“I can protect my fiancée Huang Zixia, but I cannot protect Yang Chonggu, the eunuch of Prince Kui’s mansion. Therefore, Zixia, I need a promise from you.”

Zhou Ziqin strolled out of the West Market, carrying a rabbit for dissection in his left hand and a jar of brine for cleaning blood stains in his right, heading toward Duanrui Hall.

A crowd had gathered at the entrance of Duanrui Hall, discussing something animatedly. Some were speaking with great excitement, others were whispering among themselves, and some appeared righteously indignant.

Zhou Ziqin, being someone who loved the excitement, immediately went up to ask, “Everyone, everyone, what happened?”

The crowd, eager to share, immediately responded with animated expressions: “Something terrible happened, there’s been a murder at Duanrui Hall! The body was just carried away!”

“Yes, yes, you should have seen it, it was terrifying, blood stains everywhere, wow—”

“The most shocking part is that the murderer was a woman!”

“That female criminal was quite pretty too, about seventeen or eighteen years old, looking so delicate and gentle. Who would have thought she could be so ruthless, stabbing straight into someone’s heart with one thrust…”

“Poor A-Qi, he had elderly parents and young children to support, the whole family depended on his income, what a tragedy.”

Zhou Ziqin’s remarkable mind immediately began working, and he asked excitedly, “Was it because the deceased A-Qi had been philandering and refused to take responsibility, so the girl killed him?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. She was brought here by Zhang Xingying, and should have had no grudge against A-Qi.”

Upon hearing Zhang Xingying’s name, Zhou Ziqin immediately exclaimed “Ah!” and hurriedly asked, “Second Brother Zhang brought her? Could it be… could it be Dicui?”

Someone gave him a confused look: “What Dicui? I heard her surname is Huang.”

“A girl of seventeen or eighteen, quite pretty, surname Huang?…” Zhou Ziqin muttered, then suddenly had a realization, his face instantly draining of color. His hand loosened, and the rabbit he had been holding by the ears fell to the ground and hopped away.

“Huang Zixia?” He dropped the jar and grabbed the person’s collar, demanding, “Is it Huang Zixia?”

The person was startled and quickly tried to remove his hand, saying, “How would I know? I just heard her surname was Huang…”

“Where is she now? Who took her away?”

“The… the authorities…”

“The Capital Prefecture or the Court of Judicial Review?”

“Seems… seems like the Court of Judicial Review, because there happened to be some officials from there nearby, so they took her directly…” Before the person could finish, Zhou Ziqin had already turned and was running frantically toward the Court of Judicial Review.

Cui Chunzhan, the Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, wore a troubled expression as he watched Zhou Ziqin burst through the door: “Ziqin, what brings you here today?”

“Assistant Minister Cui, you understand me well, let’s skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point.” Zhou Ziqin came up and put an arm around his shoulders, asking, “Do you have a female prisoner here named Huang Zixia?”

“Yes,” Cui Chunzhan pointed at his face, “Why else do you think I’m so troubled?”

“Why?”

“Those dim-witted fellows, just walking around the streets and getting involved in trouble. Does the Court of Judicial Review need to handle this matter? Couldn’t they just pass it to the Capital Prefecture? And do you know who this murderer they brought back is? It’s Huang Zixia!” Cui Chunzhan looked around, his face so bitter it could almost drip, “You know Huang Zixia, right? She’s Yang Chonggu, the world-famous female detective who used to be by Prince Kui’s side!”

“Of course! I’ve admired and respected her for years, how could I not know?” Zhou Ziqin tightened his grip on his shoulder, making Cui Chunzhan wince in pain: “Ziqin, be gentle…”

“Let me make a deal with you. You know Huang Zixia is a detective, if she were to commit a crime, she would surely do it perfectly, how could she be caught? So, I think someone must be framing her! What do you think?”

Cui Chunzhan nodded thoughtfully: “Perhaps… Now that His Highness Prince Kui is confined in the Clan Court, someone might be taking advantage of this opportunity to target her.”

“So, why don’t you release her, and I can discuss with her who might be trying to harm her…”

Cui Chunzhan rolled his eyes at him: “She’s now a prisoner of the Court of Judicial Review. Even if Prince Kui himself came, she couldn’t just be taken away!”

Zhou Ziqin dejectedly released his shoulder and asked: “Alright… but at least I can visit her, right?”

