The Authorities Have Found Your Daughter

In the living room of the Mi family residence.

The head of the family, Mi Xiaowen, along with the rest of his family, was speaking to their guest, Wen Yuansi, when a servant suddenly came in to say that the coroner, Song Caitang, had arrived at their home.

Mi Xiaowen immediately frowned in disapproval when he heard this.

What was going on with this woman? She had to be around the day before because she had that dirty job to do as a coroner, so that was fine. But now, the magistrate was here alone in official robes to question the various parties involved, and that had nothing to do with her. Why in the world was she here?

Did she have any shame at all?

But Wen Yuansi knew that Song Caitang wouldn’t do anything for nothing. There was no way she would come all the way here and have to put up with Mi Xiaowen’s attitude. She must have a good reason for coming.

“Perhaps she has something to discuss with me about the case,” said Wen Yuansi slowly with a smile, “I’ll have to bother you to open the doors for her.”

Since the magistrate had put it that way, Mi Xiaowen couldn’t possibly keep her outside. After a few polite words, he waved to tell the servant to let her in.

Song Caitang arrived at the living room to find that the people there did not welcome her at all.

Besides Wen Yuansi, Madam Liang’s three sons and their wives were all there.

It was a bit awkward to make Wen Yuansi talk about Yuetao’s case in detail like this.

Wen Yuansi didn’t know anything about this. He had arranged for today’s visit because he heard that Auntie Huang and Lanping had arrived and he wanted to question the two of them. He also took the chance to take a look at the room where Madam Liang lived in before she passed away, then asked a few more people some questions. He was pretty much done here for the day and was about to leave. As a show of courtesy, Mi Xiaowen got his family to chat a little more with Wen Yuansi before finally seeing him out.

They were almost all done and Song Caitang was here?! Of course Mi Xiaowen was not pleased at all.

If Wen Yuansi even hinted at having to speak privately to Song Caitang, Mi Xiaowen would immediately use that as an excuse to shoo them out of his home.

They knew how these formalities worked. Mi Xiaowen knew how to use it to his advantage, and so did Wen Yuansi.

Song Caitang must have come because she had information related to the Mi family, so he wasn’t going to give Mi Xiaowen any chance to shoo them away. He smiled and waved at Song Caitang to come over without even attempting to get up from his chair.

Song Caitang didn’t quite expect that, but she was prepared for that possibility.

She picked up her skirt, walked through the doorway and approached Wen Yuansi, the sun illuminating her as she walked.

“I’ve come to report something very important to Magistrate Wen, and it is related to this case. I hope you will be mentally prepared for this.”

Her eyes were bright and her brows sharp as she exuded great confidence. Wen Yuansi’s brain immediately lit up.

She must have a reason for this expression and this tone of voice!

He quickly prepared himself mentally, “Sure.”

“The son of the eldest son of the Mi family, Mi Gaojie, is connected to another case we are investigating. The case of the female corpse we found the other day. Please question him as well.”

Wen Yuansi knew about this from their dinner with Qi Yan the night before. So, why was Song Caitang bringing it up again…

While he was frowning slightly as he tried to figure it out, he noticed that Song Caitang had opened her left palm secretly to reveal a message for him.

His pupils constricted instantly!

She had written a message in blank ink on her palm: Yuetao is Mi Xiaowen’s daughter.

The boat courtesan corpse they found the other day had turned out to be Mi Xiaowen’s daughter?!

That was a truly scandalous piece of information. No wonder Song Caitang had to tell him to be mentally prepared. If he looked too surprised or overreacted, it would be difficult to continue with the interrogation.

Just like Song Caitang, he agreed that it would be best to question Mi Gaojie now since he was already here. If they waited for too long, things would no longer work in their favor. Wen Yuansi quickly calmed himself down and got ready for another battle of wits.

The change in his expression had been very slight and he had reverted to his usual expression within seconds. Song Caitang’s lips curled up slightly. She was thoroughly impressed.

She didn’t have to use Mi Gaojie’s name to distract the family at all. Wen Yuansi’s acting was flawless!

But Mi Gaojie’s name did attract everyone’s attention. They already knew about this matter, but since the authorities wanted to question them about it… they had to cooperate even if they didn’t want too.

