Chapter 20: Unraveling the Truth That Shocks Everyone, We've Found Where You’re Hiding!

Page (1/3)

The scene rewinds to the moment when Du Gou saw Du Ying approaching Liu Shuyi.

After hearing Liu Shuyi explain the method of estimating time of death by examining the digestion level of food in the stomach, Du Ying was eager to try it herself and was about to turn away.

At that moment, Liu Shuyi called out to her.

“Miss Du, wait a moment. Take a look at this—do you know what these powders are?”

Liu Shuyi raised his fingertip to show Du Ying the multicolored powders he had just found on the floor of the Sanqing Hall.

Since there wasn’t much powder on his fingertip and the colors were faint, Du Ying leaned in slightly to get a better look.

“It looks somewhat like powdered medicinal herbs…”

After pondering, Du Ying stepped even closer, her delicate nose almost touching Liu Shuyi’s fingertip. She inhaled gently, trying to discern the scent of the powders.

She wanted to confirm their nature.

But the powders were too sparse, and the cold air with the relentless north wind had dispersed any fragrance. There was no scent to be detected.

Her cool brows furrowed slightly, and Du Ying simply extended her tongue to lick the powder off his fingertip.

This unexpected action completely surprised Liu Shuyi.

In fact, when Du Ying bent down to sniff, Liu Shuyi’s view was already obscured by her soft, flowing hair.

A faint lotus fragrance accompanied the cool forensic expert’s approach, penetrating his nostrils.

The strands of hair brushed his arm, sending a tingling sensation through his skin.

Coincidentally, her small tongue touched his fingertip.

Liu Shuyi tensed instantly, his whole body stiffening in a flash.

Having lived two lifetimes, the first as a workaholic who thought women only wasted his time investigating cases, and the present life having been oppressed and humiliated, he never imagined any respectable woman would choose to marry him.

So he had never been treated like this by a woman—especially not one so beautiful and uniquely elegant.

“Miss Du, what are you doing!?” Liu Shuyi instinctively took a step back.

Du Ying, seeing his expression of a wholesome man caught off guard by flirtation, only then realized what she had done.

Her pale, beautiful cheeks flushed with a rosy tint.

“I was just confirming what the powder on your fingertip is. Don’t overthink it.”

Though her cheeks were flushed, she still held her chin high, exuding a calm and natural demeanor—as if this was perfectly normal and expected.

Fearing Liu Shuyi might doubt her, she added, “In ancient times, Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs; my master is honored as the King of Medicine. I often accompany him to personally sample various herbs. This is quite normal; please don’t misunderstand.”

The more you say that, the more I think, what should I do… Liu Shuyi naturally wouldn’t let the cool forensic expert lose face, so he replied, “I’m not overthinking. I just worry—what if this is poison? If you taste it like that, you might harm yourself.”

He was showing concern for her…

Du Ying’s cold gaze softened slightly. “Don’t worry. I know very well whether it’s poison or not. Besides, I’ve been tasting herbs with my master daily for ten years, and my body has accumulated many medicinal properties. Many herbs pose no threat to me.”

Seeing that Du Ying looked healthy and not poisoned, Liu Shuyi finally relaxed. “Miss Du, can you identify what these powders are?”

Du Ying nodded. “Besides the gold-colored powder, which is gold dust, the rest are ground powders of various herbs.”

“I can recognize Afghan rose, ambergris, sappanwood, nutmeg, and cinnabar.”

Listening to her, Liu Shuyi looked down at the fingertip where the powder was nearly gone. “So many herbs… Mixed together, this can’t be a coincidence.”

He asked, “Do you know what purpose these herbs serve when combined?”

Du Ying’s gaze shifted from Liu Shuyi’s face to the last rays of the setting sun in the west. “These herbs have multiple effects: aphrodisiac, soul-soothing, and hallucinogenic.”

“Generally…”

She pressed her lips lightly. “They’re usually made into sachets, hung by the bedside for use in the bedroom.”

Hung by the bedside, used in the bedroom…

Liu Shuyi raised an eyebrow.

Isn’t this just some kind of love potion?

Why would it be here?

And who brought it?

After pondering, he turned back into the Sanqing Hall.

He lowered his head and searched carefully where he had found the powder.

He noticed there wasn’t much powder on the ground, and the nearby dust was sparse—much cleaner than other areas.

