Consumed Poison

Niu Baoshan had consumed poison.

That was probably all part of his plan.

Niu Xingzu’s death had been the only thing he could think about. After his son died, it seemed like he lived for one reason only: to avenge his son.

To that end, he tailed Lu Guangzong for years, gathering and sorting information in order to put together a meticulous plan. A meticulous plan to make sure he died in a dishonorable manner, to peel away his pretense so that everyone would curse him. A plan to make the Lu family regret what they had done, to make them pay for how cruel they had been.

The actual killing of Lu Guangzong had been unplanned, but he was behind everything else that happened after that.

He stood in the crowd to make the authorities see what he wanted them to see, to make the crowd talk about what he wanted them to talk about. Every time a major clue was uncovered, he was definitely not far off.

His son’s bones had been found and buried, Lu Guangzong was dead and the Lu family had fallen. The huge knot in his heart had been untied, so while Niu Baoshan could finally sigh in relief and live in peace, he had also lost meaning in life…

So, he arranged the ending for himself.

Before coming to this teahouse, he had already made preparations by consuming the poison first. The water in the teacup was a catalyst.

He was very determined to die too. He knew how Song Caitang had been able to save people who were on the brink of death, so he made sure he didn’t linger on the brink for too long. The poison he consumed was one that was very strong and made it impossible for him to breathe, so he died almost instantly.

“Miss Song! This… this… what… what should we do? Can he be saved?”

Qi Yan hopped about anxiously, perspiration pouring down his face.

Song Caitang tried everything she knew while checking Niu Baoshan for a response. It didn’t take long for her to sigh dejectedly and stop what she was doing.

If she was in modern times and had access to modern medical equipment, Niu Baoshan could have been sent to the hospital in time and could be saved. But now…

There was nothing she could do.

“I can’t save him.”

She wasn’t sure what poison it was, but it seemed to attack his nerves. The effect had hit too quickly and too powerfully. Niu Baoshan started to convulse immediately and his breathing was paralyzed. He was unable to breathe and his heart stopped. Performing CPR didn’t help either…

Many of such poisons came from venomous animals, and even modern medicine had to find out what venom it was and use the correct antivenom. Right now, she couldn’t think of anything else she could possibly do.

Niu Baoshan had stopped convulsing. His pupils had dilated. He was dead.

When Niu Baoshan had retrieved the sandalwood box that his son had made, he looked like he was reluctant to let go of it and had casually remarked that he initially wanted to take it to the grave with him. At that point, Song Caitang already sensed something amiss. She didn’t expect her bad premonition to actually turn out to be true.

She looked around the room but couldn’t find anything suitable, so she pulled out a white handkerchief from her sleeve.

This was a handkerchief she had brought out only today, so it had never been used. It was entirely white with no embroidery or scent, so it was extremely clean.

“Rest in peace.”

Her gaze was quiet as she carefully unfolded the handkerchief and covered Niu Baoshan’s face with it.

Once his frightening, convulsed expression and blood was covered, Niu Baoshan’s body seemed to quieten down immediately.

It was as though he had not gone through so much suffering. As though he had died a peaceful and quiet death.

The room was silent for a long time.

A gentle breeze blew through the window, causing the windchimes elsewhere to tinkle, as if to send off Niu Baoshan’s soul to the nether world.

Qi Yan finally broke the silence, “The case has been cracked and we know who the killer is, but I actually don’t feel the slightest bit happy about it.”

He stared blankly at Song Caitang, “Besides the time you found clues inside the body during the dissection and you logically concluded that the killer was Niu Baoshan, which solved a number of mysteries we were working on, I don’t feel good at all…”

Why?

Song Caitang didn’t speak.

Zhao Zhi did not laugh at him either.

Qi Yan shut his eyes and let out a bitter laugh.

He knew why.

It was because the victim, Lu Guangzong, was not a good man.

It was because Lu Guangzong had done a lot of bad things, broken a lot of families, and caused the deaths of countless people.

It was because even though Niu Baoshan had committed murder, it was for the sake of avenging his son who had died a wrongful death, so it didn’t seem wrong morally…

There were many occurrences in the world that upset people, but sometimes, things just had to be this way.

Song Caitang stood up, the tassels on her hairpins reflecting the sun as they swayed, “That’s why we need the law.”

Morals and ethics were not able to keep everyone in check, because everyone had a different standard. Given the same situation, each person would feel and react differently from each other. Some people would express themselves without any rationality. Only the law was just and fair. Equal to all people.

Zhao Zhi nodded, his finely trimmed brows catching the sunshine, “Where there’s sun, there will be shadows. There are always wicked people in the world. But the long arm of justice will eventually catch them. The authorities might not uncover their evil deeds immediately, but everything will eventually come to light one day.”

Justice might be late, but it would never fail to turn up.

Choosing to trust nobody and insist on taking on the burden of exposing the wicked all on your own was not something he recommended.

“Let’s get everything cleared up.”

Zhao Zhi waved his arm to call his subordinates to deal with the scene.

After giving them instructions, he turned to Song Caitang, “Are you going to pick your cousin?”

