Only Mr. Xie stood with his hands hanging down, head lowered, his facial muscles twitching slightly. He was forcing himself not to laugh, even though he wanted to.
Only he knew that Lin Miao was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
On the surface, he seed harmless, but in reality, he was incredibly ruthless. These two people who followed him were likely discovered long ago.
So, the two who were killed in the bustling market of Dongshan were most likely his doing. He killed them and managed to get away without leaving any clues. How did he do it? It’s terrifying.
Now he’s even turning the tables. Such ans and psychological quality—how could a sixteen-year-old possess them?
Even an old fox of age might not achieve this.
These two people followed Lin Miao, clearly with ulterior motives, and this Mr. Han evidently couldn’t—or dared not—speak about it.
This indicates that the identities of the deceased were unusual, and Lin Miao was forcing the other side to actively reveal themselves.
This Mr. Han walked right into his trap.
Based on Mr. Xie’s understanding of Lin Miao, if he’s acting this way, it’s clearly to teach the people behind a lesson, hoping they would stop while they’re ahead and not go too far.
But the opposition seed not to plan on letting him off easily...
There was drama unfolding. Mr. Xie suddenly felt that serving as housekeeper for Lin Miao was not bad at all, much more exciting than the monotonous life as a steward at "Yuanheng".
Mr. Han Chunyang was over thirty years old. He had never encountered a situation like this and didn’t know how to handle it.
Isn’t Lin Miao not even seventeen? Why is he so formidable at such a young age?
"Old Xie, prepare yourself, accompany to the Arresting Departnt office," Lin Miao coldly instructed. Today, regarding this matter, he had to go to the Arresting Departnt for an explanation.
"Master, should I prepare clothes and bedding for you?" Mr. Xie imdiately responded with a sharp reply, implying that, going there, were you not planning to co back?
"What do you think?"
"Understood, Master."
Han Chunyang was sowhat dumbfounded. If Lin Miao really went to the Arresting Departnt, he would be the one in trouble. He had only co to use wordplay to see if he could find so clues.
In the end, he didn’t get any clues and trapped himself instead.
"Mr. Lin, it’s not that serious. We’re just here to understand the situation..."
"But from Mr. Han’s words, I understand that this case seems to be related to . As a law-abiding citizen, I indeed should cooperate with the Arresting Departnt’s investigation, but I also have the right to know the truth?" Lin Miao had no intention of letting it go easily.
He had to go to the Arresting Departnt today, no matter what.
Mr. Han was really in despair, thinking to himself, why did he have to take on this case? Now he held a hot potato he couldn’t throw away and might even botch it.
He went back to the backyard to instruct Yuzhu.
Lin Miao ignored Mr. Han, took Mr. Xie, and directly headed for the Arresting Departnt office.
Mr. Han could only quickly follow.
If this young master really turned the Arresting Departnt upside down, by tomorrow he might have to strip off his official clothing.
...
In the freezing weather, thieves and robbers were far fewer, and the Arresting Departnt was also quieter than usual, except for those patrolling the streets.
Hiding in the office, warming themselves by the fire, sipping tea—how cozy!
That was the daily routine of Feng Sheng, the officer of the Arresting Departnt. He sat in the office all day, not exposed to rain or wind. Although his rank wasn’t high, life was quite comfortable.
Handling cases and catching culprits was sothing for subordinates to do. He mostly just moved his lips, and if a case went wrong, subordinates would take the bla.
"Mr. Feng, this is bad..."
"What’s bad? Don’t you know to knock before entering?" Mr. Feng angrily scolded, thankful he wasn’t reading leisure books; it would’ve been embarrassing if subordinates saw and spread the word.
"Yes, Mr. Feng, please calm down. It’s like this: Mr. Han took people to Xiuyue Square early this morning..." the clerk hurriedly reported.
"What, who gave him the order?" Upon hearing this, Mr. Feng’s face suddenly changed.
"This case has been pending for days. Although the Ye Family has never urged the Arresting Departnt to solve it quickly, it’s a murder case and must be resolved. Otherwise, the Arresting Departnt’s annual evaluation will be affected. The year-end assessnt is approaching, so Mr. Han wanted to solve the case before the evaluation. Thus, he took people to find Mr. Lin to understand the situation. Who knew, he got caught up in the conversation, and now Mr. Lin is on his way to the Arresting Departnt."
"Don’t panic. He’s not an official physician yet. This officer, after all, is a court official. Let’s et him first!" Mr. Feng was experienced and knew that the position as an officer in the Arresting Departnt was not for ordinary people.
About the ti it takes to burn an incense stick later.
The side hall of the Arresting Departnt.
The main hall of the Arresting Departnt was for trials and interrogations, so naturally, they couldn’t et Lin Miao there. The side hall was for guests, less formal.
"Mr. Lin, greetings. I am Feng Sheng, newly appointed officer at the Dongshan City Arresting Departnt." Mr. Feng first greeted and introduced himself.
"Greetings, Mr. Feng." Lin Miao ca with anger, so he wasn’t too respectful, but he still offered a slight bow.
"Mr. Lin, please call Mr. Feng," Feng Sheng quickly said. Although not ranked officially, state-certified "physicians" hold high social status and can et officials without bowing.
For literate people, practicing dicine was a very respectable profession. As long as they weren’t too incompetent, they would live without worry, and their descendants could benefit.
Even in warti, dical practitioners were key protection objects, and it was exceedingly rare for them to die.
Of course, studying dicine and ultimately becoming a "physician" is extrely competitive. Not even one in a hundred scholars may succeed.
In contrast, pursuing a career through the imperial examination might be sowhat easier.
Studying dicine requires exceptional talent.
