Zhao Zhi’s Idea

With a pot of refreshing tea for company and the evening sun shining in, Song Caitang, Zhao Zhi, Wen Yuansi and Qi Yan continued discussing Lu Guangzong’s murder case in their little private room, and gained a lot from the discussion.

But because the discussion had taken quite a while, they had no choice but to have dinner together.

The atmosphere… for some reason, Song Caitang felt there was something fake about it. Especially compared to how sincere everyone was while discussing the case. She concluded once again, that it was just too hard to be an official.

She was glad that she wasn’t an ambitious person who wanted to become an official or politician in order to change the world. She just wanted to become better at what she already knew how to do – examining bodies in order to crack cases and speak for the dead if they were wronged. That was all she asked for.

The Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at Qingxin was indeed as delicious as everyone said it was. It was soft, moist and left a fragrance in the mouth.

Song Caitang’s eyes were curved happily as she ate and focused solely on the food, so she slowly shut out the three other men at the table who were trying to sound each other out cleverly and give each other toasts with fake politeness.

Zhao Zhi glanced at Song Caitang’s plate and bowl that was never empty, and reached for a dish near to him…

But Wen Yuansi was faster.

Not only was he faster, but he had taken it from under Zhao Zhi’s nose so naturally and smoothly. The way he took the plate and put it in front of Song Caitang looked like he had done this countless times.

Song Caitang noticed the new plate in front of her and tilted her head to smile at Wen Yuansi.

Her eyes were curved and her little smile and pretty jaw were gentle.

Wen Yuansi nodded, then picked up his cup of wine and continued boasting with Qi Yan as though none of this had happened.

Or rather, Wen Yuansi was actually behaving like his normal self. His voice and actions were as calm and steady as ever, and he looked as elegant as he usually was. Qi Yan, on the other hand, became more and more excited whenever Wen Yuansi responded. He would strike the bowl with his chopsticks or slam the table with a palm whenever he got too excited. His face was all red and he was just short of standing on the stool and declaring how invincible he was.

He had completely forgotten his desire to look good and impress Song Caitang, and didn’t even seem to know when he ought to compliment her beauty.

He looked like a complete idiot.

Meanwhile, a different idiot had his hand still suspended in mid air because someone else had taken the plate from beneath it. The other person had acted natural as though he hadn’t seen Zhao Zhi’s hand headed for the plate, but it was still awkward.

After all, it wasn’t as if the other person really hadn’t seen his hand.

Both sides knew what each other was trying to do.

But Zhao Zhi didn’t seem to feel the least awkward. He retracted his arm lazily in a comfortable and natural way, as though… he had done this thousands of times too.

His lips even curled upward slightly as he looked at Wen Yuansi.

“Magistrate Wen seems to hold his liquor quite well. I’ve not found a drinking buddy since I returned from the border…” Zhao Zhi held up his cup and waved it at Wen Yuansi, “Would you be willing to get wasted with me?”

Wen Yuansi froze and there was a flash of panic in his eyes.

But it was just a flash. He smiled and raised his cup, “Since Surveillance Commissioner Zhao is so kind as to consider myself, I wouldn’t dare to turn him down. It is my honor.”

Qi Yan, on the other hand, was already drunk. He slammed the table and yelled, “That’s right! Drink with him! Defeat him in drinking! Then he’ll stop boasting about it all over the capital!”

Zhao Zhi gave Qi Yan the side eye, then stared intently at Wen Yuansi, “Magistrate Wen, cheers.”

“Surveillance Commissioner Zhao, cheers.”

Neither tried to squirm his way out of this situation and started downing shots.

Wen Yuansi could hold his drink pretty well, but he couldn’t compare to someone like Zhao Zhi who had spent a long time drinking alcohol like it was water.

Zhao Zhi had insisted that Wen Yuansi get wasted with him once he found Wen Yuansi to be disagreeable, which wasn’t the most gentlemanly thing to do. Only hooligans did that. No aristocrat would have done such a thing.

But Zhao Zhi didn’t care about that. He wasn’t called the King of Chaos for nothing, after all. He had achieved several “accomplishments” in both the capital and along the border, so winning was more important to him than pride.

He only wanted the results he liked. There was a simple, quick and effective way of getting those results, so why not use it?

Several cups later, Wen Yuansi’s eyes turned a little red. He sighed slowly as he glanced at Song Caitang, who was still merrily eating away.

He knew very well what was happening right now and he was prepared to face anything that came his way. But this Miss Song… didn’t seem to realize what was going on at all.