“Has this place been cleaned?”

Squinting, Liu Shuyi approached Zhao’s corpse.

Zhao’s dress had been redressed by Du Ying.

While scrutinizing the body, Liu Shuyi asked her, “Miss Du, during your autopsy, did you find any sachet containing these powders on her?”

“No.”

Du Ying shook her head. “Besides her clothes, she only wore two jade bracelets on her wrists. Nothing else.”

Nothing else…

Liu Shuyi pondered, then suddenly raised Zhao’s hand.

He noticed the fingernails were noticeably broken.

At the tips of the index and middle fingers, under dust, something seemed amiss.

“Miss Du, look at her fingertips—besides dust, isn’t there something else?”

Du Ying squatted beside Liu Shuyi again.

Her lotus-scented hair brushed his arm once more.

“Indeed…”

“But the amount is tiny, hidden in the dust. Without your reminder, I wouldn’t have noticed.”

She looked at Liu Shuyi. “It’s the same powder, but very little—almost as if…”

Liu Shuyi interrupted, “As if someone deliberately wiped it and covered it with dust?”

“Exactly.”

Du Ying’s cold eyes met his with a glint of surprise, as if she hadn’t expected such tacit understanding.

“So it is…”

Page (2/3)

Liu Shuyi stroked his chin, a smile appearing on his face.

He exhaled deeply; the investigation was finally gaining traction.

Standing up, he saw Du Ying had already pulled a sharp dagger from a wooden box beside her.

Seeing the forensic expert eager to dissect the corpse on the spot, Liu Shuyi quickly said, “It’s better to take the body back to the Ministry of Justice for autopsy. There’s dust everywhere here, which might interfere with the results.”

Du Ying frowned slightly. She preferred to work swiftly and cleanly, disliking delays and fuss, but Liu Shuyi’s point was valid.

After considering, she turned and addressed her brother, who had come to the door with an odd expression.

“Brother, have them bring the corpse back to the Ministry of Justice quickly!”

Du Gou listened to his sister’s words, his expression conflicted.

He wanted to comment on her earlier teasing of Liu Shuyi, but seeing both of them acting normally, as if it were just ordinary social interaction, he swallowed his words.

“All right.”

He wasn’t one to dawdle. Composing himself, he immediately ordered the men into action.

The group exited Sanqing Hall. Du Gou asked Liu Shuyi, “Director Liu, what’s the situation?”

Liu Shuyi’s face flickered with thoughtful expressions. After a moment, he said, “We’ve gathered a lot, but to identify the culprit, more confirmation is needed.”

He recounted the discovery of the powders to Du Gou.

“Deputy Du, you are well-informed—do you know who typically uses these aphrodisiac sachets?”

Du Gou hesitated, glancing at his younger sister.

Du Ying shot her brother a cold glance. “If you know, just say it. What are you afraid I’ll find out?”

Pressed by his sister, Du Gou sighed. “Most commonly, it’s the courtesans.”

“They place these sachets in rooms to better serve clients and enhance their experience. They also give them to clients to carry, to stir their desires.”

“Since these sachets don’t harm the body much—they’re not ingested directly—most clients don’t resist them.”

“Oh!”

Du Ying’s eyebrows lifted. “I didn’t expect you to know so much about courtesans. Seems I missed quite a lot while I was away.”

Is that really something a young lady of a distinguished family should say?

Du Gou’s eyelid twitched; he knew this would happen if he spoke in front of Du Ying.

“Courtesans…”

Liu Shuyi ignored the siblings’ banter, his mind racing based on Du Gou’s words.

Suddenly, he looked at Cheng Chumo and called, “Captain Cheng, the map!”

Cheng Chumo, arranging men to carry the corpse, hurried over.

Without a word, he unfolded the crumpled map and laid it on the snow.

Liu Shuyi examined the map’s temple location.

“What neighborhoods nearby have courtesans’ quarters?”

Du Ying looked at Du Gou. “Brother, your experience—tell us.”

Du Gou twitched but replied, “…The majority are in Pingkang Neighborhood. Sixty percent of Chang’an’s courtesans are gathered there.”

“Then there are two in Changxing Neighborhood to the south, and farther west is the Western Market, home to many Hujis, with a unique flavor…”

“No need to consider the Western Market; it’s too far,” Liu Shuyi shook his head.

