Chapter 55

Han Long was speechless, as there was an unwritten rule in the Six Gates: if there was even a single clue pointing to a suspect, they could be arrested. Then, whether to extort or confiscate their property depended on the evidence. The confiscated property would be divided among the constables, like the gold bricks from the medical hall, which were likely already divided up!

"Is there anyone who can prove that you didn't do it?" Han Long continued to resist.

"But can you prove that I did it with these?" Ling Xiao retorted angrily.

"But you are a suspect!" Cen Chong, seeing Han Long fall silent, took the initiative to speak.

Ling Xiao, seeing the two about to start bickering, sighed and said, "Assassins often have countless wounds on their bodies. Perhaps he died of illness, or perhaps the fatal wound wasn't from a gunshot. It could be that he was killed to cover up a crime or to frame someone. It's only been a day since the incident. Have you thoroughly examined the body? Have you found the first crime scene? Have you verified where I was when he died?"

The two were completely speechless this time. They had only wanted to close the case quickly to claim credit and profit. They hadn't thought about these complications.

The Emperor, seeing their speechlessness, roared, "Enough! Is this how you usually handle cases? No wonder there are so many beggars in the capital, all because of your confiscations!"

"Turns out the Beggar Gang was created by the Six Gates!" Ling Xiao thought with amusement.

"He... his house was full of lethal weapons and gold bricks of unknown origin! It must be ill-gotten gains!" Han Long suddenly remembered something and continued to struggle.

"Bullshit! The Han family has no real position, so there's no possibility of corruption. As for the gold bricks, Xiao Ling, explain yourself." The Emperor scolded and then asked Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao cursed inwardly, "Always giving me trouble!" "Your Majesty, when Prince Qing's musket team attacked the Tianlang Ancient City, I wanted to eliminate them all, but I was outnumbered. So I had to seek help from the outlaws. For the prosperity and stability of the Ming Dynasty, these outlaws suffered heavy losses! I was moved by their patriotic spirit, so I left all the gold bricks Prince Qing used to bribe Jia Jingzhong to them. But outlaws have their own rules, so on my way back, I brought half of the gold bricks back. I thought privately that my master needed a lot of funds for research and invention, and with these gold bricks, it would save the treasury a lot of money, which is truly excellent!" His words were sincere and clear, without any concealment.

Everyone looked at him differently, even the currently hostile Capture God praised him. This could be considered treason! If it were anyone else, they would be trembling and at a loss, but Ling Xiao spoke with righteousness and confidence! It could only be said that in his heart, his honesty to the Emperor surpassed his fear of death!

Of course, there were two who were unmoved. Lu Xiaofeng rolled his eyes, and Ling Lingfa quietly lowered his head, staring at a piece of mud on his shoe as if it contained some world-renowned philosophy.

Ling Xiao wasn't that noble! He just understood the Emperor! For some reason, the only thing the Emperor cared about was loyalty! You could play around, earn some extra money, or even seek some benefits for yourself, but you absolutely couldn't deceive him!

How could a few gold bricks even catch the Emperor's attention? When Ling Xiao brought the gold bricks back, he didn't hide it at all. The capital was full of spies, and he didn't believe the Emperor didn't know about it. Moreover, he didn't ask for any substantial rewards at the time! This could be considered a small tacit understanding between the Emperor and his minister!

Sure enough, the Emperor smiled with approval, "Oh! So it was that money. Xiao Ling, you've done a great service, and a little material reward is deserved!"

The Four Great Captains were collectively stunned. Was the Emperor encouraging corruption? What kind of favoritism would allow such indulgence!

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ling Xiao said respectfully, showing no surprise as if he didn't care about the matter.

"Do you have any other evidence?" The Emperor looked at the Four Great Captains with a stern expression.

They looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.

"Since that's the case, from now on, all the constables of the Six Gates will have their salaries halved! If there are any further violations, they will be severely punished!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The constables helplessly shouted in unison.

"By the way, return everything you confiscated from the house intact! If there's even a bit of damage, don't come to see me!" The Emperor added.

The Emperor slowly walked towards Lu Xiaofeng and Baihu, "What about you two?"

Baihu knelt half, "Your Majesty, I received a report that the Six Gates constables were arresting people and confiscating property without cause. Knowing the methods of the Six Gates and owing a debt to Ling Xiao, I feared that Ling Lingfa's family would suffer, so I took the initiative to surround the Six Gates. I hope Your Majesty will forgive my overstepping!"

The Emperor nodded and asked Lu Xiaofeng, "How did you get there?"

"It's simple, a kind aunt told me about it, so I went," Lu Xiaofeng shrugged, answering casually.

"Is he your friend? How deep is your friendship? You dared to storm the Six Gates for him!" The Emperor said in disbelief.

