I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"It's not as simple as you make it out to be."

He handed the two of them a piece of paper with a torn corner.

"This is……"

The two took it and examined it carefully.

Suddenly, the fat man saw the last signature and official seal.

"Kal'tsit... Dali Temple..."

"Dali Temple!"

"This is the official certificate from the previous post!"

The fat man exclaimed in surprise.

"This person is someone of considerable importance."

Registrar Walper remarked with a sigh.

"The Dali Temple is in charge of investigating cases!"

The skinny guy started to panic.

"It seems this person is truly..."

The fat man looked up at the two of them and voiced his guess.

"An imperial envoy carrying out the emperor's decree."

"Okay."

Clerk Walper scoffed.

"I'm waiting for them. I'm just afraid they won't come."

Having said that, he took the official document, turned and left, leaving the fat man and the thin man staring at each other.

Returning to the Twenty-Eight Strategies, anxieties

[Guest Rooms at the County Government Office]

"I never imagined that one day I would become someone else's puppet."

Back in her room, Kal'tsit suddenly chuckled to herself.

"I find it strange too."

Bai Zhi left Pei Jue outside to guard the door, then asked, puzzled:

"How come the trail went cold after we found that clue?"

"I had hoped to get some clues from the postmaster. But I never expected that our only lead would also be lost."

Kal'tsit rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands in the basin.

"Could the postmaster be the murderer?"

"Are they killing people to cover their tracks again?"

Bai Zhi offered her own guess.

"will not."

Kal'tsit dried her hands and explained:

"If it were him, he wouldn't have been so heartbroken over the death of Magistrate Gu that he smashed his forehead against the ground."

"But why did he choose to hang himself during interrogation of him? How could that be a coincidence?"

Bai Zhi handed Kal'tsit a bowl of water, asking her questions.

She didn't believe that all the coincidences of the events happened on this one day.

"coincide?"

As the cool water flowed down her throat, Kal'tsit exhaled and whispered:

"His death date is not last night, as they say."

"The discoloration of the skin, the deep marks from the strangulation, and the condensed saliva at the corner of the mouth are enough to prove that this person has been dead for at least three days."

Kal'tsit held the bowl, her fingertips lightly tapping the rim, recalling the condition of the corpse in her mind.

"Three days!"

Bai Zhi was surprised.

"They just left that dead man hanging there for three days without telling anyone? What kind of logic is that!"

"Because he really did commit suicide."

Kal'tsit drank the water in her bowl and sighed.

"Since it's suicide, there's no need to tamper with the body; just preserve the original state of the scene."

"It would be best if someone could testify that he did indeed commit suicide out of guilt."

Kal'tsit sat down in the chair and pointed to herself.

"And I just happened to play the role of such a witness."

"Haha."

Bai Zhi sat down next to her, her gaze towards Kal'tsit filled with respect.

"But they didn't expect that you, sir, could not only determine whether it was suicide or homicide, but also the time of his death."

"not necessarily."

Kal'tsit shook her head.

"In my opinion, they might not be unaware of this. Our appearance may have been an accident, but the people involved in this accident may have been part of their plan all along."

"But knowing they would be found out, why would they still lie and say it was last night?"

Have those thieves become so audacious?

"What else can we do?"

Kal'tsit looked at the empty bowl and said:

"It's nothing more than deliberately creating a loophole to imply that we fell into their trap from the very beginning."

"As for me, I know what it is, but not why it is."

“They’re taunting me. Even if I can deduce who the murderer is, as long as they’re here, as long as they’re within the jurisdiction of Meicheng County, they can get away unscathed.”

"This is the terrible part of this place."

Kal'tsit sighed.

I haven't been this passive in a long time. I've been in the capital for over a year, and everything has gone smoothly thanks to Bai Zhou's care. I almost forgot what danger felt like.

No wonder His Highness sent her to investigate the case during the day. He probably considered her current situation.

Kal'tsit, how could you forget to be prepared for danger even in times of peace?

"...Something terrible has happened! Mr. Kai! Lady Baizhi! Something terribly wrong!"

Mei Wanniang rushed into the house and told everyone the bad news she had heard.

"Wanniang, what happened? Tell me slowly, don't rush."

Bai Zhi supported her and comforted her.

"Lady Baizhi, Mr. Kai, everyone on the street is saying..."

"Everyone on the street is saying that, as confirmed by the imperial envoy, Magistrate Gu did indeed die in an accidental fire."

Kal'tsit's words stunned Mei Wanniang.

"Mr. Kai, you knew everything?"

"They are indeed very smart and quick."

Kal'tsit took out the letter containing the previous official credentials and tore it open.

The place was empty; the official document was nowhere to be found.

"But it also proved that my plan was quite effective."

"A plan! Could it be..."

Bai Zhi suddenly realized.

Kal'tsit then said:

"Just an official document, even a damaged or invalid one, will convince them that we are indeed imperial envoys."

"But it's fine this way."

Kal'tsit breathed a sigh of relief.

"That way, they won't dare to use underhanded tactics against us for the time being."

This also gives them more time to search for evidence.

But... how can we find evidence of Magistrate Gu's death?

"In my opinion, those rumors on the street were deliberately spread by them."

Bai Zhi was not a naive newcomer; she could guess the source of the information after a little thought.

"They just wanted to use the adults to cover up the truth about Magistrate Gu's murder."

"Fortunately, Wanniang, you didn't trust them too easily."

"Of course! How could I believe the enemy and not my own people!"

Kal'tsit nodded slightly, agreeing with Bai Zhi's words. She had been prepared for Mei Wan Niang to be easily swayed by rumors, but the girl's unexpected intelligence impressed her.

"However... a county magistrate, a high-ranking official appointed by the imperial court, was actually murdered at the post station..."

"murder!"