After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

Di Renjie carefully examined the bloody handprint on the door, then pinched off some powder, smelled it, and said to Chen Futu, "It's cinnabar."

“Cinnabar? Hundred Flowers Pavilion does indeed have such a thing.”

Filled with doubt, the group entered the room.

The waitresses all lived in single rooms, and because Yue Lian had been seriously ill for a long time, there was a lingering smell of medicine in the room.

Just then, Boss Hua came over, and Di Renjie asked him some questions.

The shopkeeper said, "Yue Lian is beautiful and honest. She is from Chuzhou and moved here with her parents. Because her father was in poor health, she thought of coming to Baihuage to work. However, she caught a cold not long after she arrived and stayed indoors. Who would have thought that this would happen?"

"Has anyone seen her during this period, or does she have a grudge against anyone?"

“Aside from someone delivering medicine regularly every day, no one comes looking for her. As for her enemies… you know, although Baihua Pavilion is just a restaurant, some customers have designs on our pretty girls. Yue Lian is beautiful, so it’s inevitable that she will attract attention. But surely those people wouldn’t kill someone just because they’re rejected?”

Mr. Hua told him everything he knew.

Chen Futu looked around at the furnishings in the room. This place did not look like a murder scene because there were no signs of resistance. The system reminded him that someone had committed the crime. Besides, there was no need to take off all his clothes if he wanted to commit suicide.

Di Renjie shook his head and said, "It wasn't suicide, it was murder. That girl didn't just die today, she's been dead for at least two days. Moreover, she had obvious injuries on her body, all her ribs were broken, and her shinbone was also broken. All things considered, she was bound and tortured to death."

"what?"

Chen Futu was shocked; he was astonished by such ruthlessness.

Li Yuanfang interjected, "It's entirely possible that it was done by someone from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion."

"That's possible. Your Highness, please wait a moment while I take another look at the scene."

Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang began searching for physical evidence in the room, while Chen Futu sat down to wait. He was just participating and going through the motions with the system.

Besides, this whole thing is pretty ridiculous.

If the goal was simply to bring bad luck to the ceremony, there was no need for such trouble; they could have just killed him. It seems the other party wanted to add a layer of mystery to the case and create a stir throughout the city. After all, with a bloody handprint present, it's easy to fool the common people. If this matter were to spread, it would create unfavorable rumors about gods and ghosts, which would clash with the joy of the ceremony.

Taking advantage of the time, Chen Futu sent Mao Xiang out to inquire. Sure enough, in a short period of time, the rumors of the bloody handprint had spread. The people said it was a vengeful spirit seeking revenge and advised everyone to stay away from Baihualou in the future.

An even more outrageous claim is that Baihualou (Hundred Flowers Pavilion) secretly ran a prostitution business, and when a girl refused, she was secretly murdered. Moreover, more than one girl died at Baihualou. Yuelian, who was stubborn, was forced by a customer and fell to her death while resisting.

In short, as unfavorable rumors spread, someone will eventually try to force a connection between this matter and the ceremony, so it is necessary to solve the case quickly.

About half an hour later, Di Renjie, who had been searching for clues, suddenly sneered. He then found Boss Hua and asked him a few more questions, all about Yue Lian's interpersonal relationships. After that, he asked Boss Hua, "When was the last time you saw Yue Lian?"

“Last night, the maid who brought the medicine came in and found her sitting by the window reading a book and coughing incessantly, so she put down the food without disturbing her.”

"The woman reading the book is not Yue Lian; Yue Lian is already dead."

Di Renjie's words gave everyone goosebumps in broad daylight.

Chen Futu asked suspiciously, "So you know how to commit the crime?"

"Yes, that's the key."

Di Renjie took out a few long strands of hair he had found on the table by the window, as well as a set of women's clothing from the closet.

The hair on the table and the hair left on the women's clothing were clearly not from the same person. The former was left by the murderer, while the latter was Yue Lian's. In particular, Yue Lian had been malnourished since childhood, so her hair was slightly yellowish and curly, while the murderer's hair was black and shiny.

Li Yuanfang was overjoyed, "Finding the owner of this hair will solve the case."

"It's not that simple. This kind of hair is too common. How can you judge someone's guilt or innocence based on their hair color?"

Di Renjie hit the nail on the head: Boss Hua's hair was black and shiny. Could she be the murderer?

"So, how do we find the murderer?"

"Cinnabar".

Di Renjie's face darkened, and he asked the shopkeeper, "Do any of your maids here have a talent for painting, or a fondness for applying cinnabar dot moles?"

Mr. Hua nodded. “Yes, our girls are divided into different ranks. Although they all perform, some of them are top performers and must be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Naturally, they are also good at painting.”

Di Renjie said to Chen Futu, "Cinnabar is generally used for seals on documents of merchants and officials. It is not commonly used by ordinary people. Places like Baihualou should not exist, but since it is the property of the prince, it is often used to report information and transmit documents. As for what women use, it is mostly mixed rouge, made into that shape."

Chen Futu seemed to understand something. "You mean, this is an obvious clue, and the woman who used cinnabar is the murderer?"

"No."

Di Renjie looked at the cabinet again and said to the shopkeeper, "Has the furniture here been replaced recently?"

"Yes, it was just changed."

"Send someone to summon all the brokers who moved the cabinet and the girls in the storeroom to the government office. The case can be solved immediately."

"what?"

Mr. Hua was dumbfounded. It broke already? That was way too fast!

Chen Futu laughed and said, "Just go when I tell you to, no need to worry."

"Yes, I'll go and call someone right away."

The shop owner came to his senses and hurriedly left.

Then Di Renjie said to Li Yuanfang, "Take the Thousand Bull Guards to the craftsman's house and see if you can find him."

Li Yuanfang immediately led the Thousand Bull Guards out of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.

Chen Futu became interested and asked Di Renjie, "So fast? I thought it would take at least a few days."

“Your Highness, this case seems complicated, but it actually has too many flaws. Look here…”

Following the direction Di Renjie pointed, they saw obvious signs of movement under the cabinet, indicating that the cabinet was used to hide a corpse. In addition, there was a strong smell of residual drugs in the flowerpot, which was obviously anesthesia.

Chen Futu quickly figured out how the crime was committed, but even so, how could he find the murderer?

"Your Highness, in order to eliminate the negative impact, I suggest that we issue a public notice to the people, hold a trial, and nip those supernatural and evil practices in the bud as quickly as possible."

"Just as you said."

Chen Futu ordered Mao Xiang to go to the government office to have the officials prepare and notify the people to publicly close the case.

News that the case was about to be solved quickly spread throughout Longcheng.

The people on the streets and alleys who were talking about the ghosts and the harm they were suffering were all shocked. They didn't expect the case to be solved so quickly, so many people flocked to the government office.

Even Liu Longyue knew the news, and she and Ge Fei mingled in the crowd.