There was a time when it was fashionable for noble ladies in the capital to wear ornaments inlaid with bright pearls.

This thing came from overseas and was very valuable. King Lu was deeply impressed by it.

There was no way he couldn't be deeply saddened by the money he spent, and he was so distressed that he couldn't bear to eat meat for several days.

As soon as the King of Lu said the word "Jiaozhu", the King of Qin and others understood.

It's simple, their daughters-in-law also spent all their money on pearl ornaments.

Prince Lu kindly explained to Prince Xiang: "Eighth brother, maybe you are the only one who doesn't know, this thing is not an ordinary pearl, it is very expensive, not to mention the servants in your palace, even we feel bad to pay for it..."

The Prince of Xiang's face turned pale, then blue, and then blue, and then pale. He wished he could rush over and strangle the Prince of Lu to death.

What's wrong with him not having a wife? Did he steal Lao Wu's wife or something, so that Lao Wu would use this to hurt him again and again?

After a while, the King of Xiang suppressed his surging anger and said, "Lord Zhen has good eyesight."

Zhen Shicheng smiled in an unfathomable way.

He didn't have good eyesight at all. His wife also had a pair of bright pearl earrings like this, and she bought them with his secret stash that he had clearly hidden but unfortunately was discovered.

For this reason, he was so distressed that he couldn't sleep all night holding the empty coin box. Fortunately, he encountered a murder case the next day and was comforted.

Who is Zhen Shicheng? He is an expert with a meticulous mind and excellent case-solving skills. He would memorize most of the things he has seen, let alone something so unforgettable.

His previous remarks gradually exposed the couple's lies to the public, making it impossible for them to deny them.

Zhen Shicheng looked at the couple and asked calmly, "Are you still sure that this bright pearl earring was worn by Ah Cai?"

The woman stammered, "I made a mistake for a moment..."

The man's eyes flickered as he said, "I am a rough man and don't understand these things. At first glance, I really thought they were earrings worn by my daughter—"

Zhen Shicheng shook his head and said to the woman, "Just now you said that these were Ah Cai's favorite earrings. Can you really be mistaken about the earrings your daughter wears all day long?"

"Your servant——" The woman's forehead broke out in sweat and she couldn't help but look at the man.

The man was much calmer than the woman and said firmly, "Master, we just made a mistake by accident."

"Since you've mistaken the earrings, what about the corpse?"

The man quickly stole a glance at the palace steward and insisted that it was Ah Cai: "Ah Cai is the only one missing in the palace. Who else could it be if not Ah Cai? The earrings were not found on Ah Cai's ears. Maybe someone else accidentally dropped them."

The person is already rotten to the bone, but he insists that she is his daughter. What can the Lord of Heaven do?

The manager said that as long as they could confirm that the corpse was Ah Cai's, their family would enjoy endless wealth in the future.

However, just as the man finished speaking, an excited voice came from the well: "Sir, we found it!"

Soon the bailiff who had gone down into the well climbed out, carefully holding something in his fingers.

In the sunlight, the polished pearls sparkled brightly, and it was another earring.

Zhen Shicheng put the two earrings together for comparison, and after a moment he said with certainty: "As you can see, the two pearl earrings have the same shape, so they must be a pair."

Those who were close to him couldn't help but nod.

Zhen Shicheng glanced at the couple, his face darkening. "One of the pearl earrings was dug out by General Xiaotian from near the dry well, and the other was dug out by a yamen runner from the well. The corpse was dug out from the dry well. Do you agree that this pair of pearl earrings belonged to the female corpse?"

After working in this business for a long time, what I hate most is being a false witness!

Everyone nodded again.

Under such circumstances, it would be a sophistry to say that the pearl earrings did not belong to the female corpse.

Zhen Shicheng stared at the couple with a half-smile: "The pearl earrings belonged to the female corpse, and you don't have the ability to buy pearl ornaments for your daughter. Now you still insist that this female corpse is your daughter Ah Cai?"

"This--" The couple was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but look at the steward of the palace.

The steward of the palace trembled his lips, lowered his eyes and dared not say a word.

Prince Xiang secretly clenched his fists and cursed his mother in his heart.

This guy named Zhen is so cunning and despicable!

Worried that the couple and the steward might reveal their true identity, the King of Xiang coughed and said, "This female corpse may have another identity. Lord Zhen will have to find out who it is."

So what if it wasn't Ah Cai? The Jiaozhu earrings weren't unique to Cui Mingyue. Could someone with the surname Zhen trace it back to that jerk?

Yu Jin, who was not far from Prince Xiang, glanced at Zhen Shicheng nonchalantly.

This pair of pearl earrings was not actually what Cui Mingyue wore when he escaped, but was dropped here by someone he sent.

After killing Cui Mingyue, the King of Xiang dealt with her cleanly, leaving nothing but her underwear and shoes, not to mention her ornaments. He was worried that he would not be able to prove her identity when her body was brought to light, so he ordered someone to sneak into the bridal chamber, take away the earrings and throw them into the place where the body was hidden.

In addition, there should be a jade pendant that can truly prove Cui Mingyue's identity.

Old Man Zhen's subordinates are too incompetent. They haven't found the jade pendant yet. If this continues, he will have no choice but to send Erniu to take action.

But he wasn't ready to do that until the very end.

The corpse was discovered by Erniu, and the key evidence was also found by Erniu, which inevitably aroused suspicion.

He'd better wait a little longer.

Zhen Shicheng became more calm under the embarrassment of the Prince of Xiang: "Your Majesty said before that there are no women of noble status in the palace, and this female corpse is obviously not a lowly person. Can your Majesty explain why the female corpse appeared here?"

The King of Xiang's face changed slightly: "How do I know? Maybe some daring dog servant killed the women of a rich family and hid the body here."

"Is that so?" Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard and used his little finger to gently smooth out the tangled hair. "If a woman from a wealthy family suddenly goes missing, they will probably report it to the police."

Prince Xiang smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true. If the family thinks that it will be bad for their reputation if the news gets out, they might cover it up by saying that the person died of illness. After all, the person is missing, so who can tell whether he was murdered or eloped?"

"The prince understands this."

The King of Xiang frowned and said, "I am just discussing the matter at hand."

Zhen Shicheng lowered his eyes to glance at the corpse, and sighed, "I don't know if there is a missing female family member in the mansion who is being covered up. As for the missing noblewoman, I do think of someone."

The pupils of the King of Xiang suddenly shrank.

King Lu couldn't wait to ask, "Master Zhen, who did you think of?"

Zhen Shicheng said word by word, "Princess Rongyang and General Cui Xu's daughter - Miss Cui."

The crowd was immediately shocked.

"No way, Lord Zhen thinks this corpse is Cui Mingyue?" Prince Lu pointed at the corpse on the ground with an incredible look on his face.

Prince Qi looked coldly at Prince Xiang's suddenly changed expression and his heart sank: Oh no, looking at the reaction of Old Eighth, this corpse must be the missing Miss Cui!

"Master Zhen, you must be responsible for what you say." The King of Xiang, who had recovered from his shock, looked extremely unhappy and pointed at the bones on the ground. "What evidence do you have that this is Miss Cui?"

Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard out of habit and said slowly, "Yes."