Chapter 134 Does Your Highness know that I am a woman?

But right now, Li Jin can't worry about Song Zhen.

“There are two suspicious points in this case that I still can’t figure out.” As he stepped over the threshold of the six doors, Li Jin said, “First, the murderer should have taken something that helped him climb the ladder after he committed the crime.”

He raised his hand, showing it to Jin Shu and Zhou Zheng: "Yun Fei roughly measured it at the time, and the mark was about a hand's width. So it's hard to identify it as a ladder; it could be something else, but none of the neighbors saw anyone carrying a special item."

He lifted the hem of his robe and walked along the corridor into the depths of the Six Doors.

"Secondly, the murderer knew the victim's family's daily routine very well. Mr. Jin was at the scene and, based on the stab wounds at the time of the victim's death, judged that it was an acquaintance's crime, and that it was very likely a revenge killing." He took a deep breath. "However, what opportunity would a 63-year-old woman, who had a good relationship with her neighbors, have to make enemies with a young man much younger than herself?"

He paused for a moment, then added, "A young, middle-aged man with holes worn through in the soles of his shoes."

Zhou Zheng and Jin Shu followed behind him for a long time. When they were almost at the sect leader's courtyard, Zhou Zheng suddenly spoke up: "Could it be... because of his long tongue?"

Li Jin stood in the corridor, turned to look at him: "Long tongue?"

“The old woman is usually quite idle and likes to get together and chat about everyday matters.” Zhou Zheng sighed. “My mother is the same. When they get together, they don’t care whether it’s true or not, they just gossip about this family and that family.”

At this point, Jin Shu repeatedly said "Oh, oh, oh" several times: "Yes, yes, back in Dingzhou, I was often gossiped about behind my back by these idle old women."

Li Jin frowned: "What did I say to you?"

"They say I have a lot of yin energy, that I'm cursed and that trouble will happen wherever I go." Jin Shu curled her lips and snorted in dissatisfaction.

After she finished speaking, there was a mysterious silence among the three of them for a long time.

After a moment, Li Jin raised his hand and coughed lightly: "In other words, it's possible that the murderer was someone they were gossiping about. He realized he had become the subject of others' idle chatter, became resentful, and thus committed the crime in anger?"

Jin Shu and Zhou Zheng both nodded in agreement with this deduction.

“Although the traces of the revenge killing were quite clear at the scene, there was actually a sense of chaos.” Jin Shu recalled for a moment, organizing her thoughts. “The killer’s actions were actually quite unnecessary, which is why I speculate that he might be quite young.”

Whether they are professional assassins or bandits who once plagued the government for many years, both types of bandits usually leave the scene as soon as possible after committing a crime.

Most of the time, once they realize that their knife has hit a vital spot, they don't even consider whether the victim is alive or dead, and they will leave the scene immediately without lingering.

“But Niu Dai, a 63-year-old woman, half a head shorter than me, slightly overweight, with a full head of white hair. Yet the murderer stabbed her seventeen times, most of the wounds being fatal, some even overlapping.” She paused, “The movements were exceptionally unnecessary. Even if it was a pure revenge killing, it shows that the murderer's mental fortitude was not strong.”

Pure revenge killing.

Li Jin smiled and leaned forward: "Mr. Jin also thinks this is not a purely vendetta?"

Looking at his eyes, which were narrowed into crescent moons, Jin Shu nodded in surprise: "My judgment is that the murderer was only after money, but when the victim discovered it, he simply decided to kill him to cover his tracks."

Li Jin glanced at her face for a long time before letting out a soft laugh and straightening up: "That's closer to my opinion."

He turned around, waved his hand, and said, "I think it's true that he wanted money to silence them, but it's also true that he wanted revenge and killed them."

He paused for a moment: "There may not be a sequence, but the two will definitely overlap."

Jin Shu glanced at his back, her heart still pounding in her throat.

She watched Li Jin's figure, feeling slightly uneasy.

She had a vague feeling that Li Jin had been different these past few days; he seemed to be exuding a heroic air, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

It wasn't the heroic spirit of the leader of the Six Doors, but the heroic spirit a man only has when facing a woman.

Jin Shu didn't go into the courtyard with him. Standing at the gate, looking at the blooming roses in the courtyard, she hesitated for a moment, made up a reason, and walked alone towards the coroner's office.

She felt uneasy and even suspected that Li Jin had seen through her female identity, which made her extremely worried.

In the main hall of the coroner's office, Yan Zhao glanced at her melancholy face and watched her absent-minded manner as she poured tea. He put down the book in his hand and remarked, "What's wrong? You went to the scene and you're like you've lost your soul?"

Jin Shu paused.

She served the tea to Yan Zhao, stood in front of him, hesitated for a moment, then, as if she had nothing to lose, asked, "Master, does the Prince have homosexual tendencies?"

Yan Zhao spat out a mouthful of warm tea.

He coughed for a while, took the handkerchief from Jin Shu's hand, wiped his clothes, raised his eyebrows, and asked in great surprise, "Why do you say that?"

Jin Shu was at a loss for words. After pondering for a long time, she hesitantly uttered a few words: "I just... I feel that he, well, he's a bit..."

Looking at her expression, Yan Zhao roughly understood what was going on.

He put down his teacup, his face stiff, and gave a cold laugh: "That's not true."

His certainty only made Jin Shu more confused.

If she doesn't have homosexual tendencies, does that mean her true gender has been exposed?

Seeing her silence, Yan Zhao stood up, turned around from behind the desk, and looked at her face to face: "You don't need to worry about whether your true gender has been exposed."

Jin Shu was puzzled.

"Do you know why Prince Jing of the Great Wei Dynasty hasn't even been engaged yet?" Yan Zhao asked.

"I don't know." Jin Shu shook her head.

"Because he's afraid of women." Yan Zhao took a deep breath, went against his conscience, and made up a story in a serious tone, "There are at least eighty, if not a hundred, noble ladies who have pursued Prince Jing, but he really has no interest in women. Look at all the servants at the Six Doors, from top to bottom, even those who serve tea and water, wipe tables and sweep the courtyard, have you ever seen a single woman there?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Shu shook her head again: "Never seen it before."

"Have you ever seen how Princess Li Qian made his blood pressure rise?"

"I've met you."

Yan Zhao crossed his arms, chuckled softly, and gazed at Jin Shu's face: "So, the fact that you're still here is the best proof that your identity as a woman hasn't been exposed."

Now, Jin Shu was even more confused: "Then... what's going on with all those strange things he's been doing lately?"

What happened?

Not only Jin Shu wanted to know, but Yan Zhao also wanted to know.

With a straight face and a serious expression, he made up a story on the spot: "That was made for the Crown Prince's spies. You don't need to know the deeper meaning behind it. The less you know, the safer you are."

After saying that, he had so much to say about Li Jin that he could circle the capital, and his lips twitched.

Jin Shu lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, then exclaimed with a look of sudden realization, "So that's how it is! Your Highness is truly farsighted!"

Yan Zhao paused for a moment, forcibly suppressing the row of question marks above his head, and stroked his beard: "...You are teachable."

"I thought he was gay, but it turns out he was just putting on an act for the Crown Prince." Jin Shu cupped his hands, smiled, and took two steps back. "Thank you, Master. Jin Shu will take her leave now."

After saying that, she stepped out of the main hall and looked up to meet Li Jin, who was standing at the door with a dark expression.

Who are you calling a homosexual?