Chapter 242 - 240: His Last Bit of Conscience (Part 1)

Chapter 242: Chapter 240: His Last Bit of Conscience (Part 1)

Soon, someone responded to the Assistant Teacher, "I don’t know. I remember that Sun Qiang, the gardener from the outer court, informed Gao Sheng to come here. I just asked Sun Qiang, and he confirmed that he had informed him."

Xu Jing’s heart sank, and she quickly walked up to ask the people responsible for gathering everyone, "Aside from Gao Sheng, is everyone else here?"

The Assistant Teacher who asked the question earlier stepped forward and replied, "Yes, only Gao Sheng is missing."

"When did Gao Sheng come to the Imperial College?"

"It was... probably half a year ago."

"What kind of person is he? Does his appearance, accent, character, or habits have anything noteworthy?"

"I remember Gao Sheng as a very reclusive person. He has a dark, sallow complexion and an unimpressive appearance, always keeping his head down so you can’t see his expression clearly. Moreover... he’s mute... Initially, we didn’t plan on hiring him, but since he was literate and willing to do the dirty work, we kept him."

Xu Jing pursed her lips slightly and said word by word, "I think I know where he is."

At this moment, at the dormitories of the Imperial College.

Upon hearing that the Ministry of Justice had come to catch the murderer, and with the Holy Emperor’s appointed female detective confronting them on the spot, the students, driven by their innate curiosity, couldn’t sit still. They all went to the front to watch the commotion.

The spacious dormitory of the Imperial College suddenly became cold and desolate.

The two men guarding Jiang Zhengdao’s door couldn’t help but chat in low voices—

"Could they really have cracked the case? The Lord has been acting strange lately. If the murderer is caught, maybe he’ll return to normal."

"I hope so. It’s boring to stand guard here every day... Rumor has it in the Imperial College that the murderer’s next target is the Lord; that’s probably why he’s so scared..."

Suddenly, a man dressed in gray cloth, holding a broom and with a gloomy expression, walked up to them. One of the men immediately stepped forward with caution and shouted, "Who are you?! You’re just a laborer from the outer court, right? What are you doing at the student dormitory..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw a glint of cold light in the man’s eyes, and suddenly, the man raised the broom from which he drew a glistening sharp blade!

This seemingly ordinary broom hid a secret!

The two men were struck with terror, but before they could react, the man slashed each of them with a single blow, leaving them collapsed on the ground. The man quickly stepped forward and pushed the dormitory door open with a bang. Inside, Jiang Zhengdao and a servant beside him were already huddled in fear upon hearing the noise. Seeing the man standing at the door like a demon from hell, Jiang Zhengdao’s eyes bulged as his long-standing nightmare became reality, and he screamed, rolling and crawling, "Help! Help!"

The man with a frosty expression hastily stepped forward, pinning Jiang Zhengdao, who was desperately trying to crawl toward the window, with one hand and raising the sharp blade high with the other, ready to strike.

Suddenly, a stone flew from afar and struck his arm, causing it to go numb, and the sharp blade fell to the ground. In the next moment, several soldiers surged in like a tide, quickly restraining the man, shouting, "Don’t move! The area is surrounded by the authorities! You can’t escape!"

The man who had been struggling incessantly—Cao Mofan—froze upon hearing this. Realizing he was too late, he closed his eyes in pain and suddenly burst into a bitter laugh.

Arriving at the door just in time, Xu Jing and others looked at the man who laughed like a madman—Cao Mofan—with complex expressions, while the crowd from the Imperial College who had followed couldn’t help but exclaim, "Gao Sheng, you... you can talk?!"

Xu Jing glanced at him with grave eyes and said, "Of course he can talk. He only pretended to be mute to hide his identity. After all, appearance can be disguised, but accent and tone are more challenging to change. Isn’t that right? Doctor Cao!"

Cao Mofan’s cold, numbed eyes stared intently at Xu Jing. He tugged at his lips and said, "It’s you... you found me? I didn’t expect that even after I ’died’ once to avenge my Wanyi and wife, someone could still find me.

You have such skills, why couldn’t you find those four scumbags who killed Wanyi and bring them to justice? Why?!"

Perhaps because he hadn’t spoken for a long time, his voice seemed a bit hoarse.

Xu Jing sighed softly as she looked at him and said, "I understand your feelings. I wasn’t involved in the case back then, so it’s not my place to comment. But in your quest for revenge, you have completely extinguished your conscience. The person you found to fake your death, Lu Dazhi, didn’t do anything wrong and even always admired you as a Doctor at the Imperial College. How could you..."

"Why should I care about others? My conscience is my daughter and my wife! The world has never treated me kindly; why should I show kindness?"

Cao Mofan’s temples bulged, and he howled with a contorted expression, "I wish everyone would be buried with my daughter and wife. Only avenging those five scumbags who killed my daughter is the last of my kindness!"

Unable to believe Xu Jing’s words, Yu Yang, who had also rushed over, stumbled slightly upon hearing this.

Doctor Cao said five scumbags... but there were only four who killed Miss Cao.

The fifth scumbag—he meant himself!

As it turns out, Miss Xu was right; it was his self-righteousness, his hypocrisy...

He knew rationally that what he did was unforgivable, yet he still shamefully hoped someone could forgive him, hoped he could still be seen as a person of justice in others’ eyes...

Seeing his emotional turmoil, Xu Jing sighed quietly and didn’t continue, merely stating flatly, "Take him away.

I have gathered sufficient evidence of what those four did, and when I organize it, I will submit it to the court.

No one who deserves punishment will be overlooked."

Her final words were meant for both Cao Mofan and Jiang Zhengdao.

Cao Mofan committed a heinous crime by killing the innocent Lu Dazhi, but that doesn’t mean the crimes of those four can be erased.

Though Xu Jing solved the case, only the Ministry of Justice has the authority to try the criminal. After handing Cao Mofan over to the Ministry of Justice, she ignored Wang Qilang’s malicious, twisted expression and turned away.

She wasn’t worried about any further trouble from Wang Qilang. Everyone at the Imperial College had witnessed the whole process of catching the murderer, so they knew what had really happened.

Zhao Jingming hesitated for a moment and did not leave the Imperial College with them.

Zhao Shao Hua said, "Xiao Liu has probably gone to see my father-in-law. Now that the truth of the case is out, my father-in-law is bound to feel remorse. No matter what, those four did indeed persecute other students under his watch."

Though Mr. Song was unaware, the incident occurred during his governance of the Imperial College, so he must bear some responsibility.

Due to this matter, Zhao Shao Hua was also in a low mood and didn’t accompany Xu Jing back but returned to the Song Family instead.

On the way back, Chunyang couldn’t help but sigh, "Every story behind these cases is both cruel and tragic, as if directly confronting the evil of human nature. Investigating so many cases, it feels like one becomes numb to the malice of humanity."