Wufu had been searching for clues outside these past two days, not returning to the inn until nightfall. Even then, she'd lie down without changing her clothes, looking so tired that she seemed to have lost weight.
Seeing this, Liu Jin felt heartache but, using her youth and charm, she managed to coax the chefs into good spirits, sneaking a chance to make chicken soup for Wufu, who was so pleased she showered Liu Jin with praise.
That day, Wufu turned her search to the suburbs, to a small village. The clue she pursued this time was about the last victim of the Flower-Picking Thief to date, the same one she had seen when she left the city.
This woman, Chen Rongniang, was unlucky.
According to the case records, although Chen Rongniang was only eighteen, she had already been married. But due to her childlessness, she was divorced and sent back to her parents' home. She had just arranged through a matchmaker to remarry a widower; even the date was nearly set, when she was murdered.