Fangzhou Xier, starting with failing the art exam

"Also, investigate his whereabouts in the period before his death!"

"Most importantly, we need to find out where the black powder under his fingernails came from!"

"Not bad." Lin Yue nodded approvingly.

This girl's thinking has completely followed the procedures of the Dali Temple in handling cases.

He walked to the desk, picked up a pen, wrote a note, and handed it to Lin Qingyan.

"This is the certificate from the Dali Temple Laboratory. Send the residue sample that was attached to the case file there and have them analyze it using the most sophisticated methods to see what's going on with that ink."

Lin Yue knew that although the Dali Temple's laboratory was professional, it was probably not as sophisticated as the Celestial Master's Mansion's methods when it came to substances mixed with Originium.

However, he couldn't directly ask his sister to use her connections at the Celestial Master's Mansion.

"As for the rest... I'll send someone to investigate." Lin Yue pondered for a moment.

"Just stay home and wait for news."

"No!" Lin Qingyan immediately shook his head.

"Brother, let me go!"

“I visited his classmates. I am a girl, so they won’t be wary of me.”

"Besides, I have common topics with them, so I'm sure I can get more information from them than if the constables asked!"

Lin Yue's head started to ache again as he looked at her stubborn expression, determined to achieve her goal.

He couldn't stop this girl; preventing her from chasing after him was worse than killing her.

"……Fine."

He finally relented, but his tone was unusually serious: "You are only allowed to gather information, not to contact any suspicious persons. If any danger is detected, retreat immediately! Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Lin Qingyan smiled broadly, her eyes crinkling with joy, having achieved her goal.

She carefully put away the receipt, then hugged the case file to her chest, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Lin Yue called out to her.

"Change your clothes. Don't wear that robe; it's too conspicuous."

"Know it!"

Watching his younger sister skip away, Lin Yue leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

He picked up the file again, his eyes turning cold.

What appears to be a simple drowning case is actually shrouded in mystery.

He had a premonition that this pool of water might be deeper than he imagined.

……

Lin Qingyan changed into a light blue cloth dress and styled her hair in a simple bun, looking like an ordinary girl next door.

She carefully picked out a few tiny black powder particles, smaller than sesame seeds, from the case file and evidence bag with a silver needle, wrapped them in oil paper, and hid them close to her body.

After doing all this, she didn't go to the Dali Temple's laboratory first, but went straight to Qingxi River in the west of the city.

Her brother's guidance gave her direction, but she understood that no secondhand information could compare to seeing it with her own eyes.

She wants to revisit the scene, using her own eyes and senses to reconstruct everything that might have happened at that time.

On the banks of the Qingxi River, the crime scene was still cordoned off by the Dali Temple, and a few idle people were pointing and whispering in the distance.

Lin Qingyan went around to the downstream area, waded across a shallow, unnoticed spot, and quietly approached the scene.

The afternoon sun shone on the water, making it sparkle.

The river water is so clear that you can see the pebbles at the bottom at a glance.

She walked to the location marked on the file where the body was found, and the water was indeed not deep; if it were an adult male, it would only reach his chest.

She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the scene on the night of the incident.

Why would a young man come here so late at night?

Even if it was an accident, how could someone die silently in such deep water?

unless……

A terrible thought flashed through her mind.

Unless, at that time, he was no longer able to breathe on his own.

They were either held underwater or had already lost consciousness.

She crouched down and carefully examined the marks on the shore.

The "trampling marks" mentioned in the case file have been blurred by the wind and rain of the past few days.

But she still noticed something unusual.

Under a clump of bushes a few steps away from the water's edge, several branches showed unnatural breaks, with very fresh cuts.

On the muddy ground nearby, there seemed to be some drag marks, though they were faint, they had not completely disappeared.

Could this be the actual scene of the incident?

The murderer attacked Liang Yuan here, then dragged him into the water and staged his drowning.

This deduction made Lin Qingyan's heart skip a beat.

She dared not venture any deeper, for there might still be traces and signs of the murderer here. But she had no professional forensic tools, so she could only silently keep these discoveries in her mind.

After leaving Qingxi River, she did not go home, but went directly to Baizhao Academy.

Inside the academy, students gathered in twos and threes, some studying diligently under the trees, others engaging in lively discussions in the pavilions.

Lin Qingyan found the schoolhouse where Liang Yuansheng had lived by asking around.

It was a room shared by four people. Liang Yuan's desk was still in its original state, only covered with a thin layer of dust.

His three roommates were all there, and they were all a little surprised to see Lin Qingyan, this unfamiliar girl.

"Excuse me, are you Liang Yuan's roommates?" Lin Qingyan asked politely.

