Qin Shoucheng stepped to the center, his gaze stern. "If any of you dare to reveal even half a word of what happened here today to outsiders, I will personally revoke your status as students of this academy!"
"Yes, sir!" All the students brimmed with confidence.
Qin Shoucheng slowly nodded, then walked toward the first student. In an instant, his aura seemed to change. Previously, he had resembled a withered old man, but now, his presence was profound, brimming with a Vast righteous energy.
"HA!"
Following the shout, the student trembled all over. His eyes glazed over, staring blankly at Dean Qin before him.
"I ask you, were you involved in Zhang Lun's case? Tell the truth!"
"N-no... I stole the widowed neighbor's clothes... I also stole..."
"Get lost!" Qin Shoucheng barked. "Next! HA! I ask you, were you involved in Zhang Lun's case?!"
"No... I secretly drew a portrait of the dean's wife, and secretly used it to..."
SMACK!
"Next!"
After making a round of inquiries, Qin Shoucheng's expression grew even darker. He continued until he approached the next person. Before he could even ask, the young man stepped forward with a calm expression.
"Dean Qin, do you remember the regulations of the Great Saint Dynasty?"
It was the Crown Prince of King Jiang, Wang Lin.
Qin Shoucheng's expression briefly froze. The Great Saint Dynasty had explicitly stipulated: members of the royal family and incumbent officials could not be subjected to the Great Inquiry of the Heart. As for why? The extremely scandalous scenes that had just played out were the perfect answer.
At this moment, Wang Lin was expressionless, his voice tinged with apathy. "The royal clan represents the face of the imperial family." After saying this, he slowly stepped back to the side, saying no more.
"Dean..." The teacher following behind Qin Shoucheng took on a gloomy expression.
Maintaining his composure, Qin Shoucheng reached out to press down the teacher's hand and said lightly, "Inquire the others first."
On the scene, there was another person staring fixedly at Wang Lin. It was Zeng Anmin.
Wang Lin's words made his mind explode. In a flash, all the disjointed clues connected into a clear picture.
He thought, "It's him!"
Zeng Anmin narrowed his Dan Feng eyes. He instantly recalled Wang Lin's appearance yesterday afternoon. Wang Lin matched every single characteristic of the killer! He wanted the Water Commander Order, and he was accompanied by a Martial Artist guard! Whether it was the time of the crime or the motive, his suspicion was absolutely the greatest!
The most fatal stroke of all was this specific regulation of the Great Saint Dynasty.
"Members of the royal clan and incumbent officials cannot be subjected to the Great Inquiry of the Heart."
Zeng Anmin's heart sank heavily. If Wang Lin was the murderer, then this case would be unsolvable!
He thought to himself to wait. As if recalling something, the knot in his chest loosened. Wang Lin still had a fatal weakness here. That was the Martial Artist guard by his side named Ah Da! As long as they caught that guard and questioned him, the whole truth would come to light.
By now, Dean Qin Shoucheng had walked up to Zeng Anmin. However, before the dean could speak, Zeng Anmin said with a darkened face, "Dean Qin, you seem to have missed someone."
There was absolutely no way he could let Qin Shoucheng use the Great Inquiry of the Heart on him. Other secrets would just cause embarrassment at most, but if his identity as a transmigrator was exposed during the inquiry, it might cost him his life.
"Hm?" Looking at Zeng Anmin, Qin Shoucheng frowned.
He knew Zeng Anmin's true identity, which was why he had no desire to subject him to the Great Inquiry of the Heart either. It would be fine if he were merely the son of some ordinary official, but he was the son of a powerhouse at the Confucian Wood-Carrier Realm. If he used the inquiry on Zeng Anmin today and forced out some hidden truth, there was no guarantee that Zeng Shilin wouldn't personally come over to inquire into Qin Shoucheng's heart. Although he refused to concede to Zeng Shilin's literary talents, Qin Shoucheng had nothing but absolute respect for his realm in the Confucian Dao.
"Speak," Qin Shoucheng said in a deep voice.
"I recall that Crown Prince Wang Lin is accompanied by a guard named Ah Da." Zeng Anmin deliberately raised his voice, looking toward Wang Lin as he spoke. He wanted to see how Wang Lin would react to his words.
To his surprise, Wang Lin's expression remained entirely unchanged. It was as if he hadn't heard a thing, and a bizarre, faint smile even curled the corners of his lips. Seeing this smile, Zeng Anmin's heart sank.
"Dean! We caught the real killer!"
