Сhарtеr 7: The Вuddhа Swаllоws Sin (4)
Аfter answering, Zhu Yаn рointed tо a spоt аbоut thrее fеet and еight inches up the bamboо сlosеst to thе рit аnd sаid, “Thеrе’s а sоil mаrk at thаt height, causеd bу splаshing mud. The bambоo in Westеrn Brightness Теmрlе is уеllоw-groovе bаmboо, whiсh grоws onе to twо inсhes pеr dаy аfter rain. Thе splash mark fасеs direсtly toward thе buriаl рit, and it’s thiсkеr аt thе bоttоm and thinnеr аt the tоp—undоubtedly mаde оn thе dаy оf thе inсidеnt.”
When she finished, bоth Jing Lin and the Inner Guards werе stunned for a lоng moment. Sоme еvеn crаned their necks to look at the bamboo with the splash mark.
Shen Du let out a faint hum, almost like a laugh. “Chen Wen taught you this sort of thing?”
“Master didn’t.” Zhu Yan untied the flower from her waist. “My mother loved bamboo, and my father enjoyed gardening. I helped them a few times.”
Shen Du showed no curiosity. Among the Inner Guard Bureau’s endless stacks of documents, aside from Zhu Yan’s father’s hobbies, there were plenty of details about another father she knew nothing of.
What interested Shen Du was why Zhu Yan would tell him this. “Doesn’t my lady despise me?”
It had been quite some time since the wedding procession arrived, yet this was the first time Shen Du had addressed her as “my lady.”
Though his tone was mocking.
He didn’t remember her.
Zhu Yan looked at the soil stains on her hands, feeling both expected and disappointed. “I only wish to solve the case as soon as possible and apprehend the murderer. Bringing them to justice and conducting a trial is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.”
“Is that so?” Shen Du sneered. “My lady is merely a Ninth-rank Clerk of the Ministry of Justice—a petty official no bigger than a sesame seed. What do you know of the Ministry of Justice’s responsibilities?”
His tone was flippant and indifferent, a genuine jab at her!
Zhu Yan raised her head, all sorts of roundabout insults teetering on the tip of her tongue, but Shen Du leisurely said, “Do you know why the Inner Guard Bureau is interfering in Ministry of Justice affairs?”
Shen Du reached out, hooked a strand of tassel by her temple, and twirled it around his fingers. With the tassel-wrapped fingertip, he lightly touched her cheek and sneered, “Because this matter involves the Liang family’s internal affairs. It’s likely the Liang family’s second branch murdered the eldest son of the main branch. Unfortunately, His Majesty insists on protecting the Liang family’s second branch.”
“A tiny fish in a pond, if it enters rivers and lakes, should be content with a quiet corner. But if it dares to leap out, do you wish to be utterly annihilated?”
Shen Du’s fingertip gently trailed downward, brushing against the vital blood vessel at her throat.
Killing intent.
Zhu Yan held her breath and slowly asked, “If the Liang family’s second branch committed the murder, why kill Kuang Zhanxin?”
Shen Du released his hand and said indifferently, “Dead is dead. Why ask so many questions? Didn’t you understand what I said? It’s not that the Inner Guard Bureau wants to conceal it—it’s that His Majesty wishes to protect the Liang family’s second branch.”
It’s His Majesty.
Those four words laid everything bare.
In Chang’an, bronze sparrows chirped, and autumn crops stretched level with the clouds. Beneath such prosperity, Zhu Yan knew how much filthy power struggle Chang’an truly concealed.
Yet she still felt deeply unsettled. For the sake of consolidating power, lives were callously taken, and then authority was used to cover it all up.
And Shen Du had said, “Dead is dead.”
“You never used to speak to me like this.” Zhu Yan clenched her fists, her body trembling with anger beneath the loose wedding robes. “I know times have changed, and you are now the Great Pavilion Commander of the Inner Guard Bureau. But I often forget what you’ve become, always thinking of you as…”
Still the Shen Du I once knew.
Zhu Yan looked at him, her voice heavy. “If the Liang family’s second branch is responsible, why would they mutilate Kuang Zhanxin’s face? This case is full of doubts. Isn’t it possible the second branch isn’t the culprit?”
Mutilating a corpse and destroying the face usually serves two purposes: one, to obscure the victim’s identity and hinder official investigation; the other, to vent personal hatred.If we follow Shen Du's reasoning, the second branch's purpose in mutilating the corpse could only be to prevent identification. In that case, Kuang Zhanxin's face should not have been slashed to the bone, but rather doused with oil and burned—and Liang Chenzhong's face would not have been spared either.
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