Shen Yao looked at the food on the table, but had no appetite at all. He waved his hand at Sun San, "Take it away, I'm not hungry..."
"Sir, how can you not eat? This case can't be solved in just a day or two. Besides, people need food to survive. You'll get hungry if you skip a meal. Even just a little something to tide you over..."
After some persuasion from Sun San, Shen Yao wavered and took the chopsticks to eat.
However, Shen Yao was unsettled at the moment. No matter how delicious the food was, it didn't taste good when he ate it.
Seeing that Shen Yao had finished eating, Sun San sat down to the side to wait for the dishes to be cleared away, his gaze falling on the portrait placed on the desk.
It looked very familiar, so I went up to take a closer look.
Sun San's old illness relapsed in the past few days, and he has been recuperating at home, so he did not participate in the search for the suspect.
"This...it looks kind of familiar..."
Upon hearing Sun San's words, Shen Yao immediately put down his chopsticks and pressed for an answer, "Do you know anyone up there?"
Sun San seemed to be deep in thought, nodding and then shaking his head, "I feel like I've seen the person in this portrait before, but then again, I feel like I've never seen him before..."
Shen Yao was completely confused. "Have you seen it before or not?"
Sun San thought for a moment, "I feel that the features of the person in this portrait are like they were pieced together. You see, sir, the mouth is obviously buck-toothed, but the eyes are not. The outline of the facial features is also quite similar to buck teeth, but the buck teeth don't look as honest as the person in the portrait. Anyway, I think it's weird."
"Could the person in this portrait be the buck-toothed guy you were talking about?"
Sun San shook his head and said with a smile, "Sir, you may not know much about Bucktooth. I've watched him grow up. He's just a street thug. He's probably always involved in fights and brawls, but he would never do murder and dismemberment."
"How can you be so sure..."
"Lord Shen, to tell you the truth, before the dismembered body was discovered, Bucktooth had already clashed with Wu Tiezhu. If he really killed someone, seeing me would be more terrifying than seeing a ghost. That kid's been timid since childhood, barely bigger than a pinhole..."
Shen Yao seemed to be deep in thought, "If that's really the case, then there's only one possibility..."
"What's possible..."
"The teahouse owner is lying and deliberately trying to mislead us..."
Between the teahouse owner and Su Yan, Shen Yao naturally chose to believe in Su Yan's abilities without hesitation.
Now that I think about it carefully, it's even more terrifying. No wonder they sent more people to search, but still found nothing.
Seeing that Shen Yao hadn't finished his meal and was about to leave, Sun San quickly called out to him, "Where are you going, sir?"
At this moment, Shen Yao could not be certain that the teahouse owner was the murderer, but he knew at least that he was deliberately trying to confuse the public and that there must be some connection.
Shen Yao was an impatient person. Now that he had a clue, how could he wait? "I'll go find the teahouse owner and ask about the situation..."
Sun San quickly followed, "Sir, I'll go with you..."
After saying that, he hurriedly chased after them.
As soon as the two stepped out of the yamen, they saw Su Bao'er and Banxia running towards Shen Yao.
"Lord Shen (Father)..."
Shen Yao was somewhat surprised to see Su Bao'er and Banxia appear at the entrance of the county government office. "What are you doing here?"
The two children each grabbed one of Shen Yao's sleeves, saying anxiously, "Lord Shen (Father)... my father (Brother Su) hasn't come home yet."
Shen Yao didn't quite catch what the two anxious children were saying, so he comforted them, "Don't rush, tell me slowly... what exactly happened?"
"Lord Shen, my father hasn't come home yet..." Su Bao'er said anxiously.
Shen Yao looked up at the sky. Dusk was fading and night was approaching. He thought that Su Yan was an adult and she must know how to go home, so he ignored Su Bao'er's words.
"Your dad might have been held up by something, that's why he's late coming home. You kids shouldn't run around, just wait for him at home..."
Seeing that Shen Yao did not believe her, Su Bao'er was so anxious that her head was covered in sweat. "Lord Shen, my father told me this morning that he was going to look at houses at the brokerage firm and would come back to pick me up soon. But I have been out of school for a long time and I have not seen him come to pick me up. Moreover, I went to the mortuary to look for him, but I did not see him. So I had to come to the yamen again, but everyone here said that my father did not come to the yamen today."
Something must have happened to him, otherwise there wouldn't have been no news for so long..."
Moreover, due to the telepathic connection between mother and child, Su Bao'er always felt uneasy, and the longer the time passed, the more worried she became.
Shen Yao knew that Su Yan was not a lively person by nature, and her movements were very fixed every day, going between the yamen, the mortuary, and the crime scene. Apart from looking at the house today, she had not returned home yet, so she might have encountered something.
So, Shen Yao comforted the anxious Su Bao'er, "Bao'er, I'll take you and your sister home first, then I'll go find your father..."
Su Bao'er resolutely refused, "No... I want to go find my father..."
“Bao’er, stop fooling around… If you go with them, who will look for Manman at home? Don’t worry, I’ll bring your dad home safely…”
"Really?"
Su Bao'er was still somewhat distrustful. Ever since Su Yan fell off the cliff last time, Su Bao'er dared not experience the pain of losing her mother again.
Therefore, Su Bao'er is like a mother hen protecting her chicks when it comes to Su Yan, wishing she could keep her by her side at all times.
Shen Yao smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'm a former member of the Imperial Guard. Even if you don't believe me, you have to believe in this sword in my hand..."
“Alright… I’ll wait for you at home. You must find Yan—my father.” Su Bao’er said solemnly, almost revealing Su Yan’s true identity.
"That's natural..."
After Shen Yao assured Su Bao'er, he sent the two of them home and then went to the army on night patrol to ask for help in finding someone.
Unexpectedly, the patrol army searched all night but could not find any trace of Su Yan in the city.
Logically speaking, Chang'an had a curfew, and if someone was still wandering the streets, they would certainly not escape the watchful eyes of the night patrol.
But Su Yan disappeared without a trace, like a stone thrown into the sea, until the government received a report.
Shen Yao never expected that when he saw Su Yan again, it would be the two of them in court.
Su Yan never expected that when she opened her eyes, she would become a murderer.
Just an hour ago, Su Yan woke up in the deserted temple to find herself covered in blood, holding a knife in her hand with the tip pointed at the teahouse owner's heart. The man was already dead.
Before she could react, a large group of people stormed into the deserted temple and, without saying a word, dragged her to the yamen (government office).
When Shen Yao saw Su Yan covered in blood, he was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.
Their eyes met simultaneously, and Su Yan gave an awkward smile.
Su Yan herself never expected that when she woke up, she would become a murderer.
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