Wen Yuansi now understood why Song Caitang mentioned Mi Gaojie’s name. He played along and smiled at Mi Xiaowen, “I’ll have to trouble you, Squire Mi.”

Mi Xiaowen had no choice but to get someone to summon his son over.

Thankfully, his son had only gone for a party with courtesans but had not actually slept with the girl who died, so Mi Xiaowen did not think this was anything really embarrassing to the family.

Wen Yuansi and Song Caitang had exchanged several glances as they thought about how they could sound the Mi family members out.

Yuetao’s identity was a sensitive one and the Mis might not be willing to talk about her. If they tried asking the servants… even if they managed to get the servants to spill some beans, their employer might deny everything. It was best to make the family members themselves spill the beans.

Wen Yuansi decided to target Madam Sun.

She had the liveliest personality among the three couples here and was the worst at keeping mum. Perhaps she was worth a try.

Wen Yuansi had spent a long time finding out more about the family, so he knew just as much as Song Caitang. He said in a low and gentle voice, “Madam Sun, I heard that you were not liked by your mother-in-law, and I’m sure it had been very hard on you all these years.”

Madam Sun used a handkerchief to dab at her lips as she smiled faintly with her head bent, “It’s nothing. It’s part and parcel of being a daughter-in-law, so I didn’t think it was hard.”

“I also heard that you have some disagreements with Madam Wang and often argue with her. Is that true?”

“My oldest sister-in-law is like our mother. It’s hard to lead an entire family, so she has to be extra strict with us. I don’t have a good temper and I flare up from time to time, but with my sister-in-law leading the way, I am able to walk this path well and walk steadily. I wouldn’t say we have disagreements. I have always respected my first sister-in-law and I’m also grateful for everything she’s done all these years.”

Madam Sun spoke very cautiously and glanced at her husband from time to time.

Mi Xiaoli was very pleased with her words and would look at his old brother from time to time for affirmation. Mi Xiaowen would also nod vigorously as he heard what she said. He was pleased too.

Basically, Madam Sun had been taught well on what she ought to say in front of others.

Wen Yuansi frowned.

It was going to be hard to sound her out like this.

They would have to use a different method.

He looked at Song Caitang.

She nodded at him.

Before coming, she had already predicted that this might happen and had come up with a plan. Time was tight and they had to accomplish much, so it was best to go with something simple and straight to the point.

She glanced at Wen Yuansi again.

He nodded encouragingly at her, as if to say “just go ahead, I have your back”.

She didn’t need to be scared.

Song Caitang took a step forward and looked straight into Madam Sun’s eyes, “You respect your first sister-in-law, but she doesn’t take care of you. When you daughter passed away, did she say anything nice to you?”

Madam Sun trembled all over. She gripped her handkerchief so tightly, her knuckles and fingertips turned white.

“She was so young, she was so tiny. You couldn’t find her burial place, so you couldn’t even pay your respects even if you wanted to. Madam Sun, as a mother, didn’t you feel any pain?”

Tears immediately poured down Madam Sun’s face. She stared at Song Caitang with reddened eyes and asked in a trembling voice, “How… how did you know…”

Madam Sun looked really pitiful and Song Caitang apologized for doing this silently in her heart. She didn’t like pouring salt on the wounds of others, but she didn’t have a choice now.

“How I know about this doesn’t matter. Your daughter is more important. It’s fine if other people don’t remember her, but if even you don’t remember her, then it would be as though she never existed. Are you really so heartless as to forget her completely?”

Song Caitang took another step closer to Madam Sun, “When she was a soft and cuddly little baby, the first time she called you ‘mama’, her sweet smile, the way she wobbled and learned to walk, the way she waddled toward you like a little duck, the adorable way she cried for attention when she fell, the way she reached out to you for a hug, when her features grew more defined, her eyes as beautiful as the morning sky, as dewy as the flowers at dawn, when she learned to dress up and wanted to tie her hair and asked for the prettiest hair pins…”

She took a step forward with each phrase, finally stopping right in front of Madam Sun, “Have you forgotten al that?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten!” Madam Sun burst into tears.

