This time, it was Han Jun’s book boy who had been missing for a long time. Different from the way Han Jun and Ruan Zhan died, he was killed by a knife on his neck.

Compared to Han Jun and Ruan Zhan, Shutong was shorter in stature and had an ordinary appearance. If the murderer’s preference was so obvious, Shutong was obviously not the murderer’s target.

This time the man was found dead outside the city by a vegetable farmer who got up early to carry a load into the city. When he was found, he was lying on the roadside and had been dead for a long time.

“The person likely died around midnight,” Wu Bucai estimated the time of death and continued, “No one saw the murderer, but to make such a clean and swift throat-slashing, this person must have been superior to him in either physique or strength.”

Although saying this was not the same as not saying it, it didn’t help much.

Liu Yuan nodded and turned to look at Lin Fei.

Zhao You on the side was holding a lacquered wood food box in his hand. He opened the top lid of the food box. Lin Fei took out a méigāncài bǐng wrapped in oil paper and took a bite along the edge of the bǐng.

Although the movement of eating the cake was much more elegant than that of Zhao Yulai, the crust of the cake was too crispy. Listening to the “clicking” sound, Liu Yuan immediately thought of the méigāncài bǐng that he had just eaten, and felt his saliva beginning to flow in his mouth again.

Suppressing the desire for another piece of méigāncài bǐng, his stomach already halfway full, having another piece now would surely lead to overeating.

“Go to the study in the city.” Lin Fei said.

The study he was talking about was the study of the beautiful woman whose husband had died that Wei Fu had specifically mentioned.

Because they had informed Wei Fu in advance, this visit didn’t end up in vain. The beautiful woman sat in the study, still flirting shamelessly with those handsome scholars, despite Wei Fu’s presence.

The flirting didn’t stop until Lin Fei and others arrived.

Although in terms of appearance, Lin Fei far surpassed those handsome scholars, it seemed that the imposing aura of his crimson official attire was too captivating. The beautiful woman became much more reserved upon seeing him, although her eyes still occasionally stole glances at the scholars. However, in front of Lin Fei, she dared not be impudent, politely greeting him and waiting for him to speak.

“Zhuang Meiniang?” Lin Fei looked at her for a moment, paused, and asked before the beautiful woman could speak, “Do you have any impression of the name Zhuang Xiaoqing?”

The beautiful woman who was flirting with others a moment ago heard this. Her face suddenly stiffened when she heard her name. When she met Lin Fei’s gaze, the beautiful woman immediately lowered her eyelids, as if she was deliberately avoiding his gaze.

After being silent for a while, she probably knew that denial was useless, so she said, “I was called by this name before I got married.”

“Is Zhuang Xiaohong, the rouge lady who killed people twenty years ago, your sister?” Lin Fei spoke again and asked out.

Liu Yuan and Wei Fu behind him suddenly changed their expressions upon hearing this.

Now that he could ask this question, he must be confident.

In fact, it wouldn’t have been difficult to uncover her identity. If the testimony from the case twenty years ago had been retained in the Dali Temple… No, it wasn’t a matter of if, it must have been retained. If her handwriting had been preserved there, comparing it with the handwriting in this study would have easily revealed her identity.

Although it was a little troublesome to find the neighbors, it was not difficult to find them.

There were countless pieces of evidence like this, so why was it so difficult to find her identity?

Zhuang Meiniang smiled bitterly, nodded in response, and said, “She was my sister.”

The case of Lady Rouge, who killed countless people, was a big deal back then. Although it had nothing to do with her, how could ordinary people withstand the looks in the eyes of the neighbors and the discussions behind her?

Therefore, she later changed her name and hurriedly found someone to marry. Although she did not leave Chang’an City, she was far away from the neighborhood where she originally lived.

After revealing Zhuang Meiniang’s identity, Liu Yuan and Wei Fu’s eyes immediately became subtle when they looked at the gentle gentlemen in the study, as well as Han Jun, Ruan Zhan, and even the first husband of Rouge Lady.

The suspicion against Zhuang Meiniang was indeed too significant. Han Jun and Ruan Zhan were both regulars in this study!

“Back then, your sister, Lady Rouge, was quite famous. You were her younger sister, so did you learn her rouge-making skills?” Lin Fei asked.

Zhuang Meiniang’s eyes flashed and she said, “No.”

“Then who made the lip rouge on your lips?” Lin Fei’s gaze fell on Zhuang Meiniang’s lips. He took out a piece of white paper from his pocket, unfolded it, revealing the lip print on it, and said, “If I’m not mistaken, the lip rouge on your lips should be the same as the one on this paper.”

With just one sentence, Wei Fu behind them immediately exclaimed softly, “Oh!” He whispered to Liu Yuan beside him, “I didn’t expect my earlier observation to be accurate. The lip rouge on Zhuang Meiniang’s lips does indeed belong to the same type as the ones on those few people.”

Liu Yuan glanced at him and said, “Come on, Wei! Just because the lip rouge matches a few people’s doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a blind cat meeting a dead mouse!”

The discussion between the two people did not interrupt Lin Fei’s question.

Zhuang Meiniang said: “I made the lipstick randomly myself.”

“There is no such lipstick on the market. The lipstick you made randomly is exactly the same as the lipstick on the lips of the deceased Ruan Zhan and Han Jun?” Lin Fei continued to ask.

“I don’t know.” Zhuang Meiniang lowered her eyes and said, “Besides, there are only a few kinds of materials for lipstick, so it’s not surprising that others can mix it up!”

It was like not shedding a tear until one saw the coffin! Dealing with such a cunning and deceitful suspect was always the most headache-inducing.

When Liu Yuan saw this, he couldn’t help but say: “Then find a second person who can prepare this kind of lip rouge.”

Although it was noon, no sunlight reached Zhuang Meiniang standing at the innermost part of the study. Only a shadow loomed over her, casting her entire figure into darkness. “I don’t know,” she said, pausing for a moment before continuing, “Can you really conclude that I’m the murderer just based on this lip rouge? Couldn’t it be that I applied makeup for those two before they died?”

Zhuang Meiniang’s words seemed sophistry, but they were not unreasonable.

Liu Yuan hesitated, instinctively looking towards Lin Fei beside him, only to see Lin Fei nodding and saying, “There is some logic to what you are saying. However, the suspicion regarding the lip rouge remains, so you’ll still need to accompany us to the Dali Temple.”

Zhuang Meiniang nodded and said “Okay” and was immediately taken away by the guards.

After Zhuang Meiniang was taken away, Lin Fei turned his head and looked at the students who were pale and shivering.

The students who were still flirting with Zhuang Meiniang suddenly changed their expressions when they heard that Zhuang Meiniang might have killed someone and that the two people who were killed were Ruan Zhan and Han Jun.

They were all regular visitors to this study, and they were also familiar with Ruan Zhan and Han Jun.

Seeing Zhuang Meiniang gone, some students couldn’t help but ask: “Sir, did she really kill Ruan Zhan and Han Jun?”

(End of Chapter)

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