"Who are you?" a student who looked a little older asked warily.

"I am...I am Liang Yuan's distant cousin." Lin Qingyan lowered her head and made up a lie.

“His family heard that something had happened to him, so they asked me to come and help him collect his belongings.”

This excuse seemed reasonable, and the students relaxed their guard considerably.

They sighed and made way.

"Alas, Brother Liang... what a pity."

"Yes, they were fine just a few days ago, how could they just disappear like that?"

While pretending to tidy up the books on her desk, Lin Qingyan casually struck up a conversation: "I heard from my family that my cousin has been in a bad mood lately. Is he having some trouble with his studies?"

Upon hearing this, the older student immediately chimed in, saying indignantly, "It's more than just a worry! Brother Liang is practically driven mad with anger!"

"He was so talented, always ranking at the top of his class in every exam, but he repeatedly failed the provincial examination!"

"This imperial examination system is completely unfair!"

"Unfair?" Lin Qingyan's heart stirred.

“That’s right!” Another short student chimed in, lowering his voice.

"Brother Liang has been saying recently that some people write nonsensical articles, but they can still pass the exam just because they have family connections and know the examiners."

He also said that he was determined to expose these shady dealings!

"Exposing the truth?" Lin Qingyan pressed. "What did he discover?"

"We don't know the specifics either," the older student shook his head.

"He is a bit of a loner, and he keeps many things to himself."

"However, a few days before the incident, he had a big argument with Wang Teng, the son of the Vice Minister of Rites, at the gate of the academy. We all saw it."

"Wang Teng?"

"Yes! It's that newly appointed scholar!" The short student curled his lip, looking disdainful.

"With his level of ability, how could he possibly pass the imperial examination?"

"Who doesn't know that his father is the deputy chief examiner for this provincial examination!"

“Brother Liang pointed his finger at him and cursed him, saying he was shameless, that he had stolen someone else’s future, and that he would hand over the evidence to the Censorate!”

evidence!

Lin Qingyan's heart began to pound.

The clues have connected!

Liang Yuan discovered evidence of cheating in the imperial examinations and had a fierce conflict with the examiner's son, threatening to report him. Then, he "accidentally" drowned!

That's a very compelling motive!

She suppressed her excitement, asked a few more questions about Liang Yuansheng's habits, and then excused herself, saying she had something to do.

By the time we left the academy, it was already getting dark.

Instead of going home, she used the credentials given to her by her brother to find her way to the laboratory of the Dali Temple.

The laboratory was filled with the smells of various herbs and minerals, and several clerks were busy at work.

Lin Qingyan handed over the voucher and a powder sample wrapped in oil paper.

"The Junior Minister has instructed that the most meticulous methods be used to analyze and determine the composition of this substance."

The senior technician in charge took the sample, glanced at Lin Yue's signature on the voucher, and, not daring to be negligent, immediately arranged for someone to process it.

"Please go back, young lady. The earliest we can expect a result is tomorrow."

Lin Qingyan nodded and turned to leave.

She knew that this was the procedure at the Dali Temple, and that it couldn't be rushed.

But she already had another plan in mind.

Instead of going straight back to the mansion, she turned into a small alley at a street corner. After confirming that no one was following her, she made her way through a maze of turns to the back door of an inconspicuous house and knocked three times.

The door opened, and a man in shorts peeked out. Upon seeing her, he immediately stepped aside respectfully.

This is a secret liaison point of the Celestial Master's Mansion in the capital.

She handed over another powder sample that she had secretly kept to the person in charge of the contact point, a middle-aged senior who looked like an ordinary accountant.

"Senior brother, do me a favor and see what kind of ink this is."

The senior brother took the sample, his eyes narrowed, and he nodded: "Don't worry, junior sister, I'll give you an answer in an hour."

The methods employed by the Celestial Master's Mansion far surpass those of the Dali Temple.

They not only possess more sophisticated instruments, but also Originium Arts that defy common sense.

Lin Qingyan sat in the quiet room of the liaison point, waiting.

Her mind was in complete chaos.

The testimonies of Liang Yuan's roommates, Wang Teng's name, and the inside story of the imperial examination fraud were all tangled up like a mess.

She was both excited and scared.

Excitingly, she actually uncovered a major case.

What terrified her was that beneath that lid lay a colossal object she could hardly comprehend.

The Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Rites are high-ranking officials of the second rank in the imperial court!

An hour later, the senior brother walked in, his expression unusually solemn.

He handed a note to Lin Qingyan.

"Junior sister, where did you get this? This is no ordinary ink."

Lin Qingyan hurriedly opened the note, only to see a line of small writing on it: