Chapter 203 You tell me, where did the first skin go?

After leaving the town prison, Achan did not leave. She really wanted to know whether her guess was true or false.

Bai Xiuming's men were very efficient. Even though there was a curfew, it only took them a little over an hour to thoroughly investigate the past whereabouts of the Marquis of Jinyang.

Just as Achan guessed, Ji Heng had never been to Jiaozhou when he was young.

Who was the Marquis of Jinyang who made vows of eternal love to Lady Xue and went to great lengths to marry her into the Marquis's household? And where did the real Marquis of Jinyang go?

"Do you think the Xue family knows his identity?" Achan looked at Bai Xiuming, who was looking at the information about the entire Ji family that his subordinate had brought over.

Looking at the thick stack, Achan glanced at it and looked away.

"I don't know," Bai Xiuming replied with certainty.

“I guessed so. If she knew, she wouldn’t have let it slip so easily.” Achan recalled Xue’s appearance when they talked earlier and murmured, “If Xue didn’t know, how could she not recognize the difference between the person she had saved and the Marquis of Jinyang?”

Even if they meet again after several years and their appearances are slightly different, they wouldn't completely mistake each other.

"unless……"

"Unless the person she saved actually looked very similar to the Marquis of Jinyang, she never suspected anything."

Bai Xiuming picked out two documents from a stack and put them aside. Achan leaned over to look at them. They contained information on two people, named Ji Yan and Ji Mo.

The two men were about the same age as the Marquis of Jinyang, and were his cousins. Both of them died unexpectedly in another place twenty years ago, and their bodies were never recovered.

“This Ji Mo is Ji Zhuang’s half-brother.” After seeing this, A Chan grabbed Bai Xiuming’s hand, which was on the table, and shook it, signaling him to look quickly.

"Mm," Bai Xiuming responded.

As Chan continued reading, it was clearly written that Ji Mo had been separated from his family when he was young and wandered away from home. Later, he found his way back home. Then, at the age of nineteen, he went out to trade and encountered bandits on the way, and then disappeared without a trace.

“He was born in the same year as the Marquis of Jinyang and is also a cousin. He must look somewhat similar to Xue Shi to deceive her.” Bai Xiuming remained silent, so A Chan continued, “But after all, it is such a big thing as impersonating a king or marquis. He must have done it very carefully. Even Ji Chan’s mother could not recognize the abnormality of her husband. His appearance must be exactly the same as the Marquis of Jinyang.”

Bai Xiuming turned his head to look at A Chan, who was seriously reasoning, and smiled: "And then?"

"With your excellent memory, Lord Bai, you surely haven't forgotten the case of the Princess of Xin'an?"

“Of course I’ll never forget it. After all, there’s only one person who dared to ignore my warning and cause trouble at His Majesty’s birthday banquet.” He made a pointed remark.

Achan immediately feigned innocence: "It's been so long, how can we bring up old grievances? Let's get down to business."

Bai Xiuming smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Back then, Master Yu told me that the family that swapped her face with the fake county princess's had two fake skins. One of them was used, and the other was used to swap her face. Tell me, where did the first skin go?"

Bai Xiuming also knew about this, but at that time his attention was focused on the fake county princess. He never expected that, after all the twists and turns, the first clue to the fake princess would appear here.

"We can't make wild guesses without any evidence," Bai Xiuming said, taking a pen from the side and handing it to Achan, then picking up an ink stick to grind ink for her.

Achan took the pen, dipped it in ink, and began writing the prescription on the white paper.

She originally developed this formula herself, and it was very effective. She never expected to need it again.

However, the previous recipe required time to prepare, so this time she added two ingredients, which shortened the time required to make the perfume powder.

After writing down the recipe and preparation method, Achan put down her pen, and Bai Xiuming took her hand and massaged her wrist: "You've worked hard."

"You know I'm tired, why don't you hurry up and take me home?" She pulled her hand away, not wanting to be easily fooled.

"Why don't we stay here tonight? I'll teach you how to guide your Qi into your body," Bai Xiuming suggested.

Achan glanced at him, sensing his ill intentions, and politely declined, saying, "It's not like I haven't cultivated before."

“The cultivation methods of humans and demons are very different. If you circulate your qi incorrectly, you can easily harm your body.” Bai Xiuming said with a serious and earnest expression.

Achan hesitated slightly, but what he said was true.

Bai Xiuming pressed on: "Besides, you don't have any suitable cultivation techniques. I happen to have quite a few here, and I guarantee I can find the one that's most suitable for you."

"Well... alright." Achan was finally persuaded and accepted his proposal.

After handing the prescription written by Achan to his subordinates, Bai Xiuming took her to his residence at the yamen.

He did indeed choose a practice method for her, just as he had said before, and taught her how to properly induce penetration.

After Achan succeeded, he shamelessly asked her to discuss whether the dual cultivation method would improve his cultivation.

Achan made a mistake and ended up in the tiger's den.

In the dead of night, she lay miserably on the bed, not even wanting to move a finger.

Bai Xiuming placed his palm on her curvaceous waist, caressing it affectionately, and said to her, "Dual cultivation does indeed help with cultivation; you should try it more often in the future."

Achan rolled her eyes, pulled the blanket around herself, and went to sleep, not wanting to pay any attention to him.

As the night passed, before dawn, there was movement beside her. Achan lifted her eyelids and glanced at him. Bai Xiuming leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, whispering, "I'm going to court. You continue to sleep."

Achan closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

When she woke up again, it was already past 9 AM. Bai Xiuming, dressed in a vermilion official robe, was sitting by the bed. She didn't know when he had returned.

