Does the killer have experience in killing?

As soon as Zhen Shicheng said this, the atmosphere immediately became tense.

Emperor Jingming was furious upon hearing this: It’s a habitual offender!

“Who could this person be?”

Zhen Shicheng’s piercing gaze swept across the crowd as he continued, “This person should be skilled in martial arts and familiar with the vital points of the human body. If they weren’t already near Duke An when it happened, then they must have received special training to move freely in darkness…”

As Zhen Shicheng described, a vague image of the person began to form in everyone’s minds. Although still blurry, it seemed like only a thin paper window separated them from the truth, needing just a spark of insight to break through.

Emperor Jingming also pondered seriously: Who could be the person Zhen Shicheng described?

After thinking for a long time without any clues, Emperor Jingming still threw the question back to Zhen Shicheng.

Zhen Shicheng bowed slightly: “This humble official dares to make a guess, but if I’m wrong, I beg Your Majesty’s forgiveness.”

Emperor Jingming waved his hand: “Minister Zhen, speak freely. I believe your guess must have a reason behind it.”

The officials shuddered.

The emperor’s words seemed too irresponsible. What if Zhen Shicheng abused his power and made baseless accusations?

The officials began to rack their brains, wondering if they had offended Zhen Shicheng in the past.

The scene fell into an awkward silence.

Emperor Jingming, with a stern face, took in everyone’s reactions, a cold smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Time and again, murders had occurred right under his nose. Did they think he was easy-going?

This time, he’d rather wrongly accuse than let anyone escape!

Emperor Jingming thought: I have a temper too, and these bastards need to see it.

With the emperor’s backing, Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard and suddenly pointed out: “This official believes the killer is most likely among these guards!”

This statement was like a thunderbolt, shocking countless people.

In that instant, Emperor Jingming almost jumped from his dragon throne.

He had several guards around him; could the killer be among them?

“Minister Zhen, surely you jest? These guards were chosen from thousands to serve by the emperor’s side,” someone objected.

In the great hall, Wang Hai, the commander of the Jinwu Guard, and Han Ran, the commander of the Jinlin Guard, both looked extremely displeased.

The Jinlin Guard, besides being the emperor’s eyes and ears, also served as his ceremonial guard when he traveled. The Jinwu Guard, as part of the imperial army, was also assigned a portion to accompany the emperor on his outings.

With both Jinwu and Jinlin Guards present in the hall, Zhen Shicheng’s words undoubtedly pushed the two commanders into the spotlight.

Seeing that the focus wasn’t on themselves, others secretly breathed sighs of relief, but couldn’t help admiring Zhen Shicheng’s boldness.

To dare offend the commanders of the Jinwu and Jinlin Guards without solid evidence, Zhen Shicheng truly lived up to his reputation.

“This official noticed that after the hall brightened, there were no guards near Duke An’s body. I request to examine each guard in the hall. If blood is found on any guard, it would mean the blood was acquired before Duke An was killed,” Zhen Shicheng directly made his request, not caring if he offended anyone.

His implication was clear: Since no guards approached after Duke An’s death, any guard with blood on them was almost certainly the killer.

“What if no blood is found on any of the guards?” Wang Hai, the Jinwu Guard commander, asked.

“That still wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a guard being the culprit,” Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard, seemingly finding Wang Hai’s question foolish. “If we can eliminate the guards as suspects, we’ll reassess the range of suspects. But now, we must start with the most likely targets.”

Wang Hai fell silent.

Emperor Jingming glanced at Han Ran.

Han Ran immediately gathered the Jinlin Guards present into a line for Zhen Shicheng’s inspection.

Zhen Shicheng walked past each young guard with an upright posture and serious expression, then returned to the front of the line to inspect carefully.

At this moment, he couldn’t help but think: If only Princess Consort Yan were here, she might be able to sniff out who smelled of blood. Or even if Prince Yan were present, though he’s a bit slow, at least he’s thorough…

Lacking assistance, Zhen Shicheng sighed inwardly and focused on inspecting each guard.

Under everyone’s gaze, Zhen Shicheng finally finished checking the last Jinlin Guard and said, “No findings for now.”

Han Ran, the Jinlin Guard commander, immediately breathed a sigh of relief, while Wang Hai, the Jinwu Guard commander, became inexplicably nervous.

By this time, the Jinwu Guards had also formed a line, waiting for Zhen Shicheng’s inspection.

As Zhen Shicheng approached, his gaze couldn’t help but linger on a young face.

Jiang Zhan grinned slightly as if greeting him.

Zhen Shicheng nodded lightly and moved his gaze to the front of the line.

As he checked each guard, he suddenly stopped in front of Jiang Zhan.

Jiang Ancheng almost jumped up.

Concern clouds judgment. Although he believed his son wouldn’t kill anyone, seeing this situation still made him nervous.

He trusted that Zhan wouldn’t kill, but this boy had tricked him more than once or twice.

Zhen Shicheng stepped back and addressed the guard standing in front of Jiang Zhan: “Please step forward.”

Jiang Ancheng’s wildly beating heart immediately settled, and he quietly wiped his sweat.

Brother Zhen knew how to scare people. He’d have to punish him with a few drinks when they got back.

Zhen Shicheng circled the Jinwu Guard who had stepped out and asked expressionlessly, “Why is your clothing different from the others?”

The questioned Jinwu Guard looked down at his blue and black uniform, confused: “This lowly one sees no difference from the others’ clothing—”

Zhen Shicheng directly grabbed his wrist and said slowly, “The color of the bindings on your sleeves differs from the others.”

Unlike the wide robes and sleeves of ordinary people, the guards all wore short clothes with narrow sleeves for ease of movement.

The Jinwu Guard’s uniform was primarily black and blue, embroidered with gold thread, with raven-blue sleeve bindings.

Although this Jinwu Guard’s sleeve bindings were also raven-blue, upon close inspection, they differed slightly from the others, seeming a bit lighter in color.

The crowd in the hall was puzzled by Zhen Shicheng’s fixation on this small difference.

Zhen Shicheng, sharp-eyed, released the guard’s wrist and asked another Jinwu Guard who looked uneasy, “Do you have something to say?”

The guard hesitated.

“Minister Zhen is asking you, so speak,” Wang Hai, the Jinwu Guard commander, said coldly.

The guard hesitated before saying, “Judging by the binding color, it looks like it’s from last year’s batch of uniforms…”

Wang Hai seemed to realize something and strode over to grab the guard’s hem, turning it up.

On the inside of the hem, “18” was embroidered in fine thread.

“The uniform is also from last year,” Wang Hai said with a grim face.

Zhen Shicheng eyed the Jinwu Guard, stroking his beard: “Then can you explain why you’re wearing an old uniform for such an important occasion as the heaven-worshipping ceremony?”

“I accidentally soiled my uniform before leaving and hurriedly changed into an old one,” the Jinwu Guard answered honestly.

The crowd secretly shook their heads.

It seemed Zhen Shicheng was overthinking. How could wearing an old uniform indicate a problem?

At this moment, however, Zhen Shicheng noticed Jiang Zhan secretly giving him a meaningful look.