Five Years Ago, She Was There Too

Zhao Zhi was able to threaten the Count of Peace and his entire household, and was even able to manhandle Qiu Wenkang. But Qiu Wenkang refused to cooperate and refused to say anything. He couldn’t possibly torture the man into speaking without at least checking in with the crown prince first.

And so, he had to ask the crown prince to come over.

But in front of the crown prince, Qiu Wenkang only admitted to knowing Fourth Missy Gan. They had met by chance once five years ago. He refused to say anymore than that. The crown prince frowned, but he could only glare at his administrator and tell Zhao Zhi that Qiu Wenkang had nothing to do with the case and wasn’t the killer.

Zhao Zhi asked Qiu Wenkang several questions and tried several techniques, but didn’t get anything else out of him.

Qiu Wenkang was the head administrator to the crown prince and was very close to the crown prince. But the crown prince didn’t seem to know anything about Qiu Wenkang’s past. Zhao Zhi had a feeling that the crown prince had no idea not because he didn’t want to know, but because it had to be kept from him.

And how many people in this world would be a threat to the crown prince?

Zhao Zhi had a grim look on his face.

This case was a lot more complicated than he had thought.

Zhao Zhi and the crown prince went back a long way and knew each other well, so there were many things they didn’t have to say out loud or explain in great detail. But there was one thing Zhao Zhi felt he had to remind the crown prince, “His Majesty has released Prince Ling. This morning, Prince Ling went to the palace to officially thank His Majesty. His Majesty felt bad for him, so he got him to stay for a meal and even ordered the kitchen to cook his favorite dishes. If there’s a vacancy in the palace, I’m sure some people will fill it very quickly.”

Prince Ling and the crown prince had always been enemies. And now, the emperor was showing Prince Ling favor, while the crown prince’s administrator was embroiled in a murder case that was nowhere near solved. Of course Prince Ling was going to muddy the waters.

If he could, he would quickly seize the chance to make things worse as much as possible. He could arrange for Qiu Wenkang to look like the murderer and make the crown prince look bad.

The crown prince had clearly thought of that too. He closed his eyes. “I know.”

The icy winds filled the wide sleeves of his robe as he stood in the corridor, making him look especially aloof and lonely.

Zhao Zhi pursed his lips, his voice like the faraway snow, cold but resolute, “I will go by the book when handling this case.”

Qiu Wenkang’s statement might be true, or it might be false. He wasn’t going to trust it blindly because he worked for the crown prince. He only believed in the truth.

“Of course you have to handle the case by the book.” The crown prince turned to stare back at him with a clear and even more resolute look in his eyes. “If even you change, then I’m afraid I won’t recognize this world anymore.”

This situation seemed to be none of his business, but it was actually closely linked to him. The crown prince knew well what his father wanted, what the empress wanted and what Prince Ling would do.

For as long as the case remained unsolved, he would have trouble.

Qiu Wenkang’s involvement in the case was an opportunity for others. It was impossible for those people to sit back and do nothing.

As for what he would do next… Either he hardened his heart and got rid of Qiu Wenkang, or he allowed this matter to drag him through the mud, which might result in Qiu Wenkang’s death and a bad ending for himself.

“I trust you.”

The crown prince smiled faintly at Zhao Zhi, but he was very confident.

This man had never disappointed him.

Everyone was busy at their own stations, and so was Wen Yuansi.

He had gone with Zeng Deyong, Madam Wei and Sang Zheng to the other living room for some tea. He was always smiling and spoke gently. He pretended not to notice how Madam Wei was desperately sounding him out and continued to answer her questions in a serious and earnest manner.

“I’m afraid I can’t speak much about the case. I’m sure everyone knows the commandery prince’s temper well. He’s not trying to pick on you or anything like that, he’s just really anxious to solve the case.”

Madam Wei’s face was beginning to cramp from the fake smile she had for so long. “I’m sure, I’m sure. It’s just that the way His Highness is behaving makes it really hard for us…”

While she still sounded pleasant, she was cursing Wen Yuansi deep inside.

This man was really watertight. She had tried so hard and used every trick in the book, but he didn’t let slip a single thing! He remained seated so comfortably and was so relaxed, he seemed more like the host than herself!

