"He was framed."
Chu Chu's eyes widened instantly. "Framed?"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded lightly, his Adam's apple trembling slightly as his voice grew deeper. "He was originally an outstanding general - the youngest general in the court who never lost a battle... Later, he was framed and imprisoned. I helped exonerate him, but it was already too late... That's what led to his current condition."
Chu Chu carefully observed Xiao Jin Yu's pale face. "Then... is he speaking to you like that because he blames you for rescuing him too late?"
"He never speaks to me like that..."
"But he just did! We both heard it!"
Xiao Jin Yu gently stroked Chu Chu's back, forcing a bitter smile. "That's why I'm investigating the reason."
Chu Chu frowned, looking at Xiao Jin Yu who was forcing himself to appear energetic despite evident exhaustion. "Wang Ye, are you particularly close to him?"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded seriously.
"Then... if he turns out to be the murderer, what will you do?"
"Punish according to the law."
Chu Chu suddenly smiled. "I knew you were a good official!"
Xiao Jin Yu offered a faint bitter smile, sighed lightly, and slowly leaned his stiff back against the chair, gradually closing his eyes.
If it really was Xiao Jue who did it, he'd rather not be an official in charge of criminal justice...
Ever since he helped exonerate Xiao Jue, it had been a long time since a case had tormented him so much, draining him mentally and physically.
He actually had every detail of the case files memorized, but he was afraid of overlooking or misunderstanding something, preferring to review everything from the beginning.
And every time he looked at these documents, the regret, self-blame, and heartache from back then would tighten around him again, leaving him exhausted yet unable to sleep.
He clearly understood the consequences of continuing down this obsessive path.
"Chu Chu..."
"Hmm?"
"Tell me about those corpses..."
"Now?"
"Yes..."
"I won't tell you."
Xiao Jin Yu didn't expect this response and choked slightly, opening his eyes with a frown. "Why?"
Chu Chu looked at him seriously. "You have to agree to one condition."
"What condition?"
"If you come to bed, hold me, and kiss me, then I'll tell you."
"...And if I don't agree?"
"Then I'll make sure neither my brother nor my father tells you!"
"......"
Xiao Jin Yu took off his outer robe and lay on the bed. Chu Chu burrowed into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist and rubbing contentedly against his chest a couple of times. Xiao Jin Yu's cold body was almost warmed by her rubbing. "Speak..."
"You haven't kissed me yet."
"After you finish speaking..."
"Then hold me tighter."
Only when Xiao Jin Yu held her as tightly as possible did Chu Chu say, "There are over a hundred dead people, all men. After they died, someone used a very blunt bladed weapon to cut off their arms, legs, and heads - from around here..."
As she spoke, Chu Chu moved her hands from his waist to his upper thighs to demonstrate. Xiao Jin Yu quickly caught her hands, his face darkening slightly. "When did they die?"
"They all died within the past year or two. The earliest was over a year ago, the most recent just about ten days ago. Anyway, that murderer has been quite busy these past couple of years, hardly stopping at all."
"Was the cause of death determined?"
"It was determined, but these hundred-plus people didn't all die the same way."
"Oh?""Some died of starvation, some froze to death, and others succumbed illnesses—lung diseases, stomach ailments, all sorts of sicknesses," Xiao Jin Yu's grip loosened, allowing Chu Chu's small hand to slip free and circle over his slightly sunken, thin abdomen, "more complete than the illnesses on your body."
Xiao Jin Yu lacked the extra strength to restrain her, so he had to let her roam her hands over him, while maintaining a solemn expression as he asked, "Were their lumbar bones broken?"
"Not exactly. I asked my father, and he said only the bodies from the past half-year that haven't completely decomposed had broken lumbar bones. Those from earlier periods didn't." Chu Chu slipped her hand behind his back, tracing each vertebra of his spine one by one. "My grandfather said the human spine is most precious—once broken, it's broken forever, beyond any cure, not even the best physician can fix it."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded gently. "Anything else..."
Chu Chu thought for a moment. "There's one more thing... I just find it strange, but I haven't figured out what it is yet."
"Go on."
"On the body parts where the flesh hasn't rotted too badly, I keep seeing these abrasions, like they were rubbed back and forth many times. And these abrasions are all in the shape of a cross."
Xiao Jin Yu paused slightly. "A cross?"
Chu Chu nodded, grabbing his hand and drawing two short intersecting lines on his palm with her finger. "Just like this."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded thoughtfully. "Anything more to add?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
Chu Chu pursed her lips, her delicate brows knitting together. "Wang Ye, I'm starting to think... this doesn't seem like something our nephew would do."
Xiao Jin Yu couldn't follow immediately. "Our nephew?"
"If my father is your father now, then your nephew is my nephew too!"
Logically it was flawless, yet no matter how Xiao Jin Yu turned the phrase over in his mind, it felt like she had somehow gained some advantage over him...
"He definitely couldn't have chopped or moved those people... Deduction isn't really a coroner's job anyway. Wang Ye, if I make wild deductions again, you should spank me!"
Xiao Jin Yu chuckled softly. "Not angry with him anymore?"
"Of course I'm still angry! No matter what he intended, he shouldn't have said those things about you..." Chu Chu held Xiao Jin Yu tightly, as if clinging to a treasure she feared might be snatched away. "You're good, perfectly good in every way, always good!"
Xiao Jin Yu patted the back of her head twice. "Don't always say things like that—people will laugh if they hear..."
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