Something Going On

Guan Qing raised an eyebrow slightly. A tiny twinkle that was both cheeky and aware of the situation appeared in her usually aloof gaze.

She was not married, and she wasn’t interested in romance either. In fact, she found it somewhat laughable.

Cao Zhang rubbed his nose awkwardly. His flirting had failed and he got snubbed instead, so he was definitely the joke right now.

He cleared his throat and forcibly returned to the earlier topic.

“I can negotiate with them on your behalf.”

“The Green Gang and the Night Sanctum had some disagreements in the past, but after I became the leader, I made a personal visit to the elder leader of the Night Sanctum, so at the very least, he will hear me out. I don’t think I can get them to release the two girls immediately, but I will find a way to force the Night Sanctum to keep them safe.”

Cao Zhang looked at Guan Qing very earnestly, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this myself, so there will be no problems.”

“Don’t worry, my ass!” Guan Qing was very anxious and didn’t care about the way she spoke. She slammed the table fiercely and said, “These are MY sisters and not yours, so I don’t need you to interfere. The people there are all highly skilled martial artists with bad tempers, and they’ve lost a groom who’s very important to their sect – what if they become unhappy and start fighting?”

“My poor sisters won’t even have a place to hide!”

“I don’t agree with your idea.”

Cao Zhang fell silent.

Guan Qing lowered her gaze to think. “Why don’t we just report this to the authorities? Even a martial arts sect has to give the authorities some degree of respect, right?”

“Are you referring to… Magistrate Wen?” The only person he could think of who was on very good terms with Song Caitang was this man.

Besides, Wen Yuansi was an intelligent man who was suitable for office, and also very good at talking to others.

But after he paused to consider Wen Yuansi a little longer, he realized that the magistrate wasn’t quite powerful enough.

“If you look him up, I’m sure Magistrate Wen will not refuse to help. But he will need to put in a lot of effort and use every connection he has to get this done. If everything turns out well, fine. But if it doesn’t, we’ll end up implicating him…”

Guan Qing pressed her fingers against her temples and sighed. “My cousin wouldn’t want that to happen to him.”

But who else could they ask?

Governor Li didn’t like Song Caitang, and while Governor Zhang was probably willing to help, he might not want to put in a lot of effort since this situation was fairly dangerous.

Wait. There was one more person.

A person came to Guan Qing’s mind. Her fair fingers suddenly stiffened and her eyes lit up as she looked up at Cao Zhang.

Cao Zhang had clearly thought of the same person. His eyes gleamed as his lips parted to utter a name, “Zhao Zhi.”

“But Surveillance Commissioner Zhao has already returned to the capital…”

Cao Zhang immediately stood up. “I’ll go and ask him for help!”

Besides being a surveillance commissioner, Zhao Zhi was a general in charge of war troops as well as a member of the royal family. He was given the title of commandery prince, so his residence in the capital would not be difficult to locate.

But…

Would he agree to help?

Guan Qing seemed to detect his doubts. Her lips curled upward slightly into a confident and brilliant smile, “He’ll definitely help!”

She suddenly remembered what happened some time ago when she went to Song Caitang’s residence in the middle of the night.

That night, she felt there was something odd about her cousin’s residence, but didn’t notice anything after walking around. Later on, she remembered seeing a blurry figure on top of the roof. Her eyesight wasn’t good enough for her to see exactly what that person looked like, but she remembered the gold embroidery pattern on the side of that person’s boots.

Some days later, she happened to run into Zhao Zhi along the streets. The gold embroidery pattern on his boots were exactly the same as the one she saw that night.

The environment in which Guan Qing grew up had caused her understanding of the world and society to be different from most other women. Guan Wan was a timid girl who liked staying at home, so she had to help ensure her younger sister wouldn’t end up marrying some jerk. But things were different with Song Caitang. Song Caitang was clever, rational, knew what she was doing at all times and knew exactly what she wanted. Guan Qing did keep a lookout for her too, but as long as her cousin didn’t suddenly decide to embark on anything crazy, she knew that Song Caitang would know how to behave and protect herself and Guan Qing didn’t need to worry about her.

At the same time, befriending someone from the royal family was something that only her cousin would be able to do.

“He will definitely help,” said Guan Qing as she leaned toward Cao Zhang.

