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“This gold dusted paper was discovered in the inner corner of the inkstone, and instead of burning it elsewhere, it was burned inside the inkstone, which indicates that Zheng san’ye (3rd) was very panicked, and although the paper was not fully burnt, he did not notice it at all, which also supports this point. The ashes of the portion that was burnt is extremely complete, which shows that he did not care about it again after he placed it in the corner of the inkstone.”
After saying that, Bó Ruò Yōu continued to state, “A preliminary inference: Zheng san’ye died because of the excessive blood loss caused by the demon-capitulating pestle piercing his heart open from the back, and judging from pressure marks on his arms, neck, chest, waist, and abdomen, he was knocked out first and was lying on the table, before the murderer stabbed the demon-capitulating pestle into his heart from the back without needing much effort.”
Huò Wēi Lóu frowned, “Knocked out?”
Bó Ruò Yōu nodded, picking up a square and white handkerchief. There was a small black clump of filth on the handkerchief, “This was found from Zheng san’ye’s nostrils, it’s still Datura stramonium.
“The body of Zheng san’ye has yet to show signs of rigor mortis, nor has livor mortis started to disseminate. After a person dies, the fastest symptom to show is the loosening of the skin and meridians, and Zheng san’ye happens to be in that state, plus his body is still warm, which indicates that his time of death should be within the past hour. This also means that shortly after he came to the study and burned that gold dusted paper, the murderer arrived.”
As Bó Ruò Yōu spoke, Huò Wēi Lóu went to the back windows to inspect it. Very quickly, in the seam of the north-facing window, he noticed that there were small marks caused by the fire and smoke. This place was not far from Zhèng Wén Yàn’s writing desk, and yet it was slanting towards the back of Zhèng Wén Yàn’s writing desk; even if there was obvious smoke, perhaps Zhèng Wén Yàn would not have noticed it in the moment.
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Huò Wēi Lóu had never been one for many words, and he personally brought the embroidered emissaries to the back of the back window.
From the roof eaves to the back wall, all it took was ten steps at most, and it was all being covered by the accumulated snow at the moment. The day was already late, so the embroidered emissaries were illuminating the path with torches, and just as they walked closer, Huò Wēi Lóu noticed the erratic footprints on the ground.
Huò Wēi Lóu raised a hand, pointing at the ground and back window. Immediately, there were embroidered emissaries stepping forward to investigate it.
Very quickly, the embroidered emissaries returned, saying: “Hou’ye, the footsteps came and left, and it only belongs to one person. The snow on the back wall has traces of someone pressing down and shoving it as well, the perpetrator should have flipped over the wall and entered.”
Because it was pavilion-esque courtyard, the walls of the courtyard were not tall, and when it was placed under the eyes of Huò Wēi Lóu and the embroidered emissaries, it was practically tantamount to nothing. Huò Wēi Lóu said: “Follow the tracks and continue searching.”
Inside the study, Bó Ruò Yōu was originally inspecting the corpse, but she suddenly heard the noise in the back courtyard. While the back windows were shut tightly, Huò Wēi Lóu’s voice was still extremely distinct as it travelled over.
Bó Ruò Yōu found it slightly strange, her line of sight rising. Then she raised it even higher, suddenly noting that beyond the back window, and just above the study room’s beam, there was actually a shape that resembled a ventilation window. Her heart moved.
When Huò Wēi Lóu came inside again, he saw Bó Ruò Yōu standing on a chair.
Currently, the embroidered emissaries and government hirelings were dispatched outside, Hè Chéng was questioning Fifth Furen and Second Furen who had just arrived, Fu gonggong was coaxing Zhèng Xiāo to speak, so Bó Ruò Yōu was the only person inside the room. Bó Ruò Yōu’s height was not considered short, but even as she stood on the chair, it was still not enough to reach the beam. Hence, she could only tilt her neck upwards, trying her hardest to look outside the ventilation window.
