Strange Timeline

Out of six suspects in the Wenxiang and Yuetao case, four of them were rich young men who were regular customers of the brothel, Fuliu was a brothel staff who would often accompany the courtesans to their events. Yu Mingzhi was not a rich young man, but he was a regular patron of such places, and was a diehard fan of a courtesan working for the brothel next door.

This group…

Song Caitang really hoped that they were right and the killer was really among them.

That way, the authorities could narrow down their investigations, and the killer would have trouble committing another murder during this time.

The four rich young men were men of high standing in Luanze and did not really like being summoned by the courthouse. Someone like Zheng Kanghui especially, since he held higher status than the rest and was treated as a VIP everywhere he went. Even if he wasn’t an arrogant character to begin with, he had to protect his standing and reputation, so he didn’t want to respond to the summons.

But they couldn’t ignore the summon this time.

Zhao Zhi sent out the summons personally, signing off as both the Surveillance Commissioner and a member of the royal family, which added a lot of authority to these summons. Never Zheng Kanghui – even his grandfather would have no choice but to respond obediently to such a summon.

Zheng Kanghui was the grandson of the Salt and Metals Vice Commissioner, Liu Zhenghao was the son of the new Pacification Commissioner, Liu Qinian. Mi Gaojie was the future head of the Mi household, a family intricately tied to the empress… So many of them hailed from such significant families. Governor Li was worried and insisted on being at the questioning.

Wen Yuansi was busy with other cases and could not be around. Judge Guo was still severely ill and could not get out of bed, so he couldn’t come either. Only Zhao Zhi and Governor Li were going to be around. There would be nobody to smooth things over at all.

Zhao Zhi didn’t need that. Before entering the courthouse, he even smiled brightly at Governor Li and said, “Your hair’s done up really nicely today, Governor Li. I hope your clip doesn’t accidentally fall out.”

He was smiling, but his tone was chilling. Governor Li immediately felt a chill down his spine as he recalled how frightened he was when Zhao Zhi pressured him the last time.

What he did to Judge Guo was already horrifying enough. Judge Guo was still having diarrhea and vomiting fits, plus he was still delirious and unable to get out of bed. At this rate, he wasn’t going to accumulate any credits for promotion. In fact, he would probably get fired by the courts soon.

What Zhao Zhi was trying to say was very obvious. As long as Governor Li toed the line, all was well. But if he dared to say too much or intervene too much…

Then the hair clip on his head wouldn’t be the only thing in danger. His head itself would be in danger!

Governor Li gnashed his teeth angrily. He had never felt so aggrieved before. He used to be based in the capital and he had been acquainted with relatives of the emperor before too, but he was never this fearful. This Zhao Zhi, however…

No. Not this guy.

This guy was the King of Chaos, so he had the guts to do anything he put his mind to. What if Zhao Zhi got angry with him and killed him as a result? He wouldn’t be able to complain to anyone about it because he’d be dead!

Zhao Zhi was not only royalty, but he was someone who had bled for the country and led the emperor’s troops, so he was someone with significant contribution to the country. The man might not even be punished for killing someone!

It wasn’t worth it.

Governor Li decided in his heart that he would be careful with his words, or not even speak at all, as long as he was allowed to watch the events unfold properly. That would be best.

A screen was set up by the side. That was for Song Caitang.

As Zhao Zhi walked toward his seat, he passed by the screen and glanced at Song Caitang.

Song Caitang smiled prettily at him, blinked a few times and mouthed, “You can do it!”

Zhao Zhi cleared his throat, then walked to the front of the hall with no expression on his face.

The six persons related to the case had already arrived and were waiting in the hall.

Governor Li had slipped into his own seat too.

Zhao Zhi flipped the back of his robe up to sit down, the loud flapping sound of his robe accompanied by the way he sat down with such charisma and authority revealed his upbringing as a member of the royal family for that short moment.

“I assume all of you know why you’ve been asked to come here and I thank everyone for being cooperative. I am a surveillance commissioner, which means I am watching over the country on behalf of His Majesty and I do not wish to have any delay in solving this case. If I’ve made things difficult for any of you, I hope you can understand where I’m coming from.”

