132 — Oh My! The Victim Turns Out To Be…

The victim was identified more quickly than anyone could have imagined.

Zhao Zhi had been looking for Qinglian, but she was already dead. Another clue had led him to Luanze, so after he rushed back to Luanze, he went to Miaoyin Court to look for Wenxiang but didn’t get to see her. He heard about Yuetao’s case, but before the investigation could get anywhere, a new body was discovered on a small island in the river. He didn’t stop to rest and headed straight to the island, so he instructed Qi Yan to get hold of Wenxiang for him so that he could ask her questions once he was done with work.

But Qi Yan returned with bad news.

“Wenxiang has gone missing!”

He came running over and stood in Zhao Zhi and Song Caitang’s way as he panted heavily. “That pimp was lying! It didn’t matter if you were an important person, or if you offered a lot of money, or if you threatened the woman – she just kept saying that Wenxiang was ill and needed rest, so she wasn’t entertaining any customers. She’s someone used to lying, so she was really good at it! Also, she’s great at coming up with excuses and had an answer for absolutely any question, so nobody thought otherwise. But actually, Wenxiang had fallen ill a long time ago and she hasn’t been seen since the Double Seventh Festival! That pimp is eyeing the bets placed by the people on Wenxiang and wanted to earn from that, so she just kept this a secret!”

Double Seventh Festival…

Double Seventh Festival…

This timing again?!

Could it be that the body that was just discovered…

Song Caitang and Zhao Zhi immediately exchanged glances. The look in their eyes were almost identical.

If the body was really Wenxiang’s, the investigation was going to get complicated.

Zhao Zhi quickly asked, “Is there anyone who could identify Wenxiang’s body?”

“Body?” Qi Yan’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. “You mean… W-w-wenxiang’s… DEAD?”

“We’re not sure. That’s why I’m asking.”

Qi Yan looked at the two people in front of him and realized they both seemed rather anxious, so he said nervously, “I guess… I could do it. Before coming here I asked what she was wearing before she went missing, so… maybe I’d be of help? But I’m really not sure, so I think it’s better if you found someone from Miaoyin Court.”

Zhao Zhi grabbed him by the back of his collar, “No need. You’d do.”

Song Caitang smiled faintly, “It’s not possible to identify her by her face, so we’ll have to count on you.”

Qi Yan immediately lit up.

That surprised him. “How can one identify a body other than looking at their face? By looking at their puss—”

Before he could get the “sy” sound out, he received a slap on the mouth from Zhao Zhi.

Qi Yan whimpered in pain, but when he glanced at Song Caitang from the corner of his eye, he realized he shouldn’t have spoken like that.

Song Caitang was an open minded lady, but she was a lady after all, so he should not have spoken in such a vulgar manner around her.

“Brother Zhi…”

Those words were uttered in such an aggrieved manner, as though he were crying.

As far as Qi Yan was concerned, unlike Wen Yuansi, who made sure he was gentlemanly at all times, Zhao Zhi spent years in the military and was even called the King of Chaos by the folks in the capital. He had heard all sorts of language and had engaged in all sorts of inappropriate behavior before, so why was he being so proper now?

Was there something in Luanze’s air that could keep men in check or something?

But when he got to the island and saw the body, he was no longer in the mood to think about such things. There was only one thing he could do now.

Puke. And puke some more.

The decomposed internal organs on the ground, the white ribs protruding from the body, and those maggots crawling out from the eyes, ears and abdomen…

He ran off to puke again.

“The clothes… and hair accessories are correct, but… the earrings don’t seem right… the pimp said that Wenxiang landed a really big job on the Double Seventh Festival, so someone might have given these to her as a gift… I don’t know anything else… that’s all I can help with, Brother Zhi…”

Qi Yan was telling the truth. Not only was he unable to help with anything else, but he could barely walk too.

He was so pale, he looked like he was about to faint and needed someone to hold him in order to walk.

Zhao Zhi waved a hand and got a subordinate to see Qi Yan back. “Looks like this case is bigger than we thought.”

Song Caitang nodded and left the island with him.

And because she was with Zhao Zhi, she got to take a large boat back to shore.

The boat was very stable, but Zhao Zhi remained tense. Nobody dared to go anywhere near him, and his expression was terrifying.

In order to avoid agitating him, Song Caitang did not say anything throughout the journey and just watched the water quietly.

The wind wasn’t strong and the waters were calm, breaking into ripples that slowly spread outward only when the oars broke the surface. The sky and the water were the same color. The scenery was beautiful.

