#29: Homicide (1)

The next day, Wu Ruian woke up early, ready to go to the palace to talk to Empress Chen about his marriage. However, as soon as he reached the palace gate, he was stopped.

The person who stopped him was the Minister of Justice, Song Li.

Song Li cupped his hands and bowed to Wu Ruian. “Your Highness, a homicide occurred this morning, and we would like to invite you to the Ministry of Justice to assist with the investigation.”

Behind Song Li stood more than twenty guards. Their stances and breathing showed that each one was a top-tier expert.

Wu Ruian found it strange. When a homicide occurred in the capital, it should first be handled by the Capital Magistrate, and then, if it was a bigger case, by the Supreme Court. Only cases that both offices couldn’t handle would be transferred to the Ministry of Justice. And among the Ministry of Justice, Song Li was the highest-ranking official. What kind of case would require him to personally come and make an invitation? Judging by the posture of the guards, it seemed like he was even afraid that Wu Ruian might resist.

Wu Ruian said seriously, “What kind of homicide is it that it requires Minister Song to personally invite this prince?”

“To answer Your Highness, the son of the Left Chancellor, Gongsun Qi, died suddenly this morning. We hope you...”

“What? Gongsun Qi is dead?” Wu Ruian was shocked.

“To answer Your Highness, yes, he is,” Song Li sighed and nodded, his expression filled with worry.

“This... this is great!” Wu Ruian slapped his thigh and laughed heartily. “Let’s go, let’s go! This prince will go with you to see!” Wu Ruian had hated Gongsun Qi so much that he had been grinding his teeth in his sleep for days. Now that Gongsun Qi had died suddenly, he was determined to set off some firecrackers to celebrate.

Wu Ruian was in high spirits, showing no signs of panic as a suspect. Instead, he was excitedly walking arm in arm with Song Li.

Gongsun Qi was Gongsun Miao’s legitimate son. He had three older sisters and one older brother, but the brother was from a different mother and had little status in the family. Gongsun Miao had his son late in life and doted on Gongsun Qi immensely. The future of the entire Gongsun family was almost entirely on Gongsun Qi’s shoulders. But now, Gongsun Qi was lying cold in the coroner’s office at the Ministry of Justice, with not a single good piece of flesh on his body. The only thing that could identify him was the three black moles on his shoulder blade, which were in a triangular shape and easy to recognize.

“He... what happened to him? Is he really Gongsun Qi?” Wu Ruian’s eyes widened. He looked at the pile of mangled flesh in front of him and couldn’t believe his eyes.

Song Li nodded to the coroner, who then bowed and said, “Reporting to Your Highness, the fatal wound on Young Master Gongsun is on his abdomen.” The coroner pointed to a three-inch-long wound on the corpse’s stomach. “A tiger’s claw tore his abdomen apart, and his internal organs spilled out, which led to his death. The bite marks on his face, legs, and arms are only superficial wounds.”

“A tiger’s claw?” Wu Ruian was stunned again. He took a few steps closer and could clearly smell a strong stench coming from the body. He held a handkerchief over his nose and looked closely, and saw that the lacerations on the abdomen were indeed accompanied by other wounds, shaped as if they had been inflicted by a huge tiger’s claw.

Wu Ruian then asked, “Was he killed by a tiger?”

The coroner nodded. “Most likely.”

“Most likely?” Wu Ruian frowned. “You didn’t find the murderer?”

Song Li shook his head and said, “Young Master Gongsun disappeared for two days. The people in the Gongsun mansion thought he was out having fun and didn’t think much of it. But this morning, when a maid entered Young Master Gongsun’s room, she found him lying on the bed, covered in blood, and he had been dead for a long time. No one knows when he returned last night.”

“This is truly... a great relief for the people!” Wu Ruian closed his eyes, let out a long sigh, and his expression was a mix of a satisfied and vengeful smile.

His words were heard by Gongsun Qi’s three older sisters, who had rushed over after hearing the news. They ran in, furious, and started lashing out at Wu Ruian.

The second sister, Gongsun Lan: “Who are you? My brother died a miserable death, and you’re here making cynical remarks!”

The third sister, Gongsun Ming: “What are you? We all know what kind of person our brother was. He was well-behaved and intelligent, respectful to his elders, and friendly to his subordinates. He was a rare nobleman in this world. What right do you have to speak of him like that?”

The eldest sister, Gongsun Jie, glared at the Minister of Justice. “Song Li, is this a place where unrelated people can just come and go as they please? Why don’t you have him beaten and thrown out?”

“This...” Song Li was in a difficult position.

The three women’s eyes were red, and they looked alike. In Wu Ruian’s eyes, they used to be top-notch beauties, but now they all looked a little hateful.

Wu Ruian took two steps out and lowered the handkerchief covering his nose. The three women’s aggressive demeanor softened the moment they saw his face.

“Pr-Prince Wu?”

“Sixth Highness?”

Wu Ruian’s expression was calm, as if to say, “I told you, what can you do to me?” He looked down at the three of them from above.

The eldest sister, Gongsun Jie, led her sisters in a bow and then said, “Prince Wu, our brother’s body is not yet cold. Is it not inappropriate for you to be so hurtful with your words?”

“Gongsun Qi deserved to die. Don’t you know that?” Wu Ruian answered with a smile.

