Episode 106

The news about Fourth Missy Gan changed the atmosphere in the yard immediately. The ground covered with pieces of gold was no longer as dazzling as before as both the clearly tense officials like Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi, as well as all the servants in the house got a shock. Everyone turned to look at the man who had just made the report.

Another life lost!

Zhao Zhi’s expression was grim, “Where is she?”

“Sir, we do not know!”

What? How could that be?

Everyone exchanged glances. Since she supposedly committed suicide by throwing herself into a lake, someone would have hauled the body out by now, no?

Zhao Zhi and his team quickly realized what was going on.

If the whereabouts of Fourth Missy Gan’s body was unknown, it meant that only her suicide note had been found. The note was the thing that said that she was the killer and that she had thrown herself into a lake, but nobody knew where she had really gone to or which lake she had supposedly thrown herself into.

The man who came with this news remained on one knee as he explained what happened, “Gan Zhixuan came to report this to the authorities. He said that he realized his mother had gone missing after he woke up, and she had left this suicide note on the table. He didn’t know what else to do and was so mad with worry that he kept crying…”

According to standard procedure, any missing persons had to be missing for at least two days before the authorities would do anything about it. But Fourth Missy Gan was a suspect in this murder case, and the fact that she had gone missing at this point in time was very pertinent, so the authorities dared not leave this matter alone and sent someone to report it to Zhao Zhi immediately.

Before the officials could say anything, everyone else watching on the sidelines began whispering among themselves.

“So…does that mean she might not be dead yet?”

“Or she didn’t jump into a lake at all and she’s just trying to throw the authorities off?”

“What if she’s already dead?!”

“She might be struggling in some lake out there and choking on water!”

“She’s left a suicide note, so she must be determined to die and she won’t change her mind!”

Fourth Missy Gan’s situation became the most important matter right now.

“I’m going to search for her right now.”

Zhao Zhi called on his subordinates to get this arranged.

The problem was, they didn’t have any other clues. Luanze was a place that wasn’t too big but wasn’t small either. It was along a major river, a huge exporter of seafood and rice. There were so many rivers and lakes within Luanze. Besides, Fourth Missy Gan was often hired by wealthy families to cook. Many such families dug their own mini lakes too.

Finding her was going to be very difficult if they didn’t know exactly where she had gone.

But no matter how hard it was going to be to locate her, or how small the chances of finding her was, they had to put in the effort.

Zhao Zhi was an excellent martial artist, so he could run very quickly and had loads of stamina. He was definitely the best person for the job.

As he made arrangements, he threw the other three a quick look, then hopped onto his horse without saying anything and left.

Song Caitang knew what he wanted to say.

Time was of the essence here. They had to split up and try to find her immediately.

She raised her brows to think, “I’ll talk to Gan Zhixuan and see if I can get any clues.”

If she could get clues from the son, that would be of help to Zhao Zhi. Otherwise, Zhao Zhi and his men would have no choice but to search every possible body of water.

Wen Yuansi considered the situation, then said, “I’ll go with you.”

Song Caitang was a woman and she had been very vital to the case, so he felt that it was safer if she did not move about alone.

Qi Yan agreed wholeheartedly and raised his hand as he said, “I’ll guard the loot here until the governor takes over!”

The amount of gold that Lu Guangzong had hidden was way too much. Zhao Zhi had sent a message to Governor Zhang immediately after the gold was discovered so that Governor Zhang could count the pieces and deal with it appropriately. Qi Yan looked up at the sky and smiled. Governor Zhang was probably well on his way, so he could leave pretty soon!

And so, they went three separate ways – one stayed put, one went to search the city, and one went to talk to a key person.

Gan Zhixuan had already reached home.

After receiving the news, Song Caitang and Wen Yuansi headed straight for Gan Zhixuan’s place instead of heading for the courthouse.

This was the first time Song Caitang was here.

It was located far down a small street, and its surroundings were rather dark and dinky. One’s foot could sink into mud from time to time and it was pretty dirty. But once you entered the gate of the house, everything felt different.

The yard was very small and you could see everything from the gate. It would only take you a few steps to walk the length of it. But it was extremely clean. Everything was placed neatly and it smelled clean too.

There was a shelf next to the door that was filled with plenty of wild mushrooms and vegetables, as well as herbs and spices for braising meat. There were two small plots for growing green vegetables in front of the door, as well as a few pots of wild orchids by the side. It looked fairly artistic.

Two large trees were planted in the yard, with a rope tied between the trees to dry the clothes. Judging from how wet the clothes were, these were probably washed just this morning.

Song Caitang took her time to walk through the yard, her gaze carefully scanning every inch of the estate.

Dying as a result of an accident and committing suicide was very different. Those who took their own lives would have gone through a psychological and physical process before finally killing themselves, so they would be different from their usual selves.

