Second update.
After all, he and Aunt Xue had shared a night of passion.
Thus, when he realized that Xue Baochai might be involved, Sun Shaozong's heart first sank, only for him to find himself entertaining the absurd notion of bending the law for personal reasons.
After all, for the sake of trash like Jia Huan, it would be far too...
In a sense, Aunt Zhao had shown some foresight as well.
With such thoughts of favoritism in mind, Sun Shaozong shook his head. "There are some clues, but it's still too soon to say."
Then he probed, "Sister Xue, have you ever seen a gilt hairpin of a similar design?"
A gilt hairpin?
Xue Baochai was startled at first, then seemed to understand something. Yet she immediately denied it. "No, I haven't. Was that hairpin originally gilt?"
That follow-up question did not seem feigned.
But...
When the murderer committed the crime, they might not have noticed whether the hairpin was gilt or genuine gold.
"When was the last time you saw Huan-ge?"
"This..."
Xue Baochai thought for a moment before answering, "It was probably the afternoon of the seventh. Huan-ge was being kept at YiHong Courtyard by Brother Bao to study. I saw him from afar, but as usual, I didn't go over to speak with him."
Jia Huan had been kept at YiHong Courtyard to study?
"Was he only there that day, or had he been doing this lately as well?"
"He had been doing it lately. Every afternoon, he went into the Grand View Garden to study, and he wasn't allowed back to the Front Yard until evening."
So that was it.
Perhaps it was precisely because he entered and left the Grand View Garden every day that he had discovered someone's weakness.
But...
Judging by Xue