A Man No One Dared Offend

Lu Jingsi strode in from outside, dressed in a dark purple official robe.

The man's features were cold and severe, and a chilly frost glinted in his dark eyes. He seemed to have just come from the prison, and an air of grim, merciless menace surrounded him, making him look like an emissary from the underworld.

The air stirred as he walked.

Su Luoqian's delicate, straight nose twitched slightly. She seemed to catch a faint whiff of blood.

Lu Jingsi had yet to rein in his sharp, intimidating aura when he encountered Su Luoqian at the residence gate. He looked her up and down, his swordlike brows knitting slightly. "Where are you going?"

Overawed by his presence, Su Luoqian paused for a moment before answering, "I wanted to find you."

She had not truly wanted to find him, either.

But she simply could not sit still at home. She was desperate for news, and even though she knew she could never get into the Prison Administration, she was unwilling to waste her time waiting at the residence.

So she had thought to wait for him near the Prison Administration.

However late it was, he would have to come home eventually.

At her words, the deep furrow between Lu Jingsi's brows did not ease. "When the Prison Administration is working a case, we can't even be sure of having three meals a day. If you go and wait, you might not see me even by sunset."

Su Luoqian gathered herself. She understood all that, of course, but she...

She simply could not sit still at home.

She pressed her lips together and let the matter drop. "Your Highness, are you...?"

Only then did Lu Jingsi remember what he had returned to the prince's residence for. He turned and strode toward the main courtyard, his voice low. "I came back to change."

Lin Yonghong was currently being held in the prison, and the emperor had just sent someone to summon Lu Jingsi to the palace.

When Lin Yonghong was arrested, guards at the villa had resisted, and blood had been spilled. Some had stained Lu Jingsi's official robe.

He had to return and change before entering the palace.

Su Luoqian knew that now Lin Yonghong had been arrested, the struggle over the case had only truly begun.

Hearing this, she kept close to Lu Jingsi's side and whispered a few words in Zelan's ear along the way.

Zelan took her orders and hurried ahead to the main courtyard.

By the time Lu Jingsi and Su Luoqian reached the main room of the main courtyard, Zelan had already led several servants in preparing all the clothes and accessories Lu Jingsi needed to change into.

After changing, the man turned and left.

Qianzheng Hall.

As expected, the hall was quite lively at the moment.

The emperor sat upon the Nine Dragon Throne, his expression stern and his bearing imposing. One could still see what a striking figure he must have cut in his youth.

At that moment, his eyes were lowered, seemingly intent on the memorial on the desk before him.

In the hall, Zhong Younian knelt on the floor in his official robes, while the crown prince and Prince Jin stood on opposite sides, each with his hands behind his back.

No one in the hall spoke. It was so quiet that a falling needle could have been heard, until the eunuch escorting Lu Jingsi announced in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, Prince Cheng'an has arrived."

Lu Jingsi saluted the emperor but did not speak of his own accord.

A moment passed.

Only then did the emperor speak. "Fourth Brother, you're here? Tell me, how is the case progressing?"

The imperial family now had two proper princes.

The crown prince was the third son; the second had died not long after birth, while the eldest had no interest in court affairs.

Lu Jingsi was not an imperial prince, but the emperor had cherished him since childhood. After calling him that for so long, he had never changed the way he addressed him.

Lu Jingsi cupped his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, Lin Yonghong has been imprisoned."

No sooner had he spoken than Zhong Younian straightened on his knees, gritting his teeth and holding back tears. "Your Majesty, I have served as an honest and upright official all my life, with a clear conscience, yet my daughter fell victim to such cruelty... and those innocent women as well..."

"Your Majesty... I beg Your Majesty to punish the murderer severely."

The emperor sighed softly and glanced at Prince Jin, who stood nearby.

He remained as immovable as a mountain, his face utterly expressionless, as though the matter had nothing to do with him.