Despite her best efforts, she was still incapable of seeing whether that ventilation window was opened or closed. Thus, Bó Ruò Yōu braced one of her hands on the wall and leaned her body backwards. If she shifted back a little more, she would have seen it, but at this moment, the chair underneath her feet moved, and Bó Ruò Yōu could not react fast enough to stabilise her body. She was going to tumble off the chair when suddenly, a hand supported her waist.
This danger was different from the last time he saved her life; Huò Wēi Lóu was just supporting her lower back. His large palms were as hard as steel, and his ten fingers were slender and strong. As he supported her in that particular posture, he unexpectedly discovered that Bó Ruò Yōu’s waist could be covered with one hand, which caused his fingertips to curl slightly, as if it could still hold more than just her waist.
This was the first time Huò Wēi Lóu learned that a woman’s waist could be so slender and frail.
Her waist was flowing water, full but boneless.
The curve of Huò Wēi Lóu’s arms numbed, suddenly remembering the sensation of that slender waist being seized by the crook of his arm.
When the beautiful woman was in his arms earlier, he did not feel restless at all, but it was at this moment where his state of mind was slightly unsettled from the belated realisation.
心猿意马 (pinyin: xin yuan yi ma) – heart like a frisky monkey, mind like a cantering horse.
Concurrently, he heard Bó Ruò Yōu huff softly, “The ventilation window is open!”
After Bó Ruò Yōu uttered those words, Huò Wēi Lóu’s palms lightened. Bó Ruò Yōu had gripped onto the back of the chair and straightened her body, before turning around to jump off the chair skilfully. Subconsciously, Huò Wēi Lóu tried to support her, but it was apparent that Bó Ruò Yōu was not that delicate since she managed to land on the ground stably. When she pivoted on her heels, she was wearing an excited expression, “Hou’ye, the ventilation window is open, one asks Hou’ye take the trouble to dispatch someone to check it.”
Bó Ruò Yōu’s eyes were glittering, carrying a zealous dedication that came from discovering a clue. Quite evidently, that short contact, which was akin to a dragonfly touching the water surface lightly, did not cause the slightest ripple in her heart. Huò Wēi Lóu had more than enough reason to suspect that Bó Ruò Yōu did not even realise that he had supported her just now.
He looked at her deeply before pulling up his robes and standing on the chair.
Bó Ruò Yōu’s height only reached Huò Wēi Lóu’s shoulders, and she usually didn’t think much of the difference, but now that Huò Wēi Lóu was standing on a chair, Bó Ruò Yōu had to strain her neck to look up to Huò Wēi Lóu, since the top of Huò Wēi Lóu’s head was touching the beam.
There were a great number of books stored in the study and the windows would typically be open to ventilate the room during midday, and it was also dependent on the weather. Hence, only the ventilation above the room beams would be half-opened throughout the year. Huò Wēi Lóu climbed off the chair swiftly, “The ventilation window is indeed open.”
Bó Ruò Yōu’s eyes brightened, “The doors and windows are locked, is it possible that the murderer entered from there?”
Huò Wēi Lóu glanced towards the ventilation window above head. “The ventilation window’s position is exceedingly high; using it as an entry point requires the murderer to have some climbing skills. Additionally, while the ventilation window is open, the diameter of the opening is around ten inches, give or take a few. Unless it’s a child below the age of ten, it’s not possible for them to enter through that window.”
Bó Ruò Yōu’s eyes darkened again, “Then how did the murderer enter, and how did they escape? An embroidered emissary was standing guard outside the courtyard, and the murderer wouldn’t dare to be careless either. Moreover, when er gongzi (Zheng Hao) arrived, he saw the murderer, and after he screamed in shock, the embroidered emissary immediately rushed to the room door. A few feet’s worth of distance only takes a few breaths, how did the murderer manage to disappear into thin air?”
After Bó Ruò Yōu was done speaking, she seemed to genuinely sink into the contemplation of these questions. Her refined brows were knitted together as she raised her head to look in the direction of the ventilation window again.
