“The thing inside that doll… whose is it?”

Auntie Xie froze for a moment, instinctively hiding the doll in her hands behind her back.

In those weathered eyes appeared a trace of guilty uncertainty. She said tremulously, “What is Master saying? How could there be anything inside this doll?”

Ji Yunshu only smiled, not immediately exposing her. She pondered leisurely, her eyes narrowing slightly. “That thing should be a piece of jade, right? Not large, but not small either. Not round, not square. It feels smooth and slippery, with a flat and oval body, a triangular fan-shaped tail, and a slightly upturned head. Hmm? What does it look like? It’s like… a fish.”

Her eyes lit up!

Eh!

Hearing these words, Auntie Xie’s hand immediately trembled. She failed to grip the rag doll tightly, and in an instant it shook loose and fell to the ground.

The wet cloth surface picked up dust from the floor, making it look gray and dirty.

Auntie Xie quickly snatched it up from the ground, continuously wiping it with her patched sleeve, trying to wipe away the dust.

Her movements appeared somewhat panicked and flustered!

She also murmured softly, “There’s nothing inside, no fish…”

Ji Yunshu’s expression darkened slightly, her beautiful brows furrowing. She stood up and walked over, grasping Auntie Xie’s hand that kept wiping the rag doll, then slowly crouched down in front of her.

“Auntie Xie, for these three years, you’ve traveled all the way from the Imperial Manor to the capital—what was it for? Wasn’t it to find the real culprit and get justice for Ye’er? Now, anything related to Ye’er, no matter what it is, could be a clue. If you know something, you shouldn’t hide it. I don’t know why the thing inside this rag doll makes you so panicked, but if you trust me, then tell me.”

“I…”

“I won’t force you, but I hope that when I chose to help you, I wasn’t wrong.”

Hearing this, Auntie Xie’s heart thought of her kindness. If not for her, her daughter’s case could never have been reopened.

So—

After hesitating left and right for a while, she finally spoke. “That’s Ye’er’s most precious thing.”

“What is it?”

“A jade pendant.”

“May I see it?”

Auntie Xie moistened her dry, cracked lips and nodded. She turned the rag doll to one side, found a very inconspicuous thread, and while unpicking it said, “After Ye’er died, I sewed that jade pendant into this rag doll, thinking that when the murderer was brought to justice, I would bury this doll and the jade pendant together in the coffin.”

So the jade pendant was very important!

The thread was slowly picked out. Auntie Xie carefully dug around in the cotton inside for a while, finally pulling the thing out.

Sure enough!

It was a fish-shaped jade pendant.

She handed it to Ji Yunshu. “In the past, Ye’er would always hold this jade pendant and look at it for a long time. Each time she would cry uncontrollably. I pressed her for a long time before she was willing to tell me. It turned out this jade pendant was given to her by the man who got her pregnant. She kept it with her, unwilling to throw it away, guarding it carefully. No one was allowed to touch it. What karma! What did my Ye’er do wrong? Why did that damned wretch ruin her like this?”

Regarding the matter of Ye’er being pregnant before marriage, back then, it had subjected the mother and daughter to much gossip.

Bringing it up—all tears.

Ji Yunshu examined the jade pendant in her palm. It was a small red fish. On the front, there were no carved patterns at all—clean and very smooth. But the craftsmanship was quite exquisite. Although it was made of common jade and couldn’t be considered high quality, it felt very comfortable to hold, polished very finely.

When she turned it over to look, the back of the fish was flat, as if someone had cut it in half, leaving this neat cut mark.

It seemed the other half was on Ye’er’s lover, also the person wearing the pendant that Qiao Zihua had seen.

After examining it thoroughly, she returned the jade pendant to Auntie Xie.

Not long after, the rain outside also stopped, and she instructed Qiao’er to escort Auntie Xie back to her own courtyard.

Ji Yunshu then drew the jade pendant’s style and shape on paper, pondering who to ask to see if anyone knew who the owner of the other half was.

The next day!

Early in the morning, she took Shi Zijin to Zhichun Tower.

Unlike when she had gone in with Jingrong previously to avoid attention, this time she went directly in to find the proprietress of Zhichun Tower.

When the proprietress arrived, she looked her up and down several times. Seeing that the fabric of her clothes and her bearing were good, but she didn’t look like a wealthy person or high official, she immediately gave her a sidelong glance and walked over, fanning herself.

Impatiently she said, “Where did this young master come from? Coming here and asking for me, Madam Yan. Although this old lady is indeed stunningly beautiful, but you…”

She smiled condescendingly with a sneer.

We don’t take your business!

Ji Yunshu wasn’t bothered. Words floated lightly from her mouth. “I’m here investigating a case.”

“Investigating a case?” Madam Yan was puzzled. “You young fellow really love to joke. My Zhichun Tower is a place where young ladies conduct business, not a place for a poor young fellow like you to investigate cases. If you want to investigate cases, go to the yamen! What are you doing coming to my place?”

She waved her fan.

Ji Yunshu said, “Three years ago, Miss Ye’er died here, didn’t she?”

Eh!

Madam Yan’s expression suddenly stiffened. Coming to her senses, she immediately looked around warily and worriedly, then glared at Ji Yunshu. She gently pressed her fan to her red lips and said fiercely, “What nonsense are you spouting? Did you come deliberately to cause trouble?”

“That depends on whether you’re willing to cooperate.”

“What do you mean?”

Ji Yunshu pulled out a token from her sleeve—the yamen token that Lord Zuo had given her to facilitate her investigation.

She casually displayed it before Madam Yan. “Do you recognize this?”

“I… do!”

Seeing it was a yamen token, Madam Yan immediately dropped her earlier fierce and angry appearance.

Ji Yunshu leaned toward her, bringing her mouth to her ear. “This concerns a human life, and it also concerns your Zhichun Tower’s business. Should we talk here? Or go upstairs to talk?”

The corner of Madam Yan’s mouth twitched. She quickly played the host. “Master, please go upstairs.”

She put on an ingratiating appearance.

She led Ji Yunshu and Shi Zijin upstairs to the third floor, finding a spacious, clean room to sit down.

She served them both tea and pastries.

“Officer, if you were coming, why didn’t you give advance notice? I almost neglected you.” Madam Yan continued piling smiles on her face.

Ji Yunshu’s gaze looked around the room several times without responding.

“Officer…”

“My surname is Ji.”

“Lord Ji.” Madam Yan called out very intimately, then swallowed and licked her lips, probing, “Lord Ji, the matter of Ye’er three years ago… hasn’t it already passed? Why are you investigating again today?”

“Which room did Ye’er’s incident occur in previously?”

Straight to the point.

This startled Madam Yan. Her eyes widened.