Female Supremacy and Rise to Power: Lin Shu's Imperial Examination Adventures

Chapter 122 Investigation

The crowd whispered among themselves, their words seemingly aimed at pinning the blame on Feng Qing.

Feng Han also stared at Feng Qing, noticing her pale complexion and disbelief and fear on her face.

Feng Zhao felt that the matter was progressing too smoothly, and that the fact that the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review had discovered the case but failed to report it was already highly suspicious. Therefore, she spoke up:

"Your Majesty, I believe there are many suspicious points in this matter, and it needs to be investigated in detail."

After a moment's thought, Feng Han said in a deep voice, "Issue my decree that the Court of Judicial Review transfer the case to the Ministry of Justice, with Vice Minister Lin Shu in charge. You must give me a result within five days."

The Third Princess Feng Qing and Prime Minister Xu Chen have been temporarily detained in the Ministry of Justice prison, pending further investigation before their release.

"The minister obeys the order."

"Thank you, Your Majesty/Empress!"

……

After the court session, Consort Xu was extremely anxious and requested an audience with the Empress outside the Imperial Study. Feng Han heard the commotion outside, said she would not see her, and then raised her hand to rub her temples.

There are many suspicious points in this matter. If it is said that Feng Qing was the one who sold official positions, she can be somewhat convinced.

Of course, this wasn't because she trusted Feng Qing a lot, but because she knew her own daughter well enough that Feng Qing, with her intelligence, probably wouldn't have thought of such a scheme as murder to silence her.

This seems more like a scheme, but it's unclear who could be so cunning...

……

The painted boat has a three-story cabin.

"Your Majesty, Sun Wei, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, has sent word that the matter has been transferred to the Ministry of Justice. Although His Majesty is furious, he has not yet severely punished him!" A woman in black reported to the person behind the beaded curtain.

Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, illuminating the face of the person behind the beaded curtain. If someone familiar with the person were here, they would surely recognize her as the eldest princess, Feng Xin.

"Feng Qing is truly lucky! I knew that the Empress Dowager was reluctant to do it and originally planned to have that wretched Feng Qing 'commit suicide out of guilt' at the Dali Temple. Who would have thought that she would escape this calamity! Ha! If you want to investigate, then so be it!"

The eldest princess's face darkened, then she sneered and said, "Five days from now, I will order our people in the court to put pressure on the Empress. If there is no evidence by then, I want to see how the Empress will protect her."

After speaking, she looked at the woman in black outside and asked, "Have you taken care of everything?"

"Rest assured, Master, everything has been taken care of!"

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess's expression softened slightly, but then, as if remembering something, she gave another order to the woman in black:

"Tell Li Yun'er to send someone to transport the 'goods'. She can stay in the capital for now. I have other arrangements for her!"

"As ordered!"

……

One day later.

Since Lin Shu took over the case, she went straight to the Ministry of Justice after court to report for duty and organize the materials transferred by the Court of Judicial Review.

Whether the Dali Temple underestimated her because she was new and didn't know anything, or whether there was another reason, the materials they handed over were disorganized. Lin Shu spent a whole day sorting through these materials, but she didn't get any useful information.

In the end, Lin Shu had no choice but to list out the required materials and have the Dali Temple hand them over before noon today. Afterwards, she first interrogated Feng Qing and Xu Chen, who were being held separately.

However, the confessions obtained during the interrogation were completely useless, as both women took the blame upon themselves. Nevertheless, the Third Princess's actions made Lin Shu look at her with newfound respect.

In the end, it was Feng Zhao who came to visit them. After saying something, the two confessed the truth.

After reading the testimony in her hand, Lin Shu confirmed that the Third Princess had indeed used the Prime Minister's private seal to sell official positions, but she had only sold the position of Deputy Salt Commissioner. Moreover, both of them denied the murder.

Lin Shu put down her testimony, glanced at the sky, and realized that noon had already passed. No one from the Dali Temple had yet arrived, so it seemed she would have to make the trip herself.

Then, looking up and seeing Feng Zhao who had not yet left, he raised an eyebrow and said expressionlessly, "Your Highness is so free? Then I would like to trouble Your Highness to accompany me on this journey!"

Feng Zhao followed Lin Shu out of the Ministry of Justice in a daze. It wasn't until they reached the gate of the Dali Temple that she realized she was the tiger that Lin Shu was using to bully others!

After the announcement, Lin Shu and her companion went directly into the Dali Temple. The Dali Temple Minister and his subordinates, upon seeing Feng Zhao arrive, hurriedly bowed and said, "We were unaware of Your Highness's arrival and have failed to greet you properly!"

Feng Zhao waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for formalities.

"I wonder if Your Highness has any important business to attend to today?" Zhao, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review—a third-rank official—appeared to be a rather shrewd old woman.

Feng Zhao looked at Lin Shu, indicating that she was accompanying Lin Shu.

