TPGA - 48

Chapter 48: Thorough Body Search

When they arrived at the front hall, Li Shimin was already there. Bai stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, “Master Shimin, all the dancers from the music hall are here.”

Li Shimin nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone. He paused briefly on Yunyi before instructing Bai, “Begin.”

“Yes,” Bai replied, pointing to a side room. “One by one, enter and follow the instructions inside. Do not disobey.”

The women dared not ask questions and entered one after another. However, Yunyi found it strange that every person who came out had flushed cheeks, tightly clutching their collars. Some even had tears in their eyes, as if something inside had made them feel both shy and distressed. Jiang Caiping emerged similarly. Before Yunyi could ask, Bai called out, “Next, Wu Meixue.”

Following the instruction, Yunyi entered the side room. Inside stood a woman over fifty with gray-streaked hair. After the door closed, the woman said, “Take off all your clothes. Leave nothing on.”

Hearing this, Yunyi understood why everyone’s expressions had been so strange. “Why?” she asked.

“It’s not your place to ask questions. Just do as I say.” Seeing Yunyi hesitate, the woman impatiently added, “Hurry up and undress! Don’t make me do it for you!”

Yunyi said nothing more and began removing her clothes piece by piece until she stood completely naked before the woman. The latter stared at a blood-red plum blossom tattoo on Yunyi’s left shoulder and asked, “What is this?”

Yunyi glanced down and replied, “When my father found me, it was the depths of winter, and plum blossoms were in full bloom. My shoulder happened to have a plum blossom tattoo, so he named me Meixue.” Then she added, “Is there a problem?”

“Nothing,” the woman said. She reached out and touched Yunyi’s cheek. After a moment, she withdrew her hand and said, “Alright, get dressed.”

“Thank you,” Yunyi said, inwardly relieved. Fortunately, after killing Mo Ping the previous night, she had anticipated Li Shimin’s suspicion. She cut a piece from her human-skin mask and pasted it over the wound on her left shoulder, disguising it with a painted plum blossom. This cleverly concealed the difference between the mask and real skin. As long as no one touched it, no one would notice anything unusual. And fortunately, the woman didn’t know the location of her injury; otherwise, she might not have been able to hide it.

As for the woman touching her face earlier, it was clearly to check if she was wearing a human-skin mask. Li Shimin was indeed terrifyingly shrewd. But no matter how meticulously he planned, he could never have guessed that she looked exactly like Meixue—no mask required.

After Yunyi exited, the dancers behind her entered one by one. Once everyone had been inspected, the woman walked out of the side room and bowed to Li Shimin, saying, “Master Shimin, all the dancers have been thoroughly checked. There are no abnormalities.”

Before Li Shimin could respond, Duan Zhichong frowned and asked, “Madam Qi, are you certain you checked carefully? This is the last group of people. If the assassin is still in the mansion, they should be among them.”

The质疑 from Duan Zhichong made the old嬷嬷 somewhat unhappy, and she frowned, saying, “Does Guardian Duan mean to怀疑老身 is in cahoots with the assassin? Should I be inspected as well?” Her tone grew stern towards the end.

Duan Zhichong knew the identity of this嬷嬷 and realized he had misspoken. He dared not argue further and only said, “How could I ever怀疑齐嬷嬷?”

Nanny Qi snorted coldly. Li Shimin interjected, “Nanny, please don’t be angry. How could Zhichong suspect you? He just wants to catch the assassin as soon as possible, so he asked an extra question.”

This Nanny Qi was the wet nurse of Li Shimin and his brothers. For over twenty years, she had served the Li family faithfully. Later, due to her advanced age and mobility issues, Li Shimin relieved her of her duties, allowing her to retire peacefully within the mansion. This time, because the matter was of great importance and they feared there might still be accomplices among the household, Li Shimin assigned her to conduct these inspections.

“I understand the gravity of this situation, so I conducted the checks very thoroughly. There truly are no abnormalities.” Nanny Qi’s words caused Li Shimin to furrow his brows tightly. After a subtle glance at Yunyi in the crowd, he pulled Nanny Qi aside and asked urgently, “What about Wu Meixue? Is she also without any anomalies?”

“Who is Wu Mei... Oh, I remember now. It’s her,” Nanny Qi said with sudden realization.

Li Shimin, who had been about to point her out, was surprised and asked, “Do you know her?”

“Not exactly, but she mentioned her name.” Nanny Qi then recounted the discovery of the plum blossom tattoo on her left shoulder.

“The left shoulder...” Li Shimin repeated softly. If he remembered correctly, the assassin was shot by an arrow in the left shoulder.

Thinking this, he pressed further, “Nanny, are you sure it was a tattoo and not an arrow wound?”

Nanny Qi said discontentedly, “Though I am old, my eyesight hasn’t failed me yet. How could I mistake an arrow wound for a tattoo? It is indeed a tattoo. Moreover, following your instructions, I felt along her neck and found no traces of a human-skin mask. She shouldn’t be the assassin you’re looking for.”

Strange. So the assassin didn’t disguise herself as Meixue? But how could the way she killed Shen Moping yesterday be reconciled with the Meixue he knew before?

Suppressing his doubts, he said, “I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Nanny. I’ll have someone escort you back.”

Nanny Qi waved her hand, “No need. I can walk myself. Master Shimin should hurry to find the assassin. Only by capturing the assassin can the governor’s mansion truly return to peace.”

After Nanny Qi left, Li Shimin glanced at everyone and said, “That’s all. You may all leave.”

As Yunyi was about to step over the threshold, Li Shimin suddenly called her back, “You stay.”

Jiang Caiping paused, looking hesitantly at Yunyi. The latter patted her hand and reassured her, “It’s fine. You go ahead. I’ll be there shortly.”

Once everyone had left, Yunyi bowed to Li Shimin and asked, “What else does Master Shimin command?”

A gentle smile graced Li Shimin’s handsome face. “I haven’t properly thanked you for yesterday.”

Yunyi lowered her eyes and replied, “Master Shimin flatters me. It was what I should have done. Besides, both masters have already rewarded me with many valuable things.”

Li Shimin walked up to her, hands clasped behind his back. “Regardless, you saved Brother Jiancheng. Those things are nothing compared to that.” Pausing, he asked, “So, do those items meet your approval?”