Сhарtеr 144: Qi Yеуun
“Nо rush, actuаllу. I wаs just аssisting Lоrd Shen with a cаsе, and when I sаw you, I thоught I’d соmе оvеr for a сhat.” As Yun Que spoke, hе suddеnly rеmembеrеd sоmеthing and slарреd his fоrehеad. “Oh right, we still hаvе to сatch the сulprit. Hоw did I end up сhаtting with уоu? Fаrеwеll.”
After а hаsty gооdbуe, ignоring Ji Fangming’s surрrisе, Yun Que turned аnd lеft.
Zhu Yan hаnded over thе suspicious роwdеr to hеr master, Chеn Wеn. Сhen Wеn sаid hе nееdеd to studу it сarеfully bеfore drаwing anу соnclusiоns, sо hе kеpt the substanсe and hurried back tо the Ministry оf Justice.
Аs for thаt littlе rasсal Qi Yeyun, he had gone to the prison. She didn’t know why he went there and needed to ask him clearly.
Just as she was about to go find Qi Yeyun, she noticed he had already emerged from the prison, looking sullen and aggrieved, as if he had suffered some injustice.
“Hey.” Zhu Yan called out to him, quickly closing the distance between them. “Where have you been?”
Zhu Yan asked knowingly, and Qi Yeyun made no attempt to hide it, pointing behind him at the prison. “Master, I went to see Madam Tang.”
“Why did you go see her again? Don’t you know how dangerous she is?” Zhu Yan was a bit angry. Why was this child always so disobedient?
“Master.” Qi Yeyun looked up at Zhu Yan, his round, bright eyes full of spirit. “Is Madam Tang really a bad person?”
Hearing this question, Zhu Yan felt puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing, really. I just think she’s pitiful, and when I talked to her, she didn’t seem that bad.”
“She killed so many people. Even if she’s pitiful, she’s still a heinous criminal. You need to understand that. I’ll let it go this time, but you’re not allowed to visit her again in the future, understand?” Zhu Yan issued the command with a stern face, and Qi Yeyun could only nod reluctantly.
Zhu Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief, but as she turned, she encountered Shen Du, who was just stepping through the gates of the Ministry of Justice.
“You’re back so soon.” Zhu Yan was somewhat surprised and quickly stepped forward to ask, “Did you find anything?”
Shen Du shook his head, his expression darkening slightly. “No.”
Such a result was to be expected, and Zhu Yan wasn’t too surprised.
Just then, Yun Que came bouncing in from outside the Ministry of Justice. Seeing Shen Du there, he looked unusually excited. “Great Pavilion Commander, how did it go? Did you catch him?”
Shen Du remained silent with a grim face, and Yun Que realized he had said the wrong thing again. Scratching his head, he changed the subject. “Oh, right. I just ran into Lord Ji Fangming. He seemed sick—his face was frighteningly pale. He also knows medicine and was at the pharmacy getting medicine for himself.”
“He’s sick?” Shen Du suddenly asked. “Do you know what illness he has?”
Yun Que shook his head. “I don’t know. I asked, but he didn’t say.”
But Zhu Yan seemed to have suddenly thought of something. She quickly grabbed Yun Que and headed outside. “Take me to where Ji Fangming got his medicine.”
Yun Que didn’t react immediately and could only let Zhu Yan drag him away.
At the pharmacy, Zhu Yan obtained the prescription under the name of the Ministry of Justice. She then returned to the Ministry and asked Lu Chuichui to bring Ji Fangming’s handwriting for comparison.
But the comparison results left Zhu Yan somewhat disappointed. The handwriting on the prescription didn’t match the handwriting on the promissory note provided by Yun Que. Could it be that she was mistaken?Zhu Yan stared blankly at the two written notes, her slender brows tightly knitted together, unable to figure out where she had gone wrong.
"Why do you suspect him?" Shen Du saw through Zhu Yan's thoughts, but he didn't understand.
"Intuition," Zhu Yan replied simply. "Just a momentary intuition."
Hearing this answer, Shen Du chuckled and shook his head. Intuition... those two words were fine to say, but they couldn't be taken seriously in a formal setting.
The two returned to the Shen residence. Shen Du's first task was to summon Jing Lin to the study and ask, "Have you found any leads on the matter I asked you to investigate?"
"Reporting to the Great Pavilion Commander, the reason Ji Fangming entered the Ministry of Justice and was appointed as the Chief Clerk of the Ministry was entirely due to the recommendation of Magistrate Chen. Moreover, his background is very clean, and no suspicious leads have been found."
"Clean?" Shen Du frowned. "The cleaner it is, the more suspicious it becomes. There must be other hidden circumstances."
Jing Lin remained silent beside him, feeling fortunate that he had reacted quickly.
Although the Great Pavilion Commander said he didn't believe his wife's words, a single glance from him in private had made everything perfectly clear.
Zhu Yan also entered the study, and the two of them tacitly avoided mentioning the matter.
Shen Du looked at Zhu Yan. "Is there something you need?"
Zhu Yan waved the letter in her hand. "I asked Second Brother Xu to investigate Chen Shoujie's past, and now there's news. Do you want to hear it?"
Shen Du didn't reply. With clues delivered right to his doorstep, there was no reason to refuse.
However, it did bother him that Zhu Yan always turned to the Unrighteous Agents for help whenever she encountered a problem.
She was his woman, and he had power and influence. Why did she always go to the Unrighteous Agents when she had a problem? Did she think he was just for show?
Seeing Shen Du remain silent, Zhu Yan didn't dwell on it. She opened the letter and read, "It says that when Chen Shoujie was appointed as the magistrate of Shanxi County, he vigorously investigated the Chen Huo'e case. In the end, he personally visited the former warden Chen Wen, and together they captured Chen Huo'e, earning him great merit.
However, Master Chen Wen was indifferent to fame and didn't care about promotions or recognition. Chen Shoujie, due to his straightforward nature, offended people in the Judicial Affairs Bureau over interests related to the case. As a result, he was only transferred to the position of magistrate of Wannian County, and the matter was considered closed."
After finishing, Zhu Yan put away the letter. "The Chen Huo'e case back then also involved Lai Luozhi's people..."
She frowned deeply, as if pondering something.
Shen Du, however, was not surprised at all and merely said coldly, "Is that all?"
Zhu Yan nodded. "That's all for now. Although there's nothing particularly significant, it's still a lead."
Shen Du said nothing more and waved for Jing Lin to leave. He then looked at Zhu Yan and said, "These days, investigating the case has kept me busy, and I haven't had a proper meal. If you have nothing urgent to do right now, go and cook me a bowl of noodles."
He spoke reluctantly, but Shen Du himself knew he missed that taste.
Zhu Yan was taken aback. "Noodles? If you're hungry, just ask the kitchen. I have things to do and no time."
Seeing Zhu Yan refuse, Shen Du's expression instantly darkened. "What do you have to do?"
"I found some suspicious powder at the Brocade Workshop. I couldn't tell what it was, so I gave it to Master. I was just about to go see if Master has any leads."
"Go after the meal," Shen Du ordered. "First, go cook the noodles. After eating, I'll go with you."The corner of Zhu Yan's mouth twitched. It wasn't as if there were no other people in the mansion—so many servants were idle, yet he deliberately had to trouble her.
If anyone claimed this wasn't intentional, who would believe it?
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