Approximately half an hour later, they arrived at the Grand Tutors Residence.
The civil official system of the Great Yu Dynasty does not employ Prime Ministers or Chancellors; instead, the Grand Tutor, Grand Preceptor, and Grand Guardian are held in the highest regard.
Grand Tutor Pei, moreover, has assisted three generations of emperors, giving him an esteemed status.
The civil officials of the Great Yu Dynasty also cultivate martial arts, specifically the Literary Dao.
Grand Tutor Pei, for example, is already 270 years old this year and is a half-step Heavenly Human Realm existence.
What is even more frightening is that Grand Tutor Pei's Disciples are spread throughout the land.
Some say that one-fifth of the officials in the Great Yu Dynasty are directly or indirectly under his tutelage.
Normally, an existence holding such power would be feared by the Imperial Family, but the reality is quite the opposite.
The current Emperor was once a Disciple of Grand Tutor Pei; with this connection, as long as Grand Tutor Pei does not rebel, he will likely enjoy a peaceful end.
What reassures the Imperial Family even more is that a rebellion by Grand Tutor Pei would be useless, as his only direct descendant is his legitimate granddaughter, Pei Muwan.
No matter how excellent Pei Muwan is, she is still a woman.
In this high-martial arts ancient world, although Imperial Dynasties have constantly changed.
Yet, looking back tens of thousands of years, there has never been a single female emperor.
"How impressive!" Centurion Song, Lu Zhenghai, and Zhou Hu arrived at the entrance of the Grand Tutors Residence. Lu Zhenghai glanced at the servants guarding the gate and couldn't help but exclaim.
There were four gatekeepers alone, and every single one of them was at the seventh or eighth layer of the Acquired Realm.
This is what a noble family truly means.
Lu Zhenghai looked intently at the three characters "Grand Tutors Residence," which were reportedly personally inscribed by the emperor before last.
Centurion Song presented his token and stated their purpose.
The servant immediately went to report, and soon, a steward quickly walked out and led the three men into the Grand Tutors Residence.
Walking into the Grand Tutors Residence, Lu Zhenghai's first thought was: Big!
Truly massive!
The front courtyard alone must occupy over a hundred acres, right?
"Changqing, put away your curiosity, don't stare..." Centurion Song reminded him.
They walked for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before finally arriving at Yunyi Tower.
Yunyi Tower is the independent residence of the Eldest Young Miss Pei Muwan. Although Yunyi Tower is within the Grand Tutors Residence, it feels like a separate entity.
Yunyi Tower is a four-section courtyard.
The deceased, Nanny Yi, lived in the East Wing of Yunyi Tower when she was alive. Her living conditions were second only to the main house where Pei Muwan resided.
Because she was advanced in age, Pei Muwan did not treat her as a subordinate and assigned several Maidservants specifically to wait on her.
Entering Yunyi Tower, Lu Zhenghai thought to himself, this Miss Pei has good taste. The small courtyard was fresh and unique, not luxurious but clean and full of refined charm.
After entering Yunyi Tower, several Maidservants kept a close watch on the three men.
Clearly, this was to prevent the three men from wandering around.
After all, they were outside men, and entering Yunyi Tower was already quite improper. Naturally, extreme caution had to be taken to avoid damaging the Young Miss's reputation.
In reality, gender segregation in the Great Yu Dynasty was not particularly strict—certainly nowhere near the level of the Ming and Qing Dynasties on ancient Earth.
However, unmarried women generally still tried to avoid meeting outside men.
One of the Maidservants pointed to the East Wing and said, "The East Wing is where Nanny Yi lived. You can conduct your investigation inside the East Wing. We Maidservants will guard the entrance, and if you need anything, you may instruct us."
"Very well, thank you, Miss Bai Zhi." Centurion Song said with a smile.
They walked into the East Wing.
Lu Zhenghai frowned: "This doesn't look like a crime scene!"
It was very tidy, and quite spacious.
It seemed one could see through it with a single glance.
"It is indeed not the crime scene. Nanny Yi was stabbed in the abdomen outside and was sent back to the Grand Tutors Residence, barely clinging to life."
"The Grand Tutors Residence summoned Imperial Physicians and used the best Heaven And Earth Treasure, managing to sustain Nanny Yi's life for three days."
"In the end, Nanny Yi still died, passing away on this bed."
... Centurion Song pointed to the bed in the room.
"Since she died three days after being stabbed, did Nanny Yi not reveal any effective clues during that time?"
"During those three days, Nanny Yi would occasionally wake up, intermittently speaking about some things, but they didn't amount to any real clues. The case file is on the table; everything Nanny Yi said is recorded in detail within it. Take a look."
Lu Zhenghai looked toward the table inside the room, upon which a case file was placed.
He picked up the file and read it carefully, frowning more and more as he read. There was indeed no useful information.
The account of the incident was:
"I went to Tongfu Restaurant as usual to buy my Young Miss her favorite osmanthus soft cake."