Based on her usual habits and what she did last, one could find out why she wanted to kill herself, as well as where she would have gone to do that.

Song Caitang’s first impression of Fourth Missy Gan was that she was a woman who loved cleanliness.

It was obvious that all this had been done by Fourth Missy Gan. Gan Zhixuan was a scholarly man, so that meant several things.

He was a man who did not care for or do anything related to menial work, like farming and cooking. He only did what he understood of scholarly men. He would accompany his mother to and from places only because his books told him that scholarly men proved themselves filial by doing that. But he would never help her to prepare the braised meats or sell them, and he would never do any housework or cook meals.

According to what he studied, scholarly men were above doing such things. True scholars were to distance themselves from killing anything, including animals, so they were to stay away from the kitchen as well.

These were all recorded clearly in the case files when the investigation team was eliminating suspects and understanding the people around each suspect and how they were connected.

Wen Yuansi followed behind Song Caitang. He too, was observing everything carefully as he asked Gan Zhixuan, “When was the last time you saw your mother?”

“Around 1030 in the morning.”

At that time, Song Caitang and Qi Yan had been busy stalling Lu Shen. Wen Yuansi then came with news from Zhao Zhi, arrested Lu Shen, and everyone headed for the Lu family’s bungalow in the mountains.

“What happened after that?”

Gan Zhixuan bowed his head, “I was in a bad mood, so I didn’t bother eating and went to bed. I slept for four hours and when I woke up…I didn’t see my mother anywhere.”

“Where was her note placed?”

“On the table in the living room.”

Song Caitang walked into the house to look at the rooms one by one.

The yard wasn’t big, so naturally, there weren’t many rooms in the house. Gan Zhixuan got the best room. It was fille with natural light, a comfortable size, neatly furnished and very clean. Everything was put in place nicely, but the desk was very messy. It was clear that Fourth Missy Gan was the one who had done all the cleaning and tidying around here. Gan Zhixuan was not someone who cared to clean up.

The other room faced west, was a little cold and damp, but it was clean and neat in all areas, and had more things in general, as with most rooms belonging to women. That was clearly Fourth Missy Gan’s room.

The difference between the two rooms was incredibly stark.

She didn’t feel much when she looked at Gan Zhixuan’s room, but when she walked into Fourth Missy Gan’s room, she realized that this mother and son were actually really, really poor.

Everything that Gan Zhixuan used was of good quality. His beddings were soft, comfortable and warm, his clothing were made from relatively good material, his bag was well made and intricately designed. Everything he owned was comparable to the things that a child from an upper middle class family would have.

Fourth Missy Gan’s things, on the other hand, were in a terrible state. Her beddings were cold and stiff, her clothing made from coarse material, and many of her inner garments were covered in mending patches. She couldn’t even tell what color the clothes were originally, never mind the original print on the fabric…

But that was exactly why they were so poor.

Fourth Missy Gan was an excellent cook and very hardworking. She had thought of every possible way to earn money and she often signed contracts with rich families to cook and clean for them. She was paid pretty well, so theoretically, she should not be living so poorly. She lived like this because she spent all her money on her son.

Song Caitang closed her eyes and exhaled, “Gan Zhixuan, everything you use is of high quality. Have you ever noticed the things your mother uses?”

“My mother is a more thrifty person…”

Gan Zhixuan looked at the clothes covered in patches in his mother’s room and sighed, “She said that I’m a learned person who will need to go out and meet people, so I must make sure I don’t embarrass myself. She, on the contrary, doesn’t go out so much, so it’s okay to dress poorly since nobody would notice.”

“What about yourself?” Song Caitang’s clear, black eyes focused on his face, “You think the same way?”

“I’m educated, after all…”

Gan Zhixuan clenched his fists and said confidently, “I’ll make it through the exams to become a court official and give my mother a life of luxury!”

Song Caitang’s lips twitched a little, but she didn’t say anything.

She turned to walk into the kitchen, to find that there were freshly dug vegetables. The mud on the roots were still damp, so they had clearly been dug up only that morning.

Wen Yuansi could see that Song Caitang didn’t really want to talk, so he did the asking.

“Your mother went to dig up the vegetables first thing in the morning?” He also noticed that the roots were pulled out cleanly, as though harvesting was second nature to her, so he added, “Your family likes to eat this vegetable?”

Gan Zhixuan replied, “Yeah, this vegetable is juicy and easy to eat, plus it tastes especially good when rolled together with meat and fried. My mother likes to cook this.”

Song Caitang could barely hold herself back and her voice was stiff, “Young Master Gan, think a little harder. Does your mother cook this often? Or eat this often?”

