Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 276 - 275: The Canvas

"That makes sense!" Zhu Cheng nodded, suddenly realizing that Zhu Yu seemed to have mentioned some kind of incense earlier. "There was some sort of incense smell on Pang Yutang just now? I didn’t notice that at all.

This further proves that the Right Chief Historian indeed has ties with the Pang Family."

"Previously, when Father wasn’t at home, the Pang Family’s steward visited three times, so persistent in seeking a meeting, something that never happened before.

However, this also roughly allows us to estimate the time of Jia Jun’s unfortunate death," Zhu Yu said.

Zhu Cheng had already noticed personal soldiers discreetly following the coroner, and with suspicions about what the coroner had mentioned, he could guess what’s going on. Connecting the dots, he completely understood: "So after Jia Jun died, his body was hidden in a place like an ice cellar? Pang Yutang was determined that I would be home so he could call someone to retrieve Jia Jun’s body in advance!

I wondered why he was sitting there talking indefinitely, never seen him so chatty with his sister before—it turns out it was just to delay until someone came to report, to prove that during this period, he was always in our house, so he was unrelated to the incident!"

Zhu Yu chuckled, "If I were to say, I would call it a guilty conscience.

If it were the Right Chief Historian who died today, the Pang Family’s steward might indeed need to consider how to avoid suspicion. But it was the Weapon Supervisor, who had no apparent connection to him, who died, and the scapegoat brought in was even the Chief Historian Zuo, who had nothing to do with him. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Even if the Pang Family’s housekeeper hadn’t come to our house today, Father wouldn’t have a reason to pin this matter on him forcibly.

But he insisted on clearing his name in this manner, resulting in a backfire."

As Zhu Cheng and Zhu Yu spoke, Lu Qing looked up at the rafter with the hanging rope, deep in thought. After they finished speaking, he asked, "Does my father-in-law have someone skilled in Qinggong to inspect the rafter?"

Zhu Cheng looked at the guards behind him.

The guards were all tall and sturdy, although not better than Fu Lu, some even more robust than a rune, each gave off an impression of strength, with big shoulders and thick waists.

Martial arts practitioners often find that a more robust and taller figure may bring greater strength but may be less agile in Qinggong.

Upon hearing Lu Qing’s question, the guards exchanged looks and then turned to Zhu Cheng with a guilty expression.

Before Zhu Cheng could ask, seeing their expressions, his anger flared. But upon reflection, he never cared for those with slim builds and excellent Qinggong skills, thinking such people were not formidable enough to wield a broadsword or spear.

Because of this, the guards had trained to become burly men to please him.

Lu Qing sighed, not intending to trouble Zhu Cheng. He leapt up, his toes lightly tapping the weapon rack, using it for momentum, elevating effortlessly to the high rafter.

Lu Qing steadily stood on the rafter, carefully inspecting both sides.

The rafter was high, and it seemed impossible for anyone in the Jia Family to have such excellent Qinggong skills, resulting in a thick layer of dust.

Aside from the rope rail’s dust being rubbed off, there were two areas on either side of the rafter near the rope that were similarly dust-free, exposing the wood underneath.

Lu Qing cautiously moved over, inspected closely, then lightly leapt down from the high rafter, landing stably, and dusted off his hands.

"Apart from the rope hanging Jia Jun, there should have been something else fastened with ropes on both sides, but they were removed," he told Zhu Yu. "On one side of the rafter, the wooden splinter had hooked onto hemp rope threads."

"Just now, Wen Qiming mentioned that when he arrived, there was a large hanging portrait inside, reaching from top to bottom," Zhu Yu looked up, "I was wondering when Shuo Land gained such skill to make such large paper.

If there were hemp threads left from the wood splinters, my question is resolved.

For the hemp rope to be caught by the splinters while being untied, something with some weight was originally hanging, and when pulled down, the hemp rope scraped against the wood splinters.

Admittedly, Shuo is hard-pressed to produce such large paper, but getting such large pieces of cloth isn’t difficult.

Cloth has weight; when the hemp rope is untied, it falls quickly, and in an instant, the threads were pulled out by the splinters."

She turned to a guard beside her: "Quick, have people search the Jia Family. Look for a piece of hanging art that large. If it’s nowhere to be found, check if there’s a burned furnace and see if there are unburned remains.

Or if it was cut into many pieces and hidden.

That item is so large that from the time Wen Qiming left to when we arrived, there wasn’t enough time to move it without drawing attention, so it must be hidden in the house somehow."

"Yes! I’ll take people to search!" The guard was one of Zhu Cheng’s and recognized Zhu Yu’s status without directly interacting with the second young lady, only knowing of her marriage to Jin Country as a princess. Her conduct now was indeed different, gaining their confidence.

But he was ultimately Zhu Cheng’s guard, momentarily anxious about responding to Zhu Yu, and quickly looked to Zhu Cheng for confirmation.

Zhu Cheng nodded, prompting the guard to rush out of the study to gather people and begin searching.

"How exactly did Jia Jun die?" Zhu Cheng finally thought to ask a crucial question.

"Poison," Zhu Yu informed Zhu Cheng. "A rare poison, as scarce as the Three Flavors Longevity Ointment."

Upon hearing "Three Flavors Longevity Ointment," Zhu Cheng’s expression hardened, and despite mental preparation, his heart sank further.

Years of mutual reliance; if it wasn’t for coming to an irreparable point, deep down, he still didn’t wish to see their families reach such a state.

But various signs and accumulating evidence left him unable to avoid it any longer.

Zhu Cheng sighed deeply, glancing at his both familiar and unfamiliar second daughter and the Prince Xiaoyao son-in-law he couldn’t understand, feeling even more unsettled.