Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!

Chapter 552 - 551: Shedding One’s Skin Like the Golden Cicada

Hearing Zhu Yu’s words, Lu Qing also gave a faint smile and nodded: "Such things can only deceive those who never intended to investigate carefully.

For those who genuinely want to uncover the truth, it is full of loopholes."

"However..." Zhu Yu frowned, somewhat worried, "Even if we can grasp this point, what can we do?

Back then, you were the only survivor in your family, but you were just an infant at that time, unable to remember anything.

Even if that person stands before you now, you wouldn’t recognize them.

In this way, no matter how certain we are that they swapped someone to die in their place, using a trick to escape, isn’t it still futile?"

Lu Qing, upon hearing Zhu Yu’s words, displayed a mysterious, faint smile, slowly stood up, and walked toward the bed nearby.

His injuries have yet to heal completely, limiting his speed and movement; he could only walk slowly inside the room. Zhu Yu hurriedly got up to follow, afraid he might accidentally fall, ruining the long effort of healing his wounds thus far.

In the bed, there was a small bundle, the only thing Lu Qing had asked Zhu Yu to fetch from the cabinet in the room when they arrived.

Zhu Yu did not know what the item was, only that it was not heavy nor large. Once obtained, carried on her back, she put it by the bed upon reaching Yunyin Pavilion and hadn’t thought to touch it since; eventually, it was forgotten.

Now, as Lu Qing took out the small bundle, Zhu Yu realized that even gold and silver treasures were left behind, yet this particular item was insisted to be brought.

The item had been kept at the deep end of a cabinet in Lu Qing’s bedroom, not easy to find.

Thinking back, it was clear the item was extraordinary.

Zhu Yu, curious, sat beside as Lu Qing unwrapped the outer layer of the bundle, revealing another layer of silk inside.

Opening it further, there lay a seemingly ordinary ledger in the center of the silk. Lu Qing handed it to Zhu Yu; she received it cautiously and started flipping through the already yellowing pages, finding it to be a roster recording the names, ages, and other details of the servants in Lu Qing’s grandfather’s residence back in the day.

At that time, the Lu Family was prosperous; indeed, there were numerous servants throughout the residence, the roster densely filled with names. It could be seen that some were born into service, while others were bought or given by others.

After turning several pages, a name circled in red ink snapped Zhu Yu out of confusion.

The name circled was Shi Chongyi, evident he was not born into service given the Great Jin Laws dictate families like the Lu Family must have family servants sharing the surname, differentiated from the owners usually without a conventional name, commonly numbered to indicate age order.

For instance, earlier in the roster, Zhu Yu saw several such casual names like Lu Erzhu, Lu Sanbai, and others.

Below Shi Chongyi’s name was a small line of text — "Palm-sized red birthmark at the back of neck."

Thrilling through the rest, there were no similar annotations regarding Shi Chongyi again in the whole roster.

It appeared that Shi Chongyi was the servant who was found not dead in the residence during the counting but was discovered dead near the distant Jinlan Border thereafter.

Therefore, the name "Shi Chongyi" now seemed trivial, with the most precious information being the description of the red birthmark on his neck.

"Where did this thing come from?" Zhu Yu, having examined the roster, turned back to the page of Shi Chongyi, closed it, placed it back on the silk, and asked curiously.

"When I went to pay respects before, this item lay on the offering table; after asking around, no one knew who placed it there.

At the time, I was unaware there was a missing servant from the family years ago. Upon discovering it was a roster and noticing the red ink annotations, I carefully kept it, thinking perhaps someday it might unravel some clues.

See now, we know precisely what’s the matter with this Shi Chongyi."

Zhu Yu could recall when they first married, Lu Qing took her to pay respects; the ancestral hall, although not patrolled and maintained as extensively as the Imperial Mausoleum, was not a place just anyone could approach casually.

Likewise, after the incident when the Lu Family was wiped out overnight, it was neither a place anyone could enter or leave freely near the city’s gates.

Therefore, why this roster appeared so precisely when Lu Qing went to pay respects seems self-evident.

But now any explanation seems premature, Lu Qing still needs caution even with basic movement, entirely impossible for him to leave the Capital, facing the toil of travel.

Thus, the two left the matter aside for now without further discussion.

Days passed by, Zhu Yu continued to change Lu Qing’s medicine as usual, Liu Yueyao arranged meals appropriately, including specially prepared snacks for Zhu Yu.

Not only was Lu Qing gradually recovering, but Zhu Yu, previously worn down to hollow cheeks, through this period of nurturing, regained a fuller face and complexion, increasingly rosy and healthy.

During this period, Liu Yueyao would occasionally visit, conveying external happenings to them.

Half a month later, the story of Prince Xiaoyao being demoted to commoner finally grew stale to listeners, no longer a hot topic in streets and alleys, gradually becoming seldom mentioned.

Meanwhile, no news emerged concerning Yan Daoxin in the death row.

During this time, Lu Chao seemed occupied elsewhere, never visiting Yunyin Pavilion, never seen either in the front or back courtyard.

About ten days later, as the autumn winds grew cooler daily, Lu Qing’s back injuries healed completely; through Zhu Yu’s meticulous care, few scars were left, not entirely scar-free as hoped but better than expected a great deal.

That day, as Zhu Yu sat idly in the courtyard, chin rested on hands watching dried leaves swaying in the wind, Lu Qing called her to the door.

"Fancy a stroll outside?" He asked Zhu Yu, "The weather has cooled, and Liu Yueyao’s previous clothes were all thin; you should add some new thick ones."

Upon hearing about going out for a stroll, Zhu Yu’s eyes exceptionally brightened, but soon dimmed: "It’s probably inconvenient for us to go out now, isn’t it? Not to mention being stared at, I know you don’t care about that.

But what if someone with intent seizes the chance to cause a scene? You just recovered; I dare not take risks."