Chapter 121: Human-Skin Mask

Human-Skin Mask

Nie Jinxuan was not the type to hold grudges over trifles; though she scolded Yin Fengzhan with her words, she still ended up helping him get things done.

The room fell quiet once more. Yet in the process of changing Yin Fengzhan's dressing, Nie Jinxuan suddenly realized that the heavy, frustrated, even self-reproachful mood she had carried because of that fire had, in an instant, lightened considerably.

Could he be…

In a flash, a thought crossed Nie Jinxuan's mind, and she raised her eyes to look at the man before her… only to find that a certain man was lying there at his ease, eyes lowered, looking every inch the lord of leisure!

Heh… the moment she thought about it, how could he possibly do such a thing for her sake?!

And so, in the blink of an eye, that fleeting touch of emotion in Nie Jinxuan's heart vanished without a trace! At that moment, perhaps sensing Nie Jinxuan's gaze, Yin Fengzhan, who had kept his eyes lowered all along, raised his head and met Nie Jinxuan's searching eyes.

"What is it?"

"Nothing!"

She said in a low voice, then Nie Jinxuan lowered her head and continued bandaging the wound, at the same time picking up where she had left off:

"So, an act of arson with such a clear purpose was tantamount to putting those villagers to death. Afterward, I also asked others in the same village, and according to the villagers, those households had been long-standing residents of Zhangjiazhuang for many years, with good relations with their neighbors on ordinary days. Some ran small businesses, some farmed, so in terms of all kinds of relationships, none of them had any enemies!"

"Moreover, even if one of the households had feuded with others, it would never result in several other households suffering together! Therefore, the only matter that could connect all these households simultaneously was the matter of Biyao—nothing else!"

After Yin Fengzhan's disruption just now, Nie Jinxuan had already regained her original composure. Hearing these words, Yin Fengzhan also narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You went outside the city yesterday, and the killer struck that very night. It seems the killer knows your movements very well!"

"Yes, indeed. But what I find suspicious is this: although Consort Tong Shu's death is no secret, the fact that I was investigating Biyao and thereby pursuing the case is known to very few. Under such circumstances, how did the killer know my movements?! And calculate the timing so precisely?!"

From the journey back to the capital, straight to the imperial study to explain the suspicious points of Biyao's death to Emperor Shuncheng, to examining Biyao's body, and finally going outside the city to investigate the situation… apart from Emperor Shuncheng, Gao Caiyong, and Zhongli, even Xiao Xiu was not entirely clear on these matters. So how did the killer know she had gone outside the city?!

Nie Jinxuan found it inconceivable. At that moment, Yin Fengzhan shifted slightly, and a glint flashed through his eyes.

"Perhaps the killer had anticipated from the very start that you would go outside the city!"

Yin Fengzhan said this with certainty. Hearing this, Nie Jinxuan was momentarily stunned.

"You… what do you mean by that?"

She raised a brow and asked in return, but then Nie Jinxuan immediately understood.

"You're saying the killer wasn't monitoring me at all times, but had long predicted that I would discover the anomaly in Biyao's identity and then go outside the city to investigate. So the killer secretly kept watch outside the city, and only after discovering that I actually went there, struck that very night to silence them?"

"Otherwise, is there a better explanation?"

A single sentence left Nie Jinxuan speechless, and then she heard Yin Fengzhan continue:

"On the way back from Zuixiashanzhuang, it would have been impossible for the killer to tail you. Of course, one can't rule out the possibility of planted informants… but judging from the current situation, the most likely scenario is that the killer had already calculated, at the very time Biyao was captured, that Biyao's true identity might come under suspicion. So from that moment on, the killer had already arranged for someone to wait at Zhangjiazhuang outside the city, to see whether anyone would investigate that far!"

"One could even say that from the very beginning, the killer had already anticipated the vulnerability of Biyao's identity being exposed, but at that time the killer had no intention of silencing anyone—instead, they had someone quietly lie in wait at Zhangjiazhuang… Only this can explain how, under such covert circumstances, your every move was still known to the killer, leading to the possibility of silencing by murder!"

Yin Fengzhan spoke with certainty, but hearing this, Nie Jinxuan's heart ached again.

"So you mean… if I hadn't gone, would they have…"

"If you hadn't gone, someone else would have! It's only a matter of sooner or later!"

Seeing through Nie Jinxuan's thoughts at a glance, Yin Fengzhan cut her off flatly, then continued:

"Because, looking at the whole affair, the killer is a deeply calculating and meticulous person! And everything was within the killer's plan. Therefore, whether or not you went yesterday, those people would have continued living under the constant threat of being silenced. Your existence merely made the killer act sooner. But you should know that there are no eternal secrets in this world. True or false, the truth will come to light one day, and those villagers would still have died just the same!"

……

The room fell quiet once more; though Yin Fengzhan said so, Nie Jinxuan still felt somewhat uneasy inside. Seeing her like this, after a moment of silence, Yin Fengzhan suddenly asked again:

"What about you? When you went to the palace today, what did Empress Duan say?"

