Victim Was A Swindler

“A swindler?”

Qi Yan stared wide-eyed at Song Caitang, his shock written all over his face. That was amazing! How did he not detect that!

Zhao Zhi’s fingers stopped tapping as well. That hadn’t occurred to him either. “Please elaborate.”

Song Caitang held her teacup up, her slim, fair fingers wrapped round the green ceramic up. She didn’t answer the question and asked them another question instead, “What do you think are… common traits that most swindlers have?”

Qi Yan instinctively looked at Zhao Zhi.

Swindlers… were no strangers to them.

There were indeed such people in the world. Some worked by themselves, some worked in groups. And they loved to look for “fat sheep” to slaughter.

Both of these men were part of the upper echelons of Bianliang society, boys who had been brought up sheltered and well provided for. When they were at an age when they were immature but possessed more wealth and influence than others their age, they had been victims of swindlers before. Many young men like them had realized how stupid they were after that and began to work hard to become a better person. That was how they became much more sensible and reliable people today.

Qi Yan knew very well what traits a swindler would have!

“Most swindlers are fairly good looking, carry themselves well and give others a good impression.”

But before Qi Yan could say anything, Zhao Zhi stole the chance to answer!

Argh! How despicable! And Zhao Zhi didn’t even bother to look at him!

“Their actions are natural, they’re full of confidence, they’re good at manipulating the emotions of others while hiding their own true feelings.”

Qi Yan’s eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets. He wanted Zhao Zhi to slow down! Otherwise he’d have nothing left to say!

Also, why were Zhao Zhi’s eyes stuck on Song Caitang’s face!!

Qi Yan was a man too! He wanted to impress the pretty girl in the room too!!

He quickly interjected, because he wasn’t letting Zhao Zhi give all the answers, “They have loads of experience, they’re very good talkers and they’re very well prepared. Before they start on a victim, they would have done a lot of research and gone round to find out as much as they can about the victim.”

After saying that, he even raised an eyebrow at Zhao Zhi and scoffed.

But he quickly realized that the real tragedy wasn’t the fact that someone else had stolen the limelight, but the fact that Zhao Zhi wasn’t even bothered by him. It was as though he was just a carving in the door or an ant on the floor – he wasn’t worth any attention!

Zhao Zhi continued to stare unblinkingly at Song Caitang. His expression was focused and serious as he discussed the case with her. “They are glib tongued, but they may choose not to brag too much or say too much, because the more they say, the higher the chances they’ll slip up. If necessary, they might even choose to be very quiet. They’re fantastic actors who are able to see through the other person’s thoughts. They keep the situation completely under their control.”

Song Caitang also kept her gaze locked on Zhao Zhi, as though Qi Yan wasn’t in this room at all and this entire thing had nothing to do with him. “The victim, Lin Feizhou, was more handsome than most, a poor student, and everyone who had met him praised him for his talents. Even when he was in front of others, his behavior and speech never went out of line. He did everything in an orderly and patient manner.”

Absolutely nobody was looking at Qi Yan. Not even a glance.

But Qi Yan was not one to give up and he was best at grabbing attention. He leaned forward, then unfolded his fan with great fanfare as he fanned himself in between Song Caitang and Zhao Zhi. “You’re right. Someone without good speaking skills or poor preparation would have been able to do any of this. But Tangtang, these are just your conjectures.”

That’s right. It was already winter and the weather here was cold. The first snowfall of the year was almost upon them, yet this rich young man carried a folding fan everywhere he went.

Song Caitang smiled faintly. “You’re not wrong to say that. Based on what I’ve observed from the victim’s body, I can only confirm what the victim went through just before he died. The idea that he’s a swindler is just my guess at the moment and I don’t have enough evidence to back that up. But I’m very sure that this man did not come to Bianliang to take the imperial examinations.”

“There were very few things in his room, so you can’t tell what he likes or what sort of living habits he has. But how could anybody be like that? As long as they live long enough in a place, they will leave traces behind. This victim of ours… actually didn’t like reading at all.”

Song Caitang put her cup down. Her voice was at a good speed, like the ebbing of a spring.

“His desk, his shelves and even his boxes were full of books. Lots of books. Almost every book looked like they had been opened before, and some of them even had dried water stains on the pages as well as ink stains. But none of the pages themselves were soft or had curled edges. The lines that showed that the books had been read were on different pages on different books, but the crease was made in the exact same way. Not a single one was different. What does that show?”

Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes. “Not a very detailed person, huh.”

Qi Yan only understood what she was saying after a while. “So in other words… Lin Feizhou hadn’t read any of these books at all?”

“People who read would usually read what they like, and there would be topics that one would be more interested in than others. How can it be that each and every book has the same sort of crease?” Song Caitang lowered her gaze and continued in a calm voice, “The fact that the creases are so uniform is a problem. I’m guessing that the victim was just lazy. His targets weren’t that clever, so going to this extent was good enough. He just made sure that it looked right on the surface and did not bother to go all the way.”

