The year she died as Princess Qingyang, she was seventeen years old. If one counted the time from when she awakened until now, she would be exactly nineteen, the same age as First Miss Wang.

And Miss Luo was seventeen this year.

Luo Sheng didn’t believe this was a coincidence.

What she most wanted to know now was the specific birth dates of the other four missing women. If they were also born on the seventh day of the seventh month during the mao hour, it would require deep thought.

“Miss Luo?” Seeing Luo Sheng’s serious expression, Second Miss Wang called out softly.

Luo Sheng came back to herself and looked at her.

Second Miss Wang bit her lip and forcibly suppressed her unease: “Miss Luo, as long as Magistrate Lin has news of my elder sister, please be sure to tell me. I… I’m not afraid…”

Her face was deathly pale, her eyes full of worry, yet her expression revealed determination.

Rather than her sister disappearing in such a confused manner, she would prefer to know the outcome.

“Rest assured, Second Miss Wang. If there’s news, I’ll inform you promptly.”

“Thank you, Miss Luo.” Second Miss Wang wiped the corners of her eyes and stood up. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first. Perhaps there’s news of my sister at home…”

Though she said this, she held no confidence whatsoever.

If the family could have found her, they would have found her long ago. How could there still be no news until now?

Now she could only hope for a miracle to occur, or that Magistrate Lin was truly as capable as people said.

After Second Miss Wang left, Luo Sheng sent someone to the Ministry of Justice to deliver a message to Lin Teng.

Close to noon, Lin Teng walked into the wine shop.

Luo Sheng invited Lin Teng to sit at a table and asked: “Has Magistrate Lin finished his work?”

Lin Teng nodded: “I called the four victim families to the office to inquire about the situation.”

“Magistrate Lin hasn’t eaten yet, right? The wine shop doesn’t open at noon, so we usually eat quite simply. Would you like a bowl of zhajiang noodles first?”

Xiu Yue was just preparing the ingredients for zhajiang noodles. Lin Teng had come at just the right time.

Because of her grand-nephew Lin Shu, Luo Sheng inevitably treated Lin Teng with an elder’s mentality. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes and his undisguised fatigue, she temporarily set aside the questions she wanted to ask.

Lin Teng was about to ask about First Miss Wang when he heard about the zhajiang noodles and instinctively nodded: “Zhajiang noodles sound good.”

After speaking, he froze, his expression somewhat awkward.

As someone so focused on his work, he wouldn’t be swayed by a bowl of zhajiang noodles.

Luo Sheng was already instructing Hong Dou: “Go to the kitchen and see. If the zhajiang noodles are ready, bring them over.”

Hong Dou turned and went to the back. Before long, she brought in a bowl… no, a basin of zhajiang noodles.

The young maid quickly walked up to the two of them, placed the zhajiang noodles in front of Lin Teng, and said crisply: “Magistrate Lin, please eat your noodles.”

Lin Teng looked down at the porcelain basin placed before him.

The basin was made of fine white porcelain, painted with blue plum branches. The noodles were topped with diced meat and shrimp that had been thoroughly cooked in yellow bean sauce, along with bean sprouts with heads and tails removed, tender water radish greens, and other seasonal vegetables.

The fragrance of the meat sauce rose with the steaming heat, drilling straight into one’s nose and making one’s mouth water.

“Magistrate Lin, eat while it’s hot. We can discuss business after you finish.”

Lin Teng initially wanted to say he couldn’t eat a whole basin, but under the stimulation of the aroma, he silently swallowed his words and buried his head to eat.

Though he came from a scholarly family, he had dealt with cases for years. When busy, he couldn’t even spare time to eat, so naturally he didn’t concern himself with refined manners.

By the time Luo Sheng finished a cup of tea, Lin Teng had also finished the entire basin of zhajiang noodles.

Only after filling his stomach did the young man remember to feel embarrassed.

Oh no, once he started eating those fragrant zhajiang noodles, he had forgotten…

Lin Teng’s face grew hot as he looked at Luo Sheng. Meeting her gentle, water-like gaze, an odd feeling arose in his heart.

