Zhu Yu picked up the item with tweezers, holding it up to the sunlight for a closer look. It was exceptionally transparent, definitely not something ordinary blood would form after crystallizing.

Zhu Yu asked Rune to bring a white porcelain plate, placing the "blood bead" on it. Then, she began cutting open another lined square beside it, and sure enough, there was another identical dead insect inside.

Toiling in this manner, Zhu Yu worked tirelessly for half a day. The chill she had felt earlier in the corpse room had long disappeared, leaving her drenched in sweat from her strenuous effort.

At one stage, Lu Qing couldn’t bear to see her bent over, laboring continuously, and wanted to lend a hand. Unfortunately, the small scissors Zhu Yu used had been custom-made to fit her fingers only, rendering Lu Qing’s attempt ineffective as his fingers couldn’t fit. He had no choice but to relinquish the idea and assist her by removing the dead insects.

Once the entire lining of the garment was cut out piece by piece by Zhu Yu, she straightened up, aching back and covered in sweat. Wiping her brow with her sleeve, she noticed Lu Qing diligently handling the dead insects beside her.

Within this garment, it was no exaggeration to say that over a hundred insects had been extracted. The first insect Zhu Yu had removed was near the hem, thus smaller in size. The later ones extracted from the chest and back areas were much larger and resembled large watermelon seeds.

Due to their size, the blood crystals extracted from their abdomens were naturally larger, appearing more like dim red gemstones.

"Hold on," Zhu Yu stopped Lu Qing’s movement, picking up a dead insect as large as a watermelon seed. The insect was round and plump, resembling a drop-shaped soybean.

Having dealt with these insects so long, Zhu Yu no longer feared them, assured they wouldn’t suddenly come back to life. She pinched one between her fingers, noticing its body was surprisingly hard, resisting the pinch.

"No wonder this He Family daughter could wear them day and night without crushing them; their bodies are unbelievably hard!"

Muttering to herself, Zhu Yu observed intently: "The mouthparts of this strange insect are quite peculiar.

Typically, if it has a needle-like mouthpart, it wouldn’t have those pincer-like parts, and vice versa.

After all, a feeding method usually involved either sucking fluids or chewing flesh; one insect normally wouldn’t need two feeding apparatuses.

Unless... each part served a different function."

She signaled to Lu Qing, carefully tapping the insect’s mouthparts with her small scissors: "I’m not an expert on insects, but I’ll speculate.

This needle-like mouthpart is naturally for sucking blood.

However, with such a hard body, the more blood it absorbs, the more swollen it becomes. Hidden within clothes, it would be noticeable; hence, I suspect the pincer-like mouthparts weren’t for biting through skin but more like a serpent’s fangs.

Those pincer-like parts might carry toxins, numbing the body and dulling sensory perception, making the garment’s hidden occupants undetectable.

Earlier, the Headdress and Shoes Workshop had paid handsomely for the Red Jade Fragrance, possibly due to these hidden insects.

Or rather, for the blood-hardened crystal within them.

If the insect could crystallize absorbed blood into such a transparent gem, it must have specific properties, far from ordinary clotted blood."

With that, she set the particularly full insect aside while continuing with Lu Qing to handle the others.

"This one...?" Lu Qing queried curiously.

Zhu Yu reflexively responded without much thought, "We don’t have a name for this insect, better keep one; perhaps Yan Daoxin might recognize it later..."

Pausing momentarily, she inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly, glancing at Lu Qing as if seeking confirmation: "He will recognize it, won’t he?"

"Yes," Lu Qing nodded without hesitation, understanding her concerns.

The insect was preserved whole, safely stored in a specially emptied small white porcelain bottle, its opening sealed tightly.

The rest had their shells broken, yielding a generous handful of dark red crystals.

Zhu Yu lifted the now liner-shorn garment from the stone table, examining it against the setting sun. It appeared to have remarkable craftsmanship; while not particularly heavy, the fabric was woven so densely that light could hardly pass through.

No wonder the He Family daughter wore it day and night; even bathed in daylight, the sun’s rays didn’t affect the insects embedded within.

Zhu Yu felt a wave of fortune that they had exposed the lining to the sun first. Otherwise, any premature opening of a compartment might not have been the only risk; a single bite could unleash panic.

Given the bizarre nature of these things, no one could assuredly determine their toxicity.

The Headdress and Shoes Workshop selling this so-called Red Jade Fragrance evidently aimed to sell then repurchase it.

Lu Qing frowned at the numerous tiny red crystals, "Whether the wearer stopped because of worsening complexion or without noticing anything, they accepted a high-priced buyback offer. These weren’t affordable, nor were their buyers typically nobility, just affluent commoners. The prospect of selling them back at a high price was quite tempting.

Thus, once worn and repurchased at a premium, any previous issues could be overlooked due to financial gain, avoiding controversy. Hence, it rarely stirred any significant alarm.

Until He Min’s daughter, in her anxious state after her engagement was tarnished, was so drained that she passed away before the Headdress and Shoes Workshop could reclaim it with a high offer.

He Min’s ensuing upheaval allowed us to uncover the secret behind Red Jade Fragrance.

It seems both this item and the scenario faced by those women rescued from the Little Mountain Building indicate the target was indeed the women’s blood."