Chapter 22: The Witchcraft Doll

“Ding dong…”

The System issued a new task again.

At such a tense moment, it still bothered to give a task?

But Xiao Rui had no time to check it. He met Xu Xianyang’s gaze calmly and said in a grave tone, “Is your honor’s thin face more precious than five lives?”

“Very good, very good.” Xu Xianyang laughed instead of getting angry. “I never expected the Seventh Prince to be so bold and capable, hiding his depths. I admire that. Since it is so, then I shall await your Seventh Prince’s brilliant move.”

After saying this, Xu Xianyang stood up, flicked his sleeve, and left directly.

Xiao Rui drank the wine. Although he knew offending Xu Xianyang was a fatal trouble for him, he truly couldn’t force himself to lie through his teeth and ignore those five miserably dead lives.

“Lord Xu seemed very unhappy.” Xiao Feng asked. “What kind of secret talk were you two having? Something about face and lives?”

“Really? He might have had an urgent need.” Xiao Rui said with a smile.

Not long after, the Xu Manor steward came to say that the Grand Secretariat had important matters to handle, and Lord Xu had already entered the palace. Xiao Rui and Xiao Feng then said their goodbyes and left.

Hearing that Xiao Rui and the other had already left, Xu Xianyang stayed in his study, his expression cold and gloomy.

“My lord, shall we move against Xiao Rui?” A man’s voice came from the shadows.

Xu Xianyang brimmed with killing intent. “A newborn calf fears no tiger. Since he wants to provoke me, I’ll play along with him. After all, he is an Imperial Prince. An assassination would enrage Emperor Xia. Emperor Xia is inscrutable; it’s best not to alarm him. Go, send experts to his residence to plant something.”

“Yes, my lord!”

…

Only after boarding the carriage did Xiao Rui close his eyes to check the task.

“New Task: Vindicate the dead and clear their names. Time: 30 days. Reward upon completion: Advent Points +10. This task is mandatory. Failure will result in point deduction based on effort. Not attempting the task will deduct 90 points.”

“As expected!”

Xiao Rui knew it. The System definitely wanted him to continue solving the case and clear the names of the deceased. Its nature would never let him collude with Xu Xianyang.

Xiao Rui checked his current information:

Name: Xiao Rui

Identity: Seventh Prince of the Great Xia Kingdom

Talent: Does being a transmigrator count? If not, then none.

Advent Points: 90/100

“Finally, it’s match point. Completing this task will let me see what the System can actually give me.” Xiao Rui felt a little excited.

However, having now directly torn up relations with Xu Xianyang, what awaited him was Xu Xianyang’s fierce retaliation. A Third Realm Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, who also served as Minister of Works… Thinking about it, Xiao Rui felt his skills weren’t high, but his rogue’s courage was enormous!

His good mood instantly vanished.

“System, are you deliberately trying to get me killed?” Xiao Rui protested.

The System: ??

But how could he clear the names of the deceased? He had no evidence.

As Xiao Rui thought more about it, the worse it seemed. This was like buying gasoline, then turning around to look and thinking, ‘Crap, I don’t have a car!’

“If I go surrender to Xu Xianyang now, would he believe me? I really should have been more flexible, pretended to get along with him. My temper just can’t stand any nonsense.”

Xiao Rui shook his head self-deprecatingly, but his mind was tumultuous with many thoughts and schemes.

The next day, around noon.

Xiao Yan suddenly rushed to the residence in a hurry.

“Seventh Brother, it’s bad. Steward Cao is dead.” Xiao Yan said, panting.

“Dead?” Xiao Rui’s eyes widened, his voice rising a few notes.

Xiao Yan nodded. “After investigating Steward Cao last time, I secretly sent people to watch him, afraid he might run. I never expected him to suddenly drown in the river this morning. Constables from Liuhe County all went. The autopsy result was drowning.”

“Crap!” Xiao Rui cursed loudly. He had really underestimated Xu Xianyang’s ruthlessness. Directly silencing the witness. With Steward Cao dead, the Wang Family murder case became even more of a headless fly.

“Seventh Brother, what should we do? Just watch the real murderer roam free?” Xiao Yan said indignantly.

Xiao Rui sighed. “I don’t have any leads right now. Oh, right, I went to see Xu Xianyang yesterday. He already knows I’m investigating the murders.”

