"The next day, when I went to the study to copy books, I heard someone saying that Xie Jun's sister had gone missing, and Master Xie was so worried that he reported it to the police. Now the whole country is searching for her. I rushed home and asked Xiaoru. Xiaoru denied it, saying that I must have seen it wrong."
"No matter how much I tried to reason with her, she just denied it and even cried. Her family thought I had bullied her, and her brother pulled me out of her room. There was nothing I could do; she wouldn't admit it, and I couldn't do anything about it either. I saw that her shoes were covered in mud, and there were withered flowers on the mud, just like the kind that grows in our academy. I heard the person in charge of the gardens at the academy mention that those flowers only grow in one place in the outskirts of the capital. On the ninth day of the month, I asked the person in charge if I wanted to pick some to take back to my mother, and he told me the way. I left the city, but I didn't find anything."
“I was thinking that if the authorities found out that Miss Xie often came to see me, they would definitely come to my house to ask about my mother and me, so I picked these flowers and put them in the house. If something happens to Miss Xie, maybe when they find her, she will have these flowers on her. Xiaoru’s feet are covered in them.”
“The night before last, I deliberately left my mother in the room, waiting for the officials to come and question her. I hoped they would find out, because this flower is not commonly seen in the capital.”
After finishing his translation, Song Yi lowered his head in dejection.
Gu Xin then asked, "What about Manzhu? What are your thoughts on Manzhu?"
Song Yi looked up, somewhat bewildered: "Manzhu?"
Gu Xin nodded: "That's right, Manzhu. When Miss Xie comes to see you, does Manzhu always stay by her side? Have you done anything unusual with her?"
Song Yi shook his head: "Actually, I didn't talk to Miss Xie much. We just bumped into each other by chance. Manzhu was with her, and I didn't do anything unusual to the two of them, mistress and servant."
At this moment, Li Dafei, who had gone to the city's garrison general to retrieve the records, arrived. He carried several booklets containing records of people entering and leaving the city from the seventh day of the lunar month until the day before yesterday when the body was found.
Gu Xin first flipped through the book about the ninth day. Song Yi hadn't lied; he had indeed left the city at the end of Chenshi (7-9 AM) on the ninth day and returned at noon. The purpose of leaving the city was also stated as finding wildflowers for his mother.
At the hour of You (5-7 PM) on the seventh day of the lunar month, Ye Cuiru drove her carriage out of the city, saying she was delivering goods. The Ye family father and son transported goods for others and frequently entered and exited the three city gates of the capital. Sometimes Ye Cuiru and Zhu Shi would accompany them, so she carried several sacks of goods in her carriage and did not check them particularly carefully.
However, there is no record of Ye Cuiru returning to the city, so she probably didn't return home from the East City.
However, the Song family mother and son did see Ye Cuiru after nightfall.
Gu Xin flipped through the records for a while, but found no record of Manzhu entering or leaving the city.
So, it was Ye Cuiru who committed murder?
She put down the booklet and told Li Dafei to notify the yamen runners to arrest the Ye family. They lied, saying that Ye Cuiru had been at home from the sixth to the eighth day of the lunar new year because she was sick and had not gone out. How could they not know that Ye Cuiru had gone out on the seventh day?
Upon receiving the order, Li Dafei immediately went down to fetch people and happened to run into Constable Gao, who had already finished resting.
When Officer Gao heard that the princess had found the real culprit as soon as he woke up, he was filled with admiration for Gu Xin and worked even harder.
Gu Xin thought about it for a while, but still didn't send anyone to find the prefect. She felt that something was still missing in this case.
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