I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 485 My back hurts so I can't do anything

With the downfall of the Duke of Zhong's mansion, the Empress is unlikely to recover.

Chu Liuzheng crossed out the names of his enemies from his little notebook, feeling a little regretful.

[All that mental ranking I did was for nothing. I was hoping to see the Empress change her tune, but now the tyrant has knocked her out, and I won't get to see it.]

With the downfall of the Duke of Zhong's mansion, there's a lot going on. The Empress Dowager has been sending people to invite the tyrant to dine these past few days, but the tyrant is busy battling wits with his ministers and simply doesn't have the time.

Even I, the poor little assistant, have to stay up all night grading those long and tedious greetings. I really want to send them all back and make a rule that greetings must not exceed one hundred words!

Chu Liuzheng rolled over on the bed and lay on the soft pillow, instructing Siyue, "Press down a little more, yes, right there."

[Alas! I have no imperial destiny, but I've caught the emperor's disease. Tyrants have clearly been sitting on the throne longer than me, so why don't they feel any pain or discomfort?]

"Ouch! Ouch! Be gentle!" It seemed like some pressure point had been pressed, and Chu Liuzheng felt a sharp pain, tears welling up in her eyes. She quickly turned to look at him, "Siyue, you... Your Majesty?"

[Holy crap, when did the tyrant arrive?! No more overtime!!]

Xiao Jingfan suppressed a laugh and asked, "Where else is it sour?"

"This way." Chu Liuzheng pointed to the left side near the spine, and Xiao Jingfan's hand followed.

He used much more force than Si Yue did, and Chu Liuzheng bit down on the pillow to keep from crying out in pain, but the effect was immediate.

She couldn't help but sigh.

[The emperor's job is something no one with a bad back can do.]

The festive atmosphere in Beijing is getting stronger, and even the imperial palace is being decorated anew.

After the imperial court sealed the seal and Chu Liuzheng had been busy with the emperor for some time, he simply took his pillow and blanket to a side hall and slept for a whole day. When he woke up, his bones felt so weak that he was too lazy to move.

A hand was draped around her waist. She turned her head and saw that it was indeed the emperor. She didn't know when he had arrived, but he was fast asleep with his eyes closed.

Chu Liuzheng turned around, stretched out his fingers and stroked the young man's long eyebrows a couple of times, then fiddled with his thick eyelashes a few times, then pinched his nose, poked his face, pinched his thin red lips into two duck beaks, and then put on a pig nose.

Hehe, this is fun.

His fingers moved down, slipping inside her pajamas to poke and pinch.

To be honest, the tyrant's skin is really smooth.

"How dare you!" Xiao Jingfan, who had been woken up, pressed down on the hand that was causing trouble in front of his chest, his voice hoarse from just waking up.

Chu Liuzheng beckoned with his finger, "You go to sleep, I'll do mine."

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

He swept the person up in his arms, his eyes half-open, his cold voice tinged with drowsiness, "How do you want to play?"

Oops, I've gone too far with the teasing.

"I'm going out for a walk, you can continue sleeping." Chu Liuzheng propped himself up, quickly shoved the large hand off him, slipped on his warm shoes, and made a hasty escape.

Xiao Jingfan closed his eyes and said, "Come back and put on your cloak."

"Oh." Chu Liuzheng ate a few pastries to fill his stomach before taking off the cloak from the rack. As he put it on, he said, "It's cold. Let's have hot pot tonight. I'll have the imperial kitchen cut some extra mutton and send a portion to Wanshou Palace as well."

"Alright." Xiao Jingfan opened one eye, saw Chu Liuzheng put on the cloak, and then closed it again. "I'll sleep a little longer. Wake me up for dinner."

Chu Liuzheng agreed and waited until he fell asleep before tiptoeing out.

Mitsuki, who had been waiting at the door, immediately shoved a hand warmer into her hand.

"It's snowing again, no wonder it's so cold." Stepping out of the warm interior and suddenly surrounded by snow and ice, Chu Liuzheng couldn't help but shiver.

"It's been raining for a while now." Mitsuki pulled her cloak up for her, then looked up at the sky. "It doesn't look like it'll be raining for long."

