Love between men

After hearing both their opinions, Shen Shixu stood up and said, "Come on, let's go to Springwater Alley. There are some things we need to see for ourselves."

They had barely stepped outside when they saw Xiao Jinyi, who had come looking for him, so Xiao Jinyi went along with them.

"What brings you here?" Shen Shixu asked Xiao Jinyi as he caught up. The morning court session usually wasn't even over at this hour!

Shen Shixu had no idea that Emperor Wu'an and the other officials had deliberately drawn out the sessions because they wanted to hear gossip. Since he hadn't attended court today, the session had ended in less than two hours.

"I didn't see you at morning court and was worried something had happened to you, so I went to your house afterward. Xiaoshi told me that people from the Court of Judicial Review had called you away in the middle of the night.

"I figured there must be a case, so I came to have a look. But what about you? Taking all these people out—have you already found the killer?"

Xiao Jinyi had complete faith in Shen Shixu's abilities. Although only a little over half a day had passed since Shen Shixu left home, Xiao Jinyi was convinced he already knew who the killer was.

Shen Shixu did not disappoint his blind trust. He told Jiang Bin and the others to head to Springwater Alley first, then fell a few steps behind to walk beside Xiao Jinyi.

"I do have someone in mind. We're only going there to fill in a missing link. I just asked Jiang Bin and Zhang Ming for their opinions on this case."

"What did they say? Were you satisfied with their answers?" Xiao Jinyi asked, though Shen Shixu's expression had