Mystery and Deduction: Song Ci's Case Files

It was the fourth year of the Xuanhe era of the Great Song, in early summer. The northern wind still carried a hint of chill as it swept through the lanes and along the riverbank, bending the poplars on the old street with a forceful, twisting gust. In the bustling city, prosperity stood alongside poverty, and lawfulness intertwined with crime. Even the most unremarkable alley seemed to conceal an untold story. In the capital, Bianliang, almost everyone knew the investigating magistrate Song Ci. Tall and lean, with keen eyes and a stern expression, he was meticulous in everything he did. He had an air that inspired awe, but it came less from natural authority than from the steely resolve and endurance honed through countless cases. That day, Song Ci was handling a complicated case in the interrogation hall of the Court of Judicial Review. Suddenly, a junior clerk's voice came from outside the door: “Lord Song, an urgent report.” Song Ci lifted his eyes, his gaze calm, apparently unmoved by the sudden interruption. “Come in.” The clerk hurried in, holding a sealed letter. He knelt respectfully and said, “My lord, there has been a murder on the eastern outskirts of the capital, at an abandoned ancient temple. The temple was empty on the night of the crime, but at dawn the next day, a dead woman was found inside. She had been stabbed three times. Beside the body lay a damaged stone stele with an inscription too blurred to read, seemingly concealing a mystery.”