Episode 240

After Song Caitang entered the Count of Peace’s house, she purposely kept a short distance between herself and Zhao Zhi.

While she had been allowed to come in because she was with Zhao Zhi, she might not move around inside the house with him. It would be easier to split up and look for the mother and son, plus they would have more chances to gather information.

They were agreeable on this point, so Zhao Zhi did not stop Song Caitang from keeping her distance.

The Count was throwing a big party, so the area chosen was equally huge and there were many guests. Once inside, it wasn’t difficult to do whatever you wanted. Due to Zhao Zhi’s social standing, he was constantly stuck in the middle of a big crowd of people who wanted to talk to him. Few people knew Song Caitang, so she could quietly wander around without anyone noticing her. They were able to gather information via two routes, so that was more effective and efficient than moving around together.

But putting this into action wasn’t something that happened immediately. Song Caitang had kept a distance from Zhao Zhi, so Zeng Deyong and Madam Wei hadn’t taken notice of her. But she couldn’t help but observe this couple. The two of them kept making eyes at each other and were very intimate. They did not hide any display of affection from the public and so, Song Caitang was able to observe many things within a short time.

For example, she could see that Zeng Deyong was indeed very submissive toward his wife and he was obsessed with her face. Just a smile or a look from her could make him almost faint with happiness or make him stare at her in a daze, so he would do anything she told him to. He was also very familiar with her expressions, so he knew what she wanted or what she wanted him to do with just one look, and he would definitely get it done as quickly as possible.

Madam Wei was indeed extremely beautiful and glowed radiantly. She kept the household in order and she took very good care of her body and skin too. Her expressions and actions were filled with confidence and seemed to take it for granted that she was to uphold her man’s household and to stand up for him. Being able to control her husband completely and boast about it must have made her feel very smug inside.

But there was just one problem. This Zeng Deyong was a little on the lecherous side.

He had a thing for women with slim shoulders and snatched waists, particularly women with curvaceous figures.

As long as he spotted one, he would sneak a few more glances at her. He didn’t care about their social status or their reactions, he just wanted to stare at them enough first. Madam Wei seemed to know that he had such a habit and did not do anything about it unless he crossed the line. If he stared at another woman for too long, she would stare at him but use a sweet and teasing voice to chide him, and he would immediately stop staring and give her an ingratiating and embarrassed smile. But after some time…he would start again.

He was both lecherous and timid, and very afraid of his wife. This was the first time Song Caitang had come across someone like that.

After the Count and his wife had led Zhao Zhi into the hall, a well-dressed, elegant young man in his twenties smiled as he bowed toward Madam Wei and called her his aunt.

Madam Wei immediately pulled him closer and introduced him to Zhao Zhi. “This is my nephew from my side of the family, his name is Wei He’an, he’s a promising young man who’s well-tempered and well-mannered, very talented and capable and has been chosen to become the next head of my family, so he’s going to be a count soon. He’an, come and greet Prince Ping.”

Wei He’an immediately smiled and bowed. “Greetings, Prince Ping.”

Even though Zhao Zhi was now only a commandery prince and his status as the heir to his father’s position had been put on hold by the emperor, everyone knew that he was the only son of Prince Ping and his mother was the late prince’s official wife, so this man was definitely going to be prince someday. Nobody dared to be rude to him.

Song Caitang silently walked further out as she observed what was happening around the Count and his wife. She frowned slightly as she went into deep thought.

In general, a married woman was very attached to her family and would be kind to her nieces and nephews, so it was normal for her to be close to a nephew. But these two…seemed a little too close. Madam Wei seemed to take way too much care of Wei He’an and kept singing his praises. Wei He’an was also extremely respectful toward his aunt. He even took the initiative to help out at this party.

Also, Wei He’an seemed to have looked at her. It seemed like he had happened to notice her as he turned, but Song Caitang was pretty sure that he had spotted her.

There was something strange about him…

After a while, as she walked further, she couldn’t hear their conversation anymore and she couldn’t see who was around Zhao Zhi anymore, so she kept those thoughts aside and began to look around her. Where would Fourth and Gan Zhixuan be? Were they really not going to appear at this party even though it was such a big one?

