The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

The night was approaching.

Sun Shaozong frowned as he got off the carriage and headed towards his backyard while still pondering the serial murders at Fayuan Temple.

The murderer was undoubtedly a bold and meticulous person who had committed several crimes without leaving any trace, especially in the last one. Until now, Sun Shaozong has not figured out how the murderer killed Jie Nian at close range without leaving any footprints.

Although when leaving Fayuan Temple, he already decided to send more personnel tomorrow to expand the scope of searching for the murder weapon, the murderer shouldn’t risk returning to Fayuan Temple with the dagger of caution and the murder weapon after killing. Therefore, it was highly likely that he abandoned the murder weapon in the nearby mountains and forests.

But even if they could find the murder weapon, what could they do?

Nowadays, fingerprint identification technology was very rough, and it was difficult to compare even if it was slightly blurry. Unless there were obvious traces, such as blood fingerprints, it couldn’t be done accurately at all.

And compared to the murder weapon, the killer's technique was the most crucial.

“These bright yellow ones should be planted in the outermost circle, next to those yellow and white ones! Don't get them in the wrong position; otherwise, any flower will wither if you make such a fuss again.”

Sun Shaozong was rushing towards the backyard in a daze when he heard a calm and crisp voice coming from outside the corridor. He instinctively followed the sound and saw Yuanyang standing on a gravel-paved path, commanding a group of servants to replant chrysanthemums.

Although the weather was getting colder now, afterheat was not just for fun. How could the newly transplanted flower seedlings withstand a whole day of exposure to the sun?

So choosing to plant in the evening was the most correct choice.

Today, Yuanyang has taken off her coir raincoat and happened to be wearing a narrow-waisted floral pomegranate skirt, making her tight waist appear even more awkward to grip. Her breasts and buttocks, which were not originally plump, also appeared particularly enchanting and graceful amidst the willow waist.

In terms of the slender waist and limbs, among the women that Sun Shaozong had experienced, perhaps only the mistress of the Ningguo Mansion, You-Shi, could be compared to her. However, You-Shi was originally a petite figure, while Yuanyang was a tall figure, which was naturally even more rare.

Sun Shaozong couldn't help but turn his gaze around Yuanyang a few times before reluctantly taking it back. He only glanced at half of it, but his gaze suddenly froze and fell straight onto the open space near the flower bed.

Although it had been exposed to the sun for a whole day, due to the low-lying terrain near the flower bed, there had already been some accumulated water, so it was still a bit muddy. Now, many people are carrying flower seedlings and stepping back and forth, naturally leaving many footprints on them.

A few of the footprints, however, appear somewhat different, not looking like the soles of the feet but rather like an uneven oval flower!

After staring for a while, Sun Shaozong quickly walked out of the corridor and walked to the nearest flower footprint, squatting down to carefully examine it.

As he got closer, the sudden appearance of the flower became clearer. Not only were the petals around him clearly defined, but even the middle stamens were outlined. However, there were some fine lines in the middle, which seemed to be blocked by mud and not very coherent.

At this moment, the servants, seeing Sun Shaozong approaching, hurriedly stopped their work and bowed and greeted.

Sun Shaozong raised his head slightly and pointed to the footprints on the ground, asking, "Whose footprints are these?”

“It belongs to me, Second Master.”

Someone immediately responded with a crisp voice, but who else could it be if it weren’t Yuanyang?

He saw her come forward and explain, "Yesterday when I went back, my shoes were soaked in mud and water, so I specially selected this thick-soled one. As for the pattern on it, I used to carve it when I was idle casually.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Shaozong leaned his gaze toward the feet of Yuanyang. However, Yuanyang's pomegranate skirt was almost as long as the ground, and her feet were shrunk under the skirt, giving no hint at all.

So he unquestionably ordered, "Lift your feet and let me see the soles of your shoes.”

Yuanyang blushed and hesitated. She had to hide in the Sun family because of Jia She's covetous flirtation. She was naturally most sensitive to this kind of thing.

Just looking at Sun Shaozong's serious demeanor, it didn't seem like he intended to flirt with her. Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, Yuanyang gritted its silver teeth and carefully lifted the hem of its skirt, poking its left foot out of it and displaying it to Sun Shaozong.

She was just inexplicably nervous in her heart and wanted to pose straight. No matter how big or small her heavenly feet were, they trembled slightly in mid-air, making it difficult for people to see clearly.

Sun Shaozong simply grabbed her arch and held the thick embroidered shoes in his palm to carefully observe.

On the inch-thick wooden base, an elliptical flower was carved using relief techniques, and the veins of the footprints and petals were precisely caused by the varying depths of the grooves above.

This shares similarities and differences with the patterns on the soles of later generations. The difference was that the patterns on the soles of later generations were designed to prevent slipping, while the patterns on the bottom of these embroidered shoes were purely for beauty.

“Ah!”

At the same time, Yuanyang’s jade feet were gripped with a big hand like a cattail fan, and Yuanyang couldn't help but exclaim, determined to break free from the constraints, but how could it withstand Sun Shaozong's brute force?

Feeling ashamed and annoyed for a moment, she didn't know what to do, but suddenly she felt a slight sensation on her arch. Sun Shaozong took the initiative to let go and stood up thoughtfully, saying, "Is it that the murderer used a method that was a mixture of the genuine with the fictitious?”

After muttering a few words to himself, he turned a blind eye to Yuanyang and ran towards the mansion door with enthusiasm. From afar, he shouted, "Hurry up, quickly put the carriage back on, and take me to Fayuan Temple! Also, send someone to notify the Yamen, and have them send Jie Xiu and Jie Chen to Fayuan Temple.”

When Yuanyang watched him go away, she didn't know whether to be grateful or ashamed. Looking back, she saw the servants in the mansion looking at her with a stern expression on their faces. She couldn't help but fork her waist and stomp her feet, saying coquettishly, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and plant the chrysanthemums. Otherwise, if we delay like this again, no one will get to eat tonight.”

When everyone saw that she had become domineering, they hurriedly and nervously rushed around.

However, when no one noticed her, Yuanyang stood back on the path with a straight face, but her heart became increasingly restless, feeling as if her left foot was warm and had been branded with something.

That night, Sun Shaozong made a mistake while busy, and the scene of holding herself in his arms and massaging recklessly was still lingering in her mind.

Spit~ Spit~ Spit~

She specified that she was being led astray by Ping’er; otherwise, how could she keep thinking about these shameless things?

Yuanyang spat three times in her heart, trying to suppress the chaotic thoughts in her heart, and regaining her composure to command the scene.