"About one or two hundred meters from the Tongfu Restaurant, someone bumped into me."
"At the time, I only felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. I instinctively covered my belly, and then I saw blood all over my hands."
"Who bumped into me? I don't know. There were many people on the street. After they bumped me, my first reaction was pain. It was a long time after covering my abdomen before I looked up again, but I didn't see anyone suspicious."
"Then I fainted."
... How strange.
Lu Zhenghai's first thought was that it was an assassin.
But, in a high-martial arts ancient era, would the method used by an assassin be this simple and unadorned?
This method of killing was more akin to a murder committed by someone without martial arts in modern society.
Lu Zhenghai pondered for a moment and asked, "Is it possible that an assassin committed the murder?"
Before Centurion Song could speak, a voice suddenly appeared at the doorway: "It was not an assassin. The Grand Tutors Residence sent people to investigate, and dozens of assassin organizations within the Imperial City were checked thoroughly."
Lu Zhenghai subconsciously turned his head to look, and then felt great shock in his heart.
She is this beautiful?
Is she Pei Muwan?
The peerless beauty guaranteed second place, vying for first, among the seventy million people in the Imperial City?
Indeed, her reputation was well-deserved; her beauty was quite striking.
She was about 168cm tall, wearing a long azure dress, lightly powdered and painted, embodying the very definition of breathtaking beauty.
She was very fair, so fair that one could clearly see the faint trace of blue veins on her delicate jade hands.
Her entire being possessed the frail, sickly aura of Xi Shi.
Like a weak willow swaying in the breeze, she was so beautiful it made one want to cherish her, beautiful enough to suffocate a person.
But she certainly wasn't truly ill; after all, she was a powerhouse at the First Layer Grandmaster Realm.
It was merely her temperament.
Her features were naturally extremely, extremely delicate.
Especially her eyes, which were too clear, so clear that they seemed devoid of any worldly Impurities.
Meeting her gaze, even though she was stunningly beautiful, inexplicably made one unable to harbor any disrespectful thoughts.
Zhou Hu glanced at Pei Muwan, then quickly lowered his head, not daring to look again.
Lu Zhenghai was only slightly momentarily stunned, and then smiled at her.
He thought to himself that Pei Muwan's looks could rival Jiang Chiyao's.
If her temperament was factored in, she might even slightly surpass Jiang Chiyao.
He suddenly wondered, if I were to bring Pei Muwan to the Lu family, could I severely dampen Jiang Chiyao's arrogance?
Jiang Chiyao's conceit, thinking she is the most beautiful Young Miss in the world, really makes one want to slap her face.
"Miss Pei, why have you come over?" Centurion Song asked.
Since they were investigating the death of Nanny Yi, they definitely couldn't avoid asking Pei Muwan some questions.
His original plan was to read the case file, understand the general situation, and then invite Pei Muwan over to inquire about certain details.
He hadn't expected Pei Muwan to come over herself.
"I wanted to meet the brilliant detective who solved Gao Shihan's death within a day," Pei Muwan said softly.
Her voice carried that typical scholarly air: light, faint, and gentle...
Lu Zhenghai: "Miss Pei is too kind. It was merely good luck."
"Young Master Lu, you may ask anything you wish. I will tell you everything I know, I only ask that Young Master Lu help me find the murderer soon!"
Pei Muwan's voice was still very gentle, but inexplicably much more serious.
"I will do my best," Lu Zhenghai said. "Miss Pei, can you confirm that the person who stabbed Nanny Yi was not an assassin?"
"Confirmed!" Pei Muwan nodded. If the Grand Tutors Residence couldn't even confirm something like this, it wouldn't be the Grand Tutors Residence.
"Was the murderer who stabbed Nanny Yi a Martial Artist?"
"No."
"Can I look at Nanny Yi's body?"
Centurion Song interjected: "I'm afraid not. The weather is hot, and the body has been completely decomposed for a month. Even if it hadn't been buried, nothing could be examined now. The autopsy report is in the file. It was completed by seven or eight of the most skilled coroners, ensuring no omissions."
Lu Zhenghai continued flipping through the case file, and sure enough, he found a detailed autopsy report on the following pages.
"One foot long, half an inch wide, double-edged blade, determined to be a short sword."
"The wound did not contain True Qi."
"The wound showed a slight angle from top to bottom, estimating the murderer's height to be about two inches taller than Nanny Yi."
... That was it.
That was all there was.
The main issue was that the Great Yu Dynasty was ancient after all, lacking high-tech equipment.
From just a stab wound, they couldn't really analyze much.
No wonder Fang Qian had investigated for a month without finding any leads.
There was no surveillance, the deceased herself provided no clues, and the wound provided no clues.
How the hell was he supposed to investigate this?
After thinking for a moment, Lu Zhenghai asked, "Miss Pei, could you tell me about Nanny Yi's interpersonal relationships? Did she have any enemies or people she had quarreled with? Or, who stands to gain the most from her death?"