Snow falls and the wind blows

Chapter 5

The group walked westward. Jiang Cheng glanced at Xiao Duan, who was walking quietly beside him, and his smile was somewhat forced: "Xiao Duan, it's good that you're here. Lord Li has been so worried about this case these past few days that he caught a cold and even had a fever. Those people are pressing him hard, saying that such a big thing happened in Hangzhou Prefecture, and that it's his dereliction of duty. They're even saying they'll report this to the higher-ups..."

Xiao Duan had been listening quietly to Jiang Cheng, and upon hearing this, he turned his head to look at Jiang Cheng: "Are you feeling better?"

Jiang Cheng grinned: "If Lord Li knew that you, Xiao Duan, were here, he would be glad he wasn't.

Xiao Duan ignored his question: "I heard that two girls died a few days ago? The case is still unsolved?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng sighed, "Xiao Duan, this is probably the third one today."

Xiao Duan was also somewhat surprised to hear this. They hadn't even arrived yet, how did they know it was related to the previous two cases? Jiang Cheng explained with a bitter face: "The two young ladies both drowned by the Broken Bridge, and were both discovered early in the morning. One died a month ago, and the other ten days ago. Just now, someone came to the yamen to report that another body had been found by the lake. The person who found the body was so frightened that they fainted on the spot. A few passersby helped take them to the clinic and then came to report the case."

The small section remained calm: "Drowned?"

Jiang Cheng nodded: "He was forced to plunge his head into the lake and drowned. And..." Jiang Cheng hesitated for a moment, then continued: "And after he died, his clothes were ripped off. His bracelets, necklaces, and hairpins were all gone. His face was scratched by something. In short, he died a very tragic death."

Xiao Duan remained silent, lost in thought. He hadn't really believed in ghosts and spirits to begin with, but after hearing Jiang Cheng's description, he was absolutely certain it was man-made. As they walked to the broken bridge, several constables quickly stepped forward to disperse the crowd.

In fact, the common people were all gathered a little further away, craning their necks to look in this direction. The news had already spread throughout Hangzhou Prefecture. Everyone said it was a water ghost claiming a life, and the death was extremely gruesome. They had just heard that the old man who first discovered the body had fainted from fright, so no one dared to approach. But people are curious, and the scarier and more mysterious something is, the more people love to join in the fun. So they stood at a distance from the body, staring intently, occasionally whispering among themselves. It was like children listening to ghost stories, covering their ears and saying how scared they were, while gradually loosening their hands to listen more carefully.

Xiao Duan had visited Hangzhou a few times before, but never for long. The Broken Bridge on West Lake was quite famous, but Xiao Duan never paid much attention to such things, and thus had never been there before.

Following the group to their destination, Jiang Cheng went first to examine the body, while Xiao Duan looked around, observing what was nearby. Squinting, he spotted a three-story building in the distance, its pointed, upturned red eaves standing out against the backdrop of green trees. Xiao Duan's delicate brows furrowed slightly as he pondered, when a clear, pleasant voice rang out from behind him: "Xiao Duan, long time no see."

Xiao Duan turned around, his cool, phoenix-like eyes sweeping over the two people standing a few steps away. Zhan Yun, dressed in a wide white robe, had been smiling warmly, but when those cool phoenix eyes swept over him, his crescent-shaped eyes blinked, and the smile on his lips froze. Zhao Ting, dressed in a narrow-sleeved, narrow-bodied blue-black robe, made his already tall and upright figure appear even more majestic and handsome. His deep eyes met Xiao Duan's gaze, and he nodded slightly.

Xiao Duan nodded, glanced at the scroll in Zhan Yun's hand, and said calmly, "Has the case reached Tokyo?"

Zhan Yun nodded, his handsome brows furrowing slightly: "The case has already been reported to the Ministry of Justice. We're here on assignment from the Ministry of Justice to help out. They've given us a deadline of ten days to solve the case. We just came from Lord Li's office."

Xiao Duan turned around, his clear, cool voice like a mountain spring: "Then let's go together."

As the group walked to the lakeside, they saw Jiang Cheng about to turn the body over. Xiao Duan quickly stopped him, saying, "Wait." Jiang Cheng had worked with Xiao Duan twice before and knew that Xiao Duan was quite good at solving cases. Therefore, when he heard that Xiao Duan told him not to turn the body over, Jiang Cheng immediately stopped and looked up at Xiao Duan, waiting for him to speak.

Xiao Duan walked around the corpse to Jiang Cheng's side, gesturing for him to stand up. His delicate brows furrowed slightly: "Has the corpse been disturbed?"

