Catching Monsters

Chapter 422 Shut up, all of you!

Everyone present fell silent. Soon, someone noticed something was wrong. The area outside the Jiaofangsi (a music and entertainment venue) had been surrounded by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and nine women had been roughly dragged away by them.

These women continued to shout as they were dragged away.

“We know nothing, I’m not going to the imperial prison.”

"Let me go, please, I don't know anything."

After the women were taken away, Zidane soon entered with his men, his face serious. He asked one of his men, "Have you sent someone to inform Lord Jiang?"

The subordinate nodded repeatedly: "We've already sent someone to the Duke of Zhenguo's residence to inform Lord Jiang, Lord Jiang..."

"Oh, Lord Jiang!"

His subordinate glanced at the crowd and quickly spotted Jiang Yun in a corner.

When Zidane saw Jiang Yun there, his first thought was, "Oh no, why didn't Lord Jiang invite me to come to a place like this?"

"grown ups."

A group of Imperial Guards rushed to Jiang Yun's side, and Qi Da also quickly reported, "Sir, Prince Fu has been assassinated. His Majesty is furious and has ordered our Eastern Garrison to investigate thoroughly and solve the case as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun nodded, coughed, and said, "Let's first ask those women for their statements and see what really happened back then."

"Yes." Zidane nodded, then glanced at the crowd around him and asked, "Are there any other people present who were there at the time, or who know anything about what happened?"

The crowd fell silent.

Because they had all heard that Prince Fu had been assassinated!

This is a very important matter.

Without knowing the situation, no one dares to speak recklessly.

"Are you going back to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion first, or staying to help investigate the case?" Jiang Yun turned to Xu Xiaogang beside him and asked.

Xu Xiaogang shook his head and said, "At a time like this, it might not be a good idea for me to leave first, especially since I'd get a good scolding from my sister when I get home."

"I'll stay and help you see what's really going on in this case."

Without further ado, Jiang Yun and Xu Xiaogang quickly headed back to the courtyard where Prince Fu had been assassinated.

This time, he was completely surrounded by his own men.

Jiang Yun strode inside, where the coroner he had brought was already examining the wound on Prince Fu's chest.

Jiang Yun led Xu Xiaogang and Qi Da over and asked, "How is it?"

The coroner, who was over fifty years old, quickly bowed to Jiang Yun before respectfully saying, "Reporting to Your Excellency, Prince Fu died from a sharp blade, and the blade was also poisoned."

Soon, a member of the Imperial Guard arrived and respectfully said, "Reporting to Lord Jiang, it's Commander Qi."

"Those women confessed on the way."

"According to them, they were drinking with Prince Fu when suddenly an arrow shot out and pierced Prince Fu's chest."

"Then they screamed and ran away."

Zidane asked, "How credible is it?"

The subordinate respectfully said, "These women were escorted separately, and their testimonies are all quite similar."

A sharp arrow?

Jiang Yun frowned, squatted down beside Prince Fu's body, and said in a deep voice to Xu Xiaogang, "When you and I came in, did you see the arrows?"

"No." Xu Xiaogang shook his head. Although he had drunk quite a bit at the time, he was still relatively sober.

I remember the scene very clearly.

Jiang Yun nodded slowly and said in a deep voice, "That's right. At that time, Prince Fu only had a wound on his chest, not an arrow."

“Those women lied!” Zidane asked.

"Not necessarily." Jiang Yun shook his head and said, "The fact that their testimonies are consistent after separate interrogations suggests that the testimonies may not be problematic."

"Moreover, such lies do nothing to exonerate them."

After a moment of silence, Jiang Yun said, "It seems that the 'arrows' they mentioned were formed from some kind of magical power, and disappeared without a trace after killing Prince Fu."

At this point, Jiang Yun walked to the spot where Prince Fu had been sitting and gestured with his hand to simulate the trajectory of the arrow.

The seat where Prince Fu was sitting was directly opposite the main building of the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau).

To hit Prince Fu directly, one would have to be in a room on the third floor or higher.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yun said, "Immediately summon the Director of the Imperial Music Bureau." Soon, Wang Quming arrived upon hearing the news. After arriving, he first bowed to Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun didn't stand on ceremony and asked directly, "Wang Siye, I'd like to ask, after the screams rang out, did anyone leave the main building?"

