Chapter 233 - 231: Going to Do Something More Important (Second Update)

Chapter 233: Chapter 231: Going to Do Something More Important (Second Update)

He finally relented, making the next steps easier.

Xu Jing immediately asked, "What about the other two victims who often stayed with He Anming and Jiang Zhengdao?"

"They... they also consumed them together..."

"Who started it?"

"It was... it was Mr. Jiang... He also provided the channels for purchasing Cold Food Powder..."

In a deep voice, Xu Jing asked, "One last question. Do you know if your lord and the other three had any common enemies?"

Hua Jiu was already in tears from tension and fear, sobbing, "There... there were too many... The lord and the other three often teamed up to bully... bully others. Just the people from the Imperial College alone, who were bullied by them, are too many to count on two hands..."

"Were any of them particularly serious?"

Hua Jiu’s face turned pale. He shook his head desperately, "No!"

So there was one.

A cold light flashed in Xu Jing’s eyes. Seeing that the young man was on the brink of collapse, he suddenly seemed to have a conscience moment and softened his voice, "The Ministry of Justice people also asked you about their common enemies, didn’t they? But I guess you only provided some inconsequential names. Because you feared that if you told about the evil deeds of your master, the He Family wouldn’t spare you. Is that so?"

From his attempt to hide the matter of the Cold Food Powder, it was obvious he knew a lot, but he dared not speak out.

That Nanny Cui initially wanted to stay, possibly with the intention of supervising Hua Jiu.

Hua Jiu’s face grew even paler, his lips moved continuously, but no sound came out.

Xu Jing looked at him calmly and said, "If they indeed committed heinous acts and you, even if not directly involved, helped them to conceal them, you might be accused of being an accomplice in court.

But if you are willing to atone for your crimes by doing a good deed, I can plead to the higher-ups for leniency and reduction of your sentence.

You needn’t worry about the He Family retaliating against you. As our invaluable witness, I will ensure the protection of you and your family. You’ve seen Eunuch Quan beside me, right? He serves directly before the Holy Emperor, and anything I say in his presence is as good as saying it in front of the Holy Emperor. I won’t go back on my word.

You can refuse me, but just by concealing the fact about them consuming Cold Food Powder, I have enough to take you to court."

Hua Jiu felt like he would rather die on the spot.

Faced with both persuasion and threats, how could he possibly withstand it!

Finally, Xu Jing gave him a cold glance and said, "I’ll give you fifteen minutes to think it over. If you’re unwilling, please accompany me to the Western Capital’s government office."

What other choice did he have?

Hua Jiu suddenly seemed like a withered pickle after being sun-dried for eighty-one days, completely withered and devoid of hope, and said dejectedly, "I... I’ll say, among the people the lord bullied, three were treated extremely cruelly...

One of them was a fellow student from the Imperial College named Zheng Chengxiu, a poor student, who, despite being a man, looked very charming and delicate. The lord and his three friends all took a fancy to him and forced him to have secret meetings with them one after another. During the vacation, they would even take him out, and all three of them... would mess around together...

Later, Mr. Zheng couldn’t bear the humiliation anymore. After falling seriously ill, he applied to withdraw from the Imperial College and returned home. Later news came that Mr. Zheng committed suicide in his hometown...

Another one is... the daughter of a doctor from the Imperial College, named Cao Wanyi, who is very beautiful and charming. Once, while bringing food to her father at the Imperial College, the lord and his friends saw her... After that, the lord and his friends had someone kidnap Miss Cao and took her to the outskirts... That time, because they had consumed too much Cold Food Powder, they couldn’t control themselves, and when it was over, Miss Cao was already taking more breaths in than out. The lord and his friends, afraid of getting into trouble, just... just threw Miss Cao off a cliff...

The last one wasn’t from the Imperial College. She was... a woman they randomly encountered on the street. The woman’s surname was Fang. I remember her name was Fang He. She was with her daughter at the time. When the lord and his friends saw how beautiful she was, and since they were about to consume Cold Food Powder together, they seized her for amusement, threatening her with her daughter to force her to... with them..."

