No one can answer this question.
Or rather, they cannot answer it now.
However, today's case analysis has come to an end. Duan Nanqi said to Zheng Sanji, "Coroner Zheng, it's late tonight, don't overwork yourself. And we still have to retrieve the files of past cases. Coroner Zheng can perform the autopsy tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon, I and Judge Qiao will go to the county government to meet with Magistrate Qian, and we can discuss the case together then."
Zheng Sanji cupped his hands. Although he was very excited and wanted to solve the case as soon as possible, he knew that haste makes waste. It would be best to wait until tomorrow morning when he was fully refreshed before starting the task.
Duan Nanqi then asked Jiang Lingyao, "Master Qiao, is there anything else you want to see?"
Jiang Lingyao's eyes were fixed on the pavilion. It was late at night and the dew was heavy. The pavilion stood still and nothing could be seen clearly except the light. Jiang Lingyao said, "Go back and settle down early. We will investigate the case tomorrow."
Duan Nanqi nodded, ordered the officers to guard the scene, and then he and Jiang Lingyao mounted their horses and headed home.
On the way back, in order not to disturb the people on the street, the group did not gallop, but walked slowly.
When they passed a silk manor, Jiang Lingyao suddenly said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you something."
Duan Nanqi turned his head to look at her.
At this time, the moonlight was bright, and the silvery moonlight fell on Jiang Lingyao's face, making her skin whiter than snow, quiet and elegant.
Her red eyes and eyebrows seemed to contain thousands of stars, condensing her determination to never give up.
Duan Nanqi's gaze unconsciously lingered on her face, but finally he forced himself to look away.
Jiang Lingyao had been immersed in the case and did not notice Duan Nanqi's gaze. She continued, "Brother Zheng also said that in the two earlier cases, the victims had embroidery on their backs. The embroidery patterns and craftsmanship of the embroidery were not from Tongzhou, right?"
"right."
Jiang Lingyao then said, "But the embroidery on the back of the deceased today was recognized by the police as a famous local face garment. So can we assume that the two pieces of embroidery whose origins were not found were also from Wanping face garments?"
Duan Nanzhu's hand holding the reins paused slightly, and his deep peach blossom eyes looked deeply at Jiang Lingyao. In his mind, the similarities in the details of the three cases gradually overlapped, forming a huge clue map.
Through this clue map, what finally overlapped together were three eye-catching masks.
Duan Nanqi lowered his eyes slightly, and suddenly said, "If the embroidery piece is indeed a mask when we investigate in Wanping tomorrow, can we also assume that the two dead in the old case fourteen years ago are also related to Wanping? Perhaps we can retrieve the missing persons file of Wanping for comparison and investigation."
Having said this, Jiang Lingyao's depression also dissipated a lot. She sighed softly: "I hope the deceased can rest in peace."
Duan Nanzhi rode forward, staring into the dark alley ahead, and said, "Yes."
The two returned to the gate of Jiang's house. Jiang Lingyao paused slightly on her horse. Duan Nanqi glanced at the strange horse she was riding with an ambiguous look and said with a smile, "What a coincidence! Judge Qiao lives next door to my house."
Jiang Lingyao said calmly, "It's really a coincidence that I asked someone to temporarily rent the house."
Duan Nanqi nodded, pointed to the door of his house, and said, "This is my wife's family's house. My wife is a kind and gentle woman. If Master Qiao has time, you are welcome to come to my house and talk to my wife."
He said, "My wife will definitely like you very much."
Jiang Lingyao glanced at him calmly and said, "To be able to meet Lord Duan with equal respect, Lingzheng must be an extraordinary woman. I must meet her when I have time in the future."
She finished and bowed: "Goodbye."
Duan Nanqi waited for her to close the outer door of the west wing before he rode his horse into Jiang's house.
After returning to the East Courtyard, Duan Nanzhu washed and changed his clothes, and sat in the study to look at files. Wen Zhu came in with a bowl of noodles.
"Sir, would you like to stay busy for a while? Chef Jiang has made some noodles with soybean paste for you to fill your stomach."
Duan Nanqi put down the file and selected a few dishes from the menu. After Wen Zhu finished mixing the noodles, he asked, "Did your wife go out tonight?"
When talking about the Madam, a dazed look flashed across Wen Zhu's face. He said, "The Madam has not gone out since dinner, but Sister Xingyun came out several times to ask for fruit and snacks, saying that the Madam is studying and is very hard-working."
Duan Nanzhu's hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly. He squinted his eyes and looked towards the bedroom, but could only see the closed door of the study. He chuckled softly.
"She's very serious about it."
Wen Zhu said, "Yes, Madam has been reading all night, and she didn't turn off the lights until the second watch."
Duan Nanqi said no more. He ate his noodles slowly and leisurely. The noodles were hand-rolled by Chef Jiang. They were very chewy and paired with the rich and fragrant fried sauce, which made the busy man very satisfied at midnight.
Wen Zhu saw that he was quite indifferent, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally asked in a low voice: "Sir, that Qiao Tuiguan, how do I see it..."
His voice got lower and lower, and finally it was almost as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "She looks a bit like the lady."
Duan Nanqi's hands did not stop eating the noodles. He finished the last bite of noodles, took a sip of Lanxin Queshe to moisten his mouth, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's just similar." He said nonchalantly, "Look at your young mistress, she's dressed up all day long, wearing heavy makeup, how can she endure that kind of hardship?"
Wen Zhu thought it made sense, and he couldn't help but say, "Young Master, what you said is true. Madam is a rich and powerful woman, and you can't live so hard."
