Zhao Zhiwen’s mouth twitched at Jingrong’s words, not knowing how to respond.

He smacked his lips and took half a step backward.

It was Luo Mingyang beside him who spoke up to ease the awkwardness: “This matter should indeed be thoroughly investigated. If Your Highness has any needs, you may also come to question me at any time.”

Jingrong glanced at him—this person seemed rather refined.

“This matter has already been handed over to the Court of Judicial Review. If needed, this prince will naturally have someone come question you.”

“Yes.”

Respectful and deferential.

Like an old servant.

As they were leaving, Ji Yinshu suddenly glanced at Liu Zhinan, feeling that this person was very deep and calculating. His eyes, which seemed harmless on the surface, actually appeared to harbor many secrets, making him inscrutable.

After they left.

Luo Mingyang immediately reminded Zhao Zhiwen again: “In front of His Highness, you’d better restrain yourself a bit to avoid bringing trouble upon yourself.”

Oh my!

At this, Zhao Zhiwen became unwilling. All the grievances he had suffered in front of Jingrong just now came pouring out at once.

He let out a heavy snort!

“President Luo, I’m not like you—whatever I dare not say, hiding behind others and just watching.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean? Do you dare say you don’t want to be the general president? If we’re talking about who most wished for Xing Xiyang’s death, you’d be first.” He spoke through clenched teeth.

Luo Mingyang rebuked: “Don’t talk nonsense!”

“I’m talking nonsense? You think I don’t know? Even before entering the capital, you were already secretly dealing with people from the Ministry of Personnel. It’s just that, seeing you were usually rather honest, I didn’t want to expose you.” Zhao Zhiwen squinted his eyes with a look of both disdain and self-righteousness.

These words apparently struck a nerve with Luo Mingyang—his face turned white in an instant.

Both angry and flustered. “Nothing to say now?” Zhao Zhiwen glanced at him sideways and said with a smile, “Actually, if you want to be general president, no one’s stopping you. I’m not interested anyway, and President Liu isn’t interested either. Now that President Xing is dead, the position of general president is yours—no one’s competing with you. Maybe you’re even the killer.”

“You…”

Zhao Zhiwen tossed out these words with a snort.

And left!

As for Liu Zhinan, who hadn’t spoken throughout, he was innocently dragged into this smokeless battlefield, but he wasn’t annoyed either.

Instead, he comforted Luo Mingyang: “We both know clearly what kind of person Zhao Zhiwen is—no need to mind his words. Once he turns around, he’ll have forgotten them himself.”

“I’m fine.” Luo Mingyang restrained the anger in his heart.

“However, he got one thing right—now the position of general president truly belongs to none other than you.”

“How can you also…”

“I’m speaking honestly. Your Anzhou Commerce Association has developed very well in recent years. President Xing’s bribery affair has been exposed, and now he’s dead. The person qualified to take the general president’s position can only be you, naturally.” Liu Zhinan’s tone carried sincerity.

“Ah… I’ll take that as a good omen then.”

Luo Mingyang was already quite old—to sit in the position of general president, he had waited many years.

This opportunity, he certainly wouldn’t let slip!

But—

He sighed: “If only President Zhai hadn’t met with trouble back then, perhaps today’s situation wouldn’t have occurred…”

Liu Zhinan also sighed in response.

The two didn’t know that right there in the shadows, someone had already heard every word they’d just spoken.

And then reported it faithfully to Jingrong and Ji Yinshu.

…

“You suspect this matter is connected to them?” Jingrong asked.

Ji Yinshu shook her head: “I just feel that Liu Zhinan is somewhat strange, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

“The killer isn’t one of them?”

“I don’t know, but at least the person who killed Jiao Shiniang isn’t them.”

“So certain?”

Ji Yinshu explained: “Because a month ago, the presidents of the four major commerce associations all entered the city, and none of them left the city. Moreover, the killer who impersonated Jiao Shiniang was a woman.”

Jingrong said very seriously: “Men can also dress as women.”

At this, Ji Yinshu looked him up and down, then gave him a big eye roll.

“What? You look down on men?”

“No, I agree with what you said, and furthermore…” She trailed off.

Jingrong’s eyes tightened, immediately pressing: “And furthermore what?”

Furthermore…

She couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out a finger to circle it around at him while saying, “And furthermore… you men can even dress as transvestites.”

Transvestites?

What was that thing?

Jingrong looked confused, “Transvestites? What are transvestites?”

Not even if you beat Lang Bo to death could he say it!

If she did, this man would surely torment her.

So she said: “It’s nothing.”

Jingrong naturally didn’t believe her. His eyes stared straight at her as he slowly drew closer…

Her hands instinctively pushed forward to block.

But the man grasped them in one motion, looking at her wickedly.

Lang Bo on the side felt very awkward.

Hey hey hey, am I dead or something!

To avoid disturbing this pair of lovebirds playing in the water, he simply quietly withdrew.

Ji Yinshu looked at her hands tightly grasped by Jingrong, meeting his eyes brimming with amorous intent.

“Stop fooling around—let’s talk seriously.”

“What are transvestites?”

“Let go first.”

“You can still talk without me letting go.”

“…” She was actually at a loss for words!

Seeing her like a helpless little white rabbit trapped in a cage, the smile at the corner of Jingrong’s mouth became even more unrestrained.

Then—

He released her.

Ji Yinshu thought he would continue being unreasonable, but unexpectedly he was so obedient?

Before she could even react, Jingrong had already sat down in a chair and started drinking tea.

While asking: “Tell me, how can you be so certain that the Jiao Shiniang who entered the city at that time was a woman?”

Back to the main topic.

Ji Yinshu twisted her hands that had hurt a bit from his grip just now, and said seriously: “Because men’s and women’s bone structures are naturally different. What the bone structure was like for the Jiao Shiniang who entered the city that day—I could tell at a glance it absolutely wasn’t a man in disguise.”

Jingrong nodded slightly.

She frowned lightly, took a few small steps in the hall, and asked him: “Do you remember how Jiao Shiniang died?”

“I remember. It was exactly the same as Xing Xiyang’s death! Both had their throats slit with one stroke, dying from excessive blood loss, and both had their faces skinned after death and masks of demons and monsters placed on them.”

“Right, all of those are the same, but there’s one difference.”

“What?” He put down his teacup, revealing a serious expression.

Ji Yinshu said: “After Jiao Shiniang died, someone glued her hands together with candle wax, but after Xing Xiyang died, he was buried in the earth.”

“So?”

“I told you, that day when I saw Jiao Shiniang on the street, there were three masked men blocking her carriage.”

“Mm?” She searched through the memories in her mind, saying: “At that time I was sitting in a teahouse, and I heard those three people continuously repeating a tune, something like… The eastern house has ghosts, entering at the zi hour, the western house has ghosts, leaving at the mao hour, at the first watch the candlelight falls, at the second watch buried in earth, at the third watch still wandering in water.”