Chapter 15 Peacock Spreading Its Tail - Miss Lin, you actually know how to perform autopsies! ...

Li Chengyi received many rewards during his trip to the palace, which he sent to Lin Yanshu. He also had his subordinates arrange a meeting with Shen Jingting, the Vice Minister of War.

He had investigated and found that Shen Jingting came from a prestigious family and had a smooth career in officialdom with the support of his clan. Why would he get involved in such a sordid case and act as a shady cop?

He had just stepped into the teahouse when a waiter bumped into him at the top of the stairs.

The servant apologized to him repeatedly, and Li Chengyi smoothed his clothes and waved to indicate that it was alright.

When he entered the cubicle, Shen Jingting was already lifeless.

Li Chengyi angrily went to check on Shen Jingting's body. The body was still warm, but it was too late to save him.

Li Chengyi narrowed his eyes coldly, looking at the servant from before.

He strode out of the cubicle, slammed his hand on the railing, and said sternly:

"I just encountered an assassin here."

"Seal off the teahouse!"

In an instant, the entire teahouse was surrounded, and the manager stood nervously to the side.

Li Chengyi sat on a pear blossom chair, sipping his tea, and glanced disdainfully at the shopkeeper:

"Shopkeeper, where is the servant who bumped into me in your shop?"

The shopkeeper looked troubled. He had recently hired a group of casual laborers who were cheap and hardworking. Because they were cheap, he hadn't checked their backgrounds carefully. Now, where was he going to find people for him?

Li Chengyi raised an eyebrow and looked at him, and the shopkeeper knelt down tremblingly.

Having interrogated numerous suspects, Li Chengyi could tell that the shopkeeper couldn't say anything convincing.

He was feeling a bit irritated; it seemed this matter was more complicated than he had imagined. He handed the rest over to his subordinates.

For some reason, he had his men take him to Lin Yanshu's mansion.

Lin Yanshu was counting the treasures he had sent over.

Lin Yanshu carefully examined the calligraphy and paintings by famous artists:

The handwriting is so messy, I can't understand it.

Lin Yanshu tossed aside the calligraphy and painting in her hand, then picked up the long sword from the box and examined it. She looked down at it, wondering if the sword would be good for chopping firewood.

As soon as Li Chengyi entered, he saw Lin Yanshu looking curiously at the things he had brought.

He stepped forward, took the long sword from Lin Yanshu's hand, and then began to wield it in the open space.

In the darkness of night, Li Chengyi's slender figure, coupled with his swordsmanship, was elegant and unrestrained.

Li Chengyi twirled his sword beautifully, the sharp blade stirring the night wind and producing a series of sword cries. Li Chengyi sliced ​​through the falling leaves, a shower of pink petals landing on the tip of his sword, which he then presented to Lin Yanshu.

Lin Yanshu stared at Li Chengyi's actions, her eyes widening and her mouth agape in shock.

Ah Zhao can even wield a sword, just like the swordsmen in those picture books.

She took the flower from the tip of the sword and placed it behind Li Chengyi's ear.

Li Chengyi was in a bad mood because of the teahouse incident, but when he touched the flower by his ear, for some reason, his worries lessened a lot.

Looking at Li Chengyi, Lin Yanshu thought that clothes really do make the man, and a saddle makes the horse.

Li Chengyi wore a pink flower, her face as red as a peach blossom.

Lin Yanshu involuntarily tilted her head back and brushed the stray hairs from Li Chengyi's face, bringing the two of them closer and closer.

Li Chengyi's hot breath brushed against Lin Yanshu's earlobe, making Lin Yanshu feel a little itchy, and her ear turned red.

Li Chengyi didn't speak, but handed the sword to his subordinate.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Lin Yanshu asked:

Are you in a bad mood?

Li Chengyi nodded.

Lin Yanshu didn't ask any more questions. She pulled Li Chengyi to the kitchen.

The fire in the kitchen was still burning when Lin Yanshu stuffed firewood into Li Chengyi's hands:

"Adding firewood to start a fire."

