The Mis Lost A Daughter Before

The moonlight shone brightly upon the land without holding back, becoming even gentler and more translucent as it hit the waters. It looked charming and mesmerizing on the front pillars of the corridor leading to the water pavilion.

As the gentle moonlight shone onto the headboard of Song Caitang’s bed, she woke up from her dreams.

She put on a coat, got out of bed, then subconsciously walked to the window and opened it to its fullest.

The insects were chirping softly, the waters were moving slightly, but…

There was no one out there.

Song Caitang sighed.

Habits were truly frightening thing. After one was used to something, it was hard not to notice when that thing went missing suddenly.

Zhao Zhi was really…

Oh, never mind.

She couldn’t sleep anyway, so Song Caitang lit a candle, grabbed some paper and a brush, and began sorting out the case details.

The details of the younger Madam Liang’s case.

During her trip to the Mi family residence, she felt that everyone had presented themselves rather strangely. She wasn’t sure if anybody was lying, but she was sure they were hiding some things.

Madam Liang had already been dead for four years, so it was pretty impossible to find any clues from the scene of the crime now. Memories of what happened back then would have become blurry, so the statements of everyone connected to the case would be unreliable to some extent. There was only one thing that would remain unchanged.

The motive for killing.

Why would one kill another person, what feud had led to this. This sort of thing did not fade or go away with time. Humans were very capable of storing and accumulating hatred for a long, long time.

Madam Liang had died at home, so the killer had to be among these people in the house.

Song Caitang retrieved the case files and the list of names, wrote down the names of every person connected with the case, and listed a possible motive for killing.

First up was the eldest son.

Mi Xiaowen and Madam Wang.

These two were a stereotypical head of the family and mistress of the house in this conservative, patriarchal society she lived in. Mi Xiaowen was a stern man and very strict in the way he managed the family. His two younger brothers would remain respectfully by his side, and regardless of whether they agreed with him or not, they would listen to everything he said, at least on the surface. All three men used their physical actions to protect their family’s reputation and did not allow it to be sullied.

Madam Wang was very steady too. Her behavior was never rude and she was always prim and proper. Even when her younger sister-in-law tried to antagonize her and accuse her, she remained quiet. There was a glimmer in her eyes, but she did not start any trouble.

And because of the strict rules in the house, the younger sisters-in-law also only dared to grumble quietly to themselves and dared not say too much out loud.

This couple were the head of the Mi family, so every major decision had to be run past them and they were the most powerful members of the family.

As for their motive for killing…

Song Caitang’s finger fell on one line in the case files.

Madam Liang valued her eldest son and daughter-in-law greatly, but in her later years, she gave more love to her youngest son and Madam Liu. Because of a promise made many years back, she had to let her youngest son marry Madam Liu despite that huge patch on her face, because breaking that promise would be detrimental to the Mis’ reputation. As a result, Madam Liang always felt sorry for her youngest son and secretly gave him a lot of things. During the six months before she passed away, she even said she wanted to give half the family assets to the youngest son.

That would have been a huge slap in the face.

Mi Xiaowen and Madam Wang would not have wanted that to happen.

But because they had to be “filial children”, if Madam Liang insisted on giving half the fortune to the youngest son, they could only beg her to change her mind. And if they failed to convince her, they’d be forced to give the family fortune to number three…

The couple would never agree to that.

Song Caitang wrote this down. This could be a motive for killing.

As for the second son…

Mi Xiaoli and Madam Sun. There was definitely more to Madam Sun than what she saw that day. Madam Sun had a lively and chatty personality, and she would have trouble adapting to the culture of the Mis.

According to the case files, she was Mi Xiaoli’s second wife. Mi Xiaoli’s first marriage had been to a Madam Fan. This matter caused a lot of disagreement between the couple. Mi Xiaoli was a little short tempered when it came to Madam Sun, plus he wasn’t really capable, so he relied on his older brother and the rest of the family to survive and was a little weak. Madam Sun, on the contrary, was more ambitious and wanted to do something about it, but she simply couldn’t get the chance to.

