There was a barefoot footprint, with the contour from heel to toe clearly visible.
Cao Tianbao frowned deeply, glaring at his nephew. Cao Chenfeng, under his uncle’s stare, was in a panic and shook his head quickly, indicating that the footprint had nothing to do with him.
Zhu Yu lifted the blood-stained footprint, examining it closely with a frown. While deducing things from footprints wasn’t her specialty compared to post-mortem examinations, she had so experience in the past, which was sufficient for the current situation.
This footprint was only slightly longer than Zhu Yu’s hand, appearing narrow, with a very faint blood mark at the heel, showing only a vague outline, while the sole and toe parts were particularly clear.
"Is this... a child’s footprint?" The Capital Governor observed from the side, feeling puzzled, and asked Zhuang Zhi, "Does your daughter have any young attendants around her?"
Zhuang Zhi seed equally surprised, shaking his head in confusion, "No, the maids at ho are all around fifteen or sixteen, no young children!"
"It’s not a child." Zhu Yu waved her hand toward the Capital Governor, "This person treads lightly, but despite that, the steps are stable.
Children walk with unsteady steps and heavy landings, leaving footprints that don’t look like this.
This person’s foot is slender and small, with the print being heavier in the front and lighter in the back, and the outer part deeper than the inner, indicating this is a small and slender man, who walked stealthily in the room, afraid of making noise, so he didn’t dare to let his heel land heavily.
With such a large pool of blood, this person happened to step right into it. By the ti he realized sothing was amiss underfoot, the next step had already been taken, too late to retract.
After that..."
Zhu Yu squatted down and inspected the area carefully: "There are no other complete footprints left... He must have realized sothing was wrong, hurriedly wiped the blood off his feet with his clothes, and then fled.
To have accidentally stepped into blood on the ground like this, he must have crept in during the dark.
"Oh?" Upon hearing it was left by a slender person, the Capital Governor’s eyebrows relaxed, and he glanced at Cao Tianbao. "So it’s possible that Zhuang Lanlan was killed by an intruder who slipped in after Cao Chenfeng left?"
"Not really." Zhu Yu shook her head, "How could such a slender person kill Zhuang Lanlan with a single stab in an unguarded mont, piercing right through her body?
A killer capable of taking a life with one blow would not sneak in barefoot and flee in panic after accidentally stepping into blood."
Hearing this, the Capital Governor found it quite reasonable: "That makes sense! Why was this person barefoot...?"
"Sir, I have a hypothesis." Zhu Yu was confident in her judgnt, but given she was speaking to the Capital Governor, not Lu Qing, she wanted to leave so room for flexibility, "This embroidery tower is built by the water, and there are no other households nearby, so it’s likely this person did not co with preditated intent.
Being barefoot suggests that this person isn’t accustod to walking on land, so I suspect he is a small-ti thief who is adept at swimming, often stealing from boats docked on the river at night, using his small and nimble physique and swimming skills."
On the night Zhuang Lanlan was killed, for so unknown reason, this thief suddenly had the idea to slip into the embroidery tower to steal. Unexpectedly, he stumbled in blindly, stepped into the blood, realized sothing was wrong, found the corpse, and fled in horror.
As she finished speaking, a governntal official nearby was eager to say sothing but hesitated.
"What is it?" The Capital Governor noticed the official’s reaction, growing a bit impatient as he gestured, "If you have sothing to say, just say it!"
"Sir, we... actually caught a thief two days ago, just as this Chief Historian described!" The official glanced at Zhu Yu in admiration. "The person was extrely thin, but very skilled in swimming, often sneaking into water at night to climb onto passenger boats and steal their money and valuables!
When we caught him, he was indeed barefoot, not wearing shoes!"
The Capital Governor was taken aback, though being the highest-ranking official in Jingzhao Mansion, he usually didn’t need to concern himself with every little matter due to the various Junior Governors and their respective departnts handling them.
Hearing Zhu Yu’s deductions, he didn’t pay much heed initially, but he didn’t expect his office had actually caught such a thief!
"What are you waiting for! Hurry and bring that thief over for questioning!" He quickly instructed the official, turning back to Zhu Yu with a more respectful expression, "What is this Chief Historian’s na? I haven’t seen you before. Didn’t expect Prince Xiaoyao’s mansion to have such talent; Prince Xiaoyao truly knows how to spot talent!"
"Lord Wu overpraises ." Lu Qing smilingly clasped his hands toward the Capital Governor, "I did not know either that Chief Historian Yu had such capability. How to say it, it was a stroke of fortune, an act of destiny perhaps."
The Capital Governor, caught between these respected individuals, found himself flustered, montarily confused, forgetting Yu’s significant display at Prince Xiaoyao’s wedding banquet.
Recalling that occasion brought an awkward smile to the Capital Governor’s face. To avoid any other trouble for himself, he imdiately abandoned the thought of continuing to chat with Zhu Yu.
From the mont Zhu Yu began examining the bloodstains and making footprints, Cao Tianbao had been observing attentively. His emotions seed complex, curious about how Zhu Yu would prove his nephew’s innocence, while also speculating why Lu Qing would have his subordinate engage in such matters.
Lu Qing seed to ignore Cao Tianbao’s gaze, continuing to look around the room at his own pace.
Zhuang Zhi likely didn’t expect that the night his daughter was murdered, another intruder might have been present here. He leaned against the door in shock, his brow furrowed in confusion.
At long last, Cao Chenfeng felt slightly calr than before, yet dared not make any rash moves while still under his uncle’s simring anger, instead confining himself to one side, eyes fixed on Zhu Yu, viewing the "Chief Historian Yu" as his sole savior.
Zhu Yu ignored the tension among the various onlookers, continuing to ponder over the bloodstain in front of her.
How other people earned their titles outside, she did not know.
Due to Lu Qing, she herself had unexpectedly acquired several identities.
Originally just the daughter of Prince Shuo Zhu Cheng, now she was also Princess Xiaoyao, the Chief Historian of Prince Xiaoyao Mansion, Mr. Zhu who received silver deliveries monthly at Yunyin Pavilion, a personal attendant to the Golden-faced Imperial Censor...
Enough, let others call themselves who they wish, no matter to her.
As long as she didn’t have to bother fixing lies she didn’t tell.
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