As they left the Ministry of Justice prison, Shen Du and Zhu Yan spotted Yunque running towards them, chirping excitedly with an uneasy expression.
Zhu Yan’s impression of Yunque wasn’t favorable, and her eyes darkened upon seeing the woman’s excitement.
“Why are you here?” Shen Du asked coldly, seemingly surprised by Yunque’s appearance.
Yunque, patting her chest and still shaken, explained, “I followed you here. I wanted to enter when I saw you go in, but suddenly I noticed that pale man called the Black King of Hell passing by. He was so frightening that I had to hide until he left.”
Hearing this, Shen Du and Zhu Yan exchanged glances, suddenly realizing something.
It seemed another person was involved in the case, or perhaps had been all along.
Seeing their silence, Yunque quickly asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you have any new clues? Do you need help? I can assist.”
“New clues…” Zhu Yan murmured, suddenly turning to walk back into the Ministry of Justice. Shen Du grabbed her wrist, asking, “What are you doing?”
“The witness’s body is still here. We might find new clues from it,” Zhu Yan explained hastily. However, Shen Du’s face darkened, showing no appreciation. “No need. You shouldn’t be involved in this anymore.”
“What?” Zhu Yan, momentarily confused by Shen Du’s meaning, pressed on, “What do you mean, not get involved? We’ve come this far. How can I just step away now?”
“I said you can, so you can,” Shen Du replied coldly, his tone brooking no argument. “From now on, stop investigating this case.”
Shen Du’s voice softened, tinged with concern, “Leave everything to me. I’ll handle it.”
Hearing this, Zhu Yan couldn’t understand. “We’re husband and wife. Why separate ourselves? It may look like I’m helping you, but I’m helping myself too. Let’s go together; we might make a discovery.”
With that, Zhu Yan turned to leave, but Shen Du suddenly turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Seeing Shen Du’s retreating figure, Zhu Yan stood there, stunned. Yunque also stared at Zhu Yan with wide eyes, speechless.
Shen Du’s back seemed to radiate anger. Had she said something wrong?
Zhu Yan was perplexed, suddenly recalling her use of “husband and wife.” Could those words have upset Shen Du? It must be. Shen Du didn’t like her and didn’t want to be called her husband. Her words were truly annoying.
At that moment, Lu Chuichui emerged from the Ministry of Justice. Seeing Zhu Yan, he quickly approached and grabbed her arm. “I’m glad you’re safe. I was terrified when I heard about you.”
Faced with Lu Chuichui’s concern, Zhu Yan hastily reassured him, “What’s the matter? By the way, won’t there be problems with me just walking out of prison like this?”
“Of course not. This was ordered by the Grand Academician himself. Who would dare question it?” Lu Chuichui said proudly. “I envy you. You married such a high-ranking man. He may be cold, but he treats you quite well.”
“Uh…” Zhu Yan was stunned, unsure how to respond to Lu Chuichui’s words.
Moreover, why did Lu Chuichui look so proud? …Shen Du was her husband.
“So, it seems this was all thanks to him,” Zhu Yan said, somewhat embarrassed. Though she didn’t understand why Shen Du was angry, she truly owed him for this.
“Of course,” Lu Chuichui nodded firmly. “This time, I’m afraid you misunderstood him.”
Zhu Yan felt like crying. She didn’t know how to explain her feelings to Lu Chuichui.
As they stood in awkward silence, Jing Lin also exited the Ministry of Justice. As soon as he appeared, he sighed and complained, his face full of resignation.
“No good deed goes unpunished. Anyone would be angry. Madam, you misunderstood the Grand Academician this time.”
Zhu Yan was even more confused. Were her words so hard to understand? How had it become a misunderstanding? She was only showing concern!
Jing Lin left, and Lu Chuichui also said he had matters to attend to before departing.
Zhu Yan stood there, feeling lost. One person’s misunderstanding was fine, but why did everyone misunderstand? Was there something wrong with how she spoke?
Zhu Yan couldn’t figure it out. Where had she gone wrong?
Meanwhile, Yunque sat down in front of the Ministry of Justice, resting her chin on her hands and looking at Zhu Yan curiously. “Madam Academician, don’t you understand what everyone means?”
Zhu Yan gave her a cold look, ignoring her. Yunque, sensing the awkwardness, stood up and said, “Anyway, now that everyone’s gone, if you want to investigate the body, you can go now. No one will stop you. As for me, I’ll go comfort the Grand Academician’s mood. It’ll make things easier when you return home later.”
Yunque’s words thoroughly angered Zhu Yan but also reminded her. Shen Du’s main concern right now was the case. If she could find any clues from the body, Shen Du would surely stop being so angry.
Realizing this, Zhu Yan walked towards the Ministry of Justice.
“Hey, you’re not planning to let me go alone, are you?” Yunque quickly asked, sensing Zhu Yan’s next move.
Zhu Yan just gave her an inscrutable look, saying nothing more.
“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you think things through?” Yunque said, somewhat exasperated. “The Grand Academician is angry right now. Don’t you want to go comfort him?”
“Isn’t that what you’re for?” Zhu Yan said coldly. “Aren’t you eager for such an opportunity? Why should I go?”
Yunque grew anxious, biting her lip before continuing, “I do want such a chance, but if we both go together, it’ll be twice as effective. So, you should put aside your investigation for now and focus on appeasing him first.”
Yunque chattered on, irritating Zhu Yan greatly.
Fortunately, Qi Yeyun ran out of the Ministry of Justice at that moment. Seeing Zhu Yan’s gloomy face and hearing about the situation, he wordlessly stepped forward and pulled Yunque away.
Surprised by Qi Yeyun’s actions, Yunque was confused. “What are you doing? I haven’t finished talking!”
Qi Yeyun gave her no chance to finish, dragging her out of Zhu Yan’s sight.
With them gone, Zhu Yan finally calmed down and walked towards the Ministry of Justice.
Standing beside the witness’s body, Zhu Yan didn’t know where to begin.
Her mind was in chaos, unable to comprehend how today’s events had unfolded.