Since she wasn’t familiar with the upper echelons of society, Song Caitang wandered about the area and began observing the servants instead. Since Fourth Missy Gan and Gan Zhixuan were not members of the upper echelons of society and their standing in this household was very low, it was probably easier to find them via the servants.

Unfortunately, after she had gone one big round, her feet hurt from walking so much and she had lost her sense of direction completely. Her ears had picked up a huge pile of gossip, but she still hadn’t found the mother and son she was looking for.

“Woah!”

And she even tripped over a stone and fell to the side.

“Watch out!”

Thankfully, someone reached out in time and grabbed hold of her arm so she didn’t fall to the floor. The person pulled her back and helped her to stand properly again.

“Thank you so much…”

Song Caitang turned to look at who had helped her and realized it was Wei He’an. The strange feeling she had about him filled her heart again.

Wei He’an noticed how hard she was staring at him and smiled. “Miss Song, you’re still like this. Besides examining bodies and cracking cases, you often do foolish things too.”

Song Caitang smiled back. “You know who I am?”

Wei He’an lowered his gaze slightly, his eyelashes casting a faint shadow below his eyes. His voice and smile were just as calm as each other. “You’re known as the woman with the hands of the devil but the heart of buddha, a relative of the Lord of Hades, an expert at dissecting dead bodies, a woman who can help a dead person speak - Miss Song, you’re a hero of the country and your name has travelled far and wide. Who doesn’t know who you are?”

Song Caitang straightened her clothes. “You said that I often do foolish things?”

“Would you consider arguing with another aristocrat in public along the street something an intelligent person would do?” Wei He’an sighed quietly. “There’s a difference in social standing, so it’s easy for you to attract trouble that way.”

Song Caitang then realized that Wei He’an must have seen her quarrel with Ling Qianqian and Lu Yuxue the last time.

She had fun arguing with them, but it had resulted in a lot of criticism toward her, because she had not behaved in line with what society expected of a woman in this era. It was true that an intelligent person would not have done such a thing.

But…

“Is that so?”

She felt that regardless of whether it was Wei He’an’s expression or language, he seemed to be insinuating something. She had a feeling that this man knew her from before this.

But Wei He’an looked straight at her with a confident smile. “I would advise you to be careful next time.”

His attitude was clear. He was just being courteous and did not want to comment too much.

Even if he knew her from before this, he wasn’t going to talk about it now.

“The aristocratic circles are complex and messy, and everything is interconnected, so you could get into trouble for almost anything. Since you’re here today, you have to be careful–”

Before he could finish his little warning, he cut himself off and smiled a little self-deprecatingly. “Not just here, really. As long as you’re around the upper echelons of society, you could potentially get yourself into trouble anytime. You’re an intelligent person, so I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. I shouldn’t have said all this.”

Song Caitang felt that his attitude was very strange, but these last few sentences seemed sincere, so she also thanked him sincerely, “Thank you for the reminder, I will be careful.”

They had happened to run into each other and weren’t even considered acquaintances, so they parted ways after that brief conversation.

Since Song Caitang failed to locate Fourth Missy Gan and Gan Zhixuan after so long, she decided to find a place to rest her feet before continuing. She ignored the fact that she was lost and just headed for the nearest warm room, hoping to get a cozy place to sit down and rest. But before she could go in, she spotted Zhao Zhi and…Lu Yuxue.

Lu Yuxue was standing in Zhao Zhi’s way. She clutched her handkerchief very tightly, her brows slightly furrowed, her eyes brimming with tears. She wanted to speak but held herself back, and stared at Zhao Zhi adoringly. But Zhao Zhi seemed blind to all of this, as though the person in front of him was nothing but a pile of wood that he didn’t need to care about.

But Lu Yuxue wasn’t going to give up so easily. It hadn’t been easy for her to get him alone, after all.

As the saying goes, if the mountain doesn’t come to you, you’ve got to go to the mountain instead.

