Zhen Shicheng slowly scanned the crowd, his words clear and striking like thunder in everyone’s ears: “The killer must still be among those in this great hall.”
The hall immediately erupted into chaos.
“Who killed Duke An?”
“I can’t figure it out. We were just toasting with Duke An, and in the brief moment the sky darkened, he’s gone?”
“Zhen Shicheng says the killer is in the hall. If someone could kill in the dark, wouldn’t it be most convenient for those closest to Duke An?”
“What are you implying? Do you think I killed Duke An?” The angry voice belonged to Duke Kang, who had just been frightened and panicked.
“Oh, Your Grace, don’t take it to heart. We’re just reasoning based on common sense…”
“You can’t reason that it was me!”
…
“Enough! All of you, shut up!” Emperor Jingming roared with full force.
He had been looking forward to the winter solstice, thinking of leaving the palace to dispel the misfortunes of the past year. Who would have thought another person would die?
Another death…
Thinking this way, Emperor Jingming felt somewhat desperate.
He could already imagine that in the future when he wanted to find other opportunities to go out, those censors would have even more to say.
“Minister Zhen, continue,” he said.
Zhen Shicheng bowed to Emperor Jingming: “First, I request that Your Majesty assign people to guard the hall’s entrances, not allowing anyone to leave.”
Emperor Jingming nodded and immediately gave Pan Hai a look.
Understanding, Pan Hai retreated to arrange the matter. Soon, several guards were stationed at the doors leading to the rear hall and outside the great hall.
Zhen Shicheng walked around Duke An’s body once, then stopped.
Everyone stared at his every move. Intimidated by Emperor Jingming’s recent roar, no one dared to speak.
For a moment, the great hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, creating an eerie silence.
Zhen Shicheng cleared his throat and asked, “During the period when the hall went dark, did anyone feel bumped into, or sense someone passing by?”
After a moment of silence, someone said, “Someone stepped on my foot just now.”
The person next to him said awkwardly, “Sorry, that was me.”
Zhen Shicheng glanced at the two speakers, then silently withdrew his gaze.
The one who stepped on was the Minister of Works, and the one who stepped was the Minister of Rites. Both were old men with one foot in the grave. If they could navigate around several tables in the dark and kill Duke An with one strike, that would be quite a feat.
Another person said, “I was toasting at that time. When it suddenly went dark, someone bumped into me, and I spilled wine all over myself.”
Someone quickly responded, “Minister Zhang, I didn’t mean to bump into you. When the hall suddenly darkened, I panicked and tried to return to my seat. I didn’t know who I bumped into, but half my sleeve got soaked in wine.”
He raised his sleeve, saying, “Everyone, smell this. It still reeks of wine.”
Those nearby sniffed and indeed smelled a strong scent of alcohol.
Several others mentioned minor collisions, but upon closer questioning, nothing unusual was found.
The looks directed at Zhen Shicheng became subtle.
The case was becoming difficult. It seemed Zhen Shicheng might disappoint the emperor’s trust this time.
Many people looked down on Zhen Shicheng, who came from a humble background with no connections.
More accurately, it was precisely because Emperor Jingming favored Zhen Shicheng, yet Zhen Shicheng gave face to no one, that some people found him increasingly disagreeable. To put it bluntly, it was envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Jiang Ancheng, sitting in the corner, was quite worried about Zhen Shicheng’s situation.
It seemed Brother Zhen was in trouble.
While worried, he also felt somewhat relieved: Originally, he had regretted that his daughter and son-in-law hadn’t come, but now it seemed better that they hadn’t.
That time drinking with Brother Zhen, he had casually mentioned that Si’er seemed to have an affinity for murder cases. Jiang Ancheng had almost rolled up his sleeves to punch Brother Zhen.
Hmph, this time Brother Zhen would have nothing to say, right?
Zhen Shicheng’s face remained calm. When the hall quieted down again, he said loudly, “Just now, when the hall suddenly went dark, no one noticed the killer, but there are a few points we can be certain of.”
Everyone held their breath, waiting for him to continue.
“First, Duke Kang, who was closest to Duke An, is not the killer.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd began to whisper among themselves.
Duke Kang was so moved he almost shed tears, just short of rushing over to embrace Zhen Shicheng.
“Minister Zhen, you truly have a discerning eye! In the future, if anyone dares to question your ability to solve cases, I’ll be the first to scold them!”
Everyone silently looked to the sky.
Duke Kang’s reason for declaring Zhen Shicheng’s discerning eye was truly… straightforward.
Emperor Jingming couldn’t help but ask, “Minister Zhen, how can you determine that the killer is not Duke Kang?”
Zhen Shicheng said to Duke Kang, “Please turn around, Your Grace.”
Although confused, Duke Kang was very cooperative since Zhen Shicheng had said he wasn’t the killer.
Emperor Jingming stared at Duke Kang’s back, waiting for Zhen Shicheng’s explanation.
“Your Majesty, please look. There are some bloodstains on the Duke’s back, mostly in a needle-like pattern dripping downwards. This indicates that when Duke An was stabbed and blood spurted out, Duke Kang was facing away from him,” Zhen Shicheng explained slowly and steadily. “If the Duke was facing away from Duke An at that time, how could he have dealt the fatal blow?”
Someone whispered, “Could it be that he turned around after the blood spurted out?”
Duke Kang glanced at that person, secretly adding the name to his blacklist.
Zhen Shicheng firmly denied this: “Impossible. When the killer stabbed Duke An in the heart with the dagger and immediately withdrew it, blood would have spurted out instantly. At that time, the killer should have been standing beside Duke An, which is why some of the blood splattered onto Duke Kang’s back.”
Zhen Shicheng picked up the dagger that had fallen beside Duke An’s body, using a handkerchief to handle it.
Looking at the reddened dagger tip, everyone couldn’t help but shudder.
Although it was winter, the great hall was as warm as spring. They had long since removed their heavy outer garments, and now in their thin clothes, they suddenly felt cold.
“Why did the killer withdraw the dagger? If it wasn’t withdrawn, wouldn’t the blood not have spurted out?” asked a minister with a strong curiosity.
Zhen Shicheng gave a cold smile: “This is precisely what I was about to explain next.”
Everyone immediately set aside their various speculations, waiting for Zhen Shicheng to continue.
“Even if the killer stood to one side, avoiding most of the blood spatter, there’s still a possibility of getting blood on themselves. So why did they still choose to withdraw the dagger immediately?”
As Zhen Shicheng posed this question, some of the military officials began to understand.
Someone murmured, “To prevent Duke An from struggling…”
Zhen Shicheng immediately followed up: “Correct, it was to minimize Duke An’s struggle. When stabbed in the heart, if the dagger isn’t immediately withdrawn, death isn’t instantaneous, and there’s often violent struggling. This would not only alert others but also give the victim a chance to scratch or injure the killer. The killer didn’t want this to happen, so they withdrew the dagger immediately, despite the risk of blood spatter. Additionally, with the chaos following the darkness, the act of killing could be done unnoticed.”
As he spoke, Zhen Shicheng slowly scanned the crowd: “From this, we can deduce one point: the killer has experience in killing.”