Gao Jing reached out his hand to her. “Come to your father’s side.”
Gao Yuexing walked over and leaned on the desk.
Gao Jing said, “Tomorrow, your father will go to the Chen family to gather evidence. You will accompany me.”
Gao Yuexing was unexpectedly delighted. “Father?”
Gao Jing looked at his daughter’s still-young face, faint worry clouding his expression, and said, “Ah Xing, you are different from your sister. The person your sister is going to marry has both character and family background that your father can trust and evaluate. I am confident I can protect her from any grievances. But, Ah Xing, your future… you will fly too high and too far. Perhaps I won’t be able to reach you. So, you must rely on yourself.”
Gao Yuexing had no doubt that as long as she expressed even a hint of unwillingness, her father would risk everything to keep her by his side.
That was the stirring of shared blood.
Gao Yuexing’s eyes reddened, tears welling up. She said, “I will, Father. Not only will I protect myself, but I will also protect our family and everyone around me.”
Gao Jing wiped away her tears. “Don’t cry. Your father believes you can do it.”
Gao Yuexing watched as her father spread open a sheet of paper and said, “This case involves the Chen family’s inner residence. It’s not difficult, just troublesome.”
What Gao Jing had obtained was a list of people in the Chen family’s inner residence—a list that included over a hundred or two hundred individuals, even covering their family servants and maids and attendants purchased from outside.
No wonder Gao Jing called it troublesome.
Just looking at it gave Gao Yuexing a headache.
Gao Jing picked up his brush, preparing to say something, but suddenly stopped. The tip of the brush hovered in mid-air. He turned to Gao Yuexing and said, “Go to the side room and invite His Highness to come and listen as well.”
Gao Jing, with his brilliance and experience honed in the officialdom, hoped to pass these skills on as tools for his children. He hoped it was still in time to teach them, hoping these would help them navigate the thorny paths they might face in the future.
Gao Yuexing draped a cloak over Li Fuxiang, pulled up his hood, dismissed the servants in the courtyard, and brought him to the study.
Li Fuxiang took off his cloak.
Gao Jing had the two children sit side by side at the desk and said, “Today, I investigated the scene where Miss Chen was harmed and questioned the people involved. Tomorrow, I will interrogate a few individuals in detail.”
Gao Yuexing asked, “So Miss Chen was killed by her own family members?”
Gao Jing replied, “Isn’t that obvious?”
Li Fuxiang said, “Master Chen probably knows the truth in his heart.”
Gao Jing said, “Whether he has a guilty conscience or not, only he knows best.”
Gao Yuexing’s thoughts wandered again. Using such a flawed conspiracy to drag our Highness into the matter, what could be the purpose?
Gao Jing tapped her on the head with his brush. “Focus.”
Gao Yuexing replied, “Oh—”
Taking advantage of her father turning around, Gao Yuexing rubbed the sore spot where she’d been tapped.
Li Fuxiang quickly stretched his neck to look at her with concern.
Gao Jing, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, turned around and gave Li Fuxiang a tap on the forehead as well.
The two children finally settled down.
Of course, Gao Yuexing only appeared obedient on the surface; her mind was still running wild with thoughts.
—When they were little, Li Fuxiang didn’t like studying. Tutor Liu often got so angry but had no way to deal with him—he couldn’t hit him, and he couldn’t scold him. If Gao Jing had been their teacher back then, with such a strict instructor, perhaps they’d already have passed the imperial examination by now.
Oh, right.
What rank did Father achieve back in the day?
Gao Jing took out the ruler. “If you don’t focus, you’ll get your palms smacked.”
Gao Yuexing’s bad habit of multitasking—sometimes even thinking about three things at once—had been ingrained for years. She couldn’t stop her mind from wandering. The sight of the dark sandalwood ruler left her intimidated. It was the family discipline tool her father used to teach her elder brother back in the day. Though it had been put away for years, today, it was brought out for her.
Gao Yuexing rubbed her palms, which were now starting to sweat.
Li Fuxiang leaned toward her ear and whispered quickly, “That time the Emperor punished me, he used this same thing. Hit me three times—it hurt a lot.”
Gao Yuexing: “.…”
So this was the same “rod” the Emperor angrily summoned in the dead of night at Qianqing Palace!
What a lackluster performance.
In the end, Gao Yuexing still got a ruler strike before she finally settled down.
Following the principle of sharing joy and hardship, Li Fuxiang wasn’t to be outdone—he managed to get himself a strike as well.
Gao Jing pointed at the names listed in the dossier and said, “The Chen family has two young ladies. They live and eat in the same place—Cuiyuan. Logically speaking, if Miss Chen had made any noise or movement, the Second Miss Chen, who lives in the same courtyard, would have noticed.”
But she didn’t.
Gao Yuexing understood the unspoken implication in her father’s words.
She recalled that not long ago, the Second Miss Chen had sent her an invitation.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have declined back then.
There were too many women in the Chen family’s inner residence.
First, there were many brothers in the family, none of whom had split from the main household yet. Each had numerous wives and concubines, resulting in a swarm of legitimate and illegitimate daughters.
Based on Gao Jing’s first day of questioning, he hadn’t been able to gather much useful information.
That’s why he needed to go back again tomorrow.
Gao Yuexing dressed up as a young apprentice coroner. Apart from her stature being a bit lacking, everything else seemed fine.