He lowered his gaze slightly and sighed again. Then, he pulled himself together and continued drinking with Zhao Zhi.

The results of this battle were obvious. Zhao Zhi won without any problem.

The one who sent Song Caitang home was also him.

The stars shone faintly in the sky along the empty streets with nothing but red lanterns to illuminate their path. A wind brought the sweet and refreshing fragrance of flowers toward them.

What did they say and how did they feel? Only the two of them would know.

In the later half of the night, Zhao Zhi woke up out of habit. But he wasn’t bringing food to Song Caitang. He was leaving the city.

After they had found an area that required further investigation during their discussion earlier, he had sent some subordinates to look for the Lu family’s private residence in the mountainous region, including any that might belong to anybody in their network. He had gotten some results of that investigation, and checking it out under the cover of night was a good idea.

In the mountain range of the west…

This was a huge mountain range with excellent geographical qualities. There were some villages at the foot of the mountain, while fancy bungalows and villas stood along the mountain. Some were big, some were small – there were so many of them. The Lu family was no small family, and they were related by marriage to several other large families. They had a lot of subordinates, friends, and so on too. The number of possible targets was immense, yet they had to make sure they didn’t raise any suspicion or alarm. Investigating this matter was one that took a lot of effort and it was a very slow process.

In the past, he would have brought his own royal guards to surround the place and search it. Not only would nobody ever find out about it, but he would also have gotten results really quickly. Unfortunately, Zhao Zhi was now labeled as the guy who made the emperor angry and got kicked out.

He had no royal guards and he couldn’t privately make arrangements with the authorities, so he could only use the few men who were closest to him, the ones who had been with him all these years.

But he had other duties on hand and he had sent most of these elite men to work on them…

In short, he had to rely on himself.

When it came to official business, Zhao Zhi was extremely patient. He searched the houses one by one based on the map of suspicious estates he had drawn up from the results of the earlier investigation.

It was really quiet and dark at night, so every place seemed to look the same. But a place that could hide a person would definitely be different from the others.

Lu Guangzong had been captured for so long and his servants had disappeared along with him. If Lu Shen was really the one behind this, then as long as he didn’t have some vendetta against the servants, he wouldn’t just kill them all. Instead, he would continue to hold them captive to make it look as though they had disappeared without a trace. Once Lu Guangzong’s case was settled and there were no further repercussions, he would release these people.

Most of these people were probably servants who had signed their lives away to the Lu family, so they wouldn’t dare to defy any orders.

What would be so special about a place that could hold people captive like this?

It would have hidden rooms, a basement, some oddities in the architecture or sections that didn’t make sense. A space big enough to hide people.

There would be people who would be making some noise in the night, either because they didn’t like the situation, or because they didn’t know what was really happening.

The house would be guarded in secret by some extremely alert and formidable martial artist for absolutely no good reason visible from the outside.

He went from one house to another…

Not this one.

Not this one either.

Nope, not this one.

Zhao Zhi went along the road and checked every house he passed, but didn’t get anything.

He did not give up, choosing to switch directions instead.

Just then, he noticed someone.

This person was dressed entirely in black, with a piece of black cloth covering his face, had arrows and a dagger laced with poison hidden in his sleeve. He was extremely light footed and landed with almost zero noise.

Just like… an assassin.

Someone who had been specially trained to move like this.

Zhao Zhi frowned as he remembered the men who ambushed him at the valley of pear blossoms. Was this guy one of them?

But after taking a closer look, he concluded they were not in the same group.

This person moved alone with no companions. He was so light footed, he could have practically floated along with ease, yet he walked very slowly and kept checking his route against a drawing in his hands, as though he was looking for something. He was probably not here to look for someone. This was not the way one looked for a person.

So… this guy wasn’t here to kill. He was here to find something.

What could it be?

Zhao Zhi almost immediately thought of Lu Guangzong.

Many questions had been left unanswered about this case, especially when it came to the part about his money. It didn’t seem to make any sense, yet it seemed to connect everything together…

Could this person be looking for something connected to the case as well?

Zhao Zhi had too many houses to check and he knew he might not get the clues he wanted even if he spent the whole night here, so he thought a little delay wouldn’t hurt. He decided to just follow this guy and see what he was looking for.

Doing that ended up giving him a pleasant surprise.

As the sky began to light up a little, Zhao Zhi followed the man in black to a large bungalow near the foot of a mountain.

This was a house that was part of the dowry received when Lu Shen’s wife’s younger brother got married. At one glance, the architectural design and style looked normal, but there was something a little odd about it.

