Clearing his throat with a couple of coughs, Shen Du began:
“First, I want to tell you that I’ve already had people search Mo Qianzhi’s room. We didn’t find anything unusual, let alone any evidence of rebellion. I suspect this information was deliberately fabricated by Lai Zhi’s people to mislead the Empress. Their goal was to have the Empress send us here. The fact that these two cases are related to the two cases in Chang’an proves this was intentionally arranged. Since they’ve taken action, it must be aimed at us two. They’re about to reveal their true abilities, so we need to proceed with caution.”
Zhu Yan nodded repeatedly, fully agreeing with Shen Du’s reasoning.
“Also,” Shen Du continued, “regarding Miss Du’s abduction and Er Laipi’s murder, while you and Pan Chi were examining the bodies, Magistrate Mo took me to investigate. We learned that the Li and Du families generally conduct themselves honorably and haven’t had any significant conflicts with others, let alone deadly feuds. So…”
At this point, Shen Du frowned slightly. “I suspect Er Laipi’s death was a result of an accidental encounter with Xu Jize and his group when they were attempting to abduct a woman. They ended up killing him by mistake.”
Zhu Yan nodded in agreement. “That’s possible.”
Shen Du looked at her. “Besides these two matters, there’s one more thing. Are you interested in hearing about it?”
“…” Zhu Yan was momentarily confused. At a time like this, what wouldn’t she be interested in hearing?
Seeing Zhu Yan’s lack of response, Shen Du shook his head slightly. “Never mind. If you’re not interested, I won’t force you. Let’s rest.”
“Hey!” Zhu Yan grabbed Shen Du’s arm. “Leaving words half-said can lead to intestinal rupture. For the sake of your health, I’ve decided to listen attentively to this other matter.”
Shen Du was secretly pleased. Although Zhu Yan seemed reluctant, he could tell she was genuinely interested in what he had to say.
“The third matter is that Ji Dafu has once again approached the yamen, demanding that the victim’s head be found quickly so the body can be properly buried. He’s also seeking justice for Li Kairui. Their family’s reputation has been affected by this murder case, and their business has plummeted. More notably, Ji Dafu is very dissatisfied with Pan Chi’s handling of the case. He’s threatened to withdraw the rent and seek help from other experts.”
“Ah…” Hearing this, Zhu Yan’s jaw nearly dropped in surprise. The thought of Detective Pan Chi’s reputation being so casually dismissed by Ji Dafu was quite striking.
“But things didn’t develop as smoothly as imagined. When Pan Chi mentioned to Ji Dafu that the case might be related to the Half-Faced Ghost, Ji Dafu’s face changed dramatically, and he fled as if running for his life.”
“Pfft…” Zhu Yan couldn’t help but chuckle. “It seems Ji Dafu isn’t very bright if he can be scared off by such supernatural talk.”
“Indeed. But objectively speaking, Pan Chi is also at fault. Having accepted the rent, he should be working for them. Instead, he’s been idle all day, busying himself with pointless matters, and then using ghost stories to fob people off. He could be considered quite the villain.”
Zhu Yan hadn’t heard Shen Du’s last words, her mind still dwelling on Pan Chi’s situation. He was such an upright and proud person; how devastated he must be to have his investigative abilities questioned. She couldn’t help but find the image of his discomfiture amusing.
Seeing Zhu Yan’s half-smile and distant expression, Shen Du felt perplexed.
“If you want to laugh, just laugh. Holding it in could be harmful.”
Noticing Shen Du’s strange expression, Zhu Yan quickly composed herself and said seriously, “I’m not laughing at you. I was just imagining how someone like Pan Chi would react to being called incompetent. What a scene that must have been!”
“What does any of that have to do with you?” Shen Du’s face remained grim. He felt Zhu Yan was laughing at his concern over trivial matters.
“It has nothing to do with me, of course. But for someone like him to end up in such a situation is entirely self-inflicted. With his handsome face, he should be enjoying a life of pleasure instead of meddling in cases. What’s wrong with just being eye candy?”
Hearing Zhu Yan compares Pan Chi to eye candy, a deep look flashes in Shen Du’s eyes. “So… is that the type you prefer? Eye candy?”
Zhu Yan was momentarily speechless. She blinked her almond eyes at Shen Du, wanting to say that everyone loves beautiful things, but seeing his poor mood, she decided against it.
Glancing at the antique vase on the table, Zhu Yan had an idea. She got off the bed, picked up the vase, and presented it like a treasure: “Look at this vase. The patterns are so beautiful, depicting butterflies fluttering around peonies. And the porcelain – it’s clear blue without a trace of impurity. It must be from the imperial kiln.”
“That’s not the kind of vase we were talking about. Don’t try to change the subject.”
Zhu Yan swallowed hard, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into. Her conversation with Shen Du was completely misaligned. How could they continue?
She put the vase back and stood there awkwardly, almost at a loss. “What I meant was…”
Before Zhu Yan could finish, Shen Du suddenly stood up, effortlessly picked her up, and laid her on the bed.
“What… what are you doing?” Zhu Yan’s heart leaped into her throat as she looked at Shen Du with a terrified expression.
“It’s late. What should a husband and wife be doing?” Shen Du teased with a cold expression, curious to see how she would resist.
“Don’t joke around. We had an agreement,” Zhu Yan said, trying to maintain her composure as she pushed Shen Du’s hand away and turned to the side.
Shen Du didn’t say anything more. He just lay behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her tightly against him.
Zhu Yan’s body stiffened, her ears turning pink. She was about to resist when his cold voice came from above, “Don’t move. If you keep moving, I might not be so polite.”
Hearing this, Zhu Yan didn’t dare struggle further. As she relaxed, she nestled into Shen Du’s embrace like a docile kitten and gradually fell asleep.
Hearing her even breathing, Shen Du slightly opened his eyes. The woman’s fragrance filled his nostrils, and the corners of his lips curved upward.
If only they could sleep together so harmoniously and beautifully every day, how wonderful that would be.
…