Chapter 921 - 875: Finale (1) The Heart Extraction Case
Chapter 921: Chapter 875: Finale (1) The Heart Extraction Case
The words "passing" left Wen Wan momentarily blank-minded; she had just intended to ask about changing fate, but the master was no longer there.
"Is it because the heavenly secret was revealed?" Wen Wan looked at Zhao Xunyin, a tremor of fear for the unknown in her voice.
Zhao Xunyin held her hand and softly comforted, "No, the master reached perfect cultivation, it was his time, it has nothing to do with you and Third Son."
Wen Wan still felt uneasy, "Let’s go in and take a look."
At that moment, outside Master Xuyun’s Zen Temple, all disciples sat neatly on the ground, chanting scriptures in unison.
Inside the meditation room, Master Xuyun wore a monastic robe, sitting upright, hands on his knees, palms overlapped, thumbs touching, in a meditative posture.
If not for his breathless state, his posture was no different from usual.
Wen Wan and Zhao Xunyin only glanced from afar, unable to get closer, then asked the Abbot. The Abbot said it was natural passing; after reporting to the palace, arrangements would be made to place his body in a sitting transformation jar, to be sculpted in three years.
A flesh sculpture.
With Master Xuyun’s level of practice, indeed he deserved such honor.
Wen Wan pondered and asked the Abbot, "Did Master Xuyun say anything before his passing?"
The Abbot shook his head, "No, he didn’t."
Wen Wan nodded, smiled apologetically, "Sorry to disturb you, master."
The Abbot uttered Amitabha.
As they descended the hill and boarded the carriage, Wen Wan felt a hollow in her heart.
Although the Abbot and other disciples said nothing, and Zhao Xunyin kept reassuring her it was unrelated, the sudden passing of Master Xuyun still left Wen Wan with a sense of guilt.
As the carriage was about to enter the city, suddenly a rhythmic sound of horse hooves came from the front, scaring the populace to step aside.
Wen Wan lifted the curtain for a glimpse, seeing a dozen or so Jinyi Guards dressed in Flying Fish Robes with Brocade Spring Sabers at their waists. They looked ahead sternly, seemingly on urgent business exiting the city, quickly disappearing from sight.
"Is it because the case hasn’t been solved yet?" Wen Wan frowned, fingers slightly clenched.
From the time Song Qi was sent to the Capital, the atmosphere had been tense. What the servant from Prince Cheng Mansion said that day was not to scare Song Qi; the Jinyi Guards were indeed handling a case. At night, the government began checking households because of a child heart-extraction case in the Capital. The victims were both children of commoners and those from noble and aristocratic families, with no pattern to the dumping locations. The only common factor was having their hearts excavated.
Wen Wan could not imagine who could be so wicked; previously, a body was discovered not far from Changning Marquis Mansion. Many saw it at the time; Wen Wan dared not look; merely hearing was enough to chill her.
As a mother, she couldn’t bear to hear news of children being abused or killed, even if they were not her own.
Zhao Xunyin said, "This case is very baffling. The Ministry of Justice, Ministry of War, and Imperial Supervision Office have jointly investigated for nearly a month with no clues. Later, it was transferred to the Jinyi Guards, but children are still being killed intermittently, the perpetrator hiding very well, and His Majesty is already angry. If the real culprit is not caught soon, the entire government could be in trouble."
Wen Wan pondered, "Excavating hearts, what do you think the motive is?"
Zhao Xunyin shook her head.
"Then can you get the case files? I’d like to see them."
Zhao Xunyin thought for a while and said, "Instead of finding me, you might as well look for Xie Zheng. He’s on duty in the Ministry of Justice, and it’s been so busy there lately. He should know a lot."
...
Because of this case, the Ministry of Justice even canceled holidays. Xie Zheng was in the government office by day, and Wen Wan visited the Xie Family during Lower Court hours.
After polite chitchat with Aunt Xie and Yang, Wen Wan made clear her intent to find Xie Zheng.
Guessing Wen Wan had serious matters to discuss, Xie Zheng invited her into his study.
After sitting, Xie Zheng said, "Commandery Princess, what is it you want to say?"
Wen Wan asked, "How is the investigation of that case handled by the Ministry of Justice going?"
Not expecting Wen Wan to ask, Xie Zheng was momentarily stunned, hesitated briefly, then said, "Recently, there are two cases under the Ministry of Justice; I don’t know which one you’re asking about."
"Two cases?" Wen Wan was a bit confused, "Isn’t it about the child heart-extraction case? What else?"
