“Young lady, hold on. Who are you looking for?”

As soon as she reached the entrance, she was stopped by the two officers standing guard.

“I am Jian Xiu from Zhangjia Village. I’m here to see your county magistrate.”

Upon hearing this, the two officers immediately lowered their weapons and spoke politely:

“So it’s Miss Jian! Please, come in! Our county magistrate is inside.”

“Oh? You know me?”

“Of course! The sketching technique Miss Jian developed has spread throughout our yamen. It’s safe to say that there isn’t a single person here who doesn’t know you.”

“Oh? So that means you all are quite skilled at drawing now?” Jian Xiu asked with a smile.

Initially, she had come to check things out, but judging by their words, it seemed unnecessary.

Thinking this, Jian Xiu turned to the officers and said, “Since you all have already mastered it, I won’t go in then.”

With that, she prepared to leave.

“Miss Jian?”

Just as she turned around, a familiar voice called out.

She turned back and saw it was Master Ruang Fengsheng, the magistrate’s advisor.

There was no avoiding it now. Jian Xiu forced a smile and greeted, “Greetings, Master Ruang!”

Ruang Fengsheng: “…” She looked quite unwilling.

Jian Xiu: How could she not be? She still had so many herbs to sell, and she needed to check on the furniture at the wooden pottery shop!

With so much to do, she had no desire to waste time here.

“Miss Jian, if you hadn’t come today, I would have sent someone to fetch you.”

“Oh? Fetch me? Haven’t you all learned to draw already?”

“Miss Jian, please come inside first. I promise it won’t take long,” Ruang Fengsheng said with a smile.

He could tell that Jian Xiu wasn’t keen on staying.

However, when he thought about Liu Huasheng’s latest sketch, he sighed inwardly.

If Liu Huasheng had met the person before or had a model in front of him, his drawings were decent.

But when he had to draw someone he had never seen, the results were completely off.

It lacked the essence.

Following Master Ruang inside, Jian Xiu saw that both Mo Shanrui and Liu Huasheng were there.

Judging by Mo Shanrui’s expression, he was clearly dissatisfied with Liu Huasheng’s sketch.

“It’s still missing something,” Mo Shanrui shook his head in disappointment.

“Sir, I have never seen Liang Lai before. There’s nothing more I can do,” Liu Huasheng said respectfully.

“Seems like we still need Miss Jian…”

“Sir Mo, look who I brought!” Ruang Fengsheng interrupted.

Hearing this, Mo Shanrui quickly looked up and immediately saw Jian Xiu standing behind Ruang Fengsheng.

“Oh, what an honored guest! A rare visitor indeed!” Mo Shanrui exclaimed excitedly.

Even without him saying anything, his expression said it all.

Not just him—Liu Huasheng also let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Jian Xiu.

If she hadn’t shown up soon, he wouldn’t even be able to eat properly from the pressure.

“Who are you trying to draw?” Jian Xiu asked curiously.

“Still Liang Lai,” Mo Shanrui replied honestly.

“Liang Lai?”

Hearing this name again, Jian Xiu immediately recalled what had happened in the deep mountains not long ago.

Those people had clearly seen him before.

Thinking of this, she pretended to ask Mo Shanrui, “County magistrate, after searching for so many years without any leads, are you sure he is still alive?”

“Yes, I am certain,” Mo Shanrui affirmed.

“And why are you so sure?” Jian Xiu asked quickly.

She asked purely out of curiosity, without overthinking it.

However, she didn’t realize that her reaction seemed odd to Mo Shanrui, who had years of experience solving cases.

Jian Xiu soon noticed his suspicion and quickly explained, “Sir, please don’t misunderstand. You know I’m just a woman, and women are naturally curious about gossip. If you don’t want to say, just pretend I never asked.”

Before Mo Shanrui could reply, she turned to Liu Huasheng and said,

“For someone you haven’t seen before, you need to do more than just rely on descriptions. You must use your imagination.”

“Picture their essence—are they gentle? Rough? Or fierce and intimidating?”

“Once you have an idea, use their descriptions as a guide and slowly sketch their features…”

Then, Jian Xiu picked up a brush and demonstrated stroke by stroke.

In just fifteen minutes, a lifelike portrait of Liang Lai appeared.

“Yes! That’s exactly how he looks!” Mo Shanrui said excitedly.

As he carefully picked up the paper, his reverence for the drawing was obvious.

Jian Xiu was stunned, She never expected Mo Shanrui to have such a side to him.

Then again, it made sense. Mo Shanrui’s cousin, Mo Shanhua, had a similar personality.

“Sir Mo, if you need more copies, I can draw a few extra for you,” Jian Xiu offered politely.

Of course, she was just being polite.

She really didn’t have the time to sit here all day.

Besides, after her explanation, Liu Huasheng should have grasped the technique by now.

Mo Shanrui neither accepted nor declined.

Instead, he turned to Liu Huasheng and said, “Liu, you may leave for now. I need to discuss something with Miss Jian.”

“Yes, sir!”

Once Liu Huasheng left, only Ruang Fengsheng, Mo Shanrui, and Jian Xiu remained in the room.

“The magistrate wants to ask me about Liang Lai?” Jian Xiu asked directly.

It made sense.

Mo Shanrui was an experienced official.

Her little tricks couldn’t fool him.

“Miss Jian, you are indeed straightforward. To be honest, since I took office, I have been investigating this case. After so many years, I still have no leads.”

“From your reaction just now, I can tell you know something. The question is—how much do you know?”

Mo Shanrui spoke candidly.

He had wanted to ask the moment he noticed Jian Xiu’s reaction earlier.

But since it was a serious matter, he had dismissed Liu Huasheng first.

Hearing this, Jian Xiu knew she couldn’t hide it.

Not that she knew much anyway.

She had been debating whether to speak, but since he asked, she might as well say it.

“Sir Mo, to be honest, I only overheard it recently…”