For a time, it had been fashionable among noble ladies in the capital to wear ornaments inlaid with jiao pearls.
These items came from overseas and were quite valuable. Prince Lu had a deep impression of them.
He couldn’t help but have a deep impression—the money spent had made him too heartbroken to eat meat for several days.
When Prince Lu mentioned “jiao pearls,” Prince Qin and the others immediately understood.
It wasn’t just them; their wives had also splurged on jiao pearl ornaments.
Prince Lu kindly explained to Prince Xiang: “Eighth Brother, you might not know, but these aren’t ordinary pearls. They’re extremely expensive. Forget about your servants, even we princes feel the pinch when buying them…”
Prince Xiang’s face alternated between white and green, wishing he could rush over and strangle Prince Lu.
What was wrong with him not being married? Had he stolen Fifth Brother’s wife or something, for him to keep stabbing at his heart with this?
After a while, Prince Xiang suppressed his surging anger: “Lord Zhen has a good eye.”
Zhen Shicheng smiled mysteriously.
It wasn’t just a good eye—his wife also had a pair of jiao pearl earrings, bought with his secret stash of money that he had hidden well but was unfortunately discovered.
Because of this, he hugged the empty money box, heartbroken and unable to sleep all night. Fortunately, he encountered a murder case the next day, which provided some consolation.
Zhen Shicheng was no ordinary man. He was an expert with meticulous attention to detail and godlike case-solving abilities. He silently remembered most things he had seen before, especially items that left such a deep impression.
His earlier words were designed to expose the couple’s lies step by step, leaving them unable to deny.
Zhen Shicheng looked at the couple and calmly asked, “Do you two still maintain that this jiao pearl earring belonged to Acai?”
The woman stammered, “This servant made a mistake…”
The man, his eyes shifting, said, “This lowly one is just a rough person, not understanding these things. At first glance, I thought it was our daughter’s earring—”
Zhen Shicheng shook his head and said to the woman, “You just said this was Acai’s favorite earring. How could you mistake something your daughter wore daily?”
“This servant—” Cold sweat broke out on the woman’s forehead, and she couldn’t help but look at the man.
The man was much more composed than the woman and firmly said, “Your Honor, we just made a careless mistake.”
“If you mistook the earrings, what about these remains?”
The man quickly glanced at the estate steward and insisted it was Acai: “Only Acai went missing from the estate. Who else could it be? These earrings weren’t found on Acai’s ears; perhaps someone else dropped them accidentally.”
The body had already decomposed to bones. He insisted it was his daughter—what could the great official do?
The steward had said that if they confirmed these remains were Acai’s, their family would be guaranteed endless wealth in the future.
However, just as the man finished speaking, an excited voice came from the well: “Your Honor, we found it!”
Soon, the yamen runner who had gone down the well climbed up, carefully pinching something between his fingers.
In the sunlight, the cleaned jiao pearl gleamed brilliantly—it was the other earring.
Zhen Shicheng placed the two earrings together for comparison and after a moment, confirmed: “As you can all see, these two jiao pearl earrings are of the same design, undoubtedly a pair.”
Those standing close nodded involuntarily.
Zhen Shicheng glanced at the couple, his expression darkening slightly: “One jiao pearl earring was dug up by General Xiaotian near the dry well, the other was found by the yamen runners in the well, and the remains were recovered from the dry well. Do you all agree that this pair of jiao pearl earrings belonged to the deceased woman?”
Having been in this line of work for so long, he was most annoyed by false testimonies!
Everyone nodded again.
Under these circumstances, to say the jiao pearl earrings didn’t belong to the deceased woman would be quibbling.
Zhen Shicheng stared at the couple with a half-smile: “The jiao pearl earrings belonged to the deceased woman, and you couldn’t afford to buy such ornaments for your daughter. Do you still insist these remains are your daughter Acai?”
“This—” The couple was momentarily stunned, unable to resist looking at the estate steward.
The steward’s lips trembled, and he lowered his gaze, not daring to speak.
Prince Xiang clenched his fists secretly, cursing inwardly.
Zhen was truly cunning and despicable!
Worried that the couple and the steward might reveal something, Prince Xiang coughed lightly and said, “These female remains might have another identity. It’s up to Lord Zhen to investigate who she was.”
Even if it wasn’t Acai, so what? Jiao pearl earrings weren’t exclusive to Cui Mingyue. How could Zhen possibly trace it back to that wretched woman?
Yu Jin, not far from Prince Xiang, glanced casually at Zhen Shicheng.
This pair of jiao pearl earrings wasn’t actually what Cui Mingyue wore when she escaped, but what he had ordered someone to plant here.
After killing Cui Mingyue, Prince Xiang had cleaned up quite thoroughly, leaving nothing but her undergarments, let alone any accessories. Worried that the body might be discovered in the future without proof of identity, he had someone sneak into the bridal chamber to take these earrings and place them where the body was hidden.
Besides this, there should also be a jade pendant, which could truly prove Cui Mingyue’s identity.
Zhen’s subordinates were too incompetent; they still hadn’t found the jade pendant. If this continued, he might have to send Erniu.
However, he didn’t plan to do so unless necessary.
Erniu had discovered the remains; if he also found the key evidence, it might raise suspicions.
He decided to wait a bit longer.
As Prince Xiang became more flustered, Zhen Shicheng grew increasingly composed: “Your Highness previously said there were no noble ladies in your residence, yet these remains aren’t of a lowly person. Can Your Highness explain how they ended up here?”
Prince Xiang’s expression changed slightly: “How would this prince know? Perhaps some audacious dog of a servant harmed a lady from a wealthy family and hid the body here.”
“Is that so?” Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard, using his little finger to discreetly untangle the knotted part. “If a lady from a wealthy family went missing, wouldn’t they report it to the authorities?”
Prince Xiang smiled: “That’s not necessarily true. If that family felt it would damage their reputation, they might cover it up with an excuse of illness. After all, if someone disappears, who can say for certain whether they were harmed or eloped?”
“Your Highness seems quite knowledgeable about this.”
Prince Xiang frowned: “This prince is merely discussing the matter objectively.”
Zhen Shicheng lowered his gaze to look at the remains and sighed lightly: “Whether or not families are covering up the disappearance of their ladies, this official doesn’t know. But speaking of missing noble ladies, this official can think of one person.”
Prince Xiang’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Prince Lu eagerly asked: “Lord Zhen, who do you have in mind?”
Zhen Shicheng spoke each word clearly: “The daughter of Princess Rongyang and General Cui Xu—the eldest Miss Cui.”
The crowd immediately erupted into a commotion.
“No way, Lord Zhen, you think these remains are Cui Mingyue?” Prince Lu pointed at the bones on the ground, his face full of disbelief.
Prince Qi coldly observed Prince Xiang’s suddenly changing expression, his heart sinking: This is bad. Judging by Eighth Brother’s reaction, these remains must be the missing eldest Miss Cui!
“Lord Zhen, you must be responsible for your words.” Prince Xiang, having regained his composure, looked extremely displeased as he pointed at the white bones on the ground. “What evidence do you have to say this is the eldest Miss Cui?”
Zhen Shicheng habitually stroked his beard and slowly uttered a single word: “I do.”