Hearing Peng Mingzhu saying that she would leave, Wei Li immediately reacted by instinct to stop her, "Miss Peng, please help them…"
"They can handle it themselves," Peng Mingzhu rejected, taking a glance at the hands belonging to Elder Kang.
"Well...would you at least help them to stop the body from rotting? At the very least, before the funerary procession begins?" Wei Li asked in an almost pleading voice.
"Do I get any benefits from helping you?" Peng Mingzhu asked as she crossed her arms and stared at Wei Li. "Your Highness, you must understand. I am a businesswoman. I will never do something that is not beneficial to me."
"I will owe you a favor," Wei Li offered, not knowing the history between Peng Mingzhu and Wei Kangnuan when it came to favors.
"I don't trust favors when the other side is the royal family," Peng Mingzhu commented. "Give me something else."
Squeezing his brows close together and placing his hand under his chin, Wei Li suggested, "If you have a request now, I can try my best to fulfill it."
Leaning against the entry wall, Peng Mingzhu stated, "Is that any different from owing me a favor?"
Not knowing what else to suggest, Wei Li only had one thing left in mind, "Miss Peng, please just tell me how I can get you to help us."
"That's very easy," Peng Mingzhu told Wei Li. "Don't question my actions and don't disturb me when I'm working and resting. Can you do these things for me?"
As soon as Wei Li heard her say those words, he instantly nodded his head in agreement.
Heaving a sigh as though everything was currently bothersome to her, Peng Mingzhu then turned to the two elders and asked, "They want to stop the body from rotting? For the funeral?"
"Yeah," Elder Kang answered, still drawing. "Such a big event requires the royal family to do something apparently."
"Stupid," Peng Mingzhu commented on the remark that Elder Kang made.
"Oh? You agree with us two old men?" Elder Xiao pitched in upon hearing a snarky comment.
"As long as the royal family makes a statement that they have punished the killer, the capital will still praise them as gods. What a stupid idea. Pay for their funeral? Truly stupid," Peng Mingzhu expanded on her previous statement. "They want a good reputation, but they're too charitable."
"Aiyah! You also agree with me!?" Elder Xiao exclaimed in an excited tone.
Peng Mingzhu shook her head, "No, I'm just commenting."
Having his excitement knocked down just like that, Elder Xiao stood awkwardly between the table where the eight dead bodies were placed and Peng Mingzhu.
Giving a tiny sigh, Peng Mingzhu turned to Elder Xiao and asked, "How do you normally deal with the bodies?"
"Just throw some herbs together and place them on bandages to wrap around the body," Elder Xiao answered with an uncaring tone.
"You don't have a team helping you?" Peng Mingzhu asked as she looked around at the empty area.
"It's annoying having to deal with those people's constant chattering," Elder Xiao remarked with a face that showed just how annoyed he got when people disturbed him from working.
Nodding her head in agreement, Peng Mingzhu then turned to Wei Li and ordered, "Have someone get eight coffins for me. I want them by the time Elder Kang is done drawing their profiles."
"I will make sure that my people have them by the time Elder Kang is done," Wei Li replied.
"Alright, where're we going next? I'm sure you still have one other place to visit," Peng Mingzhu stated.
Wei Li was surprised at her question. Though he knew Peng Mingzhu was incredibly smart, he did not expect her to know that they were coming to the palace for two purposes.
"The prisons…" Wei Li answered, albeit a bit slowly due to his shock.
"Lead the way," Peng Mingzhu told Wei Li to which he did so.
Just before leaving the underground area though, Peng Mingzhu said, "I'll come another time. When I come, I don't want a single soul nearby. I don't want to be responsible for someone dying."
"I will make sure of that," Wei Li replied even though he did not understand why.
Then again, he did promise that he would not question her actions nor would he disturb her.
Entering the dark prison cells, Peng Mingzhu heard someone questioning someone harshly.
"Why did you do that? Did someone tell you to? Were you resentful?" the gruff voice harshly questioned. "8 people. You killed 8 people and harmed another 7 people. Aren't you remorseful of your actions at all?"
Throughout the entirety of the questioning, there were no other voices heard aside from the questioner and the killer grumbling without answering a single question.