“Right now…” Cui Chunzhan was still hesitating when Zhou Ziqin grabbed his shoulder again, about to start pestering him. Cui Chunzhan quickly jumped away, saying, “Alright, alright, I’ll take you there myself!”

As they reached the door of the detention room, Cui Chunzhan suddenly saw someone entering from the front hall, who bowed to him from afar, saying in a clear voice: “Assistant Minister Cui, it’s been a while.”

As soon as Cui Chunzhan saw him, he immediately left Zhou Ziqin’s side and approached with a face full of smiles: “Yunzhi, what brings you here today?”

Wang Yun quickly crossed the vast courtyard paved with blue stones, smiling as he said: “To be honest, I’m here today because I have a favor to ask.”

“Ah, Yunzhi, whatever you need, just say it.” Cui Chunzhan said, glancing at Zhou Ziqin and pushing him toward the detention room, “Ziqin, you go ahead and visit the prisoner first. Yunzhi and I haven’t seen each other for a long time, we’ll chat for a while.”

Hearing this, Wang Yun’s smile deepened as he asked: “Is Ziqin here to visit Zixia?”

Zhou Ziqin quickly nodded: “Brother Wang truly has supernatural insight!”

Wang Yun turned to Cui Chunzhan and said: “Why don’t we go together? I’m also here about this female prisoner.”

Cui Chunzhan opened his mouth, apparently only now vaguely remembering that this Huang Zixia seemed to be Wang Yun’s fiancée. He immediately understood Wang Yun’s intention, silently cursing his troublesome subordinates who had brought back Huang Zixia another hundred times, then said somewhat awkwardly: “Let’s go, we’ll visit together.”

In the detention room of the Court of Judicial Review, the newly imprisoned Huang Zixia sat quietly on a low bed. Though there were dried bloodstains on her clothes, she paid them no attention, only looking up at the tall, narrow window, as still as a sculpture.

The weather wasn’t good, with only faint grey light filtering through the window, making the room dim. When the door opened, they saw her sitting quietly on the low bed, her profile showing extremely soft and beautiful contours, appearing hazy like smoke and water in the faint light from outside.

Zhou Ziqin, being the most impatient, immediately cried out: “Chonggu, you’re in big trouble! How could you commit such a serious crime? Quick, think about who you might have offended recently!”

Hearing his voice, Huang Zixia turned her head toward the door, seeing Zhou Ziqin who had already rushed in, while Wang Yun stood calmly outside, his eyes fixed on her, never moving away.

She let out a long breath and walked toward them: “Why did you come?”

Zhou Ziqin quickly said: “I happened to pass by Duanrui Hall and heard a crowd saying that a girl brought by Zhang Xingying had killed someone! At first, I thought it was Dicui, but I never expected it would be you!”

Wang Yun didn’t say anything, letting Zhou Ziqin chatter on. But Huang Zixia naturally knew that when he had parted from her, he had probably already ordered people to watch her movements.

Seeing them talking, Cui Chunzhan said he still had official duties and left first.

Zhou Ziqin grabbed Huang Zixia’s sleeve, asking hurriedly: “What happened? How did you get framed for killing that pharmacy apprentice?”

Huang Zixia asked in return: “What do you think?”

“I don’t know! Did he try to take advantage of you because you were a lone girl? No, that’s not right… Why didn’t Zhang Xingying help you?”

Wang Yun then said: “Ziqin, don’t interrupt, let Zixia speak first.”

Zhou Ziqin quickly nodded and patted the low bed inside the room before sitting down.

Huang Zixia explained the whole story and all the details. She spoke very thoroughly, and by the time she finished, it was nearly dusk. An official brought them a lamp, casting a flickering light in the detention room, which at least managed to drive away some of the darkness.

In the narrow detention room, it was damp and dark. The room had been covered in a layer of cold air, and now the firelight cast their three shadows, twisted and eerie.

Zhou Ziqin, lying on the small table where the lamp was placed, asked with a mix of dejection, shock, and disbelief: “You mean… it’s very likely… that Second Brother Zhang killed someone and framed you?”

Huang Zixia slowly nodded and said: “Yes. But I still haven’t figured out how he managed to both keep company with that Ashi at the end of the counter and come over to kill someone.”

Zhou Ziqin slapped the table, making the lamp jump and the light suddenly dim: “I know, that Ashi must have been bought off by him!”

“It doesn’t seem so,” Huang Zixia shook her head.

