The night was sleepless. The candles in Jinxuan's courtyard burned until dawn. The charming figure of the young girl was bustling about. Sometimes she picked up a pen to write something down, and sometimes she propped her chin in thought.
Niaoniao led a little maid into the room to groom Jinyu and only then discovered that she hadn't slept all night. She couldn't help but feel extremely heart - ache.
"Miss, you should at least get some sleep."
There were papers all over the table, and the ink in the inkstone had dried up a great deal.
"It's all right. I have to find this lecherous thief quickly," she said. Although her voice was tired, it was firm.
If they were any later, who knew how many innocent young ladies would suffer.
Sure enough, on this day, Song Qinzhou received a fourth case of "brutal ravishment". The victim was the young lady of the wealthy Zhang family in Liuzhou. Early in the morning, as she was just leaving the mansion to pay homage to her grandmother at the temple, her carriage was hijacked on the way. When her family found her, only Miss Zhang, in a daze and disheveled clothes, was left.
The Magistrate Song was furious and vowed to search the entire Liuzhou City to catch this lecherous thief.
Jinyu looked at the few pieces of paper on the desk. It seemed as if she had grasped some clues. Immediately, she was about to go out.
Niaoniao knew she couldn't stop her, so she had no choice but to tell Cheng Song to protect her.
Not long after Jinyu went out, she was blocked in an alley by the carriage of Prince Yu.
"Your Highness, aren't you busy with official duties?" Song Jinyu despised him greatly in her heart.
"The Magistrate Song has just ordered a strict curfew in Liuzhou City, and you're the first one to disobey and run out," said Zhongli Mingye, who was on his way to the military camp to check the grain reserves.
He saw Song Jinyu on the road. At this moment, he was in the carriage, lifting the curtain to look at her.
"I want to catch the lecherous thief with my own hands," said Song Jinyu. Since their last meal together, she was becoming less and less afraid of Prince Yu.
She walked closer to the carriage, looked around, tiptoed, and leaned over to Zhongli Mingye's ear. "I already have some clues, but I need to verify them now."
The gentle breath of the girl seemed to caress his ear, and Zhongli Mingye's ears gradually turned red. Those big eyes were blinking at him.
"You shouldn't be so reckless!" Zhongli Mingye frowned. Seeing Jinyu looking unhappy, he softened his tone and said gently, "I'll go with you."
Song Jinyu looked at him curiously, then suddenly burst out laughing. "In the storybooks, there are always stories about princes and beauties getting to know each other, like Yu Ji and Xiang Yu, Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru."
She put her hands on her hips and asked, "I wonder which act you're performing, Your Highness?"
After saying that, she burst out laughing. Niaoniao and Cheng Song wanted to laugh but didn't dare, while Qingfeng tried hard not to look at his master's face.
What a bold girl, daring to flirt with the current Prince Yu!
Zhongli Mingye didn't immediately realize that he had been flirted with. Song Jinyu's bright smile infected Zhongli Mingye, like the sun in his life.
The girl giggled and ran past the carriage. Zhongli Mingye watched her figure get farther and farther away. Seeing this scene, Qingfeng silently prayed for that lively, interesting girl in his heart.
"Follow her!"
"Your Highness, the generals of the Tiger Ben Battalion are waiting for you!" Qingfeng didn't dare to look at him.
"Let them wait."
One day, this powerful prince also wanted to be willful once.
"Based on the situations of the four victims, their commonality is that they were hijacked when they went out."
"Therefore, someone must have leaked the whereabouts of these young ladies to the lecherous thief."
"The person who leaked the information must be from the inner courtyard."
"So, finding this person from the inner courtyard is not far from finding the truth." Jinyu clearly sorted out the clues one by one.
Niaoniao and Cheng Song looked convinced.
"It's also possible that the lecherous thief bribed the servants," Prince Yu walked over leisurely and interjected.
