Ci’er fell silent.
In truth, she didn’t know the real situation.
Growing up, her grandmother and mother had treated her and her sister equally.
Her sister had even started getting involved in the family business earlier, learning to read accounts and act as a steward alongside their mother.
She had always assumed her sister was the heir chosen by the Goddess, destined to inherit the family business.
Xie Yunjin walked up to the table and handed her a stack of documents.
“The first three victims all had entirely Yin birth charts with water as their dominant element.
They share the same origin as your thousand gold blood.
Furthermore, they all used to live in Sweet Water Lane in the south of the Capital City.”
Ci’er took the documents and flipped through them page by page.
Mrs.
Dong, aged eighteen.
Originally registered as a class-two commoner in Sweet Water Lane of Chongshan Square.
Her father, Dong Chengye, was formerly a Vice Minister of the Camp Repair Office under the Supervision Department.
After he was convicted and executed, she was forced to become an official prostitute under the stage name Ye Xiang.
The woman of the Hu Family, aged twenty-four.
Originally a class-one artisan registered in Sweet Water Lane of Chongshan Square.
In the Second Year of Yongxing, she was married off to the Jimin District in the West Market, and her entire family moved away.
Her father, Hu Da, was once a hired laborer for the Wei family and died during the disaster of Ms.
Wei.
The girl of the Liu Family, aged sixteen.
A class-three resident of Sweet Water Lane in Chongshan Square.
Recently married to the son of Zhou Lu, the Taiping Posthouse Minister…
“Sweet Water Lane?” Ci’er read the location aloud.
“The Wei family’s incense making workshop is located right there in Sweet Water Lane.”
“Yes.” Xie Yunjin’s handsome face darkened slightly, his calmness bordering on cruelty.
“The criminal is looking for you.
Looking for a substitute for the thousand gold blood.”
“What about the other one?” Ci’er looked up, as if suddenly remembering something.
“I recall the fourth victim was an embroideress?”
Xie Yunjin walked over to another autopsy table and lifted the white cloth.
“The embroideress Cui Hong was an orphan from out of town who ended up in the Capital City.
Her registration records are lost, and her birth chart cannot be found.
Aside from Lu Kuo, whose assault was interrupted at the maid selection office, she is the only one among the first four victims whose facial skin was not peeled off.”
Ci’er leaned in for a closer look.
“Second Master, look at these hands.”
Xie Yunjin leaned in, following her gaze.
The victim’s fingers were long and slender, with nails neatly trimmed into a rounded shape.
There were thin calluses on her fingertips—not the kind formed from hard manual labor, but those typical of someone who used a needle and thread year-round.
“Aren’t all embroideresses’ hands like this?
What’s so strange about it?”
Ci’er said, “Why is she the exception?
Was the criminal out of time?
Or is it because… she was the one who embroidered the skin?”
The morgue fell silent for a moment.
“Are you saying the murderer killed her to silence her?” Xie Yunjin asked.
“If she was the one who embroidered the prophecies, in what capacity did she participate in the first three cases?
An accomplice?
Or a coerced witness?
If she was indeed the one who embroidered the Painted Skin, then who was the one committing the crime later at the maid selection office?”
“Dead people obviously can’t commit crimes, but the living can investigate the truth,” Ci’er replied.
“Did this embroideress named Cui Hong know Appliqué Embroidery?
And did she have any connection to the Nine-Bestowments Royal Mansion?”
Xie Yunjin frowned.
“You still suspect the murderer is someone from the Prince Mansion?”
Ci’er spoke coldly.
“Your royal father holds the Dragon Bone Prophecy and is dead set on obtaining the thousand gold blood.
If the murderer isn’t him, who else could it be?”
“I’m just afraid that the real culprit behind the scenes is even filthier than he is.”
“Sophistry.” Ci’er rolled her eyes at him in dissatisfaction and silently pulled a small piece of golden thread from her sleeve.