Wang Daoyuan's loud shout rang out from nearby, interrupting everyone's thoughts. In an instant, all eyes shifted toward Wang Daoyuan.
Zeng Anmin jolted, his Dan Feng eyes instantly narrowing. He finally understood everything! Snapping his head up, he glared fixedly at Wang Lin. At this moment, Wang Lin, with a smile in his eyes, just so happened to look his way. Their gazes met. Within those eyes, Zeng Anmin saw a trace of mockery.
"What happened?" Qin Shoucheng's face stiffened slightly before he frowned, looking sternly at the rapidly approaching Wang Daoyuan.
Stepping up to Qin Shoucheng, Wang Daoyuan took a deep breath and bowed. "The killer's name is Ah Da. He claims to be a guard of Prince Jiang's Mansion, and he just turned himself in moments ago."
"Ah Da of Prince Jiang's Mansion?" Upon hearing this news, Qin Shoucheng's face immediately darkened. One didn't even need to think to know there was definitely something shady going on here!
Coincidentally, Wang Lin stepped forward at this very moment. "Who? Ah Da?" An expression of sheer disbelief surfaced on his face.
Wang Lin looked at Wang Daoyuan, furrowing his brows as he asked, "I merely had a minor verbal altercation with Zhang Lun during our transaction...
"And Ah Da went and killed him because of that?!"
Catching a sensitive word in that statement, Qin Shoucheng frowned and looked at Wang Lin. "Transaction? What transaction?"
Wang Lin let out a sigh. "Zhang Lun is a man of noble character, but he suffered from his impoverished background. Thus, I wanted to use the name of Prince Jiang's Mansion to promote and support him a little.
"Who would have expected that he would actually give the Water Commander Order to me?
"I thought about it long and hard. I appreciated his talent, but I couldn't accept such a gift from him.
"Yesterday afternoon, I went to find him in person, intending to return the Water Commander Order... Who knew he would get agitated and get into a verbal dispute with me over it."
The moment he finished speaking, several students were struck by sudden realization.
"I saw it! Crown Prince Wang did go look for Zhang Lun yesterday. Although I couldn't hear them clearly, I could definitely tell they were arguing."
"Yeah, I saw it too."
"Right... I never imagined that guard would be so foolish..."
A chorus of discussions erupted. However, to Zeng Anmin, these voices were unbelievably piercing. He was the only person present who knew the full extent of the conversation Wang Lin had with Zhang Lun yesterday.
Wang Lin let out another sigh, pulling a Jade Pendant from his waist. "This is the Water Commander Order that Zhang Lun gave me." With that said, he placed the Jade Pendant back into his pocket. Whether intentional or not, his hand brushed past Zeng Anmin as he retracted it.
Zeng Anmin remained completely silent, clenching his fists tightly. He had been taught a lesson. A very real, very harsh lesson. This feudal society... The phrase "treating human life like worthless grass" laid bare its true meaning right before his eyes.
The "culprit" had already been caught, and as for why the Water Commander Order was on Wang Lin, there was now a flawless justification.
Zeng Anmin quickly stepped forward and looked at Qin Shoucheng. "Dean Qin, under these circumstances, the Great Inquiry of the Heart must be used on Ah Da!"
The only remaining chance to expose Wang Lin's lies was that guard, Ah Da!
However, upon hearing this, Wang Daoyuan took a deep breath, his face heavy with solemnity as he replied, "Ah Da committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
Zeng Anmin froze, falling into a dead silence.
At this point, the dead could not testify. He could certainly spill the details of what he witnessed yesterday, but who would dare to believe him? Even if someone dared to believe him, who would dare arrest Wang Lin based solely on his one-sided account? Even if he were to expose his identity as the son of the Governor of Liangjiang, it would only bring unprovoked trouble to his father. After all, the "killer" had already been dealt with...
Wang Daoyuan approached Zeng Anmin and lowered his voice. "Young Master Zeng, Prince Jiang's Mansion has issued an order. They commanded the Observation Department to close this case immediately so as not to taint the Prince's Mansion's reputation."
The case had reached a point where it could be cleanly and swiftly declared closed. The ruthlessness of their methods was simply impeccable! It was clear as day that Prince Jiang's Mansion had done this kind of filthy deed countless times before!
Expressionless, Zeng Anmin looked toward Wang Lin. Wang Lin returned his gaze with an innocent smile.
"Dean Qin, personnel from Prince Jiang's Mansion have arrived. They are donating ten thousand taels of silver to the academy." A steward slowly approached, whispering softly into Qin Shoucheng's ear.