Chapter 46 Blood Jade Musk
Zhou Yan'an's gaze, sharp as a knife, pierced straight into Chen He, as if he wanted to see through the turmoil in her heart.
Is he testing someone, or simply stating a chilling fact?
The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the faint smell of blood, reminding everyone of what had just happened.
Guyu subconsciously clenched his fists, looking at Chen He with eyes full of worry.
Chu Yue narrowed her eyes slightly, examining Zhou Yan'an, who appeared to be just a minor official but had an imposing aura.
This person is no ordinary person. He definitely didn't stay here just out of curiosity.
Zhou Yan'an broke the silence with a hint of amusement on his lips.
"Miss Shen is very smart. Do you have any advice on this?"
Chen He took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and regained his usual calmness on his face.
She raised her eyes and met Zhou Yan'an's inquiring gaze. A faint smile even appeared on her lips. Her tone was calm, but it was full of cleverness: "Does it matter who we think did it?"
She tilted her head slightly, with a hint of mockery in her eyes, as if she was watching a farce that had nothing to do with her.
She paused, her voice cold, yet with a kind of insight into the world.
"What's important is whether the person who did this wants us to know that it was him who did it."
A hint of surprise flashed across Zhou Yan'an's eyes, and then the amusement deepened.
He uttered a soft "huh", as if expressing praise, but also as if mocking himself.
"Miss Shen is indeed worthy of her reputation."
He turned around and stopped looking at the screen wall, as if the horrific murder had nothing to do with him at all.
He walked to the water tank and washed his hands slowly again, as if he wanted to wash away more than just the blood.
"Who did it? What does it have to do with me?"
"I just happened to be a little interested in this 'tongue-pulling' method of death, so I came over to watch the fun."
He shook off the water droplets on his hands, his tone as relaxed as if he was talking about the weather, and patted the non-existent dust on his sleeves. His movements were elegant, but revealed a coldness that kept people at a distance.
"The excitement is over, and the autopsy of the body is almost complete."
He walked past Chen He and signaled the yamen runners not to stop him.
"Now, you can pack your things and go to your 'quiet' courtyard with Miss Shen."
He uttered the word "quiet" with profound meaning. He was clearly well aware that the mission assigned by the Queen Mother to investigate the so-called jade bracelet theft case would never be truly quiet!
Chen He nodded without saying anything more, his eyes calm and composed.
The group left the solemn and grim Ministry of Justice under the complicated and indescribable gazes of the yamen runners.
The carriage rumbled out of the neighborhood where the Ministry of Justice was located and headed towards the remote courtyard.
***
There was silence in the carriage for a moment.
Chen He leaned against the wall of the car, closed his eyes and rested, but his mind was working rapidly.
The obscene words of the three drunkards last night are still ringing in my ears.
Today, they died in the streets. The punishment came too quickly, too harshly, and too precisely! So precise that she couldn't ignore it!
A name popped into her mind almost immediately - Xue Minglan.
The man who had silently guarded her in her past life, whose love was forbearing and humble, and whose true feelings she had never truly seen until she closed her eyes! The bastard son of the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion, Xue Minglan!
In his previous life, Xue Minglan was the most inconspicuous person in Wenyuan Marquis Mansion.
He is taciturn and not good at socializing. In fact, because he has been in the army for many years, he always has a cold and hard air that keeps strangers away.
The way he looked at her was always filled with careful cherishment, and a humble love that was buried deep in his eyes and dared not express it out loud.
That feeling was so deep that it was almost pathological, but he hid it so thoroughly with his clumsy low-key and taciturn manner that she, and everyone else, thought he was just being considerate of her out of consideration for her and like a brother.
Therefore, even if there were some clues pointing to him in her previous life, she never doubted it.
She only remembered his dull look, and the hesitant look in his eyes when he occasionally looked at her.
She only thought he was cold and unromantic, honed by the battlefield, but she didn't know that beneath that coldness was an almost crazy obsession with her! This obsession might have truly erupted after her death, but she had no way of knowing.