Ah Chan lazily rolled over, remembering what happened last night, and asked, "Is the perfume powder ready?"

Bai Xiuming brushed the stray strands of hair from her face and replied, "It's done."

"When will you invite the Marquis of Jinyang to visit the Mingjing Bureau?" She wanted to see what would happen.

"Anytime is fine."

At 9:00 AM, a group of guards from the Mingjing Division walked out of the Mingjing Division. The people they encountered along the way all gave way, wondering which family was about to suffer misfortune.

At this moment, the Marquis of Jinyang was still in his residence.

Since the Xue family's incident, although he knew nothing about it, he was also disliked by the emperor. His previous duties were all suspended, and he could not even attend court. He could only stay at home every day.

Now, he has grown accustomed to this leisurely lifestyle.

When the Mingjing Siwei arrived, he was still tending to the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

The main courtyard was broken into. Marquis Jinyang looked up at the person in charge and asked in a slightly cold voice, "What is the meaning of this, Lord Bai?"

Bai Xiuming glanced at the broken flower branch in the hands of the Marquis of Jinyang and said, "The Marquis of Jinyang has quite the refined taste. I heard that you have taken a concubine during your time of retirement. You must be living a good life."

The Marquis of Jinyang's heart tightened, and another piece of the broken flower branch snapped in his hand: "When did Lord Bai become so interested in my private affairs?"

“I’ve always been interested.” Bai Xiuming looked at the seemingly calm Marquis of Jinyang and said calmly, “If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have discovered that the Marquis of Jinyang dared to harbor demons in his residence.”

"I have none!"

No sooner had the Marquis of Jinyang finished speaking than Jiang Kai's voice came from afar: "My lord, both monsters have been captured."

Marquis Jinyang's pupils contracted slightly, and his heart sank a little, but he did not show any panic. Instead, he asked with a puzzled look, "What kind of monster?"

"The Marquis of Jinyang took a concubine himself; does he not know her status?"

"Of course I know. Ayao is just a girl from a humble family. If you don't believe me, you can go and investigate."

At this moment, Jiang Kai and his subordinates arrived carrying the body of the Marquis of Jinyang's concubine, along with a sealed mirror.

Hearing his words, Jiang Kai grinned: "Your eyesight isn't very good, Marquis. Not only is your concubine possessed by a demon, but there's also a mirror demon in her room."

"That's impossible!" Marquis Jinyang's expression changed as he looked at Bai Xiuming. "Lord Bai, I was unaware of this matter."

"Words are not enough. Whether Your Excellency is aware of the matter or not will be clear after my investigation." With that, he gestured for him to enter. "Marquis of Jinyang, please."

Marquis Jinyang threw down the flower branch that had been broken into several pieces and strode out.

The Mingjing Division's men came and went quickly, this time taking away even the last remaining master of the Marquis's mansion.

When the steward of the Marquis's residence arrived, he only saw the back of the Marquis of Jinyang being taken away.

Only after the group's figures disappeared at the street corner did the steward turn around, sigh softly, and think to himself, one master of this Marquis's mansion after another has left, and now it's the Marquis's turn. I wonder if the Marquis will be able to return safely this time.

Upon entering the Mingjing Division, the Marquis of Jinyang was not sent to the town prison, but instead was taken to a side hall to wait.

There were guards inside and outside the side hall. He found a chair and sat down. After sitting for a while, he smelled a faint fragrance. The fragrance was not strong and was quite pleasant.

And so he sat in the side hall for an hour, inhaling the fragrance for that entire hour.

At first, he was able to sit still, but gradually he became a little impatient.

When someone came to bring tea, the Marquis of Jinyang couldn't help but call out to the person, "I wonder when Lord Bai will have some free time?"

As he spoke, he felt an itch on his face and couldn't help but reach out and scratch it.

The man glanced at Marquis Jinyang and said respectfully, "My lord, please wait a moment. The master is still busy."

Marquis Jinyang sneered inwardly. Bai Xiuming wasn't busy at all; he was clearly targeting him on purpose.

But since the other party said that, he had no choice but to sit in his chair and wait. He couldn't very well argue with a servant.

After sitting for another half hour, the Marquis of Jinyang did not notice that he was scratching his face more and more frequently.

Finally, two hours after arriving at the Mingjing Division, Bai Xiuming showed up.

"Lord Bai, you've kept me waiting quite a while." Marquis Jinyang said with a hint of sarcasm as Bai Xiuming walked in.

"I am busy with official duties, please forgive me, Your Excellency."

"This Marquis would naturally not dare to blame Lord Bai, but I wonder if Lord Bai has found any evidence that this Marquis is colluding with evil spirits?"

"No," Bai Xiuming replied.

The two demons are now sealed in the mirror. The mirror was brought back to the Mingjing Bureau but was not unsealed. Bai Xiuming never asked the two demons for their confessions.

The Marquis of Jinyang finally felt relieved: "In that case, when may I return to my residence?"

As he spoke, the Marquis of Jinyang felt an itch on his face again, accompanied by a slight coolness.

He raised his hand and scratched his face a few times, and the coolness became more and more obvious.

Bai Xiuming looked at the Marquis of Jinyang's face, which was so thin that the skin could no longer be attached to the flesh, and said, "I'm afraid the Marquis won't be able to leave today."

"Bai Xiuming, what do you mean?" As soon as Marquis Jinyang opened his mouth, he suddenly felt something slide down his hand.

He subconsciously looked down and saw that it appeared to be a face mask.