Chapter 208 - Chapter 208: 208. The Death of Ning Jing

Chapter 208: 208. The Death of Ning Jing

Translator: 549690339

Ning Jing heard a cold laugh coming from the next room, where two men were talking.

“Why did he have to pick Su Liang of all people, that bitch!”

“I thought there was a master protecting her, but it went so smoothly!” “Did he really send the master to protect Su Liang? Serves him right, haha.”

“Would that Su Liang suspect our Master…”

“She has no evidence! Let’s go!”

The neighboring room returned to silence.

Ning Jing waited for about a quarter of an hour before going over.

He entered through the back window and was greeted by a strong scent of blood, as well as a faint whiff of aphrodisiac incense.

After taking an antidote made by Su Liang, Ning Jing saw the body he had arranged to replace him in the dim moonlight.

The lower half of the body was on the bed, the upper half hung over the edge, and the head was on the ground. The waist had been slashed several times, almost cut in half.

Bright red blood spread across the floor, forming a dark lake.

Ning Jing stood in a clean corner, not going closer. He could see two lines of bloody footprints on the ground.

Besides the wounds on the waist, there was also a stab wound on the chest.

A large patch of blood splatter had stained the nearby bed curtains, covering the blood drops left by the assassin that night.

Ning Jing carefully approached, sliced off both hands of the body, grabbed one of them, dipped it in blood, and wrote the character “Cheng” on the inner part of the bedsheet. He did not complete it, leaving out two strokes.

Then, Ning Jing tore off a piece of the bed curtain, wrapped up the two hands, and left the tragic scene.

He went out of the mansion for a bit, and when he came back, he no longer had anything in his hands.

Daylight came.

The gate of Su Mansion remained closed, and passersby took a glance but didn’t notice anything unusual. Su Liang’s house was large, but only she and Ning Jing lived there. She wasn’t at home, and Ning Jing rarely went out.

The weather today was overcast, and thick dark clouds filled the sky as if a thunderstorm was approaching.

The carriage from Marquis Zhong Xin’s Mansion parked outside Su Mansion, with Qi Jun as the coachman. Another carriage followed, driven by Qi Yan, carrying a gnarled pomegranate tree and several servants to help, blocking the entire alley.

“Master, it seems Ning Jing didn’t go to the Ministry of Revenue today, and the door is bolted from the inside,” said Qi Jun, who had once been Ning Jing’s double and knew his daily routine, finding it quite strange. As it was not a day off, Ning Jing would always lock the door from the outside when leaving.

Xing Yusheng lifted the curtain of the carriage. “Maybe he took leave? It’s even better if he’s at home. Bring the tree in. I mentioned it to him yesterday, and I wonder if he has chosen where to plant it.”

Qi Jun leaped over the high courtyard wall and opened the door from inside.

Xing Yusheng got off the carriage and entered the mansion on foot.

Qi Yan led Xing Family’s servants, slowly pulling the carriage and transporting the pomegranate tree into the mansion.

“Take it straight to the garden!” Xing Yusheng ordered. “I’ll go find Ning Jing to see if he’s there.”

Qi Yan took the servants to deliver the tree, while Qi Jun followed Xing Yusheng toward the main courtyard.

As they entered, Xing Yusheng joked, “I heard last night my father-in-law gave Ning Jing a good talking-to, urging him to be more responsible about the marriage. Otherwise, he’ll be forced to become a monk!”

Marquis Zhong Xin’s garden was in full bloom, with several rare flower varieties found in the capital city. Xing Yusheng had been picking flowers early in the morning and delivering them personally to Lin Xueqing for several days, and today was no exception.

Xing Yusheng had originally planned to bring Lin Xueqing along to deliver the tree to Ning Jing, but she had plans to go shopping with her sisters-in-law.

Xing Yusheng had found out about Ning Jing being lectured by Lin Shuzhi the night before, through Lin Xueqing’s casual banter.

Qi Jun’s smile froze on his face when he saw the glaring bloodstains under the eaves, and he immediately shouted, “Ning Jing!”

“Why are you yelling like that? He’s not deaf!” Xing Yusheng said. As he walked forward, he saw the bloodstains on the ground and his face paled. “Ning Jing!”

The two rushed over. Qi Jun protected Xing Yusheng and kicked open the half-open door to Ning Jing’s room.

A chill breeze blew.

The sight of blood filling the room almost made Xing Yusheng faint.

