Xia Jiangying was dead.
She died on the night of the ninth day of October. Just as Xia Mingming had dreamt, someone jumped into her room from the back window and stabbed her in the heart. She died on the spot. After the murderer killed her, he covered her body with a quilt to hide the smell of blood. Thus, no one noticed it for the whole night.
Xia Mingming was brought to the female brothel where the crime happened. She saw Xia Jiangying's maids and guards and was told of Xia Jiangying's death without warning. In a daze, she was led into the room to identify the body. She saw the horrible state of Xia Jiangying after her death. When she came to her senses, she felt as if her whole body had been sucked dry. She collapsed beside the body and cried uncontrollably.
"Fourth Sister, Fourth Sister!"
Yu Shu accompanied her from the beginning to the end. When she saw Xia Jiangying's body, she couldn't bear to look back. She felt a chill in her heart. This was the second time she saw a dead person. The first time was on the merchant ship. Corpses were strewn all over the ship. At that time, she was desperate to survive. Apart from fear, she was also nervous. Now that she saw a dead person in broad daylight, she had two different feelings.
Xia Mingming cried miserably. She and Xia Jiangying had been close and had grudges against each other for years. Yesterday, they were separated by life and death before they could make up for the lost sisterhood. Yesterday's words were still ringing in her ears, but today they couldn't continue. She was sad and regretful.
Xia Mingming had nowhere to cry. She turned around and saw Yu Shu behind her. She threw herself into her arms and cried on her shoulder. "Ashu, my Fourth Sister, my Fourth Sister, she …"
Yu Shu didn't know how to comfort her. She could only silently hug her back and gently pat her shoulder to comfort her.
In the flower hall of the female brothel, Xue Rui was asking Ji Xingxuan about the case. They heard the crying in the garden and stopped talking. Xue Rui stood up and walked to the door. He asked the servant, "What happened? Who is crying? "
The servant answered, "Your Excellency, it is Miss Xia Jiang's younger sister. We have asked someone to identify her."
"Younger sister?" Xue Rui was perplexed. He had heard a lot about the Xia Jiang family. The murdered Xia Jiang's fourth daughter had gone to the capital alone to study. Since when did she have a younger sister?
Ji Xingxuan walked up from behind him and said tiredly, "It should be the fifth daughter of the Xia Jiang family, Xia Jiangmin. A few days ago, she came to the library to look for Sister Ying. I met her once."
Xue Rui's eyes flashed, and he caught the key point, "Why is the Fifth Miss in An Ling Xia Jiang's family? Is there anyone else in the capital?"
Ji Xingxuan shook her head, "I don't know why she came to Anling, but I heard from Sister Ying that Xia Jiangmin came to the capital alone and her family didn't know about it."
Xue Rui pondered for a moment and walked towards the room where the accident happened. Ji Xingxuan hesitated for a moment before following his footsteps.
The Supreme Court's Chancellor, Chu Yufang, went to the front hall to interrogate the female brothel that morning. There was only one official standing guard at the door. As soon as Xue Rui entered the room, he turned his gaze to the inner room. He saw Xia Jiangying's corpse lying on the ground. Two figures were hugging each other, crying incessantly. Anyone who heard it would be heartbroken.
A light sigh sounded out from behind him. Xue Rui turned around and saw that Ji Xingxuan's eyes were brimming with tears again. Taking into consideration that she almost fainted earlier, he said, "Young Miss Ji, why don't you go next door and rest first?"
At the same time, a voice came from inside the room, "Mingming, don't cry. What's the use of crying at a time like this? You should figure out what's going on."
Both inside and outside the room, they heard a familiar voice and turned around. Yu Shu saw Xue Rui, and Xue Rui saw Yu Shu. Under such circumstances, he was both surprised and surprised.
"How did you …" Yu Shu was about to speak when her gaze shifted to the left and moved to the girl beside Xue Rui. After a moment of hesitation, she recognized the girl. She had never seen the face before, but her figure and hairstyle were exactly the same as the Ji Xingxuan she saw in the teahouse a few days ago.