Zheng Kanghui was of the highest standing among the six, so he placed a palm over his other fist politely and said, “Don’t say that, Surveillance Commissioner Zhao, we’re not unhappy about anything.”

Liu Zhenghao quickly expressed his stance, “My father is the Pacification Commissioner here, and before coming, he instructed me to work well with you so that we can nab the criminal. I will do my best to follow any instructions you may have.”

Since the two of highest standing had expressed their willingness to cooperate, the rest did not dare to disagree.

Zhao Zhi raised his brows slightly, which made him look friendlier, but his gaze did not change. “I’m sure we’re all mature enough to understand that being called here to help in investigating a case is not embarrassing. The killer, on the other hand, should be embarrassed by the absolutely heinous crime he has committed…”

He stared intently at all six men, then pointed at Fuliu. “You go first. What were you doing at the events during the Ghost Festival and the Double Seventh Festival?”

“To answer your question, I was busy with the usual duties required at an event. I coordinated the communication between the courtesans and the servants, including when to serve tea, when to serve alcohol, how many dishes to order…”

Fuliu had found out by now that the man he had been speaking to on the boat that night had turned out to be the surveillance commissioner and a member of the royal family. That had really frightened him and he did not dare to throw in any of his usual gossipy remarks as he answered the question in detail.

“These are small but time consuming matters that run in the background of all events, so there are times where I’m not sure what’s going on at the event itself.”

Yu Mingzhi was filled with regret about what he had done after sobering up that night, but it was too late to do anything about that, so he was probably hoping to use this questioning session to get back into Zhao Zhi’s good books. He was very eager to speak and quickly picked at Fuliu’s statement, “That’s not all, right? You’re the pimp in charge of these courtesans, so if these girls get into trouble, you’d be the one to punish them too, right? I’ve heard that someone with as much experience in the industry as you would not hesitate to use a whip or hand restraints and the like…”

Fuliu started shaking angrily, “That’s bullshit! Did you even see that happening? How could you speak irresponsibly? Or maybe you’re the killer! You’re so obsessed with Yicui Place’s Wushuang, so you probably wanted to get rid of my Wenxiang and Yuetao!”

“That has nothing to do with me!” Yu Mingzhi immediately straightened his sleeves and grew wary. “I just wanted to know what these two women did to make so many men of all ages become so infatuated with them! I was going to tell my Wushuang about their tactics so that she could improve and become better than those two little witches! I wouldn’t kill someone over that!”

He immediately turned to Zhao Zhi to state his stand, “Sir, I really did not commit murder! The heavens can be my witness!”

Fuliu immediately called his bluff, “I can’t believe you actually said that! Your family’s pretty big and you run a number of businesses, so while you’ve got plenty of friends, you’ve made plenty of enemies too! There was a rumor two years ago that you forcibly acquired someone’s business, killed the fellow’s entire family and covered the whole thing up!”

Yu Mingzhi narrowed his eyes, “Slander! This is slander! Where’s the proof? Show me the evidence!”

Fuliu snorted and didn’t even bother looking at Yu Mingzhi, “If I had evidence, you wouldn’t be standing here today. You’d be thrown into prison.”

“Why, you…”

The two men were clearly not done, so Zhao Zhi slammed a palm on the table and the room immediately quietened down again.

Zhao Zhi pointed at Yu Mingzhi, “Since you want to talk so badly, you can go next. What did you do on those days?”

“I really didn’t do much, I just went to watch them perform. Miaoyin Court has really taught them a lot, so the two girls showed off a lot of skills and I got to watch quite a bit…”

His expression shifted slightly at this point, “What they did is connected to the other young gentlemen here, so I think it’s best if they speak for themselves.”

Zhao Zhi asked, “Did you get close to the two victims at all?”

“I guess… I drank a lot, so when I came out from the toilet I happened to run into her, had a short chat with her and touched her hand.”

“Whose hand?”

