Ling Yuanbao

Fatalities weren't unheard of in Fukang Ward, but they were rare.

Even rarer were those involving court officials, a truly uncommon occurrence in the entirety of Dragon Abyss City. A sixth-rank official held a significant position, one that granted them a seat in court assemblies. This meant the case was bound to alarm the Emperor.

But Liang Yue's surprise stemmed even more from the deceased.

From the moment the brothers left the Zhen family, returned to Peaceful Lane, practiced their boxing, and then came here, no more than an hour had passed in total. The person who had been sitting there perfectly fine just moments ago was now dead?

It was truly quite sudden.

At this moment, the Imperial Capital Guard from Fukang Ward, who had arrived upon hearing the signal arrow, had surrounded the Zhen family residence. Some were controlling the scene in the courtyard, but no one had entered the study where the body was found.

"Why aren't you going in?" Liang Yue asked.

"We're waiting for people from the Ministry of Justice," Chen Ju replied. "Brother Hu hasn't arrived yet. It's better if we juniors don't tamper with the scene."

"Don't the Imperial Capital Guard also have the authority to handle cases?" Liang Yue asked.

This was his first time encountering a murder case, especially one involving someone he had just met. It was inevitable that he would feel a sense of curiosity and want to investigate quickly.

"Although our Imperial Capital Guard has the authority to apprehend and handle criminal matters, it's more focused on maintaining public order and stability. When we encounter suspicious cases or murders, we still have to hand them over to the Ministry of Justice for investigation. They are the ones who do this," Chen Ju explained. "If we rashly enter the scene, it's possible that if the Ministry of Justice doesn't handle the case well, they might even bite back and accuse us of unauthorized entry and destroying clues."

"Is the relationship between the Imperial Capital Guard and the Ministry of Justice not good?" Liang Yue asked.

Listening to Chen Ju's tone, such instances of shirking responsibility and passing the buck must have happened frequently for him to be so cautious.

As newcomers to the Imperial Capital Guard, neither of them had much experience. However, Chen Ju was from a noble family and was more knowledgeable. His family members had likely advised him on various matters before he came, so he knew more.

"It used to be alright, I think. The Ministry of Justice was short-handed and relied heavily on the Imperial Capital Guard for assistance with investigations and stakeouts. They often needed our help, and their attitude was decent," Chen Ju said with a rather displeased expression. "Ever since Liang Fuguo was promoted from Minister of Justice to the current Left Prime Minister, the status of the Ministry of Justice has risen accordingly. Their authority directly surpasses that of the Three Judicial Offices, and even independent yamen like the Imperial Stables and the Evil Extermination Division have to show them some respect, let alone our Imperial Capital Guard, which has the lowest status. The people from the Ministry of Justice now boss the Imperial Capital Guard around and treat us like servants."

"Hiss..." Liang Yue winced as he listened.

Hearing this, it seemed the Imperial Capital Guard was at the bottom of the food chain among the various yamen...

And he himself was currently at the very bottom of the Imperial Capital Guard yamen.

He shouldn't dwell on this.

The status of a yamen was closely related to the status of the top officials. Currently, Left Prime Minister Liang Fuguo was in charge of the Ministry of War, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Works, the three external ministries. The Ministry of Justice was his most relied-upon foundation, so it was normal for its people to be arrogant.

"Actually, if we trace our Imperial Capital Guard upwards, our boss is the Dinggou King Jiang Zhenye, who commands the Dragon Abyss Three Guards! He might not necessarily be afraid of the Left Prime Minister," Chen Ju continued. "But we are like stepchildren under the Dinggou King, while the Ministry of Justice is the foundation under the Left Prime Minister. The level of importance is completely incomparable."

The Imperial Guard, the Imperial City Guard, and the Imperial Capital Guard together formed the Dragon Abyss Three Guards, respectively guarding the Palace City, Imperial City, and Outer City of the Divine Capital. These three guards were under the command of the Emperor's most trusted Dinggou King Jiang Zhenye, and their importance decreased from top to bottom.

The elite troops were all in the Imperial City. The Imperial Capital Guard received the least money and did the most complicated work. Saying they were like stepchildren was not an exaggeration.

"In short, just remember..." After speaking, Chen Ju waved his hand and said, "When we encounter lackeys from the Ministry of Justice, just stay far away, and everything will be fine. It saves us from getting into trouble."

The two of them were talking at the entrance of the Zhen family residence and didn't pay attention to their surroundings. As they were talking, Chen Ju suddenly felt that the people around them were looking behind him, and a strange chill ran down the back of his neck.

He turned his head sharply and found that a woman in black had appeared behind him at some point.

She was half a head taller than Chen Ju, and her apricot-shaped eyes held a sharp glint, staring coldly at him.

The woman's skin was as fair as snow, and her black hair was tied back, giving her a very capable and neat appearance. Her looks could be described as bright-eyed and white-toothed, with a hint of cold beauty in her heroic demeanor. With a full bosom, long legs, and a slender waist, her figure was quite striking. She wore a black and red lined outfit and carried a long weapon wrapped in cloth on her back.

As soon as Chen Ju saw her beauty, a foolish grin appeared on his face. "Where are you from, young lady? The Dragon Abyss Imperial Capital Guard is handling a case here, unauthorized entry is not allowed..."

