Ji Yunshu had Lu Jiang inform Jingrong, then left Prince Rong’s manor with Wei Yi.

She found a decent restaurant and ordered a table full of dishes.

Wei Yi was overjoyed. As soon as the dishes arrived, he immediately started eating with great relish, even pressing a pair of chopsticks into Ji Yunshu’s hand.

He kept urging her, “Shu’er, you eat too.”

“Mm.”

She picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. As the flavor slowly spread across her tongue, her brow suddenly furrowed and she quickly spat the meat out.

“This meat tastes… somewhat off?” she muttered softly.

She picked up another piece of meat with her chopsticks and examined it carefully, but found nothing unusual about its appearance.

Could it be that the meat had been stored too long? Had it spoiled?

Wei Yi was about to take some from that meat dish when Ji Yunshu stopped him.

“Eat the other dishes.”

“Shu’er, this is meat!”

“I know it’s meat.”

“But…”

Wei Yi looked at her pitifully, his hand clutching the meat dish and refusing to let go, his eyes full of longing.

But Ji Yunshu wouldn’t fall for this act. She firmly moved the meat dish aside and called over the restaurant’s server.

The server thought they wanted to order more food and came trotting over, bowing at the waist and asking, “What else can I do for you two guests?”

Ji Yunshu picked up a chopstick and tapped it on the meat dish. “How long has your restaurant been in business?”

“Huh?”

“Are your ears not working?”

The server gave an awkward laugh and waved his hands. “No, no, no, my ears work fine, but what the guest means by this is…” What exactly?

Ji Yunshu stopped beating around the bush. She raised her eyes, and her sharp, cold gaze made the server’s entire body tremble.

“Is this meat dish fresh?”

The server glanced at the meat dish, his anxious heart skipping a beat. He roughly understood what she meant and hastily explained in a panic.

“Of… of course it’s fresh, guest. Our establishment is an old, established business in the capital. All our dishes are prepared the same day and are very fresh.”

“Then you taste it.”

How dare she say his restaurant’s meat wasn’t fresh? She was clearly here to cause trouble.

The server thought it over and simply took a bite.

But as soon as he bit into the meat, his entire face contorted with a mixture of embarrassment. His mouth twitched as he stammered.

“Guest, this… is definitely an accident. How about I quickly replace it for you? Right away.”

Ji Yunshu didn’t like making things difficult for people.

So she nodded. “Fine, hurry up.”

“Right away, guest. Please wait just a moment, I’ll replace it immediately.”

The server picked up the meat dish and was hurrying out when Ji Yunshu stopped him. “Never mind, don’t bring that dish again.”

“Not bring it?”

“Right!”

Who knew if all the meat was spoiled? Better not eat it at all.

The server thought it over, scratched his head, and left.

Fortunately, he’d encountered a good customer like Ji Yunshu. If it had been someone else, they would have demanded compensation from the restaurant. And if it had been an even more difficult customer, they might have torn the whole restaurant apart.

Like Li Shiyan and Jing Xuan!

Wei Yi stared at her with round eyes that even had some moisture in them.

Ji Yunshu glanced at him and asked, “Really want to eat meat that badly?”

He nodded!

“If I don’t let you eat meat, will you be angry at me?”

He shook his head!

“That’s good then. This whole table of fine food is quite appetizing too. Eat more and don’t waste it.”

Another nod!

Probably because the other dishes tasted pretty good, Wei Yi stopped thinking about the meat and didn’t stop eating until his belly was round and full.

After eating and drinking their fill, they settled the bill and went downstairs. Before they could leave, Wei Yi tugged on her sleeve and pointed in a direction, saying softly, “Shu’er, look! They’re so pitiful!”

Following the direction Wei Yi was pointing, she looked over to see a performance stage set up on the first floor of the restaurant. On it sat an elderly man with white hair holding a erhu, and beside him stood a woman with delicate features, probably around fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a light blue dress. She had graceful eyes and was quite beautiful.

One played the erhu while the other sang little tunes.

The melodious music was pleasing to the ear!

Ji Yunshu took out some silver and placed it in Wei Yi’s hand.

“Go give it to that young lady and tell her to play the ‘Fan Ji Melody.'”

“Okay.”

Clutching the silver, Wei Yi walked over. His tall, large frame stood before the woman, immediately blocking her slender figure.

After completing the task Ji Yunshu had assigned him, Wei Yi returned to her side and said softly, “Shu’er, I asked that sister—she said her name is Mei Xiang’er. What a nice name, though Shu’er’s is still the best.”

When had Wei Yi started sweet-talking like this!

The woman held the silver pieces in her hands, tears of gratitude in her eyes as she looked toward Ji Yunshu.

Inexplicably, there was even a hint of bashfulness in her gaze.

No wonder—Ji Yunshu was dressed in men’s clothing, with skin so fair it seemed to glow. Even that girl Jing Xuan couldn’t resist her, so how could this little singing girl possibly withstand her “charm”?

Ji Yunshu left the restaurant with Wei Yi, and behind them came the sound of Mei Xiang’er singing the “Fan Ji Melody.”

Rather than returning immediately to Prince Rong’s manor, Ji Yunshu strolled through the streets with Wei Yi.

The items in the capital were truly exquisite—many of them weren’t even available in Jinjiang.

There were even many things Ji Yunshu had never unearthed during her archaeological work.

As they walked, Wei Yi kept exclaiming that he liked things, so they bought a whole pile—useful things, useless things, as long as Wei Yi liked them, Ji Yunshu bought them for him.

As a result, they returned to Prince Rong’s manor carrying a huge pile of strange and curious objects.

In return, they received a very disdainful look from Jingrong.

Lang Bo quickly retreated several steps to the side to avoid having that fellow shove that pile of odd things into his hands, so it was better to stay far away.

Jingrong pulled Ji Yunshu aside, his expression grave as he asked, “Have you finished reading the materials about the disappearance cases that Jing Zhaoyin sent over?”

“No!”

“And yet you still had time to take that fellow out?”

Ji Yunshu glared at him fiercely. “What, is Prince Rong’s manor a prison now? Are you going to shackle my hands and feet and forbid me from going out?”

Jingrong’s stern expression immediately fell. “You know that’s not what I meant. It’s just that this case is rather difficult, and I’m worried…”

Before he could finish, Ji Yunshu interrupted him.

“Since I’ve accepted it, there’s no such thing as too difficult. Shouldn’t Your Highness trust me?”

“Of course, this prince trusts you!”

The answer came too quickly—that wasn’t playing by the rules.

It suddenly made Ji Yunshu feel a bit embarrassed.

Just at this moment, someone suddenly arrived from outside, running in hurriedly. Judging by the clothing, it should be someone from Jing Zhaoyin’s office.

Panting, the person bowed before Jingrong and said, “Your Highness, Jing… Zhaoyin said they found a corpse, but…”

He swallowed hard.

A corpse?

Jingrong and Ji Yunshu’s expressions immediately darkened.

“What corpse?”

“It’s… it’s a female corpse, naked… and moreover…” At this point, the person covered his mouth, his face contorting as if he were about to vomit.

Jingrong hated people who hemmed and hawed. He said sternly, “Speak quickly! And what?”

The person forcibly suppressed the nauseating feeling, lowering his voice somewhat.

“Moreover, the female corpse had both hands severed, and the skin on her face was also… peeled off. Her features can’t be identified. The sight is truly revolting.”

Just describing it was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

Ji Yunshu’s brow twitched. A female corpse with her face skinned and both hands severed?

How strange?