Not just remembering clearly—he could practically recite it backward and forward.

The half ivory waist token was found in the ashes beside Fourth Master Zheng’s body. Scorched by fire until charred, its original appearance was completely unrecognizable.

After restoration by skilled craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, they discovered this waist token had a character carved in intaglio: Wu.

The Ministry of Justice determined that when Fourth Master Zheng fought with the black-clothed man, his great blade struck the waist token. The token silently split, which is why half fell off.

And ivory—only the Great Qi imperial family was entitled to possess it.

The ox hide was found by the coroner in the belly of the Zheng Family’s fifth son, Zheng Huantang.

The fatal knife that struck Zheng Huantang hit directly in the lower abdomen. Even his intestines had spilled out.

When the coroner prepared his body, wanting to replace the intestines, he found this blood-stained piece of ox hide inside the abdominal cavity.

The Ministry of Justice reconstructed the crime scene based on the ox hide.

The Zheng father and son fought desperately with the black-clothed men. Both died from knife wounds.

The black-clothed man then went into the room to find the remaining mother and daughter.

Who knew Zheng Huantang wasn’t completely dead yet? Inch by inch, with difficulty, he crawled forward, leaving a long trail.

He wanted to crawl to his son’s side, to grasp his son’s small hand. Instead, beside his son he discovered this piece of ox hide torn from somewhere unknown.

Just then, flames rose high.

Zheng Huantang used his last bit of strength to pull out his own intestines and place this piece of ox hide inside.

He knew that after his death, the coroner would prepare his body.

As soon as the body was prepared, this thin piece of ox hide would be discovered, helping find the true culprit for him.

The Three Judicial Offices studied it for two full days before discovering this ox hide was actually a simplified map marking the locations of all secret channels on the southeast side of the capital.

The characters used for marking weren’t Chinese characters, but the written language of the Qi Kingdom.

Thus, the culprits of the Zheng Family blood case were locked onto Wu Guanyue and his son.

Following the secret channels marked on the ox hide, the Embroidered Uniform Guard searched and finally found twelve black garments buried in mud inside one secret channel.

From this they deduced there were twelve assassins total.

Xie Zhifei’s pupils constricted sharply.

So inviting all those who handled funeral matters in the capital was also done for Zhao Huairen to see. What she truly needed to focus on investigating wasn’t three locations—actually just one—

Those who prepared bodies at the Begonia Garden.

Just then, Yan Sanhe sneered coldly:

“These two pieces of evidence were both artificially faked to deflect disaster eastward. We’ll temporarily set this aside without investigating. Tomorrow, our key focus will be those who prepared Zheng Huantang’s body.

Could a person suffering multiple knife wounds and near death have the strength to dig out his own intestines? Did his corpse have irregularities, did it have flaws?”

As the last word fell, the study became utterly silent.

Even breathing sounds were inaudible.

Everyone’s eyes stared fixedly at Yan Sanhe, their hearts emitting the same sigh—

Why was it that when they were still completely confused, the spirit medium could think so clearly and incisively find the key to the problem?

Why exactly?

Seeing everyone had stopped moving, Yan Sanhe pointed with her finger at the white and blue bottles.

“This medicine will only be given to those in the private room. For people in the outer main hall, ask a few questions normally. If something comes out, best. If not, let them leave.”

She looked at Young Lord Pei: “Third Master and I will be in the private room. Outside matters—Mingting, you’re in charge.”

What else could Pei Xiao say? He could only nod. “Alright!”

“Sleep early today. Rest well. Tomorrow will be busy.”

Yan Sanhe picked up the two porcelain bottles and walked out. Her small back was thin yet tenacious, making Xie Zhifei’s belly full of heartache and tender affection.

A bizarre background;

Father’s tragic death;

Mother’s departure to atone;

The entire Crown Prince’s residence’s destruction;

The Zheng Family’s one hundred eighty lives…

Any one of these falling down could crush a person’s backbone.

Yet she not only withstood everything, but also hid her pain so deeply, never mentioning it to anyone.

“Yan…”

“Yan Sanhe, wait a moment.”

Pei Xiao’s voice covered Xie Zhifei’s.

He quickly walked to Yan Sanhe’s side, covering his mouth. “Can I secretly ask you something?”

“Ask.”

“Who exactly is Li Buyan’s mother? What about her father? What about her family?”

