That servant limped down the stairs, looking extremely cold and sinister.

Ji Yunshu withdrew her gaze.

Shui Lian stroked the cat in her arms that had been hurt, walking before Madam Yan and complaining, “Madam Yan, that damned cripple often bullies our cats. Why do you keep him here? Just drive him away already!”

Her almond eyes showed displeasure.

But Madam Yan narrowed her eyes and glanced down at the cripple below.

She fanned herself with her fan. “He’s just a cripple. Why are you making such a fuss about him?”

“Where am I making a fuss? Which of the girls here likes him?”

“Alright, look how pitiful he is. Not only is his leg crippled, but his hand is also broken. If I drove him away, wouldn’t he die outside?” Saying this, Madam Yan continued, “I, Madam Yan, am known as a benevolent person in the Imperial Manor. Who doesn’t know this? I won’t do anything that costs someone their life.”

Those last words seemed deliberately spoken for Ji Yunshu to hear.

Yes, yes, yes—we know you’re a great philanthropist!

All the girls under your command are philanthropists.

Shui Lian’s body shifted. She was very unhappy. “That damned cripple—if he doesn’t die outside, he’ll die here sooner or later. Really brings bad luck.”

She huffed off angrily.

Madam Yan quickly said to Ji Yunshu, “Lord Ji, don’t take offense.”

“How could I?” She smiled faintly. “Who is that person? Why do all the girls here dislike him so much?”

“It’s not dislike—they hate him extremely.”

“Oh? Why?”

Madam Yan sighed. “That person is called Liang Da. In earlier years, he was perfectly fine, even quite handsome. Who would have known his wife would run off with another man, and he’d have one of his legs broken. Ever since then, he’s been like a different person. I took pity on him and let him stay here doing odd jobs, helping in the back courtyard kitchen. When those girls have clients, they leave their cats in the back courtyard. Liang Da hates cats the most and often pinches them. Over time, the girls all came to dislike him too, frequently complaining to me about him.”

Ji Yunshu asked, “Why does he hate cats?”

“Lord Ji doesn’t know—a few years ago when he was working in the kitchen, a cat knocked over a candlestick and started a fire. His hand and face were both burned, so ever since then, he’s extremely hated cats. Heaven is truly unfair—when someone is unlucky, they’re unlucky in every way.”

She sighed heavily.

Indeed, pitiful to the extreme!

Ji Yunshu felt compassion, but she didn’t forget the main business.

After walking around the room once, she asked Madam Yan again, “During her lifetime, did Miss Ye’er have any close relationships with any men?”

“It seems… no.” Madam Yan thought for a moment and shook her head. “Ye’er had very high standards. She usually didn’t even look at those young masters, and I never saw her have close dealings with any men. Moreover, she kept her privacy extremely well and never let us know. Sometimes if we asked a few questions, she’d get impatient.”

Madam Yan answered every question with a good attitude.

She told everything she knew about Ye’er without missing a word.

After seeing Ji Yunshu off, she finally breathed a long sigh of relief!

Anchang Courtyard.

For the entire day, Jingrong had been reading through the materials sent over from the courier station.

Several thick volumes, reading line by line until his eyes were going blind. Fortunately, this young man had an astonishing memory—a photographic memory talent. What he’d seen, he remembered, so he didn’t even need writing materials to take notes.

Lang Bo stood silently at his side the whole time, occasionally ordering someone to bring a pot of hot tea.

Who knows how long he’d been reading—Jingrong had almost reached a state of forgetting to eat and sleep.

Almost catching up with Ji Yunshu!

By the time the sun set outside, he finally closed the materials in his hands, drank a mouthful of hot tea, letting his mind rest for a bit.

Lang Bo stepped forward to inquire, “Your Highness, did you discover anything?”

He said, “Every year on the fourth day of the ninth month is when the disaster relief silver is transported to the Imperial Manor. On that day, there are many goods coming and going, in and out continuously without stop—even at night there are still goods moving in and out. Moreover, goods from various places come and go in countless numbers.”

“Could the silver have been switched during this?”

A bold guess!

He shook his head slightly. “It shouldn’t be possible. The disaster relief silver is stored separately in a storeroom—solid as iron walls, with people guarding outside. It’s difficult enough to get in, let alone transport something out.”

Unless one had Sun Wukong’s seventy-two transformations!

Otherwise, it would be impossible to switch things in the storeroom.

After a moment, he pondered and ordered, “Bring me some paper.”

“Yes!”

Lang Bo brought writing materials.

Based on the materials he’d seen, Jingrong wrote down information about several merchant houses on the paper.

Among them were—

Tribute salt transported to the capital by the Zheng family of Nan Ji!

Jade transported to southern Shui Wu by the Liu family of Shang City!

Premium sandalwood transported to Yu Prefecture by the Lu family of Lian Prefecture!

And cloth from the Si family transported directly from Imperial Manor County to the capital!

He handed it to Lang Bo. “These are goods that were transported out of the courier station on the day the disaster relief silver was delivered in previous years. Only these four families coincide with the disaster relief silver every year. Go investigate them one by one now. This prince wants to know whether the backgrounds of these four merchant houses are clean. If there’s even the slightest suspicious sign, inform this prince immediately.”

Looking at the information above, Lang Bo acknowledged the order.

Jingrong drew a breath and glanced outside. “Has Master Ji returned?”

“Just returned a short while ago.”

He stood up and instructed, “Take this prince’s evening meal to Master Ji’s place. This prince will eat with her.”

“Your Highness can rest assured.”

“Also order them to prepare several dishes Master Ji likes.”

“Yes.”

Jingrong then strolled over.

At this moment.

After returning from Zhichun Tower, Ji Yunshu sat in the courtyard studying the corner piece removed from the screen.

She felt with her hand several times over the place where it had been worn down to expose wood splinters.

It should have been damaged when it hit the ground and struck something, right?

Then—

What about those three scratch marks?

They really looked like they’d been made by something sharp and pointed, but it couldn’t have been human fingernails.

Supposing they were made by something when Ye’er died, then according to the situation in the room at that time, could they have been made by that strangled cat?

She was just thinking when Jingrong entered from outside the courtyard.

Food followed close behind!

“Dropping by to mooch a meal?”

This was the first thought that popped into Ji Yunshu’s mind.

Jingrong looked as if he’d been doused with cold water. He rolled his eyes at her, his gaze pointing to the food he’d brought, deliberately raising his chin to emphasize, “This prince came to add dishes for you.”

He sat down with a master’s bearing!

Ji Yunshu didn’t drive him away either.

Just as he sat down, he saw the corner piece in her hands.

He asked, “Did you find this at Zhichun Tower today? A clue?”

“Possibly.”

She wasn’t willing to say for certain.

Jingrong said, “Alright, put that thing aside for now. Eat first. You’re so skinny—if you don’t put on some weight, you don’t even look energetic.”

Bah! You’re the skinny one.

That’s called a figure!