Injured Arm

Song Caitang really wanted to examine Yuetao’s body.

After they were done with their work at Miaoyin Court, Song Caitang raised this request when Zhao Zhi saw her home.

But Zhao Zhi scowled in response.

She couldn’t understand at all.

Her job had required her to learn a little psychology, but it wasn’t enough to read a person’s mind. She really had no idea what in the world Zhao Zhi was thinking about!

Just a few moments ago, he was perfectly fine. The moon was shining brightly, the wind was pleasant, and the atmosphere between them was great. They had a good chat and even talked about the Madam Liang case that Wen Yuansi was in charge of. Zhao Zhi even agreed that Wen Yuansi was a capable guy. Why did he start scowling when she started talking about examining Yuetao’s body?

His expression was foul, but Zhao Zhi took his work seriously and agreed to it. He said it was too late to arrange for this now, so he would talk to Governor Li the next morning and follow the proper procedures to get the body ready.

The weather was very warm and Yuetao’s case had not been solved yet. It was hard to preserve the body, so it was covered in ice and placed in a cold room. No matter how insistent Zhao Zhi was or how quickly the request was processed, it would still take time for everything to be ready, so she would probably have to wait until at least the next afternoon for the body to be ready.

Song Caitang understood that well, so she didn’t push for it.

They reached her gate by this point and she turned to say goodbye and thank Zhao Zhi, but before she could do that, Zhao Zhi leaped onto the wall and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Song Caitang stood in stunned silence for a moment.

Alright then.

She couldn’t understand this man most of the time, anyway.

She had no idea that Zhao Zhi had only hidden himself in the shadows and had not actually left yet. He only left after he saw her enter the house and return to her room.

The next morning, Guan Wan dragged Song Caitang along to go shopping.

Guan Wan preferred to stay at home and didn’t go out often. Since she actually wanted to go out today and Guan Qing wasn’t around, Song Caitang was happy to oblige.

She had been thoroughly spoiled by Guan Wan’s cooking, so… the least she could do was to be a nice older sister to her.

Besides, Guan Wan was always so adorable, spending time with her made Song Caitang happy.

Guan Wan was only interested in one thing too. Other young ladies liked shopping for cosmetics, perfumes and hair products, while Guan Qing liked buying expensive things, so she always shopped for clothes and jewelry, and made sure to buy something for everyone in the family. Guan Wan didn’t fancy any of those things and only cared for shops that sold spices and condiments.

The girl could spend an entire hour staring very intently at the shelves to pick out the best rice wine, or soy sauce, or fresh chilies and peppers.

She spent the most time in shops that sold a greater variety of items or sold rare spices.

It was very magical, really. When used in the kitchen, these spices could leave a wonderful taste on one’s tongue. But they were also used in perfumes. They could be made into powder or incense sticks that could give off sweet, alluring smells when burned.

Pepper, mint, bay leaves, cloves…

Song Caitang was suddenly reminded of the smell in Wenxiang’s room, as well as the table covered in spices.

The shop they were in was large and had two shop assistants. One was picking things out with Guan Wan, so Song Caitang approached the other shop assistant to ask her some questions.

“The shop carries so many spices – does anyone here know anything about perfuming?”

“I’m not very good, but I know a thing or two.”

The shop sold spices of every grade, so while some customers were here to pick out spices for cooking, some were here to make perfumes. The shop assistants who worked here had to have some basic knowledge. Song Caitang was lucky to find a shop assistant who was more knowledgeable than most, even though she was no expert.

Song Caitang smiled and said, “I went to a friend’s room yesterday and I still can’t forget the smell. She made it herself and it was very special. Do the spices normally used for a room last for more than half a month?”

The shop assistant replied politely, “Actually, if there’s no special reason to do so, very few people purposely perfume the room. Most women make perfumes for their own bodies. The smell makes others happy and it makes themselves happy. If you smelled it in her room, then what you were smelling might be the fragrance she likes using most on her body. If it lasts for so long… your friend must be an expert in perfumes.”

“I don’t know anything about perfumes, but I’m interested now. Could you introduce a few spices to me? Like what’s this blue one here?”

While Song Caitang pointed to the various spices in the shop and asked about them, she kept an eye on Guan Wan and glanced over from time to time.

Guan Wan always spoke softly and smiled sweetly, so Song Caitang wanted to make sure she didn’t get bullied as a result.

As she listened to the shop assistant and looked around, she also took note of the spices that Guan Wan had already picked out and put at the side. Guan Wan loved cooking, while Song Caitang didn’t really have any preference and didn’t mind trying all sorts of food. But even though Guan Wan could execute a lot of different styles and tastes, and everything was delicious, once she got used to it, Song Caitang could tell if Guan Wan cooked the dish after just a few mouthfuls.

Guan Wan’s dishes were warm and gentle. Even if the initial taste was bitter or spicy, the aftertaste would be sweet. She felt as though Guan Wan’s large, adorable eyes were looking at her and showing concern for her health.

Since cooking could be done this way, would it be the same for perfuming?

