Episode 229

The winter sun shone in through the gaps into the wide hall. But it didn’t feel warm at all. It still felt so cold.

The air in the hall was chilling.

The servant knelt in the hall, his eyes turning left and right. He was very uneasy.

Zhao Zhi didn’t even have to slam the table. The sound of him firmly covering his teacup with its ceramic lid was enough to make the servant buckle.

“Master’s clothes… his clothes… he was the one who…”

Qi Yan smiled from ear to ear as he leaned toward the servant and stared straight into the man’s eyes. “Say that again?”

Zuo Xiuwen gritted his teeth and said stiffly, “Just tell him the truth!”

The servant glanced at his master, then let out a sigh. “They’ve… they’ve been burned.”

Qi Yan continued smiling at him. “Then tell me, why were they burned?”

“No need to ask him, I’ll answer myself.” Zuo Xiuwen straightened his sleeves and stood up straight and calm. “That Lin Feizhou died right in front of me and was very close by, so his blood got onto my clothes and I couldn’t wear them anymore, so I had no choice but to throw them away.”

Qi Yan went, “Ohhhhh… Now, you remember clearly? You remember the details so clearly, just like those vain women!”

Zuo Xiuwen glared at him.

Qi Yan continued, “But why did you have to secretly burn them? Why did you make sure nobody knew about it?”

Zuo Xiuwen scoffed and threw him a mocking look, “What’s this? I’m just dealing with some personal items and I have to throw a party? Or clang some cymbals to make sure the whole world knows?”

“The problem is that while you didn’t clang any cymbals, you also made sure nobody knew about this at all.” Qi Yan fanned himself gleefully. “I have witnesses who say that this particular robe of yours was made with extremely expensive fabric. When they asked why you weren’t wearing it anymore, you said that you had somehow lost it but you didn’t tell them that you’d burned it… Oh dear, what should I do now? Do you need me to call on these witnesses?”

Zuo Xiuwen glared at him. “Of course I couldn’t tell them that! It’s nothing glamorous! So what if I’d told them a white lie? Would you answer absolutely every question a passerby asked you honestly?”

He didn’t wait for a reply from Qi Yan and turned to look at Zhao Zhi. “You can’t say I’ve killed someone based on just this!”

Qi Yan clapped his hands. “Well enough of that then. I want to say that your physique is really amazing. Even your voice is strong and full of energy. You’re in excellent health, Mr. Zuo.”

Zuo Xiuwen narrowed his eyes warily. “What do you mean by that?”

“I’m praising you for your moves—”

“You—”

“Now, now,” Qi Yan grinned, “don’t be in such a hurry to argue with me. I was bored last night and went for a walk, and I saw you beat up a few hooligans. Gosh, the way you slammed your palms, raised your leg, somersaulted in the air… Your moves were so quick and nimble, as though you were just practicing and you weren’t actually fighting with anyone…”

Zuo Xiuwen’s eyes slowly widened. “You… it was you…”

Qi Yan had arranged for that!

Qi Yan unfolded his fan with great flourish and put on the smuggest smile in the world. “I really admire your moves, so I had no choice but to do that.”

Zuo Xiuwen’s palms turned cold and his back broke into a sweat.

He felt like something was really amiss today. These people were trying to trap him again and again.

Exactly what did Zhao Zhi know? What sort of evidence had he collected?

Was he really about to end the case and bring him down with it?

Either way, he told himself that he had to deny everything no matter what Zhao Zhi knew. He couldn’t admit defeat.

He could not admit to his crimes. He must not!

Zuo Xiuwen scoffed. “It’s dangerous to be an official, you know? Can’t I learn a few self-defense moves?”

“Of course you can. It’s just that you’re so familiar with killing others that you don’t even blink an eye, and you’re also so clever. That’s really rare.” Qi Yan dragged his words out, “Do you know how Lin Feizhou died? He died with just one stab to the chest. The sharp end of the blade went right in between the ribs and into the heart. The angle was perfect and so was the amount of strength used. Not just anyone could have done this with such accuracy, such steadiness, and such viciousness.”

Zuo Xiuwen snapped, “What do you mean by that?”