It was not strange for Ji Xingxuan to be here. Looking at Xue Rui's vermillion official robes, could he be the official in charge of this case?
Meeting these two people at the same time was really a headache. Yu Shu swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and exchanged a look with Xue Rui. There was a hint of tacit understanding.
"Many thanks for Sir Xue's kindness, but I'm fine." Ji Xingxuan turned to look at the two people in the room and actually walked past Xue Rui. Without looking at Yu Shu, she gently said to Xia Mingming who was crying out in pain, "Don't cry. Lord Xue of the Supreme Court is here. It's more important to figure out who harmed your sister."
Xia Mingming rubbed her teary eyes and looked at the person in front of her. In a hoarse voice, she called out, "Sister Ji."
Hearing what she said, she held back her tears and turned to find Xue Rui standing outside the door. She was stunned. "It's you?"
Hearing this, Yu Shu thought to herself that this was bad. Only then did she remember that Xia Mingming had seen Xue Rui before. It was when she was caught gambling last month and Xue Rui had sent her back. That time on Huixing Street, when Xia Mingming had asked her about it, she had said that they were friends. Because of this, Xia Mingming had pestered her for the whole day.
Xia Mingming had recognized Xue Rui here. Yu Shu was worried that Ji Xingxuan would see some clues and felt her head hurt even more.
Xue Rui's expression was calm. He nodded at Xia Mingming. "Miss Xia Jiang, please step outside. This official has something to ask."
Xia Mingming was only concerned with her grief. She turned to look at Yu Shu and did not ask any questions. She nodded and followed Xue Rui to the next room.
Xue Rui, Ji Xingxuan, and Xia Mingming moved to the next room. Yu Shu did not enter. She stood alone at the door and leaned against the door frame, listening to the conversation inside.
"I heard that Miss Xia Jiang came to the capital alone?" Xue Rui asked.
"Yes, I hid it from my family." Xia Mingming had nothing to hide now.
"When did you see Xia Jiangying last night?"
"In the evening, Fourth Sister and I had dinner at Fengyuan Restaurant. She returned to the library when the sky turned dark." Xia Mingming's expression was gloomy. After crying earlier, her emotions had stabilized and she was able to answer Xue Rui's questions normally.
"It's rare for you sisters to reunite. Why didn't she stay with you? Why did she return to the library?"
"The Dayan Examination is around the corner. My Fourth Sister specializes in astrology. When the sky turns dark, she will go to the observatory to observe the night sky."
Xue Rui turned to Ji Xingxuan and asked, "Is that so?"
Ji Xingxuan nodded. "Sister Ying is more hardworking than most people. Every night for the past month, she would stay at the observatory until after the hour of the sea before returning to her room."
"Hour of the sea?" Xue Rui questioned impartially. "How do you know so clearly?"
Ji Xingxuan answered, "I occasionally stay at the observatory with Sister Ying until night. Moreover, she lives next door to me. I'm a light sleeper. I can hear her every time she opens and closes the door."
"Oh? You live next door to her? "
Ji Xingxuan answered, "Yes, Sister Ying lives in the first room in the east pavilion. I live in the second room."
Xue Rui frowned. He had seen the layout of the garden clearly when he came. The room where Xia Jiangying died was clearly the second room from the east. Why did Ji Xingxuan say that she lived in the second room?
He voiced his doubts. Ji Xingxuan did not hide anything. She confessed, "It's like this. A few days ago, Sister Ying told me that there were rats in her room. She wanted to buy some rat poison and suggested to exchange rooms with me. She stayed in my room while I returned to the mansion. Because I had classes in the morning, I left home before dawn. I wanted to go back to the female library to get two books. I knocked on the door, but it didn't open. When the guard at the door realized something was wrong, he knocked the door open. Sister Ying was already … "
At this point, Ji Xingxuan did not continue because Xia Mingming, who was sitting opposite her, started to cry again.