“In any case, there must be a reason, and Zhang Xingying must be involved,” Wang Yun, who had been quietly listening without speaking, finally spoke, saying, “Moreover, I believe that if Zixia could investigate a bit more, she should be able to discover the truth and clear herself of this false accusation.”

Huang Zixia nodded slightly and said: “But I’m currently imprisoned and have no way to escape. No matter how much I sit here and think, I still can’t find a solution.”

“It would be best to go to the scene and make some inquiries, right?” Wang Yun said, looking toward Zhou Ziqin, “By the way, Ziqin, aren’t you going to examine the corpse and the murder weapon?”

“The corpse and the weapon…” Zhou Ziqin’s eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up, “You’re right! I’ll go look right away!”

“The body has already been sent to the charity cemetery in the south of the city, and it’s almost curfew now, why rush at this moment?” Cui Chunzhan’s voice came from outside the door as he smiled and gestured to them from the doorway, “It’s late, why don’t you two stay for dinner at the Court of Judicial Review? The kitchen has already prepared food and wine.”

Zhou Ziqin stood up and gestured to Huang Zixia: “Let’s go.”

Huang Zixia gave a bitter smile but didn’t stand up. Wang Yun knew that as she was currently under arrest and a woman, it would be inappropriate for her to dine with them, so he just patted Zhou Ziqin’s shoulder and said: “Zixia has just experienced a great shock, she probably has no appetite. Let’s go first.”

After the three of them left and the door was closed, Huang Zixia was once again alone in the detention room.

Huang Zixia sat quietly on the low bed, and after an unknown amount of time, feeling her back becoming stiff, she leaned against the wall and sat blankly for a while. Then she heard the sound of keys outside the door, and lamplight shone in as Wang Yun entered carrying a small lantern.

The orange candlelight shone through the thin paper, illuminating the small room and Wang Yun’s smiling face, which was more peaceful and gentle than this handful of candlelight.

He opened the food box he had brought, taking out four small dishes, a bowl of chicken soup, and a bowl of rice, and arranging them on the small table in front of her. He handed her chopsticks and said: “You must be hungry. Eat first.”

Huang Zixia moved to the table and sat down with a lowered head, taking the chopsticks from his hand and asking: “Where’s Zhou Ziqin?”

“He couldn’t resist after all and went to examine the corpse in the night.”

“Oh.” Huang Zixia nodded and first picked up the bowl of soup for a sip. In the cold winter, the detention room was freezing, but after drinking a bowl of hot soup, her whole body seemed to warm up. She couldn’t help but hold the bowl of soup and look up at Wang Yun, seeing his face as gentle as jade in the lamplight, as warm as the soup she now held in her hands.

For a moment, she wondered dazedly what would have become of her without him.

Wang Yun saw her staring at him blankly and waved his hand in front of his face, asking: “What’s wrong?”

“Oh… nothing.” She quickly lowered her head and picked up her chopsticks to eat.

Wang Yun sat quietly there, waiting until she had eaten most of the food before saying: “I had people watch your movements truly only because the current situation is dangerous and I was worried about your safety, nothing else. You’re not angry with me, are you?”

Huang Zixia shook her head and said: “It’s fine… Then, are you angry that I went to buy medicine for Prince Kui without telling you?”

“Yes.” He said quietly.

Huang Zixia was stunned, unconsciously gripping her chopsticks tighter as she looked up at him.

He gazed at her in the flickering lamplight, with one or two bright points dancing in his eyes, unstable like rippling water. He said softly: “Because you should have told me, let me do it for you. Why did you have to put yourself in danger at such a critical time?”

His gentle words left her dazed, unsure how to react. After a long while, she finally gripped her chopsticks and said hesitantly with a lowered head: “Because I didn’t know… that even Duanrui Hall could become such a dangerous place.”

Wang Yun couldn’t help but smile. He gazed at Huang Zixia in the hazy lamplight, and whether due to the lighting or not, her cheeks were tinged with two patches of red, making her usually pale complexion appear incomparably radiant.

Wang Yun felt his heart flutter, and unable to control himself, he raised his hand, wanting to touch her cheek that bloomed like an early peach blossom.

But just as his hand was about to touch her skin, she suddenly turned her face away, looking out the window, listening to the distant sound of bells and drums, saying: “It’s the first watch of the night.”

How could he not understand her meaning? His hand froze in mid-air for a moment before awkwardly dropping down, pretending to collect the empty bowl in front of her and take away a dish.

