Tearing Her To Pieces

“Who do you think you are!”

Ling Qianqian was practically shouting at Song Caitang, as though she was letting out pent up anger. It was as if Song Caitang had offended her so badly and she had suffered so much, she might die if she didn’t let everything out right now.

But Song Caitang knew that they didn’t have any longstanding feud.

It was just because her cousin, Qi Yan, was constantly taking her side and even punished Ling Qianqian for what she did to Song Caitang. Also, Ling Qianqian had feelings for Zhao Zhi but Zhao Zhi couldn’t be bothered with her and stayed close to Song Caitang instead.

Ling Qianqian certainly knew that things were impossible between herself and Zhao Zhi, so she wasn’t that obsessed with him. Otherwise, she wouldn’t remain so chummy with Lu Yuxue, whom she should have regarded as a rival in love.

Things between Song Caitang and Ling Qianqian… really didn’t have to be like this at all.

Song Caitang slowly scanned past Lu Yuxue and landed on Ling Qianqian. “You must be very jealous, right?”

Ling Qianqian looked a little confused. Where was this question coming from?

Song Caitang smiled faintly as she threw Lu Yuxue a glance. “Jealous of her, of course. You keep calling her ‘Xue-jiejie’ as if you’re very close to her, but you can’t do what she can do, and you must never do what she can’t do. You can’t overtake her at all. You’re very unhappy, very jealous, but there’s nothing else you can do besides staying close to her and protecting her, as though… this way, you could be as classy and important as her. Protecting what she has is like protecting what you have. But does that really work? Do you feel like you have any dignity doing this?”

Ling Qianqian trembled in anger. “Why, you—”

But Song Caitang didn’t give her a chance to speak. “But something she couldn’t do and must not do, I got to do it, despite being a lowly woman who touches dead bodies. You must be very upset.”

Ling Qianqian gritted her teeth furiously and looked like she was about to pounce on Song Caitang and bite her. “I’m going to—”

Lu Yuxue pulled her back, “Don’t get angry with her, she doesn’t understand…”

“You’re right…” Ling Qianqian gnashed her teeth and glared at Song Caitang. “You don’t understand anything. You don’t understand the rules and just do whatever you like! One day, you’re going to end up getting yourself killed for the way you behave!”

Song Caitang didn’t feel scared at all by this threat and burst out laughing. “You must be very envious of me!”

“Nonsense!” Ling Qianqian glared at her.

Song Caitang explained, “I’m always able to do whatever I want to do, but you can’t. Everyone around me supports me and nobody holds me back. But every time you want to do something, other people stop you and pull you back… you’re envious of me.”

Ling Qianqian’s eyes reddened and she pursed her lips so tightly, they were pale. “That’s… that’s nonsense! You’re so ill-mannered! I wouldn’t be envious of you!”

“Indeed, there are laws in this country to govern the people. They’re all spelled out very clearly. But outside of these laws, the heart is free. Just like…” Song Caitang smiled sweetly as she patted Blackie. “Just like how Blackie likes me and doesn’t like you. It just likes being around me. That has nothing to do with manners or the law.”

“You think that inspecting dead bodies is a filthy job, but I think it’s a sacred one. Your understanding of manners and social norms think that women and people of high standing should not do such work, but I think it’s worth it. I am able to ignore the opinions of society and disregard the disadvantages I have in order to do something that calms my soul and gives me a sense of satisfaction. I know who I am and what I’m doing. But what about you, Ling Qianqian? Do you know who you are? Do you know what you’re after? What you want? Or who you’re fighting for?”

Ling Qianqian looked a little dazed as she stood in front of Song Caitang.

She never thought Song Caitang would say such a thing to her.

And Song Caitang’s words were truly thought provoking.

Who… was she fighting for? What did she want?

Song Caitang raised her head slightly, the sunshine making the beads on her hair pin sparkle like gold. “Our value is something we grasp firmly in our own hands, it is something that we create ourselves, not given to us by someone else. Ling Qianqian, remember these words.”

Ling Qianqian subconsciously bowed her head. She would remember these words…

Lu Yuxue sighed quietly and patted Ling Qianqian’s head.

Song Caitang looked at Lu Yuxue and smiled. “I’ve come from a much smaller place and I’ve seen how well developed Bianliang is, so I thought that the people here would be a lot more classy and have more of a mind of their own. But so far, you’re the only one who gives me any hope of that, Miss Lu.”

Ling Qianqian finally realized what had just happened. She glared furiously at Song Caitang, her cheeks flushed bright red.

She had been led by the nose by Song Caitang!