“It’s been a long time since you went home, Cousin. You weren’t around on the eve of the new year either and Aunt really misses you. She’s been unwell lately and has gotten a cold, so she’s very depressed every day. I know she really wants you to go home… I…don’t have a home anymore and I have nowhere to go, so during festivals like new year, when everyone gathers with their family, I can only remain in your house even though I don’t belong there. But you have a home, you have family. Why aren’t you willing to go back…”

Lu Yuxue spoke very earnestly and her eyes brimmed with tears. She looked so pitiful. “You weren’t like that in the past…”

Zhao Zhi stared at her and snorted quietly. “You weren’t like that in the past either.”

Lu Yuxue’s fingertips trembled slightly and she couldn’t help but take two steps back. She bit her lips with her white teeth and looked even more pitiful now. “I know…you have a lot of misunderstandings about me, and I won’t ask for much, I just ask that you give me a chance. You’ll eventually realize that I’m innocent, and you’ll come to appreciate me more…”

“I’m not interested.”

Zhao Zhi didn’t want to stay here anymore and tried to walk away.

But there was no way Lu Yuxue was letting him go anywhere. She stood in his way and refused to budge.

The corridor was narrow, so if Zhao Zhi wanted to walk forward, either Lu Yuxue had to move aside or he had to push her to one side. Since Lu Yuxue refused to move aside and he didn’t want to have any bodily contact with her at all, they ended up at a standstill for a few moments.

At the same time, Zhao Zhi’s frustrated gaze started to look around for a way out. He turned his head slightly and spotted Song Caitang.

Song Caitang’s lips curled upward slightly as she used her chin to point at Lu Yuxue as she threw him a mocking look.

Zhao Zhi rubbed his nose awkwardly, as though he had been caught doing something bad. But in the next moment, he raised his eyebrow and glared at Song Caitang with some displeasure.

He was trapped by this other woman here, yet his girl wasn’t angry at all? She wasn’t jealous at all?

“Song Caitang.”

A gentle voice came from behind. Song Caitang turned to see Wen Yuansi.

Why was he here? Was he…here to accompany Old Madam Li for the party?

It didn’t take her long to figure it out. Wen Yuansi had been an official elsewhere before this, but Old Madam Li was from Bianliang and she was very good at making and managing connections. Her best connections were right here in Bianliang, so it made sense that the Count of Peace would have sent her an invitation to the party. Wen Yuansi was now based in Bianliang, so it also made sense for him to come along.

“Grandmother said she saw you and I didn’t believe her, but you’re really here.”

Wen Yuansi was pleasantly surprised to see her and his gaze flickered slightly, but after taking just two steps toward her, he noticed Zhao Zhi and Lu Yuxue stuck along that narrow corridor in the distance…

His smile only widened.

The fact that Zhao Zhi was trapped was good news to him. This was his chance.

Wen Yuansi was a gentleman and he was usually very caring and gentle to everyone around him. But all men would find means and ways to get closer to the woman they liked and would also try to impress her. It was something men did naturally. Wen Yuansi couldn’t resist seizing this opportunity to put Zhao Zhi down.

“Oh… That’s Miss Lu, Commandery Prince Zhao’s childhood friend.”

He spoke a little slower than usual, emphasizing each word as though he was trying to hint at something.

But if Song Caitang was quick to catch a man’s feelings for her, she wouldn’t be Song Caitang. She immediately misunderstood what he was implying and blinked at him. “You’re envious?”

Wen Yuansi nearly balked.

Song Caitang was indeed a very special woman. So special, even her logic worked differently.

But of course, Wen Yuansi was great at remaining calm despite the situation. “Do I look like I’m envious? Life is tough when a beautiful woman is in love with you.”

Song Caitang raised her eyebrow slightly and gave him a teasing smile, “But you’re such a gentle person who takes care of everyone around you. Mr. Wen, I don’t think you really meant what you just said.”

