Chapter 610 The Vengeful Prince

Chapter 610: The Grudge-Holding Prince

"At the scene, apart from a few bloody footprints, there was no other useful evidence left behind. This case has been far harder to investigate than I ever imagined."

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuntang asked, "And then? What happened next?"

Xu Muyan said, "I was going to report to the Emperor and ask him to send someone to work the case with me, but out of nowhere, a bunch of ministers banded together and submitted a petition, pushing the Emperor to order the case wrapped up fast."

"Back then, I had no idea why. It was my father-in-law who clued me in—a ton of businesses in the capital were owned by these ministers. With the noble ladies of the capital refusing to step outside and the common folks not coming out to shop, their businesses were dead in the water."

"So these people sent a memo to the Emperor saying the case had thrown the capital into chaos and had everyone spooked. They asked the Emperor to lean on the Court of Judicial Review and make me close the case ASAP, so the capital could get back to normal."

Xu Muyan gritted his teeth. "But we hadn't found the killer—how the hell was I supposed to close the case? The Zhang family's bodies were still lying there cold, their eyes wide open. How was I supposed to wrap this up?"

"I didn't want to close it, but the Emperor kept sending messengers over and over, ordering me to wrap it up fast. He gave me three days, saying if I didn't close it by then, I could kiss my job as Assistant Minister goodbye."

"In the end, my father-in-law had to beg the Emperor, and only then did he send someone to close the case himself."

"But the way they closed the case was sloppy and totally arbitrary. They just made up some love-triangle nonsense, claiming Zhang Laojiu's wife, Yang, was cheating on him, and when the other woman's wife found out, she hired someone to kill them."

"Then they just grabbed some random guy and woman from the prison, pinned the crime on them, and had them executed at noon the next day."

"And that's how this case got closed in a total mess. I was completely powerless to stop it."

Ji Yuntang listened closely and could hear the guilt in Xu Muyan's voice.

She pressed her lips together and said, "Assistant Minister Xu, you did all you could. This isn't on you, so don't beat yourself up over it."

Ji Yuntang had always known the Dongchen Kingdom was rotten to the core, but she hadn't realized just how deep the corruption went.

Because the higher-ups couldn't see how the common folks were struggling and only cared about their own interests, tons of wrongful convictions had piled up.

Xu Muyan was actually pretty capable; otherwise, Ji Huaiche would've kicked him out of his Assistant Minister post ages ago.

The fact that he was still holding onto his position was definitely thanks to his track record.

While Ji Yuntang sipped her tea, Xu Muyan went to grab the case files and opened them up for her.

After skimming through them, Ji Yuntang saw that the official cause of the case was, sure enough, a love triangle.

It was bad enough that Zhang Laojiu's wife had been murdered, but to have adultery falsely pinned on her too—Ji Yuntang found it totally ridiculous.

She felt completely let down by the laws of the Dongchen Kingdom and the whole court system.

This case, even though it looked closed, was never actually solved.

Just like the killer of Imperial Physician Zhu, it was still an open case to this day.

Ji Yuntang knew that her trip to the Court of Judicial Review today hadn't turned up anything useful.

After thanking Xu Muyan, she got up to leave.

Just then, a racket suddenly broke out from outside.

Ji Yuntang opened the door and heard a guard yelling.

"Something awful happened! Someone come quick—Heir Ji broke his leg!"

Ji Yuntang was taken aback and saw four guards scrambling to carry Ji Huaiche into the room.

Ji Huaiche was clutching his leg, screaming in agony.

"Hurry! Go get me a doctor, now!"

Xu Muyan glanced at the ground—it hadn't rained today, and the ground was bone dry. He couldn't figure out how Ji Huaiche could've broken his leg on such flat, dry ground.

He asked Ji Yuntang, "Princess Ye, do you know how someone would have to walk to break their leg on ground like this?"

A fall he could get, but breaking a leg was beyond him.

Ji Yuntang rubbed the tip of her nose. Her gut told her this probably had something to do with Luo Junhe.

Back in the carriage, she could feel the dark mood radiating off Luo Junhe.

Unfortunately, Ji Huaiche not only refused to leave but kept inching closer to her, basically begging for his own doom.

With how petty and vindictive that man could be, how could he possibly let Ji Huaiche off the hook?

Pissing off Luo Junhe was just his own bad luck.

Even though that's what she thought, Ji Yuntang said to Xu Muyan, "Maybe he's got his nose so high in the air—walking while staring at the sky, never at the ground!"

Xu Muyan was at a loss for words.

For a second, he actually thought Ji Yuntang had a point.

Wasn't Ji Huaiche exactly the type to look down his nose at everyone?

Xu Muyan parted his lips a little and said quietly, "Seems like you gotta keep your feet on the ground to walk steady in life."

Ji Yuntang nodded in full agreement. "Assistant Minister Xu is right. People who look down on others are bound to come to a bad end."

Xu Muyan walked Ji Yuntang out of the Court of Judicial Review and watched her get into the Prince Ye's carriage.

Little did he know, the second Ji Yuntang stepped into the carriage, a hand shot out and yanked her in.

Caught off guard, Ji Yuntang stumbled right into Luo Junhe's arms, getting pulled into a tight hug.

"A Tang, I missed you."

His warm breath brushed against her ear, and Ji Yuntang couldn't help but shiver slightly as she looked at him.

"It's only been the time it takes to burn a stick of incense—and you already miss me?"

Luo Junhe's deep, peach-blossom eyes gazed at her as his thin lips parted. "I miss you, regardless of time."

"The moment I can't see you, I begin to miss you."

Ji Yuntang was speechless.

For the first time, she discovered that someone as cold and aloof as Luo Junhe could be so clingy.

But wasn't this also his way of expressing love?

This man had never been loved before!

At that thought, Ji Yuntang's heart ached for him even more.

She reached out and gently wrapped her arms around Luo Junhe, resting her head on his shoulder.

"A He, I'll always be by your side from now on. No matter what happens, I won't leave you."

These words made Luo Junhe feel completely secure, and he held Ji Yuntang tightly.

"Alright, we'll never part."

"As your prince, I also promise A Tang that no matter what the future holds, I'll protect you and make sure you never get hurt, not even a little."

The carriage fell silent, and Ji Yuntang and Luo Junhe both enjoyed the quiet comfort of being together.

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