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Chapter 23
Zhèng Yún Ní and His Second Highness were betrothed since childhood, and shortly after her birth, the Eight Characters of her birthdate had been sent into the Capital. Huò Wēi Lóu ordered an embroidered emissary to make inquiries about it, and without needing much time, that embroidered emissary returned and said: “Hou’ye, Zheng da xiaojie’s birthday is on the Fifteenth Year of Jianhe, February the Seventh, the first quarter-hour of mao shi (5:15AM).”
Hè Chéng was holding onto a piece of paper in his hand, which was filled with days that matched Yin year and Yin hour. He compared it and frowned, shaking his head, “February the Seventh isn’t listed ah, the nearest is… February the Fifth, halfway past yin shi (4:30AM).”
“And if the Marquis Anqing Residence reported a false birthdate?”
Hè Chéng’s complexion contorted slightly, “This… That would be the crime of deceiving the monarch, and Yin year Yin hour is fiendishly inauspicious. Moreover, the reason why Guifei niangniang had attached great importance to Da Furen back then, and her willingness to arrange a childhood betrothal, was because Da Furen is His Second Highness’ lucky star…”
Hè Chéng was scared witless the more he spoke, “That would explain why the male masters are constantly hiding something, they’re afraid that it would drag out this matter, hence why they remained mute as if their lips are sealed. The murderer also used these four phrases to make them fall for their scheme!”
If it was just infighting for the noble title, it could be considered as normal at least, but now that it was suddenly involving Zhèng Yún Ní and His Second Highness’ marriage, he became more and more frightened and helpless. He looked towards Huò Wēi Lóu unconsciously, not knowing how Huò Wēi Lóu would proceed.
Fu gonggong’s complexion was slightly ugly as well, “The Marquis Anqing Residence falsely reporting a birthdate for the sake of ensuring this marriage agreement is exceedingly possible. Guifei niangniang attaches great importance to such things too, Hou’ye, should a letter be sent back to the Capital to ask for the imperial palace’s opinion? The big wedding is happening in three months, and it’s a marriage the Emperor personally bestowed…”
The Emperor bestowed the marriage, and this matter concerned the most favoured Second Prince. Regardless of who it was, all of them needed to take a moment to calm down. If they really investigated something they shouldn’t have, and had results to show for it, the matter of Marquis Anqing Residence losing their prestige would be minor compared to the disaster that was the royal family being confronted with criticism.
Huò Wēi Lóu twisted the black jade ornamental ring on his thumb, “That won’t be necessary.”
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Fu gonggong wanted to speak but stopped himself. Huò Wēi Lóu said: “This is a murder case, and the loss of three lives is no small matter. Although [we] have surmised that Zhèng Yún Ní’s birthday is fake, there is no actual evidence, and it is unknown if she is related to the homicides. What is the point of informing the Capital now?”
Fu gonggong thinned his lips, saying: “The Emperor’s favour towards His Second Highness is something ȳou are aware of. While it is said that His Second Highness venerates ȳou, it would be more reliable if they are informed in advance…”
The meaning in Fu gonggong’s statement was deep and profound, which caused Huò Wēi Lóu to smile insipidly for a moment, “Once the murderer has been found, send it together in a folded booklet. Supposing that the Marquis Anqing Residence has truly hidden a number of things that can’t be seen in the light, Zhào Xī’s marriage might as well be cancelled.”
Zhào Xī was the Second Prince’s taboo name, but Huò Wēi Lóu casually mentioned it, not avoiding it in the slightest. Hè Chéng panicked upon hearing it, but he was starting to feel incomparably grateful that Huò Wēi Lóu was personally overseeing this case. If Huò Wēi Lóu was not present, and he could only depend on himself, let alone Zhèng Wén Yàn and the others impeding him, even if he managed to investigate to this point, he would not dare to gamble on his black muslin and investigate even deeper.
“But the Emperor has already bestowed the marriage…”
Fu gonggong mumbled another line to himself, as if he was genuinely worried for Huò Wēi Lóu. However, when he caught sight of Huò Wēi Lóu’s countenance which conveyed that his decision was unquestionable, he did not continue speaking in the end.
Hè Chéng then said: “Hou’ye, should Zheng da xiaojie and Zheng wu’ye (5th) be called for questioning right now, with regards to this matter?”
Huò Wēi Lóu’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, “You’ve already said that it is the crime of deceiving the monarch; if there isn’t any iron-clad evidence, why would they admit to it?”
Three people have already died in this case. Despite knowing that he might be the next person to meet his demise, Zhèng Wén Ān still refused to loosen his jaw; he was not even afraid of death, what answers could they possibly extract from him in a normal interrogation?
“What is the progress of the ancestral hall clean-up?”
