Minister Zhao stared at the tabletop, his eyes narrowing.

On the smooth surface of the table, a character for “Luo” was written prominently.

“Could it be—” Minister Zhao’s expression changed slightly as he looked at Vice Minister Sun.

Minister Zhao naturally thought of who this “Luo” referred to.

Looking throughout the entire court, who else could it be besides Commander Luo of the Jinlin Guard!

Could it be that the multiple disappearance cases Lin Teng had been investigating these past days were all connected to Commander Luo?

Vice Minister Sun didn’t know about the disappearance cases. Seeing that Minister Zhao had understood, he said in a low voice: “The Jinlin Guard has always acted mysteriously. Most likely this is the intent of those above. If any case involves them, I advise Lord Zhao not to investigate too deeply.”

Minister Zhao’s eyelids twitched as he listened.

This Vice Minister Sun—knowing nothing, he was already guessing it was the intent of those above. If he knew that the Ministry of Justice was investigating serial disappearances, he would probably regret it enough to slap himself.

Regardless of what he thought internally, Minister Zhao cooperated by nodding: “Lord Sun speaks truly.”

Vice Minister Sun wiped his mouth and said with a belch: “Many thanks to Lord Zhao for the hospitality today. It’s getting late, so let’s part ways here.”

“Yes, let’s part ways.”

Hearing Kou’er read out the bill, Minister Zhao gritted his teeth and said to put it on account, then walked out of the tavern together with Vice Minister Sun.

Before leaving, he instinctively looked back and glanced at Luo Sheng sitting by the counter.

The light at the counter was somewhat dim. The young woman in plain-colored clothing was enveloped in warm orange light, adding some warmth to her otherwise cool and detached features, making her appear as gentle and beautiful as a painting.

Minister Zhao’s gaze was heavy as he sighed deeply in his heart.

Outside the tavern, the spring chill was biting, clearing one’s head.

After parting with Vice Minister Sun, Minister Zhao hesitated for a moment, then lifted his feet and walked toward the Ministry of Justice offices.

That brat Lin Teng became impatient whenever a case was involved. Knowing that he had invited Vice Minister Sun for drinks to extract information, he was certainly still waiting at the offices for news.

As for Commander Luo—thinking of that character “Luo” written in tea water on the table, Minister Zhao couldn’t help but sigh again.

Truth be told, he had a decent private relationship with Commander Luo. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have agreed when Commander Luo asked him to be a shill on the opening day of You Jian Tavern.

The reason he had a good relationship with Commander Luo was that this person’s character was acceptable. Even though he held the position of Jinlin Guard Commander, he tried his best to leave some room for maneuvering in his actions.

Of course, the Jinlin Guard had done plenty of things over the years that earned people’s scorn, but when water is too clear there are no fish—which of them was truly completely clean?

Because of this understanding, he was more inclined to believe this was the intent of that person above. And with this suspicion, it would be inappropriate to go confront Commander Luo.

If he went to ask, would Commander Luo speak or not?

If he did speak, and it involved that person above, then what should he, as Minister of Justice, do?

Minister Zhao shook his head: Sometimes it’s better to remain deliberately ignorant.

The lights in the Ministry of Justice offices were still lit. Lin Teng was indeed waiting for Minister Zhao.

Seeing Minister Zhao enter, Lin Teng rose abruptly, his serious face revealing some joy: “Your Excellency has returned.”

Minister Zhao sighed silently and walked over with an impassive expression.

“Has Your Excellency finished drinking with Vice Minister Sun?”

“Finished. That Vice Minister Sun ate and drank his fill in one sitting, but his mouth was quite tight—he kept deflecting with me the whole time.” Minister Zhao showed an indignant expression and sat heavily in his chair.

Lin Teng was slightly stunned: “Your Excellency didn’t learn anything?”

“Nothing useful.” Minister Zhao was very experienced at deceiving people, and of course had no psychological pressure deceiving his straightforward trusted subordinate. “Lin Teng, I think approaching things through Vice Minister Sun won’t work. Better to investigate from other directions. If you really can’t find anything, having tried your best is enough. There are countless unsolved cases in this world—how could they all be solved? You’ve long understood this principle.”

Lin Teng suppressed his disappointment and nodded silently, but didn’t develop any thought of giving up.

Those were living lives, one after another—young women in the bloom of youth.

If this path didn’t work, there would always be another.

Lin Teng couldn’t help but think of Luo Sheng, vaguely sensing: The breakthrough in this case might lie with Miss Luo.

Of the one hundred and six women with identical birth dates and times, his side could watch over a dozen or so, and the rest would have to rely on Miss Luo’s people.

As long as their thinking was correct, the mastermind behind this would surely make another move on one or several of these one hundred and six women. By keeping close watch on these women, sooner or later they could drag out the perpetrator.

This was the most foolish method, but also the most effective—it would just consume time and effort.

Two days passed like this when a small beggar child came running to report: The woman their group was watching had been dragged away by two men!

According to the arrangements, three beggar children formed one group, responsible for tailing one woman. Once something happened, one beggar child would come report, one would remain in place to relay messages, and one would quietly follow to avoid losing the trail.

When Luo Sheng received the news, she instinctively glanced out the window.

Though the spring chill had not yet retreated, the spring sun was bright, and outside the window everything was clear and transparent.

To dare make a move in broad daylight—calling it utterly unconscionable would not be excessive.

She immediately ordered the Shi Yan brothers to follow the beggar child to rescue the person, and sent someone to relay the message to Lin Teng.

During the anxious wait, Lin Teng arrived first.

Lin Teng came hurriedly with several subordinates. Upon entering, he asked urgently: “Miss Luo, where exactly did the incident occur? I’ll rush over immediately!”

Luo Sheng maintained calm on her face: “Lord Lin, please don’t be hasty. I’ve already sent people to rescue her.”

Lin Teng couldn’t possibly wait. He insisted: “One more person means one more safeguard.”

“The incident occurred at an alley entrance on Songzi Street. As for whether they’re still there now, there’s no news yet. If Lord Lin is anxious, you can rush over to have a look. However, the ones who went to rescue the person are the Shi Yan brothers. I believe with their abilities, there shouldn’t be any mishaps.”

Hearing it was the Shi Yan brothers, Lin Teng’s highly strung heart relaxed by half, but his sense of duty still made him hurriedly depart with his people.

Luo Sheng watched the figure disappearing at the tavern entrance and lowered her eyes to take a sip of tea.

She had only drunk half a cup of tea when Lin Teng returned.

Returning with him was Shi Yan.

Before Luo Sheng could ask, Shi Yan said: “On my way back I happened to meet Lord Lin, so we came back together. Miss, rest assured—that woman has already been sent home by several of Lord Lin’s subordinates.”

Luo Sheng looked at Lin Teng.

Lin Teng nodded slightly: “The woman’s name is Xianniang. She’s a peddler’s wife. Because her husband felt somewhat unwell today, she went out to deliver goods in his place—who would have thought something would happen. I thought that since those people were only targeting women with the same birth date and time, not harboring personal grudges, knowing too much would actually be bad for her, so I had her sent home first.”

“Lord Lin’s arrangements are quite appropriate.” Luo Sheng turned her eyes to ask Shi Yan, “What about the two men who attacked the woman?”

“At the time, I was responsible for taking the woman away, and Shi Yi went to chase those two men. Rest assured, Miss—with my fourth brother’s skills, those two can’t fly away.”

Just as Shi Yan said, before long Shi Yi dragged two people back through the rear door to the tavern.