It was as though there was something missing… or perhaps, something extra somewhere.

Zhao Zhi stopped. There was a problem with this house.

The man in black was very excited to find the place and headed straight for the backyard.

Zhao Zhi was in no hurry, so he followed the man to the backyard too.

The man in black was very cautious, so to avoid being discovered, Zhao Zhi kept a pretty good distance from him. He watched as the man in black confidently leaped into the back yard, then… hop all over the yard, anxiously turning things over to look for something.

So, this guy only knew which house he had to head for, but didn’t know exactly where this thing was hidden?

While Zhao Zhi was thinking about this, someone woke up and made quite a bit of noise, kicking into a chair and stepping on the tail of a cat. The entire estate seemed to have woken up.

The man in black was not in a good position, since the person who woke up seemed to be coming his way.

It was probably just a coincidence, but…

When one overthought a coincidence, it would become a terrifying situation to them.

The man in black was already extremely cautious and overthought everything, so once this happened, he left very quickly and silently without turning back at all.

He was probably still confident of finding this thing and would be back the next day.

There was a big commotion in the house and Zhao Zhi was too far to give chase. He just made a mental note of this person’s special characteristics, and focused on what was happening in front of him.

This house… definitely contained secrets.

Unfortunately, this commotion had gone a little out of hand and because it was almost daybreak, some people decided not to go back to sleep. They washed up, got dressed, and started their day. The main kitchen, in particular, got to work.

The people in this house seemed to move around casually, but they were actually very cautious and alert.

The time had been too short and there was no chance to check it out, so Zhao Zhi could only find a few spots that didn’t look right and a few places that potentially had hidden contraptions in them before the sun began to rise. He had to leave now.

But to give up like that? Impossible.

The case was waiting to be solved, and he wanted to solve it as soon as he could.

He was full of crazy ideas ever since he was a child, so it wasn’t as if there was nothing he could do about this situation.

Zhao Zhi stroked his chin, then retrieved a silver dart from his belt. He raised a finely trimmed brow with a slightly sinister twinkle in his eye…

At slightly past seven in the morning, a group of hooligans had gathered in the mountain village.

They were not locals and hailed from an area a couple of mountains away, but they were famous. The leader of the group was a man named Wang Mazi. He was known to be an aggressive and shameless fellow, but generally relatively reasonable. His reputation was better than the average hooligan, since he didn’t give you trouble as long as you didn’t offend him. But if you offended him, he was happy to do you in.

None of the villagers dared to go too close to such a person, but they were curious to find out why he was here.

Wang Mazi sauntered past the curious villagers and marched up to a large bungalow, then kicked the door hard.

The person guarding the door was very careful and refused to open the door. Or perhaps they were reporting this to their superior and they were still discussing what they ought to do.

Wang Mazi’s foot hurt from kicking the door, so just when he was about to tell his subordinates to get a tree trunk to ram the door down, the door opened. A middle-aged man with beady eyes asked cautiously, “Who are you looking for? And what are you here for?”

“I’m looking for your fucking grandma!” Wang Mazi was furious from facing a shut door for so long and had become unreasonable. He raised a foot to kick the middle-aged man aside, then marched into the house.

The middle-aged man clutched his chest and became anxious, “You can’t just come in like that! Get out! Get out! I’m warning you, this place is owned by a big shot, so you can’t just barge in like that!”

“Oh? Who’s that big shot? I’m so scaaaaredd…” Wang Mazi shuddered in an exaggerated manner. He waved to his subordinates, “Search the damned place! My woman’s run away and she’s hiding in this house! Find her NOW!”

The entire group marched into the house and made a lot of noise along the way.

“Even a big shot has to be reasonable! If he’s hiding Boss’ woman, he’s gotta return her!”

“Snatching someone else’s wife is a crime deserving of death! We know the law too, you know?”

“Who are you? Guards? How dare you carry a sword! Sure, stab me here! Stab me right in the heart! If I dodge your attack, I’m not worthy to be one of Boss Wang’s men!”

The hooligans were very unreasonable as they marched into the house and disregarded the people inside. There were a lot of them and they really didn’t fear death either. If the guards in the house raised their swords, these hooligans would boldly walk toward them. That frightened the guards instead.

The butler started getting frustrated.

Others might not know, but he knew about the secret hiding in this place. He couldn’t afford any unnecessary attention or eyeballs on this place. It would be best if they could all sit down to talk things out, get these guys to leave, then explain things away so that nobody would talk about it anymore.

Wang Mazi was here because he was paid to do so, and he had been paid A LOT of money. The money that the butler offered him was nothing!

