Chapter 74

Why would Ajiu go to the prison, do we even need to think about it?

Zhao Yougong quickly got up, grabbed his official hat, and ran out, "Big Beard, why didn't you stop her?"

Xie Wudi was also extremely frustrated. How could the prince not feel guilty? Ajiu was the prince's servant, and without the prince's permission, who would dare to do anything to her?

Zhu Lian frowned and smiled bitterly, put down his teacup, and slowly followed Xie Wudi toward the prison.

The distance from the back office to the prison was not far. Upon arriving at the prison, Zhao Yougong went straight to the cell where Nie Mazi was held. Just one glance inside, and Zhao Yougong turned and started vomiting.

It wasn't that Zhao Yougong was too timid; it was just that the scene was too terrifying. Nie Mazi's limbs were spread out, lying flat on the ground, his lower body a mess of blood and flesh. From his abdomen to his thighs, he was completely flattened, like a pancake. Seeing Nie Mazi's惨状, Zhao Yougong felt a chill in his lower body, and it was hard not to be afraid.

Disgusting, too disgusting. What had Nie Mazi done to make Ajiu, a young woman, hate him so much?

Ma Rulong, Zhang Yaobang, and others followed in, and seeing Nie Mazi's condition, they couldn't help but pause, involuntarily tightening their legs. What a terrifying girl, looking so frail, yet capable of such brutality.

Xie Dahu and Ma Rulong guarded on either side, barely managing to drag the young prince out of the prison. As soon as they stepped out of the prison door, Zhao Yougong's legs trembled, and he couldn't stand steadily.

"Too scary... vomit..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, he wanted to vomit. Xie Dahu quickly jumped back a few steps, but unfortunately, the young prince couldn't vomit anything out after opening his mouth for a long time.

At this moment, the sun was scorching hot. Ajiu knelt on the ground, making no sound. She stared at Zhao Yougong, seemingly aware that she had done something wrong.

Zhao Yougong, of course, understood Ajiu's pain. If she didn't kill Nie Mazi, she would never be able to escape her past nightmares. However, some things couldn't be done directly. With a look of anger on his face, Zhao Yougong raised his hand and slapped Ajiu's sallow cheek. The slap was quite strong, and Ajiu's body swayed, but she straightened up again.

"You... are you trying to ruin me? Who gave you permission to kill?"

As he spoke, Zhao Yougong kicked Ajiu's shoulder and jumped around, shouting, "Get lost, get lost far away! I was blind to save you!"

This time, Ajiu was afraid. She knelt on the ground and tightly hugged Zhao Yougong's legs.

Seeing this, Xie Wudi couldn't help but feel some pity. He stopped Zhao Yougong's hand and said urgently, "Your Highness, don't be upset. Nie Mazi is already dead. Even if you beat Ajiu to death, it won't help!"

"What can we do? This girl killed Nie Mazi. Those censors will surely blame it all on me!"

Zhao Yougong looked frightened, but in his heart, he felt a lot of reluctance. At this moment, he couldn't protect Ajiu. Facing the impending impeachment, he couldn't help but be afraid. This time was different from the wall demolition incident. A human life was at stake, and if the censors handled it properly, they could pull him off his position as the Prefect. In such a situation, if he still acted without a care, it would only make people suspicious.

"Your Highness, the prison is full of loyal brothers. As long as we don't say anything, who will know how Nie Mazi died? We'll dispose of the body and say that Nie Mazi was infected with a plague and had to be burned. Once Nie Mazi's body is ashes, no one can accuse us!"

Xie Wudi spoke sincerely. He truly didn't want to change the Prefect. Although the young prince wasn't very capable, his ability to make money was quite high. Such a good Prefect, how could he be replaced?

"Alright, you handle it. If you do it well, I'll reward you heavily!"

"Alright, Your Highness, you go rest. We'll take care of it!"

Xie Wudi, Ma Rulong, and others immediately turned to handle the body. Zhao Yougong pointed at Ajiu and sighed helplessly, "Where is Xiaosan?"

Ajiu still shook her head.

Zhao Yougong was immediately at a loss. What was this Xiaosan up to, running around causing trouble?

Zhu Lian arrived late and was naturally somewhat disappointed. However, seeing the frightened look on the young prince's face, she frowned deeply. Was he really afraid?

The next day at the court assembly, Zhao Yougong was indeed impeached by many. The most prominent was the Censor-in-Chief Hu Yingyuan, whose accusations were quite sharp: embezzlement and murder of a prisoner for personal gain.

Embezzlement? How could Zhao Yougong accept such a false accusation? He stepped forward, trembling with fear, and shouted, "Your Majesty, Hu Yingyuan is talking nonsense. Nie Mazi had no money on him. How can you say I embezzled?"

Emperor Zhezong frowned and sighed inwardly. This Hu Yingyuan was really something. If he wanted to accuse someone, couldn't he choose a different charge? For example, treason or plotting a rebellion. Even if the evidence was fake, it would be a good thing. But he focused on Nie Mazi's case. Yes, Nie Mazi's case was handled by Zhao Yougong's servant, but could Zhao Yougong be killed just because of Nie Mazi? What Emperor Zhezong wanted was not to demote Zhao Yougong but to find a proper reason to execute him.

