Jingrong placed a piece of chicken in her bowl.

“Eat!”

Don’t be shy!

Ji Yunshu had no choice but to set aside the corner piece in her hand and pick up her chopsticks to eat a few bites.

Suddenly remembering something, she looked up and asked him, “I heard that the courier station sent over some materials yesterday. You spent the entire day looking at them today—how was it? Did you find any leads?”

He replied lightly, “Same as you, maybe.”

He had learned to be evasive as he went along.

Just then, the cat they kept in the courtyard came walking over on its short little legs, its paws constantly scratching at Ji Yunshu’s feet.

“Meow~”

She looked down, “Little fellow, could it be that you’re hungry?”

“Meow~”

She put down her bowl and chopsticks, picked up the cat, and took a piece of dried fish to feed it.

But—

The cat suddenly lunged upward, jumped right onto the table, then immediately scrambled back down to the ground.

The corner piece that had been on the table was knocked to the floor by it.

Little fellow, quite wild, aren’t you!

“Meow~”

Ji Yunshu immediately picked up the corner piece and gathered the kitten back into her arms.

Scolding it, “How can you be so rowdy?”

Unexpectedly—

The kitten pushed with all its might, straightening its legs, its body constantly twisting.

“Meow~”

“What’s wrong with you?”

The corner piece in her hand inadvertently moved forward, and the cat desperately tried to escape in the opposite direction, finally jumping to the ground and disappearing in a flash.

As if it had seen a ghost.

Jingrong was also dumbfounded, muttering in confusion, “Isn’t that cat usually very docile? Why is it acting like it saw an enemy?”

Ji Yunshu pondered, raising the corner piece in her hand, “Could it be… because of this?”

Huh?

She explained, “This thing—I removed it from the screen in Ye’er’s room. I noticed there were several scratch marks on it and thought it might be related to the case, so I brought it back.”

“Is this thing that strange? To make the cat react so strongly?” He took the corner piece, furrowing his brow slightly, then brought the object to his nose.

He sniffed a few times.

“Why does it smell like aged tangerine?”

Uh!

Ji Yunshu’s eyes widened in surprise.

“This has the smell of aged tangerine on it?”

He nodded with certainty, “When this prince was young, I often had trouble sleeping at night. The nanny at my side would put some aged tangerine in my sandalwood pillow to help me sleep, so even the faintest trace of that smell, this prince can detect it.”

I see!

Ji Yunshu said, “Cats hate the smell of lemons and tangerines the most. No wonder it had such a strong reaction just now.”

“However…” Jingrong brought the corner piece to his nose again to smell it, “That aged tangerine scent isn’t coming from the wood itself, but rather… from the location of these scratch marks.”

“The scratch marks?”

“That’s right!”

She took the corner piece, ran her fingers over the location of the scratch marks, and brought them to her nose to smell.

Yes, it really was!

She said, “This smell must have been left by whatever made these scratch marks. This corner piece is made of southern camphor wood, and any scent that gets on it will remain in the wood forever. I originally thought these scratches were made by the cat that died in the room, but tangerine is a smell that cats hate—if they smell even a trace of it, they’ll avoid it. So how could a cat have the smell of tangerine on its claws? This shows that whatever made these scratch marks very likely has a connection to Ye’er’s death.”

Jingrong asked, “How do you know these scratch marks are related to the case? Perhaps Ye’er made them herself.”

Ji Yunshu replied, “I’m not certain, but I don’t want to miss even a single clue.”

So dedicated!

Jingrong’s gaze shifted toward the inner room, “When do you plan to have someone move that skeleton out for burial?”

Her thoughts withdrew from the corner piece as she said, “Now is not yet the time.”

“Hasn’t the examination already been completed?”

“Not entirely. I’m still waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

Ji Yunshu asked, “Do you still remember those pebbles I picked up in the courtyard on the first day?”

“I remember!”

She smiled meaningfully, “Soak pebbles in soy sauce for ten days, then wrap them in cloth and rub them around the skeleton. If the person suffered compression while alive, the bone at that location will turn black. Ye’er died from rape. She must have struggled before death, and her hands and body were certainly restrained and compressed. In that situation, nothing would show on the bones, but pebbles plus soy sauce can reveal traces of compression. Perhaps then we’ll be able to find clues about the murderer.”

Alright, Jingrong admitted he had learned something new again.

“Your mind is full of knowledge.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Not humble at all.

At this moment, Lang Bo came over and reported, “Magistrate Zuo has arrived.”

It was almost dark—what was he running over here for?

Jingrong’s stern eyes lifted, “He still dares to come?”

Having accepted private silver from the Qiao family and closed a case, Jingrong hadn’t yet had time to hold him accountable, and now that fellow had the nerve to deliver himself to their door.

In the front hall!

Zuo Yao knelt on the ground, his hands stretched forward on the floor.

Before him lay a long stick.

Bearing thorns to plead guilty?

Interesting!

Though he kept his head lowered, he stretched his ears desperately to listen!

Hearing footsteps approaching, he lowered his body even further, almost pressing himself to the ground, wishing he could dig a hole in the floor to appear even more sincere.

When Jingrong arrived and saw this ridiculous scene before him, he paused for a moment.

What the hell!

What is this?

“This humble official pays respects to Prince Rong.” Zuo Yao’s voice rang out.

Like the sound of an official shouting “Depart!” when the emperor goes on tour.

“Magistrate Zuo, what is this?”

“This humble official knows he has committed a grave crime. In a moment of confusion, I had greedy thoughts. I accepted private silver from the Qiao family at the time. Now thinking back, I regret it deeply. Please, Your Highness, mete out punishment.”

He said this tearfully.

Jingrong responded, “Oh? So Magistrate Zuo really did accept that silver?”

“Yes… yes.”

He sat down in the main seat and sneered coldly, “Then this prince asks you—if Qiao Zihua hadn’t revealed this matter, were you planning to keep hiding it forever?”

“Of course not. This humble official has long been remorseful. I truly shouldn’t have accepted that silver at the time. Actually, when Your Highness first arrived, I wanted to inform you, but since Your Highness was too busy, I worried about disturbing you, so I delayed in speaking out.”

Jingrong’s expression darkened at once, “So you’re blaming this prince for not having time?”

Zuo Yao knew he had said the wrong thing. His whole body trembled, his chest nearly pressing to the ground, and he quickly explained, “This humble official spoke clumsily and said the wrong thing. I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness.”

Bang!

A palm struck heavily on the desk.

Jingrong said coldly, “Forgiveness? You are the parent official of this prefecture, yet for your own selfish interests, you accepted bribes and hastily closed a case that had discrepancies. This is simply absurd. If this prince doesn’t remove you from office and investigate, how can I answer to the people?”

“Your Highness, though this humble official accepted bribes, I regretted it immediately afterward. At the time, I truly intended to return the silver to the Qiao family. Though the coroner also accepted silver, the results he produced from the autopsy had no errors. At that time, the deceased truly did die from poisoning.”