A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 347 Ending (16)

"The mark of virginity?" Mu Qingcheng's expression changed slightly, and her tone became more serious. "Is Lord Liang sure?"

Liang Ruoming lifted his eyelids, thought for a moment, and nodded, "I'm sure. I've seen what the mark of virginity looks like on an unmarried woman's arm, so I recognize it."

Mu Qingcheng's expression was strange. She pondered silently for a long time before resolutely saying, "Lord Liang, I suspect there's something wrong with that corpse! Tomorrow morning, please find a way to bring me into the Ministry of Justice. I want to examine the body myself!"

Liang Ruoming was shocked. "You're going to the Ministry of Justice to examine the body? The Empress Dowager forbids you from participating in this case, and you know Minister Qin's attitude. Besides, you're supposed to stay at the Prince of Zhongshan's residence awaiting your marriage..."

"Lord Liang, please don't be anxious!"

Mu Qingcheng pressed her hand down reassuringly, then removed the veil from her face. Liang Ruoming, upon seeing this unfamiliar face, jumped up in fright, "You...who are you?"

“I’ve disguised myself,” Mu Qingcheng said helplessly. “You can create a fake identity for me, and I can get into the Ministry of Justice with you. We just need to keep it from outsiders. As for Minister Qin, he shouldn’t be an obstacle.”

Liang Ruoming was filled with doubt and apprehension. "Won't Minister Qin really find out? If he does, I'll be in deep trouble!"

"Lord Liang, you might consider why His Majesty imprisoned Song Shuyu in the Ministry of Justice's jail, rather than the Court of Judicial Review?"

Mu Qingcheng decided to retract her praise of Liang Ruoming. With this man's cunning and intelligence, it's no wonder he couldn't gain the Empress Dowager's trust. He was only fit to be schemed against and used as a tool!
Liang Ruoming was slow to react, and after a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly realized, "I understand now, so Minister Qin..."

"There's no time to lose, Lord Liang, please make preparations quickly. I will be back before dawn."

Mu Qingcheng had no time for idle chatter. She made arrangements methodically, "Lord Liang will be taking leave tomorrow. We'll take advantage of Minister Qin's absence during the morning court session."

"Hmm? Why should we avoid Minister Qin and act secretly? Didn't Minister Qin switch allegiance to the Emperor?"

"..."

By the time Liang Ruoming realized what was happening, Mu Qingcheng was nowhere to be seen in the room. Only a cold wind was blowing in through the half-open window, making him shiver several times.

……

Jingzhao Mansion.

Upon his return, Mu Qingcheng went straight to the side room.

She wore Bai Zhizhi's face and night clothes, but spoke with the accent of Master Mu. The patrolling constables were surprised, but after checking her token, they let her pass.

But instead of going to her own side room, she knocked on the door of Lin Shuban's office.

After knocking three times, no one opened the door or answered.

In the quiet of the night, hurried footsteps approached.

Mu Qingcheng turned around and met Jiang Zhan's suspicious gaze. She spoke first: "Bai Zhizhi and I temporarily exchanged identities using disguise techniques. She took my place and stayed at the Zhongshan Prince's Mansion."

“Master Mu!” Jiang Zhan understood what had happened, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. “I just heard from the constable that Master Mu had returned to the yamen, but I wasn’t sure if it was true, so I came over right away.”

Mu Qingcheng nodded slightly. "Today's events were sudden, and neither you nor I had time to make prior arrangements. Has anything gone wrong in the yamen?"

"No, everything is normal," Jiang Zhan replied. "His Majesty has issued an edict that Xu Shaoyin will temporarily take charge of the Jingzhao Prefecture's affairs. Xu Shaoyin has instructed us not to be disturbed by outside influences, to focus on our duties, and to do our best in our respective roles."

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingcheng's eyes lit up. "It seems that you foresaw this and had a backup plan."

Jiang Zhan agreed: "It should be. The lord ordered me to temporarily assume the position of chief constable, while Constable Liu led a group of constables, who split into smaller groups and infiltrated various parts of the capital. I didn't understand the meaning of this before, but now I think it must be related to today's events."

Although Song Shuyu had never revealed this to Mu Qingcheng, nor had he assigned her any tasks, she pieced together and analyzed the information to roughly guess Song Shuyu's intentions. He was planning to close the net!

Get involved and turn the tables on them!
She just couldn't understand why he would keep such a big matter from her.
Mu Qingcheng was both angry and upset, but she had no time for sentimentality. She instructed Jiang Zhan, "Break down the door and see if Secretary Lin is in the side room."

Jiang Zhan was surprised for a moment, but without asking why, he immediately stepped forward, kicked open the door, and rushed in.

Soon, Jiang Zhan came out to report: "Master Mu, there's no one in the room!"

Mu Qingcheng said, "Go and find out where Secretary Lin went today!"

Jiang Zhan summoned his two accompanying constables and instructed them: "One of you go to the administration office to retrieve the duty roster, and the other go to each gate to inquire about the entry and exit records of Secretary Lin!"

"Yes!"

The constable accepted the order and left.

Jiang Zhan asked, "Master Mu, what happened?"

“Lin Shuban may be related to today’s case of the corpse hidden in the wine jar.” Mu Qingcheng frowned, feeling very unhappy. “I don’t want to suspect my own people, but now there are clues that suggest Lin Shuban may have betrayed us, or perhaps he had ulterior motives from the beginning.”

Jiang Zhan was shocked!

Mu Qingcheng stepped inside.

Jiang Zhan snapped out of his daze and hurriedly followed him inside to light the lamp.

Lin Shuban lived alone in a single room, which was divided into two rooms by a bookcase.

This was Mu Qingcheng's first time entering her male colleague's side room, and what she saw could be described as "simple and clean".

"Master Mu, let me search the inner room," Jiang Zhan suggested. After all, Secretary Lin was an outsider, and he couldn't very well let Mu Qingcheng search it.

Mu Qingcheng nodded. "Okay."

The outer room contained a square table, two chairs, a washstand, and a display shelf. On the table were a kettle and a tea set. It was all quite obvious, and there was nothing to search for.

Mu Qingcheng looked through the items on the display shelf one by one. They were all common small ornaments on the market, not worth much money, but exquisite and cute.

There were only a dozen or so books in the bookcase. After a preliminary check, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However, a loud "thump" sound suddenly came from the bedroom!
Mu Qingcheng was taken aback, then quickly stepped inside.

Jiang Zhan stood motionless at the head of the bed, holding a blue hair tie in his left hand and a piece of paper in his right. On the floor lay a pillow.
Mu Qingcheng asked, "What did you discover?"

"Master Mu, I... I found it under Secretary Lin's pillow..." Jiang Zhan stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence, his gaze towards Mu Qingcheng filled with shock and complexity.

Mu Qingcheng, puzzled, walked closer and held out her hand, saying, "Let me see."

Jiang Zhan hesitated for a moment before handing the paper to her.

"If I live, I will return; if I die, I will forever yearn for you."

After Mu Qingcheng read out the only line of poetry on the paper, his brows furrowed deeply. "Captain Jiang, what does Secretary Lin mean by this? I vaguely remember that Secretary Lin is not yet married, is that right?"

Jiang Zhan nodded, "Yes."

Mu Qingcheng lowered her eyes and guessed to herself, "So, Lin Shuban has a sweetheart. If he goes missing, we might be able to find him if we find out where he is?"