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

Mei Wanniang looked at Kal'tsit, a look of joy on her face.

“I knew Mr. Kai wouldn’t believe that Magistrate Gu died in the fire.”

"nature."

"The moment the coffin was opened, I believed that Magistrate Gu was murdered and that his body was cremated after death."

"Then why didn't you tell Lord Lu?"

Mei Wanniang was puzzled. Since Kal'tsit had already suspected something, why didn't she tell Lu Huaide? Lu Huaide trusted her so much; if she had just told him, he would surely have…

"Because I have no evidence."

Kal'tsit pointed to the empty bowl in front of them and said:

"We are newcomers and have just stepped into this muddy water. We don't know how deep it is until we are in the middle."

As the saying goes, the more careful you are, the longer you live.

“I firmly believe that Magistrate Gu was murdered, but unfortunately they did it so cleanly that we have no evidence to prove that Magistrate Gu was murdered. In that case, how can I tell Prefect Lu?”

"Moreover... such an old and incompetent prefect... no wonder his subordinates were so unscrupulous towards him. If it weren't for that guard staying by his side at all times, he would probably have been killed by those audacious petty officials long ago."

Kal'tsit found it hard to reconcile Lu Huaide's performance with what Bai Zhi had described about Lu Huaide.

Is the open mockery of the suspected target due to their high status, making them afraid to act rashly, or is it due to the strength of their guards, so that they can immediately retaliate and kill them even if they make a move?

“Magistrate Gu… was killed while investigating the cause of my father’s death…”

Mei Wanniang lowered her eyes and spoke with a heavy sense of guilt.

"But that also proves that your father was murdered."

After saying this, Kal'tsit got up and left the house.

She still needs to find a way to uncover the evidence.

■

That night.

There was only one candle burning in the room, but that faint light was enough to illuminate the entire room.

After a long day of running around, the lynx was exhausted. It had been racking its brains for a long time to find a way to verify the truth, and its head was spinning. Since it was getting late, it simply took off its shoes and lay down fully clothed.

Suddenly, the door was gently pushed open, and the rushing wind made the candlelight flicker.

"..."

The lynx suddenly opened its eyes to look.

"Miss Mei?"

On the 29th, wine and vinegar were spilled on the ground, and bloodstains were visible (4th watch).

Kal'tsit sat up, looking at Mei Wan Niang who was holding her foot with a puzzled expression.

"Mr. Kai, don't move."

Mei Wanniang had already taken off her white socks and soaked her feet in warm water.

"Let me help you soak your feet."

"No, how can I let you soak my feet?"

Kal'tsit tried to pull her foot back, but Mei Wanniang held it down tightly.

“Mr. Kai, as long as you can help my father avenge his death, I would be willing to do anything for you, even serve you as your maid for the rest of my life.”

Little Thrush had always dreamed of avenging her father, and now that she finally had someone willing to help her, how could she not be grateful?

“This… Miss Mei, you don’t need to do this.”

Kal'tsit suppressed the strange feeling and said to her:

“I have been entrusted by Your Highness, so I must find out the truth. Once this matter is over, I will report to Your Highness. You are also the descendant of a loyal minister, Your Highness... Da Yan will never mistreat you, so you do not need to demean yourself.”

Upon hearing this, the little thrush smiled and shook her head.

"Mr. Kai, do you know?"

She gently massaged her benefactor's feet as she recounted:

“When my father was still alive, I would always tickle the soles of his feet whenever I soaked his feet.”

"But he wasn't actually itchy at all, but he would pretend to be itchy to make me happy. Every time, he would get me all wet."

As she spoke and thought to herself, a smile spread across Little Thrush's face.

"..."

Kal'tsit didn't reply, which made her look up in confusion, and then she saw the lynx deep in thought.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kay."

The little thrush looked slightly flustered.

"I shouldn't have told you these things; I've disrupted your train of thought."

"It doesn't matter……"

Kal'tsit shook her head and comforted her:

"Which child doesn't miss their deceased parents? I know that feeling; it's very painful."

"……Um."

Instead of being blamed, she was comforted in this way. Mei Wanniang pursed her lips slightly and looked at Kal'tsit with even more respect.

"Splashing water...splashing wine..."

While listening to Mei Wanniang speak, Kal'tsit suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Rice vinegar... wine spilled..."

"what?"

"Strong rice vinegar and wine, when splashed, can reveal traces of blood on the ground."

Got it!

Kal'tsit withdrew her foot, not even bothering to dry it, and went to get a pen to dip in ink and jot down the inspiration she had just had.

■

next day

"Sir, the rice vinegar and wine have been purchased."

Bai Zhi brought a jar of vinegar and a jug of wine to Kal'tsit's side to report.

"Okay, let's go."

Kal'tsit, carrying paper money and incense, led Bai Zhi away quickly down the street.

"Sir, there are sentries hiding. Shall we go out the back door?"

After walking only a dozen steps, Bai Zhi noticed that someone was following them.

“How can someone who gets in through connections be called an imperial envoy?”

Kal'tsit had already discovered the hidden sentry.

"Instead of hiding, let's make a show of it. Let's take the main road."

After saying that, Kal'tsit continued walking forward. Bai Zhi glanced at the sentry behind her who was pretending to ask about the price of the goods, and then quickly followed Kal'tsit.

"That person is still following us... Should we shake him off?"

After walking for quite a while, Bai Zhi could still see the guy behind her with extremely poor disguise skills. This made her speechless. She was, after all, a top student from the Divine Capital Patrol Division, and her counter-surveillance skills were not weak, but to have been followed for so long by someone who couldn't even hide their tracks was embarrassing to admit.

"Never mind him, let's go."

Kal'tsit didn't care at all.

This person won't follow them forever; once he figures out where they're going, he'll go back and report to his master.

Instead of wasting time trying to shake him off, just walk a few steps faster.

"Ugh."

Bai Zhi clenched her fist in displeasure, then followed Kal'tsit to the post station with Jiu Cu in her arms.

[Meicheng County Government Office, Side Chamber]

“I’m telling you, you have to do it this way.”

As Clerk Walper was talking to the fat man, someone suddenly ran in from outside.

"Registrar! Registrar! Something terrible has happened! They've gone to the fire again!"

"What! They went to the fire scene again?"

Clerk Walper was startled and immediately stood up from his seat.

"Could it be that they've found some clues?"

"I'm worried," the fat man said.

"Let's go! We'll go too."

Wolper immediately strode towards the door. But after taking a couple of steps, he remembered something and quickly instructed the fat man:

"Prepare the sedan chair. Bring the official sedan chair with you."

"Yes, by sedan chair."

The fat man chuckled, only to be scolded by Walper.

"Hey! You're just a lowly clerk, why are you riding in a sedan chair!"

"Hehe, I meant that you, sir, should ride in a sedan chair."

The fat man hurriedly tried to explain, but was scolded by Walper:

"Shut up! Your brain is full of mush... Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and prepare the sedan chair, let's go!"