"Get away from me!" the woman snapped in a low voice.

Immediately, she walked to the center of the courtyard and held up a token in her hand: "Ministry of Justice Ninth Rank Constable, Ling Yuanbao. I am here to investigate a murder case. All irrelevant personnel, step aside!"

Behind her, a team of people in black robes with sabers followed closely, holding iron chains and leading fierce dogs, entering in a menacing, single file.

In the inner room of that strangely laid out study, Zhen Changzhi's body was still hanging from the beam, not yet taken down.

After kneeling in the courtyard for a full hour, Zhen Xiaohao found that it was getting late and the study had not been lit, so he went in to check. As soon as he entered the room, he discovered his father hanging there.

He was struck by lightning at the time and ran to the door to call out to the only servant of the Zhen family. The old doorman went out to find someone and happened to encounter three Imperial Capital Guards patrolling the street, which is how the people from the Fukang Ward station were alerted.

Several Imperial Capital Guards stood guard at the door, not allowing even the Zhen family members to enter again, so the body was still hanging there and had not been taken down.

When Ministry of Justice Constable Ling Yuanbao entered the area, this was the scene she saw.

After carefully examining the surroundings, Ling Yuanbao instructed her subordinates: "Take the body down, the coroner will perform an autopsy, and the Five Spirit Hounds will search for any true energy fluctuations."

"Woof!" Immediately, a subordinate constable led the tall, black and shiny fierce dog, sniffing around inside and outside the room.

The body was placed on the ground, and a specialized coroner stepped forward to examine it, quickly concluding: "Lord Zhen's throat bone was shattered by a hard blow, he did not hang himself."

"It really is murder," Ling Yuanbao murmured.

She walked to the window and carefully examined the latches on both windows. They were both intact and inserted from the inside, with no signs of damage.

"The Five Spirit Hounds have sniffed around, there are no true energy fluctuations, so no Qi Refiner was involved," another subordinate reported.

The Ministry of Justice's Five Spirit Hounds are extremely sensitive to demonic energy and the spiritual power of cultivators. If a cultivator used a divine ability, it would be difficult to completely erase the aura in a short time, and the Five Spirit Hounds would be able to smell it.

"No demons or Qi Refiners were involved, killed by a hard blow, so the murderer is a martial artist," Ling Yuanbao quickly concluded. "Even a martial artist with high cultivation doesn't have the means to pass through walls or become invisible. Since the windows show no signs of damage, the only way in was through the door."

She turned around and asked, "Who has been in here today?"

The old doorman recalled with difficulty: "Since the master returned home, only Lord Liao from the Ministry of Justice and one of the young master's classmates and his older brother have been here..."

"Liao Zhongchun?" Ling Yuanbao raised an eyebrow slightly.

As far as she knew, there was only one official named Liao in the Ministry of Justice, a director, who was also her superior.

"It was Ministry of Justice Director Liao Zhongchun, Lord Liao. He is a good friend of my master and they have known each other for many years," the old doorman said. "However, he came quite early."

"It's Liang Peng! It must be him!" Zhen Xiaohao suddenly cried out with red eyes.

"I was kneeling outside the whole time, directly facing the study door! Since those two brothers left, no one else has entered or left, and then when I went in to check, my father was dead!" He growled, "It must have been those two brothers who killed him!"

"Liang Peng is the name of your classmate?" Ling Yuanbao asked.

"Yes, he and my young master had a conflict at the academy, and the young master was punished by kneeling in the courtyard because of it. Then his older brother brought him here to apologize, and the master met them in the study. It's true that after those two brothers left, the master never came out again, and no one else came either..." the old doorman said slowly.

"Are either of them martial artists?" Ling Yuanbao asked again.

After eliminating other possibilities, the biggest suspects were this pair of brothers. If they had martial arts cultivation, the murderer could be almost immediately identified.

"I'm not sure about that. The younger one looks frail and doesn't seem like someone who has practiced martial arts. The older one, however, looks quite energetic," the old doorman described very clearly.

Zhen Xiaohao turned and pointed to a person at the door, saying, "Liang Peng's older brother looks similar to that person."

"It's not just similar, it is him!" The old doorman also looked back and immediately said with certainty, "The person who came just now was him, he just changed his clothes."

Looking at his confident expression, it was as if he was saying his eyes had photographic memory.

At the entrance, Liang Yue, curious about the case, was peeking in. Seeing the old gatekeeper look at him, he smiled slightly.

Well now.

Just a moment ago, he was talking about Yue and Peng, and now he's showing off his good memory.

"Master said that murderers always like to return to the crime scene." Ling Yuanbao's eyes lit up, and she hit her palm with her fist. "It really is true!"

Thank you, Che Che, for becoming the seventh Honored Alliance Leader of this book. Thank you, thank you.

I saw some comments yesterday saying that the protagonist's righteousness conflicts with him shielding his younger siblings. I'd like to clarify that I don't think being an upright person conflicts with fighting back when bullied or seeking revenge when wronged. It's not that seeking revenge in a reasonable way makes one unjust. In this matter, it's not that potentially violating the law makes one unjust. Specific issues need specific analysis. There might be some exaggeration for comedic effect, but overall, I don't think there's anything wrong with it.