After Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun returned to the posthouse, she was still pondering over the wood-carved walnut that had fallen from Jingshang’s sleeve. It had intricate carvings on its shell, with detailed craftsmanship that was extremely exquisite.

"Where can you find such wood-carved walnuts? Is there a craftsman who specializes in making them?" Bai Ruozhu muttered.

"I’ll arrange for someone to look into it," Jiang Yichun said.

"No need to deliberately investigate, there might be no connection at all," Bai Ruozhu hurriedly held him back.

Jiang Yichun smiled, "If you find it strange, then check it out. It won’t take much effort, and it will keep you from constantly thinking about others."

After speaking, he even winked at her, lacking the seriousness he usually showed to others, and giving off a rather playful vibe.

Bai Ruozhu laughed, "Look at you, as if you could pluck the stars from the sky for me."

"Pluck them, I must find a way to pluck them," Jiang Yichun said.

Bai Ruozhu gave him a reproachful look, "I’m going to check Ning Yu and the others’ pulses, you go ahead and get busy."

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yichun not only arranged for someone to investigate but also personally went to check it out.

That evening, he returned travel-worn and took out a wood-carved walnut, handing it to Bai Ruozhu, "See if this resembles the one?"

Bai Ruozhu’s memory was excellent, and upon careful inspection, she said, "It’s almost identical, where did it come from?"

"There’s a craftsman named Zhulin in City West who specializes in carving these walnut shell ornaments. His craftsmanship is excellent, but because he’s quite rigid and not very adaptable, not many people know about him," Jiang Yichun said.

"I tentatively asked him, and he rarely carves items with the same pattern. Almost every carved walnut is unique. Regarding this one, he said he had carved a similar one before, but somehow it went missing, so he carved another one. The pattern represents the zodiac sheep. He’s trying to complete the twelve zodiac carvings, which is why he made another," he said, taking out a box, inside of which was another walnut carving placed haphazardly. "So I bought the whole set."

Bai Ruozhu looked at the box with some speechlessness. Originally quite intricate items, if they were placed in a fine box and separated beautifully, would naturally seem upscale.

But Zhulin probably feared trouble and casually put them in a shabby box, placing them so randomly that anyone unaware of their value wouldn’t care.

"Could it be that Jingshang stole the one carved with the sheep?" Bai Ruozhu asked.

Jiang Yichun shook his head, "Uncertain, but I discovered something interesting."

Bai Ruozhu saw he was deliberately withholding information, so she stuffed a piece of dim sum into his mouth, "Your favorite flavor, specially made for you just now."

Jiang Yichun laughed, and his smile was radiant. But for someone who rarely laughs, his smile was so captivating it nearly distracted Bai Ruozhu.

"Weren’t you previously investigating which pregnant women within the city suddenly miscarried for no apparent reason within three months?" Jiang Yichun asked.

Bai Ruozhu’s eyes widened, "Could it be that Jingshang’s wife is one of them?"

Jiang Yichun choked and coughed twice, "Jingshang’s wife passed away two years ago, and his daughter is eighteen this year. She hadn’t married, but somehow she was assaulted one night and later became pregnant. Initially, without her mother to care for her and Jingshang being inattentive, he didn’t notice anything until his daughter suddenly miscarried, revealing she was pregnant. Because she miscarried publicly, some neighbors who didn’t know the situation called for a doctor, and the matter came to light. It wasn’t difficult to investigate."

Bai Ruozhu instantly understood. The Poisonous Insect selects pregnant women less than three months along—three months when they’re not visibly pregnant—and if there’s no morning sickness, an inexperienced girl can’t suspect she’s pregnant.

"Ask Xiaomao if there’s any way to determine whether the girl was infected by a Poisonous Insect," Jiang Yichun added.

Bai Ruozhu communicated with Xiaomao, who wasn’t certain, only saying that it could try examining the girl.

The two ate some food, and when it got dark, they left the posthouse and went to Zhulin’s home.

The room had no oil lamps, using only the cheapest candles, with very dim lighting, and in one corner, a girl was embroidering. Such poor lighting would soon ruin her eyesight.

On the other side, Zhulin was not working, just sitting at the table, eating food, and drinking Fusang wine. The taste was very mild, clearly the cheapest kind.

But by now, even ordinary families rarely drank the cheapest alcohol, indicating that Zhulin’s carving work still earned him some income.

"Why bother embroidering, with this skill, you should just tell me who it was? Since your mother passed early and there’s no one to educate you, how did you end up like this?" Zhulin suddenly said, his tone particularly harsh.

Ruru paused her movements, and her eyes instantly reddened.

"I truly don’t know, Dad. Why don’t you believe me? I have no recollection whatsoever; how could I have seen that person? People say some can make others faint; I was definitely harmed," Ruru said, and by the end, couldn’t help but cry.

Zhulin let out a heavy sigh, "You’re not lying to Dad? You didn’t get involved with someone, and the guy doesn’t want to be responsible, right?"

"Dad!" Ruru shouted angrily, "What sort of person do you think I am? Would I tarnish the family’s reputation like that? If I had really done it, I wouldn’t dare deny it."

"Alas, it’s our misfortune, father and daughter, and it’s also because Dad cared too little for you," Zhulin said, his eyes red.

"How can it be Dad’s fault? If not for the incident, even I wouldn’t know," Ruru vigorously wiped her eyes. She truly didn’t know, not even realizing she’d lost her virginity and so couldn’t suspect she was pregnant or unexpectedly had a miscarriage.

The father and daughter sighed together, and finally, Zhulin sent his daughter back to her room to rest.

Ruru returned to her room and sat quietly for a while. Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun circled around her to the room’s back window and administered some sleeping powder.

Ruru soon fainted, Bai Ruozhu let Xiaomao quickly examine her, and she also checked Ruru’s pulse.

Soon Xiaomao had the result, and Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun headed back to the residence. She didn’t dispel the sleeping powder from Ruru; the girl was truly pitiable and in a deeply low mood now, so it was better to let her sleep well.

"What did Xiaomao say?" Jiang Yichun asked.

"It said the girl indeed has residual poison from a Poisonous Insect, and I also found her pulse to be very strange. But according to her, she lost her virginity unknowingly and has no idea who it was, so why does Jingshang have the walnut from her family?" Bai Ruozhu frowned, "According to Zhulin’s statement, Jingshang’s walnut should be the one he lost. Did Jingshang go to Zhulin’s home to steal it?"

"He carries it with him and treats it as something very precious, as if it’s a gift from a girl he likes," Jiang Yichun said, understanding men a bit better.