The bridegroom was dead, and the bride was missing.
Their marriage had been imperially decreed…
The maid who discovered Zhu Ziyu’s body was nearly frightened out of her wits. After regaining her composure, she hurriedly reported the situation to Princess Rongyang.
Princess Rongyang was stunned for a long while before rushing to the General’s mansion.
She and Cui Xu hadn’t lived together for a long time.
Along the way, servants of the General’s mansion bowed to Princess Rongyang.
“Where is your General?”
“The General is practicing swordplay at the training grounds.”
Princess Rongyang hurried to the training grounds in the northeast corner and immediately spotted the man wielding his sword with vigor in the morning light.
“Cui Xu—” she called out.
Cui Xu paused, sheathed his sword, and strode over.
Seeing Cui Xu’s indifferent expression, Princess Rongyang gritted her teeth and said, “You have time to practice swordplay? Something terrible has happened!”
“What happened?” Cui Xu put away his sword and wiped his sweat.
Princess Rongyang lowered her voice, “Zhu Ziyu is dead!”
Cui Xu’s hand froze mid-wipe: “Where’s Mingyue?”
“Missing…” Princess Rongyang grabbed Cui Xu’s wrist, “Cui Xu, what should we do?”
Cui Xu gently pulled his hand away, gripping his sword hilt: “What else can we do but search for her?”
“But—” Princess Rongyang steadied herself, her tone strange, “Who killed Zhu Ziyu?”
On the wedding night, the groom died, and the bride disappeared. Anyone would suspect the bride’s involvement in the groom’s death.
Princess Rongyang suddenly felt estranged from the daughter she remembered as sensible and gracious.
Did Mingyue kill Zhu Ziyu? Her heart trembled, and she dared not think further.
Cui Xu’s voice broke in: “Mingyue learned some martial arts from me for a few years. Dealing with one or two ordinary people shouldn’t be a problem for her.”
“Cui Xu, what do you mean by that?”
Cui Xu fixed his gaze on Princess Rongyang, his tone steady: “I mean, regardless of the truth, let’s find her first.”
Princess Rongyang sighed.
Cui Xu was right. No matter who killed the man, they needed to find Mingyue first.
“I’ll take some men to search for Mingyue. You go to the palace and report this to the Emperor.”
Princess Rongyang was taken aback: “Tell Imperial Brother?”
“It can’t be hidden forever.” Cui Xu left with these words, striding away.
Emperor Jingming had just finished the morning court session when Pan Hai reported that Princess Rongyang sought an audience.
Another problem?
Emperor Jingming carefully recalled.
Yesterday, Mingyue and Zhu Ziyu’s wedding was said to have gone smoothly—
“Invite the Princess to the Imperial Study.”
Emperor Jingming had barely settled in his seat at the Imperial Study when Princess Rongyang entered.
“This subject sister greets Imperial Brother.”
“What’s the matter?” Seeing Princess Rongyang’s red eyes, Emperor Jingming felt a headache coming on.
“Imperial Brother, Mingyue is missing…”
Emperor Jingming instinctively sat up straight: “What?”
Princess Rongyang knelt: “This subject sister has come to plead for punishment.”
Emperor Jingming simply stood up and walked over: “What punishment? Stand up and explain the situation clearly!”
Princess Rongyang rose and briefly explained the situation.
“You’re saying Mingyue is missing, and Zhu Ziyu is dead?” Emperor Jingming’s heart trembled as he listened.
He knew another problem had arisen, and it was indeed true!
Princess Rongyang nodded slowly.
Emperor Jingming closed his eyes. After a long while, he opened them, his dark eyes unreadable.
“What does Imperial Sister think?”
Princess Rongyang was on the verge of tears: “Imperial Brother, this subject sister is very worried. Surely villains must have broken in, killed Zhu Ziyu, and kidnapped Mingyue—”
“Does the Zhu family know about this?”
“Not yet.”