"Mm, there are leads…"

Hearing Yin Fengzhan press the question, Nie Jinxuan then recounted in full what Empress Duan and Xiangyi had said when she went to Deyang Palace that morning. As soon as Nie Jinxuan finished speaking, Yin Fengzhan's brows immediately drew together.

"So, the person who argued with Empress Duan in the garden that day was very likely not Consort Tong Shu?!"

"Yes, I think so too! Because Empress Duan said that Consort Tong Shu rarely went to the garden on ordinary days. That day she not only went but deliberately provoked Empress Duan—so just think, even if Consort Tong Shu was deeply favored by His Majesty, she was still only a fourth-rank consort. For her to provoke Empress Duan, the mistress of the inner court, for no reason—the consequences would be imaginable! Moreover, Empress Duan also said that she and Consort Tong Shu did not get along ordinarily, so under those circumstances, Empress Duan would never have easily let Consort Tong Shu off!"

"But at that time it was the Spring Sacrifice, so even though Empress Duan knew this was a rare opportunity to teach Consort Tong Shu a lesson, she didn't dare go too far, didn't dare truly do anything to Consort Tong Shu, and could only punish Consort Tong Shu with confinement to reflect on her actions. And in doing so, it happened to suit the killer's intentions perfectly…"

She spoke in a low voice with a slight frown, but at this point, Nie Jinxuan paused briefly, then suddenly looked up at Yin Fengzhan, changing the subject:

"However, there's one thing I can't figure out—could Consort Tong Shu have a twin sister? Otherwise, how could there be two people so alike? Even Empress Duan was fooled by her?! That… that's impossible, isn't it!"

Ancient times were not like modern times with technologies such as plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures. But even taking a step back, even if such things existed, they couldn't be done so convincingly as to pass for the real thing! At least, with current scientific technology, this still couldn't be achieved!

So Nie Jinxuan simply couldn't imagine how the killer had managed this! But at that moment, hearing Nie Jinxuan's words, Yin Fengzhan raised a brow slightly, then said in a low voice without changing his expression:

"There is nothing impossible!"

"What? You're saying Consort Tong Shu really has a twin sister?"

"No!"

"Then you mean…"

Nie Jinxuan was truly confused by Yin Fengzhan! At that moment, Yin Fengzhan's gaze flickered slightly, and he said in a low voice:

"A human-skin mask!"

His thin lips parting slightly, Yin Fengzhan said it word by word. Hearing this, Nie Juxuan was stunned into wide-eyed astonishment! And before Nie Jinxuan could recover her wits, she heard Yin Fengzhan continue:

"Moreover, listening to the words of Xiangyi, the maid beside Empress Duan, don't you find that the Consort Tong Shu she described sounds very familiar?!"

"Familiar?! Could it be… the person who impersonated Consort Tong Shu was Biyao?!"

Yes, Consort Tong Shu's learning was nothing to speak of; precisely because of this, she rarely went to places like the garden, afraid of running into other consorts who might speak literary phrases and elegant verses and put her in an awkward position! But Biyao was different—Gao Caiyong had even said that Consort Tong Shu had taken Biyao into her service precisely because she valued Biyao's learning!

"But even if it really was Biyao… but, but do human-skin masks truly exist in this world?!"

As a modern person, Nie Jinxuan had always thought that human-skin masks were something that only appeared in martial arts novels! So now that she had encountered something similar, naturally Nie Jinxuan had some trouble accepting it!

At that moment, hearing this, Yin Fengzhan merely looked at Nie Jinxuan quietly, then continued:

"Moreover, today I also sent someone to the palace to investigate the people who had accompanied Consort Tong Shu to Zuixiashanzhuang. According to those palace attendants, just two days before Consort Tong Shu's argument with Empress Duan, Biyao had fallen seriously ill, so she had been resting in her own room all along and asked not to be disturbed. And after Consort Tong Shu was punished with confinement to reflect on her actions, Biyao miraculously recovered… So, don't you find the timing of Biyao's illness rather remarkable?!"

"What? You've already investigated on your own?"

"Yes! I simply didn't know that the person impersonating Consort Tong Shu was Biyao…"

Yin Fengzhan spoke with the same cold composure, and only then did Nie Jinxuan realize that this man before her had, from the very beginning, already anticipated that there must be something hidden behind this matter—and had even thought further than she had!

So, thinking of this, Nie Jinxuan couldn't help but press her lips together, then couldn't help but open her mouth to speak again... But just then, before the words in her mouth could come out, Nie Jinxuan's face suddenly registered shock, and then she cried out,

"Aiya, why is the bed so wet?!"

Nie Jinxuan widened her eyes, staring at the soaking wet patch on the bed, then her gaze moved upward, and she immediately roared again,

"Yin Fengzhan, you... you... are you a child? How could you not know to dry your hair after bathing?"

There will be further updates later, and it seems the next chapter might, perhaps, possibly, have a little bit of meat... soup?!