“But out of all the books, there were two books that stood out. The covers looked brand new, but the pages inside were soft and many of them had curled edges. That was a sign of what the victim really liked to read.”

Qi Yan’s eyes instantly lit up and he rubbed his hands together. “What sort of book was it? Was it…”

He was about to finish his sentence when Zhao Zhi glared him into silence. He sniggered cheekily as he left his sentence unfinished.

Song Caitang laughed. “It really wasn’t what you’re thinking about. Both books were plays, and they were all stories about heroes. Some were about characters who were weak but grew strong and showed loyalty above all, some were heroic characters who worked hard for the common people and for the country. Our victim didn’t actually care that much about having a lover. He had a valiant spirit in him and wanted to become a hero.

Qi Yan snorted. “Most people want what they lack.”

He wasn’t interested anymore, since it wasn’t porn.

“His desk had nothing that looked like he was preparing to take the exam. All the papers on his desk were poems, and they were all love poems.”

Song Caitang’s voice remained calm, “I heard from Wen Yuansi before that the imperial exams cover a large number of topics, including poetry. It isn’t a large part of the exam but it still needs to be practiced. But this was not the sort of practice needed.”

When she mentioned Wen Yuansi, Zhao Zhi’s eyebrow twitched slightly and he quickly shifted the topic. “The room was very simple, had almost no furniture in it, very clean, and had a huge pile of books. The entire room basically matched his “poor student” character, but that was not the sort of person he really was. Lin Feizhou was trying to avoid making any mistakes.”

“That’s right.” Song Caitang’s eyes sparkled brightly. “The more you do, the more mistakes you would make. Lin Feizhou was very smart. But that also actually exposed more of his true self.”

Zhao Zhi interjected, “This room was not one he intended to live long in. It was just a temporary abode.”

Song Caitang agreed. “He didn’t intend to stay long at all.”

The two of them thought of the same thing and could practically finish each other’s sentences. They were of the same mind.

Qi Yan almost started protesting. There was someone else in the room, for crying out loud!

“The bed was neatly made up and it looked like he was a neat person, but it also helped me to see that there are a lot of marks on the footstool.”

Song Caitang pointed out another problem, “The part where the footstool touches the headboard. There are a lot of wax stains, like someone accidentally dripped some on the footstools. Then if you look a few inches down, you can see handprints. They are very clear because they’re oily. If you look further down, you’ll find a patch that’s very smooth, as though… someone has often wiped their hands and feet on the wood very often. That’s why it’s so shiny.”

This was very obvious now. Before Zhao Zhi could say anything, Qi Yan raised his hand to give his answer first, “That’s easy! Someone has been lying on the bed and being as messy as he likes!”

The wax was not far from where the head would have been resting, the handprint was left behind after grabbing something oily to munch on in bed, and the bottom part was obviously from stepping on the footstool barefooted.

He might have even dug his toenails before too!

Song Caitang nodded. “The traces in the room prove that he had been living alone, so all of these were left behind by the victim.”

The true character of the victim was now plain for all to see. He wasn’t an aloof student who loved to keep his things neat and clean at all. He was a rough guy who didn’t care about filth!

The footstool was large enough to sit on, but it wouldn’t be as comfortable as half lying on the bed. In order not to mess up the bed too much, he chose the lazy method of half lying on the bed and half lying on the footstool… Lin Feizhou’s logic was really something.

“His closet proved this point too. When you first open it, it seems fairly clean and neat. But when I looked further in, I realized that the bottommost layer of clothes had just been messily rolled up and not folded.”

She finished her observations in a slow and steady voice, “The victim had covered his true self quite well, honestly. Choosing to stay in the deepest part of a street lined with gangsters and the like made it seem like it was because he was poor and couldn’t afford anything better. But perhaps he preferred such a place, or that he was more used to such a place. This was a spot that was secluded and notorious for being dangerous, since many unsavory characters gathered here. Very few ordinary people would dare to venture all the way in to check on him. And those who dared to target him, he would have a way to deal with them…”

“Such a person has come to Bianliang to take the imperial exams next spring?”

Song Caitang chuckled and turned to look at Qi Yan. “Would you believe that?”

Qi Yan was so touched. His Tangtang finally looked at him!

He shook his head vigorously.

Song Caitang nodded. “From what we’ve seen so far, he’s kept a very low profile and there isn’t a single person whom he comes into contact with regularly. From his poems, I found two women. One of them is the one you mentioned earlier, Lv Mingyue. I don’t know the other one. The poems are written in two differing styles. They’re both mushy, but a lot of it is just recycled quotes and things like that, so he didn’t put in much effort into writing them. One set is written in very direct language about his love and passion, while the other is a lot more subtle. He was cheating two women at the same time. How did he get to know them?”

“He met Lv Mingyue by accident,” Qi Yan had asked about this, “Lin Feizhou helped Lv Mingyue with something and she fell in love with him at first sight.”