Yan Sanhe’s footsteps paused. “Why are you asking this?”

“When she returned home with me today, she saw me massaging my mother’s head and seemed to redden her eyes.”

Pei Xiao wasn’t stupid. That person had hastily rubbed her eyes just because she didn’t want him to see anything.

He cared for her dignity and didn’t ask in person, but his heart kept worrying, so he secretly came to ask Yan Sanhe.

Yan Sanhe was quiet for a moment, then suddenly laughed lowly. “Want to know?”

Nonsense.

Of course he wanted to know.

Pei Xiao nodded while ingratiating himself: “In the future, whatever Spirit Medium Your Excellency commands, Lord Pei will only nod, never shake his head.”

“What if Spirit Medium Your Excellency wants the moon from the sky?”

“That would require Xie Wushi to fetch it.”

Pei Xiao’s expression was completely different from usual. “If he can’t reach it, I’ll definitely go. No second words.”

Yan Sanhe looked deeply at him. “If we discover something tomorrow, I’ll tell you then.”

Pei Xiao: “…”

Going to the temple overnight to burn incense—should still make it in time, right!

…

The next day.

Lanterns first lit.

At the Spring Breeze Tower entrance, usually flowing with traffic, not a single carriage appeared tonight. But people arriving from all directions were numerous.

Given the choice, who would willingly do corpse preparation work?

Those in this trade were all poor common folk, seeking only that share of silver to feed their families.

Zhu Qing in gray robes stood at the main entrance, cupping his hands to everyone who entered, saying: “Please, inside.”

Beside him stood seven or eight men from the Commandery, all uniformly dressed in guard clothing with large blades at their waists.

This was Young Lord Pei’s idea—

When conducting interrogations, not only should one treat people with courtesy, but also give them deterrence. Otherwise they wouldn’t take Commander Xie seriously.

Soon, the entire Spring Breeze Tower main hall was packed full.

As the last person walked in, Zhu Qing nodded to Ding Yi.

Ding Yi picked up a small pebble from the ground and threw it at the window of a private room on the second floor.

Hearing a “thud,” Huangqi quickly said: “Master, everyone’s assembled. Time for us to go down.”

Pei Xiao straightened his official hat, arranged his official robes, opened the door, and walked out with imposing bearing.

Walking to the middle of the staircase, he stopped and coughed forcefully several times.

Everyone looked up. Seeing the official had arrived, the entire main hall fell silent as death.

Huangqi announced loudly: “This is Young Lord Pei from the Buddhist Registry, also Commander Xie’s close friend.”

“Today, thank you all for coming to show your support. I first thank you on Commander Xie’s behalf.”

Pei Xiao’s face bore righteous air, his voice resonant.

“Commander Xie is in the second floor’s Tian character private room. Those who prepared bodies for Old General Zheng’s eldest son, fourth son, and fifth son’s courtyard—Commander Xie will personally receive you. Please trouble yourselves to stand up, go upstairs, and go to the private room.”

The crowd looked at each other, all somewhat unable to grasp the situation.

“Don’t be afraid. The food is the same food, the wine is the same wine. Just the questions will be more detailed.”

Pei Xiao slowly clasped his hands behind his back.

“To thank you, Commander Xie has asked me to arrange for long-life lamps to be lit for each of you at various temples for three years. Not one tael of silver required.”

Food to eat, wine to drink, and free long-life lamps for three years—such a good thing, you couldn’t even beg for it!

“I prepared the body for the general’s eldest son.”

“I cleansed the body for his youngest son.”

“I was the one who placed the general’s fourth son in the coffin.”

“…”

Pei Xiao counted—seven people total.

“Huangqi, lead them to Commander Xie’s private room.”

“Yes!”

The seven followed Ding Yi upstairs.

Pei Xiao glanced at Zhu Qing at the entrance. Zhu Qing immediately ran to the back kitchen. “Serve the food!”

Tangyuan and Lanchuan exchanged glances and began carrying dishes out.

At the large wok, Li Buyan wielded the spatula.

Xie Zhifei had reserved the entire Spring Breeze Tower. But when the chef heard they were hosting a meal for funeral workers, finding it inauspicious, he directly threw down his spatula and left.

Damn it, what’s wrong with hosting funeral workers for a meal?

Every damned one looking down on people with dog eyes—when you die, jump into the coffin yourself!