The lamplight was hushed.

The candlelight illuminated the bloody pig’s head on the ground, both terrifying and bizarre.

Even though Shen Fengying prided himself on his worldly experience, at this moment he couldn’t quite recover his composure.

A pig’s head?

Shouldn’t there have been a human head in the package? How did it turn out to be a pig’s head?

He rubbed his eyes hard, trying to make sense of the scene before him, but no matter how he looked at it, that head with its unshaved bristles and big floppy ears remained far from anything human.

It was indeed just a pig’s head.

Xia Rongrong stared at the pig’s head in the package, looking bewilderedly at Lu Tong: “Lu-Lu Tong, why do you have a pig’s head here?”

This was exactly what Shen Fengying wanted to ask too.

Setting aside whether there had been a murder, what normal young lady would keep a blood-covered pig’s head wrapped in white cloth under her bed?

Lu Tong smiled slightly, her tone carrying a subtle mockery.

“What? The law states that killing people is a crime, but is killing animals forbidden too?”

Shen Fengying choked, instantly realizing he’d been mocked by this woman. He immediately put on a stern face, “Enough idle talk. Tell me, why did you put a pig’s head under your bed?”

Just as Lu Tong was about to answer, unexpectedly came the voices of officers from outside: “Sir, we found it! We’ve dug up what was under the ground!”

Du Changqing was startled.

There was something?

The relief he had felt upon seeing the pig’s head instantly turned back to anxiety. Ignoring everything else, Du Changqing bit his lip and hurriedly lifted his robes to run outside.

Shen Fengying also forgot about questioning Lu Tong, taking two steps at a time as he rushed out to check under the tree.

Bai Shouyi’s eyes flickered as he followed the others out. Only Lu Tong and Pei Yunying remained behind.

One was the suspect, one was the commander – it was understandable that he would watch her.

Lu Tong still held the lamp, its hazy light making her already beautiful features appear even softer, though it scattered the look in her eyes.

Walking beside her, Pei Yunying spoke quietly: “What’s under the tree?”

Lu Tong’s movements paused briefly.

She looked up, meeting his inquiring gaze, and smiled gently.

“Why doesn’t my lord go see for himself?”

With that, she ignored him and carried the lamp toward the courtyard.

In the courtyard under the plum tree, the officers were gathered around. In the middle of the small courtyard lay a long cloth bag, already opened to reveal a bloody half-carcass inside.

White and stark, plump, four legs, with a tail.

Even though half the body had been cut open at the chest cavity, in the moonlight one could see this was a… no, half a pig.

“A pig?”

Xia Rongrong stood dumbfounded.

Du Changqing’s tense heart also instantly relaxed halfway, but doubt gradually rose from the depths of his heart. He looked at Lu Tong and asked suspiciously: “Dr. Lu, did this pig wrong you somehow?”

First a pig’s head, then a pig’s body – one hidden under the bed, one buried in the courtyard. What was Lu Tong doing?

Shen Fengying was getting a massive headache, full of questions he wanted to ask when suddenly there was a commotion at the guarded medical hall entrance. It seemed someone was trying to force their way in. An officer led a man into the courtyard and reported to Shen Fengying: “Sir, this person wishes to see you.”

The newcomer was a robust man with a strong, martial build. Even in autumn, he wore only a short white jacket, revealing his powerful physique. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he said: “Dr. Lu, I just heard from neighbors that officials had come to your door. I thought it might be about the pork, so I came to help explain.”

“Pork?” Shen Fengying frowned as he looked the man over. “Who are you?”

The man scratched his head, showing a somewhat simple smile: “This humble one is Dai Sanlang from the Dai family butcher shop at the temple entrance.”

“Dai Sanlang?” One of the officers exclaimed in surprise. “The famous ‘Pan An of Pork’ from a while back?”

Dai Sanlang’s smile became somewhat embarrassed: “That’s me.”

Shen Fengying gave an annoyed look at the officer who had spoken before turning to Dai Sanlang: “Dai Sanlang, what business do you have with me?”

Dai Sanlang was about to answer when he caught sight of the half-pig carcass dug up in the courtyard. He paused before speaking: “Oh, so it’s already been dug up.”

He looked at Shen Fengying, his tone becoming serious: “Sir, this half pig in Dr. Lu’s medical hall – I sold it to her.”

Dai Sanlang… sold it to her?

Shen Fengying was stunned.

Just then, Yinzheng, who had been silent all along, suddenly sighed and looked at Lu Tong: “Miss, why keep hiding it? Perhaps you should explain clearly.”

Du Changqing turned around: “Explain what?”

Lu Tong lowered her head slightly, and when she raised it again, her gaze had returned to its usual calm.

She sighed: “Very well, I hadn’t planned to speak of this, but now that the misunderstanding has grown so large, it cannot be resolved without explanation. Better to make things clear.”

She walked to the tree, handed her lamp to Yinzheng, and let her gaze fall on the bloody pig carcass in the courtyard.

