Episode 159

The sudden turn of events and the upheaval in emotions had consumed all of Liu Zhenghao’s energy.

His own father, Liu Qinian, was kicked by Zhao Zhi and forced to kneel with his face against the floor, yet Liu Zhenghao continued to look on quietly and did not utter a word.

He knew that as a son, he ought to be on his father’s side. He ought to do everything he could to defend himself and his father.

But just like what Song Caitang said earlier, it seemed like he…

It seemed like he had been hoping all along to be caught, hoping that someone would stop him from doing what he was doing, hoping that his father would be brought down.

He needed a backer, so he didn’t dare to let anything happen to his father, and didn’t want anything bad to happen to his father. But deep down, he really didn’t want to inherit everything his father had given him.

Since things had come to this…

He was going to just let everything burn!

Having such thoughts was very dangerous, or so his rational side told him. He couldn’t continue being this way, this was all a set up by the authorities. But he couldn’t help himself.

It was as though he had inhaled some drugs and was addicted, so he couldn’t really control himself. It was as though the other party had lit a fire in his heart, so even though he knew it wasn’t the right thing to do now, he couldn’t help but succumb to it.

Just let it all be destroyed! Admit to it! Confess to your crimes! Let the Lius be done for once and for all!

“Hurhur… ahaha… HAHAHA!” Liu Zhenghao buried his face in his hands as he suddenly started laughing. His laughter was like the laughter of a lunatic, and he also began to cry.

Liu Qinian continued struggling even as he was pressed against the floor. “I’m not admitting to anything! What ridiculous evidence do you even call this?! You planted all this stuff to frame my family! I refuse to acknowledge these things!”

But whatever he said now didn’t matter anymore. Liu Zhenghao had just admitted to all his crimes in front of everyone, so Governor Li and a whole room of other court officials and runners were witnesses. The items in the Liu family residence were found through a search led by Governor Zhang and Qi Yan along with a properly signed and stamped search warrant as well as local troops. They found the pigments, the painting of Yuetao and Liu Zhenghao’s underwear. There was no mistake.

Zhao Zhi couldn’t even be bothered to talk to him. He waved a hand, “Take him away!”

He was both a surveillance commissioner and a member of the royal family, plus he was very capable on his own, so he got everything done very quickly.

Nobody knew how he did it, but Liu Qinian quickly confessed to what harm he had done to all the young, underaged maids in his household. But as Song Caitang had said before, masters had absolute rights over their maids and servants in this society, so the master would not be punished severely for doing such a thing. He was charged for many instances of the same crime, but it was not enough to execute him still.

Zhao Zhi didn’t stop there, however, and proceeded to dig up everything he could about Liu Qinian, including all the bribes he had given and received, the corruption he had been involved in, the secret gangs he had formed, the people he had schemed against and murdered…

Liu Qinian was a man who loved power and was a bold character too, so he had dabbled a lot in such activities but remained safe because he was well connected to the people around the empress. But this time, Zhao Zhi had gone all out to make sure he was charged, and for some reason, nobody in the capital tried to stop him, so Liu Qinian’s charges were confirmed quickly and judgement was pronounced just as quickly.

Liu Zhenghao was not going to be let off easily either.

The truth was clear, the evidence damning, and there was a lot of it. Fan Zishi was also willing to be a witness and told the authorities everything he had seen that day. So, even if Liu Zhenghao returned to normal and wanted to deny his crimes, it was too late.

Every year, that obsessive thought would take control of Liu Zhenghao and he would come to Luanze or somewhere nearby to find a courtesan and kill her. And this carried on for more than ten years.

Who knew how many beautiful, young women were buried in the mass graves in the rural areas or thrown into the calm Qingling river with tear stains on their faces…

But now, someone had been willing to care about their lives. Justice had finally been sought for them.

This case started a long time ago and went on for a long time, but it ended very quickly, like how the autumn winds blew an entire tree’s worth of leaves onto the ground.

It was also already autumn.

Without anyone realizing, the winds had grown colder and it was no longer possible to go out in thin summer wear. Yellow leaves floated sadly in the air for a while before finally landing.

Liu Qinian and his son were both in jail awaiting their sentences, so their family residence was in shambles. Almost all their servants and maids had run away, and the inner house was a mess. Those leaving the house didn’t even dare to use the main gate and even had to use a sleeve to cover their faces because they were afraid of others throwing rotten vegetables and eggs at them.

“They deserve it! Look at the trash they’ve bred! The whole family’s trash!”

“So much for saying that they’re an example for women! They kept promoting those chastity plaques and went around scaring people into complying! Damn all of you! My younger sister can finally get remarried without worrying they’d arrest her!”

“What a disappointment! I thought we got someone good, but he turned out to be a corrupt official who’s good at putting on pretenses!”

