The person was dead—dead with no testimony!

But Ji Yunshu felt unwilling to accept this. She pondered for a moment, then suddenly said to the county magistrate: “Magistrate Liu, can we find out where that person called Seventh Uncle lived within today?”

The county magistrate’s eyes rolled: “There are many people called Seventh Uncle in Jinjiang, but a Seventh Uncle who worked for the Jiang family should be traceable. This official will immediately send someone to check the household registry for the address.”

Having said this, the county magistrate quickly summoned several bailiffs and gave them a few instructions.

Ji Yunshu’s thoughts grew heavy with doubts.

Seventh Uncle had suddenly died—could it really be that Madam Jiang had silenced him?

Jingrong knew she was carefully examining the case in her mind, so he obediently sat in the pear wood chair, holding his fresh tea and drinking.

Ji Yunshu didn’t remain idle either. She had someone bring her writing materials—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. She drew a portrait on the paper, then carefully folded it and tucked it into her sleeve!

Before long, the county magistrate came over with a paper bearing an address and handed it to Ji Yunshu.

“It should be here. Yunshu, what do you plan to…”

“I want to make a trip there.”

“This official will go with you…”

Before he could finish, Ji Yunshu interrupted him: “You should remain at the yamen, sir. This trip may not yield any clues anyway.”

Thinking it over carefully, that was true!

Jingrong, who had been sitting to the side sipping tea, spoke up: “Why don’t this prince accompany you on this trip?”

Ji Yunshu put away the address in her hand, looked at Jingrong, and said: “There’s no need to trouble Your Highness. I can go by myself.”

As her words fell, Jingrong stood up and walked before her, his clearly defined face showing a hint of displeasure.

“What? This prince just said he trusts you, and now you’re turning it around and not trusting this prince? Are you trying to push this prince a thousand miles away?”

“My status is lowly and not worthy of Your Highness’s trust!”

“If this prince says you’re worthy, then you’re worthy.”

At this moment, he truly wished he could grasp Ji Yunshu’s chin and make her look at him properly, see how serious he was being with every word!

But he couldn’t bring himself to do it—he couldn’t bear to pinch that delicate face of hers.

Ji Yunshu’s eyes lowered, as if she didn’t quite dare to look at him.

Seeing her silence, Jingrong continued: “Master Ji, you understand better than anyone that this case cannot be delayed. Moreover, it was this prince who ordered a thorough investigation of this matter. Otherwise, those skeletal remains would have already been taken away by Madam Jiang. If you cannot solve this, this prince’s reputation will also be lost. So this matter is not just the yamen’s and yours—it’s also this prince’s concern.”

Saying all this—didn’t he just want to come along?

Going round and round until her head ached!

Ji Yunshu could only nod: “Since Your Highness is willing, I cannot refuse. Please follow along then, Your Highness.”

Having said this, she had already lifted her steps and left the courtroom!

Behind her, the corners of Jingrong’s mouth curved upward, his expression brightening as he followed.

Leaving the yamen, the two headed toward Seventh Uncle’s location.

Fortunately, Jinjiang wasn’t large, and the surrounding villages weren’t far either—they arrived in about half an hour.

All along the way, Ji Yunshu only focused on walking and paid him no attention.

But Jingrong always wore an expression of smug satisfaction, watching her small frame held upright, her footsteps neither hurried nor slow as she walked forward.

In his eyes, she appeared quite adorable.

In his mind, Lang Bo’s report from that evening still seemed to echo.

“Your Highness, I’ve investigated it. It turns out Master Ji… no, I should say… Miss Ji—she is the Third Miss of the Ji residence.”

When he heard those words, Jingrong had been stunned for a long while before finally slapping the table.

“This prince knew it—this prince has no attraction to men!”

Great joy, great joy.

Lang Bo had then continued to report about the origin of the whip scars on Ji Yunshu’s back.

Great fury, great fury.

So the next day, he had sent medicinal materials from Bai Yunchang and had thoroughly taught Ji Shuhan a lesson.

But…

Had little Yunshu noticed?

Thinking of this, his steps gradually slowed.

Until Ji Yunshu turned around and said: “If Your Highness is tired, I’ll go by myself.”

Looking up, at a distance of no more than four meters, Ji Yunshu stood there in plain robes. As the wind stirred her garments, she turned her body to look back, standing in the snow—truly beautiful beyond measure!

At that moment, Jingrong found himself somewhat entranced by the sight.

Ji Yunshu pressed her lips together. That burning gaze—she dared not look at it. So she lowered her head to hide her eyes and said again:

“Your Highness, are you going or not?”

Returning to his senses, he answered firmly: “Going, of course going.”

And quickly caught up.

Ji Yunshu kept her brows lowered throughout, her footsteps always a few paces ahead of his, afraid of encountering that gaze again.

It made her heart flutter so!

They finally arrived at Seventh Uncle’s home. The entire courtyard was cold and deserted, with no one in sight.

Just as they were puzzling over this, an old woman emerged from the house, her face haggard, her hair somewhat graying.

Seeing two strangers appear in her courtyard, she immediately became somewhat wary.

“Who are you?” the old woman asked.

Ji Yunshu stepped forward, her voice gentle: “Old madam, may I ask—is this Seventh Uncle’s home?”

Hearing this question, the old woman let out a sigh: “My husband already died this morning. What do you want with him?”

Ji Yunshu took out the portrait she had drawn at the yamen from her sleeve and handed it to the old woman.

“Is this Seventh Uncle?”

Seeing her husband again, the old woman’s eyes reddened, and her hands trembled as she held the portrait.

“Yes, this is my husband!” Her voice choked.

It seemed that the Seventh Uncle Madam Jiang mentioned was indeed the old man who had been following her.

Seeing the old woman’s grief, Ji Yunshu also felt some heartache, but still asked: “Old madam, please accept my condolences. I’d like to ask—is Seventh Uncle’s body still here?”

“Burned, burned. As soon as he died, he was immediately cremated.”

The old woman sighed repeatedly!

Burned?

Ji Yunshu didn’t understand: “He just passed away—how could he already be…”

Before she could finish asking, the old woman raised her head and answered: “This is our village’s custom. When someone dies, they must be immediately cremated. The body cannot be buried whole.”

“Before Seventh Uncle passed away, did he see anyone? Or encounter anything unusual?”

The old woman thought carefully and shook her head: “No. My husband’s health wasn’t good these past two days, so he stayed home. Who could have known that this morning… he would be gone.”

Speaking of this, tears welled up in the old woman’s eyes!

The only witness was dead, and moreover, the body had been burned.

This truly left Ji Yunshu without leads.

Unable to bear seeing the old woman continue to grieve, Ji Yunshu didn’t ask any more questions and left.

On the way back.

Seeing her furrowed brow, Jingrong said: “Master is truly meticulous.”

Hmm?

She asked: “Why does Your Highness say so?”

“You knew to first draw a portrait and then seek verification that the deceased Seventh Uncle was indeed the person you saw. You were probably worried that the person you saw and the Seventh Uncle Madam Jiang mentioned weren’t the same person.”

Yes, the reason she had drawn a portrait was indeed to verify this point.

And the facts proved that person truly was the old man she had seen.

“Since Your Highness could discern this, the meticulous one should be you.”

The two walked side by side!