“Take a look at this.”
Xie Yunjin’s eyes darkened.
“Where did this come from?”
“From Nanny Liu’s room.” Ci’er placed the golden thread on the wooden table, right next to the piece of human skin to compare them, casting a pointed glance at him.
“Now, do you still believe that the Painted Skin Case has nothing to do with Xie Pingzhang?”
Xie Yunjin picked up the golden thread and twirled it under the lamplight.
“Nanny Liu is Liu Tingyue’s subordinate.” His tone grew heavy.
“The golden thread is a tribute from Western Que, entirely bestowed upon the Nine-Bestowments Royal Mansion.
Liu Tingyue manages the household affairs in the Prince Mansion, and all withdrawals are recorded.
There is no need for them to take such huge risks.”
Ci’er sneered.
“Are you trying to say someone is deliberately framing the Nine-Bestowments Royal Mansion?”
“It’s not impossible.” Xie Yunjin looked straight at her.
“You know very well that many people covet the Dragon Bone Prophecy.
There are also many who want your blood.”
Ci’er chuckled lightly.
“If Xie Pingzhang is indeed the true culprit, will you arrest him, Master Xie?”
“I will.” Xie Yunjin’s eyes deepened.
“As long as I have sufficient evidence, and… the capability.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“You have no other choice.” Xie Yunjin’s expression remained unchanged as he smiled and extended a hand toward her, his grin both cruel and candid.
“Go find Xie Chen and tell him your true identity.
Let’s see if he is willing to defy his biological father and go against the entire court just for you alone.”
Ci’er knew the answer.
Xie Chen had already made his choice five years ago.
“Fine.” She slapped her hand into his palm, giving a half-genuine smile.
“My life will be temporarily placed in your hands.
However, I have two small matters that I need your help with.”
A dark gleam flashed in Xie Yunjin’s eyes.
He seemed relieved, yet also slightly disappointed.
He had thought she would struggle a bit longer.
“Speak.” A teasing smirk formed on Xie Yunjin’s lips.
“I was the one who saved you.
If I don’t help you, who will?”
“The first thing.” Ci’er tilted her head up, her tone serious.
“Liu Tingyue took away a female servant from the Wei family back then.
Her surname is Gao, and she worked as a rough maid in the laundry room for a few years.
Everyone else called her Aunt Gao.
I will have to trouble you to help me find this person.”
Xie Yunjin’s gaze flickered.
“Second.” Ci’er picked up the piece of golden thread and twirled it between her fingers, looking at him with a half-smile.
“I want the Token to the Shelf Room of the Prison Chief.”
The Shelf Room of the Prison Chief contained the secrets of countless cases, including the files on the Painted Skin Case and even the old case of the Wei family.
Xie Yunjin’s gaze fell on her face, filled with inquiry.
“I’m not one to engage in a losing deal.”
“You don’t have a choice either.” Ci’er tilted her head slightly, a confident, knowing look in her eyes.
“You know perfectly well what kind of person Xie Chen is.
Relying solely on a few chance encounters and deliberate seduction won’t even scratch his itch.”
Xie Yunjin narrowed his eyes.
“Oh?”
Ci’er raised the corner of her eyes.
“I have to first become a piece on his chessboard before he takes me seriously.
You’ve already placed your bet; surely you don’t want all your previous efforts to go to waste?”
Xie Yunjin chuckled softly.
“Tomorrow at 5 a.m., at the rear corner gate.
Ying Qi will be there waiting for you.”
When Ci’er returned to the side room, the horizon had already taken on a crab-shell-like cyan hue.
The room was unlit.
A Tao was still asleep, breathing softly like a small kitten.
Leaning against the head of the bed and listening to the wind howling against the eaves, she gathered all the clues in her mind and recalled Xie Yunjin’s words.
“There are many who want your blood.”
The murderer wasn’t killing for revenge, but for “materials.” She was the prime material; others were merely substitutes.