Madam Liang did not like Madam Fan and already took issue with her, so she disliked Madam Sun even more since she started causing trouble right from the day she married into the family, and was always finding ways and means to put her in her place.

The Mis placed great emphasis on filial piety and morals, so it wasn’t hard to imagine how much Madam Sun must have suffered.

Could the longstanding disagreement and accumulation of negativity between them have pushed these two into committing murder?

Then there was the third son and his wife.

Madam Liu had an ugly patch on her face and neck, but ended up being more highly valued in the family. The couple had benefitted greatly as a result.

But was this really a good thing?

This society had strict standards on women, so this patch must have affected Madam Liu’s life since she was a child. No matter how resilient she was, she wouldn’t have wanted anybody to keep pointing it out. But when she got to the Mi family… her mother-in-law had treated her extra kindly, but what about the rest? Wouldn’t the rest be jealous? Wouldn’t they talk about her behind her back? Would someone have purposely humiliated her even more because of this?

And while the family’s reputation would remain intact because they honored the promise they made years ago, marrying a woman with a face and neck like that was not considered something to be proud of in this society. Was Mi Xiaocheng really willing to marry her in the first place?

Then there were the two servants who were always with Madam Liang.

Auntie Huang and Lanping.

They were supposedly extremely loyal and everyone questioned had nothing but good things to say about them. But matters in such families…

Lanping used to be the maid of the repudiated wife, Madam Fan. Madam Liang did not like Madam Fan, so why did she suddenly take a liking to Lanping and trust her so much? After Madam Liang died, Lanping was supposed to get married, and of all the places, Madam Wang arranged for her to marry the owner of the estate where Auntie Huang had been sent to…

What did these actions really mean?

These two did not have any motive for killing, and their statements matched each other’s, but on the night the murder happened, everyone in the family was preoccupied because a concubine had had a miscarriage, while these two continued to look after Madam Liang close by. Based on the situation at that time and the time of death, it would have been easiest for them to commit the murder…

Song Caitang carefully and patiently wrote down all her thoughts in great detail, regardless of how small it might be.

Even though she ended up thinking about the case until the sun rose again, she couldn’t narrow down the suspects at all.

These motives… they weren’t very strong, but they weren’t weak either. Who could have been the killer?

“Young Mistress, it’s time to wash your face.”

There was a knock on the door followed by Qingqiao walking in with a basin in hand. She came in to help Song Caitang wash up and change.

“Did you wake up again last night? I already told you before that I can keep you company if you want to. You’re my Young Mistress, so I will make sure I’m able to do it. But you refused and you even said that if I came in at night, you’d get angry and chase me out…”

Song Caitang had insisted from a long time back that Qingqiao should not wake up in the middle of the night when she did.

Firstly, Qingqiao was young and her round little face was such a joy to look at, so it would be a pity if she also became a thin face with dark eye rings like her. Besides, Zhao Zhi often came without warning and it would be bad if Qingqiao saw him…

Song Caitang switched the topic as if she hadn’t heard Qingqiao’s complaints, “I’m hungry. Miss Qingqiao, is there anything to eat?”

“Third Young Mistress has personally made some herbal porridge and she’s sent it over. She says it’s good for you,” Qingqiao smiled brightly, “She also asked you to go over to Songhe Hall after eating and she’ll cook more yummy food for you for lunch! I’m heating it up in the small kitchen and it smells so good! I can’t smell the bitterness of herbs at all!”

Qingqiao was really happy. Her Young Mistress was a relative with a different surname, yet the Old Madam and her two granddaughters liked Song Caitang and cared dearly for her. The family got along well and it felt wonderful.

It was best if that Madam Zhang was grounded in Qingyi Court forever.

But Song Caitang sighed quietly.

Lunch huh…

She had to eat less for breakfast then.

One bowl of porridge would do.

No, half a bowl.