Why did Miss Luo’s expression when looking at him seem somewhat… kind?

This discovery made Lin Teng momentarily forget what he wanted to say.

Luo Sheng handed over a cup of hot tea and proactively brought up the topic: “I’ve asked Second Miss Wang about First Miss Wang’s birth date and time.”

“When?” Bringing up business, Lin Teng immediately cast all scattered thoughts to the back of his mind.

Luo Sheng said word by word: “The seventh day of the seventh month during the mao hour.”

Lin Teng showed an unsurprised expression.

“The four missing women that Magistrate Lin asked about—are their birth dates and times the same as First Miss Wang’s?”

Lin Teng was silent for a moment before nodding: “Correct. Exactly the seventh day of the seventh month during the mao hour.”

“This isn’t an ordinary missing persons or abduction case, is it?”

Lin Teng didn’t answer but said: “This case is somewhat complex. I’ll investigate it properly. Miss Luo shouldn’t ask too much to avoid inviting trouble.”

Hong Dou couldn’t listen anymore and rolled her eyes: “Magistrate Lin, how can you be like this? Just now when eating the zhajiang noodles you didn’t mind, but now you think our miss is asking too many questions.”

This was crossing the bridge and pulling it down behind you.

Being squeezed by the young maid, Lin Teng deeply understood the meaning of the phrase “when you eat from someone’s hand, your mouth is short.”

He couldn’t help but look at the young lady sitting across from him.

Luo Sheng smiled slightly: “If Magistrate Lin finds it inconvenient, that’s fine. Don’t take Hong Dou’s words to heart.”

Hearing this, Lin Teng felt even more embarrassed.

He had eaten someone’s entire basin of zhajiang noodles and asked them to help pass messages to Second Miss Wang. When it came to his turn, to say nothing at all really wasn’t appropriate.

After considering for a moment, Lin Teng said: “When it involves specific birth dates and times, it’s often related to those who believe in ghosts, spirits, and evil practices…”

Luo Sheng lowered her eyes, took a sip of tea, and said thoughtfully: “The four missing women plus First Miss Wang—their backgrounds vary greatly. How did the perpetrator obtain their birth dates and times?”

“This afternoon I need to make a trip to the Ministry of Revenue.”

The Ministry of Revenue managed household registrations. To search for women in the capital whose birth dates and times matched those of First Miss Wang and the others, starting here would undoubtedly be most convenient.

This was also why Lin Teng initially hadn’t wanted to disclose this to Luo Sheng.

If the several missing women had similar backgrounds, it would be one thing. But ranging from official households to poor servant households, the targets weren’t in the same circle. Wanting to obtain information like birth dates and times wouldn’t be simple at all.

He even suspected whether the perpetrator worked at the Ministry of Revenue to have such convenient access.

“I hope Magistrate Lin has good news soon.”

“Borrowing Miss Luo’s auspicious words, I’ll take my leave first.” Lin Teng stood up to leave, but glanced at the completely clean basin and his expression stiffened. “I left in a hurry. Put it on my account for now.”

Such a large basin—how much money would that be?

Just as he was panicking, he saw Luo Sheng smile warmly: “Magistrate Lin is too polite. It’s not yet the wine shop’s operating hours. How could we charge money for treating Magistrate Lin to a simple meal?”

Hearing this, Lin Teng felt both ashamed and delighted. He thanked her and hurriedly left.

The Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Justice were in the same area. After Lin Teng arrived, he found a familiar clerk and brought up the matter of examining household registration information.

The clerk froze: “Magistrate Lin wants to look at the household registration records?”

Lin Teng detected something odd and asked: “Could it be that someone else has examined them?”

The clerk said offhandedly: “Some days ago, our Vice Minister ordered someone to retrieve them once.”

Household registration records were tedious and boring. Those responsible for recording and managing them were clerks like them. The higher officials only needed to periodically understand the general totals. They rarely personally examined the records.

Lin Teng naturally knew this too. Suppressing his quickening heartbeat, he calmly asked: “I wonder which Vice Minister it was?”