"Who am I?" Huo Gang sneered, "Does it matter now?"
Huo Gang raised his chained hands and looked at the prefect of Jingzhao with contempt. "It won't be long before I become the scapegoat. But I remind you that even if I die, the murders will continue."
"you……"
The prefect of Jingzhao was furious at Huo Gang's attitude. If Mu Jingrui had not been present, he would have definitely ordered the jailer to torture him.
Shangguan Wanning felt that Huo Gang was hiding something, so she quietly pulled Mu Jingrui's hand and winked at him.
Mu Jingrui understood and turned to the Jingzhao prefect and said, "Sir, this matter is of great importance. Why don't we discuss how to explain it to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
The prefect of Jingzhao calmed down instantly.
He really needed to find someone to discuss things with. If something did happen, he wouldn't have to bear the blame alone.
"Master Mu is right, please."
The prefect of Jingzhao made a gesture to invite him in, and Mu Jingrui followed him out, leaving Shangguan Wanning behind without making a sound.
After everyone left, Shangguan Wanning leaned over the wooden fence and asked, "Brother Huo, do you know something? Human life is at stake. If you know, please speak up to prevent those innocent girls from getting hurt again."
Huo Gang has always been grateful to Shangguan Wanning, and he restrained his arrogance and indifference in front of her.
"Miss Shangguan, how is my sister?"
"Don't worry, she is in the Prime Minister's Mansion now. She is very safe and no one can bully her."
Huo Gang let out a long sigh.
"That's good."
Shangguan Wanning looked at Huo Gang's tired appearance, took out a snack wrapped in a handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to him.
"Brother Huo, here you go."
Huo Gang smiled faintly when he saw what Shangguan Wanning brought. He looked at Shangguan Wanning as if he saw his own sister.
He took it and ate it in two or three bites, then sat down again and said, "Miss Shangguan, you may not know that in the Southeast Prefecture, eighteen murders like this have occurred in four years. Each victim was brutally killed, but the government has never been able to find the real culprit."
"Seeing that the public was angry and the victims' families were out of control, the government looked for a scapegoat. You just heard what the prefect of Jingzhao said. Even if the government caught the murderer, they didn't report it to the Ministry of Justice."
"If they caught the real murderer, such a sensational case must be a great achievement. Why are they unwilling to report it?"
Huo Gang’s words made sense and Shangguan Wanning couldn’t refute them.
"Then, Brother Huo, what basis do you have to believe that the murders that occurred in the capital these days are the same as those that occurred in the Southeast Prefecture?"
Huo Gang lowered his eyes and was slow to speak. His fists were clenched so tightly that the veins on his hands were bulging.
After a long while, he slowly asked, "Miss Shangguan, do you know the governor of Southeast China?"
Shangguan Wanning's heart skipped a beat.
"Ling Ruiying?"
"However, the young lady has lived in the capital for a long time, so she may not know much about what is happening outside. For the people in the Southeast Prefecture, Ling Ruiying, the governor of the Southeast, is the master of their fate. He holds military power and is a relative of the emperor. Anyone who offends him will die."
When Huo Gang mentioned Ling Ruiying at this time, Shangguan Wanning had an ominous premonition.
"Brother Huo means..."
"To be honest with you, my sister and I are from Lihe County, and we are very familiar with Ling Ruiying. After those murders happened, I investigated for a while, and all the clues pointed to the Ling family. Unfortunately..."
Huo Gang's eyes were red, as if he was enduring great pain.
"It's useless to say anything now. My sister and I were forced to leave our hometown and come to the capital. We originally wanted to avoid those disputes and make a living, but I didn't expect... I didn't care when the murder happened at first. After all, it was not something I could control."
"But I heard that the entire Ling family had gone to the capital. So, I sneaked into the Ministry of Justice and checked the bodies of the victims. Their deaths were exactly the same as those of the victims in the southeastern prefecture. I don't believe it's such a coincidence. Wherever the Ling family goes, murders happen there."
Shangguan Wanning was a little shocked.
Eighteen lives were lost. This was definitely a major case that would shock the whole country, but the Ministry of Justice had never received any news of it.
"Brother Huo, you just said that you investigated this case and all the clues point to the Ling family. Those clues..."
Huo Gang shook his head in disappointment.
"All the people involved are dead, and the clues... are gone."
Shangguan Wan Ning was at a loss for words. This matter involved so many people that it was beyond her ability to resolve.
"Ms. Shangguan, you are a good and kind girl. You must stay away from the Ling family. Don't get involved in this matter."
Huo Gang knelt down in front of Shangguan Wan Ning. "I want to ask you one more thing. Take care of Momo for me. She is a poor child. You need to feed her. Don't let her live outside and be bullied by others."
"Brother Huo, get up quickly." Shangguan Wan Ning couldn't bear to see such a strong man kneeling in front of her. "Don't worry, if this matter really has nothing to do with you, I will find a way to rescue you. Su Mo, it's better for you to take care of her yourself."
Shangguan Wanning walked out of the cell and saw Mu Jingrui's carriage parked not far away, so she lifted the curtain and climbed up.
"How is it?" Mu Jingrui wiped the sweat from Shangguan Wanning's forehead and asked gently.
Shangguan Wanning repeated Huo Gang's words.
"What do you think?" Mu Jingrui fell into deep thought.
Shangguan Wanning held her chin in her hand, looking thoughtful.
"He doesn't look like he's lying, but this involves many lives after all. The Ling family has the Queen Mother and the Empress behind them, so they are very important. If you pull out a carrot, you'll bring out some dirt, and those dirt are no small characters."
"Not many people know that Huo Gang was arrested. I asked the prefect to block the news. I'm going to discuss it with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I think..."
Mu Jingrui was more inclined to believe what Huo Gang said.
"Then you go find the prince, I'll go..."
"Don't worry about anything." Mu Jingrui interrupted Shangguan Wanning.
If the Ling family really hides such a brutal murderer, Shangguan Wanning, as a woman, would be in danger if they found out that she was investigating them.
"Be obedient, Your Highness and I will handle this matter." Mu Jingrui patted Shangguan Wanning's shoulder and pulled her into his arms.
After Shangguan Wanning returned home, she tried hard to search her memory for any trace of Ling Ruiying and his son, but there was no trace at all.
In her memory of her previous life, Ling Ruiying did not even return to the capital at this time.
Everything seems to have changed.
Where exactly did the accident happen?
Shangguan Wan Ning lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. In a daze, she seemed to see the bright red flowers of the other shore in her dream.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