"Does Censor Hu have any evidence?"

Just one question, and Hu Yingyuan was stumped. Zhao Yougong was delighted. The body was already burned to ashes. What evidence could you have? Unless you could get the prison guards to talk. But Zhao Yougong wasn't a pushover. If it came to that, he could always say the guards were bribed to give false testimony. He wasn't afraid of what Hu Yingyuan could do.

"Your subject... has no evidence..."

Emperor Zhezong took a deep breath. If he could, he would have called Hu Yingyuan a pig's head. He glared and said coldly, "Why don't you step down?"

Hu Yingyuan saw that Emperor Zhezong was unhappy and could only return to his place reluctantly. Zhao Yougong, on the other hand, didn't hide his joy and shouted, "Your Majesty is wise!"

What a young prince, with no real skills, but quite good at flattery.

After Nie Mazi's death, wherever Zhao Yougong went, Ajiu followed. Her face was somewhat sallow, and her female features were not yet fully developed. Dressed as a boy, she truly became a servant. For half a month, even the people in Kaifeng Prefecture treated Ajiu as a boy.

On this day, the 23rd of July, Ajiu was squatting beside Zhao Yougong, rubbing his legs. Zhu Lian held a book and was enthusiastically explaining agricultural techniques.

Just as Zhao Yougong was getting impatient, Xiaosan ran in excitedly.

"Master, there's a case. Chief Clerk Gongsun has asked you to come!"

"A case? Really, let Gongsun Kang handle it himself. Why bother me?"

"Uh... Master, Chief Clerk Gongsun said it's a murder at Xiangguo Temple. He insists you must come!"

A murder at Xiangguo Temple? Zhao Yougong couldn't sit still anymore. Xiangguo Temple was a royal temple, always bustling with incense and visitors, including many nobles. As the Prefect of Kaifeng, he couldn't avoid going personally.

Standing up, Zhao Yougong looked at Zhu Lian with some reluctance, "My lady, I'm sorry. There's a murder, and I have to solve it!"

Zhu Lian was used to his passionate gaze. She closed the book and nodded gently, "Your Highness, please go. I want to see how you solve the case."

"Huh?" Zhao Yougong felt his head was about to explode. He was just there to go through the motions at Xiangguo Temple. How could he really solve a case? Besides, he was trying to hide his incompetence and wouldn't dare to show off.

The group arrived at Xiangguo Temple and found many guards at the entrance. A man in his thirties greeted them with a bow.

Zhao Yougong recognized him. He was the newly appointed Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, Zhao Ding, who had been transferred from Luoyang at the beginning of the year. His investigative skills were quite good. Seeing Zhao Ding, Zhao Yougong had a plan. He would have to pass this responsibility to Zhao Ding.

"Your Highness has come just in time. I was about to investigate the scene!"

Hearing Zhao Ding's words, Zhao Yougong inwardly cursed his bad luck. This new Undersecretary was indeed smart, figuring out what Zhao Yougong wanted in such a short time.

Zhao Yougong's face was not good, but Zhao Ding was quite relieved. As a royal temple, Xiangguo Temple was closely watched by the emperor. If he handled it alone, he might get into trouble. It would be better to involve the prince, so if the emperor blamed him, there would be someone to share the responsibility.

Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Zhao Yougong resigned himself, "Undersecretary Zhao, let's go together!"

Zhao Ding naturally wouldn't refuse, but his eyes noticed the young man in white beside Zhao Yougong. With just one glance, he realized it was a woman in disguise.

"Your Highness, who is this?"

"Oh, my newly hired legal advisor!"

"Ha ha!" Zhao Ding smiled faintly, not pressing further, but he had his own thoughts. Seeing the young prince's attitude toward this woman, their relationship was clearly not ordinary.

The crime scene was on the fourth floor of the bell tower in the front courtyard. Upon arriving, Zhao Yougong only glanced inside briefly and then went outside to look at the scenery. Gongsun Kang held a notebook and slowly introduced the situation of the victims.

In the bell tower, there were two male victims. Fan Zengxi, 37, originally from Xihua, was the leader of the "Red Flower Troupe" in Bianliang. Wu Chenmao, 19, originally from Shangshui, was the lead performer of the "Red Flower Troupe."

Both had come to Xiangguo Temple to pray, but were killed in the bell tower.

Zhao Yougong couldn't understand why someone would kill two actors. If they were going to kill them, why choose a place like Xiangguo Temple, where it would attract attention? Normally, killers would try to hide the bodies for as long as possible. This time, it seemed the killer wanted everyone to know.

The bell tower of Xiangguo Temple was open to visitors after the morning hour, so killing there offered no concealment.

Strange, this case was too far from the norm, but often, the unreasonable contains the reasonable, and it just needs an explanation.