Luo Yang waited outside. When he saw those two elite soldiers come out, he asked, “You two lords, did you see any thieves inside?”

“No.”

“Then perhaps… they ran somewhere else.”

Those two were from the Court of Judicial Review after all, and their minds worked somewhat faster than ordinary people. Both of them glanced at Luo Yang, their eyes narrowing as they asked suspiciously, “Did you truly see a figure go inside?”

“Of course.”

“Then why are you the only one searching? Where are the other people from the manor?”

Uh!

Luo Yang lowered his head, his expression trembling slightly.

He was afraid of revealing some flaw!

Just at this moment, the old steward who had led that group of people earlier came over.

The old steward raised his voice and asked, “Why are you still here? Did you find anyone?”

Luo Yang quickly said, “Still searching, haven’t found them.”

“Then why aren’t you hurrying to search somewhere else?”

“Yes!”

Luo Yang seized this opportunity and quickly left.

The two elite soldiers looked at each other and asked the old steward, “Are there truly thieves?”

The old steward said, “They say they saw someone. We’re searching now. In the past two days, people have also seen figures, but after searching around, we couldn’t find any trace. So it’s still safer to look everywhere.”

The figure mentioned before was presumably Jingrong!

The two men, having heard this, no longer harbored suspicion.

The old steward also led his people to continue searching.

At this time inside Water Moon Pavilion, Ji Yunshu saw that all the people outside had dispersed. She then walked to Li Shiyan’s door.

A lock was fastened on the door. Inside the room was pitch black—not a sound could be heard.

She looked inside through the paper pasted on the window lattice but could see nothing.

After a long while, she reached out and knocked on the door.

Li Shiyan was lying on the bed, his heart uneasy. The label of murderer had not yet been removed from him. There were only two days left. If the Court of Judicial Review and Su Ziluo could not find evidence to prove his innocence, he would certainly be escorted to the Court of Judicial Review. At that time, Minister Wang, in order to avenge his nephew, would definitely enter the palace to see the Emperor and request his execution. The Emperor, for the sake of justice, would certainly issue the order.

Thinking of this, he tossed and turned on the bed, unable to sleep no matter what!

Earlier when the two elite soldiers came to knock on the door, he was already vexed and irritated. Now someone was knocking on the door again. He turned over and got off the bed, roaring toward the door in a low voice, “What are you here for again?”

Ji Yunshu heard Li Shiyan’s voice and said softly, “Heir Apparent.”

A female voice?

Li Shiyan froze!

That voice…

His pupils suddenly widened. A gaze shot straight toward the door, then he rose and walked over in one step.

Outside the door stood a figure. That figure was very slender, resembling a particular person!

Even though a door separated them, he still felt it was extremely familiar.

Was it her?

No!

How could it be possible?

In those few short steps, his mind was overwhelmed with countless thoughts…

When he reached the door, his deep, dark eyes carried confusion. His brow also furrowed accordingly. He opened his mouth, and only after a long while did he utter a sentence, “You… are?”

His voice trembled slightly.

Ji Yunshu stood outside, looking at that tall shadow inside the door. Her tone was somewhat low, “Five years since we parted—how has the heir apparent been?”

Uh!

At that moment, Li Shiyan’s heart suddenly surged with bitterness. His eyes glistened with tears, and his footsteps retreated a step.

His brow furrowed even tighter.

He couldn’t believe it!

“Miss Ji?” His mouth fell open.

Five years!

Although separated by a door, Ji Yunshu could sense his feelings at this very moment. She sighed, “It’s me.”

For a time, Li Shiyan completely forgot he was still imprisoned. His hands had nowhere to rest. His feet paced in circles on the spot, not knowing what to say.

Yet at the corners of his mouth, a joyful smile gradually emerged.

All the panic and anxiety from before had vanished!

Even though he couldn’t see the person outside the door whom he had longed for day and night, in his heart he imagined…

Had she become thinner now?

Or had she put on weight?

Were those bright eyes even brighter than before?

Was everything still as it had been in the past?

He slowly raised his hand and gently touched the cold doorframe before him, as if truly and genuinely touching Ji Yunshu’s face.

