Preparing to Stake Out

The moment Huang Shaojie entered the bedchamber, he saw the bloodstains on the bed and could not help cursing the Flower Thief inwardly. That beast had been truly ruthless.

After inspecting the room once over, Xiao Qiuyue asked, "How was it? Did you find anything?"

Huang Shaojie shook his head. "Other than the Flower Thief's fingerprints left on the jewelry box, there was nothing else."

However, in this ancient era where fingerprints could not be collected, finding a criminal's fingerprints was practically useless.

"Fingerprints?"

Xiao Qiuyue walked over to the jewelry box in surprise. Channeling her inner power into her eyes, she looked closely, yet she could not see any fingerprints at all.

Huang Shaojie explained, "Whenever anyone touches something, they leave corresponding fingerprints on it, and every person's fingerprints are completely different. This can also serve as a clue for tracking down criminals. It's just that we have no way to lift and preserve these fingerprints, then compare them against people one by one."

Xiao Qiuyue subconsciously looked at the lines on her own palm. Indeed, every person's palm lines had subtle differences.

Yet she was very curious. How did a spoiled young master like Huang Shaojie know such things?

Even the Imperial Guard and the Ministry of Justice did not know of using fingerprints to investigate cases.

What astonished Xiao Qiuyue even more was that fingerprints were harder to spot than footprints. She had just channeled her internal power fully into her eyes, yet she still could not detect the fingerprints left on the jewelry box.

How could this fellow's eyesight be so sharp?

"Lady Xiao, have you found any clues?"

After they left the bedchamber, Magistrate Lu cupped his hands and asked.

Xiao Qiuyue frowned. "There were no significant discoveries. We can only roughly infer the Flower Thief's height from his footprints. Beyond that, the lecherous thief's handwriting and fingerprints have little practical value for pursuing him."

Magistrate Lu sighed. "Trying to catch this lecherous thief based solely on an approximate height is like fishing for a needle in the sea!"

"Lord Lu need not worry excessively," Xiao Qiuyue said. "The Imperial Guard will certainly capture this lecherous thief as soon as possible."

Magistrate Lu cupped his hands again. "Then I must trouble Lady Xiao and all you Imperial Guard officers."

After leaving Lu Residence, Xiao Qiuyue took Huang Shaojie and several other officers to the homes of the other victims to inquire into the cases.

However, they likewise found no clues.

Upon returning to the Imperial Guard Office, Xiao Qiuyue summoned Huang Shaojie and told him to retrieve from the Archives the family records of Suzhou's wealthy merchants and officials.

Taking Xiao Qiuyue's token, Huang Shaojie went to the Archives and retrieved the family records of the wealthy merchants and officials, then came to Xiao Qiuyue's office.

"My lady, I have brought the family records you requested."

"Mm." Xiao Qiuyue pointed to a chair and said to Huang Shaojie, "Sit down. Go through the records with me. Whenever you find a household with an unmarried young lady over fourteen, copy down the address of the residence."

"Yes, my lady."

Huang Shaojie pulled over a chair and sat beside Xiao Qiuyue's desk. Picking up a file, he began reading it.

After looking through it for a while, Huang Shaojie could not help asking, "Could it be that Battalion Commander Xiao intends to wait by the tree stump for a hare, then capture this Flower Thief?"

Xiao Qiuyue was also flipping through the files and taking notes. "That's right. We currently have no leads on this Flower Thief and no way to arrest him. I believe he will definitely continue committing crimes. As long as we wait outside these young ladies' bedchambers for the Flower Thief to appear, we can capture him in one stroke."

"Your method is feasible, my lady," Huang Shaojie said. "But Suzhou City has at least several hundred wealthy and official households, and probably over a hundred of them have young ladies at home. Ninth Station has only a little over fifty people in total. How can we guard them all?"

Xiao Qiuyue put down the file in her hand, helplessness showing on her face. "I know this is a stupid method, but for now, it is the only feasible one we have."

"Besides, we do not need to guard every young lady's bedchamber. The Flower Thief chooses beautiful young ladies as his targets, so we need only guard the bedchambers of those with exceptional looks."

"As for manpower, I will ask Commander Niu for reinforcements shortly and have him assign more people to help. We can also requisition several dozen constables from the county office and the Prefectural Office. That should give us roughly enough manpower."

Among Suzhou City's wealthy merchants and officials, there were at least a hundred unmarried young ladies, but probably no more than twenty or thirty who were truly beautiful.

If Commander Niu sent another hundred men, while the Prefectural Office and county office provided several dozen more, then together with Ninth Station's fifty-odd men, they would have over two hundred people.

Two hundred people guarding the bedchambers of twenty or thirty young ladies should be about enough.

But the problem was that the Flower Thief's Lightness Skill was so exceptional. Could ordinary Imperial Guard officers and constables catch him?

Thinking of this, Huang Shaojie said to Xiao Qiuyue, "Battalion Commander Xiao, this subordinate has a question. How did the Flower Thief learn which household had a beautiful young lady?"

In ancient times, young ladies generally spent their days in their bedchambers. Even when they left their homes, they usually traveled in sedan chairs, and they rarely went out to stroll the streets.

Thus, young ladies from wealthy merchant and official families rarely showed their faces in public. Even their neighbors would seldom know which household's young lady was beautiful and which was ugly.

Yet every time this Flower Thief committed a crime, he precisely selected beautiful young ladies as his targets. This indicated that he must have learned through some channel which young ladies were beautiful, or seen them with his own eyes.

Xiao Qiuyue took a sip of tea and pondered. "I have thought about that as well. The Flower Thief must have gathered information beforehand. That would not be difficult."

"This subordinate sees it differently," Huang Shaojie said.

"Oh? Let me hear it." Xiao Qiuyue set down her teacup and turned her eyes toward Huang Shaojie.

"This subordinate believes there are two possibilities. First, as Battalion Commander Xiao said, the Flower Thief learned which young ladies were beautiful through inquiries. Second, perhaps the Flower Thief personally scoped out the places and saw these young ladies' true faces himself."

Xiao Qiuyue shook her head. "These young ladies of wealthy and official families spend their days in the inner chambers and embroidery rooms. It would not be easy for the Flower Thief to scout the places and see them, would it?"

"My lady, the Flower Thief may have entered their residences disguised under another identity and met the young ladies," Huang Shaojie said. "Or he may have posed as a peddler wandering the streets, selling rouge, women's handiwork, or snacks, for example, to lure the young ladies out to buy things."

"Those noble young ladies spend all day in their bedchambers and are bound to get bored. If someone outside the residence calls out to sell women's handiwork or snacks, they will most likely go out with their maids to take a look."

"If the Flower Thief disguised himself as a peddler, he could not only learn which young ladies were beautiful, but also scout out the terrain around the residence and determine which tower or side room the young lady lived in. That would make things much more convenient when he committed his crimes at night."

Xiao Qiuyue's eyes lit up. Rising to her feet, she said, "Your deduction does make some sense. Huang Shaojie, the two of us will make another trip to the homes of these victims."

"Yes, my lady."