At this time, in Prince Yi’s manor.

Wen Shisan had also clearly articulated his autopsy results.

The results were largely the same as Ji Yunshu’s.

Prince Yi praised him from the heart!

He was quite pleased to have found such a capable person.

Delighted beyond measure.

And Wen Shisan, just like Ji Yunshu, was currently drawing portrait sketches of those seven skeletons.

Early the next morning, the portraits drawn by both were delivered to the Ministry of Justice at almost the same time.

The Minister of Justice looked at the two sets of portraits in his hands.

One was sent from Prince Rong’s manor!

One was sent from Prince Yi’s manor!

But—

These two sets of portraits seemed to be from the same hand—clearly identical.

In the end, he thought no more about it and handed one set of portraits to his subordinates. “Have artists make multiple copies of the portraits and post them everywhere. We must find out who these seven skeletons were—their names and identities.”

In a short while, the portraits were posted all throughout the capital.

Soon, news also reached Prince Yi’s manor.

“Your Highness, Prince Rong plans to go to that ruined temple in the suburbs.”

Jingyi looked at the overcast sky filled with dark clouds. “The water in the ruined temple hasn’t receded yet. There will be heavy rain shortly. They’re going at this time?”

Suddenly—

Wen Shisan’s voice came through. “Prince Yi, we must arrive at that ruined temple before them.”

With a determination to win.

Jingyi was concerned. “But the water in the ruined temple hasn’t receded yet. Even if we go, we won’t find any clues.”

“Not necessarily.”

At these two words, Jingyi thought carefully, his fierce eyes lighting up. “Fine. Since I must win, I must seize every advantage.”

So he ordered people to prepare the carriage.

They set off for the ruined temple in the suburbs.

Meanwhile, Ji Yunshu and Jingrong were heading toward the suburbs.

The Judicial Commissioner accompanied them!

But the weather was uncooperative—it truly began to rain heavily.

The rainwater beat against the black canopy of the carriage like a valley bell—deafening.

The Judicial Commissioner had just lifted the carriage curtain to look outside when he was splashed with a face full of rain. He quickly pulled back in and frantically wiped his face with his sleeve.

As if he’d eaten excrement!

Ji Yunshu secretly laughed.

The Judicial Commissioner complained, “This rain is so heavy, it’s like the sky has sprung a huge leak.”

“Long ago, Nüwa smelted stones to patch the sky and already plugged that hole. Where would such a huge hole come from?” Ji Yunshu replied.

The Judicial Commissioner and Jingrong exchanged glances.

Both fell into silence.

The atmosphere in the carriage instantly dropped to freezing.

Jingrong: “That joke isn’t funny at all.”

Ji Yunshu: “It was meant to be a cold joke.”

Jingrong: “What is a cold joke?”

Ji Yunshu: “A joke that’s very cold.”

Jingrong: “How cold?”

Ji Yunshu: “Just like… the weather outside is cold.”

Baffling!

Jingrong pondered, planning to think it through thoroughly.

The Judicial Commissioner watched them like watching a comedic duo. This prince and Master Ji were truly interesting.

The carriage soon arrived at the suburbs. The road wasn’t as easy to travel, and with the heavy rain, the road surface was muddy and treacherous. The wheels slipped on it, causing the carriage to bounce continuously.

They were jostled until everyone inside nearly vomited before finally reaching Zhangjia Village.

The ruined temple was in Zhangjia Village.

The village wasn’t large to begin with. Though in the capital’s suburbs, the terrain was low-lying and in a rather remote location, so much so that the entire road only allowed passage for one carriage—extremely narrow.

When they reached the entrance of the ruined temple, they discovered another carriage parked outside.

The carriage bore a mark—it was from Prince Yi’s manor!

Once again, someone had gotten there first.

Everyone dismounted and entered with umbrellas.

The originally dilapidated temple now had collapsed wooden beams. Inside was a complete mess from the destruction.

The great Buddha lay on the ground, its head already shattered, its body broken into two sections, with fallen wooden beams pressing down on it. Right beside the great Buddha was that dried well, but because of the flooding, the well was like a water pot, filled with water that even overflowed. If one wanted to go down to the bottom of the well to investigate, it would naturally be impossible.

The entire ruined temple could truly be described as “utterly destitute.”

Aside from that great Buddha, a broken long bench, and some chaotically scattered straw, there was nothing.

Truly poorer than ghosts!

Everyone stepped through the water on the ground and entered, only to see Jingyi and Wen Shisan.

They seemed to have just entered as well.

Jingyi displayed a smug smile and said to Jingrong, “What a coincidence.”

Coincidence my foot!

Jingrong: “Your movements are quite swift.”

“Moving quickly is always better than moving slowly.”

Jingrong smiled. “This isn’t the Ministry of Justice. There’s no need to establish a first-come-first-served rule. Since you and I are both investigating the case, why waste breath arguing?”

Jingyi was choked!

His face turned ashen.

He said, “You’re right. Though you and I are opponents, ultimately we both hope to solve this case soon to ease Father Emperor’s worries.”

Bah!

Shameless.

Ji Yunshu’s gaze, from the moment she entered, had been fixed on Wen Shisan.

Of course, his was the same.

This case appeared to be a contest of victory between Jingyi and Jingrong, but undoubtedly, it was also a professional contest between Ji Yunshu and Wen Shisan.

Wen Shisan was courteous and polite. He raised his hands toward Jingrong in salute, then said to Ji Yunshu, “I heard that yesterday Master Ji used the method of fumigating bones with mugwort to remove the ink from those skeletons without causing damage. Truly an excellent method! If there’s time, I must seek instruction from you on this.”

Probably he was thinking: how wonderful, I’ve learned another technique.

Ji Yunshu only responded to him coolly, “Compared to Young Master Wen’s abilities, I fall far short.”

Words with hidden meaning!

Those who didn’t understand naturally couldn’t comprehend, but Wen Shisan knew in his heart.

He smiled nonchalantly.

Acting as if he hadn’t understood.

Ji Yunshu didn’t want to waste time. She glanced at Jingrong, and after he nodded, she began searching around the temple.

Her shoes stepped into the water and were quickly soaked through.

Wen Shisan wasn’t idle either.

The two began investigating in the temple without disturbing each other.

Ji Yunshu walked to the dried well filled with water. After pondering for a moment, she looked toward a corner of the ruined temple—that pile of soaking wet straw.

Hmm?

She walked over.

She crouched down to examine it.

Among that pile of straw, a few stalks seemed to have been burned by fire, but not completely—a few remained.

If she remembered correctly, Gao Meng’s clothes had a black stain that had been scorched by fire.

She picked up those few stalks of straw in her hand. Her fingers rubbed the burned portion, and her fingertips became stained with black. She brought them to her nose to smell.

Because they’d been soaked by rainwater, she couldn’t smell anything at all!

Her gaze swept over and she saw a piece of cloth sandwiched within the straw. Just as she reached out to take it.

It was snatched away by Wen Shisan.

He held it in his hand to examine it, then smiled at Ji Yunshu. “This cloth is hemp. From the tear marks on the edge, it appears to have been torn off by something. Based on the softness from rubbing and the color of the cloth, it should have been left here a few days ago. Perhaps it’s from the killer’s clothing.”

Ji Yunshu looked at him.

That face—she really wanted to tear it apart.

Wen Shisan leaned forward, lowering his voice to say, “The method for identifying clothing—you were the one who taught it to me.”