Ruan Rong

Ugh~

With a long series of shouts, the twenty-two riders gradually stopped outside the Ministry of Justice's main hall—to provide Ruan Gu with a horse, one guard was left at the Ruan Residence, so there were still twenty-two riders.

The guards were fine, all skilled in horsemanship and archery, but the delicate Ruan Gu was also capable of such riding skills, which made Sun Shaozong quite impressed.

Unlike the men of this era, he didn't look down on women from the bottom of his heart, so after dismounting, he gave Ruan Gu a thumbs up and sincerely praised, "Miss, your riding skills are truly excellent. I was initially worried you'd fall behind, but unexpectedly, you're a woman who doesn't yield to men."

Hearing the words 'a woman who doesn't yield to men,' Ruan Gu's little mouth couldn't close with joy, but she stubbornly put on an indifferent, arrogant look, raising her nose and saying, "This is nothing! If it weren't for learning your Da Zhou's rules in recent years, every woman in our Qian Xiang Country could ride wild horses and draw strong bows!"

As she spoke, she also dismounted nimbly, strode to the steps, and shouted to the gatekeeper, "Please inform Detective Li Jiuming that an old friend..."

She originally only wanted to say 'the son of an old friend,' but the corner of her eye caught Sun Shaozong following up, so she temporarily changed her mind and generously announced, "Say that the daughter of an old friend, Ruan Rong, requests an audience."

Seeing that each of this group of people was riding horses and carrying swords, the gatekeeper guessed that they had a significant background, so he didn't dare to make things difficult for them. He respectfully responded and hurried inside to report.

Ruan Rong turned her head and waited expectantly for a long while, but Sun Shaozong never asked anything. Finally, she couldn't help but pout and said, "Hey! Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"

Sun Shaozong smiled slightly, "Ruan Rong, that name is much nicer than Ruan Gu."

Ruan Rong immediately revealed two rows of silver teeth with joy, still a little embarrassed as she explained, "I didn't mean to deceive you, but a girl's name is not something you should tell a stranger."

"So, we're friends now?"

"Of course!"

Ruan Rong patted her chest with a heroic spirit, "If you encounter any trouble in Qinglin Prefecture in the future, just mention my... mention my father's name!"

While Sun Shaozong smiled wryly, he also noticed that Ruan Rong's chest was bulging and shaking quite a bit, with a certain scale and shape...

Damn it~

What time is it, and I still have the leisure to peek at a little girl?!

Sun Shaozong cursed himself for being absurd and hurriedly moved his gaze away from Ruan Rong's chest, praising in a double entendre, "Miss Rong is indeed extraordinary, and your father, despite being imprisoned, can still talk and laugh like a normal person."

These words were ostensibly praise, but secretly contained some probing.

As a criminal police officer who was used to seeing life and death, it was not surprising that he could remain calm under pressure, but it was a little strange that Ruan Rong could still be so lively and energetic when such a big thing had happened to her family.

"What's there to be afraid of? At most, he'll just lose his official position—the Great King has been on the throne for more than ten years, and except for unpardonable crimes like treason, he has never severely punished civil officials." Ruan Rong said indifferently, "It would be best if he could clear my father's name. If he really loses his job, it's just right for him to go home and recuperate for a few years."

So that's how it is.

Only then did Sun Shaozong let down his guard.

It was said that the two of them exchanged a few words in front of the steps, and then they saw a thin, middle-aged detective hurrying out from inside. When one foot was inside the door and the other was outside, he couldn't help but be stunned when he saw that there were more than twenty guards beside Ruan Rong.

"Uncle Li, I'm here!"

Ruan Rong had already shouted happily, waving her little hands like olive branches. If it weren't for several yamen runners blocking her, she probably wouldn't have been able to restrain herself from rushing in directly.

A wry smile appeared on Li Jiuming's face, and his steps were slightly hesitant, but he still came over and nodded lovingly to Ruan Rong, "Why did you come here, girl? Don't worry, your father is just implicated. It'll be fine when the case is cleared up."