Qi Jun stormed in, went around the folding screen, and saw the corpse lying in the pool of blood by the bed. He cried out in a lost voice, “Ning Jing!”

“Impossible… this can’t be!” Xing Yusheng, deathly pale, stood in the middle of the blood, staring at the gruesome corpse, shaking his head. “He’s very skilled, how could he be dead… That’s not him… It must not be Ning Jing! Ajun, you have to check, is it really him?”

However, from their angle, they could clearly see the face on the ground with closed eyes, undoubtedly Ning Jing.

Xing Yusheng’s gaze shifted, noticing the bloody arm in the puddle without a hand…

He leaned on the nearby table to avoid fainting.

Qi Jun got closer and found that the other arm on the corpse was also missing its hand, both having been chopped off.

Then, Qi Jun saw a blurred word stained with blood on the bedsheet and shuddered, blurting out, “It was the Eldest Prince!”

Qi Yan looked puzzled, “What are you doing at the Ministry of Justice?”

Qi Jun took a deep breath, shook his head with a grim expression, “Brother, you’ll understand when you go to the door.” Then he followed Xing Yusheng out.

Qi Yan walked to the gallery with an inexplicable expression, looked at the blood on the ground, frowned, and when he saw the situation in the room, he couldn’t believe it, his eyes widened, “Young Master Ning!”

When the officials of the Ministry of Justice received the news of Ning Jing’s murder, they doubted their own ears.

As a court official killed in his own home, it was definitely a major case. Almost the entire Ministry of Justice was dispatched to hurrv to the Su Mansion.

The news spread quickly: Ning Jing, the top scholar, was killed at home last night.

The whole city was in shock.

Lin Xueqing, who was shopping, heard Ning Jing’s name from passers-by. At first, she didn’t hear clearly what had happened. When she did, she was dumbfounded and couldn’t believe it. She rushed to the Su Mansion without a care.

Xing Yusheng kneeled in front of the Imperial Palace during the day, seeking an audience with the emperor.

When Duanmu Yi received the report, he didn’t know what Xing Yusheng wanted to do at first, so he let people investigate and quickly report back.

As a result, when he learned that Ning Jing had died, the pen in Duanmu Yi’s hand rolled to the ground, and he remained silent for a long time.

In the end, Duanmu Yi did not allow Xing Yusheng to enter the palace, but instead sent someone to tell him that the Ministry of Justice would handle the case fairly and investigate the truth, and that he should go back immediately.

Xing Yusheng instinctively felt that Duanmu Yi knew that the death of Ning Jing was related to his son and wanted to protect Duanmu Cheng. He wanted to kneel and not leave at first, but on second thought, he realized that someone might destroy evidence and hurried back to the Su Mansion.

When Duanmu Yi learned that Xing Yusheng had left, he summoned Duanmu

Chen with a dark face.

Duanmu Chen, who had been living a secluded life recently, had just heard about Ning Jing’s death and felt it was unlikely. He wanted to go and see for himself, but it wasn’t the right time for him to come forward.

When someone from the palace arrived, Duanmu Chen hurried to the palace.

As soon as Duanmu Yi saw Duanmu Chen, he brought up Ning Jing, but did not doubt the authenticity of his death, only asking who he thought would kill Ning Jing.

Duanmu Chen lowered his eyes, “Your son, dare not say.”

Duanmu Yi snorted coldly, “Speak up!”

Duanmu Chen then let out a deep sigh, “The minister still doesn’t know how

Ning Jing died, but if there is any suspicion, the minister thinks that the Eldest

Prince, the Wan Family, and… the Fifth Prince all have motives to kill Ning Jing.”

Duanmu Yi was well aware of the great enmity between Duanmu Cheng and Su Liang. Since Su Liang was not in the capital city, killing her fiancé Ning Jing would be the most ruthless way to take revenge on her.

Although the Wan Family’s current decline was due to Duanmu Yi’s arrangement, the person who really suppressed the Wan Family and left them with no resistance was Su Liang. Moreover, Duanmu Yi had long guessed that Wan Shan’s “stroke” was caused by Su Liang.

Since the Wan Family couldn’t kill Su Liang, choosing to kill Ning Jing to vent their anger had a clear motive.

And Duanmu Che, who wanted to get Su Liang, had done some foolish things that revealed his unscrupulous nature. If he hadn’t given up on Su Liang, it would make sense for him to want to remove the obstacle of Ning Jing.

“I had thought that with Ning Jing’s wealth, there must be a master by his side.” Duanmu Yi said coldly.

