Chapter 257 - 255: Shortcuts in Investigating Cases (First Update)

Chapter 257: Chapter 255: Shortcuts in Investigating Cases (First Update)

Everyone couldn’t help but look at Xu Jing with a mix of skepticism and belief.

Both the Wang Family and the Xu Family had sent out everyone, including a squad of elite soldiers dispatched from the palace, but after spending most of the day, they had found nothing. How could Miss Xu, who stayed in the government office, uncover anything?

Xu Jing glanced around at everyone, and said, "After learning the details of the case, I discovered a point that really caught my attention—the ransom note, how was it written?

My cousin and cousin-in-law were framed, so this ransom note could only have been written by someone who imitated my cousin’s handwriting.

However, my cousin is not a native of the Capital City and rarely writes anything here, so how did the mastermind obtain my cousin’s calligraphy to imitate? Bianzhou is tens of thousands of miles away from the Western Capital, and a one-way trip would take at least half a month. The mastermind must have planned this kidnapping more than a month in advance, otherwise, it would be impossible to obtain my cousin’s calligraphy from Bianzhou.

Another possibility is that the mastermind knows my cousin and thus already has my cousin’s calligraphy!

Either way, it indicates the mastermind is very familiar with my cousin.

However, in the Western Capital, only a very few people know my cousin."

As she spoke, her sharp gaze was openly directed at the Xu Family members. Xu Guangyi immediately understood Xu Jing’s meaning and widened his eyes in disbelief, grinding his teeth, "You disgrace! Even now, you still want to slander others! Guang’er is my son; our family would have to be insane to kidnap Guang’er..."

"Minister Xu is mistaken. The mastermind’s real purpose was not to kidnap those two children, but to frame my cousin and cousin-in-law! The kidnapping of those two children was merely his method."

Xu Jing curled her lips disdainfully, and said, "As for whether his mind is unsound, once we know who the mastermind is, Minister Xu can ask him personally.

Since we’ve already narrowed down the suspect range, identifying the mastermind will be easy, especially since he sent me an obvious flaw... one that is impossible to ignore.

To imitate such a ransom note, one needs someone who can mimic others’ handwriting. Imitating handwriting sounds simple but is difficult to execute, and as far as I remember, the Xu Family has no such talent!

This means that the mastermind would have had to find someone outside for such a task!"

The original owner had closely monitored the Xu Family for over a decade, fully aware of their capabilities.

Duke Qiao was startled, his expression darkening rapidly, "The Xu Family girl, while those who can imitate handwriting are rare, they’re not scarce in a large city like the Western Capital. How do you know who the mastermind sought out?"

"To find out who it is, one might check each person, but even half a day might not be sufficient — not even three days might be enough. At this point, we must take a shortcut."

Duke Qiao frowned, "Shortcut?"

Xu Jing raised her hand, pointed to her head, and said with a smile, "The shortcut is here. The biggest difference between humans and animals is thought.

Imitating handwriting is a dangerous job, and it’s not a business usually done openly, so it is typically conducted under the table. To this end, I specifically asked Vice Minister Xiao to obtain a list from various underground sources. On this list are people in the Western Capital who secretly do the work of imitating handwriting for others. There are 33 such people."

Thirty-three!

While this may not seem like many, checking each one would still take considerable time.

Xu Jing continued, "This list is arranged according to the reputation of those people. The better their reputation, the better their business, and they are listed more prominently. Those with lesser reputations are listed lower.

Yet having a big reputation in this line of work isn’t always a good thing. Many people have their rules and won’t take jobs that are too risky or violate the laws of Great Chu. Those with prominent reputations tend to be such people, making a modest but steady income.

For those intent on doing sinister deeds without revealing their identities, they’re more likely to seek out those with lesser reputations who are willing to do anything for money.

Thus, our investigation began at the bottom of this list, and we were quite fortunate, as we found some clues after checking just a few individuals.

As Xu Jing spoke, she kept her peripheral gaze on Xu Ya, who looked increasingly pale, causing her to sneer, "One person said that a cloaked young woman approached him some time ago, asking if he could imitate someone else’s handwriting to write a ransom note. However, although that person does such work, he has a family to support and didn’t dare take on such a dangerous job, so he immediately declined.

We continued our investigation and suddenly discovered a man specializing in this work had disappeared two days ago. That man, named Luo Ren, was described by his neighbors as a scoundrel whose family had painstakingly put him through school only for him to become addicted to gambling, losing all the family assets.

But this Mr. Luo had some wit since childhood, with an extraordinary gift for mimicking handwriting, often using this skill to earn money. For him, no matter the job, as long as he was paid well, he was willing to take it.

Everyone listening became increasingly astonished.

No one expected her to find anything!

Xu Guangyi still looked grim, angrily accusing, "Nonsense! What does a woman like you know about these underworld dealings? It’s truly embarrassing! Besides, you said the person went missing; are you going to claim their disappearance is also the work of this supposed mastermind?"

Xu Jing raised her brow, replying calmly, "Minister Xu, your guess is astute. Many people would not take those risky jobs for fear of implicating themselves, and, more importantly, they fear their customers might kill them after the job is done.

However, for Mr. Luo, as long as money is involved, he wouldn’t care about those risks. His disappearance two days ago is indeed related to the mastermind."

Jiang Shaobai said in a deep voice, "Given that, who can prove his disappearance is related to this case?"

Xu Jing smiled slightly, "The one who can best prove this matter would naturally be—himself.

I’ve already brought Luo Ren here, and I ask Jiang Zhaoyin to allow me to summon him to the court."

He is here?

Wasn’t it said he went missing?!

Jiang Shaobai was slightly taken aback, "Of course, you may."

Xu Jing then clapped her hands, and immediately two guards brought in a tall, slender man with a shrewd air about him. Once they reached the center of the court, Xu Jing announced loudly, "Reporting to Jiang Zhaoyin, this man is Mr. Luo—Luo Ren, who wrote the ransom note for the mastermind.

Mr. Luo, when you wrote that letter, you may not have known the person wanted to kidnap children from the Wang and Xu Families. Now that you know, it’s clear those two children are people you cannot afford to offend! But now, you have a chance to atone for your crime.

Could you please inform everyone whether the person who instructed you to write that ransom note is here in the court?"