Gan Zhixuan paused to think, then replied in a hesitant voice after a long while, “I think she doesn’t eat this much…she always puts it in my bowl…”

“So, YOU like to eat it. That’s why she cooks it often.”

Gan Zhixuan was stunned by these words.

Wen Yuansi went on, “How often does your mother dig up this vegetable?”

“It has to be fresh to taste good…and it’s in season recently…” Gan Zhixuan bowed his head slightly, “My mother would dig a little up every day.”

As Wen Yuansi and Gan Zhixuan spoke, Song Caitang quickly summed up her observations in her head.

The rooms were clean and neat, so they had been tidied up this morning. The clothes had been washed this morning, and the vegetables were dug up this morning. These were all Fourth Missy Gan’s usual habits and nothing seemed out of place.

Song Caitang had a bold guess: Fourth Missy Gan was still the same old Fourth Missy Gan this morning. Suicide had not crossed her mind.

What caused her to think otherwise?

She walked back to Fourth Missy Gan’s room.

This time, she noticed a piece of clothing with patches draped over the screen.

The waist area was slightly wet, as if it had come into contact with water by accident.

That wasn’t strange. The strange part was that part looked like it had been clutched very tightly by a hand.

There was even a tear in the fabric.

This was a patch that had been newly sewn on, and because it was very coarse cloth, it was strong and it would take quite a bit of strength to tear it even if it was damp. Moreover, it was torn right in the middle of the patch, and not where the seams were.

What happened to Fourth Missy Gan? Why did she suddenly exert so much force?

Song Caitang narrowed her eyes. Something was amiss.

There was something odd about this dress.

She walked out to look at the house all over again. The freshly washed clothes, the freshly dug vegetables, the freshly tidied up rooms, the freshly wiped windows…

Even the flowers below the window had been watered very recently.

As she walked around the pots, she discovered a pair of footprints.

These prints carried some dark colored soil and were slightly tilted. The owner of these prints had been standing in front of the flowers, but her toes were facing the door.

It didn’t take Song Caitang long to imagine what this scene must have looked like. Fourth Missy Gan had finished digging up the vegetables, placed them in the kitchen. She was a little tired, but she noticed the flowers and went to get the watering can.

She stood in front of the flowers to water them, and perhaps she had bent over a little. The footprints were slightly deeper in the toes section, so more weight must have been placed on them.

A little water splashed out by accident and wet her clothing at that height.

She reached out to wipe the excess water away.

Just then, someone appeared at the door.

Perhaps this person’s appearance was shocking to her, or this person said something shocking to her. Her emotions heaved and she did not notice how much force she was exerting, so she tore the patch.

Who did she see? What thoughts ran through her mind?

Song Caitang looked down to look carefully at the bit of soil on the footprints.

The sun shone into this side of the house, and because the sun had been shining for so many hours, the mud had dried up. But it would still leave a few traces. She just needed to look very, very carefully.

She squatted down and began to follow the trail of dried mud.

The trail led her into Fourth Missy Gan’s room. There was more of that dark soil around the stool at her table.

Fourth Missy Gan must have sat down on this stool and sat for a long time.

She must have been nervous and drank a lot of water.

There was a clear stain where water must have spilled. It wasn’t wiped away then, so it left a mark on the table after it had dried up.

Fourth Missy Gan was such a clean freak, so this was unusual. The woman was not only nervous, but was in no mood to even wipe up some water.

She had run into trouble.

“Where’s the suicide note?” Song Caitang asked Gan Zhixuan.

He replied, “I gave it to the authorities when I reported her missing…and didn’t take it back.”

Song Caitang frowned, “Were there traces of anything else on it?”

“Besides words, there were tearstains…” Gan Zhixuan frowned, “You guys know my mother loves to cry.”

Song Caitang looked at the desk.

Fourth Missy Gan wrote that note at this desk.

She turned to look at the screen.

After writing that note, Fourth Missy Gan changed into a different dress and went to sit in the living room.

She wanted to see her son one last time.

Song Caitang followed the almost invisible trail of soil back into the living room, then asked Gan Zhixuan, “What did your mother say to you?”

“She didn’t say anything…” Gan Zhixuan recalled what happened when he came home and tears rolled down his cheeks, “I think she hid something, and her eyes were swollen from crying. I was annoyed with her crying, so I scolded her a little for it and went into my room.”

“Why…why didn’t I speak more to her then…”

His mother had raised him singlehandedly, so Gan Zhixuan was indeed close to his mother. His emotions suddenly burst at this point.

He collapsed weakly onto the floor and cried into his hands, “I really didn’t mean it…no son would really hate his mother…I just made a few nasty remarks because I was in a bad mood, not because I despised her or anything…really…I just wanted to be a filial son…I wanted to become an official, earn lots and lots of money and give her a good life…”