Zhu Huaizhang's gaze swept over the crowd, scrutinizing their expressions. "Under this tree, three bodies were unearthed, one of which is the Yao Yuniang you mentioned."
Upon hearing this, the embroiderers were so frightened that they covered their mouths, their eyes instantly reddening and tears welling up in their eyes.
"No, no, Master said Sister Yao had been redeemed and returned home, how could she have died in this courtyard? You must have made a mistake."
"Yes, sir... Sister Yao left, but our master told us himself. Isn't there some misunderstanding?"
Zhu Huaizhang: "Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, I will decide for myself. Now I ask you... have you ever seen Yao Yuniang consume Five Minerals Powder?"
" Five Minerals Powder..." The embroiderers panicked instantly. They looked at each other, and some of the younger embroiderers were already crying. They dared not make a sound, only tears streaming down their faces.
After Li Xiao and his men finished their search, Li Xiao walked up to Zhu Huaizhang and shook his head. Zhu Huaizhang's eyes were dark and unreadable, and he glanced at everyone.
The image freezes on Jin Shanyao, who is standing under the eaves with her two children, eating steamed buns. What kind of time is this to be eating?
The key is that she can still eat in this environment. Zhu Huaizhang strode forward, "Have your dog help look for her. I don't believe Cloud Brocade Workshop is clean."
Jin Shanyao the food in her mouth, her large, watery eyes looking at Zhu Huaizhang. "I've discovered you're stingy and stubborn, only showing up when you need something... Just now, I was standing next to you, offering to help you solve the case, why did you shove me away?"
Zhu Huaizhang was truly impressed. He took out twenty coins and handed them to Jin Shanyao, his heart aching with regret... "Buy two bones for your dog."
A soft purring sound, like suppressed laughter, came out. Zhu Huaizhang looked down and saw a mountain weasel pointing its paw at the Dahuang, laughing so hard it rolled on the ground.
"Twenty coins for bones... Hahaha..." Xiaoli laughed until her eyes were slits. It was too funny... Twenty coins for bones, hahahaha.
Dahuang bared its teeth and growled at Xiaoli, "Shut up... you stupid cat, your master is watching you."
The laughter stopped abruptly. Xiaoli suddenly stood up, looked up, and its gaze met Jin Shanyao's eyes. It was so frightened that it didn't even dare to tremble. It stood obediently beside Meng Anzhi, its eyes lowered and silent.
Jin Shanyao snatched the twenty coins from Zhu Huaizhang's hand and said indifferently, "Let my cat go... it's just sitting around doing nothing anyway."
Upon hearing this, Dahuang couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile, his eyes narrowing into slits. He channeled his Spiritual Power into Xiaoli's ears, "Stupid cat, you're worthless, hahahaha..."
Xiaoli glared at it fiercely, but dared not utter a word of anger. She vowed to tear down that silly dog's kennel when she got back.
Zhu Huaizhang was shocked again. He hadn't expected Jin Shanyao and her cat and dog to be so intelligent. No wonder she brought them along; they were much more useful than Li Xiao.
Li Xiao followed behind Xiaoli, who slowly walked into the Bai Yunjin House, pushed open the wardrobe with its body, pressed its paws on the cracks in the blue bricks, and gently lifted it up.
A whole stone slab was forcibly lifted off, revealing a row of heavy wooden boxes. The lids were opened one by one, exposing the Five Minerals Powder (a type of Chinese medicine) scattered all over the ground.
Zhu Huaizhang was shocked. He had guessed that Five Minerals Powder existed, but he did not know there was so much of it. He turned to look at the crowd.
Zhou Yan, Fang Rui, Bai Yunduan, and the other officials from the government office were all staring at him with hostile eyes, while Li Xiao was the only person beside him.
No one expected the case to grow so large that it's no longer a question of whether to investigate or not, but whether they can escape unscathed.
Zhu Huaizhang wanted to protect Jin Shanyao, so he looked up and saw her with two children surrounding three corpses, pointing at the skeletons, "Remember this, after a person dies and is buried, the degree of decomposition is related to humidity and climate."
She looked at Meng Anzhi, "The body is just dark brown skin, the internal organs have decomposed, and it has been dead for five years and four months."
