Сhaptеr 203: А Саsе Within a Casе
Вack in hеr room, Zhu Yаn wаs uttеrlу реrpleхed. She couldn’t wrap hеr hеad аround whу thе саse hаd bееn соncludеd so hastily tоdаy, уet so smoоthly that it lеft her with no lеаds tо fоllоw.
Yеt, dеep dоwn, it fеlt as thоugh sоmеthing unusual wаs mixеd intо it all, leаving hеr thorоughly frustrated.
Аfter closing thе dооr, Shen Du nоticed Zhu Yan shоwеd nо intentiоn оf slеерing аnd sat dоwn bеside hеr. “What’s wrоng? Do yоu get mоrе еnergеtiс thе lаter you stаy up? It’s alreadу this late, and уou’re still nоt aslееp?”
“Оf course not,” Zhu Yan quickly explained, looking at Shen Du with unusually earnest eyes. “I just feel this case was resolved too smoothly. Do you think there might be something else hidden beneath it all?”
Shen Du lowered his gaze in thought for a moment. “It wasn’t exactly too smooth. At first, Xu Jize didn’t admit to the crimes he committed. It was only later, when torture was about to be applied, that he confessed everything. What, do you still feel something isn’t right about it?”
Hearing Shen Du say this, Zhu Yan began to doubt her own intuition. Shen Du hadn’t noticed anything at all—could it be that she was just too tired lately?
Rubbing her forehead, Zhu Yan stopped overthinking and let out a long sigh. “Forget it, forget it. It really is late today. Let’s get some rest early.”
With that, Zhu Yan prepared to get up and go to bed. But just then, Shen Du suddenly grabbed her wrist, looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze.
“You’ve asked your questions, but I still have two things to discuss with you. Sit down first. Let’s clear things up before resting.”
Zhu Yan was taken aback. Just a moment ago, he was urging her to rest, and now he wanted to talk. Did he want her to rest or not?
Before Zhu Yan could speak, Shen Du continued, “You’ve been suspecting this case isn’t as simple as it seems, and I’ve had similar thoughts. But we don’t need to dwell on it too much. The bride kidnapping case may be closed, but the bandit’s death has led to a new murder case, and the victim even had his eyes removed. If we say these cases within cases are unrelated, it’s hard to believe.”
Hearing this, a flash of insight struck Zhu Yan. That was exactly what she meant.
No wonder she felt something was off about this case—it turned out to be connected to another case, and the bizarre nature of that other case left her deeply puzzled.
“Yes, yes, exactly! Why would the killer take the victim’s eyes after murdering him? What use could a pair of eyes possibly be?”
Seeing Zhu Yan’s expression brighten, Shen Du’s lips curved slightly upward. Understanding his woman still fell to him. “Why the eyes were taken is something we still need to investigate. This isn’t something that can be figured out quickly, so we shouldn’t dwell on it. But there’s another matter you must explain to me.”
Zhu Yan was stunned. Had she done something to wrong Shen Du? Why did his expression look so strange?
“Wh-what matter?” She quickly ran through the events of the past two days in her mind but couldn’t make sense of it.
She hadn’t done anything “heinous,” so why was Shen Du looking at her like this?Shen Du's deep eyes reflected an unusual glint as he leaned forward, his face now mere inches from Zhu Yan's. His thin lips parted, and a low, magnetic voice sounded beside her ear, "Have you taken a fancy to that Xu Jize?"
Zhu Yan nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Was this even human speech? When had she ever shown interest in Xu Jize?
"Have you lost your mind? Which eye saw me interested in him? Besides, he's nothing but a beast worse than an animal. Even if my taste were at its worst, I wouldn't possibly fancy scum like him!" Zhu Yan retorted indignantly, her face full of defiance.
Shen Du's expression remained calm, the corners of his lips curling meaningfully. He had long anticipated Zhu Yan's response.
"If you're not interested in him, why did you show him leniency twice?"
"..." Zhu Yan's mind was thrown into complete disarray, unable to grasp Shen Du's meaning for a moment.
What leniency? When had she ever shown Xu Jize any leniency?
"Have you forgotten?" Seeing Zhu Yan's bewildered expression, Shen Du suddenly grabbed her hand and placed it on his own shoulder.
With that touch, a sudden realization dawned on Zhu Yan—it was during the court session earlier when she had touched Xu Jize twice.
But all of that was for the sake of the investigation. Could it be that Shen Du was even jealous of something like this?
Understanding this, Zhu Yan found herself torn between laughter and tears. "If showing him leniency means touching him, then when I examine corpses, I have to touch even more men. Why don't you accuse me of being ruthless toward them?"
"The dead and the living are different. Or do you want Xu Jize to become a corpse?" Shen Du said eerily, sending a chill down Zhu Yan's spine.
"Forget it, forget it. I won't argue with you." Zhu Yan pushed Shen Du away and collapsed onto the bed, ready to sleep. Just then, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.
Startled, Zhu Yan quickly sat up, but Shen Du had already opened the door. Jing Lin stood at the entrance, handing him a letter.
After taking the letter, Jing Lin turned and disappeared. Shen Du walked to the bedside, sitting down as he opened the letter.
"What is it? Is it a letter from Chang'an?" Zhu Yan seemed deeply concerned about matters in Chang'an, but Shen Du shook his head, muttering to himself as he read the contents. "There's no news from Chang'an for now, but there's new progress regarding the current case."
Hearing this, Zhu Yan immediately sat beside Shen Du, her eyes fixed intently on the letter. "You sent someone to investigate him?"
Zhu Yan was somewhat surprised by Shen Du's actions—on one hand, he appeared indifferent, yet on the other, he had secretly investigated the matter.
However, the task the Empress had assigned her was to investigate whether this person harbored rebellious intentions, while Shen Du's mission seemed to be investigating the Fire Moth Party.
For Shen Du to have Jing Lin investigate this person—could it be for her sake?
Setting this aside, regarding the case of the missing bride, the deceased "Er Lai Pi" had no mortal enemies in his life. So why was he killed by the murderer?
Was the murderer's appearance a coincidence or part of a premeditated plan? And if "Er Lai Pi" was killed, why was the bride, who was also at the scene, spared?
Truly, one case unresolved, another arises.
The case of the bride's abduction was closed. The Du and Li families rearranged the wedding, and it was said that before this ceremony, they even went together to the temple to pray and selected another auspicious date.That was one thing, but both families even sent plaques to the yamen, praising Mo Qianzhi and the Yingzhou yamen for their divine judgment in resolving the people's troubles.
This was truly the greatest honor.
Of course, after this incident, no one ever sought a male bridesmaid for any wedding ceremony again.
OpenNovel