"Magistrate, have you called a forensic doctor to examine the body?"
At the question, the old man burst into loud laughter, stroking his long beard.
"This is just a poor village. We don't need a forensic doctor. I've served in the court for twenty years, how could you doubt my judgment?"
Li Jun flicked open her fan with a snap, fanning herself lightly.
"Hmm… in that case, Magistrate already knows this woman is not the murderer?"
The magistrate's jaw tightened, but Li Jun didn't give him a chance to reply. She stepped closer to the corpse laid out on the wooden board.
"Fang Wen was not killed by a stab wound!" Li Jun declared.
The words struck like thunder. The crowd gasped, murmurs rippling through the room.
She knelt beside the corpse, pointing with her fan at the wound on Fang Wen's chest. "Look carefully. The cut is shallow, and there is little blood. If the blade had pierced his heart while he was alive, the blood would have flowed violently. This was done after his death."
The magistrate frowned. "After death? Then… what killed him?"
Li Jun's gaze swept over the body. "His lips are pale, not the color of poison. There are no marks of strangulation, no bruises of struggle. His body shows signs of sudden shock. Most likely, he died from fright or from a sudden attack of the chest."
Her fan hovered over the corpse. "And there is something else strange."
She gently lifted a strand of Fang Wen's hair, letting it slip between her fingers. "His hair and clothes are heavily stained with mud, as if he had fallen… or been dragged. He must have died elsewhere and only later was moved into this room."
The crowd stirred, voices rising in shock. "Then who moved her body?" another muttered nervously.
She slowly closed her fan, her eyes sweeping over the crowd that was still whispering noisily among themselves.
"Whoever moved Fang Wen into his room, it could not have been Shu Hua. How could such a small woman drag a big man's body without leaving a single trace?"
The crowd fell silent at once. Several people turned to look at Shu Hua, whose face was deathly pale. Her lips trembled as if to defend herself, yet no words came.
Li Jun's gaze returned to Fang Wen's corpse. She noticed the stains on his clothing not only mud, but also faint, greasy patches. Slowly, she crouched down. Her fingers brushed against the stain, then moved to the knife handle still buried in Fang Wen's chest.
She lowered her face, carefully sniffing her fingertips. A slight frown tugged at her brow. "Mutton oil…" Li Jun whispered.
Suddenly, Shu Hua's voice rang out, trembling yet firm. "Everyone knows my inn serves only vegetarian dishes. There has never been mutton in my kitchen!"
The crowd stirred again, whispers rising like restless waves. Some turned toward Shu Hua with new, questioning eyes. "In this village… there is only one place famous for its mutton dishes, Lotus Inn," someone muttered.
At once, silence fell. All eyes shifted in the same direction.
Lord Wei's face hardened. His deep eyes, dark as a bottomless well, grew even gloomier. His lips pressed into a thin line.
The magistrate swallowed hard, cold sweat breaking at his temples. Lord Wei's darkening expression was enough to make his knees weak. Forcing a stern voice, he barked at Li Jun, "You insolent child! What do you know? These are your personal opinions!"
An old physician stepped forward from the onlookers. His hands were clasped respectfully, but his voice rang clear. "Magistrate, forgive my boldness, but what Young Master has said about the corpse is correct. Fang Wen did not die from the stab wound, the signs point to a sudden stoppage of the heart. I have tended to many such cases in my years."
The physician's gaze swept over the villagers, then rested on Shu Hua.
"And I also know Madam Shu Hua's reputation. She is an honest and kind widow. Everyone in this village has received her kindness. To accuse her blindly is unjust."
Some of the onlookers finally found the courage to speak up. "Everyone also knows… Lord Wei has long desired to take Shu Hua as his fourth wife. And gain control over the Red Lantern Inn."
Li Jun glanced at Lord Wei with suspicion. "Why don't you check Lord Wei?" she said to the magistrate.
"Insolence!" the magistrate barked. "How dare you slander us!"
A young waiter from the Red Lantern Inn suddenly stepped forward. His face was pale, his voice timid. "Magistrate… last night, I saw someone lurking behind the stables. It was Wei Ang, the butcher from the Lotus Lantern."
In the crowd, one man grew visibly uneasy. His hands fidgeted, his shoulders tense. He glanced toward the exit again and again, beads of sweat trickling down his brow. When the young waiter's eyes swept over him, he flinched and lowered his head, tugging nervously at the hem of his coat.
"That's Wei Ang," the young waiter said, pointing at him.
Suddenly, the man shoved past two villagers, trying to slip away.
"Stop right there!"
Like a shadow, Shen Yuqing moved. In an instant she seized the man's arm, twisting it until the stranger fell to his knees. The villagers gasped, drawing back in shock.
The man struggled, snarling. "Let go of me! I—I was only following Lord Wei's orders!"
Shen Yuqing's eyes narrowed as she yanked back the man's sleeve, revealing faint stains darkened with oil and a smear of dried blood. Her lip curled.
Wei Ang trembled under Shen Yuqing's grip, his knees grinding against the dirt. Sweat poured down his face as the villagers pressed closer, their eyes burning with suspicion.
"I—I'll talk!" he finally burst out.
The crowd fell silent, straining to hear.
Wei Ang swallowed hard, his eyes flicking toward Lord Wei before darting away in fear.
"It was Lord Wei…" he choked. "He ordered me to disguise myself as a ghost and haunt the Red Lantern Inn. He said it would frighten the guests, ruin Madam Shu Hua's reputation—make her desperate enough to rely on him."
Shu Hua's face blanched, her hand flying to her lips. "So the ghost rumors were your doing all along," she whispered.
Wei Ang's voice shook as he continued, "That night… Fang Wen saw me dressed as the ghost. The moment he caught sight of me, he was terrified. He collapsed, dead on the spot. I panicked… His shoulders hunched, his breath went ragged…"
"Then Lord Wei said… since Fang Wen was already dead, we'd make it look like murder. He told me to stab the body, to throw suspicion on Madam Shu Hua."
Shame and fear twisted Wei Ang's face. "He wanted to trap her… to force her into a corner. Either marry him as his fourth wife, or rot in prison for a crime she never committed."
Lord Wei suddenly burst out laughing, the sound echoing harshly across the courtyard. "Who are you to accuse me? Even if your story is true, what can you do?" His eyes gleamed with contempt as he straightened his robe.
"Do you fools not know who I am? My elder brother-in-law is Governor Wen Zhiming of Hezhou, trusted by Her Majesty the Empress herself. With one letter, I can have all of you crushed like ants!"
Li Jun's expression did not falter. She toyed with her fan and exchanged a quick glance with Shen Yuqing. Lord Wei sneered, mistaking her calm for fear, he had no idea that the "young master" standing before him was none other than the Empress in disguise.