Chapter 345 - 343: When Enemies Cross Paths (First Update)

Chapter 345: Chapter 343: When Enemies Cross Paths (First Update)

Xu Jing lifted her gaze to look at him, and after a while, she softly said, "Not angry."

Realizing that if she continued, her secret would be exposed, she hurriedly tugged on Xiao Yi’s hand to walk forward, changing the subject, "How could I get angry so easily? Let’s go, return early to rest, as I have to go to the Western Capital’s government office early tomorrow."

This big case emerged before the year-end, and it must be solved quickly to let everyone have a good New Year."

Maybe one day, she would reveal her biggest secret to the man in front of her.

But not now.

Xiao Yi looked at the woman walking ahead and said, "Jiang San’s case, is it not a simple one?"

Having just returned from Lingzhou, he was busy with an array of matters. Today, he had been occupied inside and outside the palace the whole day and hadn’t yet had time to pay attention to this case.

Xu Jing nodded as she slowly recounted to Xiao Yi what she had found out today.

Xiao Yi couldn’t help but ponder, "So, it could likely be that the person who contacted both Jiang San and Sister-in-law Wu recently is the murderer. However, the differences between Jiang San and Sister-in-law Wu as victims are too glaring. Someone who could achieve trust from both isn’t just an ordinary person."

The differences were not small; these two people were from completely different worlds.

One was a daughter from a prestigious family, the other a village widow. If it weren’t for the many similarities between their murders, who would connect them together?

As they talked, they found themselves back in their room. Xu Jing instructed Chunyang to prepare the bathing essentials in the bathroom and sat down on the chaise, saying, "Indeed, truthfully, it’s hard for me to imagine the perpetrator’s identity. Sister-in-law Wu could be overripe, as she wasn’t well-educated and was a widow, gaining her trust wouldn’t be difficult.

But Jiang San was the carefully nurtured daughter of the Jiang Family, even though she was not in good shape lately due to her former husband’s issue, earning her trust and making her leave the Jiang house alone at night wouldn’t be easy.

Therefore, I believe the murderer is someone adept at manipulating people, with at least some charm that could make these troubled women trust him unconditionally."

Back then, Jiang San, though unaware of Lady Hua’s conspiracy, followed her intuition because something in the residence felt off, indicating a danger to her.

A woman like her wouldn’t be easily fooled.

Xiao Yi gently tapped his right index finger, "Then this murderer ought to appear non-threatening on the surface or possess a seemingly harmless identity.

Moreover, from what you describe, Sister-in-law Wu likely wasn’t his first victim."

After all, his setup was too mature and detailed.

For a first-time murderer to remain composed is impressive enough, let alone devising such an intricate plan right away.

Xu Jing nodded in agreement, "I think so too, this setup is very mature. I suspect he’s murdered before in the same manner, but it wasn’t discovered by the government, or the murders happened at year-end.

So, before I returned today, I asked Mr. Yao to investigate if there have been any similar cases of women in a despondent mood committing suicide recently."

Just then, the door was gently knocked, Chunyang entered and said, "Madam, Lord, the bathwater is ready."

Xiao Yi turned to Xu Jing and said, "You wash first, then go to sleep early, don’t wait up for me."

As if she usually waited until he hit the bed before she slept.

Noticing the amusement and coyness on the maidservants’ faces around them, Xu Jing couldn’t help but glare at Xiao Yi and went off to bathe.

The next morning, Xu Jing went to the Western Capital’s government office, and upon arrival, she was warmly greeted by a government official who said, "Miss Xu, you’ve finally arrived; Mr. Yao has been asking about you several times this morning already."

Xu Jing slightly raised an eyebrow, "It’s only just 7 a.m., I’ve come early enough, hasn’t Mr. Yao stayed in the office all night?"

"Indeed, it was noticed by the Ministry of Justice that this is a big case. Early in the morning, someone came to take over the case. However, since Jiang San is the niece of Jiang Zhaoyin, Jiang Zhaoyin and the Jiang Family requested the Holy Emperor to have the Western Capital office continue the investigation as well."

The government official suddenly leaned closer to Xu Jing, whispering mysteriously, "It’s rare for both the Western Capital office and the Ministry of Justice to investigate the same case. Although Jiang Zhaoyin purely wants to personally find out the truth about Jiang San’s death, others don’t see it that way. Everyone is determined to solve the case before the Ministry of Justice does."

Xu Jing thought of Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice Wang Qilang and couldn’t help but twitch an eyebrow.

Is this what they call a narrow path for enemies? Could it be that Wang Qilang is the one responsible for this case again?

As they spoke, they reached a room at the back of the Western Capital office where Mr. Yao was sitting behind a desk, furrowing his brows at a document full of writing. Upon seeing Xu Jing, he immediately stood up with joy, "Miss Xu, you’re here! Have a seat, have a seat, I’ve discovered quite a bit and wish to discuss it with you!"

After Xu Jing sat down on a chair beside him, he quickly handed her a document, "This is from yesterday when Jiang Zhaoyin returned to the Jiang Family and heard from Jiang San’s personal maid about the places Jiang San recently visited, please take a look, Miss Xu.

Jiang San had been in low spirits and reluctant to leave the house, seldom even stepping out of her room, until about a month ago when there was a change.

Jiang San’s personal maid mentioned that, with her family’s comfort, Jiang San’s mood improved significantly about a month ago and she was finally willing to go out. Initially, she only accompanied her mother and sisters-in-law to several places, namely the Huacui Pavilion for clothes shopping, Linglong Pavilion for jewelry, Lanxin Garden where the women of the Western Capital like to have tea and snacks, and Jingyuan Temple, which is a nunnery outside the Capital renowned for fulfilling prayers for blessings. That time, Jiang San’s mother took her there under the pretense of praying, and they spent the night there.

After that, Jiang San started going out alone, apart from going out with the women in the family to the aforementioned places. Among them, she visited Huacui Pavilion twice, Linglong Pavilion three times, Lanxin Garden twice, and Jingyuan Temple twice. When she went out alone, she only visited Qinghui Garden. You, Miss Xu, must have heard of Qinghui Garden, a teahouse in the Capital City where guests can enjoy tea while watching plays. According to Jiang San’s maid, Jiang San visited Qinghui Garden three times alone."

Xu Jing was slightly taken aback, "Three times?"

What was it about Qinghui Garden that attracted her so much?

Mr. Yao’s expression was also complex, "Jiang San’s personal maid said that Qinghui Garden recently staged a new play about a mother searching for her child, and it was likely due to this theme that Jiang San frequently visited Qinghui Garden. It’s said that every time she watched the play, she was dazed as if her thoughts were elsewhere."

Xu Jing couldn’t help but remain silent for a while.

The child remained a lingering shadow in Jiang San’s heart.

The act of terminating the child with her own hands possibly tormented Jiang San more than the revelation of Xin Lei being a murderer.

She glanced at the document Mr. Yao handed her, which detailed where and when Jiang San visited different places, with whom she went, and for what purpose, everything clearly listed.

After skimming through it, she asked, "What about Sister-in-law Wu’s recent whereabouts?"

No sooner had she asked than Mr. Yao helplessly shook his head, "The matter regarding Sister-in-law Wu is a bit tricky."