This horrible woman!

Lu Yuxue patted Ling Qianqian on the back to comfort her. She looked back at Song Caitang very calmly and kept her usual confident and elegant smile on. “Bianliang is a lovely place, so I’m sure you’d be able to understand it better after you’ve lived here longer, Miss Song. Qianqian is a sweet girl with a soft spot, just that sometimes she gets angry a little too easily and doesn’t watch her words. If she’s said anything that has offended you or made you unhappy, I apologize on her behalf.”

Ling Qianqian glared really nastily at Song Caitang. “Xue-jiejie, there’s no need for that! Who cares if I’ve offended her? I’m not afraid of her!”

Lu Yuxue took her hand and looked toward Blackie. “Thank you for taking care of my cousin, I thank you on behalf of Consort Ping. It’s your first time here and I suppose there are many things you don’t know about. It’s not my place to chide you, but I can offer some advice on certain things. I’ll get Prince Ping’s butler to send some things to your place later, I hope you don’t mind.”

With that, she walked away with Ling Qianqian without waiting for an answer, her stance as elegant as could be.

Song Caitang raised an eyebrow.

Now that was someone who knew how to talk. She sounded polite but she was actually secretly mocking Song Caitang. She was implying that Song Caitang didn’t know the rules and was therefore ill-mannered, and she emphasized her higher status again, speaking as though she was really someone very close to Zhao Zhi and his mother.

Unfortunately for Lu Yuxue, Song Caitang had a completely different worldview from her. Such words weren’t going to affect her at all.

She felt that Lu Yuxue really ought to do a more thorough investigation and get to understand her better before attempting her next attack.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the teahouse.

The young man in purple raised an eyebrow. “Miss Lu is still as magnanimous and considerate as ever. No wonder everyone says she’s the brightest and most precious treasure of the city. So many men are fighting to marry her…”

Zhao Zhi’s gaze didn’t even flinch. He didn’t seem to agree at all.

“Your girl’s not bad too. She’s a very independent thinker.” The young man turned to look very seriously at Zhao Zhi. “You’ve decided it’s her?”

Zhao Zhi’s response was equally serious. “I’ve decided it’s her.”

The young man paused to think, then said, “I don’t think this young lady is like most other women, so while I can help you with other matters, when it comes to her heart… you’ve got to work hard yourself.”

“I know.”

The two young ladies that had clearly come to cause trouble had left just like that. Guan Wan clapped her hands and stared at Song Caitang with admiration in her eyes.

That was so quick! She didn’t even get the chance to interject and her cousin had settled the fight already!

That was incredible! Just like her older sister!

Her two older sisters were so capable, she was the only one who…

But Guan Wan did not feel depressed because of that. Even if she wasn’t capable or she didn’t know how to do this, she could learn from them! If she worked hard at learning, she might get it one day!

And so, she asked Song Caitang, “Cousin, how did you manage to make them go away just like that? I don’t know how to do that.”

Song Caitang smiled brightly and taught her, “When it comes to arguments, it’s actually rather simple. If the other party talks about money, you talk to them about emotions. If they talk about obeying rules, you talk about having freedom. Hold your ground and don’t let them lead you by the nose. Think of a way to hit the other party’s pain points and make them reflect on themselves… then you’d win.”

“So just now…” Guan Wan went into a daze. “You did that on purpose? You weren’t actually trying to counsel Ling Qianqian?”

Song Caitang winked. “Of course.”

Even if she wanted to counsel Ling Qianqian, Ling Qianqian might not care for it.

Guan Wan clamped a hand over her mouth and her eyes were wide with wonder. Her cousin was amazing! Simply amazing!!

If anyone wanted to pick a fight with her in the future, she was going to get her cousin to help!

Song Caitang watched as the two young ladies walked out of sight and her smile slowly faded.

Ling Qianqian wasn’t so difficult. This Lu Yuxue… she wasn’t so sure.

Shortly after Guan Wan had applauded her, another round of applause resounded from behind. “You’re still so confident and candid in your responses, Miss Song.”

It was a warm, cheery voice, as calming as the spring at night.

Song Caitang was excited to hear this voice. She spun around and saw a familiar face. “Wen Yuansi!”

Wen Yuansi wore a long, green robe and a cape of the same color. His gaze was gentle and elegant, his aura soothing and pleasant.

When he got to her, he greeted her elegantly with a palm over his other fist. “Miss Song, we meet again.”

This time, Song Caitang was really pleasantly surprised. “Why are you here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Was your journey smooth?”

