"So Uncle Zhen called me over today to discuss these matters."
The little dumpling rummaged through the few photos while asking:
"No wonder my brother is only coming back now. Was the case difficult?"
Mu Jinnian rested his chin on the little dumpling's head, using her fluffy little head as a pillow.
"Hmm! It's a bit complicated."
"Then I'll help my brother take a look." The little dumpling picked up the case file.
The first thing she noticed wasn't the text itself, but the illustrations between the words.
Judging from the painting, these faces all show varying degrees of ulceration, looking as if their faces are covered with countless pores, densely packed, which is quite eerie.
"Brother, what's wrong with all these people?"
The little dumpling pointed to the face in the painting and asked Mu Jinnian.
Mu Jinnian held her small hand and pointed to the first person, saying:
"This woman was the concubine of a certain official in the court. She was found dead in her home a few days ago."
"This is the wife of a salt merchant, and she died at the same time as the first victim."
"And this is a female official in the palace who was found dead in her bedroom yesterday."
...
Mu Jinnian spoke in turn, and finally summarized:
"These dead were all women, and they were all of high status and wealth."
"And they all died in the same way, with their faces ulcerated and covered with pores. Apart from death, they had no other wounds."
The little dumpling felt a chill run down its spine. Its face, covered in pores, seemed to be the source of life for everyone else, as if life itself was draining away through those pores.
Moreover, judging from the paintings, the faces of these people are all withered and wrinkled, like mummies who have been dead for a long time.
The little dumpling snuggled closer to Mu Jinnian's arms.
"Brother, do they have pores on their bodies? Are they also shriveled up like their faces?"
Mu Jinnian hugged the little dumpling tightly and said, "No."
Those were all dried-faced female corpses.
The little girl's eyes lit up. She suddenly remembered that Zhou Xueguan's face had also looked unusual today!
However, unlike these dried-faced corpses, Zhou Xueguan's face had very small black dots, not pores.
The reason why Zhou Xueguan's face became like this seems to be because his skin was as white as snow.
What about these dried-faced female corpses? Did they also use Skin Snow?
The little dumpling sensed that things were starting to look up.
The little dumpling asked Mu Jinnian, "Brother, can I go to Dali Temple with you tomorrow?"
Mu Jinnian shook his head and refused.
"No, you have school tomorrow."
The little dumpling turned around and hugged Mu Jinnian, acting cute and affectionate in his arms.
"Brother, please let me go!"
Mu Jinnian grabbed the little girl by the back of her collar and pulled her away a bit.
He waved his long, slender fingers in front of the little dumpling.
"No! Even pleading won't work! You have to go to school obediently."
The little dumpling pouted and reached out to Mu Jinnian for a hug.
"Brother, take me with you! It's okay to skip school for a day, brother is the best!"
After much coaxing and pleading from the little guy, Mu Jinnian finally gave in and nodded.
"Whoosh, we can go to Dali Temple tomorrow!" The little dumpling raised her hands and happily jumped onto Mu Jinnian's bed.
Mu Jinnian shook his head helplessly. It seemed that his precious little sister was going to take over his bed today.
Mu Jinnian covered the little girl with the blanket and pinched her little face.
"Little dumpling, go to sleep first. I'll take another look at the case files."
Mu Jinnian blew out the extra candles in the room, leaving only a solitary lamp beside the desk.
The little dumpling lay in the warm blankets, looking at the dim candlelight, its eyelids gradually growing heavy.
...
The next morning, the little dumpling was woken up by Mu Tingzheng.
She suddenly sat up in bed, searching everywhere for Mu Jinnian.
"Brother is here!" Mu Jinnian leaned against the bed and waved to the little dumpling.
The little girl breathed a sigh of relief; she had thought her brother had secretly run away.
The brother and sister discussed it last night and felt that Mu Tingzheng would definitely not agree to let the little dumpling ask for leave to go to Dali Temple, so they decided to do it secretly without Mu Tingzheng's knowledge.
The little boy reached out and hugged Mu Jinnian's waist, saying, "Daddy, if my brother takes me to school, then Daddy doesn't need to take me today."
Mu Tingzheng looked disappointed. His daughter used to look for him when she woke up, but today she was so close to Mu Jinnian.
"Your brother isn't good enough, so let your father take you instead." Mu Ting knew his fourth son's personality well; he was a mischievous and troublesome person with no sense of propriety!
"No, no, I want my brother." The little dumpling refused repeatedly.
If her father took her, she wouldn't be able to skip school.
Finally, the little dumpling got her wish and was taken to school by Mu Jinnian.
Once out of Mu Tingzheng's sight, Mu Jinnian pulled on the reins and rode his horse into a side alley.
The little girl was both excited and nervous about skipping class for the first time.
When they arrived at the Dali Temple, Zhen Shaoqing was still flipping through thick files, looking for commonalities in the life experiences of these deceased individuals.
Seeing Zhen Shaoqing's troubled expression, the little dumpling knew he had no clue what to do.
"Uncle Zhen, do you want to check whether any of these deceased people used a face powder called 'Snow-like Skin'?"
The little dumpling said to Zhen Shaoqing.
The moment she first saw Ji Ruxue's face powder, she knew there was something wrong with it.
Upon hearing Xiao Tuanzi's words, Zhen Shaoqing immediately sent his men to investigate. The final result was that they had all used Ji Ru Xue (a product name).
"How could this be? Is there something wrong with this skin as white as snow?" Zhen Shaoqing wondered.
The little dumpling nodded vigorously. Of course there's a problem, and a big one at that!
It's just that none of you can see it.
Mu Jinnian drew his sword and said, "Let's go, let's go to this Ziyangtang and see what's wrong with Ji Ruxue's skin that can turn a person's face like this!"
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