Chapter 46 Hidden Dragons and Crouching Tigers

Seeing her deep in thought, Li Jin chuckled and turned to get into the carriage: "I thought you were listening with great interest, sir, and that you were just overwhelmed by this gossip."

Jin Shu clicked her tongue: "At first I thought it was gossip, but later I realized that this gossip is really scary."

Li Jin's hand, which had been lifting the carriage curtain, froze in mid-air. She turned her head, puzzled, and asked, "Terrible?"

She curled her lip and walked towards the direction where the coachman was sitting: "Your Highness doesn't really think I can treat those things as accidents, does he?" She didn't stop walking and waved her hand, "There aren't that many accidents in the world."

In the capital of the Great Wei Dynasty, on the territory of the Six Doors, in the home ground of the Shadows, there are no accidents, everything is inevitable.

Li Jin smiled, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

Sure enough, Jin Shu was an extraordinary person, worthy of his special attention, and worth betting everything on to win.

As soon as he sat down in the carriage, the Lin family's steward came running up, calling out hurriedly, "Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Li Jin lifted the curtain and looked at him in surprise.

"Lord Lin instructed that His Highness had not eaten or drunk anything all night while investigating the case, so the kitchen made some steamed buns as a small token of their appreciation."

Steamed bun?

Li Jin's gaze fell upon the octagonal, flat black food box in his hand. He then smiled and said, "Lord Lin is very thoughtful."

Then, the butler smiled and handed the box to Jin Shu.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, bowed, and took two steps back until the carriage disappeared from sight. Only then did he turn back and close the gate of the Lin residence.

Perhaps because of the light drizzle during the day, the air in the capital city at night had a fresh scent.

The cart wheels rolled over the thin puddle, creating a small ripple.

During curfew, only soldiers in black armor stood between the gates of the wards, and all was silent.

As time passed, the entire city of Chang'an drifted into a deep slumber.

The wheels rolled forward, the horses' hooves clattering rhythmically. Jin Shu swayed back and forth, staring blankly at the food box in her hand.

There was something off about the Lin family, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was off or figure out what the problem was.

After turning a corner, Li Jin raised his hand, used a fan to open the window, and said unhurriedly, "Open it, pry open everything inside."

Jin Shu was taken aback: "Pry them all apart?"

Her surprise lasted only a moment before it was replaced by a look of sudden enlightenment.

Yes, it should be broken apart. For someone of Lin Yongde's status and position as Vice Minister of Works, to express his feelings with steamed buns would be too strange.

By the moonlight, she broke each of the eight steamed buns apart one by one.

One of them had a small piece of paper stuck in it, with a long section sticking out from inside the half-steamed bun.

Jin Shu quickly turned around: "There's something." Through the small window behind her, she handed in the small roll.

As Li Jin had expected, it wasn't that there were no clues, but rather that these clues couldn't be revealed under the very noses of the Lin family.

He slowly unrolled the small scroll, revealing a line of small, clearly legible characters:

Lin Ruxue's bracelet was snatched from a maid named Fanyin.

Sanskrit?

Li Jin was stunned for a long time.

He was familiar with the name. More than ten years ago, in the residence of the former Crown Prince Li Mu, there was a maid named Fan Yin.

He played the zither beautifully and was also very good at speaking and handling affairs, which earned him Li Mu's deep appreciation.

Back then, Li Mu was accused of treason, and the entire Crown Prince's residence was searched and confiscated. Not a single maid or servant was spared; they were all sent to do hard labor on the frontier. Over the years, some have died, some have been injured, and there are hardly any people left.

He looked at the name and fell into deep thought.

Li Jin didn't sleep a wink all night.

The next morning, before Jin Shu had even stepped through the gates of the Six Doors, Yun Fei called out to her.

"Mr. Jin." He quickly jogged a few steps forward, pulled Jin Shu aside, and said, "Do you have some free time today, sir? I'd like to take you to meet your other colleagues."

As he spoke, he pointed to the special jade pendant on Jin Shu's waist: "Not many, just a few people."

As soon as he finished speaking, a stranger he had never seen before walked up from behind Yun Fei, raised an eyebrow at Jin Shu, and then chuckled: "There's definitely no time today. She'll be going with the sect leader to arrest someone soon."

Jin Shu paused, "Arrest them?"

Seeing her confusion, Yunfei put one hand behind his back, nodded and introduced, "This is Lord Shen Wen. The intelligence that the sect leader often talks about comes from him."

This greatly shocked Jin Shu. The Shen Wen in front of her, dressed in black robes, still had a childish look on his face and looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. He had been grinning from ear to ear since the beginning, and there was no indication that he was a master of intelligence gathering.

"Last night, the sect leader suddenly asked for a special message. Su Shangxuan and I were tormented all night because he needed it urgently. I couldn't find a solution right away, so I climbed over the wall and brought over the person who makes steamed buns for you."

"Lord Su interrogated us all night, and he dug up all sorts of old stories," Shen Wen said with a smile. "Based on the confession from last night, you and the sect leader will have a lot on your plate today."

As they were talking, Su Shangxuan reached the door. Shen Wen and Yun Fei turned around, cupped their hands in greeting, and said, "Good morning."

Although Jin Shu didn't recognize them, she imitated their mannerisms and greeted them with a "Good morning."

"This is Lord Su Shangxuan, an expert in psychological warfare within the sect," Yunfei said.

Psychological warfare?

Jin Shu was taken aback. Wasn't that the interrogation expert?

It has to be said that Jin Shu underestimated the Six Doors. So much so that the shock she felt was practically written all over her face.

She was already quite surprised by Yunfei, a trace evidence expert, and she had previously heard Li Jin mention a criminal profiler, in addition to the interrogation expert and intelligence expert she now had.

What else is there that the Six Doors, a place teeming with hidden talents, cannot do?

She always thought that, constrained by scientific development and mechanical technology, no matter how well the criminal investigation in Dawei developed, it wouldn't be that good.

After all, it was a feudal society without even electricity, so she never had high expectations.

But now, Jin Shu truly feels the impact of her own narrow-mindedness.

Just these people, put together, already form the prototype of a modern police station.

In the future, she wouldn't be surprised if an expert in explosives or anti-smuggling fell from the sky.

"Lord Su, this is Jin Shu, Mr. Jin." Yun Fei greeted him politely with a nod.

When Su Shangxuan heard the words "Mr. Jin," he raised an eyebrow and glanced at her face. "Sir, there's no need for formalities. We'll be colleagues from now on." He then added, "I've heard Yunfei mention Mr. Jin. You can just call me Shangxuan."

Jin Shu was stunned: "No, no, you call me 'sir,' how can I call you by your given name?"

"Sir, you don't need to know the details. Just do as instructed."

Unlike Shen Wen, who always had a grin on his face, Su Shangxuan remained expressionless and looked exceptionally cold.

He was more than a head taller than Shen Wen, dressed in a black robe and carrying a sword, and his presence was very intimidating.

Hearing his words, Jin Shu looked bewildered. Seeing that he wasn't joking, she cupped her hands and called out, "Shang Xuan."

But as soon as he finished speaking, a familiar voice came from inside the Six Doors.

"Jin Shu." Li Jin, holding two envelopes, looked at her in surprise. "What are you doing here?"