“A few days ago, I planned to make a new medicine. This new medicine required very specific materials and catalysts: half a bowl of blood from a freshly killed pig, pig heart, lungs, intestines, and stomach that had been stored in wet soil for three days, and rotting pig’s head meat.”

“I knew these materials weren’t hard to find, but a medical hall is a place for treating illness and selling medicine. If people saw bloody things, it would inevitably cause panic. Moreover, when people buy medicine, they mostly only see the final product. If they happen to see certain unsuitable medicinal materials, it would affect their mindset about taking the medicine.”

In the night, her voice was clear and pleasant as she explained unhurriedly.

“It was precisely because I worried about this that I went to Dai’s butcher shop to buy a fresh pig. Then I took advantage of the night when no one was around to bring the pig back and bury it under the tree. That pig’s head meat was also specially wrapped and placed under my bed, not yet at the point of rotting – opening the box now would be useless.”

“I did this to avoid causing panic, but I never expected others would see it, much less that it would lead to such absurd suspicions.” She smiled as she glanced at Xia Rongrong, her tone meaningful.

Everyone suddenly understood.

So it was for making new medicine.

This wasn’t impossible – one often heard of strange materials being used in developing new medicines, things like insects, fingernails, hair, and stones could all be used medicinally. Rotting pork hardly seemed extraordinary in comparison.

Seeing this, Dai Sanlang hurriedly said: “That’s exactly right! Dr. Lu came to take the pig just last night. Seeing how slight she was, I specially picked out a lean one for her, and I drew that bowl of pig’s blood for her myself. If you lords don’t believe me, you can go check my shop – the other half of the pig is still there unsold. Put them together, and they’ll match up perfectly!”

With both witness testimony and physical evidence present, trying to pin a murder charge on Lu Tong would be forcing the impossible.

Shen Fengying’s face looked rather unpleasant. After all this commotion for half a night, mobilizing so many men, all they found was half a rotting pig.

Pah! He had even tried to show off in front of Pei Yunying, but now he’d just made a fool of himself!

Thinking of this, Shen Fengying shot a fierce look at Bai Shouyi, the informant. If this man hadn’t been so adamant when making his report, how could he have ended up in such an embarrassing situation?

Bai Shouyi’s face became somewhat rigid, a stiffness that was caught by Xia Rongrong beside him.

Xia Rongrong bit her lip.

She had been afraid before, thinking Lu Tong would be taken away by the officials tonight, and that she would have to bear Du Changqing’s fury. But perhaps because Bai Shouyi was sharing the anger, her fear wasn’t quite so genuine anymore.

But under the plum tree in the courtyard, what they had dug up was half a dead pig.

How could it possibly be a pig?

Just last night, she had pressed her eyes tightly against the window crack. In the silent autumn wind, she had heard Lu Tong talking with her maid, and among the murmurs, the word “corpse” had been particularly clear.

That night, Lu Tong’s white cloak had shown mottled bloodstains on the lamplight. Now that cloak had become the cloth wrapping the pig’s head, with even more blood, and deeper stains, almost completely soaking the fabric until its original white was indiscernible.

No, something wasn’t right!

Xia Rongrong suddenly froze.

Dai Sanlang said he had killed the pig last night, but Lu Tong’s bloody cloak was from two nights ago!

She was lying!

Xia Rongrong’s eyes lit up as she grabbed Du Changqing’s sleeve, pointing at the woman before them, her voice trembling with excitement.

“She’s lying! I saw her return with bloody clothes the night before last, not last night. These aren’t even the same incidents! She’s deliberately confusing you – she did kill someone!”

Shen Fengying looked somewhat doubtful, but Lu Tong remained composed, gazing calmly at Xia Rongrong as she spoke: “Whether Miss Xia was dreaming or saw wrong, you keep insisting I killed someone. Yet under the tree is pork, under the bed is a pig’s head. If you can find other bloody clothes, that would be fine… but I’m afraid you can’t condemn me on words alone.”

“Or perhaps… Miss Xia bears some grudge against me?”

Xia Rongrong faltered.

Where was her evidence? All proof had been erased by Lu Tong. That bloody clothing must have either been replaced or soaked in pig’s blood until nothing could be distinguished.

Seeing even Bai Shouyi’s gaze grow increasingly skeptical, Xia Rongrong felt both angry and anxious, utterly wrong.

Her instincts told her that Lu Tong before her must have killed someone. This seemingly cold and fragile female doctor would reveal a coldness others rarely glimpsed in the deep of night, just like when she had poisoned that innocent rabbit—

The rabbit!

Xia Rongrong’s expression jolted as she called out urgently, heedless of those present: “I’m not lying, you are! You’re not some doctor who saves lives at all. I saw you poison a rabbit with my own eyes. I remember clearly – that little rabbit had a circle of black fur around its eyes, it was so cute and lively, but you fed it poison in the kitchen—”

“A rabbit?”

