Both Jiang Ming and Jing Lin were startled. Jiang Ming’s face lit up with joy as he quickly recorded the important discovery in detail with a charcoal pen, not forgetting to praise: “As expected of the Grand Secretary, I am truly convinced! With the Grand Secretary’s keen eye for detail, I believe this case will be solved quickly under the Imperial Guard’s investigation!”
Zhu Yan pursed her lips, her gaze involuntarily falling on the shoulder of the silk robe. Indeed, such embroidery patterns were no longer seen in the capital, but how could Shen Du remember so clearly what styles a silk shop had sold years ago?
He must truly be a monster!
He was so confident, but if his memory was flawed, wouldn’t he lead everyone astray?
As Zhu Yan mentally criticized, she heard Shen Du speak again: “There are files on the Jinxiu workshop case in the archives, including an illustrated catalog recording the patterns and designs from the workshop over ten years. Jing Lin, after we return, compare and confirm again to avoid any mistakes.”
“Yes!” Jing Lin quickly acknowledged.
As he finished speaking, Shen Du’s gaze seemed to brush over Zhu Yan’s face. It was just a fleeting glance, but Zhu Yan thought she saw a mocking curve appear on his thin lips.
However, when she looked more closely, Shen Du’s expression was normal, showing nothing amiss.
Zhu Yan touched her face, wondering if her doubts had been too obvious and Shen Du had noticed.
Jing Lin’s gaze swept across the room full of corpses, feeling as if a chilly wind had passed through, raising the hair on the back of his neck.
“If all these people were killed by one person, the murderer must be utterly deranged. I think it must be a strong man to manage this. The killer even dared to cut open chests and dig out hearts, perhaps a butcher who slaughters pigs,” Jing Lin speculated.
Jiang Ming, already impressed by Shen Du’s earlier deduction, thought that someone on the Grand Secretary’s side must also be capable. He nodded: “Young brother, your words make sense.”
Pleased by Jiang Ming’s affirmation, Jing Lin continued: “All these coffins were dug up from Ximing Temple. I suspect someone in the temple might be working with the murderer from the inside!”
“No, in my opinion, the killer should be a woman,” Zhu Yan, having formed her theory that differed from Jing Lin’s, couldn’t help but interject.
“Why?” Jing Lin and Jiang Ming asked in unison.
Jiang Ming frowned and said: “Zhu Yan, Zhu…”
In the Ministry of Justice, Jiang Ming had always addressed this young girl by her full name. He knew that although Zhu Yan was young, she was exceptionally intelligent, and her words must have their reasoning, so he naturally wanted to understand the basis of her statement.
But just as he called out, he suddenly remembered that she was now married to Shen Du, and her status had naturally changed. If this were the Ministry of Justice, it would be fine, but her newlywed husband was right here, and he was the fearsome Grand Secretary. He had no choice but to change his form of address:
“What insights does the Clerk have?”
“Look, the wounds on each female corpse’s face are almost identical in position, length, and depth. This shows that the killer didn’t slash randomly, but did so deliberately. If it were a man, what reason would he have to destroy a woman’s face?”
Zhu Yan pointed to the bodies in the room: “Only a woman would hate another woman’s face enough to destroy their beauty.”
“Correct!” Lu Chuichui, enlightened by Zhu Yan’s analysis, clapped his hands in agreement. “Moreover, the killer arranged the male and female corpses in an embracing position. To have such a tender thought, perhaps this woman had suffered from heartbreak.”
Jiang Ming pondered for a moment: “That does make sense.”
“Makes sense, makes sense. I see you’re just a fence-sitter with no opinion of your own. You’d better keep quiet,” Jing Lin said unhappily.
He looked at Zhu Yan: “If it’s a woman, how could she kill twelve people in six years? These men weren’t old, weak, sick, or disabled. They were all in their prime when they died. How could they not overpower a woman?”
“If we dismiss possibilities simply because we haven’t seen them before, many strange cases in this world would remain unsolved,” Zhu Yan replied calmly to Jing Lin’s skepticism.
Lu Chuichui said: “That’s right, maybe she’s a highly skilled martial artist. Who says women can’t beat men?”
As they continued their back-and-forth, Shen Du’s face turned ashen, his deep eyes gradually filling with frost, a piercing cold emanating from him.
Wu Taiming, standing beside him, had felt something amiss when Zhu Yan first spoke up. Now, sensing Shen Du’s displeasure, he quickly said: “Grand Secretary, these two girls are always up to mischief, making baseless claims. Please don’t take offense.”
He gave Zhu Yan a meaningful look, signaling her not to say more. Zhu Yan promptly shut her mouth, inwardly scolding herself for getting carried away and forgetting her place.
Since the case had been handed over to the Imperial Guard, as a member of the Ministry of Justice, she naturally had no right to comment. Shen Du was already wary of her, and her rash expression of opinions might prevent him from letting her near Ximing Temple in the future.
Zhu Yan couldn’t help but look at Shen Du, wanting to argue a few points, but to her surprise, Shen Du stepped forward and grabbed her sleeve.
“Now that we’ve examined the bodies, the Imperial Guard has many affairs to attend to. We’ll take our leave.”
Before she could react, Zhu Yan was pulled towards the door by Shen Du.
Shen Du was much taller than her, and with each long stride, she had to stumble to barely keep up.
“What are you doing?” Zhu Yan couldn’t help but question in a low voice.
Hearing that the Imperial Guard had come to investigate, many onlookers had gathered outside, mostly farmers living around Ximing Temple.
Shen Du was walking quickly, and Zhu Yan, being pulled along, accidentally bumped into a woman.
Most of the female onlookers were farm women in plain clothes and simple hairstyles, with bare faces.
But this woman was about thirty years old, wearing a silk ruyi-patterned brocade robe. Her black hair was coiled into a round bun, adorned with emerald pearl and fine silver hairpins. Her face was lightly powdered, her fingers as delicate as spring onions, holding a white silk fan with peony patterns.
The scent of white-brain incense from her sleeves wafted into Zhu Yan’s nose. Zhu Yan instinctively looked up at her, only to see the woman take a step back, slightly bowing, using her fan to cover half of her face.
Zhu Yan nodded in apology, and although she had already walked two steps forward, she couldn’t help but look back at the woman once more.
The fan didn’t cover the woman’s almond-shaped eyes. Their gazes met, and she hadn’t expected Zhu Yan to look back. She quickly lowered her eyes, completely blocking the view.
The crowd outside, seeing Shen Du emerge, all showed terrified expressions and knelt to pay their respects. But this woman’s face remained calm and unperturbed, showing neither fear of the corpses nor dread of Shen Du.
Zhu Yan turned back, lost in thought.
“If you have time to stand in the middle of the street and think, you might as well spend more effort elsewhere.”
Shen Du’s eyes held contempt as he released her hand and deliberately took out a gold-threaded handkerchief to wipe his hands meticulously as if he had touched something filthy.
Zhu Yan watched this, rolling her eyes skyward, crude words almost escaping her lips. But then she heard Shen Du say: “Let’s go to the Ministry of Justice.”
The Ministry of Justice?
Zhu Yan was confused. The Imperial Guard’s investigation was by imperial decree, and with their extensive network of informants, surely it would be more convenient than the Ministry of Justice.