Why Did She Have To Die

Lv Mingyue’s biological mother had been found. But what about her father?

Song Caitang, Zhao Zhi and Qi Yan all stared at Madam Gu.

Madam Gu shut her eyes, her lips pale. “I… don’t know. And I don’t want to know.”

“My face was covered at that time. I only know that he had a thick beard and was very rough. I never did any investigation. All these years, I’ve only felt sorry for my daughter. I didn’t want to think about anything else.”

Qi Yan asked cautiously, “Then… do you think he would have known that he has a daughter?”

“Hur, why would he?” Madam Gu scoffed. “Why would someone worse than an animal care about…”

Suddenly, she stopped talking and her expression stiffened.

Song Caitang noticed it and asked, “Mrs. Ji? What’s wrong?”

Madam Gu suddenly clutched her forehead with both hands, her fingers trembling. “I suddenly remembered something. After the housekeeper sent the child away and came back, she said she felt like someone was following her, but when she looked carefully, there was nobody there. Everyone was on high alert for several days but nothing happened, so the family let it go.”

If there was anybody else in the world who would care about this child, it would probably be the child’s father.

Zhao Zhi nodded. “I’ll investigate.”

But Qi Yan couldn’t douse his passion for gossip. It didn’t seem like the right time to ask this question, but he went ahead bravely anyway, “Then… did you know that Lv Mingyue is Zuo Xiuwen’s mistress?”

“Zuo Xiuwen?” Madam Gu frowned. “The vice commissioner of the Census Bureau?”

Qi Yan nodded. “Yes, him.”

“Impossible.” Madam Gu’s reply was confident. “That girl really likes Lin Feizhou and only has eyes for him. She couldn’t have faked that.”

Qi Yan prompted her, “Zuo Xiuwen was around at the scene of the crime too, and they should have exchanged a few glances. You didn’t notice that?”

Madam Gu lowered her gaze as she did her best to recall what she saw, but shook her head again. “I really didn’t. I could only see that Lin Feizhou was her entire world. Her eyes were focused solely on Lin Feizhou.”

Qi Yan added, “But Zuo Xiuwen’s wife, Madam Yu, has sent someone to follow them and has confirmed that they’ve been having an affair! I’m serious!”

But Madam Gu shook her head again. “She’s still a virgin.”

“What?!” Qi Yan was completely confused. Hadn’t they already slept together? How could she still be a virgin?

“Please believe me,” Madam Gu smiled faintly, “my early years were very tough and I had learned a few tricks from some of the old grannies around me. I might not be 100% accurate, but I wouldn’t be completely wrong about this. This daughter of mine is definitely a virgin.”

Song Caitang instinctively glanced at Zhao Zhi.

That was very interesting.

Lin Feizhou would not have slept with Lv Mingyue not because she didn’t want to, but because this was an important part of his scam.

Experts in swindling women in this manner were usually very charming and flirtatious, but they would never sleep with their target. In order to secure his position in Lv Mingyue’s heart and make sure she never suspected him, he would have many ways to coax her and all that, including kissing and maybe even petting, but he wouldn’t sleep with her.

He would want her to think that he cherished and respected her.

Actually, a large number of women, especially those who never had sex before, really enjoyed the feeling of being cherished and protected. Romantic kisses and a loving touch was enough to fulfil their dreams. To sleep together… They had only known each other for two months. It was still way too early for that.

But why would Zuo Xiuwen not sleep with her?

They were already meeting in a secret house, yet they didn’t sleep together? Then what were they talking about or doing when they met?

They did not have intercourse, yet Zuo Xiuwen lied and said that they did. Why? What was he trying to hide?

As for the statements from the neighbors, it would be hard to keep gossip out. You would expect anyone to think that an older man and a younger woman having a rendezvous in a secret house was definitely scandalous.

Song Caitang told herself to check Lv Mingyue’s body again after this.

Lv Mingyue had fallen from a high place and landed heavily on the ground, so her internal organs had ruptured and she suffered a lot of bleeding on the inside. In such cases, without any modern scanning machines, it would be very difficult to check if her hymen was intact. She had only confirmed that the victim did not have intercourse just before she died.

She had to check carefully again now.

Zhao Zhi quietly asked Madam Gu a few more questions. She did not hold anything back and told him whatever she knew in detail.

That concluded their time with Madam Gu.