Li Chengyi sat down at the stove as she instructed. Lin Yanshu used chopsticks to tie her hair up, poured some oil, and cracked an egg into it.

In an instant, the kitchen was filled with the aroma of cooking. Lin Yanshu quickly patted Li Chengyi's shoulder:

"The fire is too big!"

Li Chengyi raised his face, his face covered in soot, looking completely innocent.

Lin Yanshu looked at his disheveled appearance, tried her best to purse her lips, but still managed to laugh.

Ah Zhao, you idiot.

Every time I start a fire, I end up like this.

She made a bowl of egg noodles and served it.

She had one bowl, and Li Chengyi had one bowl.

Her eyes were bright as she stood in front of Li Chengyi, holding a steaming bowl of egg noodles.

Li Chengyi looked down at her slightly reddened fingertips and took the bowl and chopsticks.

Lin Yanshu earnestly used sign language:

If you are sad, you can talk to me.

A silent feeling of gratitude welled up inside me.

Lee Seung-ik has always been the one on whom everyone places their hopes, and everyone expects him to meet the standards of a crown prince.

He almost lived like a saint, a role model for his peers.

A sage should not have emotions.

Almost no one cared about his depression; they were more concerned about the cases, whether his policy essays were sophisticated enough, and whether his knowledge of the Six Arts was profound enough.

Li Chengyi lowered his head, and a large tear fell into the noodle soup.

He took a big bite of the egg and said, moved:

"Thank you, Yanshu."

Lin Yanshu had no idea why Li Chengyi was crying.

She thought he was burned, so she quickly put down what she was holding and cupped Li Chengyi's face in her hands.

Li Chengyi stood frozen in place, his eyelashes trembling as he looked at Lin Yanshu.

Lin Yanshu tilted her head, looked left and right, then leaned closer and used her fingertips to wipe away the tears from the corners of Li Chengyi's eyes. She also wiped away the soot from the tip of his nose.

Li Chengyi stared at Lin Yanshu's face, zooming in rapidly without giving him any time to process it.

His eyelashes fluttered with Lin Yanshu's movements.

Too...too close.

Lee Seung-ik felt like he was suffocating, and his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.

He thought that when the imperial physician came to examine Lin Yanshu's throat, he should also take some medicine.

After wiping away the soot from the pot, Lin Yanshu sat back down and began to eat his noodles.

Li Chengyi was left alone, unable to calm down for a long time.

That night, Li Chengyi had a dream all night long. In his dream, Lin Yanshu's face appeared sometimes near and sometimes far... charming and lovely.

He felt that he was truly possessed by an evil spirit.

……………

Lin Yanshu went to find Huo Zheng early in the morning, pestering him to ask what had happened to Li Chengyi yesterday.

Huo Zheng turned his head away and remained silent.

Lin Yanshu glared at him angrily and kicked his feet.

She stood with her hands on her hips, holding up a sign:

"If you don't tell me, I'll go find Ah Zhao and tell him you bullied me!"

Huo Zheng helplessly covered his head. What kind of mess is this?

.

In principle, he shouldn't have told Lin Yanshu.

However, he feared that his prince might be blinded by lust, and that he would be in trouble then.

He nodded helplessly:

“A key witness in the case was murdered yesterday. Your Highness is probably troubled by this.”

Lin Yanshu pondered in his heart:

"I want to go and see it in person."

Seeing Lin Yanshu's cunning eyes, Huo Zheng tacitly agreed to take her to the teahouse.

Lin Yanshu followed behind Huo Zheng; the teahouse had already been sealed off by the government.

The soldiers at the gate stopped Lin Yanshu and his group.

Huo Zheng pulled out a token from his waist, and the guards at the gate immediately let him through.

When Lin Yanshu stepped forward, she was stopped again.

Huo Zheng looked back:

"This young lady, who's with me, let her in."

Lin Yanshu then entered.

She wandered around the first floor of the teahouse, and then Huo Zheng led her to the private room where Shen Jingting had been.

