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“I asked the princess, 'If I investigate and something goes wrong, can Your Highness protect my family?' The princess said, 'I cannot. Your case is not for me to protect. It's your duty. You can choose to be a good official or a corrupt one, and the consequences will be borne by yourself.' I thought, ‘Ah, that's really unfeeling!’ At that time... even now, I still feel the princess's heart is too hard. She is an imperial princess, isn’t it easy for her to protect a few people? She put me in a difficult spot, leaving no retreat for my family...”
“But Liulang, that's how the world is. From the day I chose to be an official, I've set my family's fate on an unpredictable path. No one forced me. It was my own choice.”
“The case escalated to the capital. Do you know that the local gentry was actually related to the Duke Luo Estate? I almost died, but luckily, I survived. When His Majesty heard about the case, he ordered my return to the capital. That's how I was saved.”
“She helped you.” Xiao Heng suddenly spoke up.
“What?” Minister Xing looked at Xiao Heng puzzled.
Xiao Heng said, "Princess Xinyang, she helped you."
Minister Xing was taken aback.
Xiao Heng brushed his sleeve and continued, "Otherwise, why would His Majesty hear about your case and suddenly recall you to the capital? There are countless murder cases in the world."
"Ah... This..."
Minister Xing was momentarily unable to withstand such a huge revelation. Frankly speaking, he had considered this possibility before. However, after the incident, he met Princess Xinyang several times, but she didn't show any indication of wanting his gratitude.
She didn't even talk to him.
Doing good deeds without seeking recognition?
What was Princess Xinyang up to?
Rumors had it that Princess Xinyang had many handsome gigolos.
Minister Xing touched his rough face. Once upon a time, he did have the looks of a handsome man in their county…
"My Lord! We've arrived!" The coachman halted the carriage.
Minister Xing had shared those things with Xiao Heng on the carriage because he sensed this case wasn't simple.
The forces behind it might exceed their expectations. He worried Xiao Heng might not dare to investigate further, so he wanted to inspire him with his own experiences, encouraging him to aspire to be an incorruptible official, and even if no one protected him, he could still rise to great heights.
But it seemed that things had taken a turn.
"Cough, cough." Minister Xing cleared his throat. "Let's go down."
This was the residence of the third witness they had found through their search.
Unfortunately, it was a wasted trip.
The witness hadn't been home for the past few days.
Assistant Minister Li's case was both simple and complex.
While Assistant Minister Li was traveling outside the capital to visit his concubine and illegitimate child, they encountered a group of bandits on the way. The guards accompanying Assistant Minister Li promptly drove the bandits away. However, two bandits resisted violently, injuring Assistant Minister Li. The guards were compelled to kill them in self-defense.
But unexpectedly, when the corpses were taken to the local yamen, one of the deceased had actually become a good, law-abiding citizen.
This law-abiding citizen's family approached, claiming that Assistant Minister Li had killed their son.
The identities of the other bandits had also been discovered, but the eyewitnesses at that time were all absent from their homes.
Based on Minister Xing's years of experience handling cases, this was a premeditated setup. The target wasn't Assistant Minister Li but the case he was handling.
Xiao Heng was trustworthy, so Minister Xing didn't beat around the bush, "The Heavenly Music House case is of great significance. Both the Jingzhao Office and the Ministry of Justice are investigating it."
Xiao Heng nodded, then asked, "Then why are the authorities from Jingzhao Office unaffected?"
Minister Xing pondered for a moment, "There's only one possibility."
The authorities from Jingzhao Office had been bribed.
Xiao Heng also guessed this possibility. He spoke seriously, "Continuing to investigate will be dangerous for Assistant Minister Li, as well as for you, my Lord."
Assistant Minister Li was simply following orders, and the decision-making power lay in Minister Xing's hands, so in reality, the threat was aimed at Minister Xing.
The above speculation was based on the current clues they possessed. Whether it was true or not required further verification.
Having found no witnesses, Minister Xing and Xiao Heng boarded the carriage back to the capital.
The carriage had not gone very far when an arrow whizzed inside, embedding itself straight into the carriage wall between Xiao Heng and Minister Xing!
The force was strong enough that the arrow pierced through, its tail still violently shaking. It was evident that if the arrow had hit either of them, it would have been fatal instantly!
Minister Xing's eyes grew cold, "Assassinating a court official? Good thing I was prepared!"
He then took out a bone whistle and blew it forcefully.
One blow, two blows, three blows passed.
After a long time, the expected experts didn't appear.
Minister Xing was confused and said, "What's going on? I spent a fortune to buy experts in the martial world!"
"They're gone." Xiao Heng said calmly.
"What?" Minister Xing's eyes widened. Another arrow flew in, this time narrowly missing Minister Xing's groin, sending chills down his spine!
"Get off the carriage!" Xiao Heng said.
Minister Xing parted the curtain, grabbed Xiao Heng's hand, and together, they leaped off the carriage.
Just as they fell to the ground, a barrage of arrows rained down, turning the carriage into a sieve!
Minister Xing held his breath.
If he hadn't jumped off the carriage with Xiao Liulang in time, they would have been turned into sieves too!
"This is despicable! Who are these people! Don't let this official find out, otherwise this official will ruin their entire families!"
Swish!
Another arrow flew, narrowly missing Minister Xing's buttocks!
"Ah!"
Minister Xing suddenly jumped and grabbed Xiao Heng's hand, then bolted away!
Initially, Xiao Heng thought the assassins were after Minister Xing until they entered a forest. Minister Xing fell down a hillside, but the assassins didn't chase him. Instead, they came toward Xiao Heng.
Only then did Xiao Heng realize that the arrows that seemed to be aimed at Minister Xing was actually a misshot. Their target from the beginning had been him, Xiao Heng.
They weren't warning Minister Xing through Assistant Minister Li's case. They intended to use Minister Xing to draw him out of the capital for investigation, then kill him on the way!
What a cunning plan.
It appeared that Mo Qianxue's case had been a setup from the very beginning.
Looking at the five black-clad figures approaching him, Xiao Heng asked coldly, "Who is your master?"
The leader of the assassins replied icily, "You’re going to die anyway, what use is knowing our master?"
Xiao Heng replied calmly, "At least let me die with some understanding."
The leader of the assassins sneered, "Fine, I'll tell you. The person who wants to kill you is our Young Owner."
Xiao Heng looked coldly at him, "Who is this Young Owner?"
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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