“I’m not too busy. I was just working on a case with Lord Shen, and when I saw you, I thought I’d come over for a chat,” Yunque said. Suddenly remembering something, she smacked her forehead. “Oh right, we’re supposed to be catching a murderer. How did I get caught chatting with you? I must go.”
She hurriedly bid farewell, leaving Season Fangming bewildered as she turned and left.
Zhu Yan handed the suspicious powder to her master, Chen Wen. Chen Wen said he needed to study it carefully before drawing any conclusions, so he kept the substance, and Zhu Yan hurriedly returned to the Ministry of Justice.
That young lad Qi Yeyun had gone to the prison, and she didn’t know why. She needed to find out.
Just as she was about to look for Qi Yeyun, she saw him coming out of the prison, looking dejected as if he’d been wronged.
“Hey,” Zhu Yan called out, quickly approaching him. “Where have you been?”
Zhu Yan asked, knowing full well the answer. Qi Yeyun did not attempt to hide it, pointing behind him at the prison. “Master, I went to see Madam Tang.”
“Why did you go see her again? Don’t you know she’s dangerous?” Zhu Yan was a bit angry. Why wouldn’t this child listen?
“Master,” Qi Yeyun looked up at Zhu Yan, his round eyes bright and earnest. “Is Madam Tang a bad person?”
Hearing this question, Zhu Yan was puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing. I just feel she’s pitiful, and when I talked to her, she didn’t seem that bad.”
“She killed so many people. Even if she’s pitiful, she’s still an unforgivable criminal. You need to understand that. I’ll let it go this time, but don’t visit her again, understood?” Zhu Yan ordered sternly, and Qi Yeyun could only nod reluctantly.
Zhu Yan sighed in relief, but as she turned, she encountered Shen Du entering the ministry.
“You’re back so soon,” Zhu Yan said, surprised. She quickly asked, “Did you find anything?”
Shen Du shook his head, his face gloomy. “Nothing.”
This result wasn’t unexpected, and Zhu Yan wasn’t too surprised.
Just then, Yunque came bouncing in from outside the ministry. Seeing Shen Du, she became excited. “Lord Shen, how did it go? Did you catch them?”
Shen Du remained silent with a stern expression, and Yunque realized she’d said something wrong. Scratching her head, she changed the subject. “Oh right, I just met Official Season Fangming. He seemed ill, his face was frighteningly pale. He knows medicine too and was at the pharmacy getting medicine for himself.”
“He’s sick?” Shen Du suddenly asked. “Do you know what illness he has?”
Yunque shook her head. “I don’t know. I asked, but he didn’t say.”
Zhu Yan seemed to suddenly realize something. She quickly grabbed Yunque and headed out. “Take me to where Season Fangming was getting medicine.”
Yunque was caught off guard but allowed Zhu Yan to lead her away.
At the pharmacy, Zhu Yan used her authority from the Ministry of Justice to obtain the prescription. She then returned to the ministry to get Season Fangming’s handwriting sample from Lu Chuichui for comparison.
However, the comparison results disappointed Zhu Yan. The handwriting didn’t match the sample Yunque had provided. Could she have been wrong?
Zhu Yan stared at the two samples, her fine brows furrowed, unable to figure out where she had gone wrong.
“Why did you suspect him?” Shen Du saw through Zhu Yan’s thoughts but didn’t understand.
“Intuition,” Zhu Yan’s answer was simple. “Just a moment’s intuition.”
Hearing this answer, Shen Du chuckled and shook his head. Intuition… that word might be fine in casual conversation, but it held no weight in a formal investigation.
They returned to Shen Manor, and Shen Du’s first action was to summon Jing Lin to his study. “Have you found any leads on what I asked you to investigate?”
“My Lord, Season Fangming’s appointment as Dushulishi in the Ministry of Justice was entirely due to County Magistrate Chen’s recommendation. His background is clean, and we found no suspicious leads.”
“Clean?” Shen Du frowned. “The cleaner it is, the more suspicious. There must be hidden details.”
Jing Lin remained silent, grateful for his quick thinking. The Lord claimed not to believe his wife’s words, yet a single glance had set everything in motion.
Zhu Yan also entered the study, and the two tactfully avoided mentioning the matter.
Shen Du looked at Zhu Yan. “Do you need something?”
Zhu Yan waved a letter in her hand. “I asked Second Brother Xu to investigate Chen Shoujie’s past, and news has arrived. Do you want to hear it?”
Shen Du didn’t respond, but with the information already at hand, there was no reason to refuse. However, he was somewhat displeased that Zhu Yan always turned to the Local Constable for help.
She was his woman, and he had power. Why did she always seek help from the Local Constable when there was a problem? Was he just for show?
Seeing Shen Du’s silence, Zhu Yan didn’t think much of it and opened the letter. “It says that when Chen Shoujie became the County Magistrate of Shanxi, he vigorously investigated the Chen Huoe case. He even personally visited the former jailer Chen Wen and together they apprehended Chen Huoe, earning great merit.
But Master Chen Wen, being indifferent to fame, didn’t seek promotion and didn’t care. Chen Shoujie, due to his straightforward personality, offended people in the Prosecutor’s Office over interests in this case. As a result, he was only laterally transferred to become the County Magistrate of Wannian, closing that chapter.”
Zhu Yan finished reading and put away the letter. “The people from Lailuozhi were also involved in the Chen Huoe case back then…”
She frowned, seeming to be pondering something.
Shen Du wasn’t surprised by this and coldly asked, “Is that all?”
Zhu Yan nodded. “That’s all for now. Although there’s no significant discovery, it’s at least a lead.”
Shen Du said no more. He waved for Jing Lin to leave and turned to Zhu Yan. “We’ve been busy investigating these days and haven’t had a proper meal. If you’re not busy now, why don’t you make me a bowl of noodles?”
He spoke reluctantly, but Shen Du knew he missed that taste.
Zhu Yan was taken aback. “Noodles? If you’re hungry, just tell the kitchen. I’m busy and don’t have time.”
Seeing Zhu Yan refuse, Shen Du’s face immediately darkened. “What are you busy with?”
“I found some suspicious powder at Jinxiu Fang. I couldn’t identify it, so I gave it to Master. I was just about to check if he’s made any progress.”
“Go after we eat,” Shen Du ordered. “Make the noodles first. We’ll go together after eating.”
Zhu Yan’s lips twitched. With so many servants in the manor, why did he insist on troubling her?
To say it wasn’t intentional would be hard to believe.