Li Fuxiang also wanted to go along.
But his special identity made it difficult—most of the Chen family would recognize him.
Gao Yuexing reassured him, “Wait for me at home. Whether I go or you go, it’s the same. My eyes are your eyes; my ears are your ears. Whatever I see or hear, I’ll tell you everything.”
Gao Jing, his back to them, coughed lightly. Gao Yuexing, carrying a dusty cloth bag, swiftly mounted a horse and left through the gates of the Gao residence, following the coroner.
Gao Yuexing noticed that something about the capital felt unusual today.
The streets seemed to be under martial law. Passersby hurried along with anxious expressions, not daring to lift their heads. The streets were openly patrolled by the Imperial Guard and the Jinyiwei.
Gao Yuexing observed all this and caught up with the coroner temporarily serving as her teacher, asking, “Sir, has something happened in the capital recently?”
The coroner replied, “The night before last, an assassin broke into the Dali Court. The Fifth Prince, who was staying there, was injured and abducted. His whereabouts are currently unknown.”
Gao Yuexing had almost forgotten about this. The coroner’s words reminded her, and she suddenly realized—keeping up appearances was necessary. To outsiders, Li Fuxiang was truly missing.
Gao Yuexing immediately heightened her vigilance.
When she followed her coroner teacher through the side gate of the Chen family residence, her sharp eyes caught sight of dark red bloodstains on the threshold.
The Chen family had been in utter chaos for the past few days. Even such an obvious abnormality at their entrance had been left unattended.
Inside the Chen family, the eldest young lady’s body lay in repose. The moment they stepped through the entrance, white mourning banners were everywhere. After Gao Jing met with Master Chen in the front courtyard, he prepared to head toward the courtyard where the deceased Miss Chen had lived.
As Gao Yuexing passed by her father, Gao Jing stopped, pointed at her, and said, “You, assist with the documents.” With that, he strode purposefully toward the inner courtyard.
In front of everyone, Gao Yuexing lowered her head and obediently followed. Her every move carried the demeanor of a servant—there wasn’t a trace of pampered behavior. She moved with brisk efficiency.
The high-ranking ladies and young misses of the Chen family paid no attention to a seemingly insignificant servant. Dressed as a young man, Gao Yuexing stood among them without arousing any suspicion.
Gao Jing began his questioning with the second Miss Chen: “At one quarter past the hour of the tiger, when your sister was attacked, did you hear anything unusual?”
The second Miss Chen shook her head. “I was asleep at the time. I only found out when I woke up at dawn that my sister had been killed…”
The second Miss Chen, who was a year younger than Gao Yuexing, was nestled in the arms of Madam Chen. She looked frightened but not particularly grief-stricken.
Gao Yuexing scrutinized the mother and daughter, noticing that neither the second Miss Chen nor Madam Chen showed any signs of sorrow.
It struck Gao Yuexing as highly unusual. The eldest Miss Chen was the legitimate daughter of the Chen family, born of Madam Chen—a full-blooded sibling of the second Miss Chen.
Madam Chen held her younger daughter tightly and said, “Master Gao, my child is still young. If you have any questions, you may ask me directly.”
Gao Jing replied, “Madam Chen, it is not my intention to trouble you. However, on the day of Miss Chen’s murder, everyone in your household gave the same account—none noticed anything unusual. This makes things very difficult for me.”
Madam Chen responded coolly, “Master Gao, please be careful with your words. What you’re implying sounds as if our entire household conspired to murder the eldest Miss Chen. That is simply absurd.”
Gao Jing raised an eyebrow. “Absurd, is it?”
Madam Chen’s expression turned stormy, but though her anger was evident, she dared not speak further.
Gao Jing did not press the issue. He left the group of women and stepped into the room of the deceased Miss Chen.
Gao Yuexing followed closely behind.
The room of the eldest Miss Chen was where the real clues lay. On the day of her murder, the Ministry of Justice had sealed off the scene. No one, including the Chen family, was allowed to enter.
The seals on the door remained intact, showing no signs of tampering.
This suggested that the original traces were still preserved.
Acting under the Emperor’s decree, Gao Jing had been granted full authority over the case. Today, he personally removed the seals, once again exposing the crime scene to the light of day.
Before Gao Yuexing even stepped across the threshold, the pungent smell of blood assaulted her nose, mixed with a faint stench.
A single slash to the neck had taken Miss Chen’s life. The blood spray had been far more horrifying than one might imagine. Though autumn was approaching, the lingering warmth of summer had not yet faded. Blood left to stagnate in a sealed room for several days had inevitably created a nauseating odor.
Even Gao Jing furrowed his brow slightly.
Gao Yuexing was the first to step into the room, her expression unwavering. She carefully pushed open the windows, allowing fresh air to flow inside.
Behind her, the second Miss Chen finally noticed the small-framed servant. Staring at her back, she softly murmured in surprise, “Hmm?”
Gao Yuexing did not hear this.
As she pushed the window open, she looked down and spotted a faint shoeprint on the windowsill.
The room, sealed for several days, was covered with a thin layer of dust. However, the shoeprint on the windowsill was not left from stepping on dust.
The print had a trace of fine white powder. In the dim light, it was barely visible, but the moment she opened the window and sunlight streamed in, it sparkled faintly, shimmering like crystal.
What is this substance?