The Ming Dynasty's henchmen, working from nine to five

Chapter 53 Things in the Palace

Xu Jingde nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "The simultaneous silence of the three departments is due to this consideration."

"Although they have different positions, they have reached a consensus on this point: no one wants to see the court in turmoil and the world in chaos."

He paused, his expression turning serious, and said, "This is not merely our over-speculation; given His Majesty's temperament... if this were to happen, it would be an inevitable outcome!"

Shen Lang frowned slightly, lost in thought.

His initial concern was that the murderer's high status would lead to collusion among officials, making it difficult to convict him.

Now, however, there is an even deeper layer of concern.

Emperor Jiajing was mad, and he sat at the same table as Sang Biao.

This person is short-tempered, capricious, adept at manipulating power, and extremely selfish.

To satisfy his own selfish desires, he tacitly allowed Yan Shen to sell official positions and oppress the people, and then calmly pocketed the ill-gotten gains.

If he were a complete idiot, that would be one thing, but he turned out to be an extremely intelligent person.

The fact that the imperial power remained as stable as ever for decades speaks volumes.

Such a person is unlikely to be unaware of the consequences of their actions.

He's just naturally indifferent and doesn't care at all.

He didn't care about the suffering of the common people, he didn't care about the plight of the officials, he didn't care about the succession of the royal family; all he cared about was his throne and that elusive pursuit of immortality.

In Emperor Jiajing's eyes, he was probably the only human in the world, and everyone else was a monkey.

Therefore, Shen Lang felt no sympathy for the theft of the royal family's fortune, but the common people were innocent and should not be implicated.

But when he thought of Huang Cuier and Chen Ruowei, and those girls who were cruelly tortured and killed, he couldn't control the anger in his heart.

Thinking of this, a face whose features were obscured suddenly appeared before Shen Lang's eyes.

With a mocking smile, he gave him a smug look.

"You committed a crime, you killed someone, yet you can still continue to live a luxurious and carefree life."

"On what grounds?"

A cold glint flashed in Shen Lang's eyes.

Putting the overall situation first is absolutely not a reason to let the real culprit go unpunished!

He was determined to get to the bottom of this case no matter what!

"Lord Xu, could you please explain in detail how the Ministry of Justice responded when you inquired about the case?"

Xu Jingde glanced at the jade pendant tassel on the table, slowly nodded, and recalled:

"I first went to the Ministry of Justice, where the official told me that the case was caused by a ghost. I didn't believe it. Why would a ghost leave scratch marks, tooth marks, and whip marks on the victim's body?"

"So I smashed that government office to pieces."

That evening, He Xin, the Minister of Justice, took the initiative to visit and said that the astrologists of the Sixuan Academy had observed the murderer's aura, and that the case was indeed deliberate.

"However, there are fortune tellers outside the register who are covering up for the murderer."

"When a fortune teller intervenes, they use the power of destiny to conceal the secrets of heaven, leaving no trace at the scene."

"Without concrete evidence, a verdict can never be reached. If we continue to pursue this matter, it will only escalate the situation, infuriate His Majesty, and cause turmoil in the court."

At this point, Xu Jingde let out a hoarse chuckle:

He said the case must be resolved as soon as possible and advised me to think more positively and consider the bigger picture.

"A fortune teller conceals the secrets of heaven without leaving a trace?" Shen Lang's heart suddenly stirred.

Although he didn't know much about the specific methods of a fortune teller, judging from Xu Jingde's mysterious and secretive demeanor, he must be no ordinary person.

But he clearly found a jade pendant tassel in Huang Cuier's house, so how can this be explained?

According to Xu Jingde's description of the fortune teller, such an obvious oversight should not have occurred.

Shen Lang pondered for a moment, then suppressed his thoughts. This matter was not urgent; he would think about it more carefully later.

He looked at Xu Jingde and asked, "Does the Embroidered Uniform Guard also agree with the Ministry of Justice's explanation?"

"Deceiving the emperor and aiding the wicked, aren't they afraid that the truth will eventually come out and His Majesty will find out, causing them to lose the emperor's favor?"

Xu Jingde said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard agrees, because they really can't find any evidence."

"Lu Yu did not want to make a big fuss about this matter, so he did not raise any further objections and tacitly allowed He Xin to close the case as soon as possible."

At this point, he thought for a moment and added, "That's how it appears on the surface, but I don't know if there are other plans behind the scenes."

"Lu Yu is an old fox, extremely cunning, I can't see through him."

Shen Lang's eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded thoughtfully.

Xu Jingde shifted his gaze to the table, staring intently at the jade pendant tassel.

Seeing this, Shen Lang picked up the tassel and handed it to him: "Lord Xu, can this be considered evidence?"

Xu Jingde's hands trembled slightly as he carefully took it.

"If this item was indeed found at the crime scene, it must be accounted for."

Shen Lang nodded, then asked, "If I also capture that book of divination masters and hand it over to His Majesty for punishment, would that prevent innocent people from being implicated?"

Xu Jingde was visibly taken aback, then shook his head repeatedly, saying, "What makes you, a mere martial artist, think you can capture a Fate Master?"

Shen Lang narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "What, is the way of the Fate Master far superior to the way of the Martial Artist?"

Xu Jingde said, "I don't know who is stronger or weaker. I only know that before a martial artist transcends the mortal realm and cultivates divine consciousness, he can't even see the shadow of a destiny master."

"If you can't see it, how can you catch it?"

As he spoke, he gave Shen Lang a strange look: "At your age, you couldn't possibly have already broken through to the third rank and transcended the mortal realm, could you?"

Shen Lang's eyes flickered slightly: "How to capture him is my business, Lord Xu need not worry about it."

"Just tell me if this method is feasible."

Xu Jingde tugged at his sparse beard, frowned slightly, and said thoughtfully:

"Although His Majesty is impatient and easily angered, he is also a wise and decisive person. If he can find that fortune teller, he will certainly not resort to violence again."

Shen Lang nodded and said, "In that case, I'm relieved."

Seeing Xu Jingde examining the jade pendant closely, he asked, "Lord Xu, have you noticed anything unusual?"

"This item is made of rare materials, something no ordinary person could possess. Could this confirm the identity of the flower thief?"

Xu Jingde pondered for a moment, then suddenly his gaze sharpened, and he said with surprise and uncertainty, "This tassel pendant...it looks somewhat like an item from the palace!"

Shen Lang was taken aback, then asked in surprise, "From the palace?"

Xu Jingde picked up a gold thread and examined it carefully. He then held the red coral bead up to his eyes and looked at it again and again in the light, his expression becoming increasingly serious.

Shen Lang narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "How confident are you, Lord Xu?"

Royal bloodline, unofficial fortune teller...

If these two things are linked together... then this could really cause a huge uproar!

Xu Jingde examined it for a while, then said in bewilderment, "The way this gold thread is wrapped is indeed a technique used only in the imperial harem."

"And these coral beads, in terms of color, texture, and size, are all styles that are more suited to women."

"Young friend, is this really something you found at the crime scene?"

The women of the imperial harem...

The emperor's concubine?!

Shen Lang was genuinely taken aback.