This had taken quite a while and everyone was tired. The three of them had tried to be considerate toward Madam Gu’s feelings and had done their best to ask their questions in a less pointed manner. Madam Gu had also done her best to remain calm and magnanimous as well, but she was probably hurting terribly inside.

But she still managed to get through it. Besides crying a few times in between questions, she did not break down or cry uncontrollably. She did not put herself in an awkward situation or make the rest feel too awkward.

Once they were all done, Song Caitang threw Zhao Zhi a glance. Zhao Zhi pulled Qi Yan up by the back of his collar, nodded at Madam Gu, then left.

After they had gone out of sight, Song Caitang said, “I’m sorry that you have to suffer like this, Mrs. Ji. We can’t release you at the moment, but I’ve brought along sufficient maids and we’ve created a private room with warm water, clean clothes and hot food, so you can have a proper bath and eat a proper meal. I’ve also asked Commandery Prince Zhao to transfer you to a different cell. It’s not very big, but it’s clean. He can’t add a coal burner to the cell, but he can add more blankets to the bed. I hope you will take good care of yourself, please don’t fall sick.”

Madam Gu stared at Song Caitang for a long time before looking down. “Thank you for doing this.”

She did not look particularly emotional, but Song Caitang could see the deep gratitude in her eyes.

Some people were good at talking and putting on a good show, allowing them to move around the aristocratic circles easily. But some were also able to use their sincerity and actions to express their gratitude.

There was no need to say much. Madam Gu’s expression said it all. She was happy to have met Song Caitang.

“Don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.”

Song Caitang hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell Madam Gu directly, “There’s one more thing. Miss Lv Mingyue… has met with an unfortunate end. I hope you can take it in your stride.”

Madam Gu’s eyes trembled and she clutched her dress tightly. “Is it because… I was too late?”

Song Caitang knew what she was trying to say and shook her head. “No, please don’t blame yourself for this. The last time I came here to talk to you, I received news that she had passed on after I left. I’ve examined her body and confirmed that she was murdered. The authorities will not let this crime go unpunished. Commandery Prince Zhao and I will conduct a thorough investigation and uphold justice for her.”

“This is really not your fault at all.”

Outside the jail, Qi Yan folded his hands behind his head and simply couldn’t understand. “Why do you want to tell Mrs. Ji about this? She’s already feeling so terrible inside. Won’t she feel worse after hearing about this?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Zhao Zhi looked through the window at the dark and narrow corridor that seemed to go on forever. “Caitang said that Mrs. Ji is a very strong woman who can take it.”

Madam Gu would eventually find out about this, so not hiding it from her was actually a show of respect.

Now that they had heard from Madam Gu, confirmed several details and sorted through what they knew, it was clear what they had to do next.

The first thing was to understand Lin Feizhou’s aim.

What was he looking for? Or who? The jade pendant and its owner?

But Lv Mingyue didn’t know the story behind the jade pendant and Madam Gu didn’t know who it belonged to. If Lin Feizhou knew who it was, why didn’t he look for the owner directly?

“There’s one possibility,” Song Caitang’s eyes shone brightly. “He can’t find this person anymore.”

Zhao Zhi’s gaze was sharp. “The owner has gone missing or perhaps the owner’s already dead?”

“This pendant, or its owner, is very important to either Lin Feizhou himself, or whatever matter he’s handling. Either way, he couldn’t give up.” Song Caitang picked up her teacup and took a sip. “So, he did everything he could to get it out of Lv Mingyue’s hands.”

“Did Lin Feizhou know Madam Gu?”

Would he know that Madam Gu was actually Lv Mingyue’s biological mother?

But Zhao Zhi shook his head immediately after asking that question. “No, I don’t think he would have known. Swindlers have a million tricks up their sleeves. If he had known, he would have made use of it.”

Lin Feizhou was only concerned with Lv Mingyue, so the answer to that question was obvious.

But how did he know that Lv Mingyue was holding onto this jade pendant? That was another big question with no answer.

Song Caitang said, “He not only targeted Lv Mingyue, but also targeted Zuo Shanshan. He chose Lv Mingyue because of the pendant, but why Zuo Shanshan?”

Zhao Zhi paused to think, then said, “I had sent some people to question Zuo Shanshan in greater detail. She had corresponded with Lin Feizhou quite a number of times. The letters were mostly from Zuo Shanshan, telling him about her family, about her parents, or her frustrations that day. Lin Feizhou was more of a listener sort of person, or perhaps he purposely pretended to be. But this was over a very short period of time and they didn’t meet physically many times, so there’s very little we can glean from this content.”