Despite all her years fighting to stay in power within the household and despite how well she had controlled her temper, she had lost to a man in the aspect of just having patience!

“Mrs. Zeng, don’t worry. The commandery prince would never offend anyone for no reason and he’s a very straightforward person. As long as all of you are innocent and did not commit any crimes, he wouldn’t hold any of this against you. I hope everyone can show him some understanding.”

As he spoke, he smiled broadly, “All these years, Prince Ping’s household would never allow others to accuse them of being inconsiderate. The commandery prince has been a foul temper today, but once the case is closed, you will be compensated for sure. Even if he misses some areas, his household will not leave it out. They will make sure the count’s reputation is unsullied and will make sure nobody suffers losses.”

Zeng Deyong was still upset. “You expect me to just let what happened today slide? Without any explanation? I’m not going to accept that!”

“That’s an interesting comment,” Wen Yuansi turned to look at him with an elegant yet astute look in his eyes. “I’ve offered something that would make sure that you will not suffer any loss at all, yet you’re not willing, choosing instead to try and stand in our way. Is it because you’re really feeling guilty inside? You’re connected to the murder case in some way?”

Even though he hadn’t said it very clearly, the implications were as clear as day. He was practically asking the count if he had killed Fourth Missy Gan.

“How can that be?!” Zeng Deyong couldn’t hold his temper back and got up with a start. “There’s nothing great about her! Why should I kill her, and kill her during my own mother’s birthday banquet no less! If I were really angry with her and wanted her dead, I could have picked any day to just kick her to death, since she was just a concubine I bought, which makes her just one of my servants! Why would I go through all the trouble of raping and poisoning her…”

When he got to this part, he suddenly straightened up and punched his own palm as though he had suddenly thought of something. “That’s right, how could it possibly be me? I can have intercourse anytime I want, I didn’t have to force myself on her! Her entire body belongs to me and she has to do whatever I tell her to! If I tell her to sleep with me, she has to!”

Wen Yuansi kept his head down as he drank his tea and did not speak.

Madam Wei rolled her eyes at her husband.

Zeng Deyong scratched his head and didn’t dare to speak anymore as he timidly sat back down again.

Madam Wei patted her lips dry with her handkerchief and continued giving Wen Yuansi a fake smile. “Look, Mr. Wen, it’s very clear that neither my husband nor myself were involved in this case. This is really just making things difficult for everyone and reputations are at stake. So, could you please help us out by telling His Highness all this?”

“I’ve already pointed out the path for you,” Wen Yuansi loosened his grip around the cup lid in his right hand and the lid landed with a crisp sound on top of the cup. “We have to crack this case and His Highness has led us to very clear clues. If everyone is cooperative, we will get a result that will benefit us all. If you’re not cooperative… then even if you want to be cooperative after the case has been solved, you won’t get the chance to anymore.”

The room fell silent.

Madam Wei looked at her husband, then at Sang Zheng. Their expressions were different, but they were both telling her that she could make the decision.

Wen Yuansi went on, “The victim died within your estate, so the ones making life difficult for others are yourselves. Poison was also discovered within this house. Don’t you think it’s a little too late to try and cover up for each other?”

“That… We’re not being uncooperative. We just really have no idea,” Madam Wei sounded like she was in a difficult position. “Even though Fourth Missy Gan was supposed to be subordinate to my husband, she was not an obedient character. She ran away from home many years ago and there was no news about her at all after that. Who knows if she’s offended anyone out there during this time? We threw a birthday party that day because we wanted to have a celebration, to celebrate an elder’s longevity. Regardless of who you were or whether you were close to us or not, as long as you were willing to come, we were willing to accept you as a guest. Perhaps… one of the guests was actually an enemy of Madam Gan?”

It was not appropriate to use any of the usual questioning techniques at this time, so Wen Yuansi just sat down and observed the way these three people behaved around each other. He did not try to sound them out at all and just went along with whatever conversation they started. If the other party tried to sound him out, he would have no choice but to say a few things he knew to keep them from throwing him out. He didn’t manage to dig anything major out of them, but he did collect a lot of small details and clues.

As for the relationship between these three… Wen Yuansi had a very deep understanding of it now.

