Chapter 445 - 443: A Body Burned Beyond Recognition (First Update)

Chapter 445: Chapter 443: A Body Burned Beyond Recognition (First Update)

When the shout rang out, Xu Jing and the others were already very close to the Full Moon Building, just around a corner.

Xu Jing’s heart skipped a beat, and she abruptly looked up toward the Full Moon Building. Sure enough, she saw a thick column of ominous black smoke rising into the sky.

Her eyes widened slightly as she quickly picked up her pace and ran towards the Full Moon Building, surprising Song Qingyun and the others who hurriedly followed behind her.

Outside Full Moon Building, a crowd of civilians had already gathered along with people urgently running back and forth to help fight the fire. Before Xu Jing could steady her steps, she heard a familiar voice not far away, "Miss Xu!"

It turned out to be Governor Zhang, who had been missing for nearly a day and a night.

Xu Jing waited until Governor Zhang ran up to her before asking, "What on earth happened? What’s the situation now?"

Governor Zhang’s face looked even worse than the dreadful smoke, and he said, "The situation is dire. The fire broke out in Prince Ling’s room, but fortunately, the servant named Shuangrui by Prince Ling’s side discovered it in time and immediately ran out to alert others.

Princess Consort Ling and the others were rescued before the fire became too intense. Other than being a bit shocked, they are not in grave danger.

But... Prince Ling, he...is gone..."

Xu Jing clenched her fists tightly and said coldly, "What do you mean by ’gone’? Please, Governor Zhang, clarify!"

Governor Zhang was evidently also flustered, and he gritted his teeth silently before saying, "I mean he’s literally gone; Prince Ling was burned to death! When Shuangrui ran out to call for help, he said it seemed like Prince Ling himself started the fire while he was on the bed. Shuangrui was working outside at the time and didn’t realize it immediately. It wasn’t until he smelled smoke drifting in that he noticed something was wrong and rushed over, but... at that moment, the entire bed was already engulfed in flames, and Prince Ling was entirely ablaze.

Shuangrui frantically ran outside to seek help. General Han happened to be standing outside. Upon hearing Shuangrui’s words, he immediately charged into the inferno, desperately pulling Prince Ling out of the flames, but it was too late... Prince Ling was already beyond recognition from the burns...

As a result, General Han himself suffered severe burns and is being treated over there."

He spoke while pointing to an alley across from the Full Moon Building, where one could vaguely make out someone lying on the ground, surrounded by a doctor with a medical kit and several soldiers who looked visibly worried.

Xu Jing’s face grew colder and grimmer. Suddenly, she asked, "What about Shuangrui?"

Governor Zhang was momentarily stunned, seemingly not having paid attention to this matter, and after pausing for a moment, he replied, "That servant... I haven’t really noticed where he went... Maybe he’s staying with Princess Consort Ling and the others? When Princess Consort Ling saw Prince Ling’s body, she fainted on the spot, and Consort Fang’s condition is also not good. I could only temporarily arrange for them to be in the carriage..."

Saying this, he pointed to two low-key yet sturdy and spacious carriages not far away.

Xu Jing just glanced at them, then withdrew her gaze and continued, "You just said it was Shuangrui who ran out to inform everyone about the fire. Did the guards outside clearly see his appearance?!"

Governor Zhang grew increasingly puzzled, not understanding why Miss Xu’s attention was still on that servant when Prince Ling had been burned to death.

Could it be that she suspects Prince Ling was burned to death by that servant?

It’s indeed a possibility. To be honest, when he first heard about the incident, this idea had crossed his mind. However, with General Han’s collapse and the ensuing chaos at the scene, as the only one who could take charge, he was so busy that he couldn’t think deeply about this issue.

The more Governor Zhang thought about it, the more grave his expression became, and he said, "Earlier, I was busy commanding the rescue efforts, so I haven’t asked about the details yet. Most of the guards outside Prince Ling’s door are loyal to General Han and are almost all staying by his side now. Let’s ask them immediately."

Saying this, he took Xu Jing and quickly walked toward the alley.

Upon reaching there, Xu Jing inadvertently looked at Han Yi, who was lying on the ground. She saw that most of his clothes had been burned away, with his entire upper body and much of his face swollen and charred. Most severely, his arms were oozing a lot of plasma, looking a complete mess of flesh and blood.

Even a tough soldier like General Han couldn’t withstand such agony and gritted his teeth with a grim expression, occasionally letting out cries of pain as the doctor administered treatment.

Song Qingyun and Chunyang, who followed along, couldn’t help but turn their heads away in discomfort.

Xu Jing noticed that the doctor, despite facing such a severe patient, applied the treatment with steady and practiced movements, indicating he was a competent doctor, so she refocused her mind for the moment.

At this time, Governor Zhang had already called over a soldier who was originally stationed beside General Han and said, "I remember you frequently stood guard outside Prince Ling’s room. Were you there when the fire broke out?"

The soldier immediately saluted and said, "Reporting to Governor Zhang, General Han had initially assigned me to Prince Ling’s side, and I have been with him throughout the journey."

"Alright, I only have a rough understanding of the situation regarding the fire. I heard that the person who came out to report the fire was a servant named Shuangrui by Prince Ling’s side. Did you notice his demeanor at the time?"

The soldier paused, then said, "No, I should say, I wasn’t able to clearly see his demeanor."

Governor Zhang frowned sharply and asked, "What do you mean?"

"When the servant came out to call for help, he had a damp handkerchief covering about two-thirds of his face, leaving only his eyes visible."

Recollecting, the soldier added, "He probably saw that Prince Ling’s bed was on fire, so he moistened a cloth with tea or something to cover his mouth and nose, preventing excessive smoke inhalation.

Besides, when we heard Prince Ling was trapped in the flames, we were all extremely anxious and didn’t have the presence of mind to observe the servant’s situation."

Governor Zhang couldn’t help but feel a surge of unease and promptly ordered one of his accompanying government officials, saying sternly, "Quickly go find that servant named Shuangrui!"

"Yes, sir!"

Xu Jing slightly pursed her lips and suddenly asked, "Where is Prince Ling’s body? I want to see it."

The earlier soldier gestured toward a stretcher covered with a white cloth deeper in the alley and said solemnly, "Prince Ling’s body... we have temporarily placed it over there."

Xu Jing immediately walked over, and under everyone’s astonished eyes, crouched down and pulled off the white cloth covering it!

It revealed a charred corpse, unrecognizable as a human being. The upper body was clearly more severely burned than the lower body. Almost none of the skin and flesh on the upper half was intact, but the lower part, especially near the feet, where the burns weren’t as severe, still had some areas of intact skin.

The shoes on the deceased’s feet were even still properly worn.

After snapping out of it, Governor Zhang quickly moved to Xu Jing’s side, frowning, and said, "Miss Xu, do you intend to examine Prince Ling’s body? But even if Prince Ling’s body is burned beyond recognition like this, can any examination reveal anything?

If she truly wanted to examine it, even if the body were burned to ashes, she could still find something.

But... that’s not the most critical issue right now.

Xu Jing stared intently at the corpse on the ground for a long while, then said word by word, "How do you know this is Prince Ling’s body?"