At this moment, Jinyu and the other two were in front of the temple where Miss Zhang went to pay homage to her grandmother.
As soon as she heard Zhongli Mingye's voice, Jinyu couldn't help but give him a helpless look. Her little hand twirled the ribbon on her clothes.
"It's impossible."
"All four of these victims' families have recently bought new servants."
"So - " Jinyu raised her doubt. "There may be accomplices of the lecherous thief among these new servants."
"Miss, the abbot of the temple said that Miss Zhang's itinerary was set a few days ago," Cheng Song's words indirectly confirmed Song Jinyu's conjecture.
"Miss, you're so amazing!" Niaoniao admired her sincerely.
"We didn't come in vain today," Jinyu rubbed her sore knees.
"Why do you care about this matter?" Zhongli Mingye, Prince Yu, was worried about Jinyu's safety. This girl was too reckless, putting herself in danger again and again.
"For justice! Those four girls were in the prime of their youth," Jinyu rubbed her temples, her tone a bit tired.
"They could have lived well, but they were so insulted and died."
These words touched Zhongli Mingye, Prince Yu. He looked at the young girl with inquiring eyes.
She had spent a lot of energy investigating at the last places where the four victims had been.
Coupled with the sleepless night last night, Jinyu was extremely sleepy.
"I'll take you home," seeing her tiredness, Prince Yu pulled her into the carriage without giving her a chance to refuse.
Jinyu wasn't being coy. She dozed off in the carriage.
In a daze, she felt as if her head was always resting on something soft. It had a smell of sandalwood. It smelled nice! Her little head rubbed against it.
Zhongli Mingye, Prince Yu, saw that Jinyu was about to fall asleep. Afraid that she would hit her head, he used his hand as a pillow for her. All the way, he let her sleep comfortably back home.
Seeing this, Niaoniao had no choice but to pretend not to see.
By the time Zhongli Mingye arrived at the Tiger Ben Battalion, it was already dusk. He felt that this day had passed too quickly!
Jinyu told her father the results of her investigation and some of her inferences. She didn't dare to mention that she had investigated on her own. She only said that it was her speculation. Her reasonable explanation surprised Song Qinzhou greatly.
He originally wanted to scold his daughter for acting on her own, but after thinking about it carefully, he also felt that there was some truth to it. So he arranged for people to investigate in this direction. Soon, the case was solved.
Just as Jinyu had thought, there were villains among the new servants of these four families. They got the whereabouts of the young ladies and then informed the mastermind behind the scenes so that he could take action.
After the mastermind behind the scenes was captured, his true identity shocked everyone. The mastermind turned out to be the illegitimate son of the Magistrate of Yuzhou. He committed these crimes because he was dissatisfied with the unfair treatment from his father. He wanted to do evil to take revenge on his father. He chose the young ladies from wealthy families because they were defenseless and he wanted to impose his own misfortune on them.
Such a pervert was unheard of.
Hearing this result, Jinyu wished she could pick up a knife and chop this illegitimate son into pieces.
"If he falls into my hands, I'll make his life a living hell," Jinyu said as she heavily slammed the teacup on the table. Niaoniao silently cleaned up the mess.
"You're the most amazing one!" Song Chuyu had just entered the room when he heard his sister's bold words.
"You've really contributed a lot to solving this case," Song Chuyu took a sip of tea and said.
"However, you're too presumptuous! Every time I say there's danger, you just rush forward!"
Then, Song Chuyu's face darkened.
"Brother, I'm just trying to relieve your burden," Jinyu retorted defiantly.
"But what if you get hurt because of this - " Song Chuyu didn't dare to think about it. Those victimized girls were so miserable.
"Okay! I know!"
She said she knew, but she wouldn't change. Song Chuyu silently added this sentence for his sister in his heart.
Maybe it wasn't a bad thing for her to return to Tianmen Mountain. Song Chuyu made up his mind to send this younger sister back to prevent her from getting involved in any more troubles.