So warm…

“I must be dreaming. How could you possibly be here? Miss Ji, is it truly you?” He confirmed again and again and again.

This feeling—Ji Yunshu understood it.

She said, “That day when we parted in Da Lin, it has already been five years. I never imagined… that one day I would come to Qujiang and be able to see you again.”

Hearing these words, all the doubts in Li Shiyan’s heart dispersed. He grinned like a boy, his excitement mixed with a trace of shyness. He wished he could crash through this door and rush out right now, saying, “It really is you! How did you come to be here? When did you arrive in Yanjing? And when did you come to Ning’an Manor? How come I haven’t received any news at all?”

So many questions!

Ji Yunshu saw how excited he was and immediately looked back toward the door outside to prevent alerting the people out there.

She wasn’t here to reminisce about old times right now—she had urgent matters. So she lowered her voice and said, “After you get out, I’ll tell you about this matter in detail! I secretly came in to see you because I want to ask you some things about Wang Huai’s death.”

The joy of their reunion was abruptly interrupted by this sentence!

Li Shiyan’s expression suddenly darkened. His hand also slowly fell from the doorframe as he sighed, “So you also know about this matter.”

“It’s precisely because I know that I came to see you.”

“This matter… Miss Ji, you know what kind of person I am. I would never do such a thing. You must believe me!”

“I naturally believe you! That’s why I secretly came to see you this time—to hear you speak about this matter. Tell me everything you know, one by one. Don’t leave out any detail. Since you didn’t kill anyone, there must be something you overlooked.”

Ji Yunshu said.

Li Shiyan was silent for a long while before saying, “Alright!”

Thus, he told her everything he knew in complete detail.

It was indeed as Ji Yunshu had thought.

She speculated, “Since you had already left the artificial hill at that time, the corpse must have been carried away by someone else. In other words, there might have been another person at the artificial hill at that time.”

“But I didn’t see anyone!”

“Just because you didn’t see them doesn’t mean no one was there. Think carefully again about Wang Huai’s state when he was dead.”

Li Shiyan tried hard to recall, his brow deeply furrowed as he said, “It was very dark inside the artificial hill. I only realized Wang Huai was already dead when I went closer to look. At that time, he was lying flat on the ground with blood all behind his head. Both hands were laid flat at his sides—there was nothing abnormal. It really did look like I had killed him, but I can be certain that when I left, he was still alive.”

Ji Yunshu pondered for a moment, then speculated, “I think Wang Huai went out that night specifically to meet someone. Or perhaps… the real murderer was the person he went to meet, and that person killed Wang Huai after you left and dragged his corpse away.”

“Your thinking is the same as Ziluo’s. He thinks the same way.”

Mentioning Su Ziluo, Ji Yunshu’s gaze flickered slightly. Then she said, “Heir Apparent, I came to see you in secret. That Mister Su doesn’t know yet, so you must keep this confidential for me.”

Yes, she still addressed Su Ziluo as Mister Su in front of others.

Even though Li Shiyan knew they both had identical tassels, whenever he asked about it, Su Ziluo would never mention anything.

Therefore, he didn’t know what relationship Su Ziluo and Ji Yunshu actually had!

Perhaps… they had no relationship at all!

And now that Ji Yunshu had entrusted him with this, he would naturally keep silent about it. Only—

“But if you’re going to help me, Ziluo will definitely find out.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I naturally have ways to avoid these things.”

“That’s good then.”

Ji Yunshu told him again, “If we want to find clues about the murderer, we still need to search at the artificial hill. And also… on that skeleton. However, as for what the results will be, I cannot make any conclusions right now.”

Li Shiyan said earnestly, “With you here, I fear nothing.”

He had witnessed Ji Yunshu’s abilities.

The renowned Master Ji of the capital city, the Director of Criminal Affairs at the Ministry of Justice—these were certainly not empty titles.

Ji Yunshu saw that the time was about right and said, “I can’t stay here much longer, lest I be discovered. However, for me to leave now… I’ll need your help.”

“Just say it!”

“You need to lure the people outside into your room.”

Li Shiyan stated decisively, “That’s very simple. Leave it to me!”