Chapter 100: Such impulsiveness is unlike Prince Jing's style.

The boy gave an awkward laugh and hesitated for a moment.

Then he lowered his head, knelt on the ground, and didn't look at Li Jin, as if he was going through a difficult internal struggle.

Li Jin held the teacup, brought it to her lips, and gently blew on it, her gaze fixed on his face, watching his every move.

Time passed slowly, and the sky turned a deep red.

He put down his empty teacup, stood up, glanced at Chen Xi beside him, and said, "Since he is unwilling to talk, I will not make things difficult for him."

Li Jin smiled and said, "I'll trouble you, Lord Chen, to help me investigate that student named Liu Qi."

The boy paused, looked up, and gazed at the two people in front of him.

Chen Xi then cupped his hands and said very respectfully, "This humble official understands."

Seeing that he was really about to leave, and had even started to stride forward, the boy quickly shouted, "Don't go! Don't go! I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"Ugh! No patience at all!" he complained, giving Li Jin a wide-eyed glare amidst the astonished stares of the crowd.

That's quite interesting.

Li Jin, with one eyebrow higher than the other, glanced at his face, gave a dry laugh, and leaned against the door frame, standing against the light: "Speak."

He wanted to see where this boy, who dared to roll his eyes at him, got his confidence from.

“Liu Qi is a local bully at the Imperial Academy,” he said. “He is arrogant and unreasonable, but his family has a good relationship with the Grand Tutor. People like us, who get into the Imperial Academy by paying sponsorship fees, usually end up in a terrible situation if we go against him.”

He paused for a moment: "Su Ziping is an example."

“I don’t really know how things started. It started last month when Liu Qi went to the Grand Tutor’s mansion with him. Liu Qi has been treating him very badly ever since.”

As the boy spoke, he waved his hand, saying, "He keeps saying that Su Ziping is just someone whose family has a little money, nothing special."

"Su Ziping was not convinced, so he made a bet with him, betting on who would rank higher on this month's academic ranking."

At this point, he laughed and pointed outside: "Liu Qi is an incompetent fool; it's no wonder he can't win!"

The boy before me was no ordinary person.

He was full of confidence, exuding an aura that was hard to pinpoint.

He was a little too outspoken in front of Li Jin.

He was not afraid, not in a hurry, and showed no signs of tension or panic, unlike anyone he had met in previous cases.

Li Jin stood there, watching his own shadow fall on him, leaving half of him in the light and half in the shadow.

"And then?" he asked.

The boy sighed deeply: "Oh dear... I saw him come out of Su Ziping's room two days ago, and he even threatened me because of that."

After much rambling, they finally uncovered a useful clue.

This gradual approach immediately reminded Li Jin of Song Zhen.

He nodded, took two steps forward, and half-squatted in front of him: "Two days ago? Where did you see that?"

Seeing that he was so close, the boy showed no panic. He pointed to the school gate outside and calmly said, "I met him by that tree when I came back from get out of class."

"Liu Qi looked a little flustered, but when he saw me, he immediately turned fierce and rushed up to grab my collar, saying that if I dared to tell anyone that I saw him here, he would kick me out of the Imperial Academy and make me a disgrace to our family."

At this point, the young man chuckled dismissively, "He's shameful enough on his own, I have no desire to have anything to do with him."

"After that, did you go to see Su Ziping?" Li Jin asked.

“I went to look for him.” The boy nodded. “I went that night, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. Then he didn’t show up for two days. I thought he had a relapse of his old illness, so I didn’t think too much about it. Until this afternoon, I heard that he hanged himself in his room.”

After a long silence in the room, Li Jin stood up knowingly, looked at his face, and asked, "What's your name?"

The boy paused for a moment, then pursed his lips slightly: "My name is Vandi."

Li Jin nodded, lowered her eyes, and asked one last question: "Aren't you afraid of getting involved with him if you tell him now?"

To everyone's surprise, the young man in front of him raised his head and grinned, "I think the leader of the Six Doors, His Highness Prince Jing of the Great Wei, should have more power than him, right?"

That's not wrong.

As night fell, the bright moon shone, and the chirping of insects echoed like waves. Li Jin stood by the lotus pond of the Six Doors, gazing at the seamless blend of water and sky, looking at the vast starry sky, his mind filled with the trivial clues of the case.

The night was deep and quiet, with the scent of grass in the air. He stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for Shen Wen to sort out the specific information about Fan Di and Liu Qi completely.

Yan Zhao was standing behind him without him noticing. Just as he was about to speak, Li Jin said without turning his head, "No need to worry."

Yan Zhao was taken aback by his abrupt words.

Li Jin turned around: "This case is indeed not easy to handle. Since it involves the Imperial Academy, it will more or less have something to do with the Crown Prince. But neither Grand Tutor Su Yu nor Minister of Justice Xu Weiyou are people who can keep their composure."

"If it's truly a case that can't be investigated any further, then the Ministry of Justice has been sitting too comfortably all day."

Originally, he wanted to point out Li Jin's strict decree, but seeing that Li Jin had already said most of what he wanted to say, he snorted coldly: "The little girl said you have eyes in the back of your head, and I said she was just imagining things. I never thought I would be the clown."

Despite the complaints, Li Jin smiled faintly, his figure under the moonlight radiating a sliver of light, and his usually handsome face now exuded a gentler aura.

Yan Zhao agreed with his conclusion: "Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Imperial Academy are people who can keep their temper in check."

Yan Zhao said, "Unless the Crown Prince has given prior instructions, they definitely won't give us the time and opportunity to bring back any physical evidence. They will just kick all of you out of the Imperial Academy."

“That’s why I hate these kinds of cases the most.” Li Jin took a deep breath and stood with his hands behind his back.

Even a simple and clear murder case can become a blurred piece on a chessboard, a tool for manipulation, when it becomes entangled in a game of power struggles.

The truth may not be discovered, and justice may not be served. Instead, it will be like a rope around each other's necks, pulling each other endlessly.

“That’s exactly what I’m curious about. You could have simply handed the case over to the Ministry of Justice after you got the cup.” Yan Zhao looked at his profile and asked with unusual seriousness, “This approach is not like your usual style.”

“That Prince Jing, who is so meticulous in planning and never takes any risks, has played a puzzling card this time. Your dedication to investigating the case at the Imperial Academy is bound to attract Su Yu's attention; there might be more to the case than meets the eye.”

If there's nothing unusual about it, why would Prince Jing of the Six Doors, Li Jin, a notorious playboy prince known to everyone in the court and the public, suddenly be so serious about it?

“It was intentional.” Li Jin turned around and laughed. “I need them to think there’s something wrong with the case itself. Ideally, they should focus all their attention on the case. That way, I’ll have time to plant an inside man before Jin Rong goes to the Imperial Academy.”

Yan Zhao paused, his mouth opening and closing in surprise before he finally spoke: "You wouldn't be planning to...?"

He paused for a moment, then said incredulously, "Chen An's son, Chen Xi?!"

But Li Jin remained silent, his smile deepening.