Yu Shu touched her chin outside the door. It seemed that Xia Jiangying did not tell Ji Xingxuan the inside story. Instead, she found another excuse to exchange rooms with her. Could it be that Xia Jiangying's ability to dream could not be known by others? However, it clearly did not rain last night. Why did Xia Jiangying sleep in Ji Xingxuan's room and still die?
Yu Shu's heart was full of doubts.
At this moment, Xue Rui found it strange. "Is there a rat in the room?"
He called in the servant at the door and sent someone to check Xia Jiangying's room. Half a cup of tea later, a servant came back and reported, "Reporting to your excellency, we did not find any rat poison in Xia Jiangying's room, nor did we find any other suspicious traces."
If there was no rat poison, then either Xia Jiangying is lying or Ji Xingxuan is talking nonsense.
Xue Rui's brows raised lightly, and he turned around to look at Ji Xingxuan as he waited for her to explain. Ji Xingxuan didn't know what was going on either, so she could only say confusedly, "That's what Big Sister Ying told me.
"It has nothing to do with her." Xia Mingming suddenly said: "It is true that Fourth Sister wanted to exchange rooms with Miss Ji. Fourth Sister mentioned it to me."
Xue Rui shifted his gaze to her and scrutinized: "Then did she tell you why she suddenly wanted to sleep in a different room?"
Xia Mingming lightly bit her lips: "She … she did not say."
Xue Rui knew that Xia Mingming was hiding something. However, this was not a court and it was not convenient for him to ask. He suppressed his suspicions and stood up: "In that case, both of you can go back first. We will wait for the court hearing another day."
Xia Mingming hurriedly asked: "Then will my Fourth Sister's body be left here forever?"
"After the coroner's detailed examination, it will be temporarily sent to the memorial hall. The magistrate has already sent a letter to the south to inform your residence. Whether to bury or not, it is up to you. Miss Xia Jiang, please restrain your grief." Xue Rui stood up and nodded to Ji Xingxuan before leaving first.
Xue Rui walked to the door and turned his head to see Yu Shu leaning against the door with her arms crossed. He raised his chin at her and gestured for her to follow him.
Yu Shu took a look at Xia Mingming and saw that she was talking to Ji Xingxuan. For the moment, she did not notice her and followed a few steps behind him. After exiting the women's residence, the two came to the side of Mirror Lake. Xue Rui looked around and saw that there was no one around before turning his head and asked: "How did you get to know Miss Xia Jiang?"
"It's a long story." Yu Shu did not explain in detail but asked: "Are you working in the Supreme Court? How do you plan to investigate this murder case?"
Logically speaking, Xue Rui should not talk about official matters with outsiders. However, he did not have such scruples when it came to Yu Shu. He even revealed a trace of distress: "This case is no small matter. Now that the Da Yan Examination is just around the corner, Miss Xia Jiang of the South has been murdered in the Supreme Historian's Library. If this news were to spread, it would cause a commotion. The Ministry of Justice received a report this morning and submitted it to the Supreme Court because this case is difficult. It would be fine if we can catch the murderer, but if we can't, I'm afraid it will cause suspicion from all sides."
At this point, he pretended to ask casually: "You are familiar with Xia Jiangmin. Do you know the relationship between her and her sister?"
Yu Shu raised her head and looked at him from the corner of her eye. She put on a fake smile: "Are you suspecting Xia Jiangmin?"
Being seen through, Xue Rui actually admitted it openly: "I just feel that she is strange. Forgive me for being frank. She happened to appear before the victim was murdered and had contact with the victim. Even if Xia Jiangying's death was not caused by her, she is definitely related to her. "
Yu Shu was silent for a while and suddenly said in a low voice: "Then why don't you guess that Xia Jiangying stayed in the wrong room and died a violent death?"
Xue Rui's expression suddenly changed. He took a step forward and approached Yu Shu. He stared at her: "You mean?"
Under Xue Rui's gaze, Yu Shu did not change her expression. She clasped her hands behind her back and stepped back. She shook her head at him: "I didn't say anything. I'm leaving. You guys investigate this case well. I hope you can catch the murderer as soon as possible."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
