The person originally in charge of this case at the Ministry of Justice was Sun Zhen, but he was suspended and investigated for involvement in the case, replaced by another Junior Minister, Xie Jing. Xie Jing mainly handled the evaluation of criminal law severity and took part in revising the criminal law sections of the Tang Code. He was far from as adept at solving cases as Sun Zhen, and the Ministry of Justice didn't have a third Junior Minister.

After a long while, Xie Jing opened his eyes and said, "Li Shengchang, sit down and have some tea."

"I can't drink any, what time is it now, and he still hasn't arrived! Does he need to groom himself some more!" Li Shengchang said impatiently.

"Perhaps we should invite Doctor Liu tomorrow to take a look." Xie Jing spoke calmly.

Hearing this, Li Shengchang became even more agitated, "We have only a few days left! If we keep waiting, who will bear the responsibility when the Emperor asks?"

True to his name, Xie Jing was not only very quiet but always spoke slowly and amiably, "The person going to meet him will be back soon. There is no need to rush this moment; come, have some tea."

Li Shengchang, hearing this, was furious inside and thought angrily: Drink! Drink! Drink! That's all you know! I don't understand why the Ministry of Justice sent you here, from morning till now, you've offered tea more than ten times and done nothing else!

After holding himself back for a while, Li Shengchang suppressed his anger and changed the topic in a relatively calm tone, "I don't know if there's any new progress in Qujiang, where Assistant Minister Xiao is."

"Assistant Minister Xiao has never made mistakes in his cases; you can rest easy, Li Shengchang." Xie Jing said slowly.

Li Shengchang sighed helplessly, realizing that he really couldn't make small talk with Xie Jing. He had brought up Xiao Song mainly to remind Xie Jing that while they sent a vigorous young man out to the sun-scorched Qujiang, the two old men were sitting comfortably inside, and it wouldn't look good if they accomplished nothing.

Neither of them spoke, and Li Shengchang, afraid that Xie Jing would ramble on, kneeled down and stretched his neck, waiting for the liaison to arrive.

After half a moment, He Sizheng led two rows of guards carrying a man covered in blood on a board, and upon seeing this, Li Shengchang sprang up and hurried forward, "What happened!"

"Li Shengchang, Junior Minister Xie, Secretary Zhang was attacked; he is…" He Sizheng sighed and gestured for people to bring up the corpse.

Li Shengchang stood rooted to the spot, and after a while, Xie Jing asked, "Where is Lady Xianliang?"

"Lady Xianliang is missing. I've had my subordinates confirm at the palace gate that, half an hour ago, Secretary Zhang and Lady Xianliang passed through the palace gate," He Sizheng spoke as he took a piece of paper from a guard's hand, "I found these words written in blood at the site of Secretary Zhang's murder; I had them copied."

Li Shengchang took the paper and saw two large characters written on it–Eastern Palace.

It seemed like something more was supposed to follow, but only a dot remains, unfinished.

"So, this means the Eastern Palace is responsible!" Li Shengchang was furious, "What does the Eastern Palace want by abducting Lady Xianliang!"

"Quickly go and fetch Minister Zhang and Junior Minister Yuan." Even Xie Jing was becoming restless, his speech slightly hastened.

They hadn't sent guards because the distance from Pingkang Square to the palace was very short and heavily trafficked and guarded. If despite this, something still happened, it would be a grave concern! They hadn't anticipated that the assassin would be a hundred times more audacious than they imagined and dare to commit the act inside the palace!

Clearly, the assassin regarded his own life as worthless!

Moreover, this person could not possibly be the Crown Prince!

"He Sizheng, first arrange for Secretary Zhang's corpse, then I shall immediately go to report to the Emperor! It's too audacious! I don't believe he'd dare to ambush me inside the palace!" Li Shengchang gnashed his teeth and stormed off towards Ganlu Hall.

Asking Ran Yan to conduct the autopsy was Li Shengchang's idea; in case anything happened to her… There were rumors that Xiao Song was already madly in love with his wife… How could he explain it to Xiao Song then!

Li Shengchang was naturally an impatient man, and at this moment, all sorts of emotions surged up and all translated into sheer rage. He couldn't calm his heart until he dismembered the murderer!

The scorching sun blazed, and the ground was parched, reflecting the mood of everyone in the palace at that moment.

That morning in the palace, two people had died, one was seriously injured, and an Imperial Decree woman had been abducted, her fate uncertain. Except for Xiao Song and others who were still at Qujiang, everyone else in the Three Departments felt as if they were on the fire.

The Emperor was furious, and the heads of the Ministry of Justice and the Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice braved the scorching sun to rush to the study in Ganlu Hall.

The Imperial Guards were also on tenterhooks, all on alert and waiting for orders to start searching. For such an incident to happen within the heavily guarded Taiji Palace was not just a challenge to the Imperial Guard but a provocation to the entire Great Tang!

…

The fragrance of flowers wafted through the air, accompanied by a refreshing cool breeze.

Ran Yan didn't know how long she had been unconscious before she awoke.

As soon as she opened her eyes, the scenery before her startled her. The outside looked barren, yet this little courtyard was a riot of color, meticulously clean. In the desolation of the deep palace, seeing such a place felt like unwittingly stumbling into the Peach Blossom Spring.

Her arms and legs were bound as she lay on a soft couch under the shade of a tree.

She shifted her body slightly and heard a voice from above, "Are you awake?"

Ran Yan looked up and saw An Jin, lying on a branch of the osmanthus tree in an unadorned wide-sleeved tunic, his long, jade-like hands holding a scroll resting on his bent knee, his wet flowing hair cascading down, his long lashes partly covering his smiling, lively eyes, watching her leisurely and lazily.

Even though Ran Yan was not particularly sensitive to beauty, in her groggy state, seeing such a scene still stunned her momentarily; she thought she had inadvertently wandered into a fairyland. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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