Lin Yanshu looked around the entire cubicle; it was quite elegant.

She walked to the window and looked out. It was the second floor, and there was a shed downstairs.

There were strands of clothing hanging on the windowsill, like silk threads.

Lin Yanshu looked down. She wasn't an expert on fabrics and couldn't figure it out.

She turned her head and looked around, walked to the incense burner, lifted the lid, and found that the spices inside had burned out and turned to ash.

Lin Yanshu picked up a little bit and put it on her fingertip, then brought it to her nose and smelled it.

Saffron…

Lin Yanshu asked Huo Zheng:

What did the victim eat?

"The tea I drank."

Lin Yanshu frowned and asked Huo Zheng to take her to see the body.

Huo Zheng shook his head firmly.

If he takes her there, and Lin Yanshu faints in the morgue again, he'll probably be exiled to the frontier by his own prince.

Seeing that Huo Zheng did not move, Lin Yanshu shook his sleeve.

Huo Zheng gritted his teeth, turned around, and said decisively:

"no!"

As he spoke, he walked out, with Lin Yanshu following behind Huo Zheng, glaring at him angrily.

As they walked out together, Xie Ciyan happened to see them.

Xie Ciyan glanced at Huo Zheng a few more times, knowing that Huo Zheng was a trusted confidant of the Crown Prince.

However, the woman beside him was a complete stranger.

He had never seen him in the capital.

I heard that the Crown Prince brought a woman back from outside, and he hid her very well, so that no outsiders could find out anything about her.

Xie Ciyan sized up Lin Yanshu, lost in thought:

This person might be the woman Li Chengyi kept hidden away.

Lin Yanshu noticed the gaze and turned to meet Xie Ciyan's eyes.

Xie Ciyan looked away, pretending to be nonchalant, and walked towards other vendors.

Lin Yanshu didn't pay attention, withdrew her gaze, and continued to pester Huo Zheng.

She clung tightly to Huo Zheng's sleeve, wishing she could hug him completely, pleading desperately.

Huo Zheng looked around, trying to shake off Lin Yanshu's hand, but Lin Yanshu held onto his sleeve tightly, even showing signs of pushing his luck.

Just as Lin Yanshu was about to grab his wrist, Huo Zheng suddenly jumped up and pleaded for mercy:

"Miss Lin, I'll take you there!"

"It's just that men and women shouldn't touch each other!"

Lin Yanshu smiled and withdrew her hand, quietly following behind Huo Zheng.

Xie Ciyan watched the whole thing silently.

He watched Lin Yanshu's retreating figure and curled the corners of his lips. This woman seemed quite interesting.

Lin Yanshu followed Huo Zheng to the morgue.

Huo Zheng stood guard at the door, and Lin Yanshu put on a mask and gloves and went inside.

Shen Jingting's face was purple, his eyes were dark and blood was seeping from his eyes.

Lin Yanshu bent down, opened Shen Jingting's mouth, examined it, and then took off her mask and came out.

Holding up a sign to Huo Zheng:

"This person was poisoned by the combined effects of the tea he drank and the incense in his room."

"I suspect the poisoner was a woman."

"If you want to investigate, you can start by checking the incense in the incense burner."

Huo Zheng initially thought Lin Yanshu was just watching the show out of boredom, but he didn't expect her to actually figure something out.

He looked at Lin Yanshu in surprise:

"You can even perform autopsies?"

Lin Yanshu tidied his clothes and explained to Huo Zheng:

"My master taught me."

An ordinary doctor would naturally not know these methods of poisoning and autopsy.

Unfortunately, Lin Yanshu and his master Ji Yuan were very poor!

So poor that he would take any job, whether it was a sick pig, a poisoned child, or an autopsy of a floating corpse in the river. As long as there was money, Ji Yuan would take her along.

Over time, Lin Yanshu also learned it.

Huo Zheng immediately reported this clue to Li Chengyi, who then sent people to investigate the source of the spices and the records of the women entering and leaving the teahouse that day.

A note from the author:

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