Chapter 117: Saber Sense
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Ye Jingtang got out of the carriage, opened his oil-paper umbrella, and looked at the street.
Bamboo Street was surrounded by residential areas. Most of the people living here were middle-class people such as rich businessmen and retired officials. The street was very neat. Behind the street, the outline of mansions with white walls and blue tiles could be seen, as well as willow laurel leaves sticking out of branches.
At this moment, at the entrance of an alley by the street, there were many people, including scholars and businessmen holding umbrellas and whispering to each other.
“How did Elder Zhao die?”
“I heard that he was killed. It was a robbery.”
“He has no children, yet he still suffered such a calamity in his old age. It’s really… Eh? Who’s here?”
When the crowd heard the sound of the carriage, they turned around and revealed shocked expressions. They hurriedly retreated to the side of the street and bowed.
Ye Jingtang held the umbrella above Dongfang Liren’s head and raised his hand in invitation.
Dongfang Liren didn’t know why, but when she saw Ye Jingtang, she recalled the ‘new knowledge’ she had just seen. She felt very uncomfortable and looked straight ahead as she led her people to the entrance of the alley.
Ye Jingtang followed beside her and paid attention to the surrounding disturbance. When they arrived at the entrance of the alley, he saw four constables standing in front of a mansion in the depths of the limestone alley.
The Three Law Division was commonly known as the Six Gates. It was an official judicial institution. Its clothes were exactly the same as the Black Office’s. The only difference was that the word ‘arrest’ was embroidered on the constables’ chests. The Black Office’s constables were considered ‘vigilantes’ and didn’t have any decorations on their clothes.
The constables standing outside the mansion saw the Prince of Jing coming over. One of them went in to report while the others quickly came over and bowed. “Greetings, Your Highness.”
“There’s no need to stand on ceremony. I passed by this place and heard that there was a murder case, so I came to take a look. What happened?”
“Zhao De, a junior official from the Ministry of Works who lives here, was killed by an evildoer the day before yesterday. His corpse was only discovered this morning…”
While they spoke, Ye Jingtang arrived at the entrance of the mansion.
The mansion was divided into two courtyards. When they entered the courtyard, they saw flowers and plants. But most of them were destroyed at this moment, and there was damage on the courtyard walls and pillars.
Five officials were holding umbrellas and examining the courtyard. A corpse covered by a white cloth was lying in the hall. Several people quickly walked out. The leader was a middle-aged man wearing a gauze hat. He was wearing a red official robe with an official saber. He had sharp eyebrows and tiger eyes, looking rather dignified. When he saw the Prince of Jing, he stopped and cupped his hands. “Humble official Yuwen Chengde greets Your Highness the Prince of Jing.”
Dongfang Liren walked into the crime scene and frowned in deep thought as she looked at the surroundings. “Do your work first. It’s not a small matter for an old official of the Imperial Court to be killed at the feet of Her Majesty. We have to solve the case as soon as possible and give the Imperial Court an explanation.”
Yuwen Chengde knew that the Prince of Jing was going to intervene in this case, but he didn’t dare to say anything. He nodded respectfully. “This humble official will surely live up to Your Highness’s expectations.”
With that, he returned to the room and continued to examine the corpse with the coroner.
Dongfang Liren maintained a thoughtful expression. With her hands behind her back, she stopped under the courtyard wall. She looked as if she knew everything, but she didn’t say anything after looking for a long time.
Ye Jingtang stood beside her, holding the umbrella. After waiting a long time and seeing that Dongfang Liren didn’t react, he whispered, “Isn’t Your Highness here to investigate a case?”
Standing with her hands behind her back, Dongfang Liren replied in a low voice, “How can a superior do everything by themself? Autopsies, investigations, and pursuing criminals will be done by coroners and constables. 1 have the duty of supervision.”
“Supervising… Then, what should I learn?”
“You only know how to fight and kill. In the future, when you encounter such situations, pretend to know very well like She Long and casually say something to deal with it. Then ask and discuss it in private so that you won’t be looked down on by your subordinates or blindly command them, causing your subordinates to feel troubled and mess things up.”
When Ye Jingtang had been tested by ‘Iron-Armed Impermanence’ She Long, he could tell that She Long was an understanding brother. He could spout nonsense with a serious expression.
At this moment, he understood what she meant. Dumdum came here to teach him how to be a leader who ‘put her hands behind her back and stuck her stomach to supervise and take credit for achievements’.
