A youth of seventeen or eighteen emerged from the dense foliage, accompanied by a large dog. The young man had fine eyebrows and phoenix eyes, with a brilliant gaze. Even dressed in the most ordinary blue robe, he still appeared as pure as snow on a high mountain, far from mundane. The large dog beside him looked imposing, though it walked with a slight limp, causing people to subconsciously overlook its threat.
Jiang Zhan couldn’t help but whisper in Jiang Si’s ear, “How strange, why is Brother Yu Qi with Magistrate Zhen? Could he have become one of the Magistrate’s subordinates?”
“Perhaps,” Jiang Si replied, equally unable to guess the reason for Yu Jin’s presence.
“That would be good,” Jiang Zhan murmured.
It would be better for Brother Yu Qi to have a proper job, making it easier for him to marry in the future.
Jiang Si found her brother’s words somewhat puzzling and shifted her gaze to Yu Jin.
Yu Jin quickly walked up to Zhen Shicheng, a faint smile on his lips. “Sir, I’ve discovered something interesting.”
“Oh? What have you found?” Zhen Shicheng looked at the young man with a slight smile, thinking of his identity, and felt particularly conflicted.
He never imagined that Yu Gongzi was the newly appointed Prince Yan, the Seventh Prince who had never appeared in public since childhood.
Recalling how the Ministry of Justice had forcibly assigned someone to assist him in his investigations, Zhen Shicheng felt a headache coming on. When he met the person and learned of his identity, his headache only worsened.
He particularly disliked people meddling in his investigations. If this Seventh Prince were to interfere arbitrarily due to his status, Zhen Shicheng couldn’t exactly return him to the Ministry of Justice. After all, sending the princes to various departments for experience was the Emperor’s idea.
What Zhen Shicheng didn’t expect was that Yu Jin voluntarily proposed to keep his identity secret and participate as his subordinate.
Zhen Shicheng was naturally pleased and even turned a blind eye to the unreasonable request of bringing a dog to solve cases.
Ahem, well, that dog was an official of the fifth rank, barely qualifying as a colleague!
Yu Jin opened his hand, revealing a colorful feather shuttlecock.
Zhen Shicheng, having learned much through questioning, knew that Su Qingyi had been playing shuttlecock with a maid in the courtyard. The appearance of this shuttlecock in Yu Jin’s hand was intriguing.
Su Qingxue’s face suddenly paled upon seeing the shuttlecock.
Following her stepmother’s instructions, she had gone to find Su Qingyi and saw him alone with the shuttlecock. She had used the pretext of playing with him to lure him to this area.
This shuttlecock… how did it end up in this person’s hands?
Thinking of the direction from which Yu Jin had emerged, Su Qingxue unconsciously clenched her fist, her palm damp with sweat.
She and Su Qingyi had been playing in Chaoyang Pavilion at that time.
Chaoyang Pavilion was right next to Juxia Lake, surrounded by lush flowers and plants. From Juxia Lake, one could only see the eaves of the pavilion, not the scene inside. However, sitting in Chaoyang Pavilion, one could see the situation by Juxia Lake through gaps in the foliage.
Su Qingxue couldn’t shake the feeling that the cool-looking youth holding the shuttlecock had glanced in her direction.
Su Qingxue clenched her fist tightly.
Don’t panic, she thought. Even if they found the shuttlecock, what of it? At most, it proved that Second Brother had been in Chaoyang Pavilion. Who could know she was there too?
No, one person knew – her stepmother.
Su Qingxue carefully glanced at Madam Yu, quickly averting her gaze.
Her actions had been arranged by her stepmother, who naturally knew that besides Jiang Si, she had also been in contact with Second Brother. But unless necessary, her stepmother shouldn’t mention this to anyone.
Realizing this, Su Qingxue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“I found this shuttlecock in the pavilion, which indicates that Second Young Master Su had been there after leaving his personal maid’s sight. In other words, Second Young Master Su might have rushed out from this side after seeing Miss Jiang pass by the pavilion,” Yu Jin said, his voice softening slightly at the mention of Jiang Si, though he restrained himself from looking at her.
Zhen Shicheng nodded, agreeing with Yu Jin’s deduction.
Yu Jin weighed the colorful shuttlecock in his hand, his thin lips slightly pursed. “I’ve heard from the Marquis’s household that Second Young Master Su was mentally deficient. Let’s consider, would such a person have the patience to stay in the pavilion?”
As he spoke, his gaze casually swept over the crowd. “If so, there’s only one possibility – someone else was present at the time!”
The crowd was startled by these words.
Someone else was present? Didn’t this mean that when Su Qingyi stopped Jiang Si, someone saw it?
Who was that person? Why hadn’t they come forward?
A series of questions swirled in everyone’s minds, causing them to stare intently at the eloquent youth.
Madam Yu gave Su Qingxue a deep look, her gaze gloomy.
She had long been puzzled. According to her instructions, Su Qingxue should have led Qingyi to pester Jiang Si and then gone to find someone to witness the scene. Only in this way could Jiang Si and Qingyi be naturally brought together. But later, Jiang Si was unharmed, while Qingyi died silently…
Madam Yu had many questions for Su Qingxue but never found the right moment to ask.
Bearing her stepmother’s scrutinizing gaze, Su Qingxue used all her self-control to maintain her composure, quickly lowering her head.
Next to Su Qingxue, Su Qingyu was equally pale, barely able to stand.
She tremblingly touched Su Qingxue with her fingertips. Su Qingxue suddenly looked up, meeting her gaze.
Su Qingyu’s thick eyelashes fluttered incessantly, her eyes questioning Su Qingxue.
Su Qingxue’s hand, hidden in her sleeve, gripped Su Qingyu’s tightly, signaling her not to lose composure.
Su Qingyu felt ice-cold from her fingertips to her heart, fear slowly spreading.
“Who could that person be!” Old Master Su’s gaze was sharp as a knife, sweeping across everyone’s faces.
Even those with clear consciences couldn’t hide their nervousness in such a situation. As servants, they knew all too well that often, even the innocent couldn’t always protect themselves.
Old Master Su didn’t notice anything unusual and finally rested his gaze on Yu Jin.
Yu Jin smiled and opened his other hand. “It should be the owner of this handkerchief.”
In his hand was a snow-white silk handkerchief, fluttering gently in the wind.
Su Qingxue felt her head buzzing and took half a step back.
When had she dropped her handkerchief?
Ah, she remembered now. While coaxing Su Qingyi to play, he had drooled on her hand. After wiping it with the handkerchief, she felt disgusted and threw it away…
The more Su Qingxue thought about it, the more panicked she became.
At this moment, Su Qingshang suddenly spoke up, “Such handkerchiefs are usually used only by masters or servants of high status.”
Hearing this, Su Qingxue suddenly calmed down.
Don’t panic, she thought. This handkerchief doesn’t have a single pattern on it. Who could prove it was hers?
Madam Yu closed her eyes briefly.
There was no mistake. Su Qingxue had indeed coaxed Qingyi to play in Chaoyang Pavilion. She just didn’t know what this little wretch had seen, or rather – could Qingyi have been killed by this little wretch?