“You still don’t know what I mean?” Qi Yan suddenly wiped the smile off his face. His voice was so bright and loud, it felt like a giant boulder crashing down on Zuo Xiuwen. “All the guards were standing at the sides, so only those close enough to the victim could have done this. The ones around the victim were all ordinary citizens. Only you, Mr. Zuo, would be capable of slaughtering a man like that!”

Zuo Xiuwen wasn’t going to admit to it, so he swung his sleeve and shouted angrily, “That’s ridiculous!”

Zhao Zhi slammed a palm on the table, his voice louder than Zuo Xiuwen’s and his glare even more imposing. “Zuo Xiuwen!”

“You used this knife to kill Lin Feizhou, then swiftly stuffed it into Lv Mingyue’s hand. It happened just as the crowd came crushing from behind, so it would make her think that she had killed him. Who gave you that idea?”

Zuo Xiuwen continued to defend himself, “I didn’t—”

Zhao Zhi didn’t give him any chance to speak, “You didn’t know that the two of them were lovers, so why did you think this plan of killing two birds with one stone would work? How would you have known that Lin Feizhou would be at the temple? How did you make sure that both of them would be right next to you when you committed the murder?”

“Someone must have helped you!”

Zuo Xiuwen gasped quietly at these words and clenched his teeth tightly.

Zhao Zhi’s voice had started at a thunderous volume, but it suddenly calmed down again, “According to your plan, Lin Feizhou would die and Lv Mingyue would be arrested for being found with the knife in her hand. Any pleas would not be entertained and she would be sentenced to death without any problem. But there was one thing you didn’t expect – Madam Gu suddenly decided to take the rap.”

“Weren’t you very frustrated when Madam Gu insisted she was the murderer? After all, the one you wanted dead wasn’t Lin Feizhou, but Lv Mingyue. Lv Mingyue had gotten away, so what were you going to do now?”

Zuo Xiuwen stiffened his neck and glared fiercely at Zhao Zhi. “Why would I want to kill Lv Mingyue? I had no feud with her!”

“Zuo Shanshan!” Zhao Zhi slammed the table hard. “Tell your father what Lin Feizhou asked you when he got close to you!”

Zuo Shanshan got a shock.

No matter how foolish or immature she was, she had realized what was going on by now too.

When the murder first occurred, her mother insisted she was ill but she was still questioned by the authorities. During that time, she slowly understood that Lin Feizhou didn’t actually like her but had purposely tried to get close to her. And if he had tried to get close to her, it must have been for a certain purpose.

This was not something to boast about, so she had to answer carefully and choose her words while still cooperating with Zhao Zhi.

“He often wrote to me and asked about my past. He said that he was sad that he wasn’t able to grow up with me, so he wanted to know more about how I grew up. So, I would talk to him about the past. He would listen quietly when I spoke about this, but if I tried to talk about something else, he would lead me back to this topic…”

She bit her lip hard and her face grew paler as she spoke. Tears welled up in her eyes too. It was so hard to finally come to the realization that she had been swindled.

“I told him about my family, about my parents, about the things that my ancestors had left behind, about the times we had gone through…”

Zhao Zhi asked Zuo Shanshan, “Was he particularly interested in what happened 18 years ago?”

The phrase “18 years ago” instantly made Zuo Xiuwen stiffen up. His pupils constricted and his expression shifted very obviously. Everyone noticed.

Madam Yu came forward to hold onto her daughter and she, too, became tense.

Her husband seldom had such an expression on his face, but whenever he did, it was definitely something very serious. Something serious enough to get them killed!

“Shanshan!” Madam Yu’s voice was stern, “That Lin Feizhou and Lv Mingyue both died this month, so what’s the point in talking about what happened in the past? None of this will help the authorities to crack the case, so stop talking about it!”

Zuo Shanshan trembled. Her face paled even harder and she bowed her head. She didn’t dare to speak anymore.

Zhao Zhi’s gaze shifted to Madam Yu.

Madam Yu covered her mouth with her handkerchief and did not speak anymore.

Zhao Zhi snorted. “Madam Yu, you did everything you could to watch your husband and make sure he didn’t fool around outside. You made sure that nobody could possibly challenge your position as the wife and mistress of the Zuo household. It probably never occurred to you that this husband of yours already had a child with someone else out there…”

Zuo Xiuwen gnashed his teeth. “Commandery Prince Zhao! Watch your words!”

