Song Yihuan's gaze swept over the three dogs. "I see," she said, understanding. "Brother Ling, you've really thought things through."
Her praise was so natural and heartfelt that it made Ji Lingchuan feel a bit uncomfortable. He coughed lightly and let go of his hand, then instructed her, "You can look, but don't get too close. Be careful not to get your fingers bitten off. How would you embroider purses and sachets then?"
Song Yihuan touched her nose and replied obediently, "I know."
"The heir apparent is here!" a voice called out from ahead. Through her veil hat, Song Yihuan only saw several men in official uniforms walking towards her and Ji Lingchuan. One of them had a very familiar silhouette. It should be Gu Yunzheng.
Ji Lingchuan stood still, blocking Song Yihuan behind him. He greeted the approaching people indifferently, "Lord Ye."
Although Song Yihuan had never been to the prefectural yamen, she knew that the prefect of the capital was surnamed Ye.
Prefect Ye smiled at Ji Lingchuan and said, "We've already arranged men near the eight families in the city as the heir apparent ordered. As soon as the criminal shows up tonight, we'll capture him in one fell swoop!"
Ji Lingchuan said, "I'll have to trouble Lord Ye. Please tell the brothers to be patient and not expose their tracks, so as not to tip off the enemy."
Prefect Ye agreed and looked at Song Yihuan behind Ji Lingchuan. "Who is this?"
Gu Yunzheng stepped forward in time and said, "Lord Ye, this is the Miss Rou I mentioned to you yesterday, the one with a photographic memory. She will surely be of great use in tonight's capture of the criminal."
"I see," said Prefect Ye to Song Yihuan. "Thank you, Miss Rou, for your great help."
With that, Prefect Ye led Ji Lingchuan and Song Yihuan into the hall.
Regarding tonight's capture, Ji Lingchuan still had many details to explain to the yamen runners. Song Yihuan sat beside him, listening to his calm and steady arrangements. Her gaze involuntarily fell on him.
She couldn't help but wonder if he was just as resourceful when leading troops in battles on the frontier.
The battlefield was extremely dangerous, yet he could lead the Black Armored Army and the defenders of the sixteen frontier cities to resist the enemy. No wonder he was known as the "God of War."
Ji Lingchuan was very perceptive. He noticed Song Yihuan's scrutiny from the side and couldn't help but straighten his back even more. His tone also became more serious.
"Does the heir apparent mean that the criminal is very likely to target the Marquis of DING'AN's mansion tonight?" Prefect Ye's voice brought Song Yihuan back to her senses.
Ji Lingchuan said, "This is Miss Rou's inference. Of course, I think so too."
Prefect Ye was greatly surprised. He couldn't stop praising Song Yihuan for her hidden talents. It was the first time for Song Yihuan to be praised like this in person. After all, she was a shy girl. She said in a low voice, "Lord Ye, you're overpraising me. My ramblings shouldn't be taken seriously."
But Ji Lingchuan said, "If Miss Rou has any other ideas, she can speak them out in public. Maybe they will be helpful for tonight's capture. Lord Ye, if the criminal is successfully captured thanks to Miss Rou's ideas, she should be credited with a great achievement."
Hearing this, Gu Yunzheng couldn't help but look at him.
Was he going to attribute the credit for capturing the criminal to Song Yihuan?
Men knew men best. Gu Yunzheng was extremely perceptive and noticed the change in Ji Lingchuan's attitude. He immediately became vigilant. What had happened between the two of them after he left last night that he didn't know about?
Could it be that Ji Lingchuan really wanted to abandon the worldly etiquette and take Song Yihuan as his concubine to enjoy the blessings of having multiple wives?
Song Yihuan didn't know what Gu Yunzheng was thinking. She followed Ji Lingchuan's words and began to think.
The room fell silent for a moment. Everyone turned their eyes to Song Yihuan, with different expressions on their faces. Apart from curiosity, most of them showed contempt and disdain. They didn't believe that a weak woman could come up with any unique insights.
Song Yihuan raised her head and said, "We overlooked a detail before. The criminal seems to know the situation in the city very well. He can even come to the prefectural yamen to leave a message. This means that he doesn't stay in the water channel all the time. He may have a hiding place in the capital city."
"But we checked all the old water channel openings in the city yesterday. Except for the damaged ones in the homes of the victimized women, the old water channel openings of other families are still covered with moss and no one has entered or left."
"Thinking about it, the criminal should have an exit that we don't know about and can come and go freely. If so, where is that exit?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked and began to ponder.
That's right. They only knew that the criminal would commit another crime tonight. They had even started to deploy troops in various parts of the city, waiting to catch the criminal tonight. But they had forgotten that since the criminal could send a message to the prefectural yamen, he might already know the situation of the yamen like the back of his hand.
Seeing that everyone was stumped by her words, a glint of amusement flashed across Ji Lingchuan's eyes. He said, "Miss Rou is really quick-witted. She quickly thought of the key point."
Now, he was more and more convinced that she was his little friend.
Handwriting could be faked and she could lie, but her intelligence and the way she solved problems could never be changed.
Gu Yunzheng was the first to speak. "The criminal's hiding place must be related to the five women he was going to kill on the spot."
"Since he knows the situation in the city very well, will our investigation tip him off?" Prefect Ye frowned and said.
Song Yihuan said, "Can I take a look at the case files of these five victimized women? Maybe I can find some clues."
The registrar sneered. "We've already gone through those case files several times and found no clues. You're just a woman. Can you find something wrong just by taking a look?"
Ji Lingchuan looked coldly at the registrar who had spoken. The pressure in his eyes made the other man's legs tremble involuntarily.
"I, Ji Lingchuan, don't use those I suspect, and I don't suspect those I use," he said indifferently.
Song Yihuan looked at Ji Lingchuan's back. A warm current flowed through her heart.
He was always strict with her, but he never made things difficult for her in front of others. However, she was very clear in her heart. She repeatedly warned herself in her heart that he only took care of her like a younger sister. She mustn't have any other thoughts.
Seeing that Ji Lingchuan was so protective of Song Yihuan, the prefect quickly said, "As long as we can solve the case, it doesn't matter if Miss Rou looks at the case files several times. Lord Gu, you're in charge of the case files of this case. Please take Miss Rou to take a look."
Gu Yunzheng met Ji Lingchuan's sharp and warning gaze. He stood up and said to Song Yihuan, "Miss Rou, come with me."
Ji Lingchuan clearly saw the provocation in Gu Yunzheng's eyes. He wanted to follow them, but Prefect Ye asked him another question. He could only watch helplessly as Song Yihuan followed Gu Yunzheng away.