Chapter 517: Overthinking

Chapter 517: Chapter 517: Overthinking

Li Qing was inexplicably anxious. In her opinion, the Xuanqing Guard and the Ministry of Justice Major Case Department were two lines that simply refused to intersect; she even looked down on those "black skins" in the Xuanqing Guard, who relied on privilege to handle cases.

From the moment Li Qing learned that the Xuanqing Guard was involved, she’d been on guard against them. On top of that, she had a deep-seated aversion to that Shen guy’s lazy, pretentious manner—she honestly thought these people were either here to steal credit, or just to make trouble. After all, the bad blood between the Xuanqing Guard and the late Qin Xiuyuan was widely rumored, wasn’t it?

Now, by chance, she’d really found something!

That Xuanqing Guard Deputy named Wang was actually recording the details of the crime scene—if that wasn’t stirring up trouble, what was? Li Qing felt this was a clear sign they’d try to snatch credit from the Ministry of Justice. If they were truly here to "assist the investigation," would they need to go this far?

The more she thought, the more anxious she became. Li Qing hurried back to the Ministry of Justice government office, jogged up, and knocked briskly on Xue Gui’s public office door.

"How many times have I told you? What’s all this rushing and fluster about?" Xue Gui’s voice was still hoarse, but seemed a note softer when he spoke to Li Qing.

"Sir, I— I’ll remember next time." Li Qing’s initially agitated mood instantly calmed down upon seeing Xue Gui’s "iron face"; her anxiety vanished at once.

Though Xue Gui’s "iron face" made him look unapproachable, he took good care of his deputy, and everyone familiar with him knew that despite his intimidating appearance, his temperament was actually easygoing.

"Go on, what happened? Didn’t I tell you to go wrap things up with Prince Shou’s Mansion?"

"Sir, I just came back from Prince Shou’s Mansion. I didn’t settle it, because I discovered something new and came back to report to you specifically."

Xue Gui shook his head, a trace of a smile seemingly at his lips: "Alright, what did you find?"

"It’s those Xuanqing Guard. I found them making a detailed ’crime scene record’ in Prince Shou’s Mansion—not just mapping the location of the Qin Mansion, but also sketching the scene where the body was found. I probed that Deputy of Shen Hao’s: he said our initial case file was crude, that we hadn’t ruled out the possibility of Qin Xiuyuan’s accidental poisoning after eating in Prince Shou’s Mansion, and he demanded another autopsy."

Li Qing recounted what she’d seen in Prince Shou’s Mansion, and saw Xue Gui, who’d been hunched over writing, freeze and lift his pen in midair.

Xue Gui asked, "You saw this with your own eyes?"

"Yes, sir. That Xuanqing Guard Vice Officer Wang was sketching. I deliberately concealed my footsteps and presence, got close, and saw both the drawing in his hand and some written notes—the technique was exactly like the way we usually record crime scenes. And they clearly used the term ’Prince Shou’s Mansion’ in their notes.

Sir, do you think the Xuanqing Guard is planning to make trouble?" Li Qing couldn’t resist voicing her opinion with this last line.

Xue Gui put down his pen. Though his expression was hidden, his eyes grew visibly grave. Yesterday’s "clash" with Shen Hao had shown him he was dealing with a very difficult and scheming man. He had thought Shen was only after the case’s primary jurisdiction, but Li Qing’s report forced him to think even deeper.

Xue Gui was puzzled. The Ministry’s higher-ups had expressly warned him: avoid entangling Prince Shou’s Mansion as much as possible.

Logically, if the Ministry of Justice was so wary of Prince Shou’s involvement, shouldn’t the Xuanqing Guard be even more so? Could it be that, while going head-to-head with the Civil Servant Group, they also wanted to openly fall out with Prince Shou?

That just didn’t make sense.

Xue Gui had been in the Ministry of Justice for years with a significant position. He wasn’t stiff and had good relations with the upper ranks, receiving many pointers over the years. He understood that the court atmosphere lately was fraught—whether Civil Servants, the Military, or the Xuanqing Guard, everyone was cautious around the Princes; if possible, no one wanted to simply pick a side.

This time, even Prince Shou helping Qin Xiuyuan was in itself a gesture of goodwill towards the Civil Servant Group. As for how to repay Prince Shou, Xue Gui had no way of knowing for now.

And the Xuanqing Guard? Weren’t they so-called "lone ministers"? For better or worse, shouldn’t they be keeping their distance from the Princes?

He couldn’t help thinking of that smiling face from yesterday, those eyes cold as a viper; a faint connection began to form in Xue Gui’s mind.

Dragging Prince Shou into the mud... Hinting the Ministry of Justice was botching the case to curry favor with the Prince... Forcing his way to an initial case file yesterday... If the filth gets splattered, the Ministry of Justice can’t dodge it... In the end, wouldn’t the case’s primary jurisdiction end up...

The train of thought became ever clearer, and under the mask, Xue Gui’s face darkened visibly.

The Xuanqing Guard really wasn’t here to play nice—they were up to something nasty after all!

But what was to be done?

In Xue Gui’s mind, all this scheming clearly came from that Shen "Evil Star." The man’s reputation on the street was well earned: he really was formidable. But so what? Now, thanks to Li Qing’s chance discovery, they might have just dodged a big pitfall.

"Tell the people below to keep a close eye on Prince Shou’s Mansion, especially the Xuanqing Guard. Guard Qin Xiuyuan’s corpse well—under no circumstances can the Xuanqing Guard touch it."

"But sir, with this weather, the corpse can’t be left out for long. Shouldn’t we just burn it?" Li Qing’s thinking was simple and by-the-book—a ’poison death’ body could, by regulation, be cremated right away. If so, the Xuanqing Guard couldn’t possibly ’verify problems in the initial case file.’

Xue Gui barely hesitated before shaking his head. Such matters shouldn’t be decided on a whim—one slip and it could spell disaster.

Qin Xiuyuan was the legitimate son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. If you cremated the body before burial? Besides, the Ministry of Justice superiors hadn’t settled their position—burning the body would exclude a whole set of options.

"Keep it. Go request some ice from the storeroom to preserve it for a couple more days—that’ll be enough."

"But it’ll stink... Understood, sir. Your subordinate obeys."

Li Qing hustled off to carry out her orders, and Xue Gui had no mind to remain holed up in the public office, either. He gathered his thoughts, rehearsed his report in his mind, and headed out to find his superior, Ma Xuanlin. In the end, this issue required direction from the Minister of Justice himself.

...

Meanwhile, as Li Qing and Xue Gui were busy trying to strangle the Xuanqing Guard’s schemes in the cradle, in Prince Shou’s Mansion, Wang Yiming and a few other rough-necked Xuanqing Guard men were performing an elaborate show, aiming to ’accidentally’ display yesterday’s "copy" to the Mansion’s Inner Guard.

Both sides were performing—whether they’d manage to work in concert, half depended on Wang Yiming’s acting, half on sheer luck.