“Ahem…”
Standing outside the hall, Zhu Yan cleared her throat softly as she listened to the progress of the case.
Everyone turned towards the sound, only to see that Shen Du and Zhu Yan had appeared at the entrance without anyone noticing.
Gao Chengxue, who seemed to have spotted his saviors, hurriedly stepped down from the hall to greet them. “Grand Secretary, Madam Shen, you’ve finally arrived. I… I don’t know how to proceed with this.”
“Minister,” Zhu Yan clasped her hands in a respectful salute towards Gao Chengxue, a gesture that nearly startled him to the ground.
“Please, there’s no need for that,” Gao Chengxue quickly returned the salute. “Now that Zhu Shuling has become Madam Shen, there’s no need for such formalities with me. I cannot bear it.”
Shen Du didn’t even glance at Gao Chengxue, who wisely took the hint.
Zhu Yan didn’t say much more; the case at hand was important, and she didn’t want to get entangled with the minister.
Zhu Yan approached Rong Zhui, who softened her gaze upon seeing Zhu Yan.
After all, they were acquaintances, and Rong Zhui couldn’t bring herself to treat Zhu Yan harshly.
“What happened?” Zhu Yan asked.
Rong Zhui’s tone softened as well. “I didn’t kill anyone.”
“I believe you,” Zhu Yan replied without hesitation. “But you must tell me what happened.”
Rong Zhui took a deep breath and glanced at the family of Lüyun, who was kneeling on the ground. “A few months ago, Lüyun came to me, saying her family was poor and she needed a job. I explained what Tongming Pavilion was, but she insisted on staying. At first, she was obedient and sensible, but soon after starting work, she disappeared. I thought she had been taken away by a patron and didn’t inquire further. But who would have thought…”
As she spoke, Rong Zhui lowered her head, clearly pained by Lüyun’s death.
“If that’s the case, why didn’t you explain everything to everyone?” Zhu Yan asked, puzzled. If it was understandable, why not clarify?
“This madam is lying,” Gao Chengxue interjected. “She wasn’t at Tongming Pavilion at the beginning of last month. I’ve already sent people to verify this, and she couldn’t account for her whereabouts. There’s some conspiracy.”
After hearing Gao Chengxue’s words, Zhu Yan turned her gaze back to Rong Zhui. “Is there something you can’t say?”
Rong Zhui bit her lip, seemingly unwilling to confide even in Zhu Yan.
“This is no longer your concern. You may leave,” Shen Du commanded Gao Chengxue, seeing through everyone’s intentions.
Gao Chengxue was momentarily stunned but quickly nodded. Although he didn’t understand why Shen Du was doing this, Shen Du’s intentions were not for him to question.
Lüyun’s parents were also sent to rest, leaving only Zhu Yan, Shen Du, and Rong Zhui in the hall.
“If you don’t want to answer me, we’ll set this matter aside for now. I have something important for you to do,” Zhu Yan said.
Rong Zhui looked puzzled. “What is it?”
Zhu Yan led Rong Zhui to the back hall, where she displayed the portraits she had drawn based on bone structures and several female corpses brought from Ximing Temple.
“These are the portraits I sketched based on their bone structures, and these are their bodies. Can you identify them?”
The bodies on the stretchers had mostly turned to skeletons, making identification impossible, but Zhu Yan’s portraits captured some essence.
“This…” Rong Zhui was surprised. “Though the portraits differ from the real people, each face resembles someone I’ve seen.”
“What?” Zhu Yan was equally shocked. Her portraits couldn’t fully restore the victims’ appearances but bore some resemblance.
If Rong Zhui could recognize them, it meant these people were indeed known to her.
“Who are they?” Shen Du asked.
“Some were from Tongming Pavilion, others from the opposite Lan Yan Pavilion. When they disappeared, we didn’t pay much attention. After all, they were women who sold themselves. Some patrons would sweet-talk them, and they’d leave quietly without telling us. Such things are common here.”
“So… you didn’t report it, or if you did, the cases were dismissed as understandable and ignored,” Zhu Yan surmised, and Rong Zhui nodded in agreement.
“Madam Shen is right. Such matters aren’t suitable for public attention, so they were forgotten.”
“Do you remember when any of them disappeared?” Zhu Yan continued to ask.
Rong Zhui furrowed her brows, recalling carefully. She pointed to Ruyan in the portrait. “This woman was from Lan Yan Pavilion and disappeared four to five years ago. I remember she had settled down and had a child, but then she vanished. This was just hearsay, though. Her husband even came to Lan Yan Pavilion looking for her.”
Zhu Yan and Shen Du exchanged glances, recognizing another lead.
At this point, Rong Zhui pointed to the portrait of the woman who died with Liu Fu. “And this one, she disappeared over three to four years ago.”
Zhu Yan marked the portraits, and Rong Zhui was surprised by another image. “This one.”
The two followed Rong Zhui’s finger. Zhu Yan remembered this portrait well.
It was the girl found embracing Huang Yun, one of the younger victims, who died at seventeen.
Huang Yun was a poor scholar, and this girl wasn’t local, coming from Yuezhou. A moth-shaped jade was found on her.
“You know her too?” Zhu Yan was curious. The girl wasn’t local and had come to the capital seeking relatives. How did Rong Zhui know her?
Rong Zhui shook her head. “I didn’t know her, but I saw her. She visited Lan Yan Pavilion. I thought she was new there, but then a man frequently sought her out, and soon after, they both disappeared.”
“When did you last see her?” Zhu Yan pressed, feeling she had gathered many clues today.
Rong Zhui thought for a moment. “About a year ago, if not a year, then eight to nine months.”
“Eight to nine months…” Zhu Yan murmured, as if realizing something.
The man Rong Zhui mentioned was likely Huang Yun. However, Zhu Yan clearly remembered that when the two bodies were found, their faces were rough and dark purple, and the girl’s skeleton still had flesh, suggesting it wasn’t just eight to nine months.
Could it be… someone tampered with the bodies to delay decomposition?