Huò Wēi Lóu exerted a huge amount of physical and mental effort on official business, but he would never write his deep worries on his visage, which made any heavy burdens that were placed on his person seem light, but Bó Ruò Yōu was different, she had never bothered to hide her own emotions.
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At this moment, Hè Chéng walked in from outside. “Hou’ye, the two Furen have been questioned, and there is no cause for suspicion thus far. Apart from Second Furen and Da Gongzi (Zhèng Xiāo), Third Furen and Fifth Furen went to Lao Furen’s mourning hall for the religious ceremony, and all of them dispersed afterwards, parting on harmonious terms. Second Furen’s body was unwell, and in addition to Second Master’s funeral, she did not go anywhere, and she stayed in her courtyard for the entire duration, there were a lot of witnesses.”
Having said that, Hè Chéng’s complexion sank slightly, “Additionally, a report came from the front courtyard just now, saying that all of the servants within the residence have been inspected and questioned. In the entire Marquis Residence, not a single person had worked in the Marquis Residence for more than fifteen years apart from Momo Yu.”
Huò Wēi Lóu’s brows scrunched together, “None of the stewards have worked here for more than fifteen years?”
Within aristocratic and influential families, the servants starting a family and having children among themselves was an extremely common occurrence. Let alone saying fifteen years, it was even possible that a few generations worth of people had worked as servants within the same Marquis Residence, but Hè Chéng stated otherwise: “There’s none. The oldest among the stewards only arrived thirteen years ago, and there’s no fixed number for the other servants who came and went. As for families giving birth to children within the residence, they do exist, but most of them manage the farmsteads, and none of them have consistently served within the residence.”
Frowning, Hè Chéng remarked, “The impression it gives xiaguan is that more than ten years ago, the Marquis Residence seemed to have gone through a great cleansing which swapped out all the servants at once.”
It was not possible that all the servants were changed without any cause or reason.
Phoenix eyes narrowing, Huò Wēi Lóu glanced past the inkstone at the corner and instructed: “Go and invite a decently renowned Taoist practitioner in Qingzhou city.”
Hè Chéng said, “Hou’ye is intending to investigate the meaning behind Yin year and Yin hour?”
Huò Wēi Lóu nodded, “Out of the four phrases on the paper, only that phrase is unusual. As for the phrase about ‘paying with one’s life’, the actual truth will not be far off once the meaning behind Yin year and Yin hour is understood.”
Hè ChÊng immediately turned around to give the order. Yin year and Yin hour, it was clearly related to Taoist school of thought of good and bad luck fate divinations just from the mention of it.
Bó Ruò Yōu said: “Lao Furen died in the Buddha-worshipping Hall, but Zheng er’ye and Zheng san’ye departed from their courtyard first, and then lost their lives unnaturally. Does Hou’ye feel that the murderer used these four phrases to lure them into leaving?”
Huò Wēi Lóu nodded, “Zheng er’ye’s pathing, in particular, is the strangest.”
Instead of attending the religious ceremony for his mother’s first-seventh day of passing, Zheng er’ye went to the remote Moon-viewing Pavilion. If it wasn’t the murderer who deliberately lured him there, then there would be no other explanation. Huò Wēi Lóu continued to say, “After Zhèng Wén Chén saw these four phrases, he would definitely order someone to investigate it if it was just an ordinary but deliberate mystification. However, he swallowed it into his stomach, and Zhèng Wén Yàn chose to burn this paper slip, because he didn’t want another person reading it as well.”
Huò Wēi Lóu said confidently: “These four phrases, perhaps it involves an old issue in the Marquis Residence, and these two brothers were aware of it, which was why they wanted to conceal it for the Marquis Residence after they saw it, but they were killed by the murderer instead.”
Having said that, Huò Wēi Lóu raised his voice, declaring: “Call Zhèng Wén Ān inside.”
