Not So Innocent

This well-thought plan helped the team to question several suspects. They gathered a lot of new clues and they were all a mess now, so they had to sort it out urgently.

They did not go separate ways for the day but chose to just grab a quick bite before getting a private room within an extremely well-hidden teahouse so that they could have some tea while they discussed the case.

“I’ll go first!” Qi Yan couldn’t hold it in anymore and raised his hand first. “I’m afraid that I’d forget everything if I were to go last.”

It was embarrassing to say that, but he knew himself best. If he allowed the others to speak first and start analyzing everything, he might get caught up in their theories and present the clues he gathered in a biased manner. That would be bad.

The other three were fine with that and nodded. “Sure, you go first.”

“Let’s start with Fourth Missy Gan’s murder case first,” Qi Yan sat up straight and looked rather solemn. “My questions were mostly for Gan Zhixuan. Just like what all of you had previously observed about him, Gan Zhixuan is indeed someone who was blinded by the prospects of becoming wealthy and successful after he arrived in Bianliang, and he became a completely different person. Perhaps Fourth Missy Gan had given him too much encouragement and affirmation all his life, so he thought very highly of himself for some reason. He thought that now that he was reunited with his father, he would definitely have a bright future ahead. He’s the count’s only son besides the ones borne by Madam Wei, so he was certain that he would get a share of his father’s inheritance in the future. Of course, it’s possible that Madam Wei fed him such lies. And goodness knows where he found the confidence to express interest in Lu Yuxue. He even believed that he stood a good chance too, which was why he kept tabs on her and kept trying to find a chance to gain her favor.”

“And because he kept tabs on her, he realized that he had rivals in love. He wasn’t too sure about anybody else, but when it came to Wei He’an – Gan Zhixuan said that this man was his nemesis. Not only was he fighting with him for Lu Yuxue, he was also fighting with him for Madam Wei’s favor. He can’t stand the sight of Wei He’an at all.”

“Wait a minute,” Wen Yuansi suddenly picked up on one part and stared at Qi Yