"Let's analyze from the beginning. If you were Zhou Min, how would you handle this matter?" Xu Qi'an looked around at everyone and asked.

"Using the Nightwatcher's secret code?"

"Didn't we just say that the secrecy level of this code is not high enough?"

"Then if it were me, I would hide it in a place where no one can find it."

"Nonsense, what's the point of hiding evidence if no one can find it?"

At this point, everyone was stunned, and the scene fell into a brief silence.

Xu Qi'an snapped his fingers and looked at the copper gong that unintentionally revealed the secret, saying, "That's right, Zhou Min's purpose of hiding the evidence is to be found, to be found by us. Follow this line of thought and think again."

Zhang Xunfu clapped his fists together and praised in unison, saying excitedly, "That's the point. Zhou Min wouldn't hide the evidence in a place where no one can find it. So the object that contains the clue wouldn't be valuable, but it would be very conspicuous."

Suddenly, everyone's train of thought opened up, feeling like they had touched the door to a new world. They excitedly started brainstorming.

A few minutes later, the Nightwatchers looked at each other in confusion. "But we've checked all these objects. There's no secret code, and there's nothing that matches the jade pendant."

The door to the new world slammed shut, and they began to doubt their lives again. So, everyone turned their gaze to Xu Qi'an.

...There were too few preliminary clues to start with. However, investigating a case meant finding clues. A good criminal investigator was skilled at deducing from various angles and finding clues in the details.

Meanwhile, rookies would only have question marks in their minds like children... Xu Qi'an ignored the gazes of the others and immersed himself in his own world.

"Do you have any leads?" one of the copper gongs couldn't help but ask, but before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Lvzhong silenced him.

"Don't disturb him," Jiang Lvzhong said in a deep voice.

Zhang Xunfu also gestured for everyone to calm down. He had placed all his hopes on Xu Qi'an, and this young copper gong had proven his worth and ability with his "achievements."

Zhang Xunfu couldn't help but think that Wei Gong sent Xu Qi'an because he anticipated the changes in Yunzhou.

Because he anticipated the difficulty of this case... that's why he sent Xu Qi'an, a genius in solving cases, to assist him. Wei Gong's foresight and far-reaching plans were truly remarkable.

"Correspondingly, if the brilliant strategist Wei Gong sent Xu Qi'an, it means he can definitely solve the case." Zhang Xunfu secretly felt uplifted, feeling a sudden relief in his mood, no longer so agitated.

As an imperial censor, solving cases was really difficult for him, but fortunately, he had Xu Ningyan....

Xu Qi'an was unaware of Zhang Xunfu's rich inner thoughts and immersed himself in his own reasoning:

Are there really clues in these relics? If I were Zhou Min, I would find a way to leave clues for the Nightwatchers... but they might not be left in the relics because that would be too easily destroyed, just a big fire would turn them into ashes... but not leaving any clues is also not feasible, so the safest way is to operate on two fronts, not putting all the eggs in one basket.

Yes!

Operating on two fronts, Yang Yingying is Zhou Min's other basket.

Yang Yingying was an unexpected gain, not the clue Zhou Min left for the Nightwatchers. Since no clues were found in Zhou Min's relics, why not try to break through from Yang Yingying?

Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an's spirits lifted, feeling a sense of clarity.

The silver gongs in the Divine Refinement Realm keenly sensed Xu Qi'an's change in mood, and they also became invigorated. They were about to ask questions when they noticed Xu Qi'an's eyes darken again, sinking into deep thought.

The reasoning of the famous detective Xu Ningyan had encountered another bottleneck, which was that there were too few clues on Yang Yingying.

"It's still the same problem, too few clues. It's just a half piece of jade pendant, at most, it can be speculated that it is some kind of token... Rethink the clues, exclude the other line of Zhou Min, and focus on Yang Yingying's basket..."

"If Yang Yingying arrived in Qingzhou, found the hermit Ziyang, and presented the jade pendant, explaining the whole story..." Xu Qi'an simulated the process in his mind:

"What should Ziyang do? He would also face the same situation as me: a lack of clues.

"In a state of confusion and a lack of clues, the natural course of action would be to find a way to obtain more information. So how do you obtain information? Of course, by questioning the person who brought the jade pendant... Yes, yes, yes! It's by questioning the person who brought the jade pendant."

"I've figured it out, I've figured it out!" Xu Qi'an exclaimed.

"What have you figured out?" everyone almost said in unison.

"Not so fast," Xu Qi'an instructed, "Call Yang Yingying over. I have something to ask her."

"Hurry, hurry!" Zhang Xunfu urged.