Looking at the map, he said, “The culprit, like Zhao Chengyi’s wife and child, faced the same predicament last night: curfew, neighborhood gates closing, and Captain Cheng arranging many to patrol. The farther away, the greater the risk of exposure. So the culprit’s hiding place last night can’t be too far from here.”

Hearing this, Du Gou suddenly looked up. “You mean… the powders fell from the culprit?”

Du Ying and Cheng Chumo also quickly looked at Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi smiled faintly and said, “There are traces of the powders under Zhao’s nails, which means she must have touched them.”

“But the powder under her nails was clearly cleaned and then covered with dust. If the powder was hers, there’s no reason for her to do that in such a life-or-death situation.”

“Only the culprit and Zhao’s family were here last night. If not her, then it must be the culprit.”

“Also…”

He turned to the temple floor. “Where I found the powders, the dust is sparser than elsewhere. That means someone cleaned there. Zhao and her family couldn’t have had the leisure to clean during their ordeal, let alone tidy just that spot.”

“All this clearly shows that the person trying to clean and conceal the powders is the culprit! And the reason he wasted time doing this…”

He narrowed his eyes, a cold smile curling in his dark gaze. “There’s only one reason: these powders threatened him!”

“In other words, these powders could lead us to him, which is why he tried to hide them.”

Hearing this, Cheng Chumo first brightened, then slapped his large hands together excitedly.

“We’ve found it! The direct clue pointing to the culprit!”

“Director Liu, you’re truly amazing!” he said, looking at Liu Shuyi. “I knew trusting you was right.”

Seeing Cheng Chumo’s excitement, Liu Shuyi smiled gently and continued, “I believe last night’s sequence was this: during the struggle, Zhao scratched the culprit’s sachet, scattering the powders.”

“Because these powders are rare and not carried by ordinary people, the culprit feared we’d find them and trace them back to him. So he cleaned them up and tried to cover them, but darkness and lack of proper tools made it impossible to remove all traces.”

Du Gou and the others nodded.

Though Liu Shuyi’s reasoning was conjecture, it matched the scene perfectly and was convincing.

“If we exclude the Western Market, only Pingkang and Changxing neighborhoods remain,” Du Gou said.

He looked at Liu Shuyi. “Where do we investigate first?”

“No rush,” Liu Shuyi shook his head. “Let’s first consider another matter before deciding.”

“Another matter?” Everyone looked puzzled.

Liu Shuyi fixed his gaze on them and said gravely, “How did the culprit know Zhao Chengyi was in trouble?”

“How did they know?” Du Gou’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.

Liu Shuyi said, “My exposure of Zhao Chengyi last night was sudden and unexpected. Even Zhao himself didn’t know he’d be taken. The culprit couldn’t have foreseen it.”

He looked at Cheng Chumo. “You told me no one other than Zhao’s wife and child are missing from the household, and no one else disappeared mid-way. Since the master was taken, the servants dared not rest. This is verifiable.”

Cheng Chumo nodded repeatedly. “Correct. I interrogated every servant; none left after Zhao was taken.”

“No one left, so Zhao couldn’t have sent someone to inform the culprit.”

Page (3/3)

Liu Shuyi looked at everyone. “Then how did the culprit know?”

“Exactly!” Cheng Chumo scratched his head, puzzled. “Zhao didn’t send a message, nor did anyone leave. How did the culprit find out? And how did they find Zhao’s wife and child?”

“There are only four possibilities.”

Liu Shuyi didn’t withhold. “First, the culprit was hiding near Zhao’s home and saw him taken.”

“But two problems: Zhao wasn’t sure if he’d be exposed, so why would the culprit lurk near Zhao’s house to confirm? And second…”

Liu Shuyi looked down at the powder still on his fingertip. “The powder comes from courtesan neighborhoods. The culprit’s careful cleaning shows he had been to a brothel that night and had such a sachet.”

“Only then would he fear we’d find the powder and trace it back.”

“But Zhao’s neighborhood, Xuanyang, has no brothels. And if the culprit lurked near Zhao’s house, he wouldn’t have had a chance to visit one.”

“So this possibility can be ruled out.”

Cheng Chumo nodded in agreement.

“I see!”

“I never thought these powders would be so important.”