"That also depends on the Huang..."

Ruan Rong stopped halfway through her words, suddenly remembering that this was in front of the Ministry of Justice, and quickly lowered her voice, continuing, "That also depends on whether the Huang family is obstructing things! Uncle Li, let me introduce you. This is Captain Sun Shaozong of the Great Zhou Embassy, and the people behind him are all his subordinates..."

Hearing the words 'the Huang family,' a hint of worry appeared on Li Jiuming's face, but when he heard the words 'Great Zhou Embassy,' his face changed drastically. He couldn't help but pull Ruan Rong aside and sternly reprimand her.

Although he couldn't hear clearly, Sun Shaozong privately speculated that Li Jiuming was probably blaming Ruan Rong for getting involved with the Zhou people—to be honest, he was actually a little worried that Ruan Rong would 'betray' them and abandon the alliance that didn't even have a written agreement.

Fortunately, Ruan Rong puffed out her cheeks and showed no sign of backing down. Instead, she argued with Li Jiuming back and forth.

After a while, Li Jiuming finally sighed helplessly, turned around, walked up to Sun Shaozong, and said with a straight face, "Captain Sun, for Rong'er's sake, you can ask whatever you want—but I'm telling you in advance, this is a one-time deal!"

Sun Shaozong was overjoyed and was about to ask what clues the Ministry of Justice had discovered, but the words changed at the last moment, and he tentatively asked, "Detective Li, would it be possible for me to go in and examine the assassin's body?"

Rather than asking questions through someone else, he trusted his own eyes and experience more!

"Examine the assassin's body?"

Li Jiuming's brow furrowed, and he was about to refuse when Ruan Rong preemptively grabbed his sleeve and pleaded, "Uncle Li, please help me!"

"Sigh~"

Li Jiuming couldn't help but sigh again, beckoned to Sun Shaozong, and said, "Let's go, but only the two of you are allowed in. Everyone else has to stay outside."

"Thank you, Detective Li!"

Sun Shaozong was overjoyed, thanking Li Jiuming while secretly giving Ruan Rong a thumbs up.

Ruan Rong proudly puffed out her little nose, urging Li Jiuming to lead the two into the Ministry of Justice.

"Even if you examine the body, I'm afraid you won't find any clues."

After entering the gate, Li Jiuming led the way while saying, "Although our Qian Xiang Country can't compare to Da Zhou in terms of outstanding talents, we still have two or three coroners who are good at examining corpses. Even they couldn't find any clues. What can you, an outsider, possibly see?"

Sun Shaozong perfunctorily replied, but from Li Jiuming's words, he analyzed that the Ministry of Justice probably hadn't made any progress so far, and his heart couldn't help but sink a little.

Now he could only hope for his crime-solving experience that far exceeded the times.

The three of them walked windingly for about half an hour before arriving at a secluded courtyard.

Li Jiuming stopped outside the courtyard gate, turned to Ruan Rong, and instructed, "Girl, you should stay here. I'll take Captain Sun in."

Looking at the thin coffins placed in the courtyard, Ruan Rong actually guessed something, but she couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"The things inside are not suitable for girls to see. What if they scare you? How am I going to explain it to your father?" Li Jiuming said seriously, but it had the opposite effect.

On the way here, Sun Shaozong had discovered that Ruan Rong was a strong-willed woman, but Li Jiuming's words vaguely implied contempt for women. How could Ruan Rong accept that?

Sure enough.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Rong immediately tightened her small face and said angrily, "Uncle Li, don't look down on people. So what if I'm a girl? I'm much braver than your Little Brother Li!"

With that, she barged in regardless.

"Rong'er, Rong'er! Come back, come back… This girl!"

Li Jiuming shouted a few times from behind, but he couldn't stop her. Helpless, he had no choice but to follow her in.