Yi Qing watched Xi'er running back and forth in front of her. So, was she working as a nanny now?
As she watched Xi'er running, Xiao Ran also came over to join the fun. That's just how kids were. Usually, they would ignore you, but as soon as another kid showed up, they would immediately try to get your attention.
Li En, the Minister of Justice, had met Yi Qing before. He was quite excited about taking on the case of the Xie family. This was a major case, and it was a chance for him to prove himself.
He took the dossier from the Court of Judicial Review and arrested all the people suspected by Xu Maozhi for interrogation one by one. The prison of the Ministry of Justice was filled to capacity.
At first, Li En was quite proud of himself, but as the arrests continued, he realized something was wrong. Just how many people had the Xie family offended back then?
Within a few days, Li En was impeached. People accused him of extracting confessions by torture, which would surely lead to many unjust cases.
And then, Xie Hongning died. His death was the same as Xie Hongyi's. His heart and liver were taken out, and his body was found in an alley.
This time, the capital city was in an uproar. People said it was a vengeful ghost seeking revenge and taking people's hearts and livers.
The Xie family wailed, but most of them were filled with fear. They realized that the murderer seemed to have targeted their family, and they didn't know who would be next.
Some people said the Xie family deserved it for offending the gods and ghosts, but the way the victims died was truly chilling.
Although the queen was angry about what the Xie family had done, she couldn't just sit back and watch as her siblings died one after another. After asking the emperor for permission, she left the palace to see Yi Qing.
"I'm neither the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review nor from the Ministry of Justice. I really can't help," Yi Qing said helplessly after hearing the queen's request.
"You managed to solve such a mysterious case of the Xie family before. Please, help me," the queen pleaded, lowering her stance.
Before, it was because the Xie family had offended Yi Qing, so she had solved the case incidentally. This matter had nothing to do with her. Besides, she had already examined the body for Xu Maozhi. It wasn't her fault that Xu Maozhi couldn't solve the case.
"I really want to help you, but..." Yi Qing was in a difficult position.
The queen looked at Yi Qing hopefully.
"This matter is really...," Yi Qing didn't know how to start investigating. "What if we find out that the Xie family has committed some heinous crimes? The Xie family might not be able to stay in the capital."
The queen was stunned for a moment. "If the Xie family has committed heinous crimes, they should be punished, but the murderer should also be brought to justice."
"Alright. I'll go and ask Xu Maozhi if there's any progress, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to solve the case," Yi Qing still didn't dare to promise directly.
"Okay," the queen said gratefully.
Yi Qing always felt that the murderer must have had a purpose for doing this. The methods were so secretive, and yet it had caused such a big impact. It was as if the murderer was forcing them to investigate.
Xu Maozhi was still locked up in the prison of the Court of Judicial Review. When Yi Qing went there, his cell was filled with dossiers. Even though he was in prison, he still had to do his work.
Hearing the sound, Xu Maozhi didn't look up. He was concentrating on reading the dossiers.
"What are you reading so intently?" Yi Qing saw that the cell door was open, so she just walked in.
She was right. The emperor didn't want to do anything to Xu Maozhi. It was just that Xu Maozhi was too young and too sharp. Many people didn't accept him, and the emperor was using this opportunity to shut them up.
Xu Maozhi looked up. "Dossiers related to Xie Xiuxian."
"So many?" Yi Qing was surprised.
"These are only the ones after he became the Duke of the State."
"What about the ones before he became the Duke?"
Xu Maozhi looked around and lowered his voice. "They were all destroyed during the rebellion of the deposed emperor."
Yi Qing suddenly understood. "Xie Xiuxian is really shrewd."
"Otherwise, how could he become a duke from a commoner?" Xu Maozhi sighed.
"By the way, I heard that Xie Xiuxian was in the Guo family before the rebellion of the deposed emperor. Later, he executed the entire Guo family in the name of justice. Are there any descendants of the Guo family?"
Xu Maozhi looked a bit disappointed. "I thought of the Guo family at first, but there are really no descendants. At that time, Xie Xiuxian was the son-in-law of the Guo family, and the Guo family trusted him very much. When he executed the Guo family, all the blood relatives of the Guo family were there. He even killed his own wife and children."
Yi Qing was shocked. "Then... whose son is Lord Xie?"
"He's the son of one of Xie Xiuxian's concubines."
Yi Qing thought that Xie Xiuxian was really heartless. The Guo family had given Xie Xiuxian such a good status and position. They must have treated him well, but he had executed the entire Guo family, including his wife and children.
"Is it possible that someone else is avenging the Guo family?" Yi Qing guessed.
"I thought so too, but it's almost impossible to investigate," Xu Maozhi said, handing the dossier to Yi Qing. "This is the on - site report of Xie Hongning's death. Take a look."
Yi Qing took it and looked. "He didn't return after drinking? Wasn't Xie Hongyi buried yet?"
The case hadn't been solved yet, and the Xie family was still trying to find Xie Hongyi's heart and liver so that they could be buried together. According to the current regulations, people who were in mourning for a close relative were not allowed to drink.
"Yes. Xie Hongning didn't have an official position originally. After his elder brother Xie Hongyi passed away, there was no one from the Xie family in the court. In order to replace his brother's official position, Xie Hongning took the imperial wine that the emperor had rewarded him with and went to see the Minister of Personnel," Xu Maozhi explained.
"Isn't the Minister of Personnel Ke Shanlong? He is very strict in his work. Why did he see Xie Hongning at this time?" Yi Qing was a bit confused.
Xu Maozhi smiled. "Lord Ke is indeed very strict in his work, but he has a hobby. He really likes wine. He doesn't drink much, but he just likes it."
Yi Qing thought that Ke Shanlong was really a contradictory person. "Xie Hongning shouldn't have made such a mistake."
"He went secretly."
Yi Qing nodded. It seemed that the Xie family was really desperate for official positions. "Was Ke Shanlong arrested?"
"Ke Shanlong met Xie Hongning in a restaurant, but he didn't drink with Xie Hongning. He left with the wine that Xie Hongning gave him. After that, Xie Hongning drank alone in the restaurant. The waiter and the shopkeeper of the restaurant can testify," Xu Maozhi said.
Yi Qing looked at the record in the dossier. "Xiangyu Restaurant? Where is it?"
"It's not far from the Ke family."
"He drank alone and was killed after leaving the restaurant. It's really a clean job," Yi Qing said.
"So, this must be a pre - meditated plan specifically targeting the Xie family," Xu Maozhi said.
Yi Qing closed the dossier. "The other party is so meticulous. If they wanted to deal with the Xie family, they could have done it long ago. Why wait until now?"
"It's obvious. If it was before, this case would surely be investigated strictly. Now, the Xie family has a bad reputation, and no one cares about them," Xu Maozhi had already thought this through.
"I don't think it's just that. If it was just that, they wouldn't have used such a cruel method," Yi Qing said.
Xu Maozhi rolled his eyes. "You mean... they have other plans?"
"Anyway, they managed to do everything so perfectly and used such a method. They must have their own plans," Yi Qing started to analyze the murderer's psychology. "I suggest you investigate the matter of the Guo family back then again."
"Can we investigate it?" Xu Maozhi looked at Yi Qing. "The Guo family was the prime minister of the deposed emperor. The Guo family supported the deposed emperor's accession to the throne back then, and they have always been called traitors."