As they arrived at the Chen residence, Zhu Yan suddenly rushed ahead of Shen Du.
Shen Du cast a disdainful glance at her before following her into the house.
The interior was sparsely furnished. Chen Shoujie was alone at home, half-lying on the bed, mumbling something incoherently.
Zhu Yan searched the room thoroughly and discovered an unfinished embroidery piece in a simple cabinet.
Surprised, Zhu Yan turned her gaze to Chen Shoujie on the bed. “What’s the meaning of this?”
Shen Du stood nearby, his face grim. With Chen Shoujie in such a state, what could she possibly hope to learn?
To his surprise, when Chen Shoujie saw the embroidery in Zhu Yan’s hands, his vacant eyes suddenly became alert.
It was as if he had regained consciousness.
Zhu Yan quickly seized the opportunity to inquire, “What’s going on here? How does Lord Chen’s household have embroidery from the Jinxiu Workshop?”
Chen Shoujie didn’t recognize Zhu Yan at first, but when he looked at Shen Du, he understood everything and began to speak:
“She’s my second wife. She used to work as an embroiderer at the Jinxiu Workshop and even taught apprentices. Her skills were truly exceptional. When the Jinxiu Workshop incident occurred, she happened to be away on business. Afterward, when the government was searching for accomplices, she went into hiding. That’s when she met me. I saw that she was of good character, hardworking, and didn’t mind my family’s poverty, so I married her as my second wife. These embroideries, these embroideries,” Chen Shoujie paused, then continued, “She was accustomed to embroidery work and made these to pass the time.”
Hearing Chen Shoujie’s explanation, Zhu Yan furrowed her brow and glanced at Shen Du.
Shen Du was no better off than Zhu Yan, his brows knitted tightly as he pondered the implications.
After finishing his explanation, Chen Shoujie’s eyes began to glaze over again, and his mumbling became incomprehensible.
As they left the Chen residence and made their way back to the Shen manor, Zhu Yan walked with her head down, biting her nails, contemplating Chen Shoujie’s words.
Seeing Zhu Yan lost in thought, Shen Du, knowing what was on her mind, casually remarked, “Still can’t figure it out?”
Startled, Zhu Yan looked up at him. “What? Have you figured it out?”
Shen Du’s expression was relaxed as if nothing was amiss. He shook his head. “No.”
Those two words nearly made Zhu Yan collapse on the spot. She had expected some earth-shattering revelation, not this teasing at such a crucial moment.
Annoyed, Zhu Yan pouted, crossed her arms, and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
Shen Du lowered his head and smiled. “I just wanted to tell you that if you can’t figure it out, share your thoughts. We can think together, exchange ideas, and perhaps make discoveries.”
Hearing Shen Du’s explanation, Zhu Yan gave him an exasperated look. “Couldn’t you have just said that properly from the beginning?”
Shen Du stopped joking and asked, “So, what’s on your mind? Tell me.”
Zhu Yan’s expression turned serious as she gently stroked her hair. “If Madam Chen is indeed the culprit, and she’s killing to silence witnesses, does that mean she’s trying to eliminate everyone connected to the Jinxiu Workshop? If so, doesn’t that suggest there’s some incredible secret in the Jinxiu Workshop case that they don’t want anyone to know?”
Listening to Zhu Yan’s analysis, Shen Du furrowed his brow in deep thought. “Your thinking aligns with mine, but these are just our speculations for now. To draw any conclusions, we need to investigate further.”
Zhu Yan nodded and took a few steps forward, suddenly remembering something. “Right, the corpses.”
With that, Zhu Yan quickened her pace.
Shen Du didn’t immediately grasp Zhu Yan’s meaning, but seeing her hurried demeanor, he knew she must have thought of some new lead.
Zhu Yan went directly to the morgue at the Ministry of Justice. She lifted the white cloth covering the bodies and was surprised to find that the hearts were still in place. This puzzled her. If the killer was imitating the previous crimes, why leave the hearts intact?
Shouldn’t they have gone all the way and removed the hearts as well?
Had she been mistaken in her assumptions?
Zhu Yan stood by the bodies, silent, her eyes dark with concentration, her thoughts impenetrable.
At this moment, Shen Du arrived at the morgue entrance. Seeing Zhu Yan deep in thought, he didn’t want to disturb her.
He remained at the doorway, keeping watch. After a short while, Jing Lin hurriedly approached and whispered something in his ear.
Shen Du’s brow furrowed. He glanced at the still-pondering Zhu Yan before turning to leave.
Zhu Yan was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Shen Du’s departure from the doorway. Or perhaps she had simply forgotten his presence entirely.
Unable to conclude, Zhu Yan decided to search the bodies for more clues.
She began another thorough examination of the corpses and made an unexpected discovery.
Madam Chen’s body showed signs of having been dead for a long time, but there was a faint fragrance emanating from the remaining bits of skin.
This scent seemed familiar. Upon examining the internal organs, her suspicions were confirmed… someone had tampered with the body.
There were still some residues in the victim’s shriveled stomach—a special drug.
It could alter a person’s skin and appearance to make them look as if they had been dead for a long time when, in fact, they had only recently passed away.
With these clues, Zhu Yan felt that this case shared some similarities with the previous one, but this was just the tip of the iceberg. To investigate further, she realized she lacked the necessary resources.
After much deliberation, she decided to seek out her master to see if he could provide any useful information.
As usual, when visiting Chen Wen, she brought two jars of fine rice wine. While drinking and discussing the case with her master, Zhu Yan steered the conversation toward the Jinxiu Workshop incident from years ago.
Chen Wen recalled the details of the case and nodded. “I remember this case quite well. At the time, the evidence seemed conclusive, but if you’re asking about suspicious elements… there were indeed some questionable aspects.”
Her master’s words left Zhu Yan perplexed, but her instincts told her that he knew something.
“Master, please think carefully. Can you recall anything specific?” Zhu Yan pressed.
“I can’t remember,” Chen Wen frowned. “It’s been too long.” He downed another cup of wine.
Zhu Yan didn’t miss the playful glint in Chen Wen’s eyes and persisted: “Master, dear master, please don’t torment your disciple like this.”
“Heh heh heh…” Chen Wen tapped her forehead. “If you keep obsessing over these cases, your master fears you’ll end up alone in your old age.”
Zhu Yan was confused. “What does that have to do with me?”
Shaking his head, Chen Wen said no more. He drank another cup of wine and lowered his head in thought. “The only suspicious thing about that case was how quickly it progressed from the crime to the conviction. The whole process went incredibly smoothly,
As if someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Everything seemed to have been arranged in advance, just waiting for us to take the bait step by step.”