Song Caitang asked the shop assistant, “Would an expert perfumer have her own style? Like… someone close to her would immediately recognize it as one of her fragrances regardless of where it appears or if it’s a new concoction?”

“Yes, that will certainly be the case. The really good perfumers would have their own habits and develop certain foundational steps when creating a new perfume, so her perfumes will carry some similarities and will not be too different, and anyone familiar with them would recognize it.”

Anyone familiar…

Would recognize it…

A thought suddenly popped up in Song Caitang’s head, but before she could think more about it, a voice interrupted her train of thought.

“Who do we have here? Miss Song, the coroner? What’s going on? Not using a knife to slice open those smelly and disgusting corpses today? You’re here to pretend you’re sweet smelling?”

It was Ling Qianqian.

She had four maids in waiting, seven or eight servants trailing behind her, as well as a whole troop of bodyguards right at the back to carry a simple sedan.

Ling Qianqian fanned herself with a round fan and stood in front with her nose in the air. Her maids had equally arrogant looks on their faces.

The Gaos were really taking very good care of this aristocrat from the capital.

Ling Qianqian’s tone was obviously unfriendly, so Guan Wan immediately stopped selecting spices and walked back to where Song Caitang was. She tugged at Song Caitang’s hand and looked worried at her cousin.

“Do you need me to call Elder Sis over?” she whispered.

Song Caitang patted her head and whispered back, “No need.”

“It’s been a long time since we last met, Miss Ling. I thought… you had gone back to the capital already.”

Song Caitang smiled faintly and spoke in a sarcastic manner.

Qi Yan had told her what happened the last time. The Gaos couldn’t really do anything about her, but the nanny who came along with her punished her, including grounding her.

That had hit where it hurt the most. Ling Qianqian immediately scowled. “Song! Cai! Tang!”

Song Caitang continued smiling as though she couldn’t sense Ling Qianqian’s anger at all. “Would you believe me if I said I could make sure you’d get grounded again today?”

That was infuriating.

Ling Qianqian’s face was all red and she was gritting her teeth, but there was nothing she could do.

She was an aristocrat, so she was like a jade bottle. Song Caitang was a filthy coroner, so she couldn’t even compare to a piece of broken ceramic. She wasn’t going to hurt her own reputation and image because of this filthy woman! It wasn’t worth it!

Song Caitang could fight and argue in public, but she couldn’t do that anymore…

It didn’t matter how far from the capital she was, or how few people witnessed it. She was not to do such a thing again.

When she remembered what the nanny warned her about, she gave up her initial plans to quarrel with Song Caitang. She was going to wait for a good chance in the future…

But she wasn’t leaving without putting Song Caitang down today either.

Since there was nobody else in the shop and all her servants were preventing the few people on the street from entering, the shop became a private place where she could say what she wanted. She chortled and tried to keep her voice low, “Song Caitang, don’t you dare think that you’re different or become complacent just because Zhao-gege pays you a little attention!”

Song Caitang was speechless. What sort of logic did this little girl have? She simply couldn’t understand.

“Zhao-gege never goes near women and hardly speaks to women. But I’m different! He always talks to me when he sees me! He talks a lot to you only for work, and nothing else! You’d better remember that, Song Caitang!”

Guan Wan blinked, then blinked again. She looked confused as she whispered to Song Caitang, “He always talks to her when he sees her… is that something very special? Is that something to boast about?”

Song Caitang shook her head and looked at Guan Wan seriously, “It isn’t. Don’t listen to her spout nonsense.”

They did not speak loudly, but Ling Qianqian overheard them and got even angrier. “Zhao-gege never touches women and never allows any woman to touch him, including the maids at home! But when I was in danger, he looped a whip around my waist to pull me aside!”

Song Caitang was even more speechless at this point. He did that? Okay, sure.

“And so?”

Ling Qianqian nearly lost her mind. “So, I’m special! Don’t you get it? I’m the one who’s special to him!!”

“Er… okay…”

“Don’t you dare think you stand a chance or that you could become his! He won’t give you the chance! He won’t touch any woman! Song Caitang, you’d better behave yourself and stop trying to seduce him, or else I’ll teach you a lesson!”

After making that threat, she seemed worried that she had spoken too loudly and might have drawn attention to herself, so she gave Song Caitang a hard push, then stormed out of the shop and left with her entourage.

Wham! Song Caitang crashed into the door.

Guan Wan was too weak and failed to pull her cousin back. She got a terrible shock, “Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do you feel pain anywhere?”

“I’m alright, Wan’er. Don’t worry.”

Song Caitang had not been careful and allowed Ling Qianqian to stand too close to her, plus she didn’t expect Ling Qianqian to do that.

But how much strength could Ling Qianqian have anyway? Song Caitang’s right arm had hit the door hard and hurt, but she rubbed her arm and confirmed that her bones were fine, so she was sure that it would be alright after a while.

Guan Wan was still angry and her brows were still furrowed. “So, that’s how an aristocrat from the capital behaves?”

Song Caitang responded, “Maybe the ladies in the capital don’t acknowledge her as one of them.”

