Chapter 253 - 251: Breakthrough Point (First Update)

Chapter 253: Chapter 251: Breakthrough Point (First Update)

Xu Jing pondered for a moment, then looked at Mr. Yao and said, "Did the Wang Family and Xu Family receive a ransom letter from the kidnappers?"

"How did you..."

Mr. Yao was surprised for a moment, then calmed down. He looked deeply at Xu Jing and said, "As expected, nothing can be hidden from Miss Xu. I didn’t deliberately keep it from you. After all, the suspects have a deep connection with Miss Xu, and Miss Xu is exceptionally wise. Jiang Zhaoyin is concerned that Miss Xu, knowing too much, might take some actions in secret, so he specifically instructed me not to say too much to Miss Xu and just take her directly to the government office in the Western Capital."

In principle, he shouldn’t even say why he was taking her there.

But he didn’t truly believe that Miss Xu was involved, so he revealed a little information.

Xu Jing understood Mr. Yao’s dilemma and said, "Don’t worry, Mr. Yao. I’ll do my best not to implicate you. The people who kidnapped Wang Baojun and Xu Hanguang are definitely not my cousins. I still want to ask Mr. Yao something. On what basis do you conclude that the ransom letter is related to my cousins?"

To determine who wrote a letter, it’s generally through handwriting comparison.

However, Xu Huaiyang and his sister are not from the Capital City. Few people in the Western Capital know them, and even fewer have samples of their handwriting.

Even Xu Jing herself didn’t have anything with their handwriting.

Mr. Yao was silent for a moment and said, "This matter is rather complicated. Alright, I’ll tell Miss Xu everything.

According to the families of the two children, Young Master Wang and Young Master Xu were both studying at the Wang Family School and always had a great relationship. Today happened to be a day off, and they had arranged to go to a bookstore together, the one next to Baoyue Pavilion, Chongwen Bookstore."

Xu Jing immediately recalled that when she came over earlier, there was indeed a bookstore near Baoyue Pavilion, a rather large and elegantly decorated one.

"The servants who accompanied them said that initially, they were well-behaved, diligently choosing and reading books there. However, not long after, a group of people suddenly swarmed into the bookstore, and unexpectedly, the two children sneaked out.

It was said that those two children often sneaked off, and their escort was somewhat used to it, so they immediately spread out to search. They didn’t expect that the two children hadn’t gone far and were lingering near the bookstore.

Initially, they searched further away, and not finding them for a while, they returned to the vicinity of the bookstore and soon found Young Master Wang’s jade pendant and Young Master Xu’s bag of candies in this alley. Realizing something was wrong, they informed the families, and then the Wang Family and Xu Family reported to the government at the same time.

We immediately brought government officials to investigate this area, carrying portraits of the children and inquiring at every shop. Upon reaching Baoyue Pavilion, the staff there immediately said that the two children had come around 9 a.m., looking for someone named Xu Huaiyang. They seemed quite arrogant and haughty. The staff at Baoyue Pavilion often deals with noble guests, and judging by the children’s attire, knew they were of high birth and refrained from offending them. So they told the children they hadn’t seen anyone named Xu Huaiyang and politely sent them away.

They told us that there actually was a customer named Xu Huaiyang, but seeing the manner of the two children, they intuitively decided not to disclose this. That morning, Xu Huaiyang and his sister also came. The siblings had ordered a pair of Dragon and Phoenix Bracelets from them and were very intent on it, checking progress almost daily. It just so happened that when the two children came, the siblings had just left."

Xu Sihai couldn’t help but say, "And just because of this, you think it was my Yang’er and Jin’er who kidnapped them? It’s nonsense! A few days ago, Yang’er had a bit of a dispute with them on the street. Clearly, they knew Yang’er would be coming to Baoyue Pavilion these days and wanted to seek revenge!"

"Of course, that’s not all."

Mr. Yao glanced at Xu Sihai and said, "While searching the streets, the Wang Family and Xu Family suddenly came over and said they received a ransom letter from the kidnappers. It stated they had two days to prepare silver notes worth twenty thousand taels and were forbidden to report to the authorities without permission.

And because Xu Huaiyang and Xu Huaijin had ordered jewelry at Baoyue Pavilion, their signatures were on the contract. We compared it with the ransom letter’s handwriting, and the character ’Xu’ appeared very similar."

Xu Huan’an was stunned and quickly said, "What kind of kidnapper would use their original handwriting in a ransom letter? This is obviously a frame-up!"

"We also found it odd, but considering that Xu Huaiyang and Xu Huaijin are both young, it’s understandable that they might not think it through. After all, they probably wouldn’t expect us to suspect them so quickly and compare the handwriting."

Mr. Yao spoke, his voice suddenly lowering, "The most crucial point is that, at present, Xu Huaiyang and his sister appear to be the primary suspects. The Wang and Xu Families are not ordinary families, especially the Wang Family, with the kidnapped child being the Duke Qiao’s grandson. Even the Empress Dowager has decreed that Wang Baojun must be found immediately."

Xu Jing suddenly understood.

This was an immense pressure, demanding results, and quickly.

In such circumstances, they wouldn’t dismiss even the most far-fetched clues; the priority was to find those two children at once.

Chances were, they would indeed find the two children, but they would also inevitably implicate Xu Huaiyang and Xu Huaijin.

This was... the worst possible scenario.

Thinking of this, Xu Jing couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Xu Sihai and Xu Huan’an looked at her in astonishment, thinking the pressure had gotten to her. Xu Huan’an bit his lip and softly said, "Jing, don’t worry, I..."

"Worry? Why should I worry? The mastermind has handed me such a big flaw, I’m too happy."

Xu Jing coldly curled her lips, "I have already found the breakthrough to uncover the mastermind!"

Everyone was stunned.

She looked at Mr. Yao and said, "Mr. Yao, your kindness and great virtue today, I will find an opportunity to repay. I hope you can help me with one more thing."

Mr. Yao came to his senses and said, "Miss Xu, please say it, and I will see if I can assist."

Indeed, he felt a bit anxious about helping Xu Jing so much.

But seeing Miss Xu quickly uncover Xin Lei, saving Mrs. Zhou, had left a deep impression. He had also heard she single-handedly solved the Imperial College case, which made him somewhat admire this woman.

Moreover, his intuition told him something was amiss with this case. Helping a little wouldn’t alter the truth and might be beneficial.

If it would interfere with the investigation, he definitely wouldn’t extend his help.

After Xu Jing finished stating her request for help, Mr. Yao was dazed for a moment before saying, "Such a small thing, it’s not a problem."

Xu Jing slightly lifted a corner of her mouth, "Then, thank you in advance, Mr. Yao. I’ve already delayed enough time, let’s head straight to the government office in the Western Capital."

The carriage quickly arrived at the government office in the Western Capital. Before disembarking, Xu Jing said, "Uncle, cousin, be mentally prepared. The situation inside won’t be optimistic."

However, Xu Sihai got off the carriage first and said, "Let’s go. I am your uncle, how can I need my niece to comfort me? Don’t worry, what storm haven’t I weathered?"

But as he said this, his face was particularly grave.

Even with all their wealth, in the Western Capital, where power is king, they still faced many obstacles.

Xu Jing gave him a look and got off the carriage as well.

This was Xu Jing’s first proper visit to the government office in the Western Capital. Compared to the small and shabby county government office in Anping County, it was much more grand and imposing. The sight of the large, red-lacquered doors alone was awe-inspiring.

With Mr. Yao leading them in, Xu Jing felt her heart sink upon reaching the courtroom.