Wen Yuansi’s smile broadened when he heard the concern in her voice. “There was a vacancy in the Justice Department and I happen to be doing pretty well in Luanze, so my grandmother asked an old friend for a favor and… I got a promotion and got transferred here.”

He explained his situation in just a few sentences and sounded very casual, but Song Caitang knew that getting a transfer like that must have been tough. Wen Yuansi was still considered very young and should have had produced much more and much better results to get here on his own merit.

But she didn’t mention any of that and just said, “That’s great! The Justice Department is in charge of every case in the country, so we can crack cases together again in the future! So, you’re going to be based here permanently from now on?”

Wen Yuansi looked intently at her and replied in a gentle voice, “That’s right.”

Song Caitang had suddenly been reunited with a good, old friend, so it was only natural for her to feel happy and she couldn’t stop smiling. Wen Yuansi held a torch for her, so he was even happier than she was to see her. Even his eyebrows were brimming with joy and love.

But upstairs, Zhao Zhi’s expression fell. As though a terrible enemy had arrived.

The young man in purple had no idea what happened between these three before this, but it didn’t take a genius to figure it out on the spot.

“Why are you still standing here?” he chastised Zhao Zhi. “Aren’t you afraid someone else might snatch her away?”

Zhao Zhi frowned. “Then this place…”

“Am I a child? I can’t move about on my own without you around?” The young man rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, I can take care of things here.”

Zhao Zhi bowed hurriedly and ran downstairs.

When it came to getting girls, Zhao Zhi was seriously terrible at it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained single for so many years. He had finally fallen in love and now, he had nearly lost her to someone else.

But even though he was bad at this, he had help.

Blackie was his horse, after all, so it was capable of getting a lot of things done. When it saw that Zhao Zhi had come downstairs, it got excited and used its head to push Song Caitang’s waist such that she lost her balance and ended up landing in Zhao Zhi’s embrace.

Zhao Zhi got to hold the woman he loved.

Song Caitang got caught in someone’s arms for no reason.

And Wen Yuansi… didn’t get anything. His smile slowly faded.

Zhao Zhi helped Song Caitang to stabilize herself but did not take his hands away. He greeted Wen Yuansi, “Mr. Wen, we meet again.”

Wen Yuansi bowed and spoke in his usual elegant voice, “It is my honor to run into the commandery prince so randomly along the streets. This city is rather small, it seems?”

As he spoke, he observed the two of them as though he was trying to find out if these two were in the same place at the same time purely by coincidence, or if they had arranged to meet already.

Zhao Zhi was rather sensitive to Wen Yuansi’s gaze and didn’t want to lose, so he immediately said, “Of course, Miss Song and I…”

But before he could claim that they had arranged for this meeting, Song Caitang exposed him.

“Zhao Zhi? Why are you here?”

Both her expression and her body language expressed surprise.

When Blackie appeared earlier, she thought that its owner was nearby. But she had gotten into such a long argument with those two ladies and he was nowhere to be found, so she thought Blackie had snuck out without his knowledge again. So, he had actually been nearby all this time?

Zhao Zhi… wasn’t sure how to explain this situation.

But Wen Yuansi was an intelligent man. He immediately figured out that these two had not prearranged any meeting.

He looked at Song Caitang and smiled more genuinely, “When I got to Bianliang, I heard about how you helped Commandery Prince Zhao to crack some major cases, cases that were really complicated. I really wished I was around to help too.”

“Well, you’ve got a chance to do that now, don’t you?”

Song Caitang pushed Zhao Zhi’s hand away and stood properly by herself, her smile elegant.

She enjoyed working with Wen Yuansi, since he was intelligent, loved exploring possibilities and did things in a steady yet gentle manner. They were always able to make a breakthrough in the case faster with him around.

But Zhao Zhi didn’t like Wen Yuansi. He had to admit that Wen Yuansi was a capable man, but there were plenty of other capable people in the world, so he didn’t have to insist on having Wen Yuansi around. In fact, it was best that he stayed as far away as possible!

Before Zhao Zhi could say anything, Wen Yuansi responded to Song Caitang, “When I came over, I got the Luanze courts to help you with the paperwork, so the Justice Department has a copy of your coroner papers. In the future, if I need your help with a case here, I hope you won’t refuse to help me.”

Song Caitang was even more pleasantly surprised and nodded vigorously. “Of course!”

Zhao Zhi’s gaze was frosty and he pursed his lips tightly. He didn’t want to stand around here and talk anymore, so he leaped onto Blackie and pulled Song Caitang up as well. “It’s time for you to go.”