Jingrong then pulled Ji Yunshu to sit down at another table.

As for Jing Zhaoyin, he was in an awkward position.

He was the prefecture magistrate, and both princes investigating the case were his superiors. It seemed he could simply choose any seat to sit down, but in reality it wasn’t that simple. Although he stood on Jingrong’s side, to now show his hand openly would be somewhat difficult.

So instead—

He sat down at another empty seat.

More comfortable that way.

Village Chief Zhang quickly had people bring over several warmers to warm everyone up and also to dry their damp clothes and shoes.

He also brought several pots of steaming hot tea, pouring full cups for everyone one by one.

Jing Yi pushed the tea aside, somewhat disdainful!

But Wen Shisan across from him wasn’t so particular. Having just searched for evidence in the ruined temple, his whole body was freezing cold—he should drink some tea to warm up.

But as he picked up the teacup and was about to drink, before the cup even reached his lips—

Something flew from somewhere and suddenly struck his thumb, causing sharp pain.

His hand loosened.

The teacup smashed to the ground.

With a “crash.”

Shattered to smithereens.

Jing Yi across from him asked, “What happened?”

He clutched his thumb, looked around, gritted his teeth, and shook his head. “Nothing!”

Seeing this, Village Chief Zhang served him another cup of tea.

He picked up the teacup again—

With a “bang.”

This time it hit the teacup in his hand. The cup developed a hole, scalding tea flowed out, burning him so that he loosened his grip again.

As a result, another cup was sacrificed.

This time, he couldn’t bear it.

He stood up angrily and questioned loudly, “Who exactly is it?”

His voice boomed!

Everyone in the ancestral hall looked at him bewildered.

No one spoke.

Jing Yi across from him seemed to have detected something. He glanced with his peripheral vision at Jingrong at the next table drinking tea, and understood what was happening.

Then he said to Wen Shisan, “Shisan, sit down.”

Although Wen Shisan was unwilling, he still held his composure and sat down.

However—

The moment his rear end touched the chair, the chair collapsed, and both man and chair fell to the ground.

His face stiffened with anger as he endured the pain and climbed up.

Just as he was about to demand accountability from the culprit—

He heard Jingrong’s voice from the next table, “How careless Young Master Wen is—unable to hold onto a cup is one thing, but how can you fall while sitting in a chair? Truly amusing.”

In his tone, cold mockery and sarcasm!

Wen Shisan was no fool—he knew Jingrong was behind these tricks.

His teeth ground audibly!

His face twisted with anger.

He said, “I never expected Your Highness would also enjoy playing such underhanded games.”

“Oh? Underhanded? This prince doesn’t understand what you’re saying.”

“You…”

“Shisan, forget it.” Jing Yi advised, glancing sideways at Jingrong. “Why bother arguing with petty people?”

Jingrong smiled and picked up the thread, “Indeed, petty people will have heaven deal with them, sooner or later they’ll face retribution—they’ll laugh for a moment but cry for a lifetime.”

“…”

Jing Yi’s expression darkened, but in the end he still restrained himself.

Wen Shisan was furious, but the other party was a prince after all. He could only brush the dust off himself, “Hmph,” and said to Jing Yi, “Your Highness, Wen shall go outside for some fresh air.”

He stepped toward the door.

But Jingrong wasn’t finished. His fingertips pinched another small pebble, planning to strike the back of Wen Shisan’s head.

But Ji Yunshu stopped him in time.

She held his hand and shook her head.

Jingrong obediently put the pebble away in his sleeve.

Then she said, “I’m going out for a moment.”

Jingrong nodded.

She stood up and went out.

Outside.

Wen Shisan was standing under the eaves washing his hands.

She walked over to his side, looked up at the oppressively dark sky, and said, “I never expected… you and I would meet again in the capital.”

Her tone was cool and detached.

Wen Shisan’s hands stiffened and he drew them back. He looked sideways at the person beside him and said, “I also never expected that after only four years, you would become the renowned Master Ji of the capital.”

His words carried barbs!

“You don’t need to beat around the bush. Just say it—what exactly is your objective?”

Straight to the point!

Wen Shisan: “What objective could I have? Prince Yi invited me to solve the case, so I came.”

“There’s no one else here, you don’t need to hide it. What kind of person you are, Zhou San, I think no one knows better than I do.”

“Zhou San?” He smiled, his eyes narrowing. “That name—I haven’t heard it in over four years either.”

Ji Yunshu turned her body to face him, raising her cold, stern eyes. “Listen carefully. If you dare manipulate anything in this case, I definitely won’t let you off.”

“Master, what are you saying? How could I manipulate anything?”

Then—

“Don’t call me Master.” Ji Yunshu rebuked sharply.

“But the fact is, you truly are my master! As they say, a teacher for a day is a teacher for life.”

“Shut up!”

Ji Yunshu’s temperament was generally calm and composed, but facing this person before her, she was truly furious beyond words!

Wen Shisan had the demeanor of a triumphant villain. “You tell me to shut up, but I must still say—if not for you, Master, back then, there wouldn’t be today’s Wen Shisan. Master, I truly must thank you.”

Disgusting!

Ji Yunshu’s expression turned serious as she said coldly, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you want to solve cases, it’s not just about armchair strategizing—you have to rely on this.”

She extended her finger, pointing at her own head.

On intelligence!

Wen Shisan didn’t care in the slightest. “You don’t need to tell me these things. Over these years, I’ve also solved quite a few cases. The people of Jing’an gave me three words.” He held up three fingers, enunciating each word, “Living Bodhisattva.”

Blatantly flaunting his achievements!

But instead—

Ji Yunshu gave him a cold laugh.

“The so-called ‘quite a few cases’ you solved—are you referring to last year’s serial family extermination case and the skeletal remains case in Jiang Town?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Although I’ve never been to Jiang Town, I thoroughly investigated both those cases. When investigating the family extermination case, you caused over a dozen innocent people to be imprisoned and beaten to death. And the skeletal remains case—you were even more ridiculously wrong. To lure the murderer out, you actually caused the deaths of three innocent people. One was an elderly person over fifty, one was a pregnant woman about to give birth, and another was a child under two years old. You are utterly conscienceless and beyond redemption. Is this your so-called case-solving? Using the sacrifice of human lives to earn yourself the title of Living Bodhisattva?”

Her words rang out forcefully!

Wen Shisan’s expression turned ashen.

Something seemed lodged in his throat—he couldn’t say a single word.

Ji Yunshu continued, “When I said I feared you, it wasn’t because I feared you were more capable than me, but because I feared you would act recklessly, indiscriminately sacrificing innocent lives to solve cases. Do you remember or not—from the very first day you investigated cases with me, I told you: we are destined to work for the King of Hell. Our left hand holds the life of the murderer, our right hand holds the life of the deceased. If we relax for even a moment, we ourselves will surely die.”