"The other is about the theft of the Yun Family’s treasure, Blue Sea and Sky."
"You mean that bracelet?" Wen Wan remembered it was always on Xu Jia’s wrist; how did it suddenly get stolen?
"At the time, people from the Yun Family tracked it to the Capital before losing the trail." Xie Zheng said, "Since Master Yun holds a position in the Ministry of War, His Majesty could not ignore it, so he tasked the Ministry of Justice with it. But till now, there are still no leads."
Hearing this, Wen Wan suddenly realized something.
Last time Xu Jia sent her some items, including a bottle of medicine, claiming it could relieve her headache. Could it be that the bracelet was already missing, and Xu Jia, thinking she needed it, secretly had it stolen to the Capital and sent the medicine, fearing she could faint from the pain?
Wen Wan was certain she never asked anyone to do such a thing.
The bracelet from the Yun Family would be useless to ordinary people. In terms of being priceless, there were many priceless items in the National Treasury. To say something harsher, several treasures in Song Wei’s collection were more valuable than the Blue Sea and Sky. If it were for money, wouldn’t it be more worthwhile to steal from Song Wei? Why bother traveling from the Capital to Suzhou to steal an Ice Jade bracelet?
Seeing Wen Wan’s expression change, Xie Zheng couldn’t help but ask, "Commandery Princess, what’s wrong?"
"Nothing." Wen Wan shook her head, "Tell me more about the child heart-extraction case!"
Regarding this case, Xie Zheng was troubled, "Internal confidentiality, I cannot disclose much."
Wen Wan said, "I just want to see if I can help you."
As a mother and as an Imperial Princess, she could not just watch children continue to suffer.
Seeing Xie Zheng’s reluctance to speak, Wen Wan said, "You tell me first, and tomorrow morning, I’ll enter the palace to see His Majesty and request assistance with this case. If he agrees, then you wouldn’t be leaking secrets."
Xie Zheng remembered Wen Wan had prior approval from His Majesty to enter the court. Although they weren’t in the same office, given Wen Wan’s merits in Bei Yan, His Majesty would likely agree to her request. Thus, he didn’t persist, sighed, and said, "During the day, I consulted records with the Assistant Minister and summarized that the murdered children were of various ages, one even a mere month old, but they all had one commonality: their hearts were removed."
To harm a child barely a month old, only a heartless beast could commit such acts.
Wen Wan’s expression was grim, "Anything else? Any other discoveries?"
"They were all boys, and as for age, the known cases are all under ten years old."
"Is there any pattern in the time and place of the crimes?"
"None." Xie Zheng furrowed his brow and shook his head, "Precisely due to the lack of a pattern, this case is very hard to handle."
Even the Jinyi Guards and the Three Judicial Departments couldn’t capture the real culprit. Who could the person behind it be?
Wen Wan pondered for a moment, then looked at Xie Zheng, "If convenient, please copy me a list at the government office tomorrow, with details on those children, names, ages, addresses, as detailed as possible."
Xie Zheng nodded, "I’ll do my best."
...
On the carriage back to Changning Marquis Mansion, Wen Wan was still immersed in the case.
She thought, if she were the killer, what would be the purpose of excavating hearts? Under what circumstances would one need a child’s heart?
Yet, even upon leaving the carriage, Wen Wan couldn’t come up with any leads.
...
The next day, Wen Wan entered the palace to meet Emperor Xuanjing and brought up the matter, expressing her willingness to assist the Three Judicial Departments in investigating the case.
Zhao Xi, believing her foresight ability was still active, nodded in agreement, allowing her to oversee the expedited progress of the investigation by the Three Judicial Departments.
After Lower Court hours, Xie Zheng directly came to Changning Marquis Mansion and handed Wen Wan the requested list.
Wen Wan glanced over it; there were no patterns in the names or residential addresses—some lived in West City Slum, others in Inner City Rich Area, with one even from Marquis Yongding Mansion, named Gao Hao.
If Wen Wan remembered correctly, this child was the biological son of Lu Yanbin’s sister Lu Qiao, and thus Duke Lu’s great-grandson.
Even daring to touch Duke Lu’s great-grandson—no wonder His Majesty was furious.
Wen Wan’s hand trembled as she held the list, asking Xie Zheng, "Is Gao Hao already dead?"
Xie Zheng, filled with grief, reluctantly nodded, "Anyone on the list had their heart excavated."
Upon hearing this, a chill ran from Wen Wan’s back to the top of her head.