Ji Yunshu indifferently sipped her tea while looking at him with her narrowed eyes.
“Wei Yi, I don’t want that handkerchief. When your body is warm, Luan’er will send you out.”
That wouldn’t do. He had taken a long, long time to wash this handkerchief. He put the little box on the table, and then very carefully, he poked the box with his index finger until it slowly arrived in front of Ji Yunshu. “Big Sister, it’s not dirty anymore. It’s very clean. I washed off all the mud on it. It’s true. Look, look!”
His enthusiasm was enough to make people feel bad. Ji Yunshu caved in and opened the box. Then, she deliberately showed a pleasantly surprised expression.
“It’s so clean.”
“I washed it for a very long time. Do you like it?”
“Yes, I like it.”
“Do you like the flowers on it?”
“Yes, I like it!” She had no choice but to nod and smile at him.
Wei Yi became very excited and stared foolishly at her smile. Her teeth were neatly aligned and as white as silver pearls.
Ji Yunshu closed the lid, pushed the little box to the side, and asked him, “Are you warm yet?”
He shook his head. “My legs are still cold.”
‘I hope it’s not because he wants to continue sitting here that he won’t leave..’
Ji Yunshu studied him. He obviously had cool eyes, but they kept jumping around, giving off a warm feeling.
Her woman’s intuition told her that he was looking at her!
Suddenly, an evil idea surfaced in her mind. She pulled her sandalwood box near her, neatly placing it between them. Then, she stroked the word “case”1 on it.
She wore an unfathomable expression as she asked him, “Wei Yi, do you know what’s in my box?”
“I want to know!” His voice resonated quite clearly.
She smiled inwardly and opened the box. Inside, there were eight sharp knives with blades that glinted with a silver hue, piercing one’s eyes.
Wei Yi’s hair almost stood on its end. Since he was a child, he was properly protected, not to mention he was the only son. Thus, never had he received even the slightest injury at home, and he was kept away from sharp objects at all times.
Right now, seeing these many knives at once greatly frightened him!
His whole body nearly collapsed; he breathed heavily, yet he didn’t dare to show how startled he was!
‘Very good!’ That was the reaction she wanted from him.
After a moment, it seemed like she was shopping at the market as she picked up objects from inside her box. She took out a knife with a broad blade. Her fingers stroked it. Then, she twirled the knife twice.
“Do you know what this knife is used for?”
He shook his head.
“This kind of knife with a broad blade and flat shape is used to chop off the neck. Once it hacks it off, the skin and flesh will be split opened cleanly. It’s very efficient!”
Next, she picked a hook-shaped knife. “Do you know what this knife is used for?”
Once again, he shook his head.
“This one is used for disemboweling. You slice it across the abdomen and it will easily rip open the skin like paper. Then you can clearly see all the guts inside. Therefore, it’s very convenient to use this knife in that situation.” Immediately afterwards, she picked up a knife with the shape of a bamboo leaf. “How about this one?”
Like before, Wei Yi shook his head.
“This knife is used to open the head. Because the inside of the skull is very fragile, you can neither use a big knife nor can you use a knife that’s too sharp. Therefore, you can only use this knife. When you open the skull with it, you can see the brain nestled inside. But there’s a lot to learn about the brain. Especially how piping hot it is when you touch it, or how its texture is quite similar to tofu pudding.”
Thump!
A chair fell to the floor following the words “tofu pudding”. The sound resounded loudly in the room. Wei Yi was now sitting on the floor. He was scared to the point that his complexion had gone completely white. His wide eyes stared at Ji Yunshu in fear. His cheeks were cramped and his eyebrows were scrunched together in abject terror!
His hands supported him from falling completely, and he kept shaking like a leaf!
‘Who told you to fancy me! You deserve it!’ Ji Yunshu didn’t plan on stopping there. She rummaged inside of her box and took out a particularly pointy knife. Subsequently, she held it near her eyelids and revealed a sinister expression. Then, she leaned toward Wei Yi who was on the floor.
“Don’t! Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”
He used his legs to push himself back, frantically scrambling away.
“Wei Yi, do you want to know what this pointy knife is used for?” Ji Yunshu faintly hooked her lips and spoke in a creepy tone.
Wei Yi shook his head like his life was at stake. “I don’t want to know. Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”
Ji Yunshu approached him slowly, like a predator staring down prey. Wei Yi retreated until his back hit the pillar. Unable to back up anymore, he used the pillar to struggle to his feet. Then, as if he’d gone mad, he bolted.
“Save me!” His scream was deafening, gradually dying out into the distance.
Ji Yunshu had her hand raised and was still holding the pointy knife. As she watched him disappear into the distance, shehe laughed. She laughed and laughed until her belly hurt. Then, she instructed Luan’er. “Hurry and follow him. Send him back to the Wei Mansion before he falls into the pond in his panic.”
“Yes, Miss.”
In fact, Luan’er was also on the verge of vomiting as she listened to her miss’ description. It was only with great difficulty that she had held herself back. Thus, she scrambled outside quickly and chased after Wei Yi.
Finally, she’d sent away that troublesome fool. When she was done laughing, she swiftly tidied up the knives on the table. She put them back one by one in the box, but then the back of her hand bumped onto Wei Yi’s small box. She became displeased as she looked down at it.
She opened the box and looked at the handkerchief neatly folded inside, with several red and yellow flower petals sprinkled on top. It was quite beautiful.
She couldn’t deny that she also liked these kind of things. She took out the handkerchief and examined it. The handkerchief was really well washed, and it even emitted a faint fragrance of Chinese honey locust.
That foolish guy really had washed it for a long time? Surprisingly, he even went as far as to put it in such a pretty box and added flower petals on top of it.
‘How romantic!’ Ji Yunshu smiled, and for a brief moment, warmth showed in her eyes.
After she put things in order, she sank into contemplation.
She propped her cheeks with her hands and pondered for a long time. Suyun’s words kept resonating in her ears.
“If a person wasn’t killed with poison and the body doesn’t show any signs of injury, then how did that person die?” Ji Yunshu continued to mutter as her mind endlessly theorized. But she couldn’t find a clear lead anywhere.
If she could thoroughly unravel this puzzle, then the case would be solved!
When Luan’er returned after sending Wei Yi to his home, two hours had already passed.
As soon as she entered the room, she saw her young miss still sitting there with a frown. She approached her and said in a small voice, “Miss, this servant has returned after sending back Young Master Wei.”
It seemed like Ji Yunshu didn’t hear her.
“Miss?”
Luan’er received no reply as Ji Yunshu fully concentrated on solving the matter at hand.
Luan’er stared at her miss blankly. Earlier when her miss was playing around with Young Master Wei, her mood was quite good, but why did she become like this upon her return?
Luan’er scratched her head, not understanding what was going on.
Ji Yunshu suddenly stretched her arm and grabbed the teapot. She proceeded to pour herself a cup of tea while muttering, “In the end, what could kill someone without leaving any injuries?”
Her words entered Luan’er’s ears, and like a student eager to answer the teacher, she shouted, “A quilt and a pillow!”
Clang! Crash!
The teapot in Ji Yunshu’s hand slipped free and fell onto the table. The lid crashed to the floor and broke into pieces!
She abruptly turned around and looked at Luan’er. She leaped and grabbed her maidservant’s arm. She pressed her for an answer. “What did you just say?”
Luan’er trembled in shock. Her arm was grabbed, forcing her shoulder to be raised unnaturally. She replied in a small voice, “T-this servant s-said… a quilt and a pillow.”