Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 30: The Remnants of the Hidden Sect
Prince Jiashun looked surprised and said to himself, "Why is he here? We just reported it to Zhen'an Prefecture. How did he get the news?"

As he spoke, Prince Jiashun turned around and looked at Zhang Shouan, the prefect of Zhen'an Prefecture, with a questioning look in his eyes.

Zhang Shouan was stunned for a moment and was about to say that he had not informed the Magistrate's Court, but he quickly came to his senses and his face turned a little ugly.

There is a high probability that Zhen'an Prefecture has planted spies from the Magistrates' Court, which is why the news leaked so quickly.

When the Court of Inquisition was first established forty years ago, its powers were outside those of the Three Courts. It was responsible for investigating secret and important cases, and with the special permission of the emperor, it was all-pervasive.

When the present emperor first ascended the throne, the political situation was turbulent, with the remnants of King Wu constraining the government internally and the remnants of the Hidden Sect causing chaos externally. In order to stabilize the situation, the emperor once used the Court of Judges to clear away obstacles.

Although the Court of Judges had rendered great service to the emperor, it was also domineering and cruel. Countless civil and military officials died at the hands of the Court of Judges. At that time, the three words "Court of Judges" could stop children from crying at night in the capital.

Later, when the emperor was firmly seated on the throne, all the officials in the court were disgusted by the harm caused by the Court of Inquiries and they risked their lives many times to jointly petition to abolish it.

The emperor wanted to quell the internal and external disputes, and now that the Court of Inquiry had accomplished its mission, it was time to sheathe its sword.

As a result, the powers of the Court of Inquisition to investigate cases, conduct criminal trials, and conduct espionage were divided up among the Three Departments, the Five Military Governorates, and the Ministry of War.

The Magistrate's Court has become a scabby dog ​​with its claws and teeth pulled out. In the past six or seven years, it has become an idle government office with no sense of existence.

Now for some reason, the emperor is going to re-employ it. There is no undefeated government office in this world. There is only the emperor's dictatorship. The emperor's heart is as hard as iron, and he can make things happen at will.

Before Zhou Junxing took office, the Magistrate's Court had been abandoned for many years. However, in just ten days, he had planted a nail in Zhen'an Prefecture, an important government office in the capital. His efficiency and intentions were truly shocking.

Although this man has a reputation as a cruel official, he is quite talented and is a figure that should not be underestimated.

"I, Zhou Junxing, Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household Department, pay my respects to His Majesty."

Jia Cong stood in the crowd and saw Zhou Junxing, who was in his thirties, with a gaunt face, regular features, a beautiful short beard, and a dignified appearance, not like a treacherous minister.

Behind him stood more than a dozen sturdy men, all dressed in black, each carrying a sword and other sharp weapons. When Zhou Junxing entered the capital that day, Jia Cong saw these people guarding him all the time.

Prince Jiashun had a reputation as a virtuous prince, and he had a natural aversion to this notorious cruel official.

"Lord Zhou is in charge of the Magistrates' Court. How come you have time to come to my villa today?"

"I heard that Wu Jinrong, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, was killed, so I came to investigate."

"The Magistrates' Court has always investigated secret and important cases. Wu Jinrong was killed in my villa, which is a civil and criminal matter.

I have already reported this to Zhen'an Prefecture, and Prefect Zhang is already investigating the case. It seems that I don't need to trouble Lord Zhou anymore."

The civil and military officials in the court might be wary of this cruel official in the Court of Inquiry, but Prince Jiashun was a prince and had no such concerns. His words implied that he should order him to expel the guest.

When Prince Jiashun organized the Nanxi Literary Society this time, everything went wrong. During the meeting, Qiu Xuanfu humiliated others in public, ruining the elegance of the meeting. Later, Wu Jinrong was actually killed in broad daylight.

Now they had provoked the notorious cruel official Zhou Junxing to come to their doorstep, which really tarnished the reputation of the Nanxi Literary Society. Prince Jiashun was in a very depressed and angry mood.

"Your Highness, you may not know that Wu Jinrong was recommended by me and approved by His Majesty to be transferred to the Court of Inquiries as a Censor. He will only need to wait for the Ministry of Personnel to issue a letter of appointment after the new year, and then he will be able to work in the court.

He was actually a subordinate of mine in charge of the academy. I was in charge of the academy, so I naturally could not sit idly by and watch my subordinates being killed.