“You!” Gongsun Ming and Gongsun Lan were furious again and lunged at Wu Ruian. But before they could get close to him, they were stopped by their eldest sister, Gongsun Jie.

Gongsun Jie said seriously, “Prince Wu has a noble status. You must not be disrespectful. Besides, I believe that my brother’s spirit in heaven will protect us and help us find the murderer so that he can get justice. When that happens, I will make sure the person pays with their blood.” As Gongsun Jie spoke, her eyes were fixed on Wu Ruian, as if he were the murderer.

Wu Ruian was unhurried and replied calmly, “That’s right. We must believe that evil deeds will eventually be met with retribution. It’s not that there’s no retribution, but that the time hasn’t come yet. Gongsun Qi committed many evil deeds and caused many families to be separated and many elders to die without anyone to send them off. Even if they don’t have immense power, their family bonds are not any less important than yours. Gongsun Qi had the Left Chancellor’s support and could escape the law’s punishment, but he couldn’t escape Heaven’s. Look, hasn’t he finally gotten his retribution?”

The more Wu Ruian talked, the uglier the women’s faces became. Even Song Li was sweating profusely and kept pulling on Wu Ruian’s sleeve, trying to lead him out.

Behind him were the cries of three women, and Wu Ruian just dug at his ears, pretending not to hear them at all.

When Wu Ruian passed through the main hall of the Ministry of Justice, he saw that it was already packed with people waiting to be interrogated. The death of one Gongsun Qi had mobilized more than half of the Ministry of Justice’s personnel to solve the case, not to mention the Capital Magistrate and the Supreme Court, whose thresholds had probably already been worn down. In comparison, cases like Xu Ya’s were undoubtedly insignificant.

Wu Ruian was invited into an inner hall, where Song Li personally questioned him, and a scribe recorded the conversation.

“May I ask, Your Highness, where were you from noon to 3 p.m. the day before yesterday?”

“I was in the palace, accompanying Her Majesty.”

“Where were you from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. yesterday?”

Wu Ruian thought for a moment and said, “Taking a walk.”

“Where were you walking? Was anyone with you?”

Wu Ruian’s expression was calm. After a careful thought, he said flatly, “South Street. No one was with me.”

Upon hearing this, Song Li’s face changed again, and he said with difficulty, “Your Highness, please think carefully. Was no one really with you?”

Wu Ruian still shook his head. “No one.”

Wu Ruian was well aware of his identity. It was not yet the right time for Di Jiang to be exposed in public. He had to wait until he received the Empress’s decree of marriage before he could introduce Di Jiang to the public. Otherwise, he didn’t know how many forces in the court would bother her. That was too dangerous. Any factor that could cause harm to Di Jiang was something he didn’t want to see.

Wu Ruian was kept at the Ministry of Justice, confined to a luxuriously decorated room. It was Song Li’s usual resting place, and the furnishings would not make Wu Ruian feel too uncomfortable.

No, not only was he not uncomfortable, but on the contrary, he was very happy and excited.

While Gongsun Qi’s death was strange, it was a great thing for him. There was no reason for him not to be happy. He didn’t feel that being a suspect was a bad thing. He believed that the truth would eventually come out, and since he hadn’t killed anyone, someone would let him go sooner or later.

Besides, at the Ministry of Justice, he was being well taken care of, with good food and drink. The only downside was that he couldn’t see Di Jiang for a while... That was the only thing that could make him sad.

Gongsun Qi’s death caused a huge stir in the court. All the officials petitioned to have the murderer brought to justice. The common people even spread rumors that a man-eating beast had come to the capital, describing Gongsun Qi’s death in a terrifying manner. For a time, people were in a state of panic and had trouble sleeping.

The Sixth Prince, Wu Ruian, was a former great general with excellent martial arts skills and had publicly clashed with Gongsun Qi. Since there were no witnesses, he was considered the number one suspect, and the news of his confinement spread that very day.

The next day, the Ministry of Justice welcomed another person who gave Song Li a headache—the daughter of the Right Chancellor, the Crown Princess, Changsun Yuming.

In the main hall of the Ministry of Justice, in front of dozens of people, Changsun Yuming insisted that she had been walking with Wu Ruian from the previous night until dawn, using her reputation to provide an alibi for Wu Ruian.

Wu Ruian, who had been confined for a day, had just finished breakfast when he heard the news. He had just taken a sip of tea and spat it all out.

“W-What? Changsun Yuming claims to be my alibi?” Wu Ruian was completely confused and waved his hands repeatedly. “That’s not true! I was walking alone, no one was with me! I didn’t see her the night before!”

Wu Ruian insisted that he had nothing to do with Changsun Yuming and refused to leave.

Seeing Wu Ruian’s clear refusal, Song Li had a terrible headache and could only go back to report to Minister Changsun and ask for his opinion.

After Song Li left, Wu Ruian’s mind felt like a boiling pot of oil that had a bucket of ice cubes thrown into it, exploding everywhere.

What was Changsun Yuming trying to do? This was too big of a joke!

Was she worried that he would be framed as a murderer? But she didn’t have to go to such lengths!

By saying this, wasn’t she telling everyone that their relationship was ambiguous? How could she get married in the future?

There were too many people in the court who coveted her position as Crown Princess. Even Wu Long, who was a dozen years older than her, was drooling over her. His current situation was even more dangerous than being a murderer...