As the Imperial Physician finished treating Zhu Yan’s wound and was about to leave, Zhu Yan quickly called out, “Wait! This child was grabbed by Madam Tang so long earlier, that he must have been frightened. Please examine him as well while you’re here.”
“There’s no need, I’m fine,” Qi Yeyun hurriedly said. “Master’s injury is more important. I’ll accompany the Imperial Physician to fetch the medicine.”
Without waiting for Zhu Yan’s refusal, Qi Yeyun left with the Imperial Physician.
Watching Qi Yeyun’s devoted behavior, Zhu Yan was filled with helplessness.
“Give you an inch and you take a mile. You don’t know your limits,” Shen Du mocked, his gaze fixed elsewhere.
Zhu Yan glanced at him, “You just can’t stand to see me doing well. Seeing that I have a fanboy now, are you jealous?”
“Jealous of you?” Shen Du retorted, then fixed his gaze on her injured hand. “You’re truly absurd. It was so dangerous earlier, yet you recklessly rushed in without a care. Do you value your life so little?”
Zhu Yan shrugged, expressing indifference. “If I died, wouldn’t that suit you perfectly? You wouldn’t even need to lift a finger. But you, I don’t know what possessed you earlier. You knew I was in grave danger, yet you still rushed to save me. Heh… Do you want me to thank you?”
Shen Du’s face grew exceptionally gloomy. Although he knew Zhu Yan was joking with him, her dismissive attitude towards her own life greatly displeased him.
“Nonsense,” he said, leaving those four words before turning to leave.
Shortly after Shen Du left, Qi Yeyun returned with the medicine package. “Master, the medicine is ready. Let’s go back.”
“Little Qi,” Zhu Yan said, seeming somewhat helpless, “Those words earlier were just a joke. Don’t keep calling me ‘Master.’ I feel guilty and unworthy of the title.”
Hearing this, Qi Yeyun’s excited face instantly fell, his eyes showing confusion. “Is Master rejecting me? I’ve just become your disciple. Did I do something wrong?”
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Zhu Yan explained guiltily. “There were so many people present earlier, and I was just speaking out of anger. I just feel that my abilities are insufficient to be your master.”
“Master,” Qi Yeyun suddenly knelt with a thud. “Even if Master was joking, I took it seriously. I, Qi Yeyun, will only acknowledge you as my master in this life. I will never betray you. Please accept me.”
With that, Qi Yeyun started kowtowing to Zhu Yan repeatedly.
“You mustn’t, you mustn’t!” Zhu Yan quickly helped Qi Yeyun up. Even if she became his master, she couldn’t accept such a grand gesture. She worried it might shorten her lifespan.
“If Master doesn’t agree, I won’t get up,” Qi Yeyun said, looking at Zhu Yan with determination.
Zhu Yan was full of helplessness, but seeing the child’s stubborn nature, she could only nod and say, “Alright then, I’ll take you as my disciple. But don’t call me ‘Master,’ call me ‘Elder Sister’ instead. ‘Master’… makes me sound old.”
As she spoke, her mind wandered to her own master, Chen Wen, who was already over sixty. Only such an elderly person could truly be called a master.
“Mm,” Qi Yeyun nodded firmly, happy that Zhu Yan had agreed to take him in, regardless of the details.
It was already night when they returned to the Shen residence.
The murder case had finally been solved, and Chang’an had returned to its usual bustling state.
Today was also the end of the fasting period, so even at night, the streets of Chang’an were brightly lit and crowded with people.
Just as they stepped through the main gate of the Shen residence, the steward hurriedly came to report that the Grand Secretariat had been waiting in the study for a long time and requested her presence immediately.
Zhu Yan was puzzled. The murder case had been solved, so what could be causing him such urgency?
Arriving at the study, she saw Shen Du standing by the window with furrowed brows, silent.
His deep eyes gazed out the window as if pondering something.
At that moment, Zhu Yan’s mind also buzzed, suddenly realizing something.
“This case…” Zhu Yan muttered, only now recalling that something seemed amiss about it.
Hearing her voice, Shen Du turned to look at her. “You’re here. The murderer has been caught, but…”
“But throughout the entire case, it seems we’ve missed something…” Zhu Yan quickly finished Shen Du’s thought. “What exactly did we miss?”
The depth in Shen Du’s eyes intensified. He wasn’t the only one who felt something was off about this case.
“Hearts!”
“Human hearts!”
They exclaimed in unison, staring at each other with wide eyes.
“Right,” Zhu Yan quickly said. “Madam Tang killed so many people, and all the victims had their hearts removed. So where are those hearts?”
Shen Du said no more and turned to leave. Zhu Yan hurriedly followed, knowing that Shen Du already had a plan.
Zhu Yan and Jing Lin followed Shen Du as he led people to the Tang residence. They were going to search the Tang residence at night.
“Search,” Shen Du commanded, and the Imperial Guards swarmed in.
Zhu Yan waited anxiously at the entrance, an uneasy feeling growing in her heart.
During Madam Tang’s interrogation, everything had been accounted for except the whereabouts of the hearts. Could it be…
“Grand Secretariat,” Jing Lin soon emerged from the Tang residence.
“Nothing,” he shook his head, confirming Zhu Yan’s thoughts.
The entire Tang residence had been searched thoroughly, but no trace of any human hearts was found.
Where had all those hearts gone?
The case seemed resolved on the surface, but beneath it all, mystery still shrouded everything.
Shen Du and Zhu Yan went to the prison at night, hoping to get some clues from Madam Tang.
To their surprise, Madam Tang had gone mad.
“Madam Tang,” Zhu Yan knocked on the prison door, calling out to the woman with a vacant expression inside. “Stop pretending to be crazy. I have some important questions for you.”
Madam Tang remained unresponsive, her gaze unfocused, alternating between crying and laughing, mumbling something incoherently.
“Wake up!” Zhu Yan grew impatient, banging on the prison door forcefully, reopening the wound on her hand.
The crimson blood instantly seeped through the bandage. Shen Du quickly grabbed her wrist. “Enough, don’t hurt yourself. She’s already gone mad.”
“She’s the most important witness. How can she just go mad like this?” Zhu Yan couldn’t accept it.
As she looked at Madam Tang again, the woman miraculously turned her gaze towards her.
“Moths to the flame, born at dawn, dead by dusk… hehe,” Madam Tang laughed deliriously. “I will never die. I will become a fire moth, living forever, hehe…”
“You killed so many people. Where did you put their hearts?” Zhu Yan urgently asked, but Madam Tang stood up and began throwing straws around the cell.
“Flying, flying…” She didn’t seem to hear Zhu Yan’s words at all, instead playing with what she found amusing.
“Tang Ceran!” Zhu Yan grew angry, shouting Madam Tang’s name. “Tell me, where did you put the hearts?”