“You’re right, they deserve this! I heard from my next door neighbor’s youngest brother-in-law’s second sister-in-law’s brother-in-law that after the surveillance commissioner was done questioning that pervert Liu Zhenghao, he was dragged out covered in blood! He used to be so well-dressed and smug, but when he was dragged out, his eyes were unfocused and his mouth crooked, so he couldn’t even talk! It makes me so happy just thinking about that!”

“Everyone, calm down! Calm down! The ones at fault are Liu Qinian and Liu Zhenghao, the rest of the family is innocent!”

“Innocent my ass! You think the rest of the family didn’t know this was happening?”

“Wang, don’t bother. Everyone’s just ranting and they aren’t really going to rush into the house to beat anybody up… besides, the arrest of this father and son might be a good thing for the Lius. At least the servants won’t have to suffer such injustice, and the daughters of the family can live normally and not get locked up in the needlework workshop at two or three years old…”

“Hey, that father and son haven’t been executed yet, right? Why is someone burning paper money already?”

A sharp-eyed person spotted someone along the quiet alley next to the main street.

“Shush, that’s Madam Sun from the Mi family. The second daughter-in-law who wanted to be removed from the family.”

“Oh… that Mi family.”

Everyone started gossiping again when the Mis were mentioned. After all, this family had suffered no less scandal than the Lius.

“That Mi Xiaowen went round a few days ago to tell everyone that he was sending Madam Wang’s body back to her family. What happened in the end?”

“Tsk, the Mis are really awful people. The Wangs were still supportive of their daughter though. They accepted the coffin with her body inside and immediately started a period of mourning, and they also announced in front of everyone that they were cutting ties with the Mis, saying that they didn’t care to be in-laws with the Mis anymore!”

“Oh my goodness, are you serious? I mean, the Wangs aren’t rich, right?”

“Not only are they not rich, but they don’t have anybody working for the authorities either…”

“The Wangs proved to be people with a backbone, while the Mis totally regretted what happened. A lot of people went to their house to curse at them, and the son has been kicking up a fuss too. Mi Xiaowen was so frustrated, he tried to take Madam Wang’s body back, but the Wangs refused to let him have it. I guess you weren’t there when it happened? It was amazing to watch…”

“Madam Sun is burning paper money for her sister-in-law, Madam Wang, right? Gosh, this family of three brothers can’t compare to the boldness and resolve of the two ladies.”

“I totally agree. One was willing to kill her mother-in-law to avenge her daughter, owned up to it and killed herself as punishment without trying to defend herself. The other walked out of the house and didn’t even look back, and she refused to return despite her husband’s pleas. It’s hard to find such strong women, not only in Luanze, but in the entire country.”

“Speaking of which, Madam Wang and Madam Sun’s daughters… were Wenxiang and Yuetao, right?”

Wenxiang and Yuetao, the two courtesans who were the victims in this case.

Most ordinary folk hardly patronized the flower boats, so most of them had only heard the names of the famous courtesans before but had never seen them in person. But as the case was investigated, details of what they looked like were slowly released and people could imagine their faces.

The two girls had been rejected by their families and thrown into a cesspool. They were terribly disappointed, but they did not wallow in pity or anger. Instead, they used their own way of supporting each other to get through their tough journey, growing from two buds that could barely withstand the slightest bit of dirt to blossom into the most beautiful and radiant of flowers.

They were trapped in a world of filth, but their hearts remained untainted. Regardless of what life threw at them, they held onto their beliefs firmly. They knew well what they could do and what they ought not to do.

For the sake of each other, they were willing to sacrifice their lives. Even though the world despised them and thought little of them, they worked hard to leave clues behind, hoping someone would notice and bring the killer to justice in order to prevent more tragedies from happening in the future.

Wenxiang had been intelligent and headstrong, while Yuetao had been gentle but resilient.

They were going through tribulations, yet they never felt lost along the way. They remained pure throughout and carried themselves with pride.

A large majority of men could never compare to the character that these two girls had!

The two girls were gone, but they seemed to live on in everyone’s hearts, as though they were still alive.

A gentle breeze blew past and provided a little warmth.

It also brought the smell of osmanthus flowers, which hit the people’s noses and clung to their sleeves.

“That cloud over there… look! It looks like two girls holding hands…”

Courtesans became a trending topic, but the flower boats operating on Qingling River banned their patrons from speaking about this case lightly.

If any patron mentioned the case in a lighthearted or unbothered tone, regardless of whether they meant it or not, the courtesans would throw him a dirty stare. If the patron was already drunk, the courtesans would even dare to slap him and the pimps would actually turn a blind eye.

Miaoyin Court lost both Wenxiang and Yuetao, so Wushuang from Yicui Place became super popular overnight and was certainly pleased about it. But when a patron mentioned this in hope of gaining Wushuang’s favor, Wushuang bashed him up. He failed to gain her favor and got his leg broken instead.

