People first.
Hearing this phrase for the first time, Yanfei silently engraved the words into her heart.
As a legal expert, Yanfei had her own doubts.
Some legal provisions, in truth, were unreasonable—often clashing directly with human nature itself.
Take on-site autopsies, for example.
This was an extremely old law in Liyue. In the past, preservation techniques were limited, so coroners had to examine bodies immediately at the scene. Experience suggested that the earlier the autopsy, the more clues could be found.
If a body was transported or disturbed, evidence might be lost.
Yanfei had long felt this law was flawed, yet she had never found a truly legitimate reason to amend it.
Until today.
The Snezhnayan Prince's simple counterquestion struck her like a bolt of lightning.
People first. The deceased above all.
Even the dead deserved dignity.
This principle should not apply only to forensic law—it ought to be the foundation of all laws.
In fact, if one truly followed a "people-first" philosophy, then many of Liyue's existing laws would need reform.
Yanfei felt a tremendous weight settle onto her shoulders.
Responsibility.
Pressure.
"Lord Dean, shouldn't you be thanking the Snezhnayan Prince?"
The fisherman hurriedly reminded him.
If an autopsy had been conducted publicly, Hua Chu's dignity would have been destroyed.
Liyue's laws were notoriously strict—no one dared to break them lightly. Only because the Snezhnayan Prince was present today did Ningguang have the authority to directly amend the law.
Regardless of whether the Prince was the culprit, he deserved thanks for this alone.
But Lord Dean snarled bitterly,
"Don't think this false kindness will make me withdraw my lawsuit!"
In his eyes, this was merely another trick.
Blinded by grief, he had already formed a deep prejudice against Severin.
Yanfei stepped in to mediate.
"Before the investigation is complete, you should not show disrespect toward the Prince. If he truly wanted to destroy your money house, he would never need to kill your daughter. Such methods are far too crude for someone of his standing."
"Lawyer Yanfei," Lord Dean retorted angrily,
"that's exactly how men like him manipulate people—using your kind of thinking to evade justice!"
Yanfei replied patiently,
"I understand your grief and your desperation to know the truth. But the law relies on evidence. If proof ultimately shows the Prince is guilty, he will not escape punishment."
"My daughter… she died such a horrible death…"
Lord Dean collapsed into wailing once more.
"Sir," Severin said calmly,
"I noticed clear ring marks on your daughter's fingers earlier. Did she have a habit of wearing rings?"
"My daughter never wore rings," Lord Dean replied.
"Then did she have a lover?"
"My daughter was pure and upright—she had no lover!"
His reaction was unusually intense.
At this point, the fisherman beside him spoke up.
"Your Highness, Hua Chu did have a lover. His name was Jian Qiu, her private tutor."
"Many of us fishermen saw them after dusk, hand in hand by the river."
"But Lord Dean never approved of Jian Qiu. He believed the man was climbing social ranks and opposed the relationship repeatedly…"
The fisherman recounted the story in detail.
Lord Dean had hired Jian Qiu—a poor scholar—to tutor his daughter in arithmetic.
Over time, affection blossomed.
But Jian Qiu's background was humble, and Lord Dean vehemently opposed the match.
After their relationship was exposed, Jian Qiu was dismissed, and Hua Chu was confined to her home.
After more than ten days, lovesickness took its toll. Lord Dean finally allowed her out to clear her head.
She seized the chance to elope with Jian Qiu.
It took two to three months—and the help of the Millelith—to bring them back.
Lord Dean flew into a rage, threatening to sever all ties.
Hua Chu outwardly agreed to cut contact, yet secretly continued meeting Jian Qiu.
"Your Highness," Yanfei asked,
"do you suspect the murderer is Hua Chu's lover?"
"There was a ring mark on her ring finger," Severin replied evenly.
"In Liyue, that finger is worn only after a successful proposal."
"This means someone proposed to her shortly before her death."
"If my deduction is correct, after she drowned, someone removed the ring."
Severin's gaze slowly shifted back to Lord Dean.
"Sir, the murderer may well be Jian Qiu."
"That's impossible!" Lord Dean shouted.
"That boy is poor, but he loved my daughter. He would never harm her! Prince of Snezhnaya, stop trying to deceive us!"
Severin shook his head.
Grief had stripped the man of reason.
"Where is Jian Qiu now?" Severin asked coldly.
"At Wanfu Inn," the Divine Detective General answered immediately.
"I'll take men to arrest him."
Liyue inns registered all guests daily with the Millelith.
That very morning, the general had reviewed Wanfu Inn's list—Jian Qiu's name was on it.
Just then, Severin pointed sharply toward the southwest.
"Jian Qiu is there. Arrest him—now."
Millelith soldiers reacted instantly. Several mounted guards galloped forward.
The general hesitated.
"Your Highness… there are five or six hundred people here. How can you be sure that was Jian Qiu?"
"I saw someone flee," he admitted,
"but I couldn't confirm it from the silhouette alone."
"He is the murderer," Severin replied calmly.
"Hearing that we were about to arrest him, he fled on instinct—guilt made manifest."
"I suspect he wasn't only running to pack his belongings, but to warn his accomplice."
The general bowed deeply.
"Your Highness speaks with perfect clarity. Indeed—there was also a woman staying with him at the inn."
Before long, Jian Qiu was dragged back, bound tightly.
As an ordinary man, he stood no chance against mounted Millelith soldiers.
With the Divine Detective General present—and crushed by Severin's overwhelming presence—Jian Qiu's feeble excuses collapsed.
He confessed on the spot.
The truth was brutal.
Before meeting Hua Chu, Jian Qiu already had a fiancée.
Hua Chu defied her father and secretly became engaged to him—but Jian Qiu never truly loved her.
He wanted her family's wealth.
During their elopement, Hua Chu became pregnant.
Under desperate pleading, Jian Qiu reluctantly agreed to marry her.
Last night, by the river, he knelt and proposed with a diamond ring.
Hua Chu tearfully accepted.
Then—
Jian Qiu's fiancée appeared.
In a fit of rage, she shoved Hua Chu into the river.
Blocked by his fiancée, Jian Qiu watched helplessly as Hua Chu—unable to swim—drowned.
To stage the scene as suicide, he jumped into the river afterward and removed the ring.
"You animal! You monster!"
Lord Dean charged forward in madness, but the Millelith restrained him.
"Lord Dean," Yanfei said solemnly,
"the law will punish him—severely."
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