The Prime Minister’s Darling - Chapter 1427

Chapter 1427: 694 National Master Returns (Two Parts)_3 Chapter 1427: 694 National Master Returns (Two Parts)_3 The Minister of Justice, Dong Wei, said, “The man is already dead; talking about it now is pointless.”

Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice were both located in the outer Court near the Duan Sect, except that Dali Temple was on the west side while the Ministry of Justice was on the east side.

Seeing that it would soon be daylight, returning to his residence to rest was out of the question. He could only go to the government office to change his clothes, before preparing to attend Court and report the situation of the case to the sovereign.

Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Yang Chang saw that Minister Dong had a thoughtful look on his face and couldn’t help but ask, “What are you thinking about?”

Minister Dong said, “I’m wondering who killed Nangong Li. To have killed him inside the Imperial Palace… it feels as if…”

“As if what?” Yang Chang asked.

Minister Dong shook his head, “I don’t have any concrete evidence, but standing at the crime scene, looking at Nangong Li’s body and the branch that was left there, I felt a sense of vengeful killing intent.”

This was one of Minister Dong’s abilities– he had a keen intuition for cases. In most cases, his hunches were correct.

They once caught a serial killer with no leads, but during an encounter on the Avenue, with just one glance, Minister Dong pointed at the man and said, “He’s the murderer.”

So when Minister Dong spoke of revenge, Yang Chang did not immediately dismiss his claim.

Yang Chang said thoughtfully, “Who had Nangong Li offended?”

Minister Dong said, “You should ask, among the people Nangong Li offended, who could have easily killed him? Have you observed carefully the shape of that branch? Doesn’t it remind you of a long spear?”

Yang Chang recalled the details, nodding, “Yes, the tip was sharpened, and it was almost the length of a spear.”

Minister Dong said, “As far as I know, the only Spear Technique that possesses such power without using internal energy belongs to the Xuanyuan Family.”

Yang Chang furrowed his brows, “You mean to say… Nangong Li was killed by someone from the Xuanyuan Family? Everyone from the Xuanyuan Family is dead, with the only exception being the former Princess, who has also been stripped of her martial abilities. Your deduction doesn’t hold.”

Minister Dong pondered for a moment and then said, “What if… there was someone who miraculously survived?”

Yang Chang said emphatically, “There’s no what if. Don’t forget, all the bodies from the Xuanyuan Family were examined one by one; it was only after their coffins were secured that the then Jing World’s Son and his brother were permitted to carry them away.”

Minister Dong’s expression grew intense as he said, “Xuanyuan Sheng, when I saw the murder weapon during the day, I couldn’t help but think of him.”

Yang Chang chuckled, “He’d be even less likely as the murderer. Out of all the men in the Xuanyuan Family, his death was the most tragic, nailed to the City Tower with his own Red-Tasseled Spear, killed by a thousand arrows piercing his heart, his body hung from the tower for a full month. The Jing World’s Son nearly depleted his family’s wealth to retrieve the bodies of the Xuanyuan men. If there were any survivors, he wouldn’t have had to go to such lengths.”

The Jing World’s Son, now known as the Duke of Peace.

Yang Chang stopped in his tracks, patted Minister Dong’s shoulder, and spoke with heartfelt sincerity, “Old Dong, I understand that the Xuanyuan Family once promoted you in your early days, and you’ve always been troubled by the fact that you didn’t plead for them back then. However, you should understand, you personally took on the case; the Xuanyuan Family truly committed treason. As officials of the imperial Court, we must not associate with great traitors and we can’t forsake our principle of righteousness for minor compassion. Today you mentioned the Xuanyuan Family in front of me, I’ll pretend I heard nothing. But once we are before His Majesty, you must hold your tongue and not provoke His Majesty’s displeasure.”

“Old Yang.” Minister Dong called after him as he started to head in the direction of Dali Temple.

Yang Chang looked back at him, “What is it?”

Minister Dong’s expression was complex, “That incident back then… did we really do the right thing?”

Yang Chang asked, “Which incident are you referring to?”

Minister Dong said, “You know which one.”

Yang Chang’s gaze darkened and he spoke earnestly, “Old Dong, just remember, what the ten great noble families did… was for justice!”

…

The death of Nangong Li caused a great stir among the noble families. Although Nangong Li was not the eldest son of the Nangong Family head, he was more outstanding than his elder brother and had been raised as the heir apparent by the Family head.

Who would have expected him to be murdered within the Imperial Palace.

The patriarch of the Nangong Family was thunderously furious and exerted pressure on the Ministry of Punishments and the Dali Temple, demanding that they find the murderer within three days!

However, that was impossible. Not to mention that they were utterly clueless at present, even if there had been a lead, it wouldn’t be feasible to blatantly investigate this murder case.

Because the sovereign’s birthday was approaching.

All of Shengdu was busy preparing for the monarch’s birthday celebration. At such a critical moment, to cause a stir with Nangong Li’s murder would be to court misfortune for the sovereign, wouldn’t it?

Moreover, Nangong Li had sneaked into the Imperial Palace on his own, which had somewhat displeased the sovereign.

They would conduct a high-profile investigation after the sovereign’s birthday banquet was over.

…

Gu Jiao was oblivious to the events taking place in the outer Court as she went to the Academy like any other day.

Young Master Qingchen also attended the class.

He still took the second seat from the back row, near the right rear door.

The first one was Gu Jiao’s seat.

Everyone had grown accustomed to Young Master Qingchen sharing a table with Gu Jiao. No one found it inappropriate when they saw him sitting there.

Only Gu Jiao clearly sensed that Mu Qingchen’s aura had changed; he watched Gu Jiao with a highly guarded look in his eyes.

Gu Jiao took her seat without a change in expression.

The Zhou Tong in front of her turned around, grinning at the two and said, “As expected, it’s your influence that’s great, Sixth Master. As soon as you return to class, Young Master Qingchen also shows up.”

Yes, her influence was indeed significant, significant enough that Shengdu’s number one young master personally came to surveil her.

Mu Qingchen said nothing, his aura chillingly cold.

Zhou Tong’s neck shrank back, and he used a book to shield his face, whispering to Gu Jiao, “What’s wrong with Young Master Qingchen? Is he unhappy?”

Gu Jiao thought to herself, with that volume, half the classroom could hear you, so why bother using a book to cover up?

“You ask him yourself,” said Gu Jiao.

Zhou Tong made a face; he didn’t dare to ask.

Zhou Tong shifted the topic, “Hey, Sixth Master, did you meet the sovereign when you entered the palace yesterday? Was the ten thousand taels worth it?”

“What ten thousand taels?” Gu Jiao’s interest was always in gold.

Zhou Tong said, “It’s the talk of the town that the prize money for the second place is ten thousand taels. Even the servant boys at our Academy are saying so.”

Gu Jiao took out her books from her bag, “One thousand taels.”

If it had been ten thousand taels, she would have buried Mu Chuan alive already.

No, she rather felt like burying Mu Chuan alive right now as well.

Forget it, for the sake of taking this opportunity to kill Nangong Li, she’d bury him later.

The sovereign’s birthday banquet was scheduled for the tenth day of the sixth month, and Court officials above the fourth rank, as well as noble families of Shengdu, had all received invitations to the banquet.

And just a day before the banquet was set to begin, Gu Jiao heard the news she had long been awaiting–The National Master had returned to Shengdu!