She stared intently at him and said, “Send him a message yourself and make sure you get this done properly. That’s what you and your gang owe me.”

The flickering candlelight gave Guan Qing a gentle glow and made her even prettier than usual. Cao Zhang felt like moving away, but also… didn’t want to. He even wanted to move forward.

But he knew that moving forward… was not possible.

This woman was prickly and would not allow him to do that.

“How heartless.”

His eyes were as black as the water in the deepest part of the Qingling river. He sighed, “When we didn’t know each other so well, you talked so much about loyalty, you were so easygoing, so sweet, so polite, and you smiled even when we talked about work. Now that we’re on closer terms, your true colors shine through and you’re commanding me to do things. You’re even manlier than a man and you draw the line so clearly…”

Guan Qing didn’t feel bad and even laughed. “Cao Zhang, you’ve known me long enough. Every person who runs a business is like this. Our priority is profit, and we are heartless people.”

“Be good and head off right now. Get this done properly, otherwise… don’t blame me for getting nasty.”

As she spoke, she placed a slim finger on her teacup, then flicked it slightly.

Tea spilled all over the table.

She didn’t wait for a reaction from him and got ready to leave. She cleared her throat, made sure her hairpins were in place, then spun around and walked out confidently, leaving behind her beautiful back view as well as… a faint fragrance.

Cao Zhang kicked the table over angrily.

Of course, that was only after Guan Qing had walked completely out of sight.

He was VERY angry.

How could this woman command him to do things with such confidence! As though it was his job to do her bidding!

She was so different from the Guan Qing he knew before! That Guan Qing didn’t lose her temper even when he bullied her, and smiled all the time as she begged him to agree to business deals!

He was the leader of a gang! Was he so pathetic? Did he have to do everything she said?

He fumed silently in his room for a while, then left the room to practice some boxing moves. The exercise made him feel a lot better.

“One of you! Get me a horse!”

Yup. He was indeed pathetic.

He had climbed to this position from the bottom, so there was nothing he hadn’t seen or done before. Pride meant nothing to him now.

But what Cao Zhang and Guan Qing did not know was that after they had confirmed who was behind this whole thing, a man dressed entirely in black like secret bodyguards who were willing to lay their lives down for their employers, was already travelling as fast as he could to the capital.

His destination? The residence of the commandery prince.

Song Caitang knew nothing about what was happening elsewhere. As usual, she woke up in the middle of the night. To avoid disrupting Guan Wan’s sleep, she put on a coat and walked to another room instead.

Thankfully, the place they had been allocated had a lot of rooms with more than enough space. She could even admire the moon if she sat next to the window.

The scenery was pretty good.

Thin bamboos were planted outside the window and they looked splendid under the clear moonlight. Even their shadows seemed somewhat charming. The fake mountains in the distance were juxtaposed in an interesting manner and she could also hear the tinkling of water flowing. For just that moment, Song Caitang didn’t feel like she was in the Night Sanctum of ancient times, but in modern day Jiangnan Water Town.

It was a pity that she was the only person enjoying this beautiful night view.

She leaned lazily against the window, drank two cups of tea, then finally found some ink and paper and started organizing all the information she had gathered about the case.

How each person was related, what motive they might have for committing murder… she laid out everything on paper.

Xin Yongwang and Hua Rong obviously had feelings for Ye Nan. And if they were in love with Ye Nan, then they would not like Liao Xingjian. Moreover, while it looked like both the bride and groom of this wedding were happy to marry one another, they seemed to be hiding some pain from the past, which was very unusual. Could Ye Nan be harboring some hurt in her heart that could lead to murder?

Xin Yongwang was the overall man in charge at the Night Sanctum and had risen to this position from the Martial Arts Hall, which was mostly based outside the Sanctum. He was now in a very high position with a lot of power, and was pretty much just second to Ye Nan. But Ye Nan was a woman and needed to rely on a man to take care of many things outside of the sect. And once she got married, her focus would be on her own husband. What would happen to Xin Yongwang then? Could this be a problem?

Hua Rong was not from the Night Sanctum and he had nothing to gain from this. But he did say that he was in the medicinal herb business.

Almonds fell into that category.

Liao Xingjian was going to get married and his wife-to-be was the Young Mistress of the Night Sanctum. But he wasn’t completely devoted to her, because he had also promised to take care of Xi Rui. Would Xi Rui become hateful because of this?