The case had been solved, so regardless of what Guan Qing was hiding from the authorities, it was no longer important and there was no reason to keep her in the courthouse.

“I’ll send you there.”

Song Caitang paused to think, then shook her head, “The case has been solved, so I can go back by myself and I won’t be in any danger. Someone in authority should stay here and make sure everything is settled properly.”

Zhao Zhi was the surveillance commissioner and a witness to what happened. Qi Yan could be the second witness to confirm Zhao Zhi’s statement. Whether Song Caitang was here or not didn’t matter.

“That works too.”

The speed at which Zhao Zhi’s subordinate sent the news back was faster than how fast Song Caitang could walk. By the time she arrived at the courthouse, Guan Qing had already been released and had walked to the entrance to the courthouse by herself.

When she saw Song Caitang, she even frowned, “This is nothing serious, so why did you bother coming? I have legs, I can go home by myself.”

Song Caitang knew her cousin’s temperament, so she did what Guan Wan always did – she smiled sweetly and held onto Guan Qing’s arm, “But I missed youuu…”

Guan Qing stiffened for a second before her lips curled upward slightly and she bent her arm a little more subconsciously so that Song Caitang could hold it more comfortably.

“Do you want to take the carriage? Or walk home?”

Guan Qing looked down at the roads glowing in the sunshine and smiled, “Let’s walk. The weather’s pretty good today.”

Song Caitang didn’t mind.

The courthouse was not far from their home and the weather was pretty good. The sun was bright, the sky was blue, and the wind was blowing, so it was neither too cold nor too hot. Just right.

“The folks at the courthouse are really efficient today, huh. I’m so glad I came here quickly enough. Otherwise, you’d have left without me.”

“Magistrate Wen was around to handle the administration personally. That’s why they were so fast.”

“We’ll have to find another day to thank him then.”

“Of course…”

The two cousins chatted leisurely as they walked past walls of flowers and through the shadows of trees, their smiles prettier and brighter than the flowers in summer.

When they turned the corner, Song Caitang spotted a man standing in the distance.

He was very tall and wore black from head to toe. His facial features were outstanding, yet when put together, they exuded a sinister murderous air which made one cower in fear…

It was the leader of the Green Gang, Cao Zhang.

“Sis…”

Guan Qing had spotted him too. She didn’t need Song Caitang to tell her.

She wasn’t angry or annoyed. Instead, she smiled brightly at him.

Song Caitang was so shocked, she nearly covered her mouth with her hands.

Everyone who knew this cousin of hers knew that she had an aloof personality, was always serious and straight faced, so it was hard to see her actually smile. If she pursed her lips enough to make her lips and eyes curve upward, that would already count as a rarity. But now, she was actually smiling genuinely! Smiling so brightly!

Her smile was so beautiful… she should smile more often!

But that wasn’t the point. The point was, no matter how lovely or beautiful her smile was, if one suddenly saw something you weren’t used to seeing, you would feel somewhat uncomfortable…

Song Caitang instinctively looked at Cao Zhang.

Just as she had expected, Cao Zhang’s expression stiffened up and he turned and left.

He walked away especially quickly, and his steps seemed unsteady, as though… he had gone into a panic.

“Sis,” Song Caitang tugged at Guan Qing’s sleeve, “is Leader Cao angry?”

“Who cares about him?”

The smile on Guan Qing’s face was as bright as ever. The corners of her eyes were pinkish, and her eyes gleamed with confidence, “That five day bet… I think today is exactly the fifth day. Since we agreed to a bet, then the stakes have got to count. Caitang, don’t worry, I’ll make sure your reputation stays solid.”

Song Caitang was surprised that Guan Qing had recovered so quickly. The few days in the courthouse had not dulled her businesswoman senses at all…

Between Guan Qing and Cao Zhang, she was definitely on her cousin’s side. Regardless of what secret they shared, her cousin’s happiness was the most important.

But there was one thing she had to let Guan Qing know about.

“The case could be solved so quickly because Lu Shen asked me to dissect his father’s body, which led to us finding crucial clues. And Lu Shen had done that because Pang Qian’s official robes, the clothes that the killer had worn while committing the deed, had been found in Lu Shen’s room…”

She looked straight at Guan Qing, “That set of robes were very new and was definitely not the set that the killer wore. I think Cao Zhang might have been the one who put it there.”

Cao Zhang wanted to help and he had faith in Song Caitang’s abilities, so he arranged for this to happen.

Guan Qing was an intelligent woman and connected the dots quickly.

But…

“What has that got to do with me?”

“As long as there’s no official contract in place, any decision I make is none of his business, and any decision he makes is none of mine.”

Guan Qing had her own way of doing things. She smiled and pinched Song Caitang’s cheeks gently, “You’re still young, so don’t worry so much, or you’d lose your hair. It’ll be the fifth day of the fifth month in two days’ time, so we’ll be celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival. Why don’t you think about what you want to wear and what you want to eat so that we can enjoy the celebration?”

The days after that were the same as before.

Guan Qing had returned, so she took charge of the Guan family business, and settled everything at home too. Madam Bai was very happy and let Guan Qing take care of everything, spending her days reading plays, listening to plays, and even hired a few really amazing storytellers so that she could sit down with her three granddaughters and enjoy the stories.