She didn’t know why Zhao Zhi feared water, and couldn’t explain why she liked water so much. But now, she had no space in her mind to think about these things, or to admire the lovely view around her. Her whole head was filled with the case at hand.

Out of the three female victims so far, two of them were from Miaoyin Court, and one was Qinglian, who died the year before, but who was acquainted with Wenxiang from Miaoyin Court. Song Caitang wondered if there was any other correspondence between the two.

Either way, since the two most recent victims had both been from Miaoyin Court, the murderer had to like Miaoyin Court very much.

Once they got out of the boat, Zhao Zhi came alive again, as though his fear of water earlier had been merely a sham. He was calm and serious but energetic as he said, “Since this is a serial murder, I will get my men to check who Wenxiang and Yuetao came into contact with before they died. Most importantly, to check if there’s anyone in common.”

Song Caitang agreed that this was definitely the first thing that needed to be done. “Excellent call, Surveillance Commissioner Zhao.”

“It’s nothing, really. Anybody who has investigated cases before would have thought of it.”

Zhao Zhi straightened his sleeves in an arrogant manner, then gave detailed instructions to his subordinates.

Just then, Song Caitang ran into Wen Yuansi.

Wen Yuansi had clearly changed into a new set of clothes and styled his hair, so he exuded a gentle elegance that was as pleasant as the wind in spring. Just looking at him made one smile.

“Is anything the matter, Magistrate Wen?”

Wen Yuansi smiled. “Governor Zhang called for me. He wants to talk about my performance at work.”

Song Caitang got it now.

Official meetings with the higher ups required one to watch the way they spoke, behaved and dressed. Leaving a good impression would help.

He still had some time before the meeting, so he mentioned the Mi family case.

“I did a bit more digging and discovered that Yuetao’s disappearance back then was not an accident after all… someone had probably planned this.”

Because he was talking about the case, Song Caitang moved closer to him and spoke in a low voice, “Was it Madam Liang? She really had a reason to do this?”

Wen Yuansi chuckled and shook his head as he too, spoke in a low voice, “No, no, I’m afraid both of us have gone in the wrong direction in this aspect. There’s nothing to prove that this has anything to do with Madam Liang. But the servants around her…”

Details about an ongoing case were classified, so in order to make sure nobody could hear them, they stood very close to one another to speak, and they would move closer to each other if they couldn’t hear clearly. From afar, they looked like they were sharing secrets.

A man and a woman were standing extremely close to each other, speaking in hushed tones and giving each other looks. If the wind blew hard enough, the same flowers on the tree would brush past both their shoulders. And if the wind blew a little harder, it would blow one’s hem into the other’s!

What an annoying sight.

Zhao Zhi deliberately stood between the two of them. He was too tall and too large for anyone to ignore, so Wen Yuansi had no choice but to take a couple of steps backward.

“I suddenly remember that it’d take time to find out and check through every suspect and we shouldn’t just spend this time doing nothing. Miaoyin Court is definitely a place of interest in this case and it would be a pity if we didn’t go there and try to find out more.” He looked at Song Caitang, “I would like to pay Miaoyin Court a visit. Would you like to come along?”

Wen Yuansi instinctively frowned and interjected, “Surveillance Commissioner Zhao, Miss Song… is a woman.”

How could she go to a place like Miaoyin Court?

But Zhao Zhi ignored his comment and didn’t even bother to look at him. He continued to stare straight into Song Caitang’s eyes. “What do you think? Do you dare to come along?”

Song Caitang’s mind didn’t even think about the possible implications. She was rather excited, in fact. “Can I really come along?”

She had the guts to enter such a place, but she had heard that such places did not welcome women and the pimps were very particular. She didn’t want to go all the way there only to get chased out.

If there was a way to get in without being chased out, she definitely wanted to go!

Zhao Zhi’s lips curled upward slightly and he seemed rather pleased with her reaction. “Of course. With me around, it won’t be a problem.”

Song Caitang got even more excited.

She knew Wen Yuansi was worried about her, so she turned to assure him, “Don’t worry, Magistrate Wen. Surveillance Commissioner Zhao visits these flower boats very often, so he’s used to the place and is very familiar with everything, so he’d be able to take good care of me. Besides, we’re going there to investigate the case. With me by the side to remind him, he won’t get distracted.”

Zhao Zhi looked more and more incensed by the minute.

The more she said, the worse it sounded.

That last sentence was the worst. What did she mean by “get distracted”?

Was she implying that he might end up having too much fun with the courtesans and forget why he was there in the first place?!