“In this society, women have it tougher, so as a man, I ought to take care of them. But,” Wen Yuansi looked at Song Caitang very seriously, “what one can do, what one should not do, I know vey well. There is a big difference between just helping someone out and investing feelings into a lifelong relationship. I thought you would understand.”

His eyes shone especially bright when he said these words and he spoke very gravely, as though he wasn’t talking about the current situation but he was hinting at something else instead.

Did this man discover something? Song Caitang stopped to think. Investing feelings…lifelong relationship…childhood friends…

Wait! The Count of Peace, Zeng Deyong, and his wife, Madam Wei, were also childhood friends!

Song Caitang’s brain did not think for even one moment that she could be the subject of this conversation and went straight to something else. “You heard about what Qi Yan’s investigating and you’re anxious about it too?”

Wen Yuansi stared blankly at her for a second, then tried to suppress his disappointment as he responded without skipping a beat, “That’s right.”

He ended up just going along with er.

“I’ve taken on a few cases in Bianliang and I’m on good terms with Qi Yan. Since he’s facing some difficulties, I thought I should help out…”

They began talking about the case instead.

Meanwhile, Zhao Zhi was deeply unhappy.

He was very upset that Lu Yuxue had trapped him here, but Song Caitang had come along and he thought that she would get jealous. He was waiting eagerly for her to do something, but not only did she not get jealous, that Wen Yuansi appeared out of nowhere too! And he was smiling so infatuatedly at her too! And instead of walking away, Song Caitang was still talking to him!

The one who was getting jealous was him!

He was VERY jealous!

And VERY unhappy! He wished he could punch Wen Yuansi!

He decided to just ignore Lu Yuxue altogether. Since she wasn’t going to give way, he took a step back and pushed a foot against the pillar to help him leap out of the narrow corridor and straight to where Song Caitang was. “You came to look for me?”

Song Caitang was confused. They had agreed to go separate ways to get the job done, so why did he come over?

Lu Yuxue pursed her lips very tightly when she saw where Zhao Zhi had gone and narrowed her eyes at Song Caitang for a long time. She gripped her handkerchief very tightly too, but she did not come over and marched off instead.

Wen Yuansi and Zhao Zhi were wary of each other and they didn’t have anything urgent to attend to either, so neither walked away from Song Caitang and they just followed her around.

Song Caitang didn’t mind either. If they didn’t want to work separately, they could try to look for Fourth Missy Gan and Gan Zhixuan together then.

Along the way, they ran into two more people.

One was a man named Sang Zheng. Wen Yuansi had been posted to the State Ceremonial Bureau when he first became an official, so he was very familiar with Sang Zheng. Sang Zheng’s mother was a foreigner but his father was from Bianliang. His parents passed away when he was young and his family did not take much care of him, so his childhood was very tough. But he was a talented man and of mixed race, so he continued to work in the State Ceremonial Bureau. He was a quiet and dull person who didn’t like interacting with others and didn’t have many friends. He had come to the party today only because Madam Wei had saved his life before. He had a lot of respect for her, so he agreed to attend the party.

The other person they met was administrator of the crown prince, Qiu Wenkang. Because he worked for the crown prince, everyone took notice of him. But he was actually just here to send a message of congratulations on behalf of the crown prince, as was customary.

The Count was celebrating his mother’s birthday, so there were lots of guests and loads of activities happening. People were everywhere and the servants had to weave in between the guests, so they were terribly busy. Given that they were in public and had to conform to social norms, plus Song Caitang and Zhao Zhi were not familiar with the Count’s household and residence, so they could not do anything too obvious and had to quietly but quickly try and analyze the situation and search for the two people.

The sun of early spring shone brilliantly, but it didn’t feel warm at all. The wind blew hard and it was terribly cold.

Nobody knew that another murder case was happening within the smaller room in the corner of the guest’s residence.

The teacup on the table had only half a cup of tea left, the three-legged incense burner in the corner was still burning, the white smoke swaying gently in the wind. On the bed, someone lay there, bound and gagged. The veins on their forehead bulged as they failed to free themselves and their efforts to shout for help were futile…

Life was slowly slipping away.