Tangli Fried Snow

He had been stirred by her sweet words, his heart pounding with excitement, but upon hearing the last few sentences, his mind cleared instantly, and her earnest expression washed away his confusion. Jin Cheng was taken aback, thinking that this little vixen had always possessed extraordinary thoughts and intellect. In the past, her heart had always been fickle, like a bird that could easily slip through his fingers.

Now it seems she's completely fallen in love with him, yet her words are still so shocking, incomprehensible, and awe-inspiring. It's no wonder he's so naive; with his twenty-odd years of feudalistic thinking, he can't possibly understand modern views on love. He stammered, "I've never felt love for a woman before, and I'd do anything for you, let alone love and protect you."

Sherry raised her radiant face and chuckled, "Erlang, my darling, I believe you. I know you have me in your heart too."

Jin Cheng was overjoyed to hear her call him "baby" and "Erlang," but his mind went blank again. He said coquettishly, "Say you love me again, and call me baby again."

Their eyes locked, intertwined like hooks, and Shirley's red lips uttered those touching words of love: "Baby, I love you, I love you so much."

Jin Cheng was once again captivated by the thought of her fair and delicate body, as tender as a jade sprout, and the bright red sincerity in her mouth. The love between the two of them was about to overflow from their chests.

Before he could kiss those rose-red lips, this blissful moment was abruptly interrupted.

Knock, knock, knock. A guard hurriedly knocked on the door, calling him "Lieutenant General, Lieutenant General." He wished he could kick that bastard away.

Jin Cheng impatiently opened the door, frowning as he looked at the reckless young man. The guard at the door, his face anxious, saluted him and said, "Third Young Master Liu had an accident last night!"

"Which Liu family's third son?" Jin Cheng asked, frowning.

What does it matter to me whether he gets into trouble or not?

"It's Liu Chunhua, the city guard of the imperial city!"

Jin Cheng was shocked and exclaimed, "What?!"

With the death of the city's defender, the capital is bound to fall into chaos!

Before Jin Cheng could react, the guard hurriedly said, "Her Majesty the Empress has sent someone to inform the Lieutenant General to go to the Ministry of Justice immediately and then report to Her Majesty in the palace."

Jin Cheng called Hong Yao, who was standing beside him, and asked him to take the waist token and send Xue Li back to the Empress Dowager to serve. He also gave Xue Li a few more instructions and coaxed her with all his heart before hurriedly leading his men to the Ministry of Justice.

……

Vice Minister Lu of the Ministry of Justice and Prefect Zhao Zhiliang of the capital had been waiting for him for a long time.

Lu Tingwei was quite old, and being woken up early in the morning and busy for half a day made his wrinkles even more pronounced. Zhao Zhiliang, on the other hand, looked terrible, dejected, with bloodshot eyes and a full beard, indicating that he had also been busy since midnight and might not have even had breakfast.

Seeing Jin Cheng rushing over, the two officials warmly welcomed him in. This young nobleman was currently enjoying great popularity and was one of the most popular candidates to succeed Liu Sanlang as the city garrison commander, so of course they had to treat him with the utmost respect.

After exchanging pleasantries with the two officials, Jin Cheng asked, "What happened? As far as I know, Liu Chunhua is highly skilled in martial arts, and there are patrols in the capital day and night. How could he have been killed?"

Lu Tingwei sighed, "Last night, Liu Sanlang was attacked on his way out in the middle of the night and was killed by assassins in the street. Alas! This matter has caused widespread panic and shaken the court and the public. Her Majesty the Empress is furious and has asked us two old folks to solve the case as soon as possible!"

Jin Cheng asked in horror, "Didn't the patrolling soldiers spot any trace of the thieves?"

Zhao Zhiliang snorted coldly: "Hmph, this assassination must have been meticulously planned. The entire raid happened extremely quickly. The patrolmen did hear the shouts and the sounds of swords clashing between the two sides. By the time the city guards arrived with their men, they only saw a field of dead and wounded people, and they didn't even see the assassin."

Jin Cheng pondered for a moment and then said, "I heard that a prince was assassinated in the suburbs a few days ago. Was it done by the same group of people?"

Zhao Zhiliang said angrily, "That's the strange thing. The group that tried to assassinate the Crown Prince a few days ago were mediocre in martial arts and few in number. They were all killed on the spot by the Crown Prince's guards. After investigating for a few days, it was found that they were just some mercenary assassins with mediocre martial arts skills. But the group that acted last night was well-organized, highly skilled, and moved like the wind. There wasn't a single clue left!"

Lu Tingwei continued, "Four or five hours have passed since the incident last night. We have sent thousands of people to search house to house. All the men have to take off their shirts to check for wounds, but we have found nothing."

Liu Chunhua is Shen Shibai's person, which means she's his sister's person. This matter is clearly aimed at the Empress in the palace.

Jin Cheng pondered for a moment, then asked, "My lords, now that Liu Sanlang has run into trouble, who will become the Imperial City Guard Commissioner?"

Lu Tingwei gave him an approving look, then cautiously added, "It should be someone under Prime Minister Li. The most likely candidate is the Crown Prince's cousin, Shen Jiacheng."

Jin Cheng's face also darkened. "This is not good."

Lu Tingwei said, "You understand! With Liu Sanlang dead, the biggest beneficiary is the Crown Prince. Whoever benefits is the most suspicious."

Jin Cheng said, "Why don't we take some men to the Crown Prince's residence to investigate?"

Zhao Zhiliang interjected, "We must not act rashly. We must be more careful at times like these, lest we alert the enemy. The Crown Prince is not foolish enough to leave any evidence for us to investigate. We should plan this carefully."

Each of the three was preoccupied with their own thoughts and remained silent.

Lu Tingwei said to Jin Cheng, "Once you and Lord Zhao have figured out what's going on here, go to the palace as soon as possible to report to the Empress. I also need to see Prime Minister Li; he's waiting for me to discuss things with him. Jin Cheng, you'd better appease the Empress first and not make her angry."

Jin Cheng respectfully agreed and followed Zhao Zhiliang to the back.

As Lord Zhao walked, he said, "Liu Chunhua is usually a very cautious person. He has no family and spends all his time in the Imperial City Guard. He is also quite popular. Recently, he seems to have fallen in love with a mysterious beauty. He is very excited about her and has even said that he will marry no one but her. According to the guards on duty, last night he was on his way to a secluded place to meet his beauty in secret. That's how he was ambushed and killed by thieves on the way."

Jin Cheng asked in detail about the address of the rendezvous, his personal guards, who he had old grudges against, and other details, and Lord Zhao answered them all in detail.

The two men, along with the coroner, examined the wounds on Liu Sanlang and the guards' bodies. Most had been killed by powerful arrows, and many others had been stabbed with poisoned hidden weapons. Liu Sanlang's lips were purple, clearly indicating that he had also been injured and poisoned, which slowed his movements, allowing the assassin to stab him in the chest.