“What?” Xiao Yan looked stunned, unable to speak for a long moment.

“I knew it. I shouldn’t have let you go see Xu Haoran. See, something happened, didn’t it?” Xiao Yan said anxiously. “Should we report this to our Imperial Father?”

“No. The crime of slandering a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet is not small. Even as Imperial Princes, we would become the target of public criticism. Don’t worry. I expect Xu Xianyang wouldn’t dare to deal with us openly and directly.” Xia Rui comforted him.

“I hope so.” Xiao Yan sighed.

At the same time, Prince Zhou, Xiao Mingying, entered the palace for an audience with the Emperor.

Prince Zhou Xiao Mingying held the position of Chief Official of the Imperial Clan Court. He was in charge of the imperial clan’s genealogy, editing the jade records, establishing the order of ancestors, ranking titles and salaries, distinguishing branches, issuing instructions and warnings, discussing rewards and punishments, and overseeing ancestral temple rituals.

In simpler terms, if a member of the imperial family or the imperial relatives committed a crime, the Ministry of Justice had no authority to arrest and interrogate them. The Imperial Clan Court had to get involved first before handing them over to the Ministry of Justice.

In reality, this department had the purpose of protecting the imperial clan.

Of course, if someone really got into trouble and was imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court, they shouldn’t expect a pleasant life either.

Hearing that Xiao Mingying requested an audience, Emperor Xia was somewhat surprised.

“Why has he come? Is there a major sacrificial ceremony recently?” Emperor Xia asked.

Eunuch Hai, who was in attendance, replied, “Your Majesty, no, there isn’t. The memorials submitted by the Ministry of Rites haven’t mentioned anything either. Could it be about someone else, prompting Prince Zhou to request an audience?”

“Since it’s not about a major sacrificial ceremony, yet it prompted him to come personally, it seems another member of the imperial clan has committed a serious matter.” Emperor Xia put down his brush. “Let him in.”

Eunuch Hai went to invite Xiao Mingying into the hall.

“Your humble subject brother pays respects to Your Majesty.” Xiao Mingying bowed.

Emperor Xia smiled. “Someone, bring a seat.”

After Xiao Mingying sat down, Emperor Xia asked, “You rushed into the palace. Is there an urgent matter?”

Xiao Mingying said, “Yes, Your Majesty. This subject brother indeed has a troublesome matter at hand. I did not dare to handle it myself and came specially to seek Your Majesty’s instruction.”

“Oh? What matter?” Emperor Xia asked.

Xiao Mingying said, “This morning, when this subject brother went to the Imperial Clan Court, I received an anonymous letter of accusation. I ask Your Majesty to look at it.”

Eunuch Hai presented the accusation letter to Emperor Xia.

Emperor Xia opened the letter. Seeing the content on the paper, his eyebrows immediately rose.

Eunuch Hai subtly glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, his pupils constricting.

“Seventh Highness, Xiao Rui, has privately kept a Witchcraft Doll in his residence, casting curses upon Your Majesty’s imperial body.”

A single simple sentence, yet it was a sharp blade that killed without bloodshed.

The current Emperor Xia hated witchcraft arts the most and strictly prohibited doll curses.

“Have you found out who delivered the accusation letter?” Emperor Xia asked.

Xiao Mingying shook his head. “I haven’t. Actually, based solely on this letter, without any proof, this subject brother shouldn’t have disturbed Your Majesty. However, the Seventh Highness resides in the Fourth Prince’s residence, so this matter also involves the Fourth Highness. This subject brother worries that if this matter is not taken seriously, what if rumors spread throughout the Capital City? With discussions rising everywhere, the situation might become uncontrollable.”

Xiao Mingying spoke tactfully. What he was actually more worried about was: Xiao Rui lived in Xiao Feng’s residence, but was falsely accused of planting a Witchcraft Doll. Could this involve a struggle between Imperial Princes?

Emperor Xia put down the letter and smiled. “Since someone specifically made an accusation, the Imperial Clan Court should go and inspect the place to see if a Witchcraft Doll can be found. If it is truly discovered, then bring Xiao Rui into the palace for investigation according to the law.”

“Yes!” Xiao Mingying assented, then left the palace to investigate.