But in this life...
Chen He's brows furrowed unconsciously, and a strong sense of uneasiness and confusion surged in his heart.
Everything is different.
Xue Minglan in this life seems like a different person.
He is no longer the background figure who just watches silently.
He actually stared at her with those scarlet eyes at the palace banquet, in front of everyone, after she chose the foolish Sixth Prince, and said those words—
"Why is it that idiot's turn but not mine?!"
The resentment, jealousy, resentment, and subtle madness in those words shocked her heart! The look in his eyes was completely undisguised, completely different from the cautious man in his previous life who was so careful even when approaching her!
And now, just because of a few drunkards' dirty talk...
He actually pulled out their tongues so easily and left their bodies on the streets?
Pulling out the tongue! How cruel! This is torture for those who slandered her innocence! It is also a bloody warning to all those who dared to talk about her or covet her!
This style of behavior is arrogant, cruel, and carries a kind of madness of burning everything down, without any concealment!
Is this still the Xue Minglan who didn't even dare to confess his feelings to her in his previous life and could only clumsily give her some small border gifts?
What exactly happened?
What made him change so much?
Is it just because of her choice in this life that stimulated him?
Chen He's heart was filled with doubts.
***
The carriage creaked to a stop and finally arrived at the dilapidated courtyard.
The air seemed to still be filled with the guilty conscience left behind by the head of the Imperial Household Department yesterday and the bloody smell brought by the Ministry of Justice today, mixing into a strange sense of oppression.
Chen He jumped off the carriage lightly, and as his eyes moved, he took in the surrounding scenery.
After Guyu and Chu Yue's rough tidying up yesterday, the yard barely revealed a trace of its former outline, but it still could not conceal the desolation and dilapidation that permeated from the inside out.
Zhou Yan'an followed leisurely, his eyes casually sweeping over every inch of land, and a meaningful smile inadvertently appeared at the corner of his mouth. There was a bit of playfulness and detachment hidden in that smile.
He seemed to have anticipated everything here.
Chu Yue followed closely behind, with a subtle alertness in her expression.
After what happened at the Ministry of Justice, she became more wary of Zhou Yan'an.
Several people walked into the yard and closed the rickety gate.
Chen He didn't look at Zhou Yan'an, and walked straight to the relatively intact house that he had cleared out yesterday.
She took out the seemingly ordinary jade bracelet from her sleeve and handed it to Chu Yue.
Chu Yue took the jade bracelet with a focused look, without any hesitation.
She walked under the eaves and picked up a piece of broken tile that had been cleaned up yesterday, which still had sharp edges. Chu Yue took the two pieces back to the table in the yard, took out a piece of white paper that had been prepared long ago, and spread it on the table.
Zhou Yan'an watched with interest, folding his arms and leaning against the mottled pillar.
Guyu looked at Chu Yue nervously.
There was only a slight "click" sound.
It's not crisp, but rather dull.
Chu Yue actually used the tile to pry open the inconspicuous corner of the jade bracelet!
A small piece of jade fell to the ground.
Act decisively and without any delay!
Some fine, blood-red powder actually fell from the broken jade bracelet!
The red powder fell on the white paper, extremely conspicuous, with a strange and gorgeous look.
Zhou Yan'an raised his eyebrows and finally spoke with a hint of teasing in his tone.
"Miss Chu Yue."
"Is this how you treat the gift from the Queen Mother, our only 'physical evidence'?"
Chu Yue turned a deaf ear to it.
She didn't even look at Zhou Yan'an, but just held the white paper carefully, put it close to her nose, and sniffed it gently.
Her brows knitted slightly, barely perceptible.
Then, she raised her head and looked at Chen He with a serious expression.
"It's musk."
"The smell is extremely strong, and..."
She paused, as if forming her words.
"Some of them are special and not what you can usually find on the market. We need to carefully identify what they are."
Before he finished speaking——
"It's blood jade musk."
A cold voice came from the shadow of the courtyard gate without any warning.
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