The Killer's Cleansing Manual

Qi Zhen also nodded. "We thought so too. What's even more outrageous is that since Wang Xing's death, his three fellow villagers have disappeared one after another, and no one has noticed the specific time and order."

Lin Shanjuan sensed something unusual. "So, four of my fellow townsmen went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, and afterward, one died, and the other three disappeared?"

Qi Zhen nodded. "That's right. We've been asking around with people, and some are still searching outside, but there's still no news. It's like these people have vanished into thin air."

The matter was so strange that Lin Shanjuan had to think carefully and determine the next direction of investigation.

She took out the suicide note from Wang Xing's body and stood up to go find Jin Hong.

"Since there are no clues here, we can only go to Quxian Town, find the hometowns of these three people, and investigate their backgrounds."

Bai Shu volunteered after hearing this: "I'll go. I've worked there before. I can take the mountain road there. It'll only take about a month to go back and forth."

Lin Shanjuan nodded. She knew that this matter could not be rushed. Transportation was so backward in today's era that people could only rely on four-hoofed horses to cross distances.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." She turned to Qi Zhen, "Let's go to Jin Hong and check the handwriting."

Just as she was about to leave, Lu Feng came over with a few notebooks and stopped her: "Director Lin, these cases have been settled. Please stamp them."

Lin Shanjuan flipped through the book, finding it filled with trivial family matters. As he was writing, he asked him, "Is there anyone new here today?"

Lu Feng thought for a few seconds and shook his head. "If it's the new number one scholar Chu Kuo, he'll be here soon."

Lin Shanjuan lowered his eyes and placed the last seal.

"When he comes, keep an eye on him and try not to let him handle the case."

The good thing about Lu Feng is that he just works and doesn't ask questions. Even though this person came suddenly and Lin Shanjuan's explanation seemed not that simple, he still didn't say much and just agreed.

"Don't worry, when he arrives, I'll have him work in the case editing office. They're all closed cases, so there's no need to worry about mistakes."

Lu Feng is a meticulous person with a clean background. He is concerned about the promotion of the eldest princess and will never betray her. Lin Shanjuan is confident in him.

The main reason is that he is too capable. Except for the last and current murder cases, all the conflicts between wives and concubines in the Qingzhengsi, big and small, are handled by Lu Feng.

As they were talking, the official came in to report.

"Master Lin, the new dean is here and is waiting outside."

It is true that when you mention Cao Cao, he appears. Lin Shanjuan was not in a hurry to find Jin Hong. She wanted to see this top scholar first.

"Tell him to come in."

Not long after, Qi Zhen strode in with a handsome man wearing a crimson official robe.

He raised his eyes slightly and was immediately attracted by Lin Shanjuan who was sitting at the top.

This woman was different from the gentle ones he had seen before. She seemed to have a sharp edge. The coldness between her eyebrows was the finishing touch, making her aloofness even more obvious.

The female prince consort was not a disgusting stinky woman, but rather had such a charming demeanor that surpassed that of men that he couldn't help but take a few more glances at her.

The man's straightforward look made Qi Zhen very unhappy. He bumped Chu Kuo's arm hard, and the latter came to his senses and hurriedly saluted.

"I am the newly appointed Supervisor of the Ministry of Justice, Chu Kuo, and I would like to pay my respects to Chief Lin!"

Lin Shanjuan waved his hand nonchalantly, "Get up. My Qingzheng Division doesn't have many rules. Just do your job well. There's no need to come and see me every day."

Chu Kuo looked at her in surprise, then stood up and said, "Yes, I will remember this."

Lin Shanjuan nodded and took the initiative to introduce Lu Feng: "This is the head, Master Lu Feng. Since you are new here and are not familiar with the affairs, you should learn from Master Lu first. Master Lu is knowledgeable and can teach you a lot."

When Lu Feng heard these highly praised words, his eyes widened, and the balloon in his heart was instantly blown up. He coughed lightly and accepted the task without any hesitation.

Chu Kuo also pretended to be grateful and said, "Thank you, Mr. Lin, for your understanding."

Lin Shanjuan didn't say anything, but gave Lu Feng a look.

Lu Feng understood and stepped forward: "Superintendent Chu, let's go."

Lin Shanjuan also stood up: "Let's go, it's time for us to go find Master Jin Hong and get the suicide note."

Qi Zhen nodded, put the suicide note in his arms, and the two of them rode straight to Jin Hong's mansion.

Jin Hong is an honest man. Since he took on the job of the chief examiner of the written examination, many people have come to him to test him with gifts, but he rejected them all with a stern face. As a result, he earned the reputation of being "difficult to deal with".

However, when they heard that Lin Shanjuan had arrived, they knew that he was the emperor's man, so they quickly invited him in.

After a cup of tea, they went straight to the topic and went to the study to look at the test paper.

Jin Hong is a book lover. Why? Because Lin Shanjuan rarely sees anyone stack books as high as a load-bearing wall. Even the floor is filled with books, lifted off the ground by wooden shelves, and pile upon pile fills the entire room.

The gaps between these books are extremely narrow, and only the route that Jin Hong often takes is wider. Otherwise, this maze-like place would be impossible to move forward.

When Lin Shanjuan and Qi Zhen went in, they were afraid that touching something would cause a domino effect, so they held up their clothes and carefully squeezed through the cracks.

Jin Hong apologized awkwardly as he walked away, "I'm really sorry to have embarrassed you, Director Lin. My place... is very narrow, and there are too many things piled up here. I'm usually the only one going in and out, so I haven't cleaned it up."

Lin Shanjuan gave a dry laugh and responded politely, "It's nothing. I'm just walking around here to get some scholarly air. What is Master Jin busy with?"

Jin Hong finally walked to the desk, but after looking around, he couldn't find any extra space for a chair, so he could only stand and talk awkwardly.

"Master Lin, you're joking. I'm just organizing the examination papers for this spring's exam. I wonder what brings you here?"

Lin Shanjuan found an open space to stand and explained his purpose: "There was a murder last night. The deceased was a man who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination. He left a suspicious suicide note. I want to check his examination paper and compare the handwriting."

Upon hearing this, Jin Hong immediately opened the roster and handed it to Lin Shanjuan.

"Mr. Lin, please watch. I'll help you find his writings. Otherwise, it would be difficult for you to find them by yourself because there are so many."

Lin Shanjuan looked at him gratefully, very grateful for the man's thoughtfulness.

She has never liked reading things with too many words, so she brought Qi Zhen here, intending to have him help her find it. Now it seems that is completely unnecessary.

Qi Zhen had nothing to do, so he helped Lin Shanjuan look at the roster.

But surprisingly, the two searched everywhere but still couldn't find Wang Xing's name.

The two of them couldn't question it directly, so they had to look for it again, but still couldn't find it.

Lin Shanjuan looked at Jin Hong doubtfully, "Master Jin, are these all the candidates?"

Jin Hong nodded, as if he could tell she hadn't found the person she was looking for, and asked, "Who is Director Lin looking for? I might as well help you find it from this file."

Lin Shanjuan blurted out: "Wang Xing, wake up!"

Jin Hong nodded and began to flip through the stack of articles in his hand. The quiet study was filled with the sound of flipping papers.