The body was carried back to the Prefect's yamen.
Zhong Li, fearing that some details might have been overlooked, re-examined the scene. By the time she emerged, Yongcheng was already shrouded in darkness. Lu Wuxie was leaning against a pillar of the pavilion outside the morgue, his eyes closed as if in slumber.
Zhong Li walked over to him. Gazing at his handsome face illuminated by the moonlight, she was suddenly reminded of Feng Niannian's words: a man like Lu Wuxie must have captured the hearts of countless women. Even if he harbored feelings for her, wasn't it merely a fleeting impulse?
"You're done?"
Her thoughts were still adrift when Lu Wuxie opened his eyes, looking at her.
Zhong Li's cheeks flushed. Quickly regaining her composure, she began rummaging through her medicine chest. Fortunately, it was dark, so he couldn't see her embarrassment.
"Any new leads?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Zhong Li nodded, simultaneously producing something from her hand.
"A hair tie?" Lu Wuxie took it and observed it for a moment.
"Yes, it's a woman's hair tie. Specifically, a maid's," Zhong Li replied.
Upon hearing this, Lu Wuxie looked at the green hair tie in his hand. In the Southern Yue Kingdom, it was common for servants or women from impoverished families to tie their hair with this color. Moreover, judging by the fabric, the item was not worth much.
"Why do you say it's a maid's and not from a poor family?" Lu Wuxie was curious as to how Zhong Li arrived at this conclusion.
Zhong Li smiled, her gaze sweeping past the morgue not far away. "You've seen many steward's daughters and women from courtesan houses. Have you ever observed the physical build of maids?"
Lu Wuxie was taken aback, unsure how to answer. In the past, he would have spoken his mind, but now... he didn't want to give Zhong Li the impression of being experienced with many women.
He cleared his throat and said, "No."
Zhong Li continued, "People of different social strata have different living environments and requirements. Even if their bodies were the same at birth, they would change with their environment.
For instance, steward's daughters, the so-called pampered ladies, would never soil their hands with chores and could walk only a few miles. Their bodies are the most delicate, from their feet to their fingertips, all meticulously cared for and fair. Coupled with their proficiency in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as song and dance, their bones are the most upright and straight.
But maids are different. Perhaps due to years of labor, especially the rough servants in the laundry quarters, their finger joints are slightly thicker than those of the steward's daughters. The most noticeable difference would be in their legs. Because they have to curtsey and kneel to serve their masters year-round, their leg bones undergo changes. Except for a few who became first-rank maids upon entering the household, most maids' leg bones would exhibit a deformed 'O' shape."
"'O'?" Lu Wuxie found this utterly perplexing.
Zhong Li paused, realizing her mistake. She quickly corrected herself, "Zero-shaped."
As she spoke, she illustrated with her hands on the stone table in the pavilion.
It was not difficult to understand. In modern times, due to different lifestyles, men in Japan, not wearing skirts, didn't show their leg shapes as obviously. Women, however, who wore skirts frequently, often had perfectly 'O'-shaped legs.
Lu Wuxie suddenly understood and said, "If it's a maid, it's problematic. If she's unimportant, some wealthy families wouldn't even bother reporting their disappearance to the yamen."
"It doesn't matter," Zhong Li said with a smile. "Since this maid was murdered, it's possible it wasn't done by someone from her own household. We can have the constables run inquiries, going house to house, to see which prominent families lost a servant last year."
"That's the only way," Lu Wuxie agreed.
Zhong Li's suggestion yielded results.
In just one day, the constables had compiled the gathered information for Dong Qing.
Currently, Zhong Li sat in a grand chair in the back hall, looking at the names of several shortlisted maids before her.
Dong Qing walked over and pointed to the name of a woman named Yin Xia. "This is a maid from the Prince's mansion. She disappeared six months ago after allegedly stealing a hundred taels of silver from her master."
Zhong Li took Yin Xia's file and, upon seeing the age listed, asked, "Forty-five. The age doesn't match."
Dong Qing took another file and handed it to Zhong Li, who glanced at it and again rejected it.
After a few more names, one caught Zhong Li's eye: 'Yu Zhen'.
"This one is from the Meng residence?" Zhong Li asked.
"Yes!" Dong Qing nodded. "The Meng household's steward said this was a maidservant to Madam Feng, and she left without notice six months ago."
"Impossible," Zhong Li quickly denied.
"Why?" Dong Qing asked.
"Madam Feng had previously mentioned that Yu Zhen had returned to her hometown to prepare for marriage," Zhong Li explained.
"I see," Dong Qing nodded. "Perhaps the household steward was unaware."
Zhong Li said nothing further and casually picked up the next file.
"This one!" Her face lit up with joy. "Tan Ling, twenty-two years old, a laundry maid from the Ding residence."
"Investiture Officer Zhong, you believe the body found in the southern suburbs might be Tan Ling's?"
At the Ding residence, Master Ding sat in a grand chair, looking at the impassive woman opposite him, and said in surprise.
"Yes, Officer Dong screened all of Yongcheng, and I've estimated based on the information of missing servants from various households that this female corpse could be Tan Ling's," Zhong Li replied.
Hearing this, Master Ding's expression darkened.
Old Madam Ding, sitting beside him, couldn't maintain her composure as well. In an instant, tears began to fall, drop by drop.
"No, no, it can't be. If this is truly Tan Ling's body, then... then our daughter... *sob sob*... Lan'er, I told you not to be impulsive, but you insisted. Now look at this... now look at this."
Zhong Li, sitting opposite Old Madam Ding, was caught off guard by her sudden crying.
She glanced at Master Ding, about to inquire, when he spoke first. "Investiture Officer Zhong, to be frank, Tan Ling didn't go missing. She actually ran away with my daughter, her mistress."
"Ran away?" Zhong Li appeared surprised.
Madam Ding sobbed a few times, composing herself, and continued where Master Ding left off. "It's like this, Tan Ling was the personal maid of our second daughter, Ding Xialan. She was originally from the laundry quarters, but because she was hardworking and diligent, she was promoted to the inner courtyard as a first-rank maid.
She's been with Lan'er for five or six years. Originally, Lan'er was supposed to get married last year, but... Lan'er is stubborn. After a big argument with her father, she defied the marriage and ran away with Tan Ling."
"So, Tan Ling left with Ding Xialan? She didn't go missing for no reason?" Zhong Li summarized Madam Ding's words.
Madam Ding nodded. "Yes. We spoiled Lan'er. If she didn't want something, there was nothing we could do. If we had known, we wouldn't have forced her to marry so much... *sob sob*..."
"Then didn't Madam look for her?" Zhong Li asked.
"We looked, of course, we looked. To find Lan'er, the Ding family nearly depleted their fortune, but... alas..." Madam Ding sighed.
Zhong Li already knew the outcome.
"Now, nearly a year has passed. We thought Lan'er was living a prosperous life elsewhere. Who knew you would find Tan Ling's body in the suburbs? This... it's very possible our Lan'er also..." Madam Ding dared not continue, fearing her words might come true.