The more Xu Jing and the others listened, the uglier their expressions became.

These people were simply more disgusting than beasts!

Zhao Shaohua couldn’t help but think of what happened to Wang Wuniang. Clenching his fists tightly, he gritted his teeth and asked, "What happened to that woman later? Did she... die too?"

"She didn’t die."

Trembling, Hua Jiu said, "However, experiencing such an ordeal is probably worse than death... This is what I know about the three most excessive things the lord and his friends did. I dare not hide anything! I beg Miss Xu to keep her promise and protect me and my family!"

As he spoke, he kept kowtowing to Xu Jing.

Xu Jing coldly stared at him and said, "Next, I will meet with the servants of the other two victims and Mr. Jiang. If I find that you are hiding anything, you know the consequences."

Hua Jiu promptly said, "I truly have nothing else to hide! I plead with Miss Xu for discernment!"

Xu Jing examined him closely once more before getting up to leave.

After stepping out of the He Family’s gate, Xu Jing said to Little Quanzi, "Please tell Eunuch Wang to find trustworthy people to protect Hua Jiu and his family."

After hearing such dark matters, even the smile disappeared from Eunuch Quan’s face as he nodded, "Rest assured, Miss Xu. I, being part of the eunuchs, guarantee nothing will happen to Hua Jiu."

Zhao Shaohua couldn’t help but ask, "Are you sure Hua Jiu didn’t hide anything? If he was involved in some matters, he might not reveal them for fear of implicating himself."

"Earlier, I deliberately mentioned questioning the servants of the other two victims and Jiang Zhengdao. If he indeed hid something, others might expose it. But when I said that, he didn’t show any sign of panic or nervousness, so he probably didn’t hide anything."

Xu Jing said, "Of course, I can’t be entirely sure, so I will also meet with the servants of the other two victims."

Following that, Xu Jing used the same method, forcibly prying open the mouths of the servants of the other two victims. They revealed a few more matters than Hua Jiu did, but compared to what Hua Jiu shared, those matters were not as serious.

Finally, Xu Jing asked them to compile a list of enemies shared by those people, amounting to a total of sixteen individuals.

Xu Jing circled the names of those who were not from the Imperial College and called for the guard left by Xiao Yi to hand the list to, saying, "Deliver this paper to your lord, asking him to help investigate the circled individuals. Focus specifically on Fang He."

Investigating cases is labor-intensive, especially when examining large amounts of information—she couldn’t do it alone.

As for Wang Qilang, he was even less likely to help, so Xu Jing had no choice but to ask Xiao Yi for assistance.

She could conduct her investigation for those from the Imperial College herself.

The guard acknowledged and hurried off with the paper.

Walking beside her, Zhao Shaohua suddenly sighed and said, "I suddenly feel that such scum don’t even deserve to live. That murderer is actually doing everyone a favor by eliminating the pests..."

"The premise is that they haven’t harmed any innocent people."

Xu Jing glanced at her, "The Ministry of Justice’s prison still holds two so-called suspects. This case has attracted a lot of attention, and I’m most concerned that the Ministry of Justice might hastily accuse a so-called murderer just to close the case."

This sort of thing isn’t uncommon in history.

"This..."

Zhao Shaohua was at a loss for words. Indeed, Wang Qilang seemed like the kind of person who would do such a thing.

"Moreover..."

Xu Jing paused but did not continue, saying instead, "Let’s go. It’s getting late; we should rest. Tomorrow I have to get up early and go to the Imperial College."

Zhao Shaohua asked, "Are you going to the Imperial College to investigate the other people on that list?"

"I’m leaving the investigation to Zhao Liulang and Zhao Jiulang."

Zhao Jiulang is Zhao Jing’an.

As Xu Jing spoke, her eyes slightly curved up, "I am going to do something even more important."