He couldn’t be bothered at all!

Wang Mazi spoke very loudly and arrogantly. He was not leaving until he found his woman!

The hooligans walked everywhere they liked, touched anything they wanted. They feared nothing and they did this in broad daylight too. There was very little the butler could do to stop them.

It was a mess.

Meanwhile, Zhao Zhi watched from among the crowd. There was a faint gleam in his eyes, and he seemed to give off a mist.

He could get things done. He could cause a commotion. He was definitely locating those people today.

But there were too many people gathered around the house. He couldn’t stop the messengers running out of the house to report the matter to their employer either.

He folded his arms and tilted his head slightly to look toward the city with his dark eyes.

Song Caitang had seen the secret signal that Zhao Zhi sent after the sun had risen, and began to make her move.

Once they had finished their discussion and settled on a plan, she began to take note of Lu Shen’s movement. Lu Shen had gone to the Wu family’s shop to get things for a funeral first thing in the morning.

Lu Guangzong’s case was still under investigation, so the old man’s body had not been returned to the family and the family could not have a funeral. Yet, they were getting ready so early.

Song Caitang sat down at a teahouse by the roadside to wait for him.

Qi Yan rubbed his palms together, his eyes gleaming with excitement, “We’ll go with what we discussed?”

Song Caitang nodded with a faint smile on her face.

If Lu Shen was really the one who captured Lu Guangzong and made him go missing, then based on his current behavior and mental state, he was probably very afraid of being found out. He must have planted a lot of people near the house where the rest were still being held captive so that they could get help if anything happened.

Zhao Zhi had sent a signal from the mountains, so their job now was to distract Lu Shen as much as possible and stall for time.

“If he’s not cooperative, you can get creative,” Song Caitang encouraged Qi Yan.

Qi Yan was even more confident now. He didn’t need Song Caitang to tell him that. The minute Lu Shen came into his line of sight, he raised his voice and went all out!

He had already planned the right timing and the right slant to bring up a topic that Lu Shen both hated and was wary of. Of course Lu Shen was going to fall for this!

The two men got into a rather heated argument and it was impossible for anyone to get a word in sideways.

Song Caitang sipped her tea quietly. She was pleased with this situation.

She knew Qi Yan was definitely capable of carrying this out well.

But while she had judged Qi Yan’s capabilities well, she had failed to predict that his younger cousin, Ling Qianqian, would appear.

Ling Qianqian had almond-shaped eyes, rosy cheeks and was quite young, so her wide-eyed, innocent features paired with her pale yellow dress made her look even sweeter and purer.

She walked as though she had merely happened to be passing by and was surprised to see Song Caitang. She picked up her skirt and ran over, “Song-jiejie!”

Her voice was melodious, gentle, and a little coquettish.

“Can I sit here?”

She sat down before getting any response from Song Caitang, then got the stall owner to bring some tea. She didn’t seem to care about how dirty the stall was.

Her actions were not only cute and befitting of a girl her age, but they also exuded the elegance of a well-brought up daughter of a prominent family. She attracted a lot of attention and it didn’t take long for many people to gather around the stall.

Ling Qianqian took a sip of tea, then winked at Song Caitang, “Song-jiejie, what did you tell my cousin to do this time?”

Song Caitang frowned slightly.

Ling Qianqian was behaving very naturally, but Song Caitang could sense that none of this was natural.

Sure enough, Ling Qianqian’s next sentence gave her away, “My cousin has always been aloof in the capital and he never gave any woman any attention. But after coming here, he’s been singing your praises every single day and seems to admire you – do you like my cousin?”

“You can tell me in secret, I promise not to tell anyone else!”

She cupped her face with both hands and opened her eyes wide like a cute and excited little girl. As though she didn’t realize that she was speaking very loudly and that a lot of people had gathered within earshot.

But Song Caitang immediately figured it out.

A woman’s reputation.

It was about this again.

In the era before this one, women were allowed to be the head of their family, allowed to have careers and feed themselves. But it was not possible in this era. Some people had given women a bad name, which began to change the way society viewed women. Then a new empress entered the palace and made conservative ideas about women her top priority.

The empress was very particular about the way women ought to speak and behave, and was a prime example herself. She even wrote a lot of books about how a virtuous woman ought to be, and those books were very well received by the people.

Women were not allowed to fall for men in this era, and even if they did, they were not supposed to talk about it or say it out loud, or it would affect their marriage prospects.

Ling Qianqian was from a prominent family in the capital. Did she really not know about this? Or was she just pretending?