Hua Rong mentioned that he had spotted Zhuang Qingyu talking to Xi Rui. If they had merely run into each other, Hua Rong probably wouldn’t have bothered to mention it. There must have been something about their meeting that raised his suspicions.

How were Zhuang Qingyu and Xi Rui related? Would he kill someone for Xi Rui’s sake?

He said that he was an old friend of the victim and they were on close terms. They were both martial artists, so they wouldn’t have remained friends just by meeting up every now and then and having a drink. It was more likely that they had been through something together before, and that cemented their friendship.

Could there be a motive hiding in their past?

Ye Nan and Liao Xingjian grew up together and were very close. They promised to be together forever and their feelings for one another would never change, but in the end, Liao Xingjian suddenly came back with Xi Rui and even took her in as a concubine, which forced the two women to live together. She could treat Xi Rui like she was invisible, but would she really not feel anything inside?

On the night before the wedding, Ye Nan had gone to ask Liao Xingjian if he had changed his mind. Was there really no tension in the room? Was she really that satisfied with his answer?

And the two servants. Were they really innocent?

Song Caitang felt like she had overlooked something, but she simply couldn’t figure it out.

As she kept thinking about these things, the sky began to lighten and her body began to feel a little stiff, so she got up and decided to take a little walk.

Perhaps it was because she was in the midst of a martial arts sect, but everyone woke up really early. She could already hear the sound of people practicing their martial arts in the distance.

Then, she spotted Xi Rui.

She was rather surprised.

Xi Rui was taking a stroll in the garden with a child in her arms.

The child was two or three years old, and was at an age where they often kicked up a fuss. Perhaps the boy was upset about having to wake up so early, so he seemed annoyed by the flowers and the grass. No matter how Xi Rui tried to pacify him, the little boy refused to move and kept wailing.

Xi Rui seemed very frustrated and dumped the boy on the ground. “I’m in no mood to take care of your every whim and fancy, you know! All you do is cry and fuss! Get this over and done with and we’ll go back! I still want to sleep!”

The child didn’t dare to move anymore after she started yelling at him. He squatted on the ground and cried in silence.

Just then, Ye Nan happened to come by. She was dressed in workout clothes.

Her hair was a little wet after practicing some martial arts. When she saw the way Xi Rui scolded the child, she frowned and said, “Since you’ve given birth to him, you should take good care of him. Why are you fierce towards him?”

“What do children know? They just like to cry and throw tantrums.” Xi Rui raised an eyebrow and said in a mocking voice, “Those who’ve never given birth before wouldn’t understand.”

The little boy’s face was wet with tears and Ye Nan felt bad for him, but Xi Rui was around, so she didn’t want to interfere. She turned to walk away, “Up to you then.”

“Of course it’s up to me!” Xi Rui scooped the child up. She dragged her words out in a smug voice like she had won some battle, “He came out of me, so no matter how fierce his mother is, he has to tolerate it. And after he grows up, he will become his mother’s backer and avenge his mother, not like someone here…”

“After working so hard for more than 20 years, her life is like filling up a bamboo basket with water – the water’s flowed out through the gaps and there’s nothing left!” Xi Rui marched off victoriously.

Ye Nan stood in the same spot without moving and went into a daze. Her silhouette seemed even thinner than she already was, and she cut such a lonely figure.

Song Caitang sighed.

The garden was large and nothing was obscured, so she hadn’t been spying on them. It was also too awkward to comfort Ye Nan, since they were still just strangers and not friends.

She decided to walk away and give Ye Nan space.

Xin Yongwang arrived at this juncture.

It was hard to say if he already knew that Ye Nan was here, or if he had managed to rush over after finding out what just happened. He consoled Ye Nan in hushed tones, “She’s always like that, you know her…”

Song Caitang had walked away and couldn’t hear their conversation clearly. She could catch a few words that were brought to her by the blowing wind.

“What happened four years ago…”
“Don’t think about it anymore…”
“Don’t be bothered by it anymore…”
“It’s all in the past…”
“Let go, won’t you…”

As Song Caitang made her way back, she started to feel curious about the mention of “four years ago”

Exactly what happened four years ago?

The child she saw today looked like he was two or three years old. If he was born three years ago… his mother would have been pregnant with him four years ago.