Zhèng Wén Ān came in with due haste. Huò Wēi Lóu stared at him, asking: “Does the residence hold great belief in gods and ghosts?”
Zhèng Wén Ān stiffened slightly, then shook his head. “Not particularly, it was just Mother who believes in the Buddha.”
Huò Wēi Lóu peered at him, not missing a single detail, “Your two elder brothers read a piece of gold dusted paper before they died, and a few sentences were written on it. There was a line that goes ‘Yin Year and Yin Hour, for I pay with life’, and after the two of them saw those words, one of them went to the Moon-viewing Pavilion, the other left his courtyard for the study, and then they were both murdered by the culprit. Do you know what this sentence means?”
Zhèng Wén Ān’s eyes swiftly lowered, but he raised it again shortly after. “Hou’ye, on the day Mother departed, which was also the first day of the lunar new year, it wasn’t a very auspicious day. A few shifu were invited to conduct the religious ceremonies after Mother died, and when they calculated the possible dates for a burial, the shifu once said that the first day was a yin day, and there were no good days close by, but if we allowed Mother’s departed spirit to halt temporarily for seven sevens – forty-nine days – there would be a few good days afterwards. Hence, Third Brother promptly decided to allow her soul temporarily rest for forty-nine days.”
Zhèng Wén Ān’s pupils shifted back and forth, shock climbing up his visage as well, “Hou’ye, could it be that it was really Mother’s departed spirit who had been committing these murders?”
Huò Wēi Lóu looked at Zhèng Wén Ān coldly. “Your Second Brother and Third Brother died in consecutive order, so why don’t you take a guess, who will be the next person to die if the murderer isn’t caught in the next seven days?”
Zhèng Wén Ān’s complexion paled, the corners of his mouth pulling stiffly, “No… No way, zaixia is Mother’s youngest son, and he has always been filial, she would never—”
Huò Wēi Lóu curled his lips too, saying in a faint voice: “That best be the case. [You] can withdraw.”
Zhèng Wén Ān cupped his hands and bowed. When he trudged outside, his footsteps were heavy, and even his back were hunched over by two degrees.
Huò Wēi Lóu’s smile completely disappeared in an instant, his gaze so sunken it was frightening, “What a good performance. Dispatch a few more men for surveillance, benhou reckons that he will be looking for that Momo Yu tonight.”
Hè Chéng complied in a hurry. With how oppressive Huò Wēi Lóu’s imposing manner was, it was hard for the officials under him to guess his thoughts. Hè Chéng started sweating out of nervousness again.
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Bó Ruò Yōu stepped forward and said: “Hou’ye, Daren, Zheng san’ye’s corpse still requires a closer examination.”
Huò Wēi Lóu proceeded to instruct the embroidered emissaries at the door, “Move the corpse to the west courtyard and place it together with Zhèng Wén Chén’s corpse.”
The embroidered emissary verbally obeyed, stepping through the door to lift the corpse. Just as the corpse was lifted out of the doors, Third Furen started wailing as she held Zhèng Hào who had thrown himself at her again. Huò Wēi Lóu did not stop them upon seeing that, only lifting his feet and bringing away Bó Ruò Yōu to go to the west courtyard first.
They were about to leave through the courtyard entrance when suddenly, a woman with disorderly hair scattering down her temples rushed in. Since that woman was not looking at where she was going, she slammed into Huò Wēi Lóu’s body heavily. Huò Wēi Lóu came to a halt while that woman fell to the ground instead. For a moment, everyone’s breathing stagnated, their necks snapping towards Huò Wēi Lóu because they were genuinely afraid that he would be angered by this.
However, Huò Wēi Lóu merely looked at the woman on the floor in silence.
And that woman took a glimpse at Huò Wēi Lóu, before she looked towards the distant corpse of Zhèng Wén Yàn. Not only was she not afraid, but unsparing and hysterical laughter also burst out from her throat as she gawked with wide eyes.