Hè Chéng quickly replied: “Very slowly. It has continued without stopping, but only half of the various debris have been removed.”
Heavy tones emerged in the bottom of Huò Wēi Lóu’s eyes. “Momo Yu knows about what happened that year, and she later chose to burn down the ancestral hall. That ancestral hall must have left behind some evidence.”
Hè Chéng heaved a sigh, “The ancestral hall is important to the clan, what kind of evidence was left behind, such that it warranted the burning of the entire ancestral hall? It enshrines and worships the memorial tablets of the forebears and ancestors of the Marquis Residence.”
Hè Chéng’s question was also the question that all of them possessed in their hearts. Huò Wēi Lóu rose to his feet, “To the ancestral hall.”
Huò Wēi Lóu walked out of the doors in large strides, but Bó Ruò Yōu remained unmoving. Her eyes were deep and heavy, and she looked like she was immersed in deep contemplation.
The murderer used the gold dusted paper to lure Zhèng Wén Chén and Zhèng Wén Yàn into taking the bait, and the four explicitly written words ‘Yin Year Yin Hour’ was sufficient in proving that the murderer was cognizant of what happened that year. However, all of the servants of the Marquis Residence had been purged that year, and based on the Marquis Residence’s intentions, it was more than likely that they would not allow anyone who knew the inside story to live on this earth. Could it be that someone was implicated because of this affair that year, and they came back to take their revenge?
Then what about Zhèng Yún Ní’s accident when she was five- or six-years-old? If the murderer started acting then, why didn’t they make any movements in the ten years between, but if it wasn’t done by the murderer, what exactly happened the night Zhèng Yún Ní disappeared that year?
And did Da Furen lose a daughter prematurely?
There were too many questions, and Bó Ruò Yōu could not make sense of it no matter how she mulled over it. When she lifted her eyes again, she realised that Huò Wēi Lóu was leaving the courtyard with Hè Chéng. With his departure, Bó Ruò Yōu relaxed entirely, subsequently releasing a soft sigh.
Like she had anticipated, Huò Wēi Lóu felt that it was beneath his dignity to confer a favour and then pursue compensation, but even if he felt that it was beneath him, her intentions were genuine. Bó Ruò Yōu heaved another sigh, walking outwards from the door.
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Chūn Táo came out with her this morning, and she was also being questioned by the government hirelings at the present moment. Once she saw her coming out, she immediately greeted her, “Guniang, where are you going to?”
“To the mourning hall to have a look—”
The mourning hall was where the corpses were being stored. Starting from yesterday, her train of thought had been rough and stumped, so she wanted to examine the corpses to see if she could think of anything she neglected. ChĹŤn TĂĄo did not expect that she wanted to go to the mourning hall, and it caused a hint of fear to spread across her face, but she still followed in the end.
As the pair travelled together, they only saw the warm sun overhead. The thick snow that had accumulated over many days was beginning to melt, and roof eaves were dripping ice water in audible pitter and patters. They had merely covered a short distance when Bó Ruò Yōu abruptly caught a glimpse of a few maidservants hurriedly heading for the east, as if something bad had happened.
Upon seeing that, Chūn Táo said: “Guniang, they are the maidservants by Da Furen’s side.”
Bó Ruò Yōu raised her brows, following after them with Chūn Táo. Not long after, Bó Ruò Yōu saw a few maidservants pulling Da Furen back, while one of them was persuading her: “Da Furen, don’t panic, the stupid girl isn’t in the plum forest, she’s in the courtyard waiting for ȳou, we’ll be able to see the stupid girl once we go back…”
Da Furen smiled in the silly manner, but she could not resist looking in the direction of the plum forest. When the maidservants saw Bó Ruò Yōu, one of them gestured for the rest to bring away Da Furen first, while she came forward to bow.
Bó Ruò Yōu promptly asked: “What’s the matter with Da Furen?”
This maidservant was also aware that Bó Ruò Yōu arrived with Marquis Wuzhao, so she did not dare to be irreverent as she said: “Since the weather was good today, the maidservants brought Da Furen outside for a stroll. Da Furen was kicking up a fuss about wanting to see the stupid girl, and when she didn’t arrive after she waited for some time, she started running towards the plum forest.”
“She heads to the plum forest when she wants to see the stupid girl?”
The maidservant smiled bitterly, “Furen loves plum flowers, and she would ask the stupid girl to help her pick some plum flowers every time. Perhaps owing to that, she assumes that the stupid girl stays in the plum forest.”
A strange inkling slid past Bó Ruò Yōu’s mind, plum forest, bamboo forest, lotus pond…
Seeing that she had no further questions, the maidservant took her leave, whereas Bó Ruò Yōu gazed in the direction of the plum forest, and she could not resist moving towards it.