She felt that what happened four years ago was probably very important, but nobody wanted to talk about it when she questioned the suspects about the case the night before.

Everyone’s attitude toward this particular time…

It wasn’t as if talking about it was completely taboo. After all, Xin Yongwang just mentioned it just now. But this matter must be very sensitive and made everyone unhappy, and so, nobody would talk about it unless they had to.

What could have happened?

As she walked back into her compound with these thoughts in mind, she found Guan Wan kneading some dough.

The compound came with a small kitchen, and Guan Wan could instruct the servants and they would get any ingredients she wanted, she was in a pretty good mood.

Seeing her relax put Song Caitang’s heart at ease as well.

She walked into another room and noticed that it had been tidied up. The papers on the table had been stacked up nicely and it wasn’t as messy as she had left it.

The thoughtful Guan Wan must have helped to tidy up the papers.

She walked out with a cup of tea and smiled at Guan Wan. “You saw the things I wrote? Any thoughts?”

Guan Wan’s brows were furrowed as she kneaded the dough. “I’m not sure… it seems like everyone has issues with Liao Xingjian, but it’s not anything serious enough for them to kill him…”

Song Caitang took a sip of her tea. “There are many more details that we haven’t managed to dig out, so we don’t have enough information and it’s not possible at this point to come to any conclusion. That’s fine.”

She looked at Guan Wan. “Who do you think seems mostly likely to be the killer?”

Guan Wan shook her head honestly. “I really have no idea.”

“Then… who do you dislike the most? Who gives you the worst vibes?”

Guan Wan widened her eyes. “Is it okay for me to talk about that? It won’t affect your thoughts on the case?”

Song Caitang shook her head and replied confidently, “No, it won’t.”

Intuition wasn’t always helpful and it might have nothing to do with the killer. But sometimes having a bad feeling about something or noticing something that didn’t really make sense would help her to see which details she might have overlooked.

Since she asked, Guan Wan spoke her mind.

“That Xu Deye. I’m not sure if he’s a servant or someone in charge of other servants, but I don’t really like him.”

Guan Wan wrinkled her nose. “He seems so arrogant. Someone’s been murdered, but he seems so unhappy and impatient about having to answer questions about what happened that night, and even said such provoking words, as though his employer didn’t set any rules or boundaries for servants. I’ve heard that the martial arts world doesn’t really care about formalities, but… he’s gone a little too far, don’t you think?”

She had grown up with her older sister, Guan Qing, so her understanding of how a household worked was influenced by that. She was very friendly and caring toward the servants, and the atmosphere in the Guan house was amicable. But that was assuming everyone knew their own place.

As the employer, the family had to make sure they were good employers. They were to support and feed the family, to protect everyone in the household, be concerned about what they ought to be concerned about, give rewards and tips when necessary. Anyone who bullied the servants was insulting their employer, so the family had to stand up for their own servants.

The servants, on the other hand, had to do their jobs properly. Their actual personalities didn’t really matter. They just had to carry out their jobs well.

The Guans were a family of merchants and did not really follow a lot of formalities, so the servants could do whatever they wanted once they were off work. But as long as there were guests in the house, they had to at least show some manners.

Guan Wan felt that Xu Deye had crossed the line.

A thought suddenly struck Song Caitang. This time, she caught it immediately!

She realized what was so strange about that round of questioning. Something was off about Xu Deye and Dong Xin!

Xu Deye had spoken too hurriedly and he switched topics way too quickly, as though he was trying to cover up something…

Also, there was something odd about the way the two of them interacted.

They did not stand very close to one another and did not cast glances at one another, but the look on their faces and the tiny movements they made…

It was clear that something was up with these two.

No ordinary person would dare to behave with such arrogance in a place like the Night Sanctum. A mere butler like himself wouldn’t dare to be so bold. He was able to behave like this because he knew someone had his back, or someone was allowing him to be like this.

And the one with the most authority here was Ye Nan.

Did these two have some hold over Ye Nan?

Liao Xingjian and Ye Nan grew up together and were extremely close, so they definitely went through a number of things together and could not be disassociated from one another. Could their hold over Ye Nan also be a hold over Liao Xingjian?

If that was the case, then they must have had some interaction with Liao Xingjian.

Song Caitang narrowed her eyes slightly and put the teacup in her hand down.

She might be able to think of a way to tease some information out of them.