For these six years, no one in the Marquis of Pingyang’s household would publicly mention the person called Du Mubai.

As if that person had never appeared!

Li Cheng only occasionally mentioned him a few times in front of Li Wenshu.

But only a few mentions, never elaborating.

He had never imagined that the murder case he was now responsible for would implicate Du Mubai.

And as his words just now fell, a heavy atmosphere gradually spread through the hall.

A character they’d just found a clue about was actually already dead.

Dead in the literary lodge that this year’s scholars said was haunted.

And he had died three years before Su Qiao!

Strange!

Ji Yinshu picked up the worn folding fan again.

Her gaze fixed on the blurred writing.

She looked for a long time before analyzing, “During her lifetime, the deceased greatly valued this bundle, even holding it and crying secretly, which shows there must have been something inside she greatly valued. But apart from a set of clothing and worn shoes, the only thing that could be called important is this fan. And if she cared so much about this fan, naturally she cared about the person who gave it. The poem on the fan was written by this person called Du Mubai, and the verses are romantic in nature. Presumably, Du Mubai wrote them for Su Qiao, which is why she cared so much. Therefore… their relationship was clearly extraordinary. If not husband and wife, then lovers!”

“Impossible!” Li Cheng immediately rejected this.

His voice was loud.

His brows tightly furrowed.

Ji Yinshu asked, “Why is it impossible?”

“Du Mubai was a disciple in my household. Naturally I know some things about him. As far as I know, he was never married.”

“Then they were lovers!”

“Also impossible.”

Hm?

Ji Yinshu raised the fan in her hand and continued, “This poem on the fan is indeed a love poem. If they weren’t lovers, why would he gift such a fan? Young Master Cheng repeatedly says it’s impossible—do you have a reason?”

“Because…” He liked my older sister—how could he write love poems for another woman? But he swallowed these words in time, only saying, “Anyway… it’s just impossible.”

He flicked his sleeve.

Unwilling to reveal the old matters between his sister and Du Mubai!

After all, very few people knew.

Ji Yinshu saw him hesitating to speak and guessed there must be some matter he couldn’t discuss. She wasn’t willing to press the issue, only saying, “But regardless, the deceased must be connected to Du Mubai. So to confirm her identity, I’m afraid we must first start with Du Mubai. Since he was a disciple in your household back then, you should know something about him. I want to see if we can determine Su Qiao’s identity from among the people he associated with. So I ask the young master to tell me about him in detail.”

Li Cheng wanted to know who exactly this person called Su Qiao was.

Why did she have that fan?

So he recounted everything he knew about Du Mubai…

That Du Mubai, known as the “Southern Shen Talent,” had caused a sensation throughout Gaoding City back then.

During the Gaoding examination, because of one essay, he gained the admiration of the Marquis of Pingyang.

Who took him into the household as a disciple.

This person’s circle was extremely small—he didn’t know many people. It was only known that he was an only son with a poor family background. He had never mentioned anyone called Su Qiao.

Much less was it known whether he had a sweetheart.

That year, everyone believed Du Mubai would certainly achieve the top scholar position. Who knew that just before the examination, someone reported him for stealing another scholar’s poetry. At the time the evidence was irrefutable, and he had no way to defend himself.

The Marquis of Pingyang was furious and revoked his qualification as a disciple of the Pingyang household!

In just that short span of a day, Du Mubai fell from the peak to the depths.

From the “Southern Shen Talent” known to all, he became a shameful thief of poetry, and became a laughingstock among the scholars.

Who knew—

Three days before the examination, Du Mubai committed suicide in a room in the literary lodge.

Death by hanging!

At the time, it again caused a sensation throughout Gaoding City.

And at that time, the Marquis of Pingyang had taken on another disciple.

Xue He!

But because of the Du Mubai incident, the Marquis of Pingyang was also implicated, and simultaneously revoked Xue He’s disciple status.

Xue He was similarly deeply affected, but didn’t take such an extreme path—only failed the examination in the end.

Li Cheng recounted the events of that year one by one.

Many of the old officials present actually knew about this, and several had even been involved back then, having investigated the matter.

However, none of this information contained anyone called Su Qiao!

Just as everyone was at a loss—

Jingrong spoke up. “The deceased came to Gaoding three years ago. She said she was looking for someone and carried this fan with her. Presumably her reason for coming to Gaoding was related to Du Mubai. But Du Mubai died six years ago—she couldn’t not have known. Therefore, her purpose in coming to Gaoding was related to Du Mubai’s death. She may have wanted to know whether Du Mubai truly died. Or perhaps…”

He didn’t continue further!

Li Cheng hurriedly asked, “Or perhaps what?”

“Or perhaps she believed there was another reason for Du Mubai’s death. She came to Gaoding to uncover the truth.”

Eh!

Li Cheng said, “That doesn’t make sense either. If she truly believed there was another reason for Du Mubai’s death, why didn’t she come six years ago? Why wait three years instead?”

Jingrong smiled slightly. “Young Master Cheng, I said ‘perhaps,’ not ‘certainly.’ But if you want to know the reason, you can ask Su Qiao directly—ask her why she waited three years before coming to Gaoding.”

Eh!

The person was already dead—how could he ask directly?

This was clearly making things difficult for him!

Li Cheng was left speechless.

Ji Yinshu interjected, “As long as we know Su Qiao’s identity, all of this will naturally be resolved.”

“How do we find out?” Li Cheng asked.

“We still need to start with Du Mubai. We should immediately send people to Du Mubai’s hometown. I believe someone there must know Su Qiao.”

“Good!” Li Cheng immediately agreed and ordered, “Quickly send people to Du Mubai’s ancestral home. We must find out who this Su Qiao is, and also know why she came to Gaoding three years ago.”

“Yes!”

The officials didn’t dare delay.

They left immediately.

Li Cheng turned to Ji Yinshu. “Going back and forth will probably take several days. Do we continue waiting?”

“Of course not!”

“Then…”

“I need to go to the morgue again!”

“What for at the morgue?”

“To examine that rock.”

…

Shortly after, everyone followed Ji Yinshu’s steps to the morgue.

She and Li Cheng went inside.

Jingrong waited outside.

The heavy snow continued falling, and there was much accumulated snow in the courtyard. Some guards were using shovels to clear a path.

Zhao’er also silently followed them.

The maid said, “Miss, shouldn’t we return? At this time, the master should be returning to the manor. If he finds out Miss went out, who knows what he’ll say! Besides, with such heavy snow and cold weather, we should hurry back to the manor.”