"Mr. Feng, I’ll be straightforward. Today, Mr. Han from your departnt ca to my house, and inquired about certain matters. He even took out two portraits for to identify. I told him I didn’t recognize them, but Mr. Han and his subordinates insisted that these two individuals had so connection to . After further questioning, they revealed that these two people were victims of a murder in the Eastern Market so days ago. And it seems that their murder was related to them following . However, I wasn’t aware of anyone tracking . What is going on here?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Sheng’s smile dissipated instantly. He was naturally aware of the situation of this case. The problem was the ambiguous attitude of the Ye Family. They didn’t pressure the Arresting Departnt as if these two people weren’t associated with them.
The bodies weren’t claid either.
After the coroner’s examination, the cause of death was clear. The murderer was evidently an expert, but it’s unclear whether it was one person or two.
However, one thing is clear from the Ye Family’s stance: this case shouldn’t be publicized, because there are indeed so matters unfavorable to them involved.
The two deceased bodyguards following Lin Miao were obviously targeting Lin Miao, but what the Ye Family intends to do, Feng Sheng doesn’t know.
But he did attend last night’s birthday banquet, where Lin Miao attended with his senior sister Sun Youwei, whose striking beauty and impressive pharmaceutical recognition skills stunned everyone. There was also Ye Xizhao’s loss of composure upon seeing Sun Youwei...
Having worked in the Arresting Departnt for so many years, Feng Sheng has developed a basic ability to analyze such situations. It’s most likely that Ye Xizhao had an interest in Sun Youwei, yet didn’t know where Lin Miao lived, so he sent people to follow him, but ended up having those followers killed in the Eastern Market.
Upon investigating the previous offenses of the two n, it’s true they had committed nurous wrongful deeds under the orders of Ye Xizhao. Though the Ye Family resolved these issues on the surface, the resentnt hadn’t disappeared.
These two could be said to have deserved their end.
However, private execution is not permitted by the court, so if it’s possible to identify the murderer, they still need to be apprehended.
"Mr. Lin, this case is rather complex, and the identities of the deceased are sowhat unique, which is why Mr. Han found it inconvenient to speak clearly with you." Feng Sheng glanced at Han Chunyang’s signaling gesture from behind the door, imdiately understanding his intention.
"If Mr. Han can’t speak openly, then you, Mr. Feng, should have the authority to do so, right?"
"Yes, of course I do." Feng Sheng signaled for Han Chunyang and the others in the side hall to step out first, while Lin Miao also motioned for Mr. Xie to wait outside.
Mr. Xie wanted to stay and listen, but given his current status as a servant, he didn’t want to face the consequences of disobedience and therefore left obediently.
"Mr. Lin, to be candid, the two deceased were the personal bodyguards of Ye Xizhao, a young master of the Ye Family. As for why they were following you, I truly don’t know." Feng Sheng wore an open and honest expression, truly not knowing the exact reason. His internal speculations couldn’t be spoken aloud.
Even if he personally asked, Ye Xizhao probably wouldn’t disclose anything. After all, the deceased can’t testify, and his reply of "I don’t know" leaves everyone helpless.
If one’s bodyguards were tailing soone and were then killed, does it necessarily have to relate back to their master?
They weren’t slaves of the Ye Family, just employees.
But who would believe that?
However, in a court setting, you can’t find fault with this explanation. You claim there’s a connection—where’s the evidence? The Ye Family isn’t an average citizen; you can’t conclude based on conjecture, can you?
In this case, as long as the Ye Family denies any knowledge, and Lin Miao hasn’t noticed being followed, then there’s no case to be made.
Even if there are hidden truths here, the best solution right now is for everyone to pretend not to know anything.
"Are these two bodies still at the Arresting Departnt?"
"Mr. Lin, what do you intend to do?"
"I don’t even know these two people. Now that they’re dead, shouldn’t I get to know them?" Lin Miao slowly stated.
"They’re just two dead people. What do you intend to do by seeing them?"
"I really don’t recall the two images Mr. Han showed , but the description of their attire resonates with sowhat—particularly the one slain at the South Gate, though I only glimpsed the back, not the face."
"Mr. Lin, do you really want to see them?" Feng Sheng felt a bit apprehensive and couldn’t understand what Lin Miao wanted with the two corpses.
"Yes. Mr. Feng, if even you don’t know why they were following , perhaps seeing them will jog my mory."
"This..." Realizing he couldn’t refuse, especially given the reasoning, Feng Sheng nodded in agreent.
The Arresting Departnt has an autopsy room and a morgue.
Bodies unclaid for an extended period are first kept in the morgue and later transported to a place like the charity cetery.
Thus, the bodies of Dong Hu and Zhao Wu were still in the Arresting Departnt’s morgue.
Given the cold winter months, the bodies are well-preserved, almost as they were at the ti of death.
"This is Zhao Wu. Killed by an unknown, sharp weapon, penetrating between the third and fourth ribs, right in the critical heart area, resulting in instantaneous death."
Lin Miao nodded; given his actions, how could he be unaware of the cause of death?
"Dong Hu was likely killed by a similar weapon, penetrating the neck and erging from the back of the head. The wound is extrely small, and it wasn’t detectable during the initial site inspection..."
"Mr. Feng, I do have so mory of these n’s faces. It seems they’ve followed more than once."
"Not just once, Mr. Lin, are you sure?"
"I’m not certain, but I’ve encountered them twice at the Xinglin Institute. Once, unaware of their identities, I thought they ant harm and preemptively avoided them. Mr. Su Chen can attest to this; he was present."
"When did this happen?"
"It was on the day the Xinglin Institute released the list of additional dical book examinations; the exact date should be the fifth of October."
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