Long Live the Empress

A seven-month pregnant daughter-in-law of a farmer's family in the suburbs of the city went out to buy vegetables and never came back. The family searched everywhere but still couldn't find her. Finally, they had to report it to the Jingzhao Yin and ask the government to look for her.

When they arrived at Jingzhaoyin, they learned that several pregnant women had also gone missing in the city. This incident made the people panic, especially the pregnant women, who hid at home and dared not go out.

The Jingzhao Yin was also very troubled. After investigating for several days, he still had no clue. He had no choice but to transfer the case to the Dali Temple.

Dali Temple Minister Shen Mao had extensive experience in handling cases, and he began to investigate the case as soon as he received it.

Shen Mao deployed soldiers at the city gate to check if there were any suspicious people among the passers-by, and patrols were carried out in the capital city for twelve hours a day.

Even so, two pregnant women disappeared at the same time while sleeping at night...

Now the people whose families lost their pregnant women could no longer sit still, and they all ran to the gate of the Dali Temple to wait for news. For a while, the gate of the Dali Temple was filled with people, and the soldiers could not drive them away.

Shen Mao paced back and forth in the mansion anxiously, "This is the murderer's naked provocation! He is provoking the Dali Temple and the imperial court! In the past, one person was lost every half a month, but now two are lost in a day! He is telling me that no matter how I control him, he can still act as usual! He is so arrogant!"

The master was at a loss as well. He and Shen Mao had handled countless cases in the Dali Temple, but they had never encountered such a difficult case. "Sir, why not hand this case over to the Inspectorate? The Ninth Prince has many talented people under his command, and they will surely catch the murderer soon!"

Shen Mao was tempted for a moment, but then he denied it, "No, the Inspectorate is dedicated to investigating corruption among officials. How can we take over this case? If I anger the Ninth Prince, he might accuse me of incompetence!"

The master nodded silently, "Why not strengthen patrols? Or put all pregnant women in the Dali Temple for protection?"

"No, there aren't that many places for people to live in the Dali Temple. Even if there were, what would the Dali Temple become? An orphanage?" Shen Mao rejected his master's suggestion again, and sat back at the desk to look through the case files.

Other officials also gathered to discuss the case. They found that the missing pregnant women were all in their seventh month of pregnancy, and there was nothing else in common. The places where the pregnant women disappeared were also very different, at home, in restaurants, and even in the fields...

In the suburbs of Beijing, an old woman was returning home from visiting her relatives. Halfway through her journey, she could no longer walk. Seeing a stream by the road, she thought of fetching some water and resting her feet. As soon as she reached the stream, she was startled and screamed, "Help! Someone's dead!"

Pedestrians on the road gathered around, took one look, and were immediately frightened and fled in all directions.

Those who were fast on foot returned to Beijing and reported the incident to the patrol officers. The patrol officers sent one person to report to Shen Mao, and the rest went to the scene of the crime with the person who reported the incident.

I saw a woman with a bun on her head, lying face down beside a stream, with blood flowing far away in the stream.

The leading soldier was also an experienced one. He asked the people to stand three meters away and not allow outsiders to approach.

After an incense stick, Shen Mao and other officials from the Dali Temple also arrived at the scene of the crime. Shen Mao looked around, waved his hand, and ordered the coroner to come forward to check.

When the coroner carefully turned the person over, the onlookers were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and some even fainted at the sight.

The victim was about 17 or 18 years old. Her clothes were intact, but her stomach had been cut open, and her intestines and internal organs were all over the floor...

The officers and soldiers also turned their heads away, unable to bear to see the woman's miserable condition.

Shen Mao went forward to check on the woman's condition and said, "Draw a portrait of her and put it at the gate of the mansion."

After receiving the order, the lawyer had the woman carried away.

Some murderers would return to the crime scene after committing a crime to admire their own masterpiece. So Shen Mao looked at the onlookers, trying to find clues from them, but he didn't find any suspicious people after watching for a long time.

The lawyer acted quickly and posted the portrait of the murdered woman when he arrived at the Dali Temple.

The people at the door gathered around and looked at the portrait in confusion.

Among the soldiers guarding the gate, there was a literate officer, so he read the content to them: Looking for someone. If anyone knows the woman in the painting, please come and report as soon as possible!

A man in the crowd looked at the portrait and patted the person next to him, "Do you think that woman looks like Zhuzi's wife?"

Another person nodded, "It's somewhat similar."

At this time, Zhuzi was standing at the back of the crowd. He stood on tiptoe but still couldn't see the portrait.

The two men squeezed through the crowd and came to the pillar: "Pillar, the woman in the portrait looks like your wife! Go and take a look!"