"All done?" Ding Zhiyuan asked Hong Xiaoduo with shining eyes, while gesturing for the clerk to come forward and take notes.

The clerk in the Ministry of Justice was named Guo Li. Although he did not hold an official position in the Ministry of Justice, he was privately hired by Minister Geng when he first entered officialdom. Minister Geng rose through the ranks and always kept Guo Li by his side.

Those working in the Ministry of Justice held Guo, the clerk, in high esteem, so they were somewhat uncomfortable with Ding Zhiyuan's way of greeting them.

However, in this situation where the three judicial departments jointly tried him, no matter how uncomfortable he felt, he could not show it. He endured it and stepped forward, with the yamen runner following closely behind carrying a small table with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on it.

Out of curiosity about this so-called bloodline identification technique, and seeing Ding Zhiyuan's loss of composure, Yu Anzhong, the Right Inspector of the Censorate, stood up and went over to see how it was done up close.

The left and right vice ministers of the Ministry of Justice couldn't sit still and got up to go over. Minister Geng thought for a moment, then got up and followed. He naturally wanted to find the flaws in the mysterious world right under his nose so that he could tease Lord Ding, Lord Wei, and Marquis Mu Dongqing of Fu'an in his spare time.

Of course, I'll pass on Prince Mu; at my age, teasing a junior would make me seem disrespectful to my elders.

Hong Xiaoduo opened the large brocade bag in her hand, laid out the small paper packets marked inside on the ground, took out one of them and said: "The skin flakes, bloodstains, a single hair, and two pubic hairs in the deceased's fingernails all belong to this person."

Guo, the clerk, quickly took notes, while Ding Zhiyuan, standing beside him, couldn't wait to search for the corresponding information on the previously recorded paper.

Seeing his surprised expression, the others also went forward to check.

Minister Geng held the cup, not moving.

However, they were watching their own left and right vice ministers, and saw that after they checked the list again and again, they looked up in shock, looked at Hong Xiaoduo, and then looked at their own Minister.

"Your Excellency, look, these paper packets were collected from the deceased's body, and they all belong to this person," Ding Zhiyuan said excitedly as he walked to Minister Geng's side with the list.

When Minister Geng looked in the direction the man was pointing, he saw that the number on the paper package belonged to—a florist from the Peony Garden of the Music Workshop.

How could it be him?

"I didn't participate in collecting these things; in fact, I had my back to them. I don't have eyes in the back of my head. If you don't believe me, Minister, why don't you take a look at them and see which one looks like I've bribed them to be my helper?" Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile when she saw Minister Geng looking at her.

This young woman is so arrogant, how dare she make fun of me? Minister Geng gritted his teeth and endured the pain to keep his expression from changing.

"The record states that five strands of hair were collected from the deceased, and four other hairs and several others. Whose were they?" Minister Geng asked, holding his hand.

“Reporting to Your Excellency, it belonged to the deceased.” Hong Xiaoduo also stopped laughing and responded.

"The skin flakes and bloodstains under the deceased's fingernails do not belong to Dong Yuefan?" Minister Geng asked again.

Hong Xiaoduo nodded; "Reporting to Your Excellency, it indeed does not belong to Dong Yuefan."

After a moment of silence, Minister Geng spoke again: "So, according to Miss Hong's identification result, this person is the murderer?"

"Well, that's the result of my assessment. As for whether he admits it or not, and how he confesses, that's a matter for you gentlemen to decide." With that, Hong Xiaoduo shrugged and spread her hands with a smile.

Seeing her so blatantly smug, Minister Geng thought to himself, "This must be what they call youthful arrogance!"

"Are you so sure that the identification result won't be wrong?" Minister Geng didn't want to say too much to such a young boy, but he still couldn't help asking again.

“Of course, how could I dare to take on such a job without the right skills? If I didn’t have real talent, would I be coming to the Ministry of Justice in the capital to swindle people? Would I be living a life too leisurely?” Hong Xiaoduo said as she stood up and straightened the wrinkles in her skirt.

This was the first time Minister Geng had ever encountered such an arrogant young woman.

"Until this person confesses, I urge Miss Hong not to leave the capital," Minister Geng said suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere.

Perhaps they thought, what if they interrogated the gardener and found out he wasn't the murderer?

I'm not saying I want to punish her for framing someone, but at least I want to see her face to face and show her what kind of expression she has. I'll teach you to be arrogant!

"Huh? Your Excellency intends to detain me? I say, Your Excellency, how can you be so agitated at your age? In fact, even if you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have left until that person confessed."

"Since you've made the first offer, then please reimburse my food and lodging expenses during my stay in the capital. After all, I'm helping you find the criminals and solve the case, right? The amount you wish to reimburse is up to you," Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile to Minister Geng.

Everyone present, except for Murong Jing, was shocked by her words.

Minister Geng himself looked at Murong Jing incredulously, thinking to himself, "How can you trust such a scoundrel?"

Minister Geng looked at Hong Xiaoduo again, wanting to remind her that it was obvious she was standing up for the youngest son of the Dong family and that she was helping the Dong family. Shouldn't she be asking them for expenses such as food, drink and lodging?

Is it a bit too far-fetched for you to come here and try to take advantage of me?

Hong Xiaoduo ignored his thoughts and wasn't really trying to take advantage of him. She listened to Minister Geng's order to detain the gardener and let the others go.

Those who were summoned thought they were coming to be questioned one by one about what happened that day, but when they arrived, they were not asked anything. Instead, their hair was pulled out and a piece of their nails was cut off. Then, the people from the Ministry of Justice wrapped them in paper, marked and numbered the paper packages, and handed them to the pretty young woman.

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