Chapter 60: World Two [30]

Shao Qing had no idea what was going through Jing Ke’s mind. Her brain was entirely focused on one thing: how to clear her own suspicion while subtly pulling more people onto her side.

The first round of clue-searching lasted twenty minutes. As soon as time was up, the seven guests gathered in the Meeting Room and began sharing their findings, each voicing their own suspects.

Shao Qing was the greatest beneficiary of the Old Duke’s death. With the current scarcity of clues, three of the other six guests suspected she had done it.

Seeing this, Shao Qing remained highly rational. She emphasized that she was the Old Duke’s sole heir; there was no need for her to kill her own biological father just to inherit the Dukedom a little earlier.

Besides, she was an exceptionally outstanding individual herself. She had once been summoned alone by the King and held the position of Deputy Commander in the Knight Order. Even without the title, she could very well earn her own noble rank through merit.

Shao Qing’s reasoning was sound and well-founded. Moreover, as more clues surfaced, the other characters’ motives for murder gradually came to light.

[As expected, a classic case of ‘ask around and no one’s close, but dig deeper and everyone has a grudge.’ Just don’t know if it was a joint crime or a solo act this time.]

[Wait, are you all missing a massive blind spot? The Old Butler’s daughter isn’t his biological child—she’s the daughter his sister had after being assaulted by the drunken Old Duke. So doesn’t that make the Butler’s Daughter and the Young Duke biological siblings?! And they’re having a flirtation! Scandalous!]

[The Old Duke was a staunch supporter of the Crown Prince. If he fell, an out-of-favor prince might seize the chance to contend for the throne. That’s a pretty strong motive for murder too.]

[So the Butler’s Daughter and the Old Butler share roughly the same motive, right?]

[But the Butler’s Daughter clearly doesn’t know the truth. I actually think collusion between the Noble Lady and the Young Duke is more likely. The Noble Lady’s family desperately needs the Ducal House’s support.]

[Why not the Stepmother and the Young Duke conspiring together? With the Old Duke dead, the Ducal House becomes their playground!]

Since the individual camera feeds only showed what the guests did without offering much extra character background, even the audience with their omniscient view couldn’t immediately tell who the true murderer was.

After nearly an hour of discussion, the Chief Director cut in with a five-minute commercial break, conveniently giving the seven guests some time to touch up their makeup.

Shao Qing’s makeup was still in excellent shape, so she used those five minutes—when the live stream wasn’t airing—to pull aside her Stepmother and fiancée separately, whispering some private words to each.

The live stream indeed didn’t broadcast this segment, but the cameras were still rolling.

Sitting in the control room, Jing Ke watched as Shao Qing, fully in her Young Duke character, exchanged sweet nothings with both her Stepmother and her fiancée.

Jing Ke, who knew the truth of the situation, showed no outward reaction on her face. But what she felt inside—well, only she herself knew that.

The five-minute ad break ended quickly, and the second round of clue-searching began promptly.

Because a body-search segment had occurred, many locked boxes opened in the first round, revealing a number of potential weapons capable of killing the Old Duke.

The second clue-searching round was relatively longer, lasting a full thirty minutes.

However, after the evidence collection concluded, there was no group sharing segment. Each guest could only select two others for a one-on-one evidence-sharing mode—essentially the campaign round.

The five Regular Guests were all Veteran Players. They skillfully exploited loopholes, using the search time to discreetly meet and share some clues ahead of time.

Shao Qing maintained an exceptionally steady performance, calmly parrying the probing questions from the Old Butler, the Foreign Merchant, and the out-of-favor prince. She subtly began to form a tacit alliance with the three female guests.

Half an hour later, it was time for the one-on-one clue sharing. Shao Qing chose without hesitation: her half-sister with the same father, and her nominal Stepmother.

After thoroughly frying the CPUs of the livestream audience, the one-on-one sessions concluded, leading to the final public voting round.

“I believe the Third Prince murdered my father. The true culprit often hides themselves exceptionally well. The Third Prince’s apparent motive for murder doesn’t seem strong, but that is precisely his best method of concealment.”

Shao Qing was the first to vote. Using her one-minute reasoning statement, she began frantically pinning the blame on the Third Prince, even preempting the actions the other party would likely take.

“If I’m not mistaken, the person coming up to vote shortly will be the Third Prince, and he’ll certainly bite down hard, claiming I’m the real killer. I want to remind everyone of one point: as the sole heir of the Ducal House, if I were to fall as well, that would be tantamount to cutting off His Highness the Crown Prince’s right arm, thereby creating an opportunity for certain individuals to seize the throne!”