“Er… both.”

“Anything else?”

“Nothing else.”

Zhao Zhi mentally sorted these details out, then nodded and looked at Mi Gaojie, “What about you?”

“I wanted to get close, but I had to get the chance first!”

Mi Gaojie looked terribly aggrieved, “During the Double Seventh Festival, Wenxiang ignored me completely. I had looked forward to this event for so long, and no matter how hard I tried, she just kept ignoring me and kept running after Mr. Liu and Mr. Zheng. Even if I went over to interrupt their conversation, she would just glare at me with disdain… as for Yuetao’s event during the Ghost Festival, I argued with her right from the start, so I didn’t want to even look at her anymore and drank until I blacked out. I don’t know anything else.”

“Oh really? I saw you grab hold of Wenxiang and try to kiss her! You’re very upset that you didn’t get to sleep with her, aren’t you?” interjected Yu Mingzhi.

“That’s nonsense! I didn’t do anything bad! You…”

“You what! You’re like a baby who’s still breastfeeding and you don’t know anything! You don’t even know how to get a girl in bed with you!”

Seeing that these two were about to start quarrelling, Zhao Zhi slammed a palm on the table again. “Mi Gaojie, what time did you talk to Wenxiang? And Yu Mingzhi, what time did you spot them?”

“8 pm.”

“Around 8 pm. The event had just started getting lively.”

They both had the same answer, so that part was probably fine.

Zhao Zhi turned his attention to Fan Zishi. “What about you? What were you doing?”

Fan Zishi had an approachable face with upturned lips and spoke in a confident but relaxed manner, so he seemed like he was very good at socializing. “I was very busy at both events. The two young gentlemen had asked for my help, so I put in my utmost effort and spent most of my time with the guests.”

“At Wenxiang’s event on the Double Seventh Festival, Wenxiang was very pumped up right from the start. She was very confident as she played the zither and sang, so everyone was well entertained and I didn’t have much to do at that point. But later, perhaps it was because Mr. Mi talked to her, she became a little unhappy and broke something, so I had to get busy…”

Fuliu immediately chimed in, “That’s right. Things got a little awkward, so I coordinated my efforts with Mr. Fan. I got the servants to quickly clear the place, while Mr. Fan was in charge of livening up the party again. It didn’t take long for Wenxiang to cheer up again!”

“That’s exactly what happened,” Fan Zishi affirmed Fuliu’s words, “She’s a top courtesan from Miaoyin Court after all, so she recovered quickly and she knew what to do. She knew that the person of highest standing at the event was Mr. Zheng, so she did her best to entertain him.”

Zhao Zhi asked, “Around what time was this?”

“Somewhere between 9 and 11pm?” Fan Zishi paused to think, “It was around 10pm, I think. Wenxiang had quietly gone to the bathroom, and she was all cheery again after that. Mr. Zheng was the host, and his main guest was Mr. Liu. Wenxiang eventually went back with Mr. Liu, but before leaving the event, I think she passed Mr. Zheng a note.”

Zhao Zhi looked at the last two men. “Is that what happened?”

Liu Zhenghao replied, “Yes, that’s what happened. Wenxiang did go through a couple of mood changes that day, but she recovered very quickly and did a good job at the event. When it was just the both of us…” he cleared his throat and seemed a bit shy, “she was very passionate. I had drunk quite a bit and did enjoy myself, but unfortunately I blacked out after that and I don’t even know what time she left.”

Zheng Kanghui nodded. “Wenxiang was the top courtesan around that day, but there were other lower ranked courtesans around too. Mr. Liu was my main guest, so he obviously gets the best. I read the note that Wenxiang passed to me. I did not reply and certainly did not meet with her. I even passed the note to Fuliu.”

“Yes, that is correct,” Fuliu nodded. “But that’s the way our courtesans work. If they see someone they like, they’d want to let the other party know. They don’t have to get together with the other party the same night, but they’d wait for the other party to come and look for them again next time. Mr. Zheng is a VIP guest from a reputable family, so it’s only normal for Wenxiang to be interested in him.”

