Chapter 138 Prince Jing, Li Jin, who is fiercely protective of his children

With the murder weapon, physical evidence, and motive all in place, the Six Doors and the Jingzhao Prefecture apprehended Xiao Luo from the streets of Anshanfang within half a day.

In the capital city, the seventeen-year-old boy knelt in the center of the main hall, head bowed, staring at the ground before him, without uttering a single word.

Li Jin looked him over, her gaze settling on his shoes.

No wonder the shoes the boy wore during the crime were not found in the entire house; he was still wearing those shoes with holes in the soles.

Seeing his silence, Li Jin gave Yunfei a look, signaling him to compare Xiao Luo's shoe print.

The answer is yes.

Looking around, Li Jin waved his hand, and the constables gradually retreated outside the courtroom.

Apart from Feng Chao, only the people from the Six Doors remained in the entire hall.

He wasn't in a hurry. He got up and walked to Xiao Luo, placing two Great Wei Tongbao coins one by one on the ground in front of him.

His voice was calm and his expression gentle: "A whole box full. If you don't speak up, according to the laws of the Great Wei, the case will probably be closed and the money will be deposited into the national treasury."

Xiao Luo paused, and although he didn't look up, his shoulders were noticeably stiffer.

"Seventeen years old, not much younger than me. You couldn't have come to this point willingly, could you?"

At this moment, on the other side of the courtroom, Shen Wen walked over with the long carrying pole and a bloodstained dagger, stood aside, and deliberately slammed one end of the carrying pole heavily to the ground.

The loud bang made Xiao Luo, who had been silent, raise his head.

This gaunt, ragged man remained unmoved when he saw the carrying pole in Shen Wen's hand; not a trace of emotion could be detected on his face.

Li Jin pulled out his black fan, flicked it away, and stared at his face: "These two things were taken from your courtyard. It doesn't matter if you don't speak, just listen to what I have to say."

As Li Jin recounted the story, it was as if time had reversed and years had overlapped before everyone's eyes, as if this courtroom had overlapped with the courtyard of Niu Dai's family where the murder had occurred.

At noon, after saying goodbye to her grandparents, the little granddaughter walked along the road towards her cousin's house. Not long after, the grandfather opened the door and headed towards the shopping street to buy sweet cakes.

Normally, Niu Dai would have already gone out to buy groceries by now. Plus, her son and daughter had already set off to do business days earlier, so her house should be empty right now.

"So back then, all you wanted was money." Li Jin lifted the hem of his robe, sat down on the octagonal chair next to him, and continued fanning himself.

This family is carefree; they don't usually go out for long periods of time and don't lock their yard gate.

Xiao Luo walked in through the main gate with complete impunity, as if he were in an empty place.

He closed the door slightly and tiptoed toward the main hall.

"At this moment, you have no idea that Niu Dai happened to skip grocery shopping today. She wasn't feeling well and was staying inside."

At this point, Li Jin deliberately paused.

The man before me was expressionless, appearing fearless.

Li Jin recounted many events related to the day of the case, but he realized that these events seemed to remain outside of Xiao Luo's psychological framework.

What he said couldn't touch Xiao Luo's heart at all, and didn't even cause the slightest ripple.

No, that means you're going in the wrong direction.

Li Jin lowered his eyes for a moment, then probed directly at the most crucial point: "Do you know how many times you stabbed her?"

Theoretically speaking, the scene that a murderer sees at the moment of killing will have a significant psychological impact on him.

Every time I recall it in the future, I am still shaken by the aftershocks of this experience, and my heart is once again stirred.

But the person in front of him still didn't react at all, and didn't even acknowledge Li Jin.

Hearing his question, she laughed dismissively, rolled her eyes at Li Jin, and looked away.

He still didn't speak.

This was the first time Li Jin's interrogation had run aground.

He waved the fan in his hand even more slowly, pondering how to pry open his mouth.

Jin Shu, who had been standing silently to the side, also sensed the difficulty of this preliminary hearing.

She bit her lip, tried to change direction, then coughed lightly and deliberately said, "As expected of a family, both smelly and stubborn."

These words, from the perspective of motivation, accurately hit Xiao Luo's bullseye.

The man in front of him instantly flew into a rage, his face flushed red: "Who are you talking about!"

The boy, who had been clenching his teeth and refusing to speak, suddenly flew into a rage, stood up abruptly, and charged at Jin Shu.

To be honest, Jin Shu didn't expect that she had stepped on such a landmine. One sentence from her had caused such a strong reaction from the person in front of her, leaving her completely stunned.

Although Xiao Luo's hands were tied behind his back, he actually used his head as a weapon and charged at Jin Shu.

Just as she stood frozen in fear, Li Jin's fan, like a rainbow, slammed into Xiao Luo's chest.

Xiao Luo lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Seeing the way he was sprawled out, Jin Shu turned pale, her legs feeling like lead, unable to move.

All of this happened so fast.

She was so fast that her head was buzzing, and she couldn't utter a single syllable because she had a breath stuck in her throat.

“You…” Li Jin’s hand was raised in the air. Seeing her face turn pale with fright, as if she was about to cry, he swallowed back a million complaints.

He took a deep breath, grabbed her arm, and dragged her to the octagonal chair, making her stand next to him. He spat out a harsh "Don't move!"

In the scene just now, Shen Wen, who had physical evidence in both hands, didn't have time to make a move, and even if Zhou Zheng, who was standing at the door, exerted his power, he wouldn't be able to catch up at all.

If Li Jin hadn't intervened, Jin Shu would have been thrown several meters away.

Thinking of this, Li Jin felt a lump in his throat, forgetting where the interrogation was going. He sat there taking several deep breaths and glared at Jin Shu several times.

After confirming that she was right beside him and hadn't moved, he rubbed his temples, his gaze like a knife piercing Xiao Luo as she got up from the ground, and his voice rose several decibels: "What, you want to kill even someone from my Six Doors just because I mentioned your family once?"

With a loud bang, Li Jin slammed his hand on the table: "Xiao Luo! How dare you!"

This frightened not only Xiao Luo, but also Shen Wen, Zhou Zheng, and even Feng Chao, who had been standing in the corner. Their legs went weak.

They couldn't quite remember when the last time Prince Jing was angry.

Unexpectedly, under these circumstances, Xiao Luo has touched a nerve with Li Jin.

One very important reason why the shadows of the Six Doors were willing to follow Li Jin so devotedly was...

Unlike the Crown Prince, who would kill his children after using them, Li Jin was known for being fiercely protective of his own.

Furthermore, the person Xiao Luo attacked just now was Jin Shu...

At this moment, Jin Shu, standing beside him with a tense expression, seemed to sense a fire igniting within this man. She couldn't even process the shock she had just experienced; her heart was stuck in her throat.

Li Jin's imposing aura seemed to engulf the entire courtroom of the Jingzhao Prefecture, as if he were going to burn them all down with him.

Xiao Luo, kneeling there, glared at the enraged Li Jin before him, his Adam's apple bobbing as sweat trickled down his forehead.

After a long pause, he stammered, "...I...I just wanted to steal some money. Originally, I didn't intend to kill her..."

To everyone's surprise, Li Jin sneered, "Nonsense!"