She only knew that the next victim could appear at any moment.
With an agitated mind, sleep was impossible.
She simply got up, used the moonlight spilling in through the window, pulled out a charcoal pencil, and wrote down a few names on a piece of paper—Ye Xiang, Hu Ji, Liu Family, and Cui Hong.
She then wrote: Sweet Water Lane.
When her mother was alive, she would often take her and Yin Shuang to Wei’s Fragrance Workshop.
Even with her eyes closed, she could still trace the hitching posts and brick-carved archway at the entrance of the alley, as well as the stone mill and ancient well at its end.
She wondered what connection the victims had with the Wei family and who exactly the murderer was.
Could it be Xie Pingzhang?
He possessed the power and the motive.
The golden thread originated from the Prince Mansion, and the Stone Prison was under his control.
Or could it be Liu Tingyue?
She harbored old grudges and had the opportunity.
In recent years, she had been scouring everywhere for females under the guise of selecting maids for the Princely Heir.
She pondered for a long time but couldn’t come up with an answer.
So, she just leaned against the headboard, watching the window turn from cyan to white as the sky gradually brightened.
“Miss?” It was A Tao’s voice.
Ci’er glanced over.
A Tao rubbed her eyes and sat up with messy hair, looking quite adorable.
“When did you get back, Miss?
I woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t see you, but then I dozed off again in a daze.”
She mumbled a few more words, let out a massive yawn, and shuffled out in her shoes to fetch some water.
A short while later, she came back carrying a washbasin.
Setting it on the basin stand, she acted like a thief as she shoved a flatbread into Ci’er’s hand.
“Eat it quickly!
It’s dipped in sugar.”
“Where did you get this?”
“Aunt Zhang from the kitchen sneaked it to me.
She said the Young Master doesn’t like sweet flatbread, so there were a few left over.
I thought I’d bring it back for you to try.”
Her heart warmed, Ci’er thanked her.
She devoured the flatbread in a few bites, chugged half a cup of cold tea to wash it down, and bent over the basin stand to wash her face.
As A Tao handed her a towel, she sighed.
“Miss, how long do you think we’ll have to stay in the Heir’s Mansion?”
Ci’er asked, “What’s wrong?”
A Tao lowered her eyelids and spoke weakly, “Living this kind of sneaky, thieving life makes me feel uneasy.
I’m so scared.”
Ci’er chuckled.
“Wouldn’t you be scared if we went back to the Second Master’s side?”
A Tao thought for a moment.
“The Second Master is easier to coax than the Princely Heir.”
Ci’er couldn’t help but laugh and shook her head, not responding.
A Tao giggled and lowered her voice.
“I heard that the Second Master’s biological mother was the least favored concubine in the mansion, and she jumped into a well and died when he was very young.
He was mistreated by Consort Liu from a young age, unable to even get a hot meal, and was almost beaten to death by a Protector on the consort’s orders.
He dragged his battered, wounded body and knelt outside the Prince’s door for three days just to secure a position in the Embroidery Bureau.
At first, he was a bottom-rung servant in the Embroidery Bureau, pouring tea, fetching water, and organizing files—anyone could order him around, and Consort Liu secretly tried to trip him up.
Later, the Second Master relied purely on his ruthlessness to crack several unsolved cases.
After making great contributions, he finally earned the Prince’s respect and managed to carve out a place for himself.”
Ci’er shot her a glance.
“You certainly find out a lot.”
“I just have a gossipy mouth.” A Tao scratched her head in embarrassment, then stole a peek at Ci’er’s expression.
“The Second Master is quite pitiful.
If a person grows up without anyone to love them, it’s not their fault if their heart becomes hardened as an adult.”
Ci’er said nothing.
She remembered Xie Yunjin’s wildly smiling eyes, and the corners of her lips curved up slightly as she spoke in a faint tone.
“Hurry up and get to work.
I have somewhere to be soon.”