Zhao Zhi asked, “What was written on the note?”

Fuliu replied, “Nothing much. She wrote that she looks forward to meeting him again and wrapped a hair accessory with the paper.”

So, at Wenxiang’s event on the Double Seventh Festival, Wenxiang had started the event on a high note and was confident, but she ran into Mi Gaojie or something else happened later on, so she suddenly became unhappy and even broke something. Fan Zishi and Fuliu worked hard to revert the atmosphere to what it was when it started. Wenxiang pulled herself together too. She did her best to serve Liu Zhenghao while throwing Zheng Kanghui flirtatious looks. But because Liu Zhenghao was the main guest of the event, she left to sleep with him and was very passionate in bed and fulfilled her responsibility as a professional courtesan. But because she didn’t want to lose a big customer like Zheng Kanghui, she left him a note before leaving.

Zhao Zhi paused to think and tapped a finger against the table. “What about the Ghost Festival event? Fan Zishi, you didn’t talk about that one yet.”

“No, I haven’t.” Fan Zishi went on, “Unlike Wenxiang, Yuetao kicked off the event looking a little unhappy. She did smile and her dancing was charming, but her smiles looked a little fake and she seemed distracted. Maybe… because she didn’t like seeing Mi Gaojie around?”

Mi Gaojie retorted, “She didn’t like seeing me around? I’m the one who didn’t like seeing her around!”

“So the two of them began arguing,” Fan Zishi sighed, “and again, it was up to Fuliu and I to bring the mood back up. But Yuetao was difficult to coax and it’s hard to make her do what she doesn’t want to. So, I suggested that Mr. Liu draw a portrait of her. I was so glad that he didn’t mind and really started painting… I’m really grateful to him. He was the host that night and was very busy too, yet he was willing to do this. I was really touched.”

Fuliu threw in a compliment too, “Mr. Liu is an amazing artist. His portrait immediately made Yuetao happy. She broke into a smile and even said it reminded her of someone she knew… The main guest on this night was Mr. Zheng, so Yuetao went back to the room with him, but gave Mr. Liu a note.”

Liu Zhenghao smiled, “My hosting abilities weren’t enough to snatch her away. I knew what she meant by that note, so I kept it with the intention of looking her up in the future, but who knew…” He sighed. “I won’t have the chance anymore.”

Zhao Zhi looked at him, “So, you didn’t see Yuetao again that night?”

“That’s right.”

Zhao Zhi looked at Zheng Kanghui. “What about you? What time was it when you last saw Yuetao?”

“Yuetao was also very passionate and her technique was very uh…”Zheng Kanghui cleared his throat, “I drank a little too much that day, so I just remembered enjoying myself, but I don’t know what happened after that.”

Even Song Caitang was a little surprised by their statements, not just Zhao Zhi.

So, during these two events, both Zheng Kanghui and Liu Zhenghao had taken turns to be the host and the main guest, while the rest were merely there to make up the numbers.

At the Double Seventh Festival event, Zheng Kanghui had invited Liu Zhenghao. Wenxiang had been confident at the start, ran into Mi Gaojie and Yu Mingzhi, had a change in mood, then got better after Fan Zishi and Fuliu stepped in, then eventually left to sleep with Liu Zhenghao but also left Zheng Kanghui a note to see him again.

The Ghost Festival event was the complete opposite. Liu Zhenghao had invited Zheng Kanghui. Yuetao was in a bad mood and argued with Mi Gaojie. Fan Zishi and Fuliu stepped in again, and Liu Zhenghao’s painting of her finally cheered her up. She happily left with the main guest, Zheng Kanghui, to sleep with him, but left Liu Zhenghao a note.

There was something odd about these two events.

Song Caitang felt that there was still a lot of information they hadn’t managed to glean.

Sexual abuse had to start with sexual attraction. Who among these suspects were watching all of this excitedly, and who was secretly doing stuff that the rest didn’t know about?

Falling asleep after drinking… that was either someone’s excuse, or… someone had done something he shouldn’t have.