At nine plus in the morning, news came from Wen Yuansi. Auntie Huang and Lanping had arrived at the Mis and he had gone to question them, so he would discuss his findings later with Song Caitang.

The Mi family had strict rules that favored the boys over the girls. They already despised women, what more a woman in a despised job like Song Caitang? Song Caitang didn’t want to experience the oppressive feeling she got from her last visit either. Wen Yuansi was being considerate by not letting her come with him this time, but still allowing her to be part of the case.

Song Caitang told the messenger to thank him for her.

The sun in the morning wasn’t too bright. Her maternal grandmother, Madam Bai, sat in the airy living room and started reading plays again.

As per her usual habit, she would read and grumble about the plot to her granddaughters at the same time.

“The playwright has made the Young Mistress of the story too stupid. A real daughter of a prominent family isn’t just locked up in some embroidery room and taught nothing, neither does she have romantic ideas about every man she sees. She has to learn how to manage the house and the people who live in it! She wouldn’t just watch the various tactics that the servants use and have no opinion about it, or be so misguided by them…”

Madam Bai taught her granddaughters rules for how to live too, but her rules were never based on the conservative values for women that the empress emphasized so much on, and she never avoided the topic of marriage. Guan Qing and Guan Wan were slowly influenced over time, so their hearts became more rational and they did not have too many delusional ideas about the world. When Madam Bai made such comments, Guan Wan would even chime in, “Exactly! They think Young Mistresses are all fools they can trick in any way they like? Tsk!”

Madam Bai encouraged her, “That’s the right attitude! The men of this world are nasty fellows, so Wan’er, you’ve got to be tough and make sure you don’t get tricked!”

“Got it!”

After Guan Wan was done raising her fist in a show of toughness, she went back to her embroidery.

Madam Bai made sure no one was looking, then quickly opened a box by her side and secretly ate a piece of candy.

But Song Caitang had spotted her.

Madam Bai winked at her, as though they were accomplices, before swiftly grabbing another piece and stuffing it into Song Caitang’s hand.

As though she was doing something that was top secret, or that she was bribing Song Caitang into keeping their little secret.

Song Caitang had no choice but to quietly stuff the sweet in her mouth and become an unwilling accomplice.

But that made Madam Bai very happy. She looked adoringly at Song Caitang and asked, “You’re so young, yet your brows are so tightly knit. What are you thinking about?”

“The case…”

Immediately after uttering those two words, an idea struck Song Caitang as she looked up at Madam Bai and asked, “Grandmother, you’ve been in Luanze for so many years. Are you familiar with the Mi family?”

“Of course I am.”

Madam Bai had been part of a large, prominent family for a few decades and her mind was constantly active. She knew what Song Caitang wanted to ask her, “The Mi family is a complete mess, especially those years before Madam Liang passed away. Those years were really crazy. The storylines of the plays during that time were all stories of what happened in the family.”

“For example, there were stories about unfair treatment. She picked on the second daughter-in-law and she couldn’t take it, so she dragged the third daughter-in-law down with her, picking on her, accusing her and cursing her all the time. The third daughter-in-law has an ugly patch on her face and couldn’t take the abuse, so she tried to hang herself. Madam Liang felt terrible and gave her a lot of assets, including family heirlooms. The first daughter-in-law got angry when that happened, and said that she didn’t care if Madam Liang was giving away her personal assets, but family heirlooms were owned by the family and ought to be inherited by the eldest son and daughter-in-law…”

“Also, daughters are worthless in the Mi family. The second daughter-in-law had a daughter, but passed away on the road back from the capital when she was only a few years old. The first daughter-in-law saw it as bad luck, so she didn’t even want to buy the girl a coffin, never mind hold a funeral. She didn’t want to delay the journey either and insisted on leaving the same day too. I heard that Madam Sun went back later to look for her daughter’s body, but she couldn’t identify where she had even been buried…”

“The first daughter-in-law insisted she had the right to be like this because the same thing had happened to her own daughter. As long as she was lost, her reputation would have been damaged, regardless of how old she was. So, the family would never look for her and would never want her back…”

Song Caitang nodded along as she listened. A lot of what Madam Bai said was not recorded in the files. And while some of these rumors might not be accurate, there were some things that were believable. For example, that day, she had heard with her own ears that Madam Sun had used the words “Even if the daughter were thrown away or lost, it wouldn’t bother the Mi family, would it” to agitate Madam Wang.

