Discuss with you

Chapter 567 Persuasion
Zhu Yu gained a completely new understanding of this bruised and battered man. She hadn't expected that this schoolteacher, who taught children to read and write in the rural school, was quite cautious and intelligent. He neither hastily buried his daughter nor foolishly took the skirt he thought was problematic to the shoe store.

"Where did you hide the clothes?" she asked He Min. Seeing the wariness and tension on his face, she realized he might have mistaken her for an accomplice in Gu Lingyun's self-inflicted injury. She quickly added, "And your daughter's remains. Even if they're kept in the morgue, they probably won't last long. If you really want to find out if your daughter's death is related to the unsold shoes at the shoe store, you'll need to hurry."

"I'm sure, really sure!" Although He Min was a little uneasy at the moment, he still insisted on his statement when asked. "I inquired beforehand. There were people who bought this 'Red Jade Fragrance' before, and they did have some problems later. However, after they realized something was wrong, they stopped wearing the clothes. Then they went to the Tze Lu Fang store, and the store spent a lot of money to buy the clothes back. Those people then stopped pursuing the matter and ignored it."

But I can't just let this go. My daughter has already been killed by those monsters, and they'll definitely go on to harm others in the future. I can't let them do that...

But... but I was powerless to do anything about it; I almost lost my life there..."

"Since you think the fabric is wrong, have you checked it carefully?" Zhu Yu continued to press for key information, without saying anything to gain the other party's trust.

At this moment, she didn't know how to make He Min trust her more, after all, Lu Qing was just a commoner at the moment, not the carefree prince or the golden-faced censor.

He couldn't very well tell He Min, "You have to believe me, I can help you, because I am the illegitimate daughter of Prince Zhu Cheng of Shuo!"

This completely unrelated identity makes it impossible to convince anyone.

He Min pursed his lips, looked at Zhu Yu with a conflicted expression, then at Lu Qing and the others, seemingly hesitant to speak.

Zhu Yu sighed. In the past, she thought of herself as someone who was indifferent to fame and fortune and did not have a strong obsession with wealth and status. Now she suddenly felt that this idea was still a bit naive.

It turns out that sometimes, status is still very important.

If it were like before, with Lu Qing pulling out a waist token, He Min would have no worries at all.

Since that's the case, she can only find another way to persuade him.

“To be honest, we are also investigating the Tze Lu Fang, but we lack enough evidence to prove that they used the sold fabrics to do something unknown.” Zhu Yu sighed and pointed at He Min. “I’m not afraid to tell you this, but compared to treating your injuries, my real skill is autopsy.”

Upon hearing the words "autopsy," He Min's eyes widened, not out of fear, but rather as if he had suddenly seen a glimmer of hope.

"Examine...examine the body? Is what the female bodhisattva said true?" He struggled to sit up, clearly very anxious. "My benefactor can't be joking with me!"
After my daughter died, the coroner from the county government examined her body but found nothing. He even asked me if I hadn't fed her and had starved her to death, otherwise why would she be so emaciated and pale…”

Zhu Yu nodded to him, took out his set of tools from his sleeve, and unfolded them in front of him: "See these? These are the tools I use for autopsies. I wouldn't joke about something like this."

Your daughter's accident didn't happen in just a day or two. The longer it drags on, the harder it will be to find the answers from her body.

So if you really want to find out whether your daughter's death is related to the Zhelüfang (a type of workshop), you can't hesitate for too long.

He Min looked down at his wounds, which had been well treated and smelled of medicinal ointment. Although they were covered with a cloth, the obvious relief of pain made him realize the other person's care and sincerity in treating him.

"But... how am I supposed to get you there in my current state?" He finally relented. After all, He Min realized that he couldn't afford to offend the Tze Lu Fang on his own.

Now, apart from Zhu Yu and his few unidentified saviors, he had no other hope. Zhu Yu looked at Lu Qing, who then sized up He Min: "You should rest well today. Tomorrow I'll find a carriage, and we'll go to the morgue to examine your daughter's body."

He Min hurriedly wanted to express his gratitude, but was stopped by the talisman beside him: "Don't move! Otherwise, your wound will reopen, and do you want my wife to go through the trouble of stitching it up for you again?!"

Upon hearing this, He Min didn't dare to move and repeatedly thanked him.

Zhu Yu gave him a few more instructions, and then returned to her own courtyard with Lu Qing.

Upon returning, Lu Qing summoned Liu Yueyao again.

"What new beauty secrets have the noble ladies in the capital come up with lately?" he asked Liu Yueyao.

Liu Yueyao didn't immediately understand Lu Qing's meaning. She looked at Zhu Yu with some confusion, feeling that the appearance of the mistress didn't seem to require such a thing.

"Why are you looking at her?" Lu Qing frowned, feeling that Liu Yueyao's glance was rather offensive to Zhu Yu. "Just answer whatever you are asked."

"It's not for me." Zhu Yu didn't seem displeased at all, and waved to Liu Yueyao from the side.

Liu Yueyao then came to her senses and replied with a smile, "This was my oversight. I thought Madam didn't have any such need before, so I didn't tell you two about it."

In the past six months or so, it seems that there are quite a few secret recipes for staying young among the noble ladies of the capital. Every now and then, you can hear that the wives and concubines of some families who were already middle-aged have suddenly become young again.

Or perhaps a noblewoman who was originally of average appearance suddenly became quite beautiful after a month or so of absence, thanks to some kind of magic.

However, they were secretive about the methods they used and were unwilling to talk about them openly.

This isn't surprising, though. After all, if people knew what bizarre methods she used to regain her youthful appearance, it wouldn't exactly make her look good.

"Try to find out if those methods that can't be known to outsiders are related to the Zelifang (a type of clothing store), and find out which high-ranking officials' wives and daughters have used them," Lu Qing instructed.

Liu Yueyao didn't ask any questions, immediately agreed, curtsied, and then withdrew.

For the rest of the day, Zhu Yu prepared for the autopsy the next day.

In fact, she doesn't need to prepare many things herself; she just needs to give the order, and someone will take care of it for her.

However, Lu Qing just watched silently from the side without intervening.

Zhu Yu hasn't felt this energetic in a long time.

People truly radiate brilliance when they are doing what they do best.