Lin Shu finally decided to let go of the burden weighing on his heart.

He gasped slightly, “Yes, on the evening of the 12th, I did indeed run into Guo He, but not at the back mountain. It was at the corridor by the Western Garden. I had just returned from the privy when I saw him drinking alone in the corridor. Although our relationship was generally quite good, I don’t like drinking, and I especially dislike the smell of alcohol. So at the time, I didn’t pay him any attention. But when he saw me, he insisted on pulling me to drink with him. I refused, and at that moment, I pushed him away. He already had a bad temper, and with some alcohol in him, he furiously swung the wine bottle at me. Because of this, wine spilled all over me, and my string of tung wood beads caught on the wine bottle and broke, scattering everywhere. My hand was also injured, and blood got on the wine bottle. Moreover, he cursed at me, saying I looked down on him and that I would definitely fail the palace examination. I was provoked by his words and became angry, so I struck him several times with my fists. He was indeed beaten by me until his head bled and he fell to the ground, but at that time he was perfectly fine and could still sit up by himself. So I picked up the scattered tung wood beads one by one and left. That’s what happened—I’m not lying. When I left, he wasn’t dead yet.”

He became more and more agitated as he spoke.

It didn’t seem like he was lying!

“The reason I refused to speak is because… because I did indeed hit him. I was afraid that if I told you, along with the tung wood beads and the blood on the wine bottle, you would all think I was the murderer and would definitely send me to see the magistrate. I would have no way to defend myself. I was truly worried and afraid, which is why I didn’t say anything.” He looked at Ji Yunshu, “Master Ji, everything I’ve said now is the absolute truth. You must believe me.”

Ji Yunshu asked, “Then, do you have any evidence to prove it?”

He shook his head, “At that time, everyone was studying in the school hall. There was no one in the corridor except him and me. I also didn’t tell anyone about that incident.”

That meant there were no witnesses and no physical evidence!

At this moment, Ji Yunshu didn’t know whether to believe his words or not.

After listening, the fierce expression on Lu Hu’s face hadn’t diminished in the slightest.

“Lin Shu, you still dare to argue!”

“I’m not arguing. Everything I said is true. I only hit Guo He, I didn’t kill him. And when I left, he wasn’t dead at all—he was getting up from the ground. I thought that after he sobered up from the alcohol, he would naturally go back on his own.”

“Whether it’s true or false, we’ll know naturally when we get to the yamen.” Lu Hu was determined to take Lin Shu back to the yamen for interrogation. He shouted, “Men, take him away, and bring that skeleton along as well.”

Two bailiffs responded and pulled Lin Shu from his two fellow students’ grasp, lifting him up by the arms.

Another bailiff walked to the skeleton and pulled off the white cloth covering it.

The moment the white cloth was lifted, the foul stench from the skeleton assaulted their nostrils, causing the man to furrow his brows deeply.

It really was too foul!

Holding his nose, he prepared to wrap the skeleton in the cloth and take it away, but was immediately stopped by Ji Yunshu.

She stepped forward, “Now that there are doubts in this case, this skeleton cannot be moved.”

“Move aside!”

The man pushed her. With her small strength, how could she withstand the force of a bailiff’s push? She immediately stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

The man, like a street vendor encountering city management, roughly grabbed all the assembled skeleton pieces together and wrapped them all up.

His movements were very crude, yet also quite swift.

The skeleton bones were completely disarranged, piled together in a chaotic mess. The bailiff wrapped them in the cloth and lifted the bundle from the table, but because it was tied too loosely, the skull inside suddenly “popped” out.

It fell to the ground!

With a thud!

The skull rolled several times on the ground before coming to rest at Ji Yunshu’s feet.

It happened to land with the back of the head facing up. When Ji Yunshu looked down, she saw the small indentation exposed on the back of the skull.

Eh!

Her eyes tightened.

The bailiff bent down to pick it up, but was a step slower than Ji Yunshu.

She picked up the skull and held it in her hands, her gaze fixed on that wound on the skull, doubt rising in her heart.

Earlier, she had already noticed this wound.

She had been suspicious about it then!

In her heart, like seawater, giant waves rolled and surged, rising bit by bit from her chest into her mind.

With a buzzing sound, it awakened her.

“Hand it over!” The bailiff reached out, demanding the skull from her!

But she refused to let go. With a grave expression, she walked to Lin Shu holding the skull and asked solemnly, “Let me ask you, when you were fighting with him, did you hit his head? Or rather, was his head injured or bumped at that time?”

Hm?

Lin Shu didn’t know why she suddenly asked this, but at this critical moment, he cast aside all personal grievances and tried hard to recall the scene at that time. His brows furrowed deeply, and finally he shook his head, “No, I didn’t hit his head, and his head wasn’t injured either. I remember I only punched his stomach several times, as well as his shoulder and face. Then he was knocked to the ground by my blows, but at that time, nothing happened to his head either.”

Ji Yunshu nodded, lost in thought.

She muttered under her breath, “If you didn’t hit his head at that time, and he wasn’t injured either, then where did this wound on his head come from?”

Her voice was very soft!

She looked at that small indentation, thinking hard, thinking desperately.

Suddenly—

Her eyes lit up, and she understood, “I know now.”

Having said that, she ran toward the back mountain holding the skull in her hands.

Everyone present was stunned.

What was going on?

Lu Hu quickly led his men to chase after her, and those students also followed.

They wanted to see what exactly was happening.

…

On the other side!

Lang Bo stood respectfully outside the door, his peripheral vision glancing toward Jingrong, who sat inside the room sipping tea.

Then, he reported everything that had just happened in the back courtyard, word for word.

Jingrong listened while leisurely drinking his tea.

From time to time, he nodded.

“Your Highness, Master Ji is now heading to the back mountain holding that skull. I don’t know why, but she seemed quite anxious. Does Your Highness want to go take a look?”

He ignored Lang Bo’s words and only said, “The tea at Mingshan Academy is good, but it still can’t compare to the tea Liu Qingping prepares.”

“Your Highness…”

“Enough, this prince already knows.”

“Then, is Your Highness really not going? This subordinate saw that those bailiffs from Bingjing Yamen are not to be trifled with. I’m worried that Master Ji won’t be able to handle them.”

She can’t handle them?

Jingrong smiled slightly, “Others might not be able to handle them, but she certainly can.”

Come to think of it, that was true!

Lang Bo pursed his lips and said nothing more.

After Jingrong finished the tea in his cup, he stood up, stepped through the doorway, and clasped his hands behind his back.

“Where is Miss Tang?”

“Ziran said he’s already handed her over to Young Master Mo.”

“Have him continue watching Miss Tang. Don’t let her go to the back mountain, lest she cause more trouble.”

“Yes!”

Jingrong curved his lips, “Come, let’s go to the back mountain and see how that little girl will ferret out the murderer.”

And he headed toward the back mountain.