A minute is very short. Seeing her time was nearly up, Shao Qing very obediently returned to her seat.

The Regular Guest playing the Third Prince had never encountered a Flight Guest who got into character so quickly. To avoid being collectively voted out, he had no choice but to step up and defend himself, casting his vote for Shao Qing.

But with Shao Qing’s preceding remarks, the Third Prince’s rebuttal sounded far too weak. It not only made the other guests hesitate, but even the audience with their omniscient view couldn’t help doubting their own judgment.

[The Young Duke makes a lot of sense. The battle for the throne is the cruelest of all. If the Old Duke was killed and the Young Duke framed for it, the Third Prince could potentially rally the Old Duke’s remaining forces to his own cause.]

[But the Third Prince’s analysis also makes sense. The Old Duke’s attitude toward the Young Duke was just mediocre, and he wasn’t willing to help his future in-laws. A collaboration between the Young Duke and the Noble Lady is also highly plausible.]

[What? You’re all seriously analyzing clues? Am I the only one furiously taking screenshots? My wife Qingqing today is exuding overwhelming ‘top energy.’ No matter which female guest she’s with, she looks so perfectly matched!]

[Dear, did you forget? Your ‘wife Qingqing’ is a woman!]

[What? Doesn’t that just make it even better?! I’ve already been molded into my wife’s shape!]

The barrage comments were a mix of serious clue analysis, swooning over the guests’ beauty, and chaotic CP (couple pairing) mashups. With the true culprit about to be revealed, the total concurrent viewer count was approaching ten million, making the Director grin so wide his mouth was about to split.

After the Third Prince finished speaking, the Noble Lady stepped up. She seemingly offered a rational analysis of her own clues, then casually cast her vote for the Third Prince.

The Old Butler was a renowned crowd-control player. He directly asserted that the Young Duke and the Noble Lady had jointly murdered the Old Duke. His reasoning was simple: the Young Duke was not the sole heir because she was a woman disguising herself as a man.

Unfortunately, the one-minute statement time was too short. The Old Butler could only toss this guess out there without providing overly conclusive evidence.

The Foreign Merchant, another seasoned player, instantly grasped the Old Butler’s intent. After casting his vote for Shao Qing, he supplemented the clues, hoping the remaining Stepmother and Butler’s Daughter would vote for Shao Qing, leading to a perfect 5:2 voting result.

“My apologies, what you say is very logical, but I still believe in my darling~” the veteran player playing the Stepmother said with a grin, directly hanging her vote on the Third Prince.

The Butler’s Daughter was a Flight Guest, just like Shao Qing. Under everyone’s expectant gazes, she also hung her vote on the Third Prince.

“You all make great points, but I still prefer Brother, so, sorry.” The new guest said shyly, but as she descended after voting, she blew a flying kiss straight at Shao Qing.

Shao Qing played along perfectly, accepting the kiss and returning a brilliantly radiant smile along with a warm, affectionate hug from ‘Brother.’

[Huh? Huh? Huh? What’s happening? Why are we collectively pinning this on the Third Prince? The Old Butler’s clue was so clear! If the Young Duke is a woman disguised as a man, she’d have to kill the Old Duke to inherit the family estate! Her motive is super strong!]

[Oh, so the Young Duke and the Noble Lady were working together. Looks like my initial guess was right.]

[LMAOO, the Stepmother’s answer perfectly fits her character setting! After the Old Duke kicks the bucket, not only does she get her freedom, she also gets lots of cash and a filial, good son. Of course she’d side with the Young Duke!]

[I didn’t expect the Butler’s Daughter to flip, though. Even if the Old Butler isn’t her biological father, he’s still her biological uncle.]

[What do you know? The Old Butler seems very doting to his adopted daughter, but he’s incredibly strict about her every word and deed, completely forcing noble lady etiquette standards on her. I have reason to suspect the Old Butler was waiting to reap the spoils—make his daughter the Old Duke’s last child and profit from it!]

[What’s so surprising about this? If I were the Butler’s Daughter, I’d naturally prefer cozying up to a cool big sister. With a big sister like that holding up the household, wouldn’t my good days just roll right in?]

As a fully live-streamed mystery-solving variety show, Who Is the Murderer?‘s first episode was executed flawlessly. The twists, climaxes, and reveals all garnered immense praise.

Although the murderer ultimately escaped, every decision made was consistent with the character settings. Most importantly, the audience loved it—the Old Duke, who had done every evil deed imaginable, deserved his death a thousand times over!