Song Caitang’s words had been too descriptive, it was impossible for her to not remember all these milestones in her daughter’s life. Her little girl started off so small, refused to take the nanny’s milk, threw a tantrum unless Madam Sun carried her and stuck to her all the time. Her little girl was mature from a very young age, so even though she didn’t like her grandmother, she tried to gain her grandmother’s favor and spoke up for her mother for Madam Sun’s sake…

All her life, the one who cared most about her was her daughter!

“All of you!” She spun around and pointed at everyone else in the room with a trembling finger, “It was all of you! My daughter… died because of all of you!”

Song Caitang did not wait for her to finish venting everything and quickly seized the chance to interject, “Why bother talking to them? Look at what they did to their own biological daughter…”

She didn’t have to put in any details and allowed her voice to trail off at the end. Her meaning was clear.

Madam Sun was too agitated to remember anything that her husband taught her about how she ought to behave or the values of the family. She only remembered how much she suffered and started speaking without filter, “HA! Indeed! They’re people who lost their own daughter and just gave up looking for her! Why should I pin any hopes on such people?”

She glared at Mi Xiaowen and Madam Wang, “Are you afraid she’d come back and take revenge? Haven’t you ever thought about what could happen to her or what’s become of her now?”

“Shut up!”

“Watch your words!”

A few of them yelled at her, but Madam Sun was fired up and was now unstoppable. She scoffed and went on, “You think that nobody would find out just because you don’t talk about it? Even dung buried in the ground is still dung! You can’t see it, but you can still smell it! Be a man! Be a man and admit it! Would you die if you admit that it happened? Would you?!?!”

Song Caitang chimed in when the timing was right, “11 years ago. The little girl was only four.”

Madam Sun’s eyes were wide, “That’s right, she was only four!”

“And she wasn’t really that hard to find.”

“Exactly! She had a flame-shaped birthmark on her back the size of a fingernail, which would have been so easy to see!”

“Shut up right now!”

Pak! Mi Xiaowen flung his teacup onto the floor and tea spilled everywhere.

Madam Sun merely scoffed. Her eyes were swollen and she was crying, but she didn’t look the least afraid. In fact…

She looked like she was having a good time.

Song Caitang suddenly felt that Madam Sun wasn’t really brainless and hadn’t really been tricked into getting so worked up. Perhaps Madam Sun had been taken by surprise when Song Caitang first mentioned this matter, but after that, Madam Sun took the chance to vent all her frustrations out.

Perhaps she had wanted to say all these things out loud a long time ago. Perhaps she had been keeping these thoughts in her heart all this time.

Song Caitang glanced at Wen Yuansi.

She had gone down this path because she didn’t have any other choice, but she didn’t want Madam Sun to be punished because of this either.

Wen Yuansi was clever and understood what her glance meant immediately. He paused to think, then said, “Madam Sun has been very proactive in helping the authorities in their investigation, so she should be commended for that. I will apply for a badge of honor for Madam Sun after I return to the courthouse, and I hope Squire Mi will collect it on her behalf when it’s ready.”

Wen Yuansi was an official after all. He couldn’t get something big for her, but he could get a badge of honor. Wen Yuansi’s actions represented the palace, so getting this badge would mean that Madam Sun had contributed positively to the family’s reputation. She would not be punished and the family would not dare to do anything bad to her.

Madam Sun turned around and cried even harder.

She bowed toward Song Caitang and Wen Yuansi, “If only I had met both of you earlier… perhaps that child… perhaps she wouldn’t…”

The entire room was silent.

Song Caitang nodded at Wen Yuansi.

He caught her drift, “So. Squire Mi, you lost a daughter 11 years ago when she was only four years old, and she had a flame-shaped birthmark on her back the size of a fingernail.”

Since things had come to this, Mi Xiaowen couldn’t deny it anymore.

Mi Xiaowen nodded with a sullen look on his face.

Wen Yuansi went on, “The authorities have found your daughter.”

When he said these words, Mi Xiaowen did not react, but Madam Wang stood up with a start and asked, “Where is she now? How is she? Does she have a new family? Are they good to her?”

Her string of questions made it clear that she cared about her lost daughter. Her nonchalance and unfeeling demeanor had merely been a pretense.

But Mi Xiaowen got angry, “Shut up!”

Madam Wang didn’t care anymore. She marched up to Wen Yuansi with a hopeful look in her eyes, “Can I see her?”