Lu Tong looked at her quizzically, then fell silent for a moment before walking slowly to a corner of the courtyard.

In the corner sat a large bamboo basket full of furry bundles. Lu Tong looked inside, then reached in to lift one out, holding it in her arms.

“Is it this one?”

Xia Rongrong froze.

The rabbit had black rings around its eyes and lay docilely in her arms, gentle and obedient. Autumn light swept over the old wall, Beijing’s vastness cold as ice. The woman stood in the flickering lamplight as autumn winds lifted her plain silk skirts, osmanthus branches fragrant in her hair. She was like a snow mountain’s pool, like the moon over a cold pond, like a fairy maiden from the moon.

She spoke calmly, smiling.

“What nonsense is Miss Xia speaking? This rabbit is right here, perfectly fine.”

Xia Rongrong’s face showed shock as she stumbled back two steps.

How was this possible?

How could this be?

She had seen that rabbit bleeding from seven orifices, dying – how could it appear here completely unharmed?

Yet Xia Rongrong could see this was indeed that rabbit. After Du Changqing bought the rabbits, she and Xiangcao had been the ones feeding them. This rabbit with its black eyes was the most interesting, and she had particularly liked it, often holding and playing with it.

But after that night when she encountered Lu Tong poisoning the rabbit in the kitchen, Xia Rongrong was too frightened and left the feeding to Xiangcao.

She looked at Xiangcao, who also appeared bewildered, clearly having not noticed when this rabbit had appeared.

When had she put it there?

Xia Rongrong looked up at Lu Tong, and in that instant, a chill penetrated her bones.

Had Lu Tong bought an identical rabbit? When had she started preparing? Could everything in the medical hall tonight have been completely within her control?

Shen Fengying had grown weary of this drama of veiled confrontation. Seeing that tonight would likely yield no more meaningful achievements, he felt both bored and embarrassed, his anger even extending to the informant Bai Shouyi.

Suppressing his displeasure with Bai Shouyi, he approached Pei Yunying and spoke somewhat sheepishly.

“It seems tonight was a misunderstanding. It’s all my fault for not investigating thoroughly before searching, wasting young Lord Pei’s special trip to deliver the warrant. I truly feel ashamed.”

Pei Yunying smiled indifferently.

“No waste. The office was quiet tonight – thanks to Commander Shen, the evening’s twists and turns have relieved the boredom. Besides, it wasn’t entirely fruitless.” He glanced at the woman standing in the courtyard, who had retreated again into the shadows under the eaves, her emotions impossible to discern.

Shen Fengying breathed a sigh of relief – it was good that the Commander wasn’t angry.

Yinzheng stepped forward with a smile, saying: “It’s our fault for causing such a chain of misunderstandings. The officials were only being cautious and responsible out of concern for our safety. We’re sorry to have troubled you with a wasted trip.” She slipped a purse into an officer’s hand. “It’s too late now, and the teahouses on West Street are closed. Please take this to get some tea in the south of the city – it’s just a small token of our appreciation.”

Shen Fengying’s eyes flickered as he couldn’t help but give Yinzheng another look – whatever else might be said about this medical hall, at least the maid knew how to handle matters.

He called to his men: “Let’s head back.” Just as he was about to leave, another officer suddenly ran in from outside.

“Sir… sir…”

“What now?”

“A male corpse has been discovered at the foot of Wangchun Mountain.”

“Oh?” Shen Fengying stopped in his tracks.

How strange – usually nothing ever happened, and the military patrol office was full of good-for-nothing rice buckets, but tonight was full of excitement. What was this – had they suddenly awakened and decided to do their jobs properly?

He asked: “When did he die? Has the coroner looked at him?”

“They’re heading to Wangchun Mountain now. The brothers who went ahead sent word that the man appears to have pierced his own throat with a rock – it looks like suicide, but…”

“Stop stammering – but what?”

The officer glanced at Pei Yunying beside him, looking troubled.

Pei Yunying turned his head: “What is it?”

The officer gritted his teeth and said: “But they found a purse on the unnamed corpse with the name of Palace Guard Duan Xiaoyan embroidered on it.”

Palace Guard?

Shen Fengying was startled – how had the Palace Guard become involved in this?

“Ah,” came a woman’s exclamation from behind, “so it was someone from the Palace Guard?”

Pei Yunying’s smile vanished as he turned to look at her coldly.

Lu Tong took several steps forward, moving past the hazy lamplight under the eaves, her beautiful, harmless face fully revealed.

“No wonder Commander Pei was so eager to raid the medical hall.”

Moonlight fell upon her, illuminating her snow-white face to jade-like perfection. She looked up at him slightly, her tone one of surprise, yet the smile on her lips was both mocking and challenging.

“So…”

“This is a case of a thief crying ‘Stop thief!'”

Dice Six: Come on! Let’s hurt each other!!

Little Pei: ???? Who’s the thief crying ‘stop thief’ here???