To prove he wasn’t talking nonsense, Wang San specifically said, “My daughter has one too, exactly the same shape and size. Look, they’re both red.”

With Wang San saying this.

It really was true.

Even Wei Wu chimed in, “Right, right, right, it’s a belly band. My third aunt’s cousin’s younger brother had a child with his cousin, and they had one just like this. That’s right, it must be a belly band.”

Hey, hey, hey, are you performing crosstalk here?

Both men said it was a belly band, leaving Ji Yinshu looking confused.

A belly band?

“Why would Master Jiang have a child’s belly band on his person?”

Weren’t Master Jiang and Madam Jiang childless?

“Wei Wu, Wang San, you two go investigate right now. Find out if Madam Jiang ever gave birth to a child, and also whether there were ever any young children in the Jiang household. Investigate everything thoroughly, understand?”

“Yes.”

How rarely serious!

The two immediately went to conduct a thorough investigation.

Ji Yinshu remained in the morgue, examining the belly band. A man in his forties carrying a child’s belly band on his person—this was far too unreasonable!

Could it really be because of madness?

Shaking her head, she stopped speculating further. She took the white cloth she had torn open and unfurled it forcefully, preparing to cover that pile of white bones.

Clink—

The sound of something falling to the ground.

She looked down and searched around, spotting a small black object at the corner of the table. Picking it up to examine it, she discovered it was a button with soil still clinging to it—it must have come from that pile of soil surrounding the white bones.

She wiped the button clean before discovering its true appearance.

The surface was smooth, and the outer edge of the button wasn’t flat but spiraled. Judging by this quality, it should be from garments produced by Qingzhou’s brocade works. Their clothes all used this type of button, making them appear elegant and refined.

And generally, buttons like these were sewn at the collar.

As for why Ji Yinshu knew these things, it was nothing unusual.

Because the Ji family had a certain minor character who refused to use brocade from anywhere else, insisting only on brocade from Qingzhou.

This person was none other than Ji Lingzhi!

But what Ji Yinshu found strange was that ordinary buttons had four holes in the center for threading, yet this button had only three holes in the center.

And she seemed to have seen this type of button somewhere before.

For the moment, she couldn’t recall where.

“Yinshu, we found something.”

The County Magistrate’s voice rang out from outside.

Glancing to the side, she saw the County Magistrate entering while holding up his official robes.

“Yinshu, we found it, we found it.”

“If you found it, you found it. Why all the fuss?”

The County Magistrate’s expression stiffened, but he didn’t forget to tell Ji Yinshu what they had discovered.

He said carefully and thoroughly, “Madam Jiang’s younger brother is called Li Zhao. Although the Li family is an aristocratic family, they don’t live in the capital. Previously, they always lived in Qingzhou. This Li Zhao suddenly came to Jinjiang two years ago and moved into the Jiang residence. Madam Jiang was actually quite strict with this younger brother, but she also doted on him greatly. Moreover…”

“Get to the point.”

“The point is, Li Zhao is a gambler. He gambled everywhere in Qingzhou and owed a lot of money. After the Li family found out, they sent him to Jinjiang and had Madam Jiang keep a close eye on him. But how could he be controlled? His nature didn’t change—he was still addicted to gambling and owed a lot of money. The major gambling dens in Jinjiang once stopped letting him in. However, this person’s character is quite timid and weak.”

Ji Yinshu narrowed her eyes. “Is that all?”

The County Magistrate continued, “Not quite. He also has several siblings at home. The eldest sister is Madam Jiang, the second sister is…”

“Alright, arrest him.”

“Ah?”

“I said we can arrest him now.” Ji Yinshu’s expression was serious.

The County Magistrate froze for a moment before his face lit up with great joy. He clapped his hands, “The murderer is Li Zhao, right?”

Black lines appeared on Ji Yinshu’s forehead. “So are you going to arrest him or not?”

“Arrest, arrest, arrest him right away!”

The case was about to be solved. The County Magistrate was naturally overjoyed and ran out, quickly ordering his men to bring Li Zhao back to the yamen for questioning.

Ji Yinshu clasped the button tightly in her palm, covered the white bones with the white cloth, and also went out.

Before long, Li Zhao was brought to the courtroom by the yamen runners and forced to kneel.

Ji Yinshu quietly asked one of the yamen runners, “Where did you arrest him?”

He replied, “At the gambling den.”

No wonder Madam Jiang hadn’t come along. This was better—it saved them from noisy disturbances!

“What are you doing? What right do you have to arrest me? Do you know who my father is? Do you know who my grandfather is?” Li Zhao shouted.

Yes, we know—your grandfather is Old General Li!

The County Magistrate sitting above grew angry and slammed the gavel. “What are you shouting about? This official ordered your arrest. Do you have any complaints?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s hear them.”

“I didn’t break any laws. What right do you have to bring me to the yamen? Is gambling against the law too?”

Li Zhao clenched his fists in anger.

Yesterday when Madam Jiang was present, he had clearly cowered behind like a kitten, but now he was full of confidence.

Gambling wasn’t actually illegal at that time. The County Magistrate glanced at Ji Yinshu, signaling her to quickly rescue the situation.

Ji Yinshu was in no hurry. She walked a few steps and stopped beside Li Zhao, looking down to ask him, “Li Zhao, I’m asking you—are you truly not the murderer who killed Master Jiang?”

Li Zhao’s eyes clearly flickered. He swallowed and said, “I already told you, it wasn’t me. I didn’t kill my brother-in-law. He’s my brother-in-law—how could I possibly kill him?”

“I’ll ask you one more time. Are you or are you not the murderer?”

“It wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me. I wasn’t even home the day my brother-in-law died.”

“You’re still lying.” Ji Yinshu rebuked him sharply.

Li Zhao’s body trembled violently. He raised his evasive, shifting eyes to look at Ji Yinshu. “I… I’m not lying.”

Ji Yinshu’s expression was coldly intense, carrying an imposing presence.

She said, “You claim that the day your brother-in-law died, you weren’t home?”

“Yes… yes.”

“Lies upon lies. How do you know which day he died? And how can you be certain that the day Master Jiang died, you weren’t at home? Moreover, Madam Jiang said that after Master Jiang went missing, you all moved to the capital. If Master Jiang only died later at Guangqu Courtyard, how could you say you weren’t home?”

“I…” Li Zhao’s face showed panic.

“The truth is that Master Jiang was already dead before you moved to the capital. To shirk responsibility, you claimed you weren’t home at all. But it’s precisely because of these words that you’ve exposed your own lies. The murderer who killed Master Jiang is you.” Ji Yinshu’s voice was severe and震撼!

It struck a chord in the heart of everyone in the courtroom.

Li Zhao was already so frightened his face had turned deathly pale, and he collapsed directly onto the ground.

“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me, I didn’t kill anyone, it really was me, it really was me…” His voice trembled, his eyes in panicked confusion without focus.

Ji Yinshu was in no rush. She took out the button.

“Li Zhao, you should be very familiar with this button, shouldn’t you?”