As the woman appeared, the onlookers began to talk in low voices.

"I just thought that she might be Wang Sheng's daughter, but I didn't expect that she is really——"

"Yes, ever since Wang Sheng's daughter went missing two years ago, Wang Sheng's wife has been crying whenever she sees someone. She looks so pitiful."

"Didn't they say that Wang Sheng's maid eloped with her lover? How could she be in the well?"

"Who knows? Maybe the lover was murderous for money and got a lot of money to marry another beautiful woman..."

"At first I thought, the girl from the Wang family looks ordinary, how could she elope with someone? Maybe she was deceived..."

Zhen Shicheng listened to these discussions calmly and asked the woman, "Can you tell me about Ah Cai's disappearance?"

The woman just stared at the corpse on the ground and cried, seeming to be deaf to Zhen Shicheng's questions.

The man next to him bowed to Zhen Shicheng and said, "Your Excellency, I am Ah Cai's father. Let me speak."

Zhen Shicheng nodded slightly.

The man wiped his eyes and said, "I remember clearly that two years ago during the Flower Festival, the mansion gave some maids a holiday. Ah Cai said she wanted to go out and play, and my wife and I were soft-hearted and nodded. As a result, Ah Cai never came back after she left—"

Zhen Shicheng waited patiently for the man to finish wiping his tears, then asked, "Do you suspect anyone?"

"Yes!" The man's voice unconsciously became louder, his eyes flashing coldly, "Acai had a crush on a boy named Aguang. Acai must have made an appointment with that boy when she went out that day... Aguang was the murderer who killed Acai. Please, sir, make the decision -"

The woman at the side burst into tears, cursing as she cried: "Damn Ah Guang, he was the one who killed my Ah Cai——"

Zhen Shicheng listened expressionlessly, and when the two of them calmed down a little, he asked, "Since Ah Cai and Ah Guang were in love, why did Ah Guang kill Ah Cai?"

"Because we don't agree with them being together!" The man's face was full of anger. "A Guang's parents died early, and he only has a sickly grandfather who moved out of the palace to live separately. If A Cai married into his family, she would suffer. Of course, A Cai's mother and I didn't agree. That guy must have been holding a grudge against her. Seeing that there was no hope for him to marry A Cai, he harmed her and ran away with the money that A Cai had secretly taken with her that day..."

"So, A Guang is not in the palace right now?" Zhen Shicheng asked, stroking his beard.

The palace steward hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, Ah Guang has not appeared since the Flower Festival two years ago."

"Is there any record of reporting such runaway slaves to the authorities?"

The palace steward looked at Prince Xiang.

The King of Xiang had not expected the steward to be so clever and find such a suitable pair of victims. He felt more at ease and said calmly, "When the master asks you a question, you should answer it truthfully."

The palace steward bowed and said, "It was reported at the time, the government should still have kept the record."

Zhen Shicheng nodded slightly.

For something that can be easily verified, no one would lie unless they are stupid.

"What about A Guang's grandfather?"

"I still remember this. Ah Cai didn't come back after dark that day, so Ah Cai's father asked me for leave and went to Ah Guang's house to look for her. He found out that Ah Guang's grandfather had passed away..." the palace steward replied.

The woman said excitedly: "Master, it must be that A Guang found out that Grandpa was seriously ill but had no money to see a doctor, so he harmed A Cai for money, and then found out that Grandpa had passed away, so he just became a runaway slave..."

"So is it because Guang is upset that you guys don't agree with Cai marrying him, or is it because of his grandfather?"

The woman paused.

The man glared at the woman and explained, "Master, these are just our guesses. Only A-Guang knows why he killed A-Cai, but it is certain that A-Cai's death is related to that boy."

"Are you sure that this skeleton is your daughter Acai?" Zhen Shicheng pointed at the bones on the ground and asked seriously.

The corpse on the ground was devoid of flesh and blood, with only an undergarment of indeterminate color hanging on it, looking empty. The long hair, which had lost its luster, was instead very thick.

However, it was impossible to tell the gender of the girl just by looking at her long hair, let alone recognize that she was his daughter.

The couple nodded insistently.

"It can't be wrong. The manager has checked it out. The only young girl who has gone missing in the past three years is our Ah Cai. Who else could it be if not our daughter?"

The King of Xiang, who was standing not far away, felt much more relaxed.

I was worried that I would be implicated, but now that it seems that the boy named A Guang is taking the blame, I can rest assured.

"I wonder what jobs you two do in the palace?" Zhen Shicheng asked.

The woman said, "I am from the kitchen."

Zhen Shicheng looked at the man.

The man followed and said, "I will follow the manager of shopping and do things——"

Zhen Shicheng asked casually, "So, you two are living a decent life in the palace?"

The couple looked at each other and nodded hesitantly: "The prince is kind and generous, and we will be able to live well..."

Zhen Shicheng opened the handkerchief, revealing the small pearl earring: "Then take a good look at it, is this the pearl earring your daughter has worn before?"

The man took a look, his eyes flickered slightly, and he secretly glanced at the steward of the palace.

The steward nodded imperceptibly.

The man hurriedly said, "It belongs to Ah Cai. I have seen Ah Cai wearing it before!"

"Uh, is it really Acai's?"

This time, even the woman wiped her tears and agreed: "It's Ah Cai's, this is Ah Cai's favorite pair of pearl earrings——"

Zhen Shicheng sneered and said word by word: "You are full of lies. This pearl earring is definitely not something you can afford!"

As soon as this was said, there was an immediate commotion, and many people whispered, "You can't afford a pair of pearl earrings, can you?"

In the eyes of the people in the palace, Wang Sheng and his wife held good jobs in the palace. They could afford to buy their daughter a gold hairpin, let alone a small pair of pearl earrings.

There is no doubt that the pearls on the earrings, which are only slightly larger than rice grains, are not considered valuable by people.

The King of Xiang said in dissatisfaction: "Master Zhen, do you think that I am being harsh to my servants?"

Zhen Shicheng smiled and said, "How the prince treats the servants in the palace is not within the scope of this investigation. I am just discussing the matter at hand."

"Really? How did Master Zhen know that they couldn't afford a pair of pearl earrings for their daughter?"

The King of Xiang had seen many treasures, but he did not think a pearl as small as a grain of rice was anything but a big deal.

Zhen Shicheng held up the pearl earring and said loudly, "Because the pearls inlaid on the earring are not ordinary pearls!"

"What? Not ordinary pearls?" Many people stretched their necks to take a look after hearing this, including several princes.

Zhen Shicheng carefully picked up the pearl earrings and placed them facing the sunlight.

"Can you see the difference in this pearl now?"

The originally ordinary pearls suddenly became glittering when exposed to the sunlight, and showed different colors as Zhen Shicheng turned them with his fingers.

King Lu took a deep breath and blurted out: "This is Jiaozhu!"

This thing is so expensive. He has a pair of tigresses at home, and they cost him a lot of money!