The atmosphere became subtle, and Huang Zixia’s eating movements began to grow stiff.

Wang Yun remained silent until she finished eating and he was clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, then he said: “Although I don’t want to say this, Zixia, you must make a decision quickly tonight.”

Huang Zixia nodded once, remaining silent. She lowered her eyelashes, those dense, long lashes hiding the thoughts in her eyes and casting a faint shadow over her face.

“Because I can protect my fiancée Huang Zixia, but I cannot protect Yang Chonggu, the eunuch of Prince Kui’s mansion,” he said slowly, his gaze fixed on her unwaveringly, catching even the trembling of her eyelashes, “Therefore, Zixia, I need a promise.”

The lamplight flickered, filling the room with wavering warm orange light, yet ultimately unable to bring her true warmth. Such a lonely cold night, such a desperate situation. Before she could even react, the forces behind the scenes had already revealed their fierce claws, leaving her with nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape.

She raised her head to look around, at the cold prison cell, the high narrow iron window. Now trapped here, it seemed she had reached a dead end, with no dawn appearing before her. Yet precisely at this moment, Wang Yun had built a rainbow bridge before her, showing her hope of escape at the edge of the cliff—

Yes, hope. Hers, and Li Shubai’s.

If she let go of this last lifeline, would they vanish into the night of Chang’an, disappearing silently like bursting bubbles, as if they had never existed in this world?

Huang Zixia silently drew her fingers together, clasping her hands tightly, feeling nothing even as her nails dug into her palms.

She closed her eyes and said softly: “Everything… shall be arranged as Young Master Wang sees fit.”

“Wang Yun is impressive, actually managing to get you out of the Court of Judicial Review.”

The next day, when Zhou Ziqin came to the Wang residence in Yongchang District and saw her safely there, he was immediately filled with admiration: “You were involved in a murder case!”

Huang Zixia was dispirited, having experienced such a dramatic change yesterday and not sleeping all night, her face was haggard. Hearing his exclamation, she just silently held a book, reading without responding to his comment.

Zhou Ziqin saw her reading and leaned over to ask: “What book are you reading?”

“‘Return to Internal Classic’, a medical book,” Huang Zixia said.

Zhou Ziqin asked in surprise: “Why are you reading such a book so early in the morning?”

“No, I’ve been reading all night,” Huang Zixia folded one of the pages, closed the book, and placed it on the table, saying, “After returning from the Court of Judicial Review last night, Wang Yun helped me collect over twenty medical books from Doctor Hu’s desk, this is one of them.”

Zhou Ziqin was a bit confused: “Who is Doctor Hu?”

“The prescription that Ashi was filling yesterday was written by Doctor Hu.”

“You stayed up all night reading over twenty medical books? Looking at that doctor’s desk books? What for?” Zhou Ziqin was even more puzzled.

Huang Zixia didn’t speak, only slowly placing her hand on the medical book, saying: “Nothing, I just had some thoughts I wanted to verify.”

Seeing that she seemed unwilling to explain further, Zhou Ziqin had to give up asking and changed the subject: “With Prince Kui facing such a situation now, he probably doesn’t even know you’re in trouble. Fortunately, Wang Yun was there, otherwise, you would have been in serious trouble.”

Huang Zixia nodded silently, finally speaking. Her voice was hoarse and low, full of weariness: “Yes, I ultimately cannot fight against the greatest powers in this world alone.”

Moreover, in such a collapse, she still had to ensure her safety at all times. After all, Li Shubai was now in the worst situation, and if she couldn’t protect herself, how could she protect those she wanted to protect?

Zhou Ziqin frowned and said: “Yes, I never would have thought that Second Brother Zhang would… would target you! Even though you said it, I still… have my doubts.”

Huang Zixia neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying: “Yes, it would be better if it wasn’t him, after all, this is just my worst speculation.”

Zhou Ziqin quickly jumped in front of her, sitting cross-legged, asking: “You’re not very sure either, right? Think carefully, besides Second Brother Zhang, was there anyone else who had the opportunity to kill that A-Qi?”

Huang Zixia held her tea without speaking. After a long while, when the tea in her hands had started to grow cold, she finally put it down gently and asked: “Did you examine A-Qi’s body yesterday?”

“Yes, the killer was experienced, one strike directly severed the heart vessels. I dare say he didn’t even have time to see who it was before he fell— Hey, were you inside at the time? How come you weren’t awakened?”

