Chapter 154 Repaying Him a Favor
“He called my brother a bastard, an unwanted filth.” Qiangzi pursed his lips, his eyes dim. “I got angry right then and there.”
He gripped the small, sharp knife in his hand and stabbed it viciously into the man's chest.
“At first, I really just wanted to scare him.” Qiangzi looked up at Li Jin with terror in his eyes. “But after I stabbed him, he suddenly started screaming and begging for help. I panicked, so I stabbed him in the neck many more times…”
"I... I just wanted him to calm down, just calm down." Qiangzi's face was dazed.
Recalling all of this is an extremely painful experience for him.
His voice grew softer and softer until Li Jin could barely hear it.
Then, as if she had nothing to lose, she suddenly looked up and pleaded with Li Jin again: "My brother! My brother really didn't do anything. He was kicked and then knocked unconscious in the house. Really! I'm not lying!"
“I stole the silver, then ran away with him and bought him some steamed buns…” Qiangzi’s eyes were misty as he looked at his brother. “I just wanted to buy him some steamed buns.” He pursed his lips and looked up at Li Jin.
Those eyes were filled with anticipation for the Prince of Wei, and for the upright and just official who, according to rumors, protected the capital.
Li Jin, however, was unable to respond.
He met Qiangzi's gaze and shook his head.
"Once Mr. Jin has finished compiling the case notes, you can send them to Lord Zhu at the Ministry of Justice."
Li Jin left those words behind and turned to leave.
Seeing that he wouldn't mention anything about being lenient, Qiangzi panicked. He crawled a few steps on his knees and shouted at his back, "Aren't you a righteous official?! My brother didn't do anything! How can you frame an innocent person like this?!"
"What kind of hero are you! How are you any different from those treacherous officials and villains outside?!"
The hearts of everyone present jumped into their throats.
Li Jin stopped in her tracks, slowly turned around, and looked coldly into the boy's eyes.
"Wronging an innocent person?" He chuckled. "He was the one who helped you drag people away, he was the one who helped you tie them up, and he was the one who helped you carry the body. You are the principal offender and he is the accomplice. How can you say he was wronged?"
Regardless of the motives, Liu Yong's death was irreversible, just as his brother's involvement in the entire affair was also irreversible.
Li Jin raised her hand and pointed at his forehead without any politeness: "If your brother dies, it will be because you killed him with your own hands."
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving two stunned boys kneeling on the ground with lifeless eyes.
Only then did the two children become truly frightened, huddle together, and burst into tears.
When Shen Wen sent them to the Ministry of Justice, apart from Zhu Dongli, everyone around them cast resentful glances.
The case file and case minutes were all complete, and all the official seals were affixed.
Looking at the handsome young man in the notebook, Zhu Dongli, dressed in flowing white robes, raised his eyes, looked at Shen Wen in front of him, and suddenly asked, "What does Mr. Jin like?"
This question not only stunned Shen Wen, but also baffled the people from the Ministry of Justice standing behind him.
The icy, handsome man, a celestial being in the world, who rarely uttered more than ten words a day, surprisingly became much more amiable in front of the people from the Six Doors.
The question was too tricky, and after thinking for a long time, Shen Wen could only stammer and bow, replying, "Well... besides being interested in those who are dead, I really can't think of anything else for the moment..."
He frowned, looking at Zhu Dongli's perpetually expressionless face, and added, "Lord Zhu can ask the Prince; perhaps the Prince knows."
Unlike the gray walls and black tiles of the Six Doors, the courtyard of the Ministry of Justice was filled with white walls and red pillars, and the clothing was relatively bright.
Zhu Dongli stood under the eaves and hesitated for a moment: "Wait a moment."
He moved to the table, picked up a pen, wrote a few words, dried them slightly, put them in an envelope, and handed them to Shen Wen.
Now, Shen Wen felt a chill run down his spine. Could it be that Zhu Dongli had really given Jin Shu some lousy case from the Ministry of Justice as a gift?
This unease accompanied him back to the Six Doors and continued until he stood before Li Jin.
Seeing Li Jin staring at the scroll, deep in thought, he hesitated, unsure how to speak.
On the scroll with thirteen designs, several exact names were added.
Perhaps because of his unusual behavior, Li Jin stopped what he was doing, raised his eyebrows and looked at Shen Wen's hesitant expression, asking in surprise, "What's wrong? Is the Ministry of Justice making things difficult for you?"
“It is a bit of a dilemma.” Shen Wen took out the letter. “The case itself is not a problem, but Lord Zhu suddenly asked Mr. Jin what he likes. I couldn’t answer, so I made up a story that Mr. Jin doesn’t like living things.”
He put on a long face and placed the envelope in his hand in front of Li Jin: "Then Lord Zhu wrote this, without saying who it was for."
Li Jin looked at the envelope in front of him, his eyebrows rising and falling: "Ask Mr. Jin what he likes?"
He picked up the envelope, glanced at it from top to bottom, and tore it open.
To everyone's surprise, the letter was addressed to His Highness Prince Jing, but the content was quite substantial.
"If you ask about past events, do not act rashly," Li Jin read aloud softly.
The previous events likely refer to the Li Mu rebellion case six years ago, but what does "do not act rashly" mean?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Li Jin's mind. He looked at the letter in his hand, crumpled it into a ball, and became solemn.
Zhu Dongli's eight words of repaying a favor made Li Jin instantly understand why Xiao Pan'er was assassinated that night, why Zhu Dongli appeared at the stall the next day, and why Song Zhen chose to ask Jin Shu to leave when he was meeting the emperor with the crown prince and the Minister of Justice.
Because touching on even the slightest detail related to the case from six years ago would alert the perpetrator.
They disturbed the Ministry of Justice's affairs and startled the Crown Prince, the snake in the snake.
Li Jin looked at the autopsy record book that Jin Shu had personally handed to him, and after much deliberation, he turned around and locked it in the box behind him.
He originally intended to use Lin Zhongyi's case as a stepping stone to open the door to the Ministry of Justice, to reopen the case from six years ago, and put it out to the light of day.
Upon closer examination, however, there is no evidence in Lin Zhongyi's case pointing to the Crown Prince, nor is there any evidence to suggest that the Ministry of Justice's handling of the case was flawed. Based solely on his abnormal death report, it is untenable in the face of Li Yi.
Therefore, Zhu Dongli's words make a lot of sense; now is not the time.
If the Crown Prince's net cannot be wiped out all at once, the consequences will be unimaginable. He cannot risk the lives of everyone in the Six Doors; he must wait.
After carefully putting away the black box, Li Jin turned around and looked at Zhao Wencheng's name under the cloud pattern on the scroll, taking a deep breath.
Just then, Feng Chao rushed over.
"Ah... This time, I didn't ask Your Highness to handle the case." Feng Chao bowed deeply, "This... mainly because the coroner from Shengzhou was transferred, and before the new one could be appointed, a major case occurred."
He chuckled dryly as he looked at Li Jin in front of him: "Could... could you possibly ask Mr. Jin to provide some support to the Prefect of Shengzhou?"
Seeing that Li Jin remained silent, Feng Chao's face was full of difficulty: "This... Your Highness, as you know, my Jingzhao Prefecture is also without a coroner... But at this critical moment, a family was wiped out in Shengzhou, and they sent an urgent message from 800 li to ask for help. I really have no other choice!"
A family massacre?
Li Jin looked at his appearance and let out a cold laugh.
We might as well ask him to handle the case!
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