A copper gong immediately went upstairs and brought down the plump woman who had stayed in her room after finishing her meal.

Yang Yingying was still wearing the coarse cloth dress she wore when they first met, and she curtsied gracefully, saying, "Why did the nobleman summon this common woman downstairs?"

Xu Qi'an asked, "When Zhou Min handed the jade pendant to you that night, did he say anything else?"

Yang Yingying shook her head, "Apart from what this common woman mentioned earlier, Zhou Gongzi did not give any additional instructions. Otherwise, this common woman would not have forgotten."

She referred to Zhou Min as both her husband and a nobleman, which was an extremely insecure behavior. She regarded Zhou Min as her husband but felt that she had no status, that her name did not match her reality. Therefore, her way of addressing him kept changing.

Xu Qi'an caressed the teacup, certain that there were still instructions, otherwise, even if Ziyang the hermit was a deity, he would be helpless. Zhou Min was an experienced undercover agent, and his intelligence was definitely online... Well, Yang Yingying didn't know, maybe she didn't notice.

"Repeat the words Zhou Min said to you that night."

"This..." Yang Yingying hesitated, "This common woman doesn't remember...""You don't need to recount every single detail, just give me the gist," Xu Qi'an reassured her, his heart sinking slightly. The reason Yang Yingying couldn't remember was probably because their conversation that night was filled with trivial matters.

It was like walking down the street, seeing all sorts of people, but not remembering their faces, or even forgetting the color of their clothes as soon as you turned your head.

The more mundane it was, the less likely it was to be remembered.

"That night, Lord Zhou came to see me as usual, bringing me some rouge and powder, small gifts, a pot of wine, and a few pounds of pork head meat...

"When we were drinking, he chatted with me about the usual office politics and the bandit problems in Yunzhou...

"But because I'm just a woman and not interested in these things, Lord Zhou didn't say much. Then we started guessing riddles...

"After dinner, when I was serving him, he started talking about that matter and gave me half of a jade pendant."

Xu Qi'an asked her to focus on the "office politics" and "bandit problems", but found out that these were just Zhou Min's complaints.

"What about the riddles? What were they?"

Yang Yingying thought for a moment and said softly, "Ten mouths and one heart."

Xu Qi'an was about to think when Governor Zhang blurted out, "Si (think)!"

"Exactly," Yang Yingying continued, "Lose one in a thousand miles, lose one in a hundred miles."

Governor Zhang: "Bo."

Yang Yingying nodded and said, "Eat a cow's tail in one bite."

Governor Zhang: "Gao (tell)."

"Governor Zhang is really impressive," the Nightwatcher and the Tiger Guards looked at him with admiration.

For some reason, Governor Zhang felt a sense of pride. The feeling of finally being useful, of being a dragon among men, and not letting Xu Ningyan steal all the limelight, arose spontaneously.

Guessing riddles was a piece of cake for scholars.

Xu Qi'an was annoyed that Governor Zhang kept interrupting his thoughts. He knocked on the table and said in a deep voice:

"Governor Zhang, I also have a riddle that has been bothering me for a long time."

Governor Zhang nodded slightly, indicating for him to ask.

Xu Qi'an said, "Miss Wen is getting married."

At first, Governor Zhang's eyebrows furrowed slightly, then they furrowed deeply, his face stiffened, and finally, he stood there in a daze.

Xu Qi'an nodded in satisfaction, turned to Yang Yingying, and asked her to continue.

"The last two riddles were: 'Flawless white jade' and 'Sun and moon in the same sky'. The former is the character 'Huang (emperor)', and the latter is 'Ming (bright)'."

Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "[pawread.c𝘰m]"

Xu Qi'an asked his colleagues to bring paper and pen, spread them out on the table, and wrote down: Si, Bo, Gao, Huang, Ming.

Five big characters.

Jiang Lvzhong looked at them over and over again, "What do these five characters mean?"

The five characters couldn't be linked together, each character was independent. What was Zhou Min trying to express? Or were they just casual riddles?

Xu Qi'an turned to look at Governor Zhang, who was immersed in his own world...

Forget it, these five characters were obviously not riddles, so Governor Zhang was of no use. Let him compete with Miss Wen.

Then, Xu Qi'an also immersed himself in his own world: "If this is the clue that Zhou Min wanted to reveal to the Purple Sun Hermit, then it won't be too obscure. It must be something that a person who comes to Yunzhou for the first time can easily discover.

"What can a newcomer easily discover? Or from another perspective, what does a newcomer to Yunzhou need..."

He got it!

Xu Qi'an let out a long breath: "I've solved the mystery."