Based on all of this…

Song Caitang made a bold conjecture, “Could Lin Feizhou’s actual target be Zuo Xiuwen or Madam Yu?”

“The pendant and its owner both made an appearance 18 years ago. Neither Lv Mingyue nor Zuo Shanshan were born yet, so the only people who could be involved in any of this would be someone of their parents’ age.”

Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes. “ So, you suspect that when Madam Gu was kidnapped and there was chaos in the mountains, either Zuo Xiuwen and/or Madam Yu were there too?”

Song Caitang had a flicker in her eyes. “We need to find out more about Zuo Xiuwen and Madam Yu’s lives before this.”

Especially what had happened to them 18 years ago.

She was sure they’d find something.

The other point to consider was Lv Mingyue herself.

Song Caitang gently rubbed the side of her teacup. “Why did she have to die?”

Her death was very well disguised as a suicide, just like how someone concluded that she must have been Lin Feizhou’s murderer just because she was holding a bloodied knife.

Qi Yan fanned himself as he interjected, “Could it be Ji Yuanjia? For the sake of his mother? Mrs. Ji is still in prison, and she’s going to be sentenced to death just like that.” After fanning himself twice, he realized this didn’t make sense and tried again, “No, wait, maybe it’s Madam Yu. No matter how much she hates her husband, she has to count on him for a stable and comfortable life in the future. She couldn’t allow Lv Mingyue to ruin that.”

Zhao Zhi stared at Song Caitang intensely. “But the most likely person would be the one who actually murdered Lin Feizhou. This person doesn’t want the case to get any bigger and doesn’t want us to keep investigating. It is highly possible that this person is actually trying to hide–”

Song Caitang finished his sentence, “what happened 18 years ago, and not the truth behind this murder.”

“Wait a minute,” Qi Yan was confused again. “Isn’t Lin Feizhou’s killer Lv Mingyue? Mrs. Ji said she saw her holding that bloodied knife!”

Zhao Zhi threw him a look of pity.

Song Caitang looked at him and sighed. “But Mrs. Ji only saw her holding that knife. She didn’t actually see Lv Mingyue kill him.”

Qi Yan’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. “You mean Mrs. Ji was tricked? Lv Mingyue too? She didn’t even know if she herself had killed someone?!”

Song Caitang gave him a hint. “Think about the circumstances at that point in time.”

Qi Yan stopped to think carefully about it.

It was a cloudy day. It was dark, the wind was strong. The wind suddenly blew out all the candles and it was completely dark for a few moments.

At the same time, everyone had been rushing to the front to get an amulet. It was extremely crowded, congested, and difficult to see anything.

If someone took this chance to kill Lin Feizhou and pass the knife to Lv Mingyue…

There were so many people and space was tight. Nobody could really move their arms or be sure that their feet were firmly on the ground. Lv Mingyue might have realized that she suddenly had a knife in her hands, but she wouldn’t have known who gave it to her. Then people from behind pushed her, causing her arm to move in front…

Then the wind stopped and they could see again.

She saw that Lin Feizhou was bleeding and on the verge of death, while she had a knife in hand and based on what happened just a moment ago, she might have thought she had killed him.

That was a possible scenario too.

She didn’t have any experience in killing another person, so it would be easy to fool her.

Qi Yan gasped after running through the possibilities. “Oh my…”

That might have really happened!

They were dealing with a really clever but dangerous killer!

Song Caitang smiled faintly. “Also, we need to investigate Li Zhengzhi. He had an argument with Lin Feizhou and he’s old enough to be involved in something 18 years ago. Could he be connected to what happened back then?”

What else happened besides the kidnapping of Madam Gu?

Zhao Zhi nodded. “We still don’t know exactly who Lin Feizhou was yet, so we need to continue our investigation into that.”

This swindler had got himself involved with very high profile people…

Now that they had confirmed the direction of their investigation, they stopped talking and got to work.

This time, the information that they received was truly shocking.

The vice commissioner of the General Accounts Bureau, Li Zhengzhi, looked like an upright and authoritative man, but he was actually someone who loved visiting the brothels. He was close to many prostitutes, and once he was drunk enough and high on enjoyment, he would say things he normally wouldn’t say in public, as well as… some secrets he should not divulge.

He had been careless once and Lin Feizhou had used that to his advantage.

And that was also how they started to find out more about who Lin Feizhou really was.

The information about Zuo Xiuwen, however, was even more shocking.