Of course, Zhao Zhi wasn’t going to pay him any attention. Since he had set up this gathering today, he was going to uncover the truth and make sure everything was cleared up.

“Madam Yu, you thought that Lv Mingyue was your husband’s mistress and that’s what the people living around that secret house of his said too. You even knew that Lv Mingyue and Lin Feizhou were lovers, so you were sure that with that little lover of hers, she would never marry into the Zuo household. You were relieved and decided to just continue watching her but didn’t do anything else, and you also didn’t tell your husband about it. You were too careless, Madam Yu. Why didn’t you get an experienced midwife to check this Lv Mingyue?”

Zhao Zhi leaned forward with a mocking smile on his face. “She was a virgin, did you know?”

“How do you think she was related to your husband then?”

Madam Yu felt like her entire world was spinning. She couldn’t see or hear clearly anymore.

This…

What was going on?!

If Lv Mingyue wasn’t her husband’s mistress, then what was she?

She was still a virgin? How could that be?

Impossible! Impossible!

When she thought of the possibility that Zhao Zhi was implying, she felt like her brain was about to explode.

Zhao Zhi’s voice was as icy as the weapons placed outside the hall. His expression was just as frosty, “The husband standing next to you now. Is he really that talented scholar from 18 years ago who had defeated the bandits and gained recognition from the emperor? When he struggled to use his right hand to write, when his habits seemed uncouth, he ate and drank like a barbarian, his movements were rough… When you seriously thought about it, did you ever suspect that this man wasn’t the gentle and elegant student you would have expected, but just a beast in a student’s clothes?”

Madam Yu’s knees wobbled. She covered her mouth tightly and stumbled three steps back.

This…

How did he know?!

How could he have known?

Could it be… She stared at Zuo Xiuwen in disbelief.

Zuo Xiuwen’s face was pale.

Zhao Zhi stared straight at him. “What happened 18 years ago on Beiqing Mountain? Why did Lin Feizhou suddenly appear only now, and why did you have to kill Lv Mingyue?”

Zuo Xiuwen wasn’t going to answer those questions. He shut his eyes and did not speak.

Madam Yu suddenly let out a loud wail and ran over to hit Zuo Xiuwen repeatedly. “You liar! You liar!”

Zuo Xiuwen grabbed hold of her hand without problem and flung her aside.

He exerted quite a bit of strength, so Madam Yu fell to the floor.

She stared at Zuo Xiuwen, her eyes glazed over as though she never really knew this man. Slowly, her lips curled upward. She started laughing.

“Haha… HAHA!” What a joke! She had lived in oblivion for so many years!

The atmosphere in the room grew very strange. The Zuo family was a complete mess. Zuo Shanshan was too young and fainted from how shocked she was. Zhao Zhi called on his men to carry her to another room to rest.

Li Zhengzhi remained completely unmoved. No matter what storms were raging right next to him, he stood still and calm.

Song Caitang did not say anything either. She kept close to the warm burner and held a warm cup of tea as she quietly watched everything unfold.

Qi Yan, on the other hand, always wanted part of the action. He continued from where Zhao Zhi left off, “That’s not difficult to guess. 18 years ago, Beiqing Mountain was a great hideout for the bandits because it was such a tough terrain for a battle. The bandits created a lot of trouble and the authorities couldn’t stand it, so they sent troops to kill off the bandits. The leader of the bandits was really something too. Besides oppressing the people and committing all sorts of evil, he was very smart when necessary. He knew that he was in deep trouble and would definitely end up dead, but he didn’t want to die just like that, so he thought of a plan. He looked at all the prisoners the bandits were holding, found a good scapegoat and made an amazing identity swap…”

“Because he was familiar with the mountain, he knew where the bandits had set up traps and what their strengths and weaknesses were, the leader of the bandits put up a huge show. He killed all the brothers who had followed him all these years, then claimed to be the talented student, Zuo Xiuwen. As a reward for clearing the mountain of the bandits, he was swept into Bianliang, became an official, married the beautiful daughter of the wealthy and influential Yu family, and walked toward success…”