“I think I must have been drugged, which is why I slept so deeply. But because I was in the powder room at the time, I didn’t notice the scent of the sleeping drug,” Huang Zixia said as she poured herself a fresh cup of hot tea, holding it in her palms before asking, “That murder weapon, the dagger, was there anything worth investigating about it?”

Zhou Ziqin shook his head: “No, it’s a common dagger from the West Market, the kind that costs twenty wen, and it even has some rust. It was probably bought and kept for a long time, there’s no traceable clue from this.”

Huang Zixia asked again: “Was there anything suspicious about the wound? Was there anything on the victim’s body that might reveal characteristics of the killer?”

“No, it was clean and efficient, just one strike.”

She fell silent again, thinking quietly for a moment before saying: “Let’s go, we’ll go to Duanrui Hall.”

Zhou Ziqin was startled and asked: “You dare to go back to Duanrui Hall? You were involved in a murder case there yesterday!”

“I need to go back and see if there’s any way someone could walk from the end of the medicine cabinet to the powder room to kill someone, yet still have an alibi.” As Huang Zixia spoke, she went to the back hall, picked up some yellow powder and glue, smeared her face until it was yellowish, then used the glue to pull down her eye corners, applied glue to her lip corners and eye corners, and waited for it to naturally crack, creating fine wrinkles, making her look at least ten years older.

She put on a headscarf, changed into men’s clothes, wore six-harmony boots, and rode out with Zhou Ziqin. Zhou Ziqin couldn’t help but marvel: “With this disguise, I feel… like Chonggu has returned.”

“Huang Zixia and Yang Chonggu are the same person,” Huang Zixia said, turning to look at him, “Just like Zhou Ziqin who examines corpses by imperial decree and the young master of the Zhou family are also the same person.”

“Yes, that’s true, everyone has different identities. Some people know you by one identity, while others know you by another. Perhaps when they talk about you, one calls you Huang Zixia, and another calls you Yang Chonggu, not knowing they’re talking about the same person! Haha…”

Zhou Ziqin laughed involuntarily as he spoke.

Huang Zixia listened casually as they rode forward together.

But suddenly, she pulled sharply on her reins and stopped. Zhou Ziqin turned back to look at her in surprise, seeing her staring blankly at a point in space, and couldn’t help asking: “What’s wrong? What did you think of?”

“Identity… different identities, but with the same intersection point…” Huang Zixia muttered, motionless.

Seeing her so lost in thought, Zhou Ziqin was puzzled: “Yes, sometimes different identities can be the same person.”

“And sometimes, different things represent the same matter, right?” Huang Zixia asked.

Zhou Ziqin scratched his head: “Well… what do you mean?”

“For example, if I give you three things: couplets, firecrackers, and a fire basin, what would you think of?”

“New Year’s, of course! That’s simple,” Zhou Ziqin looked at her innocently.

“Right, then what about—” Huang Zixia sat on her horse, slowly tightening the reins in her hand, saying word by word, “a lover’s knot, a dagger, and a jade bracelet?”

“Ah? Aren’t those… aren’t those the three things that Prince E destroyed in front of his mother’s stove?” Zhou Ziqin asked.

“Yes, these three things should represent the same matter…” Huang Zixia said thoughtfully, “Perhaps we don’t know what it means, but Prince E must have understood when he saw them, which is why he was misled and developed an obsession—even at the cost of his own life, he wanted to bring Prince Kui to his death.”

Zhou Ziqin looked at her expression, feeling nervous: “Don’t scare me… what could these three things represent?”

Huang Zixia was deep in thought, seemingly entranced.

Zhou Ziqin worriedly grabbed her horse’s reins beside her, to prevent her from falling off, while asking: “Are you alright? Be careful, don’t fall off.”

Huang Zixia nodded, straightening her posture, saying: “Let’s go, to Duanrui Hall.”

Zhou Ziqin rode on her right side, but couldn’t help constantly turning to look at her, appearing as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

Huang Zixia’s thoughts were in chaos, and she had no mind to pay attention to him, just keeping her head down as she moved forward.

Zhou Ziqin looked at the clouds in the sky one moment, the trees by the street the next, then back at her, until finally he couldn’t hold back anymore and asked: “Chonggu, can I… ask you something?”

Huang Zixia nodded once, turning to look at him.

