Upon hearing Magistrate Liu's reply, Zhong Li, along with Lu Wuxie, visited the Hu family's residence the next day.
Because the case had yet to be solved, the Hu family's house was still sealed.
After Magistrate Liu ordered the seal to be removed, he led Zhong Li and Lu Wuxie into the room.
Although the case files did not describe the scene in detail, when Zhong Li saw the state of the room, she realized that such a scene truly needed someone like Lan Heng or Hua Yao to paint it.
It was too messy!
There was no place to step in the spacious room, the floor was littered with miscellaneous items, from large quilts to small bowls and chopsticks, as if ravaged by a storm.
"Lord Zhong, it was like this when we first entered," Magistrate Liu said, seemingly guessing Zhong Li's thoughts.
Zhong Li nodded, finding a place to step as she walked further inside, and asked, "I forgot to ask, who reported the case?"
"Oh, the report was made by Hu Shi's first husband, Gu Qian. He brought his children to see Hu Shi and discovered she had died at home," Magistrate Liu replied.
"Did you not thoroughly investigate Gu Qian?" Zhong Li asked.
Magistrate Liu shook his head, "It couldn't have been Gu Qian. He's from Liaocheng. He only brought his children to see Hu Shi for a few fixed days each month. On the very day Hu Shi died, Gu Qian was still in Liaocheng."
"Is that so..." Zhong Li pondered for a moment and said, "If that's the case, since Gu Qian was Hu Shi's first husband, can I assume that Hu Shi was previously from Liaocheng?"
"Oh, that is indeed true. Hu Shi divorced Gu Qian three years ago and then met Old Qiao, coming to Anding County. She has been rooted here ever since."
Listening to Magistrate Liu, Zhong Li pushed open the bedroom door and walked in.
The bedroom was not as chaotic as the outer rooms. The quilt on the four-foot-wide bed was scattered at the foot of the bed, and a faint human-shaped indentation could be seen on the mattress. It seemed Hu Shi had died there.
"Hu Shi was lying right here at the time." Just as this thought crossed Zhong Li's mind, Magistrate Liu's words confirmed it.
Zhong Li walked into the room, first opening the makeup box to check the missing jewelry, and then went to the wardrobe, pulling open the door to inspect the clothes inside.
As Magistrate Liu had said, Hu Shi lived alone in this house. All the clothes inside belonged to a woman, and Hu Shi was very meticulous in her habits. All her clothes were neatly organized and categorized by season and color.
Zhong Li knew that while the case seemed simple, if not investigated carefully, it could easily become a cold case.
Even though the yamen officers had already thoroughly searched, she was still unwilling to give up and began to inspect the clothes in the wardrobe.
"My Lord, we've already turned everything over, there's nothing suspicious," Magistrate Liu kindly reminded her.
Zhong Li smiled at him and continued her work without much talk.
After a while, she held two bodices in her hands, one lotus-colored and the other lake-blue.
"Does... does this indicate something?" Magistrate Liu asked, slightly puzzled.
Zhong Li glanced at Lu Wuxie, who was standing at the doorway watching her. She knew he had already noticed something.
"Look, Magistrate Liu!" Zhong Li spread the two bodices on the bed and pointed, asking, "Do you see it?"
Magistrate Liu was more reserved. Looking at these intimate personal items, he awkwardly twitched the corners of his mouth and shook his head.
Zhong Li stacked the two bodices together and asked again, "Do you see it?"
"One is big, and one is small?" Magistrate Liu suddenly understood.
Zhong Li nodded and pulled out all the bodices from the wardrobe, comparing them one by one. After about half an hour, she pointed to the smaller ones, which had started to form a pile, and said, "These belong to Hu Shi."
"As for this one," she picked up the only slightly larger bodice and placed it in Magistrate Liu's hand, saying, "Take this and investigate if there are any women nearby whose size matches this."
"This..." Magistrate Liu's face turned red, and he stood frozen.
Lu Wuxie knew that Zhong Li was serious and cautious when handling cases. These items were merely evidence to her, but they appeared differently to others.
He walked sympathetically to Magistrate Liu's side and patted his shoulder, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Elder Liu!"
Magistrate Liu sighed and quickly walked out of the room.
Zhong Li continued to search the bedroom, even climbing onto the roof beams. Only when she was slightly out of breath did she mutter, "Strange."
"What's wrong?" Lu Wuxie handed her a cup of water from the carriage.
Zhong Li drank it and said, "Magistrate Liu said Old Qiao and Hu Shi are still in a relationship."
"Mm!" Lu Wuxie nodded, as if confirming that she was not mistaken.
"Bi Chuan is Hu Shi's lover."
"Yes!" Lu Wuxie replied again.
"But why is there not a single item belonging to a man in this room, nor a single footprint of a man?" Zhong Li turned to Lu Wuxie and said, "Mo Cang, tell me, if you and I were unmarried but had been intimate, would your living space contain women's belongings?"
Lu Wuxie, who had been immersed in Zhong Li's analysis of the case, was surprised by her sudden question. He looked intently at the woman opposite him.
Little did he know that what he saw was not what he imagined; her face held a serious expression, not the ambiguous one he expected.
Fine, it seemed he was overthinking.
Suppressing the feeling of ten thousand heartbroken, homeless puppies running through his heart, Lu Wuxie replied truthfully, "Firstly, Li'er is someone I cherish. I would rightfully marry you, and then... something might happen."
"Ahem!" Zhong Li hadn't expected such an answer. Her gaze fell on his slightly shy face, and ripples of emotion stirred within her.
"Secondly..." Lu Wuxie collected his thoughts and replied, "If something did happen, even if Li'er were just staying temporarily, I would provide everything you could possibly need."
Zhong Li's face flushed as if drunk. She hadn't expected that such a casual question would elicit an answer from Lu Wuxie that made her feel a little hopeful.
"So... I remember Magistrate Liu saying that Bi Chuan and Hu Shi had been seeing each other for quite some time and even intended to marry. Even if Hu Shi had thoughts of breaking off the engagement, it wouldn't have been long ago. The fact that Bi Chuan is still entangled with her is one thing. Secondly, Hu Shi's private life was somewhat chaotic, yet there isn't a single item belonging to a man here, not even anything belonging to her own son. This is rather perplexing," Zhong Li composed her thoughts and voiced her ideas.
Lu Wuxie agreed that it made sense, but if that were the case, the case became more complicated.
He pondered for a moment and said, "There are two possible explanations. First, the murderer, fearing investigation by the yamen, took all their belongings with them. Second, either the deceased had no relationship with any of these people, or she herself cleaned out all the male belongings."
"Cleaned out?" Zhong Li bit her lip. "But why would she do that?"
Lu Wuxie looked at the still early sky and said, "When Elder Liu went out earlier, I had already instructed him to bring the three suspects here. It should be about time they've all arrived."
Zhong Li followed his gaze outside. Indeed, a few bailiffs were approaching the house, followed by three men.