The magistrate was of the sixth rank, and was not considered a minor official even in Yanjing where many court officials gathered. To say that he earned a living from this was really an exaggeration.
But Wen Zhu was right in one thing. As the daughter of the Marquis of Anding, Jiang Lingyao was born into a golden family. There was really no need for her to be the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture. Even for "hobby", it was impossible for Jiang Lingyao to ask the royal concubine for this position.
Why did she want to hide her identity and work as a magistrate?
This doubt only passed through Duan Nanqi's mind for a moment, but everyone has secrets, and Jiang Lingyao was unwilling to tell. Since he and she had already agreed not to have anything to do with each other, why bother asking more?
Duan Nanqi lowered his eyes, looking at the countless files beside the table, and laughed at himself: "How many secrets do you have? Why do you want to be that annoying little husband?"
Jiang Lingyao had no idea what Duan Nanqi was thinking about. She walked into the bedroom through the window, washed up, changed her clothes, and then fell asleep comfortably.
Jiang Lingyao slept later than usual yesterday and woke up late as well. When she opened her eyes, it was already bright.
It was already past 9:00 p.m., and the sun was shining brightly, illuminating the room with a golden glow. Jiang Lingyao opened the curtains and smiled at Xingyun, "It's a good day today."
After she washed and changed her clothes, she was wearing a casual, light dress and a simple bun on her head. She looked very fresh.
Xingyun said, "Miss, the kitchen prepared Wanping's famous fresh meat wontons this morning. Would you like to have a bowl?"
Jiang Lingyao nodded and said yes, then sat by the window to look at the scenery.
Outside the window is a small courtyard in the east wing, where roses are in full bloom, covering the walls with bright red.
Looking at the rose flower, Jiang Lingyao couldn't help but think of the old case that Zheng Sanji mentioned yesterday.
She sighed and instantly lost interest in enjoying the scenery. After breakfast, Jiang Lingyao walked around the room and decided to go to the county government office early to look at the files.
She put on her black boots and asked Xingyun, "Where's the aunt?"
Xingyun said quickly, "The aunt got up at noon, had breakfast and left. Before leaving, he told the young lady that he was going to the Jinyiwei Linya. If the young lady had anything to say, she could send someone to Linya to inform her."
Jiang Lingyao couldn't help but exclaim: "He is really tough. He came back at such a time last night, and it seemed that he was busy for a long time. He went out early in the morning. He is really ambitious."
Xingyun smiled and said, "Miss, aren't you working very hard as well?"
Jiang Lingyao paused when she heard this. Her efforts were indeed not enough compared to Duan Nanqi's, but she was different from Duan Nanqi. Duan Nanqi was the emperor's confidant and had to work hard to be the emperor's lackey. If he didn't work harder, he would be criticized instead.
And Magistrate Xiao Qiao was just an orphan who was related to the imperial concubine by marriage. She entered Shuntian Prefecture just to make a living. With such a background, it would be wrong for her to work too hard and think about promotion all day long.
Jiang Lingyao smiled faintly, tapped Xingyun, and said, "Let's go, I also have to go to the county government to show myself."
After Jiang Lingyao had finished her shift, she mounted her horse and rode out of Longshan Lane. When she looked up, she saw Duan Nanqiao walking back.
Duan Nanqi looked like he had just returned from a trip out of the city, with a light layer of sweat on his sweaty forehead. His eyes were deep and bright in the sunlight, and he was extremely handsome.
He looks like a handsome and heroic young general.
Jiang Lingyao bowed to him from a distance and said, "Good morning, Lord Duan."
Duan Nanqi also said, "Master Qiao, good morning. Where are you going?"
Jiang Lingyao said, "I was just about to go to the county government office to check the files. I can't rest easy until the case is solved."
"Lord Qiao is really diligent and honest, and he loves the people like his own children."
"No, no, I am not as good as Lord Duan."
The two men, each riding a horse, stood opposite each other and exchanged greetings in the narrow alley.
Duan Nanqi changed the subject and said, "This old case has not been retrieved yet. I wonder if Master Qiao can accompany me to visit the embroidery shop? After all, the Jinyi Guards are all rough men who don't know enough about embroidery."
This is also a direction for investigation.
Jiang Lingyao did not hesitate and said decisively, "Okay."
Duan Nanjue then turned his horse around and rode with her, and told Pei Yu, "You come and talk."
Pei Yu recognized the man as Duan Nanqi's smart confidant. He stepped forward and said, "Master Qiao, after yesterday's investigation, there are three embroidery workshops in Wanping, all in the city. There are also some well-known embroiderers, four in the city and two in the suburbs. We have questioned all the embroiderers, and each of them said they didn't know how to embroider this thing, but they all said that the embroidery must be a face garment, because the size of this embroidery piece is just right to cover the face, and the face garments in Wanping are all of this size."
Jiang Lingyao thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. After all, the width of a young woman's back is only about one foot square. It's too big to be made into a handkerchief, and it can't be used without complicated embroidery. It's also too small to be used as a hood or skirt. So it can only be used as a top."
Duan Nanqi pointed to the end of the alley and said, "That's right. There happens to be an embroidery shop just ahead. Let's go there and ask first."
Jiang Lingyao nodded, and the group quickly came to the door of the embroidery workshop. Jiang Lingyao got off the horse and saw Pei Yu taking out the blood-stained face garment from the bag.
Under the sunlight, the red embroidery on the gown looked like blood surging, sending chills down one's spine.
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