The ending of this case was satisfactory to many, but nobody could bring the dead back to life. The courtesans competed fiercely and they were capable of doing crazy things in order to get ahead. But actually… they were just like the two murdered courtesans.

They used their own way to remember and pay their respects to the two girls.

The respect and dignity courtesans gained from this case did not only belong to Wenxiang and Yuetao, but to all of them.

Now that the case had come to a close, Song Caitang had nothing else to do. After she sorted out all the autopsy reports, made sure there were no mistakes and signed them off, she rested at home and did not go to the courthouse anymore.

Everything at home was business as usual. Guan Qing was huddled over the ledger books and was busy every single day. Their grandmother, Madam Bai, continued enjoying her fun game of sneaking candies into her mouth. Her seemingly casual comments were always filled with good advice on how to live life and were always so cleverly delivered. Guan Wan was still obsessed with cooking and cooked all sorts of delicious treats, forcing anyone who happened to pass by to try them.

But because Guan Qing was usually too busy and was hard to catch, while Madam Bai was getting on in age, so she could no longer eat as much or as many things as a younger, healthier person could, so Song Caitang quickly became the one person who Guan Wan could catch hold of and feed.

In just a matter of days, Song Caitang felt like she had grown a lot fatter.

She told herself that she shouldn’t be eating, but Guan Wan seemed to have magical hands that could understand her taste, so she ended up scolding herself all day while enjoying the food.

Her problem of waking in the night continued to persist.

She put on a coat and sat in the corridor in front of her residence to admire the moon.

It was going to be the middle of autumn soon. The moon was big and bright and its reflection rippled on the surface of the water. It was quiet and distant, as though it could absorb any problems a person had.

Song Caitang could smell the fragrance of osmanthus flowers in the air.

It was as quiet and distant as the night.

The sound of something whooshing through the air lightly and swiftly suddenly resounded in her ears as a black shadow appeared next to her out of nowhere.

She didn’t need to think to know who it was.

Song Caitang called out his name without even raising her head, “Zhao Zhi.”

Zhao Zhi threw a paper bag into her hands.

“Sorbet?” Song Caitang was very pleasantly surprised.

Guan Wan was able to make absolutely any sort of food, but she liked using fresh ingredients that were available during the season, so once the season had passed, she would hardly use the ingredients that were available at that time. It was autumn now, so she wouldn’t make sorbet anymore, since that was a summer item. But humans were always such strange creatures. Sometimes, they just refused to follow the rules, and it was hard for one to even understand their own cravings.

It was cold, but Song Caitang really did want to eat this.

“Thanks!”

She patted the floor next to her to get Zhao Zhi to sit down.

Zhao Zhi stared at the corridor, then stared at the water it faced and was a little hesitant. Song Caitang was sitting so close to the water and didn’t look like she could be convinced to move any further from it…

After a thought, he sat down next to her.

“Liu Zhenghao is done confessing?” Besides the case at hand, she was also concerned about the matter that Zhao Zhi was working on. “Did you manage to ask him about what Qinglian was holding on to?”

Zhao Zhi nodded.

“It’s not easy, huh,” said Song Caitang in a slightly garbled voice from eating her sorbet. “It’s been so long since it happened, and Liu Zhenghao didn’t kill her because of it…”

It was very likely that he wouldn’t remember anything.

“He did forget,” Zhao Zhi stared at the moon’s reflection in the water, his gaze confident and arrogant, “but I can force him to remember.”

“How did you do it?” Song Caitang suddenly remembered how everyone was talking about Liu Zhenghao being covered in blood after he was interrogated. “You used… torture?”

Zhao Zhi frowned and looked at her. “Are you scared?”

Song Caitang shook her head. “Just curious.”

Zhao Zhi raised a finely trimmed brow very slightly. It was hard to tell if it was the way the moon was illuminating his face or not, but he did not look as distant and aloof as he normally did, and there was even a gentleness in his eyes. “Song Caitang, you ought to be afraid.”

Song Caitang wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that.

But he didn’t elaborate further and returned to the original topic, “The killer was a psycho, but psychos are human too. There are things that scare them, if they feel pain they will scream, if they are suffering they will cry. Compared to assassins who have been well trained for such a day, Liu Zhenghao is a lot easier to interrogate…”

Zhao Zhi told her that Liu Zhenghao didn’t know much about what Qinglian was holding onto, but the bit he knew was enough for Zhao Zhi to keep digging. In order to prove himself, Liu Zhenghao had tried to get close to Zheng Kanghui for the sake of being part of the salt shipping trade the next year. It was as though he was going through some sort of entrance exam. As long as he did this thing properly, he would be able to join the group.

And this group might be where Lu Guangzong’s gold bars were headed.

After going one big round, all the cases turned out to be related, including the Yun Nianyao case and the treasure map on the oldest of the three sworn brothers. They were actually all connected.

Fate was a truly mystical thing.