The Ming Dynasty's henchmen, working from nine to five

Chapter 54 is surprisingly explosive.

He personally retrieved the tassel from under Huang Cuier's bed; he watched Huang Cuier pull it off the murderer with his own eyes.

The source is absolutely correct.

Xu Jingde served as the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, in charge of ceremonial duties and the performance of court assemblies.

His judgment is naturally correct.

So, the answer to why the killer would carry such a thing with him is obvious—

He had an affair with one of the concubines in the harem, and the affair was quite intimate!

She defiled the imperial harem, stole the emperor's destiny, and secretly trained unofficial fortune tellers...

In this way, everything can be explained.

This person is truly audacious!

Xu Jingde seemed to have the same thought as Shen Lang, his expression extremely solemn, and he asked again:

"Is this really an item left behind by the murderer?"

Shen Lang said, "Lord Xu, please rest assured, I would not joke about such a thing."

Xu Jingde stood up, paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

"No, that doesn't make logical sense!"

"The fact that he could have illicit affairs with the concubines, and that it had progressed to the point of exchanging tokens, indicates that this person was able to frequently enter the inner palace."

"But His Majesty has always been strict in managing the inner palace, and anyone who enters or leaves is recorded."

"If there were anyone acting suspiciously, they would have been discovered long ago. Why wait until today?"

Shen Lang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Could it be... someone from inside the palace?"

Xu Jingde was stunned for a moment, his pupils suddenly contracting: "Young friend, you mean... a certain prince?!"

Shen Lang said, "I'm just guessing. Whether it's true or not, Lord Xu needs to verify it himself."

Xu Jingde remained silent for a few moments, then slowly nodded and said, "Leave this matter to me."

Shen Lang reminded him, "We must be quick, and make sure to get it done before the three judicial departments close the case."

Xu Jingde said, "I understand."

After saying that, he hesitated for a moment and then handed the tassel back to Shen Lang.

"You should keep this. I'm not skilled in martial arts, and if we encounter thieves, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you."

Shen Lang nodded and cautioned, "Sir, you must be careful in your actions. If the person behind this finds out that we have investigated this far, they will surely fight to the death."

Xu Jingde waved his hand, a cold glint in his eyes: "Even if I die, I will drag that thief out before I close my eyes again!"

After discussing for a while, Xu Jingde personally escorted Shen Lang out of the mansion.

When Shen Lang first arrived, he was emaciated and had no spirit at all.

Looking at him now, his eyes have regained their light, and he even stands up straighter.

Shen Lang mounted his horse, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Lord Xu, please return. There is no need to worry about the fortune teller. I will bring her to justice soon."

Looking at his calm and composed demeanor, Xu Jingde suddenly asked, "Are all the captains in the Embroidered Uniform Guard these days at your level?"

Shen Lang smiled and said modestly, "I am new here and still have many shortcomings. I need to learn from my colleagues."

Xu Jingde shook his head and said no more.

Shen Lang spurred his horse and galloped away.

Watching the man and horse disappear around the street corner, Xu Jingde sighed, "Truly, heroes emerge from among the young!"

"Princess Jing'an is quite fortunate to have such a retainer..."

As he spoke, he pulled out a crumpled piece of Xuan paper from his pocket, bearing the ink imprint of a handprint, and muttered to himself:

"Yun'er, Father will soon avenge you!"

After saying that, he pursed his lips, flicked his sleeves, turned around, and strode into the mansion.

......

Now that we have both witnesses and physical evidence, all we need to do is wait for Xu Jingde to identify the thief, and then follow the clues to thoroughly understand the ins and outs of this case.

So in the following days, Shen Lang devoted all his energy to searching for the mysterious Fate Master.

Dongjiaomin Lane, the area north of the road where officials' residences are concentrated.

Shen Lang slowly cleared the gray and red mist from his eyes, and pinched his brow with some weariness.

"The efficiency is too low; we can't continue this investigation."

His original plan was to divide the city into areas, investigate them one by one, and screen the entire city of Yujing.

However, in actual execution, it was discovered that when the Demon Eye of Illusion and the Void Realm were activated simultaneously, the energy consumed was not calculated according to the coverage area.

Instead, it is positively correlated with the number of living beings and the strength of their vital energy in the region.

Humans, cats, and dogs are all included.

Kyoto has a population of several million, and the streets and alleys are full of people, including many vigorous martial arts practitioners.

This has greatly troubled his investigation; at the current pace, it will definitely take more than half a month to finish.

With the Ministry of Justice about to finalize the case, there isn't much time left for him.

"Return to the Prince's residence and interrogate that orange cat again."

"The cat demon is stupid and not very intelligent. Perhaps some things it overlooks are key clues."

After a moment's thought, Shen Lang mounted his horse and galloped towards the Jing'an Prince's Mansion.

......

"Miss He Xiang, I really can't go on anymore, let me rest!"

"Oh dear, Miss Qiuju, what brings you here? I really can't handle all this..."

As Shen Lang walked through the corridor and entered the garden, he heard a familiar voice.

Looking up, I saw that the person speaking was Liu Baichuan, who had two small mustaches.

At this moment, he was surrounded by a group of beautiful women from the royal palace.

Seeing this unexpected scene, Shen Lang was slightly taken aback and called out from afar, "Brother Liu, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, it's Lord Shen!"

"Lord Shen is back!"

"I'll go and inform the Princess and the Crown Princess!"

"I'll go tell the kitchen to prepare the meal!"

The maids turned their heads and saw Shen Lang. Their eyes lit up immediately, and they all surrounded him, chattering and greeting him before scattering away.

After dealing with everyone, Shen Lang finally got a good look at Liu Baichuan.

His hat was askew, his official robes were disheveled, and even his cloud-patterned waist tag had fallen to the ground. He sat listlessly on the stone bench, one hand touching his lower abdomen and the other pounding his lower back.

"Brother Liu, what's wrong with you...?"

Shen Lang scrutinized him, his gaze growing increasingly strange.

"Thank goodness Brother Shen returned in time, otherwise I would have lost half my life here!"

Liu Baichuan shook his head, sighing deeply.

"Princess Jing'an is so incredibly hospitable! I only helped her train her guards for a few days, and she already brought me a whole bunch of tonics. I had no choice but to eat them!"

As he spoke, he pointed to the mountain of medicinal herbs piled up on the stone table in front of him.

Blood Spirit Ginseng, Qingyunzhi, Snow Lotus, Zhuguo... all kinds of rare and precious items are available.

Shen Lang smiled and said, "That's just how the princess is. If you help her, you're one of her own. She never mistreats her own people."

"Your Highness is wealthy, so please don't stand on ceremony."

"I think it's more like loving the house because of its owner."

As Liu Baichuan was speaking, he suddenly burped.

"I'm not worthy of such a treat... Although I practice martial arts, I can't eat ginseng like it's food!"

"Ugh, I feel like throwing up just looking at these things..."

Shen Lang chuckled, "Why aren't you doing your job at the government office? What are you doing here?"

After catching his breath, Liu Baichuan felt a bit better. He winked and said slyly:

"Commander Zhou has a grudge against you and insists that we arrest you and bring you back to the yamen for questioning."

"There's no other way, we have to reluctantly come to the Prince's mansion to keep watch every day at the same time."