By the time the questioner knew of their presence, a good while had already passed.
"Huh...He really sucks at this," Peng Mingzhu commented the moment that the questioner noticed them.
Rubbing his head embarrassedly, Wei Li apologized, "Ah, it is usually the people belonging to Xiao Nuan that does the questioning."
"Oh? Then, which person is this idiotic fool from?" Peng Mingzhu asked, not caring at all that she was insulting someone so straightforwardly.
"He belongs to my father," Wei Li answered, very embarrassed.
"Is your father becoming weak and charitable after becoming old?" Peng Mingzhu questioned satirically. "No matter… I'll do the questioning then."
Surprised that Peng Mingzhu was willing to offer herself, Wei Li whipped around to look at her face, wanting to see if she was lying instead. However, her expression was full of seriousness, letting him know that she was truly serious.
Standing in front of the murderer from the incident at Verbatim Bookstore, Peng Mingzhu said in a deadly tone, "I know why you decided to kill them. Why you ran to the bookstore. And why you feel so much like a piece of trash."
As soon as she said such a thing, the murderer finally showed an expression on his originally empty and blank face, "W-who are you?"
"Who I am is not important. It's who you are that is important," Peng Mingzhu emphasized while staring directly into his eyes, hypnotizing the young man.
Being stared at so directly by Peng Mingzhu and willing himself to look at her dark pure black eyes, he slowly got entranced.
In a slow comfortable voice, Peng Mingzhu started asking, "Now…tell me, what is your name and how old are you?"
In a shaky voice, the young murderer answered, "M-my name is Ren Lin. I am 19 years old…"
"Why did Verbatim Bookstore? Why the drugs?" Peng Mingzhu continued her trance on the young man.
"They fired me. They said that I needed to improve myself more in order to continue working…" the young man started saying, bitterness and anger apparent in his voice. "What right do they have to tell me that I needed to improve myself? Do they think that I do know that already!? Everyday. Every single damn day! I have to deal with my parents. I have to deal with being locked inside of a room. They don't know me! So...how...how!!!!???"
"So...you started taking drugs?" Peng Mingzhu asked, the gentleness and calmness in her voice yet to disappear.
"They gave it to me. They said...They said...T-they…" Ren Lin started to stumble, the words not coming out of his mouth.
"They said that you'd be free. They said you'd be happy. Am I right?" Peng Mingzhu finished his sentence that he could not finish. "But, you weren't happy. You realized that they lied to you. That they merely made you live in a dream, an illusion. So, you were angry, am I right?"
"Yes," Ren Lin affirmed. "I was angry. My parents lied to me. My boss lied to me. My coworkers…and especially those people…"
"Who gave you the drugs?" Peng Mingzhu asked, focusing her pitch black eyes even more on Ren Lin.
"It was...i-it...it was...it…" Ren Lin could no longer speak, as though he was choking on his breath, he began to heavily cough.
Knowing that Ren Lin was no longer in the condition to be questioned anymore, Peng Mingzhu turned her eyes away from him.
"What happened?" Wei Li asked, confused at what was happening.
Why did the murderer suddenly start to answer the questions being asked by Peng Mingzhu obediently? Why did it sound like Peng Mingzhu already knew the entire story even without the murderer answering the questions? Finally, why did the murderer suddenly become mute?
"He took so much of the drugs that his body is failing on him," Peng Mingzhu answered. "Even if you guys don't kill him, he'll die from the amount of drug consumption."
"You know what drug he took?" Wei Li asked.
"Just a random guess," Peng Mingzhu told him. "We'll find out when we look in his house."
"Then...his body?" Wei Li pointed at Ren Lin who was limp and only standing up due to the chains.
"It's up to you guys. Throw it away. Feed it to the wolves. Whatever you guys want to do," Peng Mingzhu said uncaringly. "It's not my job. I'm only here to extract information."
"You're leaving?" Wei Li asked when he saw her start walking towards the exit of the dark cold prison.
"Of course. What else am I supposed to do here? Sleep here?" Peng Mingzhu rhetorically responded sharply.
'Sigh… She's still angry from this morning,' Wei Li internally remarked in his mind at her words.