Chapter 159 Deceiving the Heavens and Avoiding Jin Shu
Inside the room, bathed in the golden autumn sunlight, Jin Shu finished writing down the male victim's protective book and then turned her gaze to the female victim.
Their cases were similar; the female victim's stab wounds on her waist and abdomen, when viewed in cross-section, were also caused by a dagger, but there were significantly more pieces of paint remaining in comparison.
It is clear that the murderer stabbed the woman to death first, and then turned around and attacked the man.
That's rather strange.
Logically, one should usually target those with higher combat strength first, but the current situation is clearly the opposite.
As for why the murderer did this, Jin Shu cannot offer a guess at the moment.
On the other side, upon learning that Li Jin had been assassinated that night, Zhou Zheng rushed back. He had barely stepped into the main hall when he knelt on one knee, still carrying his bundle, and clasped his hands in apology: "Your subordinate has failed in his duties and caused Your Highness's injury. I beg Your Highness to punish me!"
He spoke clearly and distinctly, causing Li Jin to gasp: "Keep your voice down!"
He looked at Zhou Zheng with disdain: "What punishment? Did you lose two pounds of meat or is it already cold? Stand up!" He flicked his fan away. "Did you finish what I asked you to do?"
Using the thorny case in Shengzhou as a pretext, Li Jin was actually looking for the names of the remaining people on Lin Zhongyi's note.
Zhou Zheng stood up and took out a small booklet from his pocket: "Found it." After saying that, he added, "Found them all."
He has found out who the victim is.
In addition, the armor that Lin Zhongyi transported six years ago was refused by the young general and was handed over to Yang Qingyun.
Yang Qingyun, who was originally from Shengzhou, was also found.
“Let’s talk about Yang Qingyun first.” Li Jin raised his hand, steadied himself on the table beside him, and turned to sit down in a chair.
The sword wound on my waist wasn't serious, but it was still about half an inch deep, and my back ached after standing for a while.
He glanced at the herbal medicine served to him, took it as usual, and gently blew on it.
"Just as Your Highness predicted, Yang Qingyun has been dead for two years now." Zhou Zheng said, taking the bundle off his back. "The whereabouts of the rest of the Yang family are unknown. The courtyard from back then is now deserted, with only ruins remaining."
At this point, Zhou Zheng paused, then added, "But in my humble opinion, the odds are against us."
Li Jin paused slightly, holding the medicine in her hand, and looked up at him: "Why?"
Zhou Zheng nodded: "Although it is just ruins, when I inspected the inner courtyard last night, I could still vaguely see traces of swords and knives on the walls." He took out a piece of gray brick from his bundle, "I found one that is easy to carry, so I can take it back and let Lord Yun take a look."
Li Jin put down the medicine bowl, reached out and took the fragment, frowning slightly as he looked at the deep knife marks on it.
"That really has his style."
The Crown Prince's style.
Use them and discard them, wipe them out completely, leaving them no chance to survive.
"The courtyard appears to have been cleaned up. I'll go back a few more times when I have time to see if there are any clues I missed."
Li Jin raised his hand: "No, not later." He glanced at Zhou Zheng's face, "We can't leave any loose ends in Shengzhou in these few days."
Now, Zhou Zheng was in a dilemma. He looked at Yun Jianlin, who was also in a dilemma, and shook his head: "The prince was injured while I was away for a day. I cannot risk going again."
"You can go without worry." Li Jin picked up the fan again. "Bai Yu has arrived, and word has been spread. No one will risk making any rash moves in the short term."
After saying that, before Zhou Zheng could speak again, Li Jin changed the subject: "Where is the victim?"
Seeing his unyielding demeanor, Zhou Zheng pursed his lips into a thin line. After a long while, he said again, "The victim was a wealthy merchant from Shengzhou, who was in the business of crafting and building timber. His name was Xuan Yutang."
"Huh?!" Yun Jianlin was stunned when he heard the name.
Li Jin turned around in surprise: "Lord Yun, you recognize him?"
Yun Jianlin shook his head: "I've only heard of him, never seen him." He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Xuan Yutang has a terrible reputation. Although he is a big and powerful man, he often defaults on wages. Every year I have complaints against him. He always hires a lawyer to fight the case for him, and he never pays a penny, no matter if he wins or loses. He is the number one debtor who defaults on contracts."
Thinking of him gave Yun Jianlin a headache.
"I have led my constables to his door many times to collect money for the workers, but he was never home, and I returned empty-handed each time." At this point, a look of disgust appeared on Yun Jianlin's face. He snorted and sneered, "He has been in Shengzhou for nearly ten years and has never entered the government office once. When I went to visit him in person, his whole family avoided me, leaving me to be turned away time and time again."
Upon hearing this, Li Jin's hand, which was waving the fan, relaxed considerably.
Although Yun Jianlin's words were self-consistent, he still felt something was strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was strange about them.
After a short while, Li Jin asked, "Lord Yun, could you please produce all the complaint documents accusing him of unpaid wages?"
“What’s so difficult about that?” Yun Jianlin cupped his hands, paused, “It’s just that most of the petitions are organized by year, so we need to write the time frame for selection.”
Li Jin remained silent.
He watched as Yun Jianlin beckoned two yamen runners to him, then turned and walked into the inner hall.
At this moment, only Li Jin and Zhou Zheng remained in the room.
Having a lot to say, Zhou Zheng quickly spoke up: "Your Highness, what exactly happened last night..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Li Jin's cold gaze sweeping over his face, carrying a strong warning: "This matter must not be publicized," he said, "especially away from Jin Shu."
"Huh?" Zhou Zheng asked, puzzled.
"Go to the street now, find a liquor store, and buy some strong liquor," Li Jin said calmly, his eyes lowered.
As he spoke, he looked in the direction Yun Jianlin had left.
Even so, Zhou Zheng did not expect that he would see Jin Shu, who was also leaving, coming right up to him before he even stepped out of the yamen.
She turned around at the door and saw Zhou Zheng's searching gaze.
Remembering the prince's words, Zhou Zheng felt guilty and kept a straight face as he walked towards the door in a serious manner.
It was as if this way, Jin Shu wouldn't notice anything unusual.
"Lord Zhou," Jin Shu smiled, raising his elbow, "you've come at the right time. I'm not familiar with Shengzhou. Does Lord Zhou know where there's a pharmacy?"
Seeing the long abrasion on her forearm, Zhou Zheng asked in surprise, "Sir, what happened?"
"Sigh, it's all my fault. I was distracted when I was crossing the threshold and tripped." She put down her sleeves and patted the dust off her clothes. "I came out in a hurry and didn't bring any medicine. That's why I'm so worried."
Seeing her relaxed appearance, Zhou Zheng didn't think much of it: "Mr. Jin, just tell me what you want to buy. I know Shengzhou well, and I'll bring it back for you in a bit."
Jin Shu was overjoyed and cupped her hands in thanks: "Thank you, Lord Zhou!" She took out a piece of paper from her bosom, on which were written a tourniquet, geranium, and wound medicine.
"That's all, thank you for your help, Lord Zhou."
Zhou Zheng glanced at the paper and saw that it contained only common medicinal herbs. He then took the paper from the man's hand, put it in his sleeve pocket, and waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It's nothing."
Seeing him stride away without a hint of suspicion, Jin Shu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She felt a tightness in her chest.
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