Zhou Ziqin looked at her, stammering: “I’ve been thinking… thinking of another possibility…”

His face was full of fear, and Huang Zixia understood in her heart, slowly asking: “Actually, there’s another possibility, which is that I too was affected by the soul-controlling technique, so in this case, it’s possible that I thought I was asleep, but killed someone while I was unconscious, isn’t that right?”

Seeing her speak so calmly about the possibility of being the murderer herself, Zhou Ziqin was dumbfounded, struggling to nod, unable to speak.

Huang Zixia wanted to say something, but in an instant forgot what she was going to say. She reined in her horse in the middle of the street, as a needle-sharp chill pierced her spine, making her body so rigid she couldn’t move even a finger.

Suddenly she remembered that day when she had exposed the crimes committed by Yu Xuan, when Yu Xuan, who had been searching for the killer all along, suddenly realized that he was the killer he had been looking for, his expression more desperate than death—

And now, she didn’t know if what she was investigating might be a crime she had committed.

Supreme fear made her body tremble slightly. Her face looked so terrible that even Zhou Ziqin was alarmed, and he hurriedly said: “Chonggu, don’t worry, this… this is just my random speculation…”

Huang Zixia forced herself to remain calm and said quietly: “It wasn’t me.”

Zhou Ziqin quickly nodded in agreement: “Yes, how could it possibly be you…”

“From the previous case with Yu Xuan, we know that the soul-controlling technique cannot make someone develop murderous intent without reason; it can only act as a catalyst for those who already have grudges. It can intensify hatred and hostility, but it cannot create hatred from anything. And I don’t feel that a pharmacy apprentice could have any grudge against me worth the soul-controlling technique exploiting.”

“Exactly, it couldn’t possibly be you,” he said, then thought of something else and struggled to ask, “That… if Second Brother Zhang is the killer… what about Dicui? Old Master Zhang has been bedridden with illness, and now with this happening, what will become of him…”

Huang Zixia felt her thoughts in complete disarray, and it was a long while before she managed to say: “Dicui probably knows. After all, she did give us a warning.”

“I hope… I hope when we go there, we’ll discover the truth, that the killer isn’t you, and isn’t Second Brother Zhang either, but that there’s some other way someone could have secretly entered the powder room…” Zhou Ziqin said, looking so dejected he was almost crying, “I don’t want anything to happen to you, but I also don’t want anything to happen to Second Brother Zhang; I don’t believe you would do such a thing, but I also don’t believe Second Brother Zhang would do such a thing…”

Huang Zixia bit her lower lip and said softly: “Do you think I want this outcome? But… Ziqin, truth is truth. No matter who the result ultimately implicates—whether it’s Second Brother Zhang or myself—I can only pursue that one truth.”

Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin arrived at an opportune time, as the Court of Judicial Review was collecting evidence. Several minor officials from the court were making statements and describing the scene while complaining: “Why take on such a small matter? Why not let the Capital Prefecture handle it?”

Someone spoke in a low voice: “Hey, although this appears to be just the death of a small apprentice, it’s said to be connected to Prince Kui’s mansion. Would you call that a small matter?”

“I heard it’s connected to the Wang family of Langya? They say the woman who killed someone is that quite famous Huang Zixia, Commander Wang’s fiancée…”

“Isn’t Huang Zixia the one who went by the name Yang Chonggu and worked as a minor eunuch in Prince Kui’s mansion? When Lord Huang was serving as Vice Minister in the Ministry of Justice, he often had dealings with the Court of Judicial Review, I even saw him once…”

“In any case, this isn’t a small matter. Since we’ve taken it on, let’s just handle it,” someone concluded their discussion.

The surrounding area had already been cleared, leaving only a few people who had been called to give statements. Huang Zixia immediately spotted Zhang Xingying. As one of yesterday’s key witnesses, he had naturally been called for questioning.

With only a few people in the pharmacy, Huang Zixia and Zhou Ziqin immediately drew the attention of the Court officials as they entered. Someone immediately recognized Zhou Ziqin and hurriedly stood up to bow to him: “Ziqin, did Assistant Minister Cui ask you to help us?”

“Well, Assistant Minister Cui hasn’t mentioned anything to me,” Zhou Ziqin shook his head, “This is entirely due to my love for solving cases and my persistent pursuit of truth!”

“Ziqin is still so dedicated and enthusiastic!” Several people patted his shoulder while laughing, then looked at Huang Zixia and asked, “Who is this young brother you brought?”

“Oh, my cousin, he also likes looking at cases. He heard there was an unsolved case here and came along with me to take a look,” Zhou Ziqin vaguely explained.