Duanmu Chen sighed deeply again, “After the father told me what Su Liang did in Xuanbei City, I guessed that there was a master by her side, otherwise it would not have gone so smoothly. Now it seems that maybe Ning Jing had sent his own guardian to protect Su Liang.”

Ever since Duanmu Chen met Ning Jing, he had always suspected that Ning Jing was more than just a literati, but he had never found any evidence. The possibility that Ning Jing had a master by his side was much greater than the fact that he himself, a son of a wealthy merchant family who had been bullied and expelled from his home, was an extraordinary master.

It’s worth mentioning that mastering martial arts does not happen in a short period of time.

Therefore, Duanmu Yi thought that Ning Jing managed to regain control of the Ning Family because he met someone with great skills after reaching rock bottom.

Even after Duanmu Chen finished his speculation, he believed that Ning Jing must be genuinely dead.

The fake death he initially suspected was becoming increasingly implausible. Ning Jing and Su Liang were just about to marry. Where could they find a corpse that looks exactly like him?

“Wan Cong.” Duanmu Yi looked at Duanmu Chen and said those two words.

Duanmu Chen immediately understood. No matter whether it was Duanmu Cheng or Duanmu Che who did it, they couldn’t be linked to the royal family for the sake of saving face. So, Wan Shan’s eldest son Wan Cong would be the best suspect. Originally, Wan Cong was already under heavy suspicion. Even if it was not him, the “evidence must be conclusive”.

“I will make the arrangements at once.” Duanmu Chen said respectfully, “However, I heard that it was the crown prince Xing Yusheng who first discovered Ning Jing’s corpse. If he saw something, he would definitely tell Su Liang.”

“I will send someone to call her back. She is a smart person, she knows what to do.” Duanmu Chen said coldly, “If she doesn’t care about the royal family and me, she’s not worth our time anyway. Off you go. When you meet Xing Yusheng, tell him not to talk nonsense.”

“Yes, I will take my leave.” Duanmu Chen bowed before turning around, looking a bit somber.

Although Wan Cong was highly suspicious, he felt it wasn’t him. The person he suspected most of killing Ning Jing was Duanmu Che…

But clearly, Duanmu Yi still wanted to protect Duanmu Che and his already abandoned son, Duanmu Cheng.

As he walked out of the Imperial Study, Duanmu Chen pondered a question: Did Duanmu Yi arrange for a “suspect” so quickly because he genuinely cared for his two sons or was it just for saving the royal family’s face?

Duanmu Chen sighed deeply. After Duanmu Ao’s death, he felt deeply troubled, like he was treading on thin ice. He felt that Duanmu Cheng’s faction intended to kill him, and even Duanmu Che would not tolerate him.

There were indeed troubles along the way, but he had well-trained masters protecting him, and no accidents had occurred.

What he never expected was that Ning Jing would die.

Duanmu Chen wondered how Su Liang would react when she found out about Ning Jing’s accident. Even though he suspected that Su Liang and Ning Jing didn’t actually want to get married, the two of them had the deepest friendship and understanding he had ever seen in his life.

Given Su Liang’s personality… Duanmu Chen looked up at the overcast sky and felt that a storm would come when Su Liang returned.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice were astonished by the scene and kept silent after discovering the bloody character on the ground.

Lin Xueqing was stopped by Qi Yan and did not see Ning Jing’s corpse. She cried to the point of almost fainting and was taken back home by Xing Yusheng.

When Lin Shuzhi saw Xing Yusheng, he wanted to ask something but couldn’t utter any words. He couldn’t help but cry, tears streaming down his face.

“Uncle, please take care.” Xing Yusheng whispered.

Lin Shuzhi murmured, “After Ajing was expelled from home and went missing, I was always worried about him… I had a terrible dream where he left, calling me master and saying goodbye, but I couldn’t see his face clearly… He came back safe and sound, and I was truly happy. Just last night, I told him to stop being like this and how wonderful it would be for him to be with Xiaoliang… How wonderful it would be…”

Ning Jing sat alone on the top of Wangxiang Mountain, gazing northwards, with dark clouds swirling above his head.

A newly engraved Spirit Tablet was beside him, with five characters engraved on it, “Ning Jing’s Spirit Tablet”.

He looked down at the tablet and whispered, “In this world, there are some who care about you. Though it might be late, let them send you off this time.” As he spoke, his gaze shifted back to the north, “I wonder if she would cry if I were dead….”