“Xu Laoda asked me to bring you a message. The husband of the madam involved in the case is called Chen Shoujie. He indeed participated in investigating Chen Huo’e’s case back then, which led to his promotion from county magistrate in Shanxi to county magistrate of Wannian County.
At that time, Chen Huo’e committed murders in various locations. Since one crime occurred in Shanxi, Chen Shoujie was fortunate enough to be involved in the investigation. However, unfortunately, ever since Chen Huo’e was brought to justice, he began to lose his mind. He would only shout incoherent things like ‘Moth, moth, fire!’ and couldn’t speak complete sentences anymore.”
After listening to Jiang Langxing’s explanation, Zhu Yan furrowed her brows. Connecting all the clues, she summarized, “It seems there were signs even before the previous case occurred, but no one paid attention.”
“Do you have any leads on the culprit?” Jiang Langxing asked. After all, this case was handled by the Local Constable. If Zhu Yan could help them solve it, it would be another great achievement.
Zhu Yan frowned, pondering and sorting through all the clues again. After a while, she shook her head. “No.”
Hearing her response, Jiang Langxing seemed a bit disappointed but still offered words of comfort. “Madam Geliang, there’s no need to worry too much. The truth will come to light eventually. If you become too obsessed with it, I’m afraid it might affect your daily life. Please take care of your health, Madam Geliang.”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yan glanced at Jiang Langxing. “I’m younger than you. If we’re talking about exhaustion, I fear you all are more tired than I am. So, the ones who should be taking care of their health are you, not me.”
Jiang Langxing was speechless. His words had a special meaning that Zhu Yan hadn’t picked up on.
After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Langxing spoke again, “I… I have some matters to attend to at the Local Constable, so I won’t stay any longer. If Madam Geliang happens to see Madam Lu, please give her my regards. Tell her… tell her that I’ve missed her these past few days and ask her to take good care of herself.”
Hearing this, Zhu Yan finally understood. No wonder Jiang Langxing had told her to take care of herself; he was concerned about Lu Chuichui and had just extended the courtesy to her as well.
Zhu Yan let out a soft chuckle, full of helplessness. “You’d better say these words to her yourself. I’m not free to pass on your messages. Besides, when these words come from your mouth, they have one meaning, but when they come from mine, they have another. You’ve hinted at her so many times and she still doesn’t understand. Do you think she’ll understand if I say it?”
“…” Jiang Langxing was left speechless by Zhu Yan’s sharp tongue.
Zhu Yan wasn’t wrong. Lu Chuichui was indeed clever, but she seemed to be completely oblivious when it came to matters like this.
It was driving him crazy, yet he had no idea what to do.
“Alright,” Jiang Langxing said resignedly. He bowed to Zhu Yan. “Then I won’t trouble Madam Geliang with this matter. But since Madam Geliang is on good terms with Madam Lu, I hope in the future, Madam Geliang could put in a good word for me to Madam Lu, so that she might pay more attention to me.”
Hearing this, Zhu Yan smiled. “Don’t worry, I can certainly help with this small favor.”
After thanking Zhu Yan, Jiang Langxing turned and left. Zhu Yan returned to her study and began organizing the case details again.
She connected all the questionable points and pondered repeatedly, but still couldn’t find any clues about the culprit.
It was truly strange.
As she thought about this, a possibility suddenly occurred to Zhu Yan. If Madam Tang was connected to this case, then after Madam Tang’s exposure, shouldn’t the culprit be lying low? Why continue to commit crimes so brazenly now?
Could it be that they simply wanted to prove this case had nothing to do with Madam Tang?
Thinking about it made her head hurt. Zhu Yan rubbed her forehead and took a sip of tea from beside her.
Shen Du hadn’t returned yet, and she didn’t know where he had gone. With a hundred doubts in her heart and no one to confide in, she was truly troubled.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached. Zhu Yan turned to see Shen Du, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
Zhu Yan was startled and quickly went forward to ask, “What’s wrong with you? Why do you look so upset? Have you discovered some new clues?”
Zhu Yan’s words, always revolving around the case, displeased Shen Du.
“Is there nothing in your mind except for the case?” he asked in return.
Zhu Yan was bewildered. “What are you trying to say?”
“Don’t you know what time it is? Why haven’t you prepared dinner yet?”
“…”
Zhu Yan was completely stunned. Didn’t the Shen household have cooks? Why did she need to cook personally?
Moreover, the last time she cooked, Shen Du had said her culinary skills were no better than the cook’s. So why was he asking her to enter the kitchen now?
Thinking of this, Zhu Yan felt Shen Du was being unreasonable. Just as she was about to argue, she saw another figure bouncing in cheerfully.
Yunque had a joyful expression, having received some good news from somewhere.
She was about to approach Shen Du when she seemed to suddenly notice Zhu Yan. “Why are you here?”
Seeing Yunque’s attitude towards her, Zhu Yan felt inexplicably angry. “Why can’t I be here?”
“Aren’t you just a coroner? Why aren’t you investigating cases instead of being here? This is the Shen residence, the place of the Grand Geliang.”
Hearing Yunque’s words, Zhu Yan was even more speechless. It seemed that until now, Yunque had only seen her as a coroner.
No wonder her attitude was so poor. It appeared she didn’t understand Zhu Yan’s true identity.
Shen Du stood by without offering any explanation, only casting a meaningful glance at Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan straightened her back, just about to explain, when Jinglin suddenly spoke from the side, “This is the Geliang’s wife. In the future, mind your attitude when speaking. If you offend the madam, you might be thrown out of the Shen residence at any time.”
Hearing this, Yunque was stunned.
Surprised and caught off guard, she stammered, “You… you’re the wife of the White King of Hell?”
“Is there a problem?” Zhu Yan asked in return, her demeanor perfectly capturing the air of a noble lady.
Yunque was at a loss for words, while Shen Du lowered his head and smiled.
For some reason, seeing Zhu Yan assert her identity like this made him feel somewhat settled in his heart.
Or perhaps… proud.
This woman had always been strong-willed, and in crucial moments, she still relied on her status to save face. This made Shen Du feel a sense of responsibility as a husband.
“No, no, no problem at all,” Yunque hurriedly explained after a while.
She hadn’t imagined that this female coroner would turn out to be Shen Du’s wife.
Every time she thought about her recent actions, she wished she could find a hole to hide in. She feared that clinging so closely to Lord Shen in front of the Madam of the Pavilion would lead to difficult days ahead.
Yunque felt like crying but had no tears left. Just as she was about to explain her recent behavior, Zhu Yan suddenly spoke, “There is no need for you to be afraid or feel guilty. Although I am the Madam of the Pavilion now, that status will not last much longer. We had made a promise when we married—to part ways when three months had passed. It won’t be long before that time arrives.”