Chарtеr 62: Мissing Реrsоns
“Ahem…”
Stаnding оutsidе thе hаll listening to the рrоgress of thе casе, Zhu Yаn lеt оut а light сough.
Evеryone turned to loоk аnd saw thаt Shen Du аnd Zhu Yаn hаd аpреаrеd оutside thе door at sоmе unknown timе.
Gao Chеngxue sеemed tо hаvе sееn а sаvior and hurriеd dоwn from thе hаll tо greеt them. “Grеаt paviliоn сommаnder, Madаm Shen, you’vе finаllу arrivеd. I… I don’t even knоw hоw tо handlе this.”
“Viсе Мinistеr.” Zhu Yаn clаsрed hеr hands in sаlute towаrd Gaо Сhеngxuе, а gеsturе that nearlу frightened him to the ground.
“Тhis won’t do, this won’t dо.” Gao Сhengхuе quicklу returned the salute. “Chief Clerk Zhu is now Madam Shen. In the future, when you see this humble official, please don’t perform such a grand salute. This humble official cannot bear it.”
Shen Du didn’t even glance at Gao Chengxue. He knew his place well enough.
Zhu Yan didn’t say much either. The case was important at the moment, and she didn’t want to get overly entangled with the vice minister.
Zhu Yan approached Rong Zhui. When Rong Zhui saw Zhu Yan, a hint of softness appeared in her eyes.
After all, they had known each other for a while, so she couldn’t treat Zhu Yan with harshness or severity.
“What happened?” Zhu Yan asked.
Rong Zhui’s tone softened a little. “I didn’t kill anyone.”
“I believe you,” Zhu Yan said without hesitation. “But you must tell me exactly what happened.”
Rong Zhui took a deep breath and glanced at Lü Yun’s family kneeling on the ground. “A few months ago, Lü Yun came to me saying her family was poor and she wanted to find work here. I already explained to her what the Bright Hall does, but she was determined, so I kept her. At first, she seemed obedient and sensible, but not long after she started working, she disappeared. I thought she had been taken away by some patron who favored her, so I didn’t ask further. But who would have thought…”
As she spoke, Rong Zhui lowered her head. It was clear that she was also pained by Lü Yun’s death.
“If that’s the case, why didn’t you explain all this to everyone?” Zhu Yan asked, puzzled. If there were extenuating circumstances, why couldn’t she make it clear?
“This madam is lying,” Gao Chengxue interjected from the side. “On the first day of last month, she wasn’t even at the Bright Hall. I’ve already sent people to investigate thoroughly, and when asked where she was, she couldn’t answer. Clearly, there’s some conspiracy involved.”
After hearing Gao Chengxue’s words, Zhu Yan turned her gaze back to Rong Zhui. “Do you have some unspeakable difficulty?”
Rong Zhui bit her lower lip lightly, as if she didn’t even want to tell Zhu Yan the truth.
“You’re no longer needed here. Leave now.” Shen Du saw through everyone at a glance and directly ordered Gao Chengxue to leave.
Gao Chengxue was taken aback but quickly nodded. Although he didn’t understand why Shen Du was doing this, Shen Du’s intentions were not something he could speculate about.
Lü Yun’s parents were also arranged to rest, leaving only Zhu Yan, Shen Du, and Rong Zhui in the hall.
“Since you don’t want to answer me, let’s set this matter aside for now. At the moment, I have an important task for you.”
Zhu Yan spoke, and Rong Zhui looked puzzled. “What is it?”
Zhu Yan led Rong Zhui to the back hall, where she displayed the portraits she had simulated based on bone structures and the several female corpses transported from the Western Brightness Temple in front of Rong Zhui.
“These are the portraits I roughly sketched based on their bone structures, along with their bodies. Can you identify any of them?”The body on the stretcher had largely decomposed into bones, making identification nearly impossible. However, the portraits Zhu Yan had drawn based on the skeletal structures bore a striking resemblance.
"This..." Rong Zhui looked surprised. "Although these portraits differ significantly from the actual individuals, each face reminds me of someone I've seen before."
"What?" Zhu Yan was equally astonished. While her portraits couldn't fully restore the victims' original appearances, they still captured three or four parts of their essence. For Rong Zhui to recognize them meant these individuals must have been people she knew.
"Who were they?" Shen Du asked from the side.
"Some were from my Bright Hall, others from the Lan Yan Pavilion across the street. When they went missing, we didn't pay much attention—after all, they were women who sold themselves. Some clients would sweet-talk them with a few words, and they'd believe it wholeheartedly, quietly leaving with their patrons without saying a word. Such things are common in places like ours."
"So... you didn't report it, or even if you did, the cases were dismissed as understandable and no one took them seriously."
Zhu Yan voiced her thoughts, and Rong Zhui nodded in agreement.
"Madam Shen is absolutely right. Such matters aren't something to publicize, so they were all let go."
"Do you remember when some of them went missing?" Zhu Yan continued.
Rong Zhui furrowed her delicate brows, recalling carefully as she looked at the portraits before her. She pointed at Ru Yan. "This woman—she was from Lan Yan Pavilion. She went missing four or five years ago. I remember she had already left the profession to start a family, but she still disappeared later. Of course, this is just hearsay. It's said that when she first went missing, her husband came to Lan Yan Pavilion looking for her."
Zhu Yan and Shen Du exchanged a glance—another clue.
Then, Rong Zhui pointed at the portrait of the female corpse found dead with Liu Fu. "And this one—she's been missing for three or four years as well."
Zhu Yan had made notes under each portrait. However, Rong Zhui seemed surprised when she saw another one. "This one."
The two followed Rong Zhui's pointing finger. This portrait left a deep impression on Zhu Yan—it was the female corpse found embracing Huang Yun, one of the younger victims, only seventeen at the time of death.
Huang Yun was a poor scholar, and this female corpse wasn't a local—she hailed from Yuezhou. A moth-shaped jade had been found on her body.
"You know her too?" Zhu Yan found it strange. The woman wasn't a local and had come to the capital to search for relatives. How could Rong Zhui know her?
Rong Zhui shook her head. "I didn't know her personally, but I've seen her. She used to visit Lan Yan Pavilion. I thought she was new there, but later I noticed a man frequently looking for her. Not long after, both of them disappeared."
"When was the last time you saw her?" Zhu Yan pressed further. Today, she seemed to have gathered many clues.
Rong Zhui thought for a moment. "About... a year ago. Even if not a full year, at least eight or nine months."
"Eight or nine months..." Zhu Yan murmured to herself, as if realizing something.
The man Rong Zhui mentioned was undoubtedly Huang Yun. Yet Zhu Yan clearly remembered that when their bodies were discovered, their faces appeared rough and purplish-black, and the female corpse still had decaying flesh—it didn't seem like they had been dead for only eight or nine months.Could it be... someone tampered with the corpse to deliberately delay its decomposition?
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