Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Zhongshu Menxia was located in the two wings outside the Imperial City. It was the closest office to the Son of Heaven and oversaw government documents and administrative affairs. On ordinary days, it had almost nothing to do with the Ministry of Justice.

Ren Fengjue’s arrival naturally came as something of a surprise to the minor clerk.

When asked why he had come, his answer was that he wished to see the Vice Director of the Secretariat.

“Lord Ren, the vice director reported ill today and did not come to the office.”

Ren Fengjue could not help growing suspicious. “What unfortunate timing.”

As he spoke, he asked the clerk for Mu Zheng’s address.

Following the route the clerk had given them, Axia drove the carriage west through the city until they arrived before a rather secluded residence.

A plaque hung above the gate, the two characters for “Wenlu” carved in cursive script. It did have a certain refined scholar’s elegance.

A young attendant was watering the flowers by the entrance. Seeing a carriage arrive, he hurriedly set down the watering can and came forward. “Greetings, honored guests. My master has gone out to seek medical treatment and is not at home.”

Ren Fengjue lifted the carriage curtain and glanced inside the residence.

This Wenlu was even more modest than his own Ren Residence. At a glance, he could see a sparse cluster of bamboo and three small rooms. One could practically take in the whole place at once.

He asked, “If he is ill, why not invite a physician here instead of making the trip himself?”

The attendant replied, “My master suffers from an old ailment. The physician he seeks is an old immortal doctor who lives in the mountains. The immortal doctor does not come into the world, so my master must visit him once every month.”

“Is that so?” A faint sneer surfaced on Ren Fengjue’s face. He asked again, “Then when will he return?”

“At the earliest, after nightfall. Or perhaps not until dawn.”

In other words, there was most likely no seeing him today.

It seemed he already knew Ren Fengjue would come knocking.

Ren Fengjue said bluntly, “Then when your master returns, please inform him that someone from Renxuan Marquis Manor came by and wished to see Vice Minister Mu.”

The attendant agreed at once.

Axia asked in a low voice, “Young Master, Mu Zheng could have gone out earlier or later, yet he just happened to leave at this exact time. Could he have anticipated…”

Ren Fengjue glanced at the residence again. “No matter. News of Yu Lang heading south must have already reached his ears.”

“Whether this is a guilty conscience, we will know by tomorrow.”

Giving him one more day would not hurt.

Axia asked, “Then, Young Master, shall we go straight to the office now?”

Ren Fengjue thought for a moment, yet for some reason Xia Ximo came to mind.

His instincts told him that the questions she had asked Yan Zhengchu yesterday were no coincidence.

Most likely, something had happened.

“To East Market.”

–

East Market Back Alley, before the Zhou Residence.

Four bailiffs were blocking the entrance, while crowds of onlookers stood on both sides.

“Madman Zhou really died?”

“Yes. It was the little beggar Liu’er who found him. They say blood was coming from all seven orifices. He died in a terrifying state…”

“What? How could that happen?”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

Outside the crowd, Xia Ximo frowned slightly.

Blood from all seven orifices.

It matched last night’s dream.

So something really had happened?

Just then, the yamen runners carried the body out.

A head constable and a beggar followed behind them.

“Liu’er…”

“Here!”

“Come with me to the yamen and explain how this happened.”

As the head constable spoke, he signaled to the constables at his side.

Liu’er was terrified that once he went to the yamen, he would be seized as a suspect. He trembled all over.

“Constable Chen, I already told you everything I had to say just now. I did see the body, but it has absolutely nothing to do with me!”

Constable Chen raised an eyebrow. “It’s only routine procedure. Besides, for the time being, you are the only person who has gone into this residence. You do indeed need to come with me to the yamen.”

“That’s not right! I didn’t kill him. I only wanted to go in and see whether there really were ten ingots of gold…”

“And facts have proven that a madman’s words cannot be trusted.”

Liu’er’s face was full of terror. “I can’t go!”
As he struggled, he caught sight of a familiar figure beyond the crowd, and his eyes suddenly lit up. “Constable! I know who the killer is!”

He pointed at Xia Ximo and declared with absolute certainty, “Yesterday, I saw her with my own eyes following Zhou Zigui into this house. I even tried to talk her out of it and told her not to go in.”

“But not only did she refuse to listen, she even used talk of ghosts to frighten me!”

“I say she killed Madman Zhou in a fit of rage over those ten ingots of gold!”

The moment he said this, everyone turned to look at the woman behind them.

Constable Chen also turned back. But from a distance, all he saw was a woman with a slight, frail figure, so delicate she seemed as if she might be made of paper. How could someone like that have the strength to commit murder?

He was just about to scold the beggar for spouting nonsense when, to his surprise, the woman silently walked toward them.

Only when she drew closer could they make out her features.

She was a rather pretty young woman with delicate brows and clear eyes, but her face was as cold as frost, enough to make one shiver inwardly.

Before Constable Chen could speak, Xia Ximo spoke first.

“Let me see the body.”

Even Constable Chen, who had worked for the yamen for more than a decade, choked at such audacity.

See the body?

Who would dare say such a thing so casually?

“This is official business. Since when are unrelated outsiders allowed to interfere?”

Constable Chen was tall and imposing, standing before her like a mountain. He barked sternly, “If what this little beggar says is true, and you did indeed come here yesterday, then you will come with us to the yamen and explain everything clearly!”

Xia Ximo gave him a cold look, showing not the slightest fear of official authority, and spoke with deeper meaning.

“If you people were truly capable of finding out anything, he wouldn’t have died.”

“How dare you!”

At such contempt for the authorities, Constable Chen flew into a rage and immediately ordered the two other constables, “Seize this woman and take her back to the yamen with us!”

The constables received the order and were about to step forward.

Xia Ximo’s hand, hanging at her side, moved ever so slightly. The two constables instantly froze as if their acupoints had been sealed, unable to move a single step.

A sudden gust of cold wind rose from nowhere and lifted the shroud covering the stretcher.

A corpse in an extremely horrifying state of death was exposed before everyone’s eyes.

Lantern Spirit Wuyou floated over to Zhou Zigui’s corpse and sniffed around it.

“Strange. He died here, so why is his soul missing?”

Xia Ximo also glanced at the corpse.

It was exactly the same as what she had seen in her dream.

Could it be that, before he died, his soul had briefly entered her dream?

Seeing his two subordinates standing stiffly in place, Constable Chen strode forward and kicked one of them.

“What are you standing around for? Arrest her!”

The constables looked terrified. “Constable, we can’t move our hands or feet! This woman… she must know sorcery!”

Constable Chen was horrified. He was about to draw the long saber at his waist, but one icy look from her made his heart jolt with fear.

Xia Ximo swept a glance over the constable, then turned and walked into the residence. For a moment, not a single person dared step forward to stop her.

Only after she entered the courtyard did the two constables rooted to the spot slowly regain feeling in their limbs.

Everyone exchanged uncertain looks.

Constable Chen now knew there was something strange about this woman and no longer dared act rashly. He ordered his men, “Return to the yamen and call everyone over. In my opinion, this woman is most likely the killer!”

“Yes!”

At the constable’s command, the crowd scattered.

Before long, a whole squad of constables arrived one after another before the Zhou Residence in a grand show of force, surrounding the area so tightly that not even water could seep through.

With this, Constable Chen felt more confident. He was just waiting to capture the killer alive when a clear voice rang out behind him. “Hold on!”

He turned back unhappily, anger already about to burst from his mouth, only for his knees to go weak as it all drained away.

“L-Lord Ren! What brings you here?”