Guan Wan scoffed as she decided that she would tell her older sister the minute she got home and get Guan Qing to teach this unreasonable girl a lesson!

Song Caitang watched as Ling Qianqian marched away and almost burst out laughing.

Zhao Zhi was someone who did not touch women and did not talk to women?

She knew that Zhao Zhi was suffering from some emotional trauma that made him keep his distance from women, but he seemed better recently. For example, he had been a rather considerate gentleman on the boat the night before. Ling Qianqian must have not seen him for too long because she was grounded.

But Song Caitang really didn’t deserve to be treated like that.

Song Caitang thought that her collision with the door wasn’t anything to be worried about, but her arm only became more and more painful, and her fingers felt a little numb. Things got worse after she got home. It hurt to even move a little.

Guan Wan was horrified and called the doctor to come over immediately.

The doctor listened to what happened in detail, then sighed. “Technically, it’s not anything to worry about and it will eventually go away on its own. I think you happened to hit an acupoint, so the meridians in your arm were affected and are temporarily blocked…”

Guan Wan’s eyes reddened as she began to cry pitifully, “Oh no, what do we do now? It’s all my fault… if I hadn’t insisted that she go out with me, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt…”

“Third Young Mistress, don’t cry, it’s really not anything serious.” This was the Guan family’s usual doctor and he was very familiar with the family. He really couldn’t bear to see Guan Wan cry at all. “I’ll perform acupuncture on Miss Song in a while and prescribe some ointment as well. As long as she changes her plasters on time, she’ll be fine within three to five days!”

Three to five days wasn’t a long time, and it wouldn’t delay most matters. But Song Caitang had requested to examine Yuetao’s body. That was impossible for the time being.

She quickly sent a message to Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi came to visit her personally with a big scowl on his face. She wasn’t sure if he was angry because he had made all those arrangements for her for nothing, or because he didn’t like seeing her hurt.

“Ling Qianqian did this?”

Song Caitang nodded, then felt like that wasn’t nice of her, so she added, “She didn’t do it on purpose.”

But that didn’t help. It sounded more like Song Caitang was tattling on her.

She sighed and said in a serious voice, “I was at fault too. I quarreled with her, so she got angry and pushed me. She’s so young, so I didn’t think she would be very strong and my arm didn’t hurt initially either. Nobody expected things to turn out this way.”

“I won’t be able to dissect the body for the time being, so please help me to preserve it well. The doctor said I’ll be fine in three to five days.”

Zhao Zhi scowled even harder and gritted his teeth, “Song Caitang, at such a time, the only thing you can think about is the dead body?!”

Song Caitang blinked in confusion. Then it hit her. Perhaps it was because she had made him do extra work for nothing.

Zhao Zhi was very busy and had come back to Luanze in a hurry, but Wenxiang’s body was discovered at the same time and he brought her to the flower boats to conduct an investigation that same night. Then the next morning, he went to the courthouse to request for the body officially… he must be very tired.

“Sorry for making you make all these arrangements for nothing.”

Zhao Zhi slammed a palm into the corridor pillar and glared fiercely at her. “And you think I’m here to ask for an apology?”

“If not…” Song Caitang tried to think harder, “Is it because you want me to instruct another coroner to dissect the body so that you can crack this case as quickly as possible?”

But after considering this option, Song Caitang shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not a viable option. Dissection can be complicated and just verbally instructing someone is not enough. The coroner needs to practice on a regular basis as well.”

Zhao Zhi… Zhao Zhi was already on the verge of exploding. He turned and marched off, disappearing within seconds.

But based on the things he sent to the house later on, it didn’t seem like he was that angry either…

Song Caitang sighed heavily. Why were men so hard to understand?

The body could not be dissected, but there was a lot of other work to be done. Narrowing down the suspects, for example.

Song Caitang rested at home, but information on the cases would still be sent to her and she never stopped thinking about them.

The Madam Liang case under Wen Yuansi seemed to have hit a roadblock.

He did not hide any information and shared everything safely with Song Caitang. Thanks to her assessment of Madam Liang’s body, Wen Yuansi had been able to ask the family a lot of detailed questions and he had gathered a lot of new information, but there were still many important questions left unanswered.

The problem with this case was that too much time had passed since it occurred, so a lot of clues disappeared with time. The real killer had been roaming free for four whole years and they would certainly not give themselves away easily

They had to continue thinking about this case.

As for the serial murder of Wenxiang and Yuetao, the team had narrowed down the suspects first.

The team had checked for any persons who had been at the last events hosted by the two girls before they were killed, and found a total of six people.

Song Caitang was surprised when she saw the list.

Besides the four rich young men whom Qi Yan had mentioned with regard to Yuetao’s case – Zheng Kanghui, Liu Zhenghao, Fan Zishi and Mi Gaojie – there were two more. And they were familiar people too. They were Fuliu and Yu Mingzhi.

The two men she had met with the night before.

That was… such a coincidence.

It didn’t take long for Zhao Zhi to summon all six of them for their first round of questioning to figure out the timeline of the murders. Song Caitang was asked to attend the questioning too.