Jiang Cheng nodded: "It was the old man who first discovered the body. He found someone lying face down by the lake, so he mustered up his courage and turned the person over to look, but he was so frightened that he fainted."

After all, the deceased was a woman, and her clothes were wide open, her bodice had been torn off, and her snow-white body was exposed. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun were both somewhat uncomfortable. After glancing at the corpse, Zhao Ting looked coldly to the side, while Zhan Yun coughed twice and turned his gaze to Jiang Cheng, looking like he was listening attentively to someone speaking.

Seeing their expressions, Xiao Duan understood what was going on and said coldly, "Examining the body is the most important part of solving a case; almost all clues start here. If you two can't get past this hurdle, don't waste your energy on it. Also, as long as you have no evil intentions, you'll naturally have a clear conscience. Don't keep spouting that 'don't look at what you shouldn't' nonsense to deceive yourselves."

Zhao Ting raised an eyebrow, and Zhan Yun was slightly surprised. The two exchanged a glance, then looked at Xiao Duan standing opposite them. Zhan Yun bowed and said, "Xingzhi, I have learned a lot." Zhao Ting glanced at Zhan Yun again, a hint of a smile flashing in his dark eyes. He nodded to Xiao Duan, and the group began to carefully examine the corpse together.

Author's Note: The crime has occurred!

Ignore me~ The exclamation mark was changed to 1 by JJ a few days ago. = =|||

7

Chapter Two: Plum Blossom Hairpin • Budding...

Zhan Yun squatted down, carefully examining the scratches on the woman's face. On the other side, Jiang Cheng sighed, "It must have been a very sharp object, but the murder weapon has never been found. That's why some people say things like water ghosts harm people or vengeful spirits claim lives."

Zhao Ting, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "If it really were a ghost, the scratches from fingernails, as in the legends, would not look like this. This looks like it was scraped haphazardly with a nail or something."

Seeing that everyone had finished examining the body, Jiang Cheng reached out and gathered the woman's open collar, carefully turned the corpse over, parted the woman's wet and disheveled hair, and said softly, "Look here."

The three men approached and saw several purplish-red finger marks on the woman's pale scalp. Carefully lifting her collar, they found several more finger marks on one of her shoulders. Suddenly, Xiao Duan asked a startling question: "Were the first two women assaulted?"

Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun were both speechless, staring wide-eyed at Xiao Duan. What kind of thinking did this man have? How could he think of assault just from looking at finger marks… Jiang Cheng carefully turned the body over again, shaking his head, “No, there isn’t.” As he spoke, he took off his cotton gloves, placed them in the open wooden box, closed the box, and stood up. The constables beside him had already prepared the frame to carry the body. After greeting Jiang Cheng, they covered the body with a cloth and carried it back to the government office.

“Almost identical to the previous two. It’s certain that it was done by the same person.” Jiang Cheng’s brows were furrowed, and his face showed increasing exhaustion. Xiao Duan patted his shoulder: “Go back first, I’ll come find you later.”

Jiang Cheng glanced at the other two, then gave Xiao Duan a meaningful look, nodded, and left. Xiao Duan turned and looked at the emerald green lake. He took a few steps forward and squinted slightly. He saw a rock protruding from the water about three meters from the shore. Xiao Duan bent down and began to take off his shoes. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun, who were standing nearby, were completely bewildered. What was he doing now?

Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun only saw a blur before their eyes, and then they saw Xiao Duan take off his shoes and socks, lift his robe, and walk barefoot into the brownish-gray mud and sand. His two feet were slender and fair, and his ten toes were like small white jade knots. His pink toenails shone with a lustrous sheen, making people's hearts itch with desire.

Zhao Ting's already deep eyes became even more unfathomable, his thick, dark eyebrows furrowed. How could even his feet be so beautiful? So white and delicate, like they were carved from jade! Was this guy even a man?! Zhan Yun's fair cheeks flushed slightly, his crescent-shaped eyes glancing uncomfortably to the side before turning back. Uh, he was already in the water; he couldn't see the bird anymore. The usually gentle and composed Xingzhi Gongzi was suddenly annoyed. What was he thinking?!

Little Duan had no idea that taking off his shoes and wading through the lake would drive the two people behind him nearly crazy! From the angle he was standing, he could see something shimmering and dazzling under the protruding rock in the lake. He was afraid it was just sunlight reflecting off the water, but upon closer inspection, it didn't seem like it. Not quite sure, he decided to wade in and take a look.

