"That's all the evidence," Xu Qing said, placing all the items related to the Ming Xia case before Zhong Li in the front hall of the Dali Temple.
Zhong Li looked at the four objects on the table: a pair of earrings, a silk handkerchief stained with blood, a bamboo slip, and a red coral lotus hairpin.
"Ming Xia was killed while using the privy?" she asked, her gaze falling on the bamboo slip.
Xu Qing nodded. "There's a row of dry toilets behind Liu Lane, in a place called Mao'er Hutong."
"That's strange. I recall Hua Man Lou also having dry toilets. Why would Ming Xia go to Mao'er Hutong?" Zhong Li inquired further.
"It's like this," Xu Qing explained. "Liu Lane gets quite lively after You Chu. Hua Man Lou is where the most young masters gather in Jincheng. So, the establishment has a rule that during business hours, their girls can only use the facilities in Mao'er Hutong to attend to their personal needs."
Zhong Li nodded, asking no more questions for the moment. Her attention was then fixed on the last item—the red coral lotus hairpin.
"Is this also Ming Xia's?" Zhong Li asked.
"Yes!" Xu Qing nodded without hesitation.
"Let this Prince have a look," Lu Wu Xie, who had been leisurely sipping Longjing tea, finally showed some interest in the ornament and stood up to approach.
Xu Qing handed the hairpin to Lu Wu Xie.
Lu Wu Xie, donning the gloves that a young constable had brought, began to examine it.
"Does Magistrate Xu know about red coral?" he asked Xu Qing after a long study.
Xu Qing nodded, then thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I know a little. It's imported by the court from other countries. The port of entry should be Jinzhou in Nanyue Kingdom."
"Indeed!" Lu Wu Xie nodded. "While red coral isn't as valuable as top-grade jade or gold ornaments, it's still considered a precious item for ordinary families. Let's look at Ming Xia's other belongings."
Lu Wu Xie pointed to the first item, the earrings. "These earrings are made of dead jade, worth less than a string of coins. And this silk handkerchief is cut from the poorest quality satin. As for this red coral..."
He weighed it a few times, then held it up to the sunlight again. "The vertical grain is regular, and the color..."
Lu Wu Xie shook his head. "It's dead coral among red corals, not the most precious, but it should be worth around five taels."
Hearing this, Xu Qing's eyes widened. Five taels was their monthly salary! And Ming Xia was merely a teagirl at Hua Man Lou, not Tian Lian Xue. How could she afford this?
"Are you sure this belonged to Ming Xia?" Lu Wu Xie asked Xu Qing with some doubt.
"Certain," Xu Qing nodded. "When we found Ming Xia's body, this hairpin was beside her... Besides, her body indeed had no hair ornaments."
"However..." Xu Qing continued, "these items only prove that the killer wasn't after Ming Xia's wealth. I doubt they'll help in clearing Miao Jie's name or finding the real killer."
With that, he took the red coral hairpin from Lu Wu Xie and turned to place it with the other items.
"Wait!" Zhong Li called out, stopping his action. "Let me see."
Xu Qing handed the hairpin to Zhong Li.
Zhong Li, wearing gloves, mimicked Lu Wu Xie's movements, examining the hairpin in the sunlight.
"Since when did 'Li' understand such things?" Lu Wu Xie teased, stepping closer.
Zhong Li shook her head. "Your Highness misunderstands. I'm looking at a different spot than what Your Highness assumes."
Lu Wu Xie raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.
Zhong Li slowly rotated the red coral hairpin in her fingers, turning it towards the sunlight until she noticed a patch of dark redness on one corner.
"Is that blood?" Lu Wu Xie was the first to react.
At the same time, Xu Qing heard and quickly moved closer.
Zhong Li gently touched the dark patch with her fingertip. As she suspected, the dark patch was a blood-stained fingerprint.
"The killer's?" Xu Qing chimed in.
Zhong Li nodded. "Yes, it should be the killer's. However, I'm still a bit puzzled."
Xu Qing looked at her face, waiting for her to elaborate.
Zhong Li placed the hairpin back with the other evidence. "According to the crime scene described by Magistrate Xu, these four items all belonged to Ming Xia. They were scattered in various places during her struggle, except for the silk handkerchief, which fell from her inner clothing, stained with blood. The bamboo slip, earrings, and hairpin all fell before Ming Xia died. So, the question is, why did the killer specifically pick up this red coral hairpin and leave the other items untouched?"
"Perhaps he wanted to rob her?" Xu Qing said, then immediately regretted it. If it was robbery, why would the hairpin still be here?
"Perhaps he was attracted to it, picked it up to look, and then discarded it?" Xu Qing analyzed, but again felt it was incorrect. A murderer at a crime scene would either be cleaning up or fleeing in haste; why would they engage in such a trivial act?
"This Prince feels that the red coral lotus hairpin is very special to the killer," Lu Wu Xie replied calmly.
Zhong Li glanced at him and nodded in agreement. To her, this seemed to be the only possible answer.
"I think something is not right!" Xu Qing disagreed, shaking his head.
"On what grounds, Magistrate Xu?" Zhong Li asked.
Xu Qing thought for a moment and replied, "I believe young Brother Zhong has heard from His Highness that a similar case occurred in Jincheng ten years ago."
Zhong Li nodded. However, she had only heard about it from Lu Wu Xie; she hadn't seen the crime scene or examined the three bodies from ten years ago. Therefore, whether the cases could be consolidated or considered copycat crimes still needed consideration.
"Among the three victims at that time, two had items that also included red coral hairpins," Xu Qing said.
Zhong Li's expression turned serious. But before she could ponder further, Xu Qing poured cold water on her thoughts. "However, the third victim had no red coral hairpin found on her."
"Then could it be..."
"No!" Xu Qing was exceptionally firm at this moment. "We apprehended the killer at the scene of the third victim's death and found no red coral hairpin on him. To be thorough, the then Magistrate Chen specifically questioned the killer, Peng Yong."
"And how did he respond?" Zhong Li pressed.
"Coincidence!" Xu Qing dropped the two words.
"Coincidence?" Zhong Li could hardly believe her ears.
Lu Wu Xie, listening to their conversation, his eyes flickered a few times. "Coincidence? It's not impossible."
Zhong Li's gaze shifted to Lu Wu Xie.
"Li has always lived in the peaceful Nanshan Mountains and is an ordinary citizen. It's not strange that he's unaware of the court's affairs," Lu Wu Xie said, his fingertips trailing over the evidence. "During the Ningping era, red coral hairpins were common in Liu Lane; almost everyone had one."
Ningping era? Wasn't that the previous emperor? How did it connect with the current Anhe era? Zhong Li was surprised by Lu Wu Xie's answer.