“Grandmother, did you just say that the eldest daughter-in-law had lost a daughter before?”

Madam Bai was fairly sure, “Yes, she did. I think it was 11 years ago? The girl was only four back then, and was lost when she was brought along to a neighboring province. They only spent one night looking for her, and when they couldn’t find her, the first daughter-in-law said she wasn’t going to search for her anymore, saying that her daughter’s reputation was already ruined and she wouldn’t take her back even if the daughter came back. It’s true, if someone kidnapped the daughter and ran off, it would have been too hard to find her. But if they didn’t try to search for her, there’s no way such a small child could find her own way back… But the Mi family has been very tightlipped about this matter. Very few know about it.”

Madam Bai’s words were filled with pity for the little girl, and her tone filled with disdain for the Mi family.

But Song Caitang was not thinking about that. For some reason, her attention was focused on “lost a daughter before”.

When did Madam Sun utter those words that day?

Why did she purposely emphasize on “thrown away or lost”?

What was Madam Wang’s expression at that time?

Mothers were usually very attached to their daughters. Did Madam Wang really not want her daughter back?

For some unknown reason, Song Caitang’s thoughts wandered to the female corpse that was fished out from the river the other day, Yuetao.

She was a boat courtesan and was very young.

Qi Yan was right about one thing. The girls in this line of work mostly had no family, no idea about their birth or background, and some had been kidnapped and sold…

In an instant, Song Caitang put the two together and her instincts kicked in!

“Grandmother, you said the daughter of the first daughter-in-law was lost 11 years ago, and the little girl was only four?”

Madam Bai could see the seriousness of Song Caitang’s expression, so she paused to think carefully about this, “That should be correct. 11 years ago, four years old. But very few people know about this.”

Song Caitang paused to recollect. She had inspected Yuetao’s body when the body had just been fished out, so she could tell how old the girl was. Yuetao looked and dressed very maturely, but Song Caitang was pretty sure that she was only 16 or 17. Definitely no older than 18.

One more thing…

When she removed the victim’s clothes, she had seen a birthmark on Yuetao’s body.

“Grandmother,” Song Caitang tried her best to keep her voice from trembling, “when you heard about this matter, did you hear any other details about the four year old girl? Like did she have anything in particular on her?”

“Hmm…” Madam Bai paused to think seriously, “Would their family emblem count? I heard that this little girl had been dressed in brand new clothes on the day she was lost, and even the flowers in her hair had the family emblem on it.”

“Anything else?”

“Anything else…” Madam Bai suddenly rubbed her palms together, “Ah! There’s one more thing. I heard that this little girl had a birthmark on her back, about the size of a fingernail and in the shape of a flame. The people who knew about this felt it was a shame that the family didn’t bother to keep searching, since that would make her very recognizable, and it wouldn’t be rude to check the back of a four year old for a birthmark…”

Song Caitang stood up with a start.

Yuetao had such a birthmark on her back too!

If she her guess was right, Yuetao was Mi Xiaowen and Madam Wang’s missing daughter!

Since the family had decided never to look for their daughter, they wouldn’t know about Yuetao’s existence. But what about Yuetao? Would she still remember her parents?

Mi Gaojie was also the son of Mi Xiaowen, which made them biological brother and sister. What feelings did she actually have toward Mi Gaoije?

And what about Mi Gaojie? Did he have the same attitudes about men and women as his family? And if he did… it didn’t matter if he had no idea that his own younger sister was a courtesan. But if he found out… would he find it an embarrassment?

She couldn’t just sit around in the house anymore. She had to look for Wen Yuansi. This was a very important point and she had to use it to sound the Mi family out!