“Oh, it’s not an unsolved case, this case is very simple, I think it’s settled,” the leader shook his head, “All the windows were tightly locked, with only the pharmacy door for entry and exit. With both witness testimony and physical evidence, no one besides Miss Huang had the time and opportunity to commit the crime.”

Zhou Ziqin looked back at Zhang Xingying, saw that his gaze was fixed on Huang Zixia, and knowing he had recognized her, quickly moved to block Huang Zixia with his body while saying: “But Miss Huang had no motive for the crime.”

Someone laughed: “Motive is hard to say, usually with solid evidence, a bit of interrogation will reveal one.”

Another person laughed more eerily: “Even without evidence, interrogation will produce one.”

Huang Zixia knew this was their usual method and remained silent. But Zhou Ziqin anxiously refuted: “How can that be? If an innocent person is forced to confess, won’t the real killer go free?”

“There’s nothing we can do, we’re under pressure too. Sometimes when orders from above say to solve the case in three days, what can we do?”

“That’s right, like in Princess Tongchang’s case last time, if we weren’t so particular, Qian Guansuo’s death would have been the end of it, who would care about anything else?”

Zhou Ziqin clearly couldn’t get used to these official practices and could only turn away angrily to look around, asking: “Brothers, after investigating for so long, what progress have you made?”

“Nothing new, still the same conclusion. By the way, didn’t you go to the charity cemetery to examine the body? Did you find anything?”

Zhou Ziqin shook his head: “Apart from the clean, efficient single strike that severed the heart vessels, nothing stands out.”

“My, that woman struck quite ruthlessly.” Someone clicked their tongue in amazement.

“Well, she was trained in Prince Kui’s mansion, and Prince Kui killed his brothers too…” At this point, the speaker quickly shut his mouth, gave a forced laugh, and hurriedly grabbed someone nearby to ask questions, to cover up his slip of the tongue, “Your name is Ashi, right?”

“Ye… yes,” Ashi quickly nodded.

“Were you preparing medicine when A-Qi died?”

“Yes, I was preparing medicine the whole time, and chatting with Brother Ai (Er) Zhang too.” He quickly pointed at Zhang Xingying.

The Court officials all laughed hearing this: “A grown man, why call him Brother Ai Zhang?”

The manager nearby quickly explained: “What Ashi means is Second Brother Zhang.”

“I… I have some trouble with my ton… tongue…” Ashi quickly pointed at his mouth, smiling bitterly.

The manager also said: “Yes, Ashi previously made a mistake due to his accent, saying ‘yellow bee’ instead of ‘fangfeng’, resulting in too many bee pupae being added, which are still unused in the pharmacy.”

“It’s nothing, not a big problem,” Zhou Ziqin patted Ashi’s back saying, “As long as it doesn’t affect daily life, look how Second Brother Zhang could chat with you for so long.”

Huang Zixia listened from the side, turning her gaze to Zhang Xingying, and calmly interjected: “How is your usual interaction with Second Brother Zhang?”

Ashi said: “Brother Ai Zhang used to work in the pharmacy, so he often comes to deliver medicine. We know each other but don’t talk much. Yesterday… yesterday everyone else was probably too busy, so we talked a bit more.”

Huang Zixia frowned in thought for a moment, then asked: “Was he by your side the entire time, never leaving?”

Ashi nodded, saying: “Yes.”

“Were you watching him the whole time? In other words, was he under your observation from beginning to end?” Huang Zixia asked in return.

Ashi thought carefully, looking confused: “Yes, because at that time I was the only one free… During this time I just prepared one prescription of medicine, I would read one medicine name and then go get it, sometimes walking from this side to the far end of the medicine cabinet, walking back, and Brother Ai Zhang could repeat the medicines I had gathered, so he must have been nearby while I was gathering them…”

Huang Zixia listened to his accent and asked: “So, the time you spent preparing that prescription was enough to walk back and forth several times between the medicine cabinet and the powder room, correct?”

Ashi nodded repeatedly and said: “At that time although I didn’t see Brother Ai Zhang, he was listening nearby the whole time, wasn’t he? Later didn’t he… didn’t he recite all the medicines from that prescription?”

Zhou Ziqin looked at Zhang Xingying and carefully asked Ashi: “Did he look at the prescription at that time?”