"Hmm." Chu Liuzheng nodded. "Let's go, let's go check out the Imperial Kitchen."

The snow on the main road has been cleared, so it's not too difficult to walk on.

The air was icy cold, and her lazy bones seemed to find support again. Chu Liuzheng slowly made her way to the imperial kitchen. Siyue held an umbrella for her with one hand and supported her with the other, saying in a low voice, "The instructor sent word that Chenxing has gone back to camp and will probably be back tomorrow afternoon."

Chu Liuzheng asked curiously, "What happened?" "A vicious criminal has appeared in the capital. In three months, he has killed eleven people, including men, women, and children, and the deaths were all bizarre. With the New Year approaching, people are in a state of panic. If this criminal is not caught, the people may not be able to celebrate the New Year properly."

Siyue explained softly, "Another murder occurred last night. The body was cut into pieces and piled up at the alley entrance, each piece only the size of a fist. Shuntian Prefecture and Dali Temple are in a panic. His Majesty ordered the Dark Guard to help investigate, which is why the instructor sent Chenxing back to help piece the body back together. It would be best if we could find any clues, but even if we don't, we can still gain some experience."

She explained it in detail, and Chu Liuzheng remembered that she seemed to have come across this case before, but she had been too busy lately to follow the gossip. Had it not been solved yet?

As she opened the system, she asked curiously, "What clues do we have now?"

Siyue said, "The murderer should be a man."

Chu Liuzheng asked in surprise, "That's all?"

Siyue shook his head.

Chu Liuzheng: "What was the murder weapon?"

“It’s different every time,” Siyue said. “There are daggers, long sticks, axes, whips, fishing lines, etc., abandoned at the scene, and now they are all kept in Shuntian Prefecture.”

Chu Liuzheng asked in confusion, "Since the murder weapons are different and the methods of death are different, how can we be sure it's the same murderer?"

“Numbers,” Mitsuki said. “Next to each of the deceased’s bodies, a number was written in blood, from one to twelve.”

Wow! How arrogant! Are they collecting stamps here?

Chu Liuzheng didn't ask any more questions and carefully searched through the system.

[Serial murder case, killer...]

[Uh, wait, is this right? If it's a copycat murder, fine, but why are we playing a chain game?]

[You work Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; I work Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; plus two more to fill in the gaps; are the four of you just here to clock in and out?]

No wonder the Shuntian Prefecture and the Dali Temple couldn't catch the murderer. There was a mole tipping them off and destroying crucial evidence. It would be a miracle if they caught him!

Chu Liuzheng was so angry that he gripped the hand warmer tightly.

[Taking a government salary to do things that harm the common people, huh? Another operation tonight? Hmph! Just you wait!]

She strode towards the imperial kitchen, deciding to have dinner early that evening.

Only when you're well-fed can you get the emperor to work for you!

Inside the hall, the steam from the copper pot dissipated into a cloud of white mist. After a satisfying meal, Xiao Jingfan was about to take Chu Liuzheng for a walk to digest when he suddenly heard someone say that they wanted to eat crab roe buns from Yunhezhai.

He glanced at the still-untidy table, then looked at Chu Liuzheng's stomach and asked, "Not full yet?"

Chu Liuzheng blinked: "We still need two crab roe steamed buns. Don't make them from the imperial chef, make them from Yunhezhai."

Xiao Jingfan looked at her: "You really have to eat it?"

Chu Liuzheng nodded, "I can't sleep if I don't eat."

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I will send someone out of the palace to buy it."

Chu Liuzheng made a request: "I want it fresh out of the pot."

Xiao Jingfan: "...You just want to leave the palace."

Chu Liuzheng looked at him expectantly, "Is it okay?"

Xiao Jingfan: "..."

Seeing that he didn't speak, Chu Liuzheng immediately covered his face and pretended to cry, "I've been working so hard for so many days, and I can't even eat a crab roe bun. This life is really..."

"I'll be right back after I buy it." Xiao Jingfan pressed his twitching eyelid and reluctantly gave in.

"Your Majesty, you're so kind." Chu Liuzheng smiled and leaned over to kiss the emperor on the cheek, then pulled him out of the palace to eat... no, to catch the murderer!

(End of this chapter)