And after the Young Duke was exposed as a woman disguised as a man, the original ‘scumbag’ label was washed away, transforming into beautiful closeness between girls, much to the ecstasy of certain CP fans.

The livestream audience was delighted, but Jing Ke, who had been in the control room for over two hours, didn’t show much of a smile.

After the live broadcast ended, Jing Ke quietly picked up the scarf belonging to Shao Qing and immediately went over to wrap it around her neck.

“Jing Ke, how did I do? Wasn’t I amazing?” Shao Qing was still basking in the joy of her successful escape, not noticing that Jing Ke seemed a bit more subdued than usual.

“Yeah, amazing.” Jing Ke said, reaching out to adjust the scarf’s position.

“It’s fine, the indoor heating is on, I’m not cold.” Shao Qing tilted her head up slightly to look at Jing Ke, a hint of confusion appearing in her eyes. “Jing Ke, you don’t seem very happy. Is there bad news?”

“No, I’m just a little hungry. It’s almost one o’clock now. Want to go eat?” Jing Ke asked, a faint smile returning to her face.

It was just a normal filming session; there was no need to be bothered by it. Even if it were real, as Shao Qing’s partner, she had no right to interfere anyway.

“Teacher Shao, is this your friend?” The Stepmother, who hadn’t left yet nearby, looked over. When her gaze landed on Jing Ke’s face, a flash of admiration appeared.

Was this the inherent buff of mixed heritage? What looked like a very ordinary outfit on anyone else suddenly seemed much more elegant and noble on such an extraordinary face.

And if she were to wear a long coat that obscured her body lines, it would add an extra layer of androgynous beauty, making it hard to distinguish male from female.

“Yes, my friend.” Shao Qing said with a smile, introducing Jing Ke to the Stepmother and Butler’s Daughter, who were still present.

After a brief exchange of names, the Stepmother smilingly extended an invitation. “It’s so cold outside. How about we grab some hot pot after taking off our makeup? I know a fantastic place that should be past the rush hour right now.”

“Hot pot?” Shao Qing was tempted but hesitant, subconsciously glancing at Jing Ke.

“I’m okay with anything.” Jing Ke quickly stated her opinion.

“Then we’ll trouble Teacher Qin to take us out for a feast.” Shao Qing said with a grin.

“No trouble at all. Just the five of us, all women, so we can relax a bit more.” Qin Zheng, the veteran player who had drawn the Stepmother role card, said with a smile.

After calling over Qi Jia, who played the Butler’s Daughter, and Pan Jing, who played the Noble Lady, the group removed their makeup, changed into casual clothes, and headed straight to a hot pot restaurant.

Qin Zheng and Pan Jing were old friends and, as Regular Guests, both had very outgoing personalities. After briefly sharing some funny anecdotes from the recording, they quickly livened up the atmosphere.

“Teacher Jing, you have an excellent appearance. Have you ever considered developing a career in the entertainment industry? If you’re interested, I have a great variety show I could recommend you for.” Once the conversation had opened up, Qin Zheng couldn’t help but direct her schemes towards Jing Ke.

She wasn’t bragging. With Jing Ke’s outstanding looks, there would be no need for excessive packaging. Just appearing as an ordinary person on a popular variety show could easily generate significant buzz.

Becoming a top-tier star might not be guaranteed, but with good management, securing a solid second-tier position would definitely be no problem.

“What kind of variety show is it?” Shao Qing asked curiously.

“A Love Observation Variety Show. Six people, three celebrities and three ordinary folks. It’s got pretty good buzz,” Qin Zheng explained. “The three celebrities are Regular Guests. The ordinary participants rotate through. Participating in this show is a great choice whether you want to debut officially or become an influencer afterward.”

Although Qin Zheng was scouting talent for her friend’s show, she was telling the truth. Such an opportunity was excellent for an ordinary person. If seized properly, it could lead to a leap in social class.

“Thank you for your kind intentions, Teacher Qin, but my current job is quite stable. I don’t have any plans to debut in the entertainment industry for now,” Jing Ke said.

“What do you do, Teacher Jing? Modeling?” Pan Jing asked with a hint of curiosity.

“I work at a company,” Jing Ke didn’t make a big deal of it. “A fairly high-level management position. As long as I complete my daily tasks and targets, the working hours and location are very flexible.”

“Wow, that does sound really great.” Hearing that both the time and location were extremely flexible, Qin Zheng quickly dismissed the idea of continuing to recruit for her friend.

Qin Zheng understood Jing Ke’s subtext: people who don’t need to clock in and out every day are either bosses or business partners. She probably didn’t need to come to the entertainment industry to make money.