This body was found three years and eight months old. The other body, needless to say, still had rotting flesh hanging on it; it was clearly a recent victim.
Despite the stench, Meng Anzhi studied with exceptional focus, while Meng Anci nodded frequently. He had read these passages in " The Washing Away of Wrongs," and seeing the corpse was like seeing the words come to life.
Zhu Huaizhang never expected that the teacher would run away with the Jin Shanyao; she felt no sense of crisis whatsoever in this situation.
He took a deep breath and looked at Zhou Yan with a serious expression. " Lord Zhou... this case is too complicated. Could we continue tomorrow?"
Zhou Yan noticed the worry in his eyes, and his anxiety finally subsided. It was good that he was afraid; this made things easier to reprimand him. "Since Lord Zhu is tired, please return to the inn to rest. I'll treat you to a welcome dinner later."
After saying this, he instructed Fang Rui, "Go to the post station and arrange the best room for Lord Zhu, and serve him the best tea..."
Fang Rui, along with Zhu Huaizhang and Jin Shanyao, headed towards the post station.
After everyone had left, Zhou Yan looked at Bai Yunduan with a sinister glint in his eyes. "Your Bai Household is audacious enough to kill three people... Clean this place up. If Zhu Huaizhang keeps pressing the issue, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Bai Yunduan, abandoning her timid demeanor, looked at Zhou Yan with disdain and sneered, " Lord Zhou, you've received many benefits from the Bai Household. Now, only by protecting the Bai Household can you protect yourself..."
Zhou Yan trembled with rage, "You despicable merchant! Non-Self hadn't fought for you, would the Bai Household have ever received a special tribute from the imperial court?"
Bai Yunduan suddenly laughed, "Relying on you... Prefects of Jing'an Prefecture have come and gone, but my Bai Household has always been a special tribute to the imperial court. Do you really think it's because of you?"
He circled Zhou Yan once, then leaned close to his ear and said in a sinister tone, "What we rely on is our embroidery... our endless variety of designs, and the embroiderers who can pave the way for you."
Lord Zhou... if you hadn't coveted the Meng Household family's wealth, would you have caused so much trouble? You created this mess, so clean it up yourself... otherwise, don't blame me for dragging you down with me even when I'm dead.
Oh, by the way, I hope you can find out the real cause of my brother's death as soon as possible, so the murderer doesn't get away with it.
After Bai Yunduan finished speaking, she flicked her sleeves and left.
Inside the inn, Zhu Huaizhang was followed everywhere he went. He said unhappily, "I'm going to see Shopkeeper Jin to discuss the case; are you all following me too?"
Fang Rui smiled and said, "I was just worried that Lord Zhu wouldn't be used to it. This way, you and Shopkeeper Jin can chat inside, and I'll wait outside." After saying that, he thoughtfully knocked on the door for Zhu Huaizhang.
Inside the house, the three sat together. Jin Shanyao was telling the story of the peach tree's ability to ward off evil spirits when suddenly there was a knock on the door, which startled the two children.
Jin Shanyao suppressed a laugh, patted their heads, and got up to open the door.
" Lord Zhu, is there something you need from me?"
Zhu Huaizhang went inside, leaving Li Xiao outside. Li Xiao stood next to Fang Rui, causing him to stumble. Just as he was about to scold him, he heard voices coming from inside the house.
Fang Rui held his breath and listened intently.
" Jin Shanyao... I've discovered that Bai Yunjin's death has nothing to do with you. You may return in a moment."
Upon hearing this, Fang Rui's expression changed instantly. No one was allowed to leave without Lord Zhou's permission. Inside the room, Zhu Huaizhang handed a letter to Jin Shanyao and said in a low voice.
" Zhou Yan is inextricably linked to the Cloud Brocade Workshop case. I investigated before coming here; Cloud Brocade Workshop used to be a small shop, and it was only in the hands of Bai Yunjin that it became the third generation. Since he took over, in just ten years, the embroidery has improved by leaps and bounds, becoming a special tribute to the imperial court."
He paused, a deep chill settling in his eyes. " Zhou Yan dared to use Bai Yunjin's death to seize the Meng Household's assets; he must have powerful backing. And that backing most likely lies within the Provincial Surveillance Commission."
He pushed the letter in front of Jin Shanyao, "You must personally deliver this letter to Su Wenqian."