Wen Yuansi stopped frowning and smiled again. “Ah, you’re right. I didn’t think of that.”

As he spoke, he threw Zhao Zhi a glance.

That was the last straw.

“Song Caitang! Is there a misunderstanding somewhere?! Who told you such things?”

Who told her that he went to that sort of place often! Why would he do that? He didn’t need to at all!

Song Caitang gave him a knowing look and said, “Ohhhhh I seeeeee…”

Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes threateningly.

She didn’t have to tell him who it was. He knew who would have betrayed him.

Qi Yan!

This boy was getting more and more out of hand!

He pressed down hard on the spot between his brows and emphasized every word he spat in an attempt to rectify this misconception, “Going there is an exception, not the norm!”

But Wen Yuansi continued to gently advise Song Caitang, “It’s too bad that I have something on tonight, so I can’t go with you. Surveillance Commissioner Zhao would be able to take good care of you, but I think you’d better be careful. Don’t allow anyone with bad intentions lead you astray.”

Zhao Zhi stood next to Song Caitang and grinned at Wen Yuansi, “Aw, that’s too bad! Song Caitang, aren’t you going to thank Magistrate Wen for being overly and unnecessarily concerned?”

Wen Yuansi raised an eyebrow.

Was Zhao Zhi doing this on purpose?

Did he suddenly come up with this because he knew that Wen Yuansi had an important meeting to attend?

Zhao Zhi glared at Wen Yuansi with a smile that was more threatening than friendly.

The two men seemed to be fighting aggressively with their stares and sending each other very nasty messages, but Song Caitang didn’t notice it at all. Her gaze was downcast as she wondered if she should dress the part out of respect for the place she was going to. She had to at least dress up as a man, right?

But she had never worn the menswear of this era before, so she wasn’t very familiar with it.

The flower boats were only open for business at night, so since they couldn’t state up front that they were here to investigate the case, and they were hoping to get some clues without anybody noticing, they could only head over at night.

Song Caitang sent someone to the Guan family to tell them she had to attend to some business, then went for dinner with Zhao Zhi before heading to the shops to get some suitable clothing.

Reality proved that as long as you paid enough, you could get excellent service anywhere you went. The clothing shops had any size you needed, but even if it didn’t fit well, you could get it altered on the spot. There were plenty of embroiderers in the rooms at the back that would make sure you got everything you needed within minutes. And if you didn’t know how to wear something yourself, you could get a maid from the shop to help you too.

The female shopkeeper at the shop they were in had a keen eye and was very good at talking. Perhaps she was used to getting female customers who wanted to dress as men, so she didn’t ask them about why they were doing this. She focused on taking care of her customers’ needs and recommended anything she deemed suitable.

“…your waist is too small, so every piece here seems too large and unsuitable… would you like to try our latest design? It just arrived this month! Many young men like the design and it cinches the waist, so if you’re on the large side, you won’t fit. But it’d be suitable for you… oh dear, it’s still half a palm too wide. No problem, we can alter it for you right now! It’ll be done in a few minutes!”

“This sleeve is too long, so we’ll have to shorten it… my goodness, your hands are so pretty! Your fingers are so slim, fair and supple, not too bony or fleshy, and even your nails are especially lovely in shape! You should really have painted them! But I suppose it’s not appropriate today.”

“Oh my goodness, your shoulders form the perfect silhouette! This is the angle that tailors love the most! Such perfect proportions! So pretty!”

Zhao Zhi felt goosebumps all over his arm as he listened to the shopkeeper’s ingratiating compliments.

But when Song Caitang emerged from the fitting room, he was nearly too stunned to speak.

She wore a long, fitting purple top with an embroidered collar. When the candlelight shone on the collar, the dark colored lotus flower pattern could be seen. The same material was used for her belt. The clothes fit her waist, her back and shoulders perfectly, with not a single wrinkle in sight. It matched Song Caitang’s skin tone that was fairer than most, and her straightened, broadened back, as well as her confident, warm smile…

She did not exude the shy girlishness that most women had, or the hardened roughness of men. She was eye catching and very pleasant to look at. It was as though these clothes were made for her and fit no one else but her. Anyone else in the same clothes would never look as good as she did.

Her hair was recombed into a man’s hairstyle, where all her hair was tied into a bun at the top of her head and secured with a simple, jade hairpin. The hairstyle revealed her high forehead, her fair, little ears, her long eyebrows, and the mysterious smile in her eyes. When she unfolded her fan and fanned herself, Song Caitang looked more suave and flirtatious than most man. She looked so handsome!