Ji Yunshu was also deep in thought, but she didn’t find the case amusing at all. Instead, a long thread wound endlessly around her heart, making it feel stuffy and uneasy!

Just then, a banyan tree about two meters away caught her attention.

The tree was so thick it would take two or three people with arms linked to encircle it.

She quickly walked over. Ji Yunshu’s gaze fell on the base of the tree, which was covered with crisscrossing long marks. The bark had been stripped away layer by layer, exposing the pale yellow wood beneath.

From their appearance, these long marks varied in age—they must have been caused by prolonged beatings over time.

After pondering for a moment, Ji Yunshu suddenly had a revelation. The doubts in her heart seemed to clarify somewhat.

She nodded and muttered to herself, “So that’s how it is.”

Jingrong, standing behind her, heard this. He walked to her side and also examined the tree, looking from bottom to top, but still didn’t understand.

“So that’s how it is? So what exactly is how it is?”

Ji Yunshu pointed at those long marks and explained, “What does Your Highness think caused these marks?”

Jingrong’s brows furrowed tightly. “They look… like whip lashes.”

“Exactly—a whip. Just like how that woman loves to whip trees when venting her anger.”

That woman naturally referred to Ji Muqing!

Before Jingrong could ask, Ji Yunshu became somewhat excited and continued, “It seems Miss Zhou not only had obsessive-compulsive disorder, but behavioral obsessive-compulsive disorder. She probably couldn’t even control herself.”

“What are you talking about? This prince doesn’t understand. Get to the point.”

When ancient people were clever, they were like rockets taking off, but when they were dull, they were truly dull!

Ji Yunshu asked, “Your Highness, you also saw Miss Zhou’s boudoir. Don’t you find it strange?”

“It was indeed strange. How could an ordinary person’s room be arranged with such patches of red and blue everywhere?”

Patches of red and blue—what a description!

Ji Yunshu took a breath and explained patiently, “The room’s furnishings were arranged according to color. It seemed orderly, but in reality, there was a serious problem. Moreover, Miss Zhou would never use those quilts, rouge, and powder a second time. This isn’t a habit—it’s an illness. The mild form is called germaphobia, the severe form is called obsessive-compulsive disorder.”

“In her room, I noticed a whip hanging on the wall. When I was about to take it down, that maid called Qiao Xin showed alarm in her eyes. And when I touched her wrist, she clearly felt pain. So when I put the whip back, I pretended to lose my balance and steadied myself against her while lifting her sleeve for a glance. But there were no whip marks on her wrist. As it turns out, Miss Zhou’s whip didn’t strike people—it struck trees.”

“A person with obsessive-compulsive disorder frequently whipping trees—this is called behavioral obsessive-compulsive disorder. In mild cases, it affects only oneself. In severe cases… it leads to murder!”

The cold wind whistled eerily around them, the atmosphere growing sinister.

After Ji Yunshu explained it this way, although Jingrong didn’t understand those strange terms, he at least grasped the meaning of what she was saying.

However…

“Scholar Ji actually lifted that maid’s sleeve? Men and women should not touch each other’s skin—such a simple principle, and you don’t understand it!”

Hey, Your Highness, wake up!

You’re going off topic!

“Your Highness, stop fooling around.”

“This prince is not fooling around.”

Ji Yunshu held her forehead and shook her head. “I want to go look at Miss Zhou’s room again. Perhaps I can find something else. After all, that maid’s wrist definitely has a problem—maybe it was struck by something else.”

She turned to leave, but Jingrong grabbed her hand and asked, “Shouldn’t you be investigating who the killer is? Why are you so focused on investigating all this?”

“If you want to know why someone was killed, you must investigate that person’s character and everything related to them. Using these to find the killer achieves twice the result with half the effort!”

“I see.”

“So is Your Highness going to rest now? Or coming with me?” Ji Yunshu asked.

Jingrong smiled. “Of course I’m staying with you.”

Actually, as soon as she asked this question, Ji Yunshu regretted it. She always felt something wasn’t quite right!

Not wanting to waste any more time, she pulled her hand free from Jingrong’s grasp and headed toward Miss Zhou’s courtyard…