Chapter 429 - 427: The Murderer’s Motive (Part 1)

Chapter 429: Chapter 427: The Murderer’s Motive (Part 1)

The scroll Xu Jing had been looking at earlier in the carriage was from the Imperial Guard along with the Holy Emperor’s handwritten letter, detailing the previous few cases. The case involving Princess Ling happened only a few days back, so detailed intelligence had yet to reach her.

Hence, Governor Zhang’s words were precisely what Xu Jing wanted to hear, and she nodded, saying, "Very well, please trouble yourself, Governor Zhang."

Governor Zhang immediately made a gesture of invitation, allowing one of the officials he brought to lead the way. Walking, he said, "Prince Ling and Princess Consort Ling arrived in our Xinzhou two days ago, that is, on the evening of April 1st. At the time, they stayed at the best inn in the vicinity—the Full Moon Building."

Xu Jing’s eyes flickered slightly, "Did they only stay at the best inns along their journey?"

Governor Zhang was a bit taken aback, although he didn’t understand why Xu Jing suddenly asked that, he still said, "Naturally, that is the case. After all, it is Prince Ling, regardless of what happened...he is still a member of the royal family. General Han and his men dare not show any negligence unless conditions don’t allow it, and otherwise, they will certainly find the best local inn for them to stay in."

General Han Yi, in fact, was the general sent by the Holy Emperor to escort the Prince Ling and his mother back to the Western Capital.

Governor Zhang continued, "Because a few of the servants around Prince Ling had already died mysteriously, General Han dared not be negligent, notifying me the night before they arrived in Xinzhou to book the Full Moon Building. On the day, he arranged for tight security inside and outside the inn.

Yet, unexpectedly, something still happened under such circumstances..."

Xu Jing’s eyes darkened slightly.

This point was completely different from the previous two cases.

Because Prince Ling’s current identity was sensitive, General Han initially didn’t want to expose their identity, so they kept as low a profile as possible along the way, and did not inform local officials in advance.

After the sudden deaths of the two personal maids by Prince Ling’s side, they immediately increased security, but not to the extent of booking the entire inn down. They merely booked the floor where Prince Ling, Princess Ling, and Princess Consort Ling stayed and strengthened the security around the inn.

Under such circumstances, there were still deaths in their party. General Han was flustered, and by then, they were approaching the Capital City, leading him to put aside concerns of exposing their whereabouts and employ the highest level of security for Prince Ling’s entourage.

And yet, someone still died under these circumstances, and it was Princess Ling who was killed...

Xu Jing suddenly said, "Prince Ling, Princess Ling, and Princess Consort Ling were definitely the ones being intensely protected. To be honest, it’s strange for the murderer to plan to kill Princess Ling from the start but only acted at the last moment."

Governor Zhang was also a clever person and immediately understood Xu Jing’s point and said, "Exactly, in the beginning, when no one had died yet, their guards would naturally have had the most vulnerabilities. Logically speaking, the murderer would have found it far easier to kill Princess Ling then, but instead decided to act after killing so many, when General Han’s vigilance had practically peaked, and killed Princess Ling at such a moment, it doesn’t make logical sense.

Does Miss Xu have any ideas?"

Governor Zhang, appearing to be in his thirties, had a small mustache, furrowed brows, and a square jaw, his expression appearing quite intimidating when serious.

Yet, Xu Jing seemed unfazed, conversing with him calmly, "Unless, to the murderer, the previous victims were the more urgent targets to be eliminated. After all, if Princess Ling had been killed at first, General Han and his men would have raised their guard to the highest level immediately, making it more difficult for him to target others.

And because the initial deaths were that of some servants, General Han and his team, while cautious, may not have elevated the security level to the highest from the start, nor affected their subsequent actions."

Governor Zhang nodded while listening, developing a new perspective regarding this Miss Xu.

Although he had heard of Miss Xu’s great reputation, he nonetheless harbored concerns since she was a woman, worried she might just be a name without substance, or worse, a hindrance.

Now it seemed, this Miss Xu indeed had some abilities!

Xu Jing paused, then her voice slightly low, said, "This also proves that regardless of the murderer’s intentions and purposes, all his actions are about to culminate. Very likely, Princess Ling was the last he wanted to kill, or whom he intends to kill next ranks even higher than her."

The death of Princess Ling marked a turning point, henceforth whoever he planned to kill would find it tremendously difficult.

Governor Zhang’s heart trembled slightly; a target higher than Princess Ling would mean...Prince Ling or Princess Consort Ling?!

Regardless of which of them dies, the consequences are beyond what he could bear!

Seemingly oblivious to Governor Zhang’s face, which had become as dark as soot, Xu Jing continued, "Nevertheless, if I’m not mistaken, this time the murderer killed Princess Ling amidst heavy security, no matter how neatly it was done, he must have left some traces.

Governor Zhang’s heart already should have some suspects, right?"

In the earlier two cases, General Han’s men couldn’t narrow down the suspects.

The two maids killed in the first case were staying downstairs in a lower room, while Prince Ling, Princess Ling, and Princess Consort Ling were on the third floor, which had superior rooms, and the guards were mainly arranged on the third floor, so no one paid attention to the servants staying on the first floor.

Therefore, after discovering the two maids had been killed, nobody knew who had entered their room that night.

During the second case, General Han was more cautious, placing guards near the lower rooms where the servants stayed.

Unexpectedly, this time the first discovered deceased was not found in a room but near the place where water was drawn.

General Han was furious, called over all guards except those by Prince Ling’s side, and had them search the entire inn. During that time, the personal servant of Prince Ling, who was left alone in the room, was killed. Again, no one knew who had entered his room then.

However, the case of Princess Ling’s death was different from these others, even if she left her room, guards would inevitably follow her closely.

In other words, to know who approached Princess Ling or entered her room that day, one need only ask the guards by her side to know clearly.

Governor Zhang couldn’t help but silently agree, nodding, "Miss Xu is right. Princess Ling was found dead on the morning of April 2nd. When they arrived at the inn on April 1st, it was already late. After finishing dinner, Princess Ling went to pay respects to Princess Consort Ling before returning to her room and has not come out since.

Therefore, the murderer could only be among those who entered Princess Ling’s room during that time.

And during that time, five people entered her room."