“No.” Wang Quming shook his head firmly and said in a deep voice, “Our Jiaofangsi has a system that... you pay before you leave, and we do not allow credit.”

"When we heard screams from behind, one of our procedures at the Jiaofangsi was to immediately block the exits."

"So, the murderer is still inside the brothel?" Jiang Yun nodded slightly, then pointed to the main building opposite the courtyard and asked, "Are all the customers registered when they come to patronize the establishment?"

"Who is it? Which room are you in?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Quming's eyes lit up slightly. Perhaps he had guessed what Jiang Yun meant, and he nodded, saying, "That's right."

"Collect a list of guests from the third floor onwards, from the windows where you can directly see into this courtyard."

"In addition, it is also necessary to investigate whether there were any girls accompanying the guests at the time."

Upon hearing this, Wang Quming nodded repeatedly, and the area quickly shrank.

Even if Jiang Yun were incredibly bold, he wouldn't actually arrest all eighty or ninety people and torture them in the imperial prison without a legitimate reason.

But that provides a legitimate reason.

Soon, after Wang Quming went back and investigated, he came over with a list and said, "Lord Jiang, there are thirty-eight rooms in total whose windows offer a direct view of this courtyard."

"There were sixteen rooms at the time, and there were guests."

"Thirteen of the rooms have girls accompanying guests, but there are only three rooms where guests haven't found a girl they like yet and are still waiting."

"Here's the list."

Jiang Yun and Xu Xiaogang quickly looked at the list.

Of course, the focus is on the four rooms where there are no girls.

But upon seeing this, Jiang Yun frowned.

"The Ministry of Rites, in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, requests the appointment of Zhao Ting, the Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Personnel."

"Lin Gengyu, commander of the Imperial Guards."

“Wu Hanting, the owner of Qingsi Cloth Shop.”

"Qida, bring these three over immediately," Jiang Yun instructed Qida, who was standing beside him.

"Yes." Upon hearing this, Zidane nodded and quickly left.

"Brother-in-law, could these three be the murderers?" Xu Xiaogang asked calmly from the side.

Jiang Yun frowned, also somewhat puzzled.

The main issue is that none of these three individuals seemed to have any motive to murder Prince Fu.

But right now, those three are the most suspicious.

Soon, Zhao Ting from the Ministry of Rites, Lin Gengyu from the Imperial Guard, and Wu Hanting, a wealthy cloth merchant, were all brought to this place.

After the three entered the house, Zhao Ting from the Ministry of Rites felt his legs go weak as he looked at the densely packed Imperial Guards in the courtyard and the corpse of Prince Fu lying on the ground.

He almost fell to the ground, and only managed to stand up slightly with the help of the Imperial Guards.

"Lord Jiang, Commander Jiang, this matter has nothing to do with me! Even if I had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, I wouldn't dare to kill Prince Fu!"

"My lord, my lord, you must investigate thoroughly and not wrong me."

Wu Hanting's situation was no better than Zhao Ting's; he was dragged in, his eyes rolled back.

Lin Gengyu of the Imperial Guard, though dressed in civilian clothes, was clearly a standard soldier, standing straight and around forty years old. He glanced at Zhao Ting, who was limp all over.

Lin Gengyu said, "If you didn't do it, what are you afraid of? I'm different; I have nothing to fear if I'm upright."

"What do you mean by that?" Zhao Ting was displeased upon hearing this and said through gritted teeth, "From what you're saying, it's as if I'm the one who killed Prince Fu."

"Speak clearly to me!"

Zhao Ting hurriedly looked at Jiang Yun: "Governor, I am known for being weak and helpless. I am afraid to kill even a chicken, let alone kill a person."

“I find Lin Gengyu highly suspicious; he comes from the Imperial Guard.”

"You're spouting nonsense! I'll kill you first!" Upon hearing this, Lin Gengyu was about to take action against this bastard.

"Shut up, both of you!" Jiang Yun's voice rang out, and the two of them finally quieted down.

(End of this chapter)