Her hand clasped around his, Gu Yun offered no resistance. Instead, he smiled wickedly and teased, "Your concern for Qian Jing seems rather excessive."
There she goes again. Doesn't she have anything better to do than tease her all day long?
Too lazy to even glance at him, Zhuo Qing replied coldly, "He saved my life, nothing more."
"That part is true." Gu Yun nodded slowly, his smile deepening. "Then what about Lou Xiyan?"
Still refusing to look his way, Zhuo Qing replied with growing impatience, "He's just a friend."
The mere mention of his name stirred her agitation. Truthfully, even she didn't know how to define her relationship with Lou Xiyan. Lovers? He had never confessed. Perhaps she was merely deluding herself. Yet… he had kissed her the night before.
Ugh…
"Lies," Gu Yun exposed her without mercy.
Jerking her hand free, Zhuo Qing glared at him in annoyance. "You'd best watch yourself and stop showing off your so-called insight."
Angry now?
Gu Yun spread his hands with an innocent grin. "Miss Zhuo, I beg you—go find a mirror and look at that bashful expression of yours. Who needs insight when your face says it all?"
She dared say that?
"Gu Yun, you're asking for it!" Clenching her fists, Zhuo Qing swung a punch at her shoulder.
Unfortunately, Gu Yun's nimble reflexes made evading the blow effortless. The two continued to banter playfully as they made their way toward Li Zhi's residence.
He lived in a small, weathered courtyard near the city gate. A dilapidated tile-roofed house with a narrow entrance gave off an air of desolation. From a distance, they saw several constables standing guard at the entrance, and muffled voices came from within. Sharing a look, the pair sensed that something had changed.
Approaching the gate, Zhuo Qing stepped forward and addressed a somewhat familiar-looking officer. "What's going on?"
The man glanced at the two women and recognized them as the ones who had accompanied Lord Lou and General Su to the Ministry of Justice the previous night. After a moment's hesitation, he replied cryptically, "Lord Dan ordered us to escort Li Zhi to the yamen for questioning."
Had the Yang family been interrogated as well? They hadn't taken Madam Yang into custody, yet now they were detaining Li Zhi. Had they uncovered a new lead?
Before Zhuo Qing could decide whether to press further, a man's voice rang out from inside—hoarse and full of rage.
"I didn't kill Yang Lu! I didn't kill anyone! That knife isn't mine!"
A knife?
Startled, Zhuo Qing and Gu Yun exchanged glances. Had the murder weapon been found?
As they silently communicated their suspicions, two burly constables emerged, dragging a tall, thin man struggling fiercely.
"Let go! You're trying to frame me! That knife isn't mine!"
The officer in the lead, likely their superior, ignored Li Zhi's outbursts and barked coldly, "Save it for the yamen. Take him away!"
The group marched off with Li Zhi in custody, heading toward the Ministry of Justice.
"What now?" Zhuo Qing had noticed that the leading officer held something wrapped in cloth. If her guess was right, it was the murder weapon.
Gu Yun gave a faint smile, her eyes alight with excitement. "Li Zhi's telling the truth. That knife isn't his. It seems the real murderer is growing uneasy."
Framing Qian Jing and now pinning the blame on Li Zhi—if this wasn't misdirection, then the killer's composure was clearly unraveling.
Winking at Zhuo Qing, Gu Yun grinned brightly. "Let's follow. The Gold Case is about to see a major breakthrough."
Her enthusiasm convinced Zhuo Qing that the real drama was about to unfold.
They trailed behind the constables, heading toward the Ministry. No one noticed them slip away. But from the shadows of a crumbling wall, a pair of cold, predatory eyes watched their retreating figures.
What a delightful game—cat and mouse. But who, in the end, was the cat, and who was the prey?
A low, chilling laugh lingered in the air like a poisonous mist.