“I’ll order Zhen Shicheng to investigate this case, and Han Ran, the Commander of the Jinlin Guard, to assist Cui Xu in searching for Mingyue…”
Princess Rongyang’s expression changed slightly: “Imperial Brother, is it appropriate to involve official forces?”
The matter of Mingyue and Zhu Ziyu could be considered a royal family affair. If anything were discovered, it would affect the reputation of the imperial family.
Emperor Jingming was unconcerned: “It will be a covert investigation. Zhen Shicheng knows what to do.”
That old fellow just needs a case to investigate. He’s much better than those self-proclaimed loyal ministers who always cause trouble.
Princess Rongyang could only agree.
Emperor Jingming looked at her and advised, “Don’t say much to Empress Dowager for now, and quietly inform the Zhu family.”
“Imperial Brother can rest assured, this subject sister understands.”
“Then Imperial Sister may go attend to matters.”
After Princess Rongyang left, Emperor Jingming stood by the window, silent for a long time.
“Pan Hai—”
“This slave is here.”
“Tell me, does a twitching left eye mean wealth and a twitching right eye mean disaster, or is it the other way around?”
Pan Hai wiped his sweat repeatedly: “Your Majesty, this slave…”
“Never mind, when a person is troubled, any twitching eye means disaster.”
Pan Hai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
If the Emperor kept troubling him with such questions, life would become unbearable.
“Pan Hai, who do you think killed Zhu Ziyu?”
Pan Hai: “…”
“Your Majesty, Six Petal Flower Studio has released a new storybook. Would you like to take a look?”
…
Upon receiving the secret edict, Zhen Shicheng became energized.
Recently, there haven’t been any significant cases in the capital. Presiding over the Shunten Prefecture, he had been dealing with trivial matters daily: Wang San’s vines growing into Li Si’s yard, Li Si’s wife picking the gourds; Zhao Liu’s lost pig being found but not returned; Sun family’s young daughter-in-law eloping…
Zhen Shicheng felt he was about to grow mushrooms from boredom.
Finally, another major case had occurred, involving one death and one disappearance!
The only thing that slightly displeased Zhen Shicheng was that due to the special status of the victim, he needed to investigate undercover, without alarming the neighbors.
This wasn’t difficult for Zhen Shicheng. He quickly disguised himself as a visiting guest, with the female coroner carrying a gift box, looking every bit like a little maid.
As for what was in the gift box, only they knew.
After a thorough investigation and questioning, Zhen Shicheng was quite disappointed.
The case was much simpler than he had imagined.
“Zhen Shicheng seeks an audience?” Emperor Jingming had been experiencing more frequent headaches lately. He was resting his eyes when he heard the announcement.
Soon after, Zhen Shicheng appeared before Emperor Jingming.
“What has Minister Zhen discovered?”
Bringing up his area of expertise, Zhen Shicheng was not at all modest and immediately replied: “Reporting to Your Majesty, the situation has been clarified.”
Emperor Jingming’s eyes blazed: “Please elaborate, Minister Zhen.”
“Upon examination, it appears the bridegroom was killed by a single stab to the back of the heart by the bride.”
Emperor Jingming nearly dropped the jade ornament he was holding: “Is Minister Zhen joking?”
How could his quiet and elegant niece kill a grown man with a single stab?
Zhen Shicheng’s expression turned serious: “This minister never jokes when investigating cases. I ordered the coroner to examine the bridegroom’s body. From the direction and depth of the wound, combined with the bloodstains on the bed, it can be deduced that the bride, while pinned down by the bridegroom, raised a dagger and stabbed fiercely into his back, piercing his heart…”
Emperor Jingming’s expression was quite extraordinary. After a long moment, he asked with difficulty: “Is Minister Zhen suggesting that the bride killed the bridegroom and then fled out of fear of punishment?”
Zhen Shicheng nodded: “Your Majesty is correct.”