting those who came to investigate the case? Such a foolish thing surely wasn’t done by the perpetrator, right?"

This childish attack would not only fail to stop the investigation but might also expose their whereabouts. If it were truly the culprit’s doing, the Ministry of Justice wouldn’t have failed to catch him in over three months.

Seeing Zhao Jingming’s rare display of intelligence, Xu Jing gave him a reassuring glance and nodded, "Zhao Liulang is right, the attacker has likely been closely following this case, which is how they knew so quickly that we were here to investigate. Whoever that person is, he is evidently on the perpetrator’s side, and he might know something about the case.

By the way, how are things on Jiang Zhengdao’s end?"

Upon Xu Jing mentioning Jiang Zhengdao, the expressions of Zhao Jingming and Zhao Jing’an suddenly darkened. Zhao Jingming said, "We haven’t seen that guy at all! When Jing’an took me to his dormitory, we found people from the Ministry of Justice there, so we hid first.

The dormitories at the Imperial College are generally divided into two-person and four-person rooms. The children of the nobility live in two-person rooms, and the person who shared a dormitory with Jiang Zhengdao was Zhang Zhengbo. After Zhang Zhengbo died, Jiang Zhengdao has been living alone.

Three attendants stood outside Jiang Zhengdao’s dormitory door. I could tell that two of them were trained practitioners. Jing’an said that Jiang Zhengdao never had this many people around before, usually just a servant following him.

At first, Jiang Zhengdao wouldn’t let the people from the Ministry of Justice into his room. After they said something, they were finally let in. About a quarter-hour later, they came out. As they were leaving, we overheard them whispering. One person said that although Jiang Zhengdao refused to say anything, he should know something.

Another person said not necessarily, suggesting it might be that the consecutive incidents involving his friends had scared him senseless.

After they left, I asked Jing’an to approach, under the pretense that their class assistant teacher had something to give him, hoping to enter his room. But Jiang Zhengdao flatly refused to let Jing’an in. I took the opportunity to sneak to the back window, hoping to see what he was doing inside, but wouldn’t you know it, the window was shut tight!"

Just as the Ministry of Justice’s officials said, he appears to be scared witless.

Xu Jing frowned slightly.

Zhao Shaohua couldn’t help but say, "Could he know who the murderer of those three people is? Is he scared the killer might come for him, causing his fear?"

Xu Jing shook her head, "If he knew who the killer was, he would’ve told the Ministry of Justice already. He probably just senses that the killer might come for him next. According to today’s intelligence, these four have done no shortage of dubious deeds and made plenty of enemies. Any one of those enemies coming for revenge could spell trouble for them."

Zhao Shaohua squeezed out two words through her clenched teeth, "Serves them."

Just then, Jade hurried back, her face tense as she reported, "Young Madam, Miss Xu, I was useless, I couldn’t catch the person. I only saw his back from a distance. He seemed particularly lean and short, I couldn’t tell if he was young or naturally small."

Xu Jing quickly asked, "Besides being small, did he have any other features?"

Jade shook her head slightly, feeling ashamed, "Sorry, since the scholars at the Imperial College all wear the same clothes, I didn’t notice anything distinctive from his back."

Xu Jing fell into silence.

In other words, the leads on both the attacker and Jiang Zhengdao had ended.

The people from the Ministry of Justice must have noticed that Jiang Zhengdao likely knows something, which is why they specifically went to him, but clearly, Jiang Zhengdao refused to cooperate with them.

Understandably so, as he couldn’t very well start confessing all his past misdeeds for the Ministry of Justice to investigate one by one.

Seeing the situation, Treasure Bead cautiously suggested, "Shall we...ask Mr. Song? Perhaps he knows something?"

Zhao Jingming was stunned, "Why did you suddenly mention Teacher?"

Zhao Shaohua’s expression soured, and after a brief contemplation, he shared what those three scholars had said with Zhao Jingming. Upon hearing this, Zhao Jingming was furious, "This is utter nonsense! Teacher just...intends to fulfill his duty as the chancellor. How could they turn him into a shared enemy of the three deceased?! Ridiculous! Absurd!"

If those three scholars unintentionally insinuate this, it might even lead to Mr. Song being suspected of murder!

Xu Jing cast a glance at Zhao Jingming and said, "Calm down a bit. They only spoke based on their assumptions, and others won’t easily believe it.

We likely won’t find anything more at the Imperial College today, so let’s head back."

Zhao Jingming was stunned and quickly asked, "Then, what should be our next step?"

They had visited the three crime scenes. Where else could they investigate next?

Xu Jing sighed softly, "There’s nothing we can do at the moment. Following the typical investigation procedure, after the crime scene is investigated, a corpse examination and inquiring from those close to the deceased would come next. In our current circumstances, we simply can’t carry out the latter two tasks."

They didn’t even have a legitimate reason to question Jiang Zhengdao.

The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice.

Zhao Jingming couldn’t help but clench his fists, "So, are we just giving up?"

"Who said that?" Xu Jing nearly rolled her eyes, "Indeed, we can’t do much now, but Yanci mentioned that he would try to create some conveniences for us. Let’s wait for now; it’s better than running around like headless chickens.

By the way, with regards to Gui Xiang House, you should continue to follow the original plan and explore the situation."

Zhao Jingming quickly and forcefully gathered his spirits and said, "Okay, I understand!"

That night, when they returned, Xu Jing’s left arm was indeed swollen, but as she had applied ointment promptly, the swelling wasn’t severe. Xu Jing had Chunyang roll a warm egg over it, and she paid it no further mind.

The next morning, as soon as she got up, Chunyang hurriedly came in and said, "Miss, eunuchs from the Imperial City have arrived, and Vice Minister Xiao is here too!"

Xu Jing paused slightly and, after a simple wash, went out. Standing beside the eunuch, Xiao Yi fixed his deep black eyes tightly on Xu Jing. When Xu Jing looked over, his eyes quickly softened into a faint smile.

Xu Jing couldn’t help but steal a glance at him, then moved forward to the eunuch and gave a respectful bow, "This humble woman greets Eunuch Wang."

Eunuch Wang was a trusted confidant of the Holy Emperor and had previously conveyed the decreed remarriage between her and Xiao Yi.

Eunuch Wang smiled warmly at Xu Jing, "No need for such formality, Miss Xu, no need. I merely came to deliver a directive from the Holy Emperor."

He cleared his throat, adopting a solemn demeanor, "Recently, the students of the Imperial College have been successively slain, yet the true culprit remains at large. Both the common people and the officials of the court are gravely concerned about this case, significantly impacting affairs. The case should be resolved promptly. Upon Duke Liang’s recommendation, the Holy Emperor specifically entrusted Miss Xu to participate in the investigation of this case. All departments should fully cooperate!"

Xu Jing was surprised; the convenience Xiao Yi mentioned was actually this! This is beyond mere convenience, it’s like ascending to the sky with one bound!

This man knows how to act indeed. He sensed that due to their current relationship, a direct recommendation from himself might appear to lack impartiality, so he approached Duke Liang.

Duke Liang holds a significant position of power, and importantly, he had once been saved by Xu Jing. Naturally, his words carried immense weight.