Lin Shu stepped forward, gave a slight bow, and explained her purpose:

"Lord Zhao, the case file on the 'selling official positions' transferred by the Court of Judicial Review is incomplete. I sent a message before I left work yesterday, requesting that it be sent to the Ministry of Justice before noon today, but it has not been delivered yet. The Crown Princess saw that I was troubled by this matter, so she came with me to ask for it!"

Feng Zhao: ...

After Lin Shu finished speaking, she looked at Lord Sun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, behind Lord Zhao, and continued, "I hope Lord Sun can do me a favor. After all, I am on behalf of the Empress and cannot afford to be delayed!"

(The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was of the same rank as Lin Shu, so Lin Shu referred to herself as "this official.")

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review immediately glanced at Lord Sun with sharp eyes. Seeing his flustered expression, he understood what was going on and immediately lowered his stance towards Lin Shu.

"This is my fault. Lord Lin, please wait a moment while I send someone to deliver the necessary items."

"In that case, thank you, Lord Zhao!" Lin Shu nodded, and added, "Do not forget the bodies of the deceased either."

"Of course," Lord Zhao replied.

After Feng Zhao and Lin Shu left, Lord Zhao turned around and gave Lord Sun a stern warning. He then personally ordered someone to hand over all the things that Lin Shu needed.

Lin Shu carefully reviewed the documents, and everything seemed to make sense. The documents indicated that these victims were all killed on their way to their new posts a month ago, and the time of death was approximately one month ago.

Lin Shu then invited several renowned coroners to examine the body, and as expected, they reached different conclusions:

"Your Excellency, the body's skin is white and not completely decomposed. If we assume that the death occurred within the last month, it is reasonable."

However, the situation is different when the bodies are placed in water. The water temperature is too low, which slows down the decomposition of the bodies, and some bodies have already produced cadaveric toxins, which is enough to prove that the time of death was at least three or four months ago.

Therefore, based on our deduction, these people were definitely not killed at the same time!

Lin Shu nodded and ordered everyone to leave. Based on this, it can be inferred that these people did not die before taking office. Perhaps they were silenced as soon as they bought their official positions, leaving only the deputy salt commissioner who was actually sold by the Third Princess as the "trigger"!

……

As evening approached, Lin Shu returned from the court. Before changing out of her court robes, she went straight to her study.

Zi Yi presented the testimony in his hand to Lin Shu, and then methodically reported the matters she had been instructed to handle:

"My lord, when the Third Princess was building the dike in Nanhong County, there was indeed a section of the dike that broke. However, the so-called submerged village was actually washed away by the flood last year, which is not true."

Furthermore, according to people at the Nanhong County post station, there was a boss surnamed Li who frequently visited the Third Princess after the dike breached. However, he always wore a veil and his entire body was completely covered, so no one could see his true face. Moreover, the clues always went cold when they reached the capital...

This is testimony obtained from the investigation!

As Lin Shu listened, she tapped her fingers lightly, then handed a stack of papers to Zi Yi, saying, "Understood. Now, thoroughly investigate the past records of these people, especially from the second half of last year to the present!"

These people were the thirty-six who died in this incident.

Zi Yi accepted the answer and then added:

"My lord, I have two more matters to report:"

Firstly, while investigating Boss Li, my subordinates accidentally discovered that he would transport some items to Long County at the beginning of each month, but there had been no action taken this month.

Secondly: The beggar children planted by Wushuang Pavilion around the capital reported that in the past two months, female beggars under the age of ten in the city have been disappearing without a trace, and even some girls from farming families have been disappearing as well.

"You mean these two things are related?" Lin Shu asked confidently, though she didn't ask.

Child trafficking is a serious crime, especially when it involves girls. If the crime is verified, the consequences could extend to the entire family.

"Alright, continue investigating these two matters. Report back immediately if there is any suspicion!"

"As ordered!"

……

Meanwhile, in Li Huanzhi's courtyard.

"Brother! I've come to see you!" Li Yun'er, who hadn't seen him for many days, entered the mansion directly without announcing herself and went straight to Li Huanzhi's courtyard.

Li Huanzhi had been feeling down lately, and looking up at his younger sister's thin appearance, he frowned even more: "Why have you lost weight again? And why did you finally come today after all this time?"

Li Yun'er smiled playfully: "Hehe! I just missed my brother!"

"All you do is talk!" Li Huanzhi laughed and scolded, then, as if remembering something, he suddenly offered a hesitant admonition:

"Yun'er, I've heard everything from your mother and father. You should probably give up that business you're currently running! I'm really worried something might happen to you!"

The smile on Li Yun'er's face vanished, and she said calmly, "I know what I'm doing."

Upon hearing this, Li Huanzhi had a thousand words in his heart, but he didn't know how to express them.

The atmosphere instantly became heavy, and the silence lasted for a while before Li Yun'er broke the deadlock, assuring him that she would be careful and would not hesitate to back down if given the chance. Only then did Li Huanzhi feel a little relieved.

Seeing that Li Huanzhi's expression had softened slightly, Li Yun'er feigned confusion and asked:

"Brother, do you know what Lin Shu has been busy with lately?"

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