From the corner of his eye, Ye Jingtang glanced at the princess’s waist. There was a jade belt around her waist. It was so big that he couldn’t see her small stomach, but her posture of standing thoughtfully with her hands behind her back made her look like Di Renjie©.
Ye Jingtang found it a little funny, but he was at a crime scene, and the deceased was not far away. In order to respect the deceased, his expression was still very deep and serious.
The five officials were seriously checking for any clues in the courtyard.
Yuwen Chengde was conducting an autopsy in the hall. Perhaps he felt that it wasn’t right to pay too much attention to or ignore the Prince of Jing’s presence, so he walked over to her again and examined the marks on the wall. “After my basic investigation, 1 found out that the murderer used a sword, but I didn’t dare to confirm what move left behind these marks. I wonder if Your Highness has any opinion?”
The marks on the wall were left behind by the sword move ‘White Crane Sweeping Its Tail’, which was a common sword move in Jianghu. Anyone with some martial arts foundation could tell. Yuwen Chengde had clearly said this to make the Prince of Jing feel a little involved.
When Dongfang Liren saw Yuwen Chengde’s worldliness, she was rather impressed and explained seriously, “The marks are caused by the sword move White Crane Sweeping Its Tail. From the strength, this person’s martial arts skills are not low…”
Originally, at this point, with the Prince of Jing’s participation, they could return home.
Yuwen Chengde had been ‘prompted’ by the Prince of Jing. When the case was closed, he would put the Prince of Jing’s name at the top of the case file and write a letter praising ‘the Prince of Jing’s eyes are as bright as a torch and see everything clearly’. Then he would inevitably be taken care of by the Prince of Jing in the future.
But before Yuwen Chengde could say, “I see. Your Highness is wise,” he saw the black-clothed guard standing behind the Prince of Jing shake his head and say, “Don’t talk nonsense. They were cut by a saber.”
?!
As soon as he said this, the officials, coroners, and even the constables of the Black Office fell silent.
Dongfang Liren’s words stopped abruptly. She clenched her hands behind her back and glanced at Ye Jingtang.
(-_-)!
The corners of Yuwen Chengde’s eyes twitched. Where did this lunatic come from? How dare he undermine the Prince of Jingin front of me..
But when he turned around and saw Ye Jingtang’s appearance, Yuwen Chengde realized something. He was so handsome, but he didn’t look like the son of an aristocrat. There was a high chance he was a boy toy the Prince of Jing had brought out to walk the streets. No wonder he spoke so freely…
Yuwen Chengde’s expression turned serious as he gestured at the marks on the wall. “I think Your Highness is right. The marks of swords and sabers are very different. All the coroners and constables present think that they’re sword marks. This young master said that they’re saber marks. Do you have any other opinions?”
Ye Jingtang opened his mouth because he was afraid that the professionals present would realize that Dumdum was talking nonsense. He found that the atmosphere wasn’t right, and only then did he realize that the courtyard was full of fools.
Seeing everyone looking over, Ye Jingtang couldn’t just say that he saw wrongly. He really explained to everyone, “The marks were indeed left behind by the White Crane Sweeping Its Tail, but they look very awkward. The marks are too heavy for a sword but too light for a saber. It looks like an expert who has been using a saber for many years. This person used a saber similar to a sword and used a sword move…”
??
The officials in the courtyard were confused.
Yuwen Chengde frowned and thought about it. He felt that these words were even more awkward and asked, “Young Master, how did you see all this?”
Ye Jingtang made his judgment based on the feeling of using a saber all year round. He couldn’t explain it in detail. He thought for a moment and said, “When you hold the saber for a long time, you will be able to feel it. Hmm… it’s saber sense!”
H ii
Yuwen Cheng had been holding an official saber for more than twenty years, and he was older than Ye Jingtang. When he heard this, a complicated look appeared in his eyes. If the Prince of Jing weren’t present, he would probably have had to fight with this kid who was spouting nonsense.
Dongfang Liren knew how powerful Ye Jingtang was. Seeing that he was so earnest, her gaze softened, and she said seriously, “In handling a case, we should rely on factual evidence. If you just use your feelings, as long as you make a mistake once, there may be an unjust, false, and wrongful conviction. You said that the murderer used a saber. Can you give a precise explanation?”
Ye Jingtang thought for a moment and handed his umbrella to Dongfang Liren.
He checked the traces on the flowers, trees, and walls in the courtyard…
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