The water at the edge of the lake wasn't deep yet, but by the time Xiao Duan reached the rocks, it was already above his knees. As he walked, he rolled up his trousers, clutching his robe tightly with one hand while simultaneously gripping his trousers, which were rolled up to his knees. It was still springtime, and the sun wasn't too strong. After walking only seven or eight steps, Xiao Duan's teeth were chattering; the lake water was piercingly cold, a chill creeping up his spine. Gritting his teeth, Xiao Duan reached into the water. Most of the rock was underwater, and the spot where he saw something flashing was a flat, step-like section, only a fist's distance from the surface.

As Xiao Duan touched the object, a surge of joy filled his heart. He pulled it out and examined it closely—it was a silver hairpin shaped like a plum blossom! Xiao Duan was shivering from the cold. Looking towards the bank, he saw a flat, large rock near the grass. Gripping the hairpin tightly, Xiao Duan pushed off the rock beside him, leaping out of the water. His toes lightly touched the surface, and he traveled two or three zhang (approximately 6-9 meters) in a flash, landing steadily on the flat rock. He then turned to the two men and called out, "Could you please bring me my shoes?"

Just as Xiao Duan emerged from the water, the hands that had been holding his robe and trousers simultaneously loosened. The two men only caught a fleeting glimpse of Xiao Duan's two fair legs before his long blue robe fell away, his jet-black hair billowed, and he swept past them, heading straight for the bushes.

Zhao Ting cursed himself inwardly, then turned and walked to the side to help Xiao Duan with his shoes. Zhan Yun felt his heart race even faster from that fleeting glimpse, and quickly tried to calm himself down, figuring that the scene must have been too breathtaking, catching him off guard and causing his heart to race. Once he had finally composed himself, he saw the usually aloof and arrogant Prince Zhao already carrying shoes in one hand and a pair of snow-white cotton socks in the other, heading towards Xiao Duan. The usually composed Young Master Xingzhi widened his eyes again, his slightly pink lips parting, the word "Zhao" hovering on his lips for a long time before he uttered it.

Xiao Duan took the shoes and socks, thanked them softly, rubbed the soles of his feet with the back of his hand, and was about to put on his socks when a wheat-colored hand was extended in front of him, with a dark blue silk handkerchief on it. Xiao Duan did not take it, nor did he look up, but simply declined softly, "Thank you. No need." That handkerchief was worth more than all his clothes; if it got dirty, he really couldn't afford to pay for it.

Zhao Ting withdrew his hand, a hint of anger flickering across his cold, handsome face. This guy was exceptionally difficult to get along with! He had kindly offered him a handkerchief to wipe his feet; would it kill him to take it and use it? How could he be so ungrateful!

Poor Xingzhi, who had just finished mentally preparing himself but was still quite frightened by his brother, followed along. He saw that Prince Zhao was exuding a cold aura that kept strangers at bay, his dark eyes glaring fiercely at Xiao Duan, who was putting on his shoes. Zhan Yun's hand trembled. What was going on now? Was the young prince finally about to explode because he was resentful about carrying shoes for others?

Xiao Duan put on his shoes, stood up, reached into his sleeve and took out the plum blossom silver hairpin, handing it to the two men while patting his robe behind him. Zhan Yun took the hairpin, and he and Zhao Ting examined it together, both exclaiming at the same time, "The murder weapon?"

Xiao Duan nodded: "It should be. We need to take it back to Jiang Cheng to check before we can be sure."

The group returned to the government office and first went to greet Lord Li. The old man, whose fever had only subsided two days prior, was frowning as he drank his medicine. Upon seeing the three enter, he put down the bowl, quickly rose, and bowed, saying, "Gentlemen." Then, looking at Xiao Duan standing to the side, he stroked his beard with a smile and said, "Xiao Duan, long time no see. How have you been?"

Xiao Duan nodded, walked to the table, picked up the celadon bowl, smelled it, handed it to Lord Li, and said in a cold voice, "Drink it while it's hot."

Li Qinglan exclaimed "Ah!" and took the medicine with both hands, gulping it down in a few large mouthfuls. He then picked up a handkerchief from the table to wipe his mouth. He noticed Zhao Ting staring coldly at him, while Zhan Yun blinked her crescent-shaped eyes, also staring intently at him. Old Master Li felt a little flustered by their stares. What were they looking at? He had dealt with these people at the end of last year. Although the three young masters hadn't revealed their identities then, and Li Qinglan hadn't explicitly stated it, he knew perfectly well that these three young masters were no ordinary people.