Zhao Zhi scoffed. “Was that really by accident? Or did he have it all planned out? Young ladies at her age are easy to fool.”

Song Caitang narrowed her eyes slightly. “I have a feeling that Lin Feizhou was not a simple person doing something simple.”

“He was good looking and carried himself well, he was poor but full of talents, and left a good impression on everyone he met. His actions were natural, he was very experienced, a good talker, a great actor, and even knew how to hide his true self…”

Qi Yan ran through the list of descriptors as he ticked them off his fingers. “Oh my god, this bastard was really a swindler! I don’t know about any of his other victims, but the way he convinced Lv Mingyue that they’d be together forever, the fast pace he moved at, the excitement he created, the smooth way he talked and went through all of this… the way he had complete control over her heart and made her love him without question…”

This guy was a real expert!

Zhao Zhi tapped the table lightly. “He targeted Lv Mingyue immediately after getting here. This girl must be an important part of his plan.”

“It’s definitely not because he wanted to trick her into marrying him,” added Song Caitang. “Lin Feizhou knew he didn’t have much time left.”

The victim’s true aim could be crucial to cracking this case.

Qi Yan snapped his fingers. “You’re right. Time is of the essence to a swindler. Lin Feizhou wouldn’t have gone to trick another woman for no reason.”

This was a really important point to consider now.

Song Caitang asked, “Why do swindlers do what they do?”

In most cases…

“For money!” Qi Yan rubbed his eyes. “Maybe he had some hold over them or he knew something about them, so he could blackmail them for a lot of money!”

“But he was going to die very soon. Why would he want all this money for?”

Song Caitang was sure that his health had deteriorated to a point where even if others didn’t know how bad it was, Lin Feizhou definitely knew.

“Would it be for the sake of someone close to him?” Zhao Zhi turned toward Song Caitang. “swindlers aren’t all loners or orphans, so they could have family or friends whom they care about. Since he knew he didn’t have much time left, perhaps he might have hoped to earn more money for a loved one. That would be understandable too.”

But that would also paint swindlers in a really good light.

Zhao Zhi paused to think, then added, “It could have been for revenge too. Since he was about to die anyway, he might have thought of trying to scam someone he might not usually dare to. He didn’t mind going all out.”

“So the most important point now is to find out if he did this for his own personal gain or if he was actually hired by someone else.”

The reason would point them in two different directions for further investigation.

But they had too few clues right now. Song Caitang rubbed her temples. “I think we should start from finding out how all of these people are even connected in the first place. I have a feeling that finding that out would be pretty challenging on its own. Did a person named Lin Feizhou seriously exist? But…”

She raised an eyebrow slightly to reveal the sparkle in her eyes. “As long as we can find a little gap in the case and dig out the secrets as well as find out what he has been doing, then I’m sure we’ll be able to find out if he’s been doing this for himself or if he’s been hired by someone else. The fact that he was killed in the middle of a crowd in broad daylight was definitely no accident.”

“Oh my…” Qi Yan suddenly gasped as he thought through everything that had happened. He slammed his folding fan on his thigh and had a scandalized look on his face. “This victim of ours had a really big plan going on! Look at all the people he had come in contact with!”

He started counting off his fingers again, “Lv Mingyue – he lied to her, discussed marriage with her, and might have even you know, done that with her and had a good time. She could have realized she’d been scammed, got angry and came at him with a knife. Then there’s the vice commissioner of the General Accounts Bureau, Li Zhengzhi. He holds a very high position and is very high profile. How could the victim have mistaken him for someone else? I think that’s bullshit. I think there’s more than meets the eye here. For all you know, this Lin Feizhou really knows a thing or two about Mr. Li and tried to blackmail the man. Mr. Li got angry and decided to silence the guy once and for all…”

“Ji Yuanjia and Madam Gu – one is a young man who’s still really young, the other is a married woman who barely gets out of the house, so they’re both easy targets. The mother and son duo got scammed and became angry, so they might have thought of killing him…”

“Li Maocai is a hooligan who doesn’t have anything to do with scamming per se, but they’re both involved in criminal activity. They might have had a clash in interests and Li Maocai earned less as a result, so he could also have…”

“Then before all this, the vice commissioner of the Census Bureau, Zuo Xiuwen, also tried to stop you…”

In short, this Lin Feizhou had some huge plan in mind and went around harassing a lot of people whom he couldn’t afford to offend. And before he could even get through half his plan, someone with more guts had finished him off first.

When he mentioned Zuo Xiuwen, Song Caitang suddenly remembered something. When she had gone to take a look at Lin Feizhou’s place, she had run into Lv Mingyue on her way out. Lv Mingyue was rather frantic and said something like this had nothing to do with her and that she should look for the one with the surname Zuo…

Something suddenly clicked in her mind.

“The abalone and sea cucumber found in the victim’s stomach. Why don’t we check Zuo Xiuwen’s house?”

After all, Zuo Xiuwen had a young, unmarried daughter named Zuo Shanshan.