Lu Xiaofeng mimicked Ling Xiao's gesture, "Don't misunderstand! If he really did it, I wouldn't bother. But before I went, I examined the body of the assassin and found that the fatal wound wasn't caused by a bullet. So I went to prevent a miscarriage of justice! It's a form of righteous action, right?"

"Whoa!" The Emperor drew in a breath, "You even examined the body! So quickly! Did you take a bath afterward?"

Lu Xiaofeng thought seriously, "No, but I drank a whole jar of wine! I don't know where the Six Gates got it, but it was a rare fine wine!"

The Emperor chuckled and looked at the Capture God, "Look at this, what has the Six Gates become? A public toilet? Allowing criminals to come and go as they please, halve their salaries again!"

The constables felt bitter. Half of their salary was already cut, what was left? Would they have to live on the wind from the northwest?

The Emperor showed his authority, and seeing the situation had reached this point, he planned to end it. But the Capture God spoke up, "Your Majesty, the mistakes of the Six Gates are due to my lax supervision, but Ling Xiao still has suspicions that haven't been cleared. I request Your Majesty to allow Ling Xiao to continue assisting in the investigation."

"Hey! Are you trying to be difficult?" The Emperor was furious. In the hall, who couldn't see his favoritism towards Ling Xiao? The Capture God deliberately brought this up, wasn't this a challenge to the Emperor's face!

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Wei Zhongxian advised from behind, "The Capture God is always zealous in his pursuit of justice and did not mean to offend. His words are not wrong. Mr. Ling currently has suspicions, and if he clears them based on the Emperor's trust, it might harm his reputation!"

Ling Xiao cursed inwardly, "Harm your sister! Can reputation be eaten? Dead eunuch! Clearly lacking in yang energy, always resorting to underhanded tactics!"

The Emperor, hearing this, found it reasonable, "That's true, but with the situation so tense, how can they fully cooperate? And I now doubt the Six Gates' ability to handle cases!"

Wei Zhongxian nodded, "The Capture God should stay in the palace to strengthen the defense, and the Four Great Captains' ability to handle cases is indeed questionable. So, let Mr. Ling handle it himself, with the Six Gates fully cooperating. Since Mr. Ling is not specialized in this, we don't need to focus on catching the murderer, just clearing his name. Your Majesty, what do you think?"

"Agreed, it suits my intentions! Xiao Ling, handle your own affairs! But with your lazy nature, you won't be serious without pressure, so I'll give you three days! If you can't prove your innocence within three days, I won't arrest you, but the gold bricks will go to the treasury!" The Emperor was in high spirits, watching Ling Xiao's frustrated expression and laughing.

The others, seeing this, silently lowered their heads. The Emperor was being quite merciful. Not pursuing such a serious crime of embezzlement and giving him three days to clear his name showed his favoritism.

Ling Xiao fell to his knees, hugging the Emperor's leg and crying, "Your Majesty! I don't even know how the assassin died! If I can't get the gold bricks back, my master's wife will kill me."

"Your master's wife? Who do you think is more terrifying, me or your master's wife?" The Emperor asked with interest.

Ling Xiao, taken aback, answered solemnly, "Your Majesty is more terrifying!"

The Emperor was very satisfied!

"Your master's wife is more terrifying!"

The Emperor was embarrassed.

"Want to know how he died? Bring the body from the Six Gates! I haven't seen a body examination before, let's see it!" The Emperor's excitement made everyone sweat!

Ling Xiao slapped himself, "You talk too much! What's the point of talking about the body!"

Wei Zhongxian immediately jumped up, "Your Majesty, absolutely not! How can such a solemn and dignified place have a corpse brought in! What if it offends Your Majesty!"

"Please reconsider, Your Majesty!" The constables all knelt, with Ling Xiao shouting the loudest. Joking! With the capital so chaotic, who knows if the assassin was killed by some passerby who was annoyed!

The Emperor waved his hand, "No problem! I'm not that fragile, I fought my way back to the capital from the Jin Kingdom!"

Ling Lingfa decisively looked at his shoes, Wei Zhongxian and Baihu were speechless, Lu Xiaofeng looked at Ling Xiao with doubt, and the constables were amazed!

With the Emperor speaking so firmly, no one dared to say anything more. Soon, the body was brought in.

"This is the assassin? Wei Gonggong is right, it almost scared me. It's too disgusting!" The Emperor grimaced, unable to bear to look.

The assassin's colorful costume was stained dark red with blood, and there was not a single good spot on his body except his face. The crisscrossing sword wounds covered his body, and a bloody hole on his shoulder was particularly striking, even among the dense sword wounds.

"The body is here, examine it quickly!" The Emperor waved his hand, full of disgust.

Ling Xiao helplessly squatted down, staring at the assassin's unblinking eyes. What a deep grudge! The assassin was clearly executed by a thousand cuts!

After a while, Ling Lingfa squatted beside him and whispered, "What did you find? The Emperor is getting impatient!"

"Got something." Ling Xiao muttered and bowed to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I have confidence in solving the case within three days!"

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