More importantly, Wu Jinrong may have been murdered by the remnants of the Hidden Sect. Restraining the Hidden Sect is the top priority of the Magistrates’ Office, and I must get to the bottom of this matter.”

Prince Jiashun's face changed: "You said the murderer was a remnant of the Hidden Sect, do you have any evidence?"

Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Yinmen has been banned. The monarchs of all dynasties have regarded the Yinmen as a serious threat. Anyone implicated in the Yinmen is considered to be guilty of treason, which makes Prince Jiashun vigilant.

Zhou Junxing's face was as dark as water, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. He said, "There are clues about this matter, but it has not been finally confirmed, so I cannot say more." Prince Jiashun was not sure whether Zhou Junxing was using the matter of Yinmen to control him, or whether the murder was indeed committed by Yinmen.

"Hmph, in that case, Lord Zhou should investigate the case together with the Zhen'an Prefecture, catch the murderer as soon as possible, relieve everyone's worries, and give justice to the deceased."

At this time, a big man in black beside Zhou Junxing walked up to him and whispered something in his ear.

Jia Cong in the crowd saw clearly that the big man in black seemed to hold a position in the Magistrate's Court. He had just talked with Zhang Shouan, the prefect of Zhen'an Prefecture, and it seemed that he was asking about the progress of the investigation of the case.

Zhou Junxing stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, Zhen'an Prefecture has questioned the participants of the literary gathering and has not found anything suspicious.

May I ask Your Majesty, besides the people attending the meeting, are there other people allowed to enter and leave here?"

Wang Dong stepped forward and replied, "I am Wang Dong, the governor of the palace. Apart from the people who attend the literary gathering, only the maids serving tea and wine will come in and out of this place.

The palace guards are all on the periphery, and will not easily approach to disturb you."

Zhou Junxing asked, "Could you please ask Eunuch Wang to gather all the maids on duty today here? I want to interrogate them and see if I can find out some clues."

Jia Cong, who was in the crowd, heard this and thought that Zhou Junxing was indeed meticulous, while Zhang Shouan, the prefect of Zhen'an, only spent his time on the group of scholars who participated in the literary gathering.

However, he did not realize that those maids who could enter and leave the literary gathering at will without attracting attention actually had more convenience in committing crimes. Comparing the two, Zhou Junxing was much more skillful than Zhang Shouan.

Wang Dong's face became serious, as he was suspicious of the maid who had come to the palace. He turned his head to look at the prince, and Prince Jiashun nodded slightly to him.

After a while, a female official gathered all the maids on duty today, a total of more than twenty people.

Zhou Junan asked, "Eunuch, are all the maids on duty today here? Are there any missing ones?"

Wang Dong looked carefully at the maids and suddenly asked, "Why is Ruizhu missing? I remember she was on duty today."

A maidservant nearby answered, "I saw her today, but I don't know where she is now."

Wang Dong's face changed, and Zhou Junxing raised his eyebrows: "There is something wrong with Ruizhu, find her quickly!"

Liu Xiangyong left some troops to guard the stone pavilion.

Zhou Junxing brought a group of guards with him, led the dozen or so men in black, and the prefect of Zhen'an and his men, and divided into three groups to search every corner of Shuyun Villa.

Less than a cup of tea later, someone found a maid who had been stripped of her palace clothes, tied up her hands and feet, and stuffed under the bed in a remote room in the villa.

When asked, it was the missing Ruizhu. She just said that she was knocked unconscious by someone and didn't know what happened afterwards.

Zhou Junxing and Wang Dong were both men of sharp vision. Seeing that the maid, who was about fourteen or fifteen years old, was shaking with fear and sobbing, they concluded that she did not know the truth.

The murderer's method of committing the crime was basically clear. She must have knocked Ruizhu unconscious, took off her palace dress, put it on, and disguised herself as a maid to sneak into the literary gathering.

At that time, because Jia Cong wrote that poem about plum blossoms, it amazed everyone. Many people walked around and gathered around the recorder's desk, and the scene was a little chaotic.

The murderer took advantage of this opportunity to kill Wu Jinrong without anyone noticing, and then quickly escaped.

Although the palace guards strictly guarded the four gates at the first moment, it took some time from the time the murderer killed Wu Jinrong to the time Qiu Xuanfu discovered that Wu Jinrong was dead.

Did the murderer take the opportunity to escape from Shuyun Villa, or was he still trapped somewhere in the villa because the palace guards were guarding the four gates?
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(End of this chapter)