“You’re right, Mrs. Zeng, it’s definitely possible that there were bad actors among the guests.” Since she had mentioned that possibility, he decided to move in a new direction. “According to our investigation, Fourth Missy Gan was an easygoing, honest woman who did not have a complex network of acquaintances. The only thing is, it seems she went to Qingxian five years ago and ran into a bit of trouble… perhaps someone had helped her out?”

The moment the words “five years ago” were mentioned, Madam Wei and Zeng Deyong clearly had a change in expression. Sang Zheng was a mostly expressionless man, so there was almost no change in his expression. But his eyelid twitched, so he definitely reacted to the statement.

Wen Yuansi was now sure that something must have happened between all these people five years ago!

Madam Wei pretended to laugh and sounded a little cryptic, “Mr. Wen is a good official after all. Sometimes you say things that are simply too clever for us to understand.”

Wen Yuansi knew what she was driving at. He put his teacup down and said, “Surely you’re not hoping to get away with it with just that statement?”

When she saw how solemn his expression was and how he wasn’t smiling anymore, Madam Wei felt that she was so clever! This was definitely the direction he was headed in!

She paused to think about how best to talk about this matter.

“Actually, I did see Madam Gan once five years ago.”

Zeng Deyong’s expression changed dramatically and he tried to stop her, “Madam Wei!”

But Madam Wei just smiled at him and shook her head. “It’s alright, it’s something that happened in the past anyway. We didn’t do anything wrong, so we just have to cooperate with the authorities investigating the case.” She took a sip of tea, then went on to talk about what happened five years ago. “I was just on a fun trip with my husband and happened to spot Madam Gan. But since she had already left our household, I didn’t intend to make things difficult for her and didn’t want to do anything at all. But back then, I also saw that… Miss Lu was around.”

Wen Yuansi was caught by surprise. “Miss Lu? Lu Yuxue?”

“That’s right,” Madam Wei smiled. “Miss Lu is in poor health, and even though she’s almost 19, she’s not engaged to anyone yet. Five years ago, she was only 14 and her waist was barely wider than my hand. I have no idea how she ended up being acquainted with someone as low class as Madam Gan… They were not on good terms and argued too. They’re definitely hiding something.”

Wen Yuansi’s heart felt like it was going through a storm with this unexpected revelation. But his expression didn’t flinch at all.

Could it be that… Lu Yuxue actually had something to do with the case from five years ago?

Did she know Jing Yan? What role did she play at Qingxian at that time?

If these two knew each other from way back, then the fact that Lu Yuxue was found in the corridor right outside the room where Fourth Missy Gan’s body was found might not be a coincidence!

Just when Wen Yuansi was slowly asking about this matter, Qi Yan was done with his questioning. He had gotten enough information from Gan Zhixuan and even went with Song Caitang’s suggestion of making a big show at the end, which made Gan Zhixuan get worked up, and resulted in the servants running to Zeng Deyong to report everything they had heard.

“What? My son saw both Madam Gan and Miss Lu at the scene of the crime? So, Miss Lu was the one who schemed against Madam Gan and framed my son?!” Zeng Deyong stood up with a start and scratched his head as he turned to his wife for help. “What do we do?”

Madam Wen narrowed her eyes as her gaze flickered. “Our family has been terribly wronged. I’m afraid we’ll have to get Miss Lu to come over and answer some questions.”

Wen Yuansi just smiled and did not say anything.

Madam Wei was a very clever woman who knew what to do, so she saved him the trouble of leading her to this decision.

Of course, Zeng Deyong listened to everything his wife said. He slammed the table and shouted, “Men! Go to Prince Ping’s residence and get Miss Lu to come over! This is part of His Highness’ investigation, so I don’t care if Miss Lu thinks she’s been maligned or not! We need to all sit down and talk things out, so that nobody ends up getting framed for things they didn’t do!”

Madam Wei added, “Prince Ping’s residence is not a place that just anyone can go to and Miss Lu is also an unmarried young woman. I’m afraid she won’t come over if you just send a servant with this message.”

Zeng Deyong knew what she was saying. He straightened his clothes out and declared, “I’ll go there myself then!”