Liu Shuyi smiled and continued, “First possibility excluded. Now, the second.”

Cheng Chumo awaited.

Liu Shuyi said, “Zhao’s wife and child personally found the culprit and told him what happened.”

But as soon as Liu Shuyi finished, Du Gou shook his head. “Impossible!”

Cheng Chumo asked, “Why impossible?”

Du Gou said firmly, “As Director Liu guessed, the culprit was hiding in a brothel before killing. Brothels are crowded and noisy, with many awake at night. If Zhao’s wife and child, a woman and a child, went there, it’s impossible they wouldn’t be noticed. They’d be exposed immediately.”

“You’ve found no clues after searching since last night, which proves this is unlikely.”

Cheng Chumo realized. “That makes sense.”

Liu Shuyi smiled. “Deputy Du is right. Based on brothel presence, this hypothesis can’t stand and is ruled out.”

“Then the third possibility.”

Everyone looked at Liu Shuyi again.

His voice lowered as he scanned the busy Jinwu Guards. “There’s an informant among the investigators who leaked the news, letting the culprit know Zhao Chengyi was taken.”

Du Gou and Cheng Chumo’s faces changed.

Cheng Chumo asked, “Really?”

Liu Shuyi’s gaze darkened as he shook his head. “Uncertain. I have no evidence or leads supporting this guess, so let’s leave it aside for now.”

He looked at everyone. “Next is the fourth guess. If it’s confirmed, then the third can be dismissed. If the fourth and the first two are ruled out, the third must be true.”

Though Liu Shuyi’s words were complex, Cheng Chumo understood, and Du Gou and Du Ying naturally did as well.

Du Gou asked, “What’s the fourth guess?”

Cheng Chumo held his breath, knowing the crucial moment had come.

This would pinpoint how the culprit got the information.

Du Ying’s cold, beautiful eyes also fixed on Liu Shuyi.

Liu Shuyi slowly said, “No message sent, no lurking near Zhao’s home, no visit by Zhao’s wife and child, no traitor in our team. Then the only way the culprit knew Zhao was taken is…”

He met everyone’s gaze, took a deep breath, and said, “He saw Zhao Chengyi himself elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere?” Cheng Chumo was stunned.

Du Gou’s eyes flickered, then sharpened as he looked at Liu Shuyi. “You mean… on the road?”

He asked, “Could the culprit have hidden along Zhao’s route and seen him pass by, thus knowing he was taken?”

“On the road!? Is that really possible?” Cheng Chumo asked urgently.

Liu Shuyi didn’t answer directly but said slowly, “If I’m not mistaken, there are three routes from Xuanyang Neighborhood to the Ministry of Revenue, one of which passes through Pingkang Neighborhood…”

Hearing this, Du Gou’s gaze hardened, feeling as if he had been struck in the head.

He quickly looked at Cheng Chumo. “Captain, which route did Zhao take last night to the Ministry of Revenue?”

“This… don’t rush, I’ll ask now!”

Since the Jinwu Guards summoned the officials individually last night, the guards who called Zhao would know best.

Cheng Chumo shouted loudly enough to be heard far away, summoning the guard.

“Captain, what is it?” A burly, straightforward man appeared.

Cheng Chumo asked, “Which route did you take when you went to summon Zhao last night?”

The man scratched his head, not understanding the question’s importance but answered honestly, “I planned to take the Wuben Neighborhood route to be faster, but Zhao said it was too dark there and preferred Pingkang Neighborhood instead, since they keep lights on at night. Zhao was still the Vice Minister then, so I didn’t dare disobey and took Pingkang…”

As soon as he finished, he noticed the atmosphere had shifted.

Neither the burly captain, the mild-mannered Du Gou, nor the cool Miss Du were paying attention to him.

All eyes were fixed intently on Liu Shuyi.

Their looks were filled with undeniable respect and excitement.

Du Gou couldn’t help but say, “Director Liu—”

Liu Shuyi nodded slightly.

“I heard it.”

He smiled gently. “It seems everything is clear now.”

“The fourth guess is confirmed.”

“Then let’s go…”

He turned and strode toward the door. “To Pingkang Neighborhood!”

“The culprit last night…”

He lifted his eyes, gazing toward Chang’an’s glittering dens of iniquity, and said slowly, “Was right there!”