Nian Jiaojiao fell asleep as soon as she returned from the latrine. She would have a full day of examinations tomorrow, after which the tests would be completely over.
Meanwhile.
"My Lord? My Lord?"
Outside the side chamber of the Qingzhou Examination Institute, a maidservant holding a lantern called out softly into the room.
She found it a bit strange. Prefect Leng, a person who disliked staying out overnight, would always return to his manor immediately after the academic girls submitted their exam papers when he was supervising.
The maidservant had waited outside the carriage for a long time but did not see her lord emerge. Thus, she came to wait outside the side chamber door.
At this moment, an oil lamp was lit in the room, and the maidservant could tell from the shadow that her lord was likely reading.
It seemed... her lord was so engrossed in his reading that he had forgotten the time...
However, as it was late, the maidservant stepped forward to knock and remind him.
To her surprise, after calling out several times, Prefect Leng inside did not respond. From the shadow cast by the lamplight, the person hadn't even moved.
At this moment, the maidservant sensed that something was amiss.
Having followed her lord for decades, she knew well that he was a light sleeper and would wake up at the slightest sound. Yet today, despite her calls, there was no movement from within the room.
Thus, risking a scolding, the maidservant pushed the door open and went inside.
She saw Prefect Leng sitting at the desk, his head bowed as if dozing, and said hesitantly:
"My Lord? My Lord..."
The person sitting in the chair did not react, and it seemed as if his breathing was inaudible.
The maidservant's heart skipped a beat. She walked over and gently patted her lord's arm. To her surprise, as soon as she touched him, he seemed to lose all support and toppled to the side, falling to the ground with the stool.
The maidservant looked closely and saw that a knife was actually inserted into her lord's chest!
The blood blooming on his chest caused the maidservant to instinctively let out a piercing scream:
"Ah!!!!!"
Nian Jiaojiao, whose senses were sharper than ordinary people, was awakened from her sleep by the scream.
She shivered and sat up in a daze.
What?
What?
What happened?
The night-duty yamen runner noticed Nian Jiaojiao's movement and immediately walked over.
"What are you doing? Is there a problem?"
Sensing the yamen runner's suspicious tone, Nian Jiaojiao immediately said:
"I think I heard something..."
The yamen runner frowned:
"I've been standing here, and there was no sound. Go back to sleep quickly and don't disturb anyone else."
The yamen runner was a little impatient. It was the best time to sleep, yet she had to stand guard here.
Fortunately, she had drawn the first half of the night for guard duty. The yamen runner on the second half was even more miserable, having to wake up in the middle of the night to guard until dawn.
Although Nian Jiaojiao still had doubts, she said:
"I'm sorry, I must have had a nightmare. I'll go back to sleep right away."
With that, she obediently lay down.
Seeing her so cooperative, the yamen runner couldn't get angry anymore. She looked at Nian Jiaojiao for a moment and then continued her patrol.
As soon as the yamen runner left, Nian Jiaojiao closed her eyes and entered meditation. Soon, "Misty Jiaojiao" was back online.
"Misty Jiaojiao" glanced at the physical body she was lying in, smiled mysteriously, then turned and leaped in the direction of the scream she had just heard.
"Misty Jiaojiao" was no longer like she was when she was first born. Although she had no supernatural powers, she could leap two or three meters in a single bound.
After leaping out of the examination room where her physical body was, "Misty Jiaojiao" leaped another three hundred meters or so, but there she lost her direction.
After all, the scream had not continued.
However, "Misty Jiaojiao" soon found her direction again.
This was because a large group of yamen runners was heading in one direction.
Sensing that something "major" was happening, "Misty Jiaojiao" struck a "sprinting pose" and quickly leaped onto a running yamen runner to "hitch a ride."
Before long, they arrived at their destination—outside a side chamber door.
At this moment, Prefect Liu's face was ashen.
She had chatted happily with Prefect Leng that afternoon, and less than three hours later, she received news of his death.
Who did this?
Was it an assassin from outside? Or someone around her?
Prefect Liu cast a vigilant glance around, trying to discern something from everyone's expressions.
She was clearly disappointed. No one looked abnormal.
Thinking that someone dared to enter the Qingzhou Examination Institute to kill an official of the dynasty, Prefect Liu felt a chill run down her spine.
Fortunately, she had left early today...
If she had stayed until night like Prefect Leng, would she have been the one to die?
While Prefect Liu was lost in thought, a disheveled young woman rushed over. Upon reaching the door, she was stopped by a yamen runner.
The woman then tugged at the yamen runner's arm, shouting:
"Why are you stopping me? What happened to my lord? What happened?!"
Seeing this, Prefect Liu coughed a couple of times and said:
"Clerk Cao, calm yourself. Do not shout. The examinees in the institute are already resting, and they still have exams tomorrow."
Upon hearing Prefect Liu's words, Clerk Cao seemed to have found her anchor. She immediately went before Prefect Liu and looked at her expectantly:
"My Lord, My Lord is fine, right?"
Prefect Liu hesitated for a moment, her face showing a look of unbearable sadness, and she shook her head.
Upon receiving the answer, Clerk Cao was overwhelmed with grief. She pleaded with Prefect Liu:
"Prefect Liu, I want to see my Lord just one last time, just one glance, please!"
Prefect Liu thought about it and decided to grant Clerk Cao's request, but she instructed:
"Do not go too close to Prefect Leng. Someone will come to investigate the case later."
Clerk Cao's face showed gratitude:
"I understand. Thank you, Prefect Liu!"
The yamen runner, receiving Prefect Liu's signal, led Clerk Cao into the room.
At this moment, "Misty Jiaojiao" leaped onto the head of the leading yamen runner and followed them into the room.
As soon as she entered, Clerk Cao saw the corpse of Leng Xiangtao and her tragic state, and she collapsed to the ground in sorrow, weeping:
"Wuwuwu, My Lord, my Lord, how could you have passed away so suddenly? Who will your subordinate follow now!"
Hmm... these words didn't seem problematic, but somehow they felt a little off...
"Misty Jiaojiao," sitting with her legs crossed on the yamen runner's hat, watched the wailing Clerk Cao without much emotion.
However, it seemed that the deceased and her subordinate had a very good relationship...
Just as "Misty Jiaojiao" was thinking this, the yamen runner beneath her couldn't help but step forward to console:
"Clerk Cao, please do not be too grieved. Lord Leng has already passed. The most urgent task now is to find the real killer and ensure that Lord Leng did not die in vain!"
Clerk Cao, sobbing, asked:
"Wuwu... have you... found any clues... wuwu, about the killer?"
The yamen runner replied:
"Not yet. However, Prefect Liu has already given instructions that the matter is not to be publicized for now."