One additional thing?

Minister Yu was bewildered: “Please enlighten me, Minister Ji.”

She said: “After examining Hua Ling’s skeletal remains, I suspected that the skeleton might belong to someone else.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because… judging from the pelvis and sternum of the skeleton, the deceased was pregnant before death. More precisely, when she died, the child had already reached full term.”

Uh!

Minister Yu was shocked!

“This… is impossible?”

Impossible!

“At the time, I also thought it was impossible, because according to the records in the case files, Hua Ling was not only someone who didn’t like to talk, she also rarely had contact with males. She didn’t even frequently interact with the males in the residence. Moreover… according to the testimonies from everyone in the Yu residence, she had a strange affliction.”

This strange affliction was known to everyone in the Yu residence!

Minister Yu knew it too.

Ji Yunshu continued: “Her strange affliction was an aversion to being touched by men! So when you said that night she actively clung to you, the Ministry of Justice deeply doubted it. They even believed you forcibly dragged her into your room, and she resisted to the death, which is why the back of her head struck the table corner and caused her death. How could such a proper woman who avoided contact with males become pregnant without anyone noticing? That’s why I suspected the deceased wasn’t Hua Ling. But after I rushed through the night to complete the skeletal portrait, I discovered that the deceased… was indeed without doubt Hua Ling.” Ji Yunshu stated with certainty.

Generally, maids in the large households of the capital all signed indenture contracts. Unless the master was kind and generous enough to allow them to leave the residence to marry, otherwise they had to serve as slaves for life. Moreover, large households all had complete management systems. Every word and action of the maids was under control, and they were absolutely not allowed to have illicit affairs with anyone. Plus, Hua Ling had always been resistant to males—how could she engage in improper relations with anyone?

Yet the fact was, Hua Ling had indeed been pregnant before death.

Minister Yu was still in shock!

How was this possible?

Ji Yunshu: “This case has extremely few clues, and almost all the evidence is unfavorable to you. So to investigate, I’m afraid we must start by finding out why Hua Ling was pregnant, and why she had such abnormal behavior that night. Clarifying these points is the key to the case.”

“Sigh… how could this happen?”

Ji Yunshu was also confused.

She pointed at the few small dishes before them: “I’ve left the wound medicine. You should also eat something first to maintain your strength. Stay calm in prison. As long as you didn’t kill anyone, I will definitely investigate this case thoroughly and give you justice.”

After Ji Yunshu left, Minister Yu looked at the cup of wine poured for him and let out a long sigh.

Then he picked up the wine cup.

And drank it all in one gulp.

To figure out Hua Ling’s abnormal behavior before death and the matter of her pregnancy, Ji Yunshu went to the Yu residence.

But she brought along Vice Minister Jiang Lan, who was most familiar with this case file.

Using official business as the pretext!

Jiang Lan also eagerly followed her there.

When Yu Wei learned of her arrival, he hurried to the gate to wait and welcome her.

He was extremely excited: “Minister Ji, is it about my father’s case…” Has there been progress?

Interrupted!

Ji Yunshu said seriously: “Court Gentleman Yu, I’ve only just started investigating your father’s case and haven’t obtained any clues yet. This visit to the residence is about Hua Ling.”

“Hua Ling?” Yu Wei didn’t understand.

He led Ji Yunshu to the inner hall and inquired: “Hua Ling is already dead. What does Minister Ji want to know about her?”

There were no others in the inner hall, only two young servants waiting outside.

Jiang Lan stood properly to one side, not disturbing them.

Ji Yunshu furrowed her brows: “It concerns the deceased’s reputation.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to find a few people who were familiar with Hua Ling to question.”

“Understood.”

Yu Wei immediately made arrangements.

During this interval, Ji Yunshu asked him for a registry of the household personnel.

It densely recorded detailed information about the dozens of people who had entered the residence.

She flipped through it extremely quickly, as if just casually looking.

Yet she read very carefully!

Before long, the steward led two young maids in.

“My lord, the people are here. They had the most contact with Hua Ling when she was alive.”

The two maids stood properly in the hall, both hands clasped together pressed against their abdomens, heads lowered, extremely timid, as if afraid of being associated with the deceased Hua Ling.

Ji Yunshu closed the registry in her hands and studied the two young maids before her. Then she stood and walked to the side of the maid in yellow on the left, asking: “What’s your name?”

The maid shrank her head down but stole a glance at Ji Yunshu.

When Ji Yunshu handled cases, she always wore men’s clothing. Now in her custom-made official robes, her expression serious and composed, plus her current tone not as gentle as a woman’s, with clean and handsome features even more striking than a man’s—even women would be moved seeing her, even too shy to meet her gaze directly.

This maid was no exception. She replied: “This servant is called Mu Mu.”

“Mu Mu?” Ji Yunshu searched through her information in her mind while saying: “You’re from Anjiang, exactly seventeen this year. Your parents died during a famine when you were young, and you have a younger brother below you. But helpless due to the hardships of life, you had no choice but to enter service. You entered the Yu residence at age eight, coincidentally on the same day as Hua Ling, so you always shared a room. But you worked in the front courtyard while she worked in the rear courtyard.”

A flash of panic crossed Mu Mu’s eyes. She buried her head even deeper and answered in a small voice: “Yes.”

“Are you very nervous?”

“No… no.”

A lie!

She was clearly extremely nervous.

Ji Yunshu stared at her for a moment, then walked to the side of the other maid and asked: “What’s your name?”

Although this maid was also timid, she was still somewhat bolder. She directly met Ji Yunshu’s gaze and said: “This servant is called Nan Ni.”

“Nan Ni?” Ji Yunshu again searched through this person’s information in her mind and said: “You’re from Pingkou County, also seventeen this year. You came to the Yu residence at age six. After entering the residence, you originally helped in the kitchen, then were transferred to the rear courtyard, working together with Hua Ling in the rear courtyard with a very good relationship.”

Nan Ni’s eyes lit up with delight: “Yes, my lord got it all right.” After speaking, she secretly glanced at her young master, immediately “wilted,” and bowed slightly: “This servant was impolite.”

Compared to Mu Mu, Nan Ni seemed much more carefree!

Yu Wei frowned.

He glared hard at Nan Ni!

His own servant losing propriety before Minister Ji struck at his face, but given the presence of outsiders, it wasn’t appropriate to discipline her.

However, Yu Wei was also astonished.

He looked at Ji Yunshu, his eyes now holding admiration. It was said that some people could read ten lines at a glance with amazing memory. He had always thought that was just literati paying for a gimmick, an exaggeration. But today he personally experienced it. This Minister Ji had only looked at his household registry for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea—information on dozens of people!

And she could remember it all!

His respect deepened even more.

He thought that with Minister Ji’s assistance in this case, his father would surely be saved.