The Emperor's heart is won, she sits on the Phoenix Throne! The Divine Physician's Eldest

"Princess, do you mean that when we found them, they might still be alive?" Chen Jiang asked.

"Based on the current state of decomposition of the bodies, they were already dead when you found them."

Song Siyao looked at the five dead women. Their faces weren't the most beautiful, but their body lines were perfect.

She continued, "They had no external injuries, had not been abused, and had not been forced."

"Princess, where can I find that kind of liquid? I'll see if we can start with special liquids." Even the usually calm and collected Chen Jiang was anxious; he desperately wanted to solve the case as soon as possible.

“This liquid is called zero degrees, and it’s not available in the Great Zhou,” Song Siyao said.

"Where can I find it?" Chen Jiang pressed.

Zero degrees is a special liquid that is not found in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, nor even in the entire Nine Provinces.

It exists in modern times.

It's also in Song Siyao's Soul-Capturing Bracelet.

No outsider can enter her Soul-Capturing Bracelet.

Then there's only one possibility: this liquid comes from the modern world, which means there's another person in Kyushu who, like her, comes from the modern world.

She couldn't explain this to Chen Jiang, so she changed the subject, saying, "Lord Chen, I need to perform an autopsy on the deceased for further examination."

"Alright, I'll assist you." Just then, the yamen runner returned. He said to Song Siyao, "Princess, I've had someone buy your favorite pastries from the shop in the west of the city. Have some to tide you over before we do anything else."

Song Siyao's gaze fell on the paper package in the yamen runner's hand; that pastry shop was indeed her favorite.

“Lord Chen, you’re too kind. Leave it there for now, and eat it when you’re done,” Song Siyao said. “The sooner we solve the case, the more likely we are to save an innocent life.”

"Take it over first," Chen Jiang said to the yamen runner.

"Yes, sir." The constable took the pastries away.

"Lord Chen, that pastry shop is usually hard to buy, you have to wait in line for a long time, how come your people were here so quickly?" Song Siyao asked casually.

"I helped them before, so I didn't have to queue when I bought their pastries." As soon as Chen Jiang said this, he realized something was wrong and quickly explained, "Princess, this is my first time buying their pastries."

After explaining, he realized something was even more amiss. Afraid that Song Siyao would discover his thoughts, he continued to explain, "Princess, this official absolutely did not abuse his power for personal gain..."

Song Siyao interrupted him, "Lord Chen, the more you explain, the worse it gets. I believe you."

All of Chen Jiang's panic and helplessness vanished with that one sentence, "I believe in you."

His heart calmed down instantly.

Song Siyao didn't continue the topic. She began to dissect the deceased, explaining the procedure to Chen Jiang as she did so.

Chen Jiang was completely focused.

At this moment, his secret crush on Song Siyao was deeply hidden in his heart.

He could pinpoint the date of the first death to be five days after Song Siyao left.

Song Siyao never told her her preferences, but he knew the pastries she liked.

His unspoken crush was deafening.

Five hours later, Song Siyao had finished dissecting all the corpses.

The final conclusion was that each of the deceased had barely eaten anything in the ten days prior to their death.

"Lord Chen, have the identities of the five deceased been confirmed?"

"No." Chen Jiang looked troubled. "I have been searching outwards from the capital, and I have searched the entire area within a hundred miles of the capital, but I have not found their family members."

"Bring me paper and a pen, I'll draw their likenesses and have someone find them," Song Siyao said.

"Thank you, Princess." With Song Siyao's help, things will definitely go much more smoothly.

Chen Jiang brought paper and a pen and handed them to Song Siyao, who then drew the faces of the five people.

"Princess, the murderer is still at large, and we have no leads on him. How can we prevent this?" Chen Jiang was worried that the murderer might harm others again.

"Strengthen patrols and arrest any suspicious individuals immediately," Song Siyao said.

"Princess, do you have a rough sketch of the murderer in your mind?" Chen Jiang asked. Having a rough sketch would allow for a more accurate identification of suspects.

"The murderer is over fifty years old, very gentle, knows how to enjoy life, has a good reputation, but there's very little information. That's all I can say," Song Siyao said, her eyes closed, giving a rough outline.

“The princess is already very capable; it’s better than nothing. This narrows down the possibilities.”

Despite Song Siyao's simple words, Chen Jiang was able to glean a great deal of useful information.

She was very gentle and knew how to enjoy life. It seems that the murderer must have been rich and powerful.

"Lord Chen, that's enough for today. I'll go back and distribute the portraits."

It was already late at night.

"Princess, this humble official will escort you." Chen Jiang had barely finished speaking when a yamen runner called out, "Greetings, Your Highness."

It's Shen Pei.

"Why are you here?" Song Siyao asked with a smile.

Shen Pei looked at Song Siyao with a face full of doting affection and a gentle voice, "I went to the Zhenbei Marquis's residence. They said you came to the yamen, so I came here to pick you up."

"Greetings, Your Highness." Chen Jiang walked up to Shen Pei and bowed.

Shen Pei nodded slightly, then turned to look at Song Siyao and asked, "Are you done with your work?"

"Busy working."

"Then let's go."

“Alright.” Song Siyao looked at Chen Jiang. “Lord Chen, we’ll be going now.”

"Princess, please take the pastries with you." Chen Jiang handed the paper package to Song Siyao with both hands. "You've worked hard today, Princess. I have no way to thank you."

"Thank you, Lord Chen." Song Siyao accepted the pastries and followed Shen Pei into the carriage.

Chen Jiang stared at the carriage until it disappeared from sight before turning around.

Zhenbeihou Mansion.

"Cang Yue, distribute the portrait and tell everyone to find it as quickly as possible," Song Siyao instructed.

"Yes, Princess," Cang Yue said, "I heard from Han Chuan that he has arrived."

He handed the letter to Song Siyao, who unfolded it and immediately frowned.

Song Siyao had previously asked Tinghan to stay in Yushan Town to investigate the rumors that were defaming her.

"Yaoyao, what's wrong?" Shen Pei asked.

"Pingyang County is in trouble!" Song Siyao handed the letter to Shen Pei. Shen Pei's expression changed after reading it. Before he could speak, Hong Shao came in.

"Princess, Eunuch Wang has arrived."

Emperor Changlong should have already retired by this time of day, so the fact that Wang Fu was sent here suggests that Emperor Changlong has received the news.

“I will accompany you to the palace,” Shen Pei said.

Song Si nodded.

When the two appeared in the imperial study, Emperor Changlong's brows were already furrowed deeply.

"Youfeng, Liangzhou is in danger." Emperor Changlong handed Song Siyao an urgent memorial, which Song Siyao took and read. It was the same message that Tinghan had sent her.

Liangzhou, or more accurately Pingyang County, was hit by a locust plague.

Wherever locusts go, crops and houses are all damaged.

"Youfeng, what do you think?" Emperor Changlong asked.

“Your Majesty, locust plagues usually occur in the summer, but it’s already early autumn. This locust plague seems rather strange. Please allow me to go and take a look.” Song Siyao volunteered.

She had a premonition that this locust plague was related to the rumors that were slandering her.

Or perhaps, the net behind her was even bigger than she imagined.

She had only been away from the capital for two months when the person behind the scenes laid a trap.

It is clear that the other party had planned this for a long time, and had been planning it for who knows how many years.