Guan Wan would sometimes follow Guan Qing around as Guan Qing made sure she learned how to take care of things at home, and at other times, she would accompany her grandmother, listening to plays, discussing what new dishes to cook, what combination of ingredients was best. Her day became too packed, so she hid Song Caitang’s books to force her to stop being lazy and got her to accompany their grandmother. That way, she had more time to cook great dishes for everyone.

Guan Qing was busy, so she couldn’t stay and eat a lot. Madam Bai was getting on in age, so she couldn’t eat too much or she’d suffer from indigestion. As a result, most of what Guan Wan cooked… ended up in Song Caitang’s stomach.

And Song Caitang really couldn’t say no to Guan Wan.

It wasn’t because they were family or because Guan Wan had such adorable, hopeful, large eyes, but because…

Her cooking was super delicious.

She had actually put on weight!

But her protests fell on deaf ears. To quote Guan Qing: “You’re so young! What do you mean by you’re getting too fat? You’re still growing, so you shouldn’t be worried about what you eat! Why do we earn so much money for? It’s so that we can enjoy life! Get the best ingredients! Find the rarest, freshest ingredients! It doesn’t matter if it’s cheap or expensive – our family can afford it!”

After the Eldest Young Mistress gave the order, Guan Wan worked even harder at cooking. The main kitchen seemed to have become her battlefield as she tried out so many different styles and ingredients every single day…

Song Caitang did not grow up rich, so she had never seen half of these ingredients before.

And on top of that, everything was delicious.

Guan Wan was a genius. Any ingredient that passed through her hands turned into a delicious, tempting dish!

Song Caitang… gave up protesting.

Without Madam Zhang causing trouble, the atmosphere in the Guan house became unbelievably harmonious.

Even Guan Rongrong kept her temper in check. She dared not cause trouble or throw tantrums, except when she was alone with Song Caitang.

“Don’t get too complacent! I’m a Guan, while you’re a Song, after all!”

“You’re not a man who can support a family! You’re just a woman whom my family can marry off with just a few pieces of silver! You’re nothing!”

“Wait till my mother is no longer grounded! Just you wait!”

“Magistrate Wen will become mine sooner or later! Don’t be shameless and snatch him from me!”

Song Caitang didn’t even know how to respond to any of that.

The first few statements were fine, since they were just empty threats from an indignant little girl. But that last one…

When she saw how brightly Guan Rongrong’s eyes blazed with ambition, Song Caitang quietly observed a minute of silence for Wen Yuansi.

“You’re not allowed to meet with him all the time, you hear me?!”

Song Caitang chuckled, “Yeah, sure.”

She was more like a freelancer working for the courthouse. Her name was on the list of coroners the court could call on when there was a murder case, and she could help inspect bodies or give her professional opinion as needed. But as long as there was no case on hand, she didn’t need to report for work. She didn’t have the chance to meet with Wen Yuansi all the time.

Lu Guangzong’s case had come to a close, but there were many other mysteries left unsolved. For example, what other secrets did Niu Xingzu’s sandalwood box hold? Where else did Lu Guangzong hide gold, where did it come from and who was it going to? And what did An Pengyi and his two sworn brothers steal from him? Why was it so important to Lu Guangzong even after a few years had passed? There were still no answers to any of these questions.

Also, according to the latest news, the Lu family completely fell apart after Lu Shen was convicted. Most of the servants were sent away and the butler, Loo Zhong, disappeared without a trace.

Fourth Missy Gan and her son seemed thoroughly embarrassed by this whole case, so they had moved elsewhere and nobody knew where they had moved to.

Loo Zhong had wanted to kill Lu Guangzong, but didn’t in the end. Fourth Missy Gan and her son were just people connected to the case, but they had not done anything illegal. Gan Zhixuan had knowingly made Niu Xingzu eat a poisoned cookie back then, but he was only a child at that time, and the amount of toxins in that cookie had been very small and it did not kill Niu Xingzu. The one who killed the young man was Lu Guangzong.

The case was closed, so these people could go anywhere they wanted. The authorities had no right to stop them.

As for how to deal with those unanswered questions and clues, that was the authorities’ business. Some of these things were classified information, so the authorities had to deal with it internally. None of this had anything to do with Song Caitang.

The fifth and sixth month of the year passed by leisurely, and it had finally reached the liveliest time of the year.

The seventh month was the time of the year when Luanze was filled with festivities.

They were situated near the river, a huge exporter of seafood and rice, plus the weather was lovely, so Luanze was famous for beautiful women. And the most famous of them all were the boat courtesans of Qingling River.

The boat courtesans received customers on board their large, elaborately decorated boats. They were excellent at playing musical instruments, wonderful singers, charming dancers, spoke gently and sweetly, making men from all walks of life and all social classes swoon.

The seventh month was an important time for the boat courtesans. This was the time they put up stages to compete, to put their skills on display, to be crowned the top courtesan. The entire city participated in these events, which was why it bustled with activity.

The competition among the boat courtesans was scheduled to begin on the seventh day of the seventh month, which was also Valentine’s Day of the lunar calendar.