Chūn Táo voiced a question once she saw that, “Does guniang wish to pick plum flowers as well?”
Bó Ruò Yōu shook her head, “Just taking a casual look. [I] saw the stupid girl last night and she was heading to the plum forest to pick flowers. It was so late, and yet she wasn’t afraid.”
Chūn Táo supressed her voice and said: “Guniang doesn’t know this, but the stupid girl is quite unusual too.”
邪门 (pinyin: ya men) – it can also mean ‘evil’ or ‘strange’.
Bó Ruò Yōu turned her head back towards Chūn Táo, to which Chūn Táo leaned closer and murmured in a soft voice, “In the middle of the night, she frequently runs around the residence in an arbitrary manner, and her temper can either be good or bad at different times; in one moment she may look as timid as a mouse, but she can become vicious in the next. There are some people who even say that she pretends to be pitiful on purpose to gain Da Furen’s tender affection.”
“There are times where she can be vicious?”
Chūn Táo nodded, revealing some rue on her visage, “When she’s in front of people on normal days, the stupid girl would usually shrink her head like she’s afraid of them, but she has a temper too. There were some older servants who didn’t give her preferential treatment just because she had Da Furen’s tender affection, and beyond that, they even bullied her in secret precisely because Da Furen takes care of her. There are times where the stupid girl meekly submits to the humiliation, but there are also instances where she will throw a huge tantrum. There was one time she nearly hurt someone, although nubi did not witness it, she heard that the steward didn’t manage to step on the ground for a few days…”
Bó Ruò Yōu’s eyebrows jumped, “She hurt someone?”
Chūn Táo nodded, “It was roughly a year ago. She pushed the steward to the ground and used a broom to beat the steward, and by some way or another, she managed to injure that steward all over. The steward called for back-up, but she ran away. When she was found again, however, she was still wearing a face of innocence and pretending to be pitiful. In the end, she wasn’t punished at all because of Da Furen.”
Bó Ruò Yōu recalled the day she first met the stupid girl. Although she had committed a mistake and she was berated by a steward, her eyes were devoid of fear when she raised her eyes to look at her. Not just that, she even nodded to her in a rather unperturbed fashion…
Bó Ruò Yōu found it incredibly strange. At this moment, Chūn Táo tugged on her, “Guniang, this small path doesn’t extend any further, let’s make a detour from the east.”
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In trying to get to the plum forest, the nearest road was the small trail within a flower bed, but most of the accumulated snow had melted today, and this path was quite muddy right now. Bó Ruò Yōu nodded and followed Chūn Táo towards the east, and not long after, the lotus pond that was a short distance away from the bamboo forest entered their view.
Last night, the embroidered emissary said that east of the bamboo forest was the lotus pond, and the plum forest was in the west…
Subconsciously, Bó Ruò Yōu ambled towards the lotus pond. This lotus pond was not small, but it was dried up, and above the sludge was a layer of ice and snow. Since the snow was melting today, puddles of accumulated water could be seen around the broken ice.
Chūn Táo saw her staring at the lotus pond so she stated: “This place was originally an internal lake. When the previous dynasty’s Qinwang was still around, he drew the flowing water from Huanhua Brook to the residence, which led to the residence having quite a few internal lakes. However, Huanhua Brook later dried up, so the internal lakes within the residence dried up along with it. After the Zheng clan’s ancestor bought the compound, most of it was filled, and only a few lotus ponds were left behind. This was one of them, but because it was too remote and no one tended to it, it has been left dry for many years.”
The origin of this compound was not small, and Bó Ruò Yōu had been made aware of this early on. Thus, she was not surprised when she heard it. She followed the flagstone path that edged the lotus pond to head towards the plum forest, but as she continued walking, she noticed something strange as she casually surveyed the lotus pond.
The embankment of the lotus pond was currently gathering a small body of water, and because the water came from the melting snow, it was extremely clear. At this moment, the gleaming reflection of the clear and crystalline water surface rippled faintly, and there seemed to be undercurrents beneath. Having undercurrents could be ignored, but something had sunk to the bottom of the water.
Bó Ruò Yōu went forward, following the wayside slope to slide down a few steps. Now that she was closer, she discerned what had sunk to the water bottom with crystal clarity.
Yellow petals and white pistils. Unexpectedly, there was a large quantity of yellow plum blossoms in the water.
A short-lived breeze brushed past, and only the scent of bamboo lingered in Bó Ruò Yōu’s nose. Her refined brows scrunched slightly. The yellow plum blossom forest was so far away, and she couldn’t even smell the plum fragrance from where she was standing. That being said, why were there plum blossoms in the water here?