“No! The prescription was kept inside the counter, held down by a paperweight. Unless Brother Ai Zhang went to the counter, he couldn’t have seen it. But Brother Ai Zhang stayed by the medicine cabinet the whole time, he absolutely couldn’t have seen it!”

The Court officials also nodded: “That’s right since he could name the prescription without having seen it, he must have heard it at the time.”

Huang Zixia turned to look at Zhang Xingying and said slowly: “However, whether you believe it or not, although I haven’t seen that prescription, I can also recite its contents.”

The Court officials and everyone present were stunned and puzzled, not understanding her meaning.

Huang Zixia walked in front of Zhang Xingying and asked: “Second Brother Zhang, do you still remember what was in the prescription you recalled yesterday?”

Zhang Xingying stared at her motionlessly, his lips moved slightly, saying with difficulty: “There was… Bai Lian, Xi Xin, Bai Zhu, Bai Lian Xin, Bai Fu Ling, Bai Fu Zi, Bai Zhi, Yi Yi Ren…”

“Bai Lian, Xi Xin, Bai Zhu, Gan Song, Bai Jiang Can, Bai Lian Xin, Bai Fu Ling, Bai Fu Zi, Bai Zhi, Yi Yi Ren one tael each, Tan Xiang and Fang Feng three qian each, Bai Ding Xiang six qian, Bo He two qian. All of the above ground into powder, mixed with pearl powder. Is that right?” Huang Zixia asked Ashi unhurriedly.

Ashi’s eyes widened as he nodded vigorously: “Yes… yes, that’s exactly the prescription!”

Zhou Ziqin asked in surprise: “How did you know this prescription too?”

Huang Zixia took out the “Return to Internal Classic” from her sleeve, turned to the page she had folded, passed it around to everyone, and said slowly: “There are countless practitioners of medicine in the world, but very few true masters. Doctor Hu has practiced medicine for many years, yet only ever copies prescriptions from books. This prescription comes from ‘Return to Internal Classic’ and is widely circulated; basically, all medical students must memorize many prescriptions from it. I believe Second Brother Zhang, whose father was a renowned physician at Duanrui Hall for decades and who himself worked in the pharmacy, would have known what prescription it was as soon as he heard Ashi reading the first few medicine names.”

The Court officials immediately looked at each other, and someone asked: “Zhou Ziqin, is your cousin suggesting that Zhang Xingying might have guessed what prescription it was after hearing the first few medicine names, then secretly left to kill someone in the powder room, and then returned pretending he had never left?”

Zhou Ziqin looked hesitant, glancing between the determined Huang Zixia and the bewildered Zhang Xingying, and after a long while, finally nodded and asked Ashi: “With your speed in preparing medicine at that time, how long was this interval?”

Ashi became flustered, trying desperately to remember: “I… I’m not very clear, this prescription is so long, and there are seventy or eighty rows of medicine cabinets, this…”

The pharmacy manager raised his hand to indicate the rows of medicine cabinets, saying: “Everyone please look, our pharmacy has five rooms connected, it’s the largest pharmacy in the capital, with thousands of types of medicines. Some rarely used ones even require climbing a ladder to reach. For this prescription, even an experienced hand would need the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, including grinding. As for this fellow Ashi…”

Someone nearby muttered: “In that case, I do seem to remember that when A-Qi went to the powder room to get something, Ashi had just run over to my side to get medicine, so clumsy he almost crashed right into me…”

“So, when Ashi was getting medicine, that was exactly when A-Qi entered the powder room.” Huang Zixia coldly looked at Zhang Xingying and said, “In other words, you had more than half a cup of tea’s time to act.”

Zhang Xingying stared at her blankly, shaking his head: “Miss Huang, you saved my life, I should take the blame for this crime. But I didn’t kill anyone, and I never recited that prescription… I don’t know how to confess.”

When the Court officials heard him call her Miss Huang, they were all stunned. Zhou Ziqin quickly explained awkwardly: “It’s… because, because it might be inconvenient, so she dressed as a man and said she was my cousin, but she is Miss Huang, now you all know…”

But by now no one was listening to his explanation. The Court officials whispered among themselves for a moment, then said: “Although you’ve proven that Zhang Xingying had the opportunity and time to commit the crime since he says he didn’t know the prescription beforehand, what evidence do you have to prove he was reciting from the book rather than hearing it at the time?”

“Since I dare to say this, of course, I have evidence,” Huang Zixia said coldly. “The evidence is very simple, just one sentence from Ashi.”