The emperor closed the memorial in his hands and asked as if in passing, "What does the crown prince think of this case?"

Zhou Xuheng, having been addressed, bowed and spoke clearly. "Many women have died in the female corpse case, leaving the people in a panic and the streets abuzz with discussion. I believe this case is of great importance, and the verdict and punishment should be decided with care."

How could the others present not already know what the crown prince had said?

But if no one pointed it out directly, Prince Jin would have been more than happy to play the fool while knowing full well what was happening.

What the crown prince had done was state it outright, laying the public's reaction to the case plainly before everyone.

There was no avoiding it, nowhere to hide.

Hearing this, the emperor gave an almost imperceptible nod, though his face still betrayed neither pleasure nor displeasure.

He changed the subject and looked at Prince Jin. "What do you think, Prince Jin?"

Prince Jin saluted before speaking. "Your Majesty, let everything be judged according to the law. I will not plead for leniency."

His appearance of fairness and impartiality, as though leaving everything to the law, only made the emperor more suspicious.

But since Prince Jin had spoken thus, the emperor took the opportunity to move on.

"Prince Jin truly understands the greater good and the principles of justice."

He said, "Fourth Brother, the Prison Administration must have sound reasons and evidence when making arrests. This case is also of great importance. Every detail, however minor, must be thoroughly investigated. You must not take it lightly."

Lu Jingsi saluted and answered with neither servility nor arrogance, "I will do everything in my power."

By the time Lu Jingsi emerged from Qianzheng Hall, it was already evening. He went straight to the Prison Administration.

Among all the civil and military officials at court, the Prison Administration answered only to the emperor, and Lu Jingsi had stripped many court officials of their posts and confiscated their property.

Thus, the prison in Yujing City had become a place the common people did not dare mention even in casual conversation.

Lu Jingsi was even more a man whom the powerful and privileged dared not offend.

The setting sun slanted down, and the lanterns at the prison gate had yet to be lit. The entrance looked all the darker, eerie and silent, striking fear into people's hearts.

Most of those held in the prison were criminals involved in serious or major cases. Once inside, they became disheveled and covered in blood and grime, and getting out alive was harder than hard.

Lin Yonghong was held in one of the cells. Unlike the others, the heir of Prince Jin was still dressed in fine brocade and jade-trimmed robes for the time being, his clothes and hair neat.

The oil lamps in the prison gave off little light. Slow, heavy, forceful footsteps sounded through the dim, yellow-lit corridor.

Lu Jingsi ordered Lin Yonghong brought to the interrogation room.

The interrogation room contained implements of torture, including clubs, whips, and leg-crushing devices, all still bearing traces of blood. Ordinary people would inevitably have been frightened at the sight, but Lin Yonghong remained perfectly at ease, his expression unchanged.

Lu Jingsi had not expected such minor instruments of torture to make a deranged man capable of committing such a brutal crime lay down his arms and surrender.

He spoke in a low voice. "It seems you've grown quite accustomed to the cells in this prison, Heir Lin."

Hearing his voice, Lin Yonghong raised his head and looked over, the malice in his eyes plain to see. "Hah, I was careless after all."

At first, the Capital Prefecture had investigated the female corpse case. Later, the Prison Administration had investigated it in secret, and while Lin Yonghong was getting to know Lu Jingsi, he had simply failed to connect the case with the Prison Administration.

Only now that things had come to this did he understand that Lu Jingsi had deliberately done all those things before. Even so, he was not afraid. "What of it?"

"I'm Prince Jin's eldest legitimate son. What can you do to me?"

Even the emperor had to be wary of Prince Jin, much less the mere Prison Administration.

Seeing that he would not shed a tear until he saw the coffin, Lu Jingsi's gaze grew colder. "I have just come from the palace. Why don't you take a guess at what Prince Jin said in Qianzheng Hall?"

Lin Yonghong narrowed his eyes, his tone hostile. "What do you mean?"