Yin Year, Yin Month, Yin Hour, Yin Day
Not long after Shang Zhuo left —
Lu Jiang came in from outside.
He reported, "Your Highness, I've sent people to investigate the capital, but there are no blacksmiths or weapon shops that have forged a four-inch dagger. They all said that a four-inch dagger has never been seen in the capital, so I've sent people to investigate outside the capital, hoping to find some clues."
"What about the portraits that were sent to the Ministry of Justice?"
"They've already …"
Before he could finish, he saw Yu Shaoqing holding his robe and rushing in. His shoes were half-soaked.
He quickly entered the room and bowed, "Your Highness."
"Is something the matter, Yu Shaoqing?"
"There's news from the Ministry of Justice."
"Speak."
He took out a booklet from his sleeve and handed it to Jing Rong, saying, "The Ministry of Justice searched the capital based on the portraits and found the names of the seven skeletons. They then passed it to the Ministry of Revenue and sorted out the list of the deceased before sending it to the Supreme Court. This lowly official quickly made a copy and sent it over."
The Ministry of Justice was quite efficient.
Jing Rong opened the booklet.
It was filled with the names, ages, birthplaces, and birthplaces of the deceased …
It was very detailed.
"They're all from the capital?"
"Yes."
Jing Rong passed it to Ji Yunshu.
She read it carefully, not saying a word.
Jing Rong asked Yu Shaoqing, "Did the Ministry of Justice find anything else?"
"That's all we know for now. Minister Li said that the skeletons in the autopsy room can be kept longer, but Gao Meng's body will probably be handed over to the people who traveled with him to be buried."
"Mm, let him do it."
"Yes."
"Did the Ministry of Justice ask the relatives and friends of the seven deceased? Did they ask for the details? "
"They're still investigating, and there might only be results later. This lowly official sent the list as soon as the Ministry of Revenue came out, but I haven't gone to the Ministry of Justice yet."
He answered them one by one.
Suddenly —
Ji Yunshu clasped the booklet in her hands. "How strange."
Huh?
Jing Rong asked, "What's wrong?"
"These people are …"
What are they?
Jing Rong, Yu Shaoqing, and Lu Jiang all looked at her.
Ji Yunshu raised the booklet in her hand, saying, "The seven deceased have something in common."
"Common ground?"
"They were born in the Yin year, the Yin month, the Yin hour, and the Yin day."
Yin year, Yin month, Yin hour, Yin day?
Jing Rong took the booklet and flipped through it again.
"Indeed!"
Vice-Chancellor Yu was puzzled. "Even so, what does it have to do with this case?"
"I don't know." She shook her head. "But my intuition tells me that there can't be such a big coincidence. The way the seven victims died was already very strange, and now there's such a coincidence. I think it might be related to the way they died."
To put it bluntly, it was her intuition.
After all, how could there be such a coincidence in this world? There were not many people born in the Yin year, Yin month, Yin hour, and Yin day. How could the murderer kill them all?
It would be a pity if he didn't sell lottery tickets!
Everyone fell silent.
Jing Rong asked, "Where's Gao Meng? When was he born? "
"Aiya, this lowly official almost forgot." Vice-Chancellor Yu slapped his forehead and took out another booklet. He handed it over and said, "This is Gao Meng's. It's very detailed, and some of it was provided by those who accompanied him to the capital."
He opened it.
"They were also born in the Yin year, Yin month, Yin hour, and Yin day."
Ah!
Eight people, all of them.
So, it's definitely not a coincidence.
Everyone's expression turned solemn.
Jing Rong analyzed, "Could it be that the murderer chose people who were born in the Yin year, Yin month, Yin hour, and Yin day? They were also killed in a very strange way. It's like … a sacrificial ritual. "
"Sacrificial ritual?" Ji Yunshu was shocked. "Why do you say so?"
"It's just a guess. This prince has been away from the capital for half a year and has been to many places. I've heard of a very frightening sacrificial ritual. It's to tie all the people born on the same day to red-hot iron pillars and burn them to death as a sacrifice to the gods. However, I've only heard of it and have never seen it before. However, this case seems to have fifty to sixty percent similarity on the surface."
"If that's really the case, then it's too scary." Vice-Chancellor Yu couldn't help but shudder.
Jing Rong said, "But the case hasn't been thoroughly investigated, so we can't make a conclusion just like that."
Ji Yunshu agreed. "That's right. There are still no clues to the mystery of the case. We can't jump to conclusions too early, or else we'll be in a mess."
"Your Highness and Teacher Ji are right."
Even if it was just a guess, it was like a cloud of fog, stirring up more and more confusion in everyone's hearts.
They couldn't continue any further!
"Vice-Chancellor Yu, return to the Supreme Court for the time being. Inform the Ministry of Justice that we have the corresponding names for the seven skeletons. Make sure to ask them where they went before they died. Who did they interact with before they disappeared? Or … did anything strange happen? Ask them one by one. Don't miss out on the slightest detail. "
"Yes, this lowly official will return immediately."
Just as he was about to leave …
Vice-Chancellor Yu suddenly asked, "Oh right, when this lowly official came in, I bumped into Lord Shang at the entrance. May I know why he's here?"
Jing Rong said, "That Lord Shang is a good official. He's just here to ask about the Dried Well Case."
"I see."
He didn't ask any further and left in a hurry.
What's wrong with the Rong Estate today? Someone just left and someone came in.
Just as Vice-Chancellor Yu left, Mo Ruo arrived.
That kid was the same as usual. His body was swaying and his steps were unsteady. He had a bottle of wine in his hand as usual.
He swayed as he entered.
He sat down on a chair and didn't treat himself like a guest.
Jing Rong glanced at him. "You drunkard, what are you doing here?"
"What? Can't I come for no reason? "
"But this Prince can't stand the smell of alcohol on you."
Mo Ruo pointed at the calm Ji Yunshu. "Teacher Ji doesn't touch a drop of alcohol, yet he can stand it. You're a man, aren't you being too stingy?"
Jing Rong was speechless. "If this Prince was a stingy person, you would've been thrown out by now."
Haha.
He laughed and poured a mouthful of wine into his mouth.
Then, he narrowed his drunken eyes and said, "I heard that you stayed at Zhang Family Village on the outskirts of the city last night, and there was a murder case?"
Huh?
This kid's news is quite accurate.
"How did you know?" Ji Yunshu asked.
He pointed at his ears. "Although I'm not an official, my ears are very sharp. There's nothing I don't know about in the capital."
"Then tell me, what's the matter with the Dried Well Case?"
Ji Yunshu threw a question at him.
"It would've been better if you didn't mention it. Now that you mention it, I find it strange." He got up and walked towards her. He took out the handkerchief that was delivered to Yuhua Pavillion and held it in his hand. "Teacher Ji, are you kidding me? You said you found something for me to take a look. Why is it empty? "
"Empty?" Ji Yunshu grabbed the handkerchief. She frowned in shock. "Where's the thing inside?"
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