That slap hurt quite a bit!

After Jing Zhaoyin stood rooted to the spot for a while, he quickly hurried after her, blocking Ji Yunshu who was preparing to return to the study.

Bowing, with a pleading expression on his face, he begged earnestly, “Master Ji, in all of Great Lin right now, who doesn’t know that only you can reconstruct faces from bones? Those several skeletons—we don’t know their surnames or names. Investigating them is too difficult.”

She said, “Those skeletal remains were discovered within the capital. You just need to check with the Ministry of Revenue for missing persons, then have the coroner examine them. Match them according to the age of the skeletal remains, and naturally you’ll be able to identify them. Besides, not all unidentified skeletal remains require facial reconstruction to solve the case. If that were truly the case, wouldn’t I be worked to death?”

“Master…”

“In any case, I’ve already told you the method. If you want to solve the case as soon as possible, hurry and have the coroner examine them. When the skeletal remains are moved from the dry well, there will definitely be damage. The faster the better—why waste time here with me?”

“This…”

Before Jing Zhaoyin could speak again, she left.

Behind her, Jing Zhaoyin sighed helplessly.

In the end, he could only slink away dejectedly.

This trip had been for nothing!

After Ji Yunshu returned to the study, she had intended to continue checking the skull bone fragments she’d drawn last night.

But—

What Jing Zhaoyin had said earlier kept circling in her ears.

A Buddha statue?

A dry well?

One corpse?

Seven skeletons?

She let out a soft breath, pondering, “A dry well pressed beneath a Buddha statue? Then to throw someone down there, wouldn’t you have to move the Buddha statue? To kill someone and destroy the evidence—why go to so much trouble? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just burn the body or throw it in a mass grave?”

Her voice was very soft.

A young maid passing by the doorway saw her muttering something and came in.

“Master, what are you thinking about?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.” She glanced outside. “Has Jing Zhaoyin left?”

“He’s left—sighing and looking worried and distressed.”

“Oh.”

“Master, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” She thought for a moment. “By the way, Tao’er, do you know that the Buddha statue in that abandoned temple in the suburbs collapsed?”

“Yes, people were talking about it early this morning.” Tao’er looked worried. “That Buddha was built almost a hundred years ago. Now that it’s collapsed like this, I wonder if we’ll have bad luck. What if we’ve offended the divine—we’ll be the ones who suffer.”

It seemed she didn’t know about the skeletal remains in the dry well beneath the Buddha statue.

Ji Yunshu continued probing. “Do you know if anything unusual happened at that abandoned temple?”

“Anything unusual?”

“For example… was that Buddha statue moved by someone?”

“I don’t think so. If someone had moved it, people should know about it.”

Ji Yunshu nodded. “Alright, you can go now.”

“Oh.”

After Tao’er left, she sat inside, feeling constantly unsettled.

Yet she was at a loss.

…

Very quickly, news of the dry well case beneath the collapsed Buddha statue spread throughout the city like wildfire. Everyone was chilled to the bone, locking doors and closing windows.

In just two days, many versions appeared within the capital.

Some said the heavenly gods were angry, rooting out villains and punishing evil—that the skeletal remains below were all wicked people punished by the heavenly gods.

Others said they were the skeletal remains of trapped evil spirits and ghosts, pressed beneath the Buddha statue to never be reborn.

There were even more outrageous claims—that those skeletal remains were local residents who had deliberately thrown people down to fill the well, to feed the great god.

All sorts of theories circulated!

This case had also been taken over by the Court of Judicial Review. They transported the recently deceased corpse and the other seven skeletons to the morgue.

They summoned the coroner to examine the bodies.

Among the seven skeletons, two had died four years ago, two had died three years ago, two had died two years ago, and one had died a year and a half ago.

The Ministry of Revenue also checked missing persons from recent years, but there were many missing person reports filed within the capital. Even checking according to the death times of those seven skeletons was like searching for a needle in the ocean.

Thus—

This matter was brought before the court.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review reported the progress and results of the dry well case one by one.

“From the current situation, it’s very difficult to determine who the deceased are. Plus, that night there was heavy rain and the abandoned temple flooded. Even if there were clues, they’ve all been washed away.”

Helpless!

Emperor Qizhen frowned. “How could there be dead people and skeletal remains beneath a perfectly good Buddha statue?”

“Your Majesty, this matter is now causing an uproar throughout the city. The common people are frightened and everyone is discussing it.”

“Can neither your Court of Judicial Review nor the Ministry of Justice even solve a single case?”

Demanding accountability!

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review trembled, and even the Minister of Justice’s body shook.

Both bowed their heads. “We beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness. We subjects will definitely do our utmost to solve the case.”

“Not do your utmost—you must!”

“Yes…”

They lacked confidence!

“Such an incident occurring in the capital requires first stabilizing the people’s hearts. When handling the case, don’t disturb the common people either.” Emperor Qizhen’s expression was solemn and authoritative. “Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Minister Li of Justice—you must work together with Jingzhao Prefecture to handle this case. You must bring the murderer to justice. I want to see exactly who dares to be so audacious within the capital.”

“Yes, we subjects obey Your Majesty’s decree.”

The two accepted the order, but exchanged glances with each other.

Each knew that this case was definitely thorny. To investigate it would likely not be a matter of a day or two.

Their hearts were uneasy.

Little did they know, Jing Yi would suddenly step forward and volunteer, “Imperial Father, your son wishes to take on this case and investigate together with the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice to find the murderer in the shortest time possible.”

Wow!

This case was a hot potato—people couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. Why would Jing Yi deliberately volunteer at this critical juncture?

There must be something suspicious about this!

Emperor Qizhen was surprised. “Jing Yi, this case—you want to take it?”

“Your son has confidence that he can definitely find the murderer and share Imperial Father’s concerns.”

“It’s good that you have the intention, but this case…”

“With the assistance of the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and Jingzhao Prefecture working together, your son will definitely solve the case. I beg Imperial Father’s gracious approval.”

So confident!

Since he had volunteered, Emperor Qizhen couldn’t really say anything. “Very well, I grant permission. However…”

However?

He shifted his gaze toward Jingrong, a flash of inspiration in his eyes, and continued, “I think you two brothers might as well investigate the case together. Whoever finds the true culprit first, I will richly reward.”

What the hell!

Even lying down he still got hit!

Jingrong felt helpless, but immediately accepted graciously, stepping forward to receive the command. “Your son obeys Your Majesty’s decree.”

The court officials looked at each other.

None knew what medicine Emperor Qizhen was selling in his gourd.

But—

Jing Yi knew!

He understood very clearly that Emperor Qizhen was worried that if he caught the murderer, he would have established great merit, so he pulled Jingrong in.

It was equivalent to a competition.

This move was truly ruthless!

After court was dismissed.

Jing Yi walked to Jingrong’s side, snorted coldly, and said harshly, “How impressive! However… I’d like to see how you lose this time.”

With a sweep of his sleeves, he left.

Jingrong said nothing, then exited the Golden Throne Hall, but was stopped by a young eunuch.

“Prince Rong, His Majesty is waiting for you in the rear hall.”

In the rear hall, Emperor Qizhen was standing before a painting, looking up to admire it.

That painting was a hunting scene!