That single word seemed to shake the heavens, leaving everyone’s minds buzzing.

Zhen Shicheng had evidence? Impossible!

Prince Xiang’s heart raced as he urgently asked, “What evidence?”

Despite his disbelief, he couldn’t help but feel extremely tense. If it was proven that these bones belonged to Cui Mingyue, he would be in serious trouble.

Zhen Shicheng pointed at the ground and calmly said, “The undergarment on the skeleton is the evidence!”

Prince Xiang stared at the bones, his eyes wide with surprise: “The undergarment is evidence? Magistrate Zhen, you shouldn’t make baseless claims just to maintain your reputation for solving cases miraculously.”

Prince Xiang’s skepticism was understandable. The undergarment hanging on the skeleton had deteriorated from being buried for so long, its color indistinguishable. Calling it evidence seemed absurd.

Others were equally confused, thinking Magistrate Zhen must have gone mad to consider the tattered undergarment as evidence.

Even Yu Jin’s gaze towards Zhen Shicheng became more profound.

He had thought Zhen’s subordinates had secretly found the jade pendant but never expected the so-called evidence to be an undergarment.

How could a woman’s undergarment be evidence? He hadn’t realized the old man had such expertise in this area.

Zhen Shicheng, sensing Yu Jin’s meaningful look, felt exasperated.

What was that look from Prince Yan?

Brat, don’t let him find out!

After this brief distraction, Zhen Shicheng crouched down and picked up the undergarment from the skeleton with a handkerchief, saying solemnly, “Everyone, please look. Although the color of the undergarment is barely discernible and some parts have rotted, you can see here—”

He didn’t care about the color of the undergarment or that it was from a female corpse. He gently lifted a corner of the fabric and explained, “This part still shows faint patterns. This is how I can confirm that these bones belong to Miss Cui.”

The princes who were close enough strained to see. Prince Xiang stared intently at where Zhen Shicheng was pointing and indeed saw some blurred patterns at the edge of the garment.

It looked like—

Zhen Shicheng’s voice rose slightly: “This is a double-sided embroidery of a water moon pattern. The embroidery is complex and the pattern unique.”

Prince Xiang laughed coldly and refuted, “The moonlight pearl earrings already prove that this skeleton belonged to someone wealthy or noble. What’s so special about wearing undergarments with double-sided water moon embroidery?”

Many nodded in agreement with Prince Xiang’s words.

Zhen Shicheng folded his handkerchief and tucked it away, stroking his beard.

People thought about the handkerchief’s recent use and couldn’t help but twitch their mouths.

How much could a handkerchief cost? Couldn’t he just throw it away after touching a corpse?

Zhen Shicheng laughed inwardly, thinking these princes knew nothing of the hardships of life. Given how often he had to use handkerchiefs to touch dead bodies, if he threw one away each time, how would he ever save money?

After this internal grumbling, Zhen Shicheng smiled at Prince Xiang: “While many women can afford double-sided embroidered undergarments, most undergarments prioritize comfort and are typically plain without patterns. Undergarments with double-sided water moon embroidery on the edges are extremely rare.”

“Even so, how can Magistrate Zhen be certain this belonged to Miss Cui? Surely you’re not making this assumption just because the ‘water moon’ pattern contains the character for ‘moon,’ which relates to Miss Cui’s given name?” Prince Xiang shook his head and sneered, “If that’s the case, Magistrate Zhen’s reputation seems undeserved!”

Prince Xiang’s aggressive stance only made Zhen Shicheng more composed. He smiled, stroking his beard, “It’s not an assumption. I have seen Miss Cui’s undergarments before.”

This statement immediately caused everyone to look at Zhen Shicheng strangely.

Zhen Shicheng had seen Cui Mingyue’s undergarments?

Only Yu Jin’s expression remained unchanged, suddenly understanding.

When Zhu Ziyu died and Cui Mingyue disappeared, the Emperor secretly ordered old Zhen to investigate. That must have been when he saw them.

Sure enough, Zhen Shicheng continued, “Over a year ago, His Majesty ordered me to investigate Miss Cui’s disappearance. I examined everything in the new bridal chamber, including a chest containing several undergarments. Though these undergarments were of various colors, they all shared one feature: embroidered patterns on the hems and cuffs, which were precisely this double-sided water moon pattern!”

As Zhen Shicheng spoke, Prince Xiang’s face gradually paled.

The others turned their gazes towards Prince Xiang, their expressions complex.

Prince Xiang opened and closed his mouth, struggling to argue: “That… that could still be a coincidence… Can Magistrate Zhen guarantee that Miss Cui is the only one in the world who wears undergarments with such embroidery?”

Zhen Shicheng shook his head and sighed: “Of course, I can’t guarantee that. But the skeleton was found in an abandoned well in Your Highness’s backyard, wearing undergarments matching Miss Cui’s style. Miss Cui was once engaged to Your Highness and brought you shame… The location of the body, physical evidence, and motive are all present. How can this be dismissed as mere coincidence?”

Prince Xiang clenched his fists, his mind racing to find a way to defend himself, when an excited voice came from the well again: “Sir, we’ve found another item!”

Soon, a yamen runner climbed out of the well, holding up a dirty jade pendant.

“Bring it here,” Zhen Shicheng said quickly.

Although the case could be concluded at this point, more evidence was always better, especially since the suspect was not an ordinary person, but a prince.

Zhen Shicheng quickly took out a handkerchief—whether used or not was unclear—and carefully wiped the jade pendant. As its true appearance began to show, a sudden cry rang out, and a figure stumbled into the scene.

“It’s my sister’s!” the newcomer shouted hoarsely.

Everyone recognized the man: it was Cui Yi, Cui Mingyue’s brother.

Zhen Shicheng had quietly sent someone to fetch him as soon as he suspected the identity of the skeleton.

With his sister missing and both parents deceased, Cui Yi, once known as a notorious playboy in the capital, seemed to have grown up overnight. He had finally started to behave like a proper person, and over the past year or two, had shown some promise.

Now, Cui Yi held the jade pendant with trembling hands, his eyes reddening.

“Young Master Cui, can you confirm this belonged to your sister?” Zhen Shicheng asked gently.

He was always kind to victims, as long as it didn’t interfere with the investigation.

Cui Yi gripped the jade pendant tightly, his tone resolute: “Of course I can! This is the jade pendant my sister always wore. I’m her brother, how could I not recognize it?”

Zhen Shicheng nodded with satisfaction and turned to Prince Xiang: “Your Highness, at this point, what else do you have to say?”

He hated unsolved cases the most, and today he could finally close one.

For this reason, although the jade pendant found in the well raised some questions, he decided not to delve deeper.

Thinking this, Zhen Shicheng glanced at Yu Jin from the corner of his eye.

Yu Jin innocently curved his lips into a smile.

Meanwhile, Prince Xiang stared intently at the jade pendant in Cui Yi’s hand, muttering as he backed away: “Impossible, I removed it… how can there be a jade pendant…”

Cui Yi rushed forward and punched Prince Xiang, shouting with reddened eyes: “You killed my sister! You killed my sister!”

Yu Jin smiled slightly.

Good. Now all the servants of the Wang estate who didn’t dare approach to watch the commotion knew what their master had done.