Two warning coughs sounded from the doorway. "Was the arsenic in the soup or the wine?"
Jing Yi tossed aside the bellyband and pulled out a small piece of silver about the size of a thumbnail from his sleeve. He dropped it into the remaining wine at the bottom of the broken wine jar, then fished it out and tossed it into the leftover soup in the shattered bowl. Watching the silver turn black, he curled his lips. "The soup."
"Any abnormalities on the bed?"
Jing Yi raised an eyebrow at the messy bed, picking up a stained pair of underpants from the blankets with two fingers, then glanced at the dirt-yellowed sock by the pillow. "Nothing abnormal, just... rather a lot of foreign objects..."
"Any traces?"
"Traces of... vigorous sleeping."
Even through a room and a wall, Jing Yi could feel the chill emanating from the other person's eyes. "Well... and traces of rolling around on the bedsheet!"
Two dry coughs came from outside. "...Any missing items?"
"Probably more rather than less..." Jing Yi hopped over the torn women's clothing on the floor and bounded to the window in two leaps, pushing at the frame. "The windows are all bolted from the inside, and the door was kicked open by Wu Jiang... Unless someone went through the roof, no one could have gotten out."
"Mmm... anything else?"
"Let me see... besides signs of struggle near the bed, the floor looks normal. The beams have even dust layers, spiderwebs intact—no signs of ambush."
The person outside fell silent for a moment. "What's your assessment of the case?"
"Rape first, murder after."
"Why?"
Jing Yi rubbed his goosebump-covered arm through his clothes. "Given the extent of the struggle, it probably wasn't murder first and rape after..."
"...I'm asking you, why did Wang Xiaohua do this to Xinghua?"
"Drunken recklessness. Men will do anything when they're drunk... It's not like you haven't experienced that yourself, Wang Ye..."
The voice outside instantly grew sharper and colder. "Jing Yi... This prince asks you: Xinghua was a water-boiling maid. Why would she come to Wang Xiaohua's room in the middle of the night?"
Jing Yi was cowed by the address "this prince." "To bring him sobering soup!"
"Why specifically to him?"
"He was the only one drunk..."
"How did Xinghua know he was drunk?"
Jing Yi froze for a moment. "Xinghua... had a secret crush on him?"
The person outside was clearly furious. "Xue Ming has a secret crush on you too—when have you ever been drunk that he knew about?"
Jing Yi's voice drifted out faintly. "Wang Ye... have you ever seen a secret crush that sends three love letters a day..."
"...Get out here."
"Wang Ye, the floor is terribly dirty..."
The person outside remained unmoved.
"Wang Ye, it wouldn't be good to disturb the evidence at the scene..."
"Float out then."
A white shadow flashed as Jing Yi landed before Xiao Jin Yu wearing a smile uglier than crying.
Xiao Jin Yu swept a calm glance over that face. "How many times is this you've entered this room?"
Jing Yi started. "First time... I swear I haven't touched a single thread at the scene!"
Xiao Jin Yu stared quietly at Jing Yi. "So you're saying, in the three days since His Majesty appointed you to investigate this case, all you've done is paste two Talismans on the door of the crime scene?"Jing Yi felt a chill run down his spine, forcing a stiff smile as he said, "Well... I knew His Majesty wouldn't keep you locked up in that dreadful place for long. Surely he'd release you within days. You've already investigated half of this case—if I step in now and mess things up, that wouldn't be good, right..."
Xiao Jin Yu's reverence and gratitude toward Xue Rucheng instantly deepened to an unprecedented level.
Xiao Jin Yu nodded slightly, "Whether you investigate or not is up to you... but it was His Majesty who assigned you to this case, so you must preside over the public trial."
"No, no, no... Have mercy, Wang Ye, have mercy..."
Xiao Jin Yu made the final decision, "I will record the trial proceedings and organize the case files... The trial must conclude before the imperial examination ends tomorrow at dusk. You decide when to hold the court session."
Jing Yi was taken aback, "Why must it be finished before the examination ends?"
"If Grand Tutor Xue isn't released before the examination concludes, you'll be grading exam papers in my place."
"...!"
Chu Chu slept until Xiao Jin Yu returned. He stroked her head and kissed her awake before she drowsily opened her eyes. Gazing thoughtfully at his gentle expression, she murmured, "Mmm... Wang Ye, I had a dream..."
Xiao Jin Yu looked at her half-asleep state and chuckled softly, "Did you dream of me?"
Chu Chu shook her head, "I dreamed of a ginseng root... It kept following me, calling me mother."
Xiao Jin Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, gently ruffling her soft bangs, "Why the hurry... It's only been a month."
Chu Chu sat up abruptly, looking seriously at Xiao Jin Yu, "My grandmother told me these are pregnancy dreams—they're very accurate!"
Xiao Jin Yu stared at her still-flat stomach, "Are you trying to tell me... you're pregnant with a ginseng root?"
Chu Chu burst out laughing, wrapping her arms around his neck as she grinned at him, "Wang Ye, what if I really give birth to a ginseng root?"
Xiao Jin Yu held her helplessly, "I'll raise whatever you give birth to... Feeling reassured now?"
Chu Chu planted a firm kiss on his slightly darkened forehead, "Wang Ye, you're so wonderful!"
"Even wonderful people need to eat... Get up, breakfast will be delivered soon."
"Okay!"
Just as Xiao Jin Yu had finished a bowl of eight-treasure porridge under Chu Chu's coercive persuasion, Wu Jiang appeared at the doorway with a stern expression, head bowed.
"Wang Ye... Tan Zhang has escaped."
Xiao Jin Yu frowned slightly, but Chu Chu's eyes widened in shock, "Brother, how could you let him escape!"
Wu Jiang hung his head even lower, "This humble official is incompetent..."
"No matter..." Xiao Jin Yu set down the empty bowl calmly, "Has Qin Daye been found?"
"His injuries from rolling on the nail board were too severe—he died that same day... The body has been retrieved and temporarily placed in the firewood room."
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