In the grand and brightly lit hall of the Yingtian Prefectural Court, the imposing figure of Dan Yulan sat behind an immense case desk, donned in his official robes, his expression grave. A plaque overhead read "Justice and Integrity," its golden characters gleaming under the light, amplifying his authoritative presence.
Two rows of officers in crimson uniforms flanked either side, long staves in hand, their stance intimidating.
Zhuo Qing stood at one side of the hall, holding the autopsy report in one hand and the newly discovered weapon in the other. She carefully compared the blade to the wound detailed in the report—size, pattern, and engraving all matched. The throwing knife was indeed consistent with the fatal injury on the deceased's chest. But could this alone confirm that the man kneeling at the center of the hall was the killer?
She remained doubtful. Fortunately, with Dan Yulan and Gu Yun present, she had no need to worry about the trial's outcome. She would merely observe and await the truth.
From her vantage point, she could clearly see both Li Zhi's and Dan Yulan's expressions.
Gu Yun leaned lazily against a column at the far end of the hall, her small frame inconspicuous. Yet one look into those piercing eyes, and one would feel utterly exposed.
"I didn't kill Yang Lu! It's a setup! He was my friend—I had no reason to kill him!"
Now calmer, Li Zhi no longer appeared as frantic.
"Over the past few years, your gambling debts have amassed to an enormous sum. You've borrowed over three hundred taels from Yang Lu. Just three days ago, you racked up another fifty-tael debt at Wanhao Gambling House. You went to the Yang residence to borrow more, didn't you?"
The voice was deep and resonant, each word measured and firm, compelling a subconscious tremor in those who heard it.
Zhuo Qing raised an eyebrow—Dan Yulan on the court bench exuded far more severity than his usual self.
Li Zhi flinched but remained defiant. "So what? We were close friends. It wasn't the first time I'd asked for money. You can't accuse me of murder for that!"
Dan Yulan remained unflustered. In the same calm tone, he continued, "According to Madam Yang's testimony, Yang Lu had no intention of lending you more silver this time. In fact, he intended to demand repayment. So you were enraged. During the altercation between him and Qian Jing, you seized the moment to throw a blade into Yang Lu's chest, shifting the blame onto Qian Jing."
Madam Yang said that? Gu Yun narrowed her eyes and smiled faintly. It seemed interrogation tactics hadn't changed over centuries—"strategic embellishment" could work wonders.
As expected, Li Zhi faltered briefly before erupting, "That woman doesn't know anything! Yang Lu was just trying to talk me out of gambling. He said if I did it again, he wouldn't lend me money. But I swore I'd stop, and he was preparing silver for me. Why would I kill him?!"
The trap had worked. Dan Yulan pressed coldly, "That's merely your claim. Even if you stopped gambling, you still owed him three hundred taels. You couldn't repay that in seven or eight years, even if you starved. And since he never asked you for an IOU—if he died, the debt would vanish."
"I had no reason to kill him! Yang Lu would never force me to pay him back!"
Straightening his back, chin lifted, voice raised—he was growing smug.
Gu Yun's eyes narrowed. Li Zhi knew something—enough to blackmail Yang Lu, at the very least.
"Repaying a debt is only right. Why didn't he collect? Was there some secret agreement between you? Or were you blackmailing him?"
Dan Yulan's voice thundered across the court, visibly agitated.
Zhuo Qing watched closely. How much did Dan Yulan truly know about the Gold Case? His line of questioning suggested he suspected deeper secrets behind the murder.
Li Zhi's lips pursed reflexively. "Nothing of the sort. We were sworn brothers. He helped me in hard times. That's all."
Still, he refused to admit anything. Everything seemed to circle back to where it began.
Zhuo Qing glanced at Gu Yun, who met her gaze and pointed to herself. With a silent mouthing of "My turn," Gu Yun signaled her intention.
Zhuo Qing nodded, stepping aside to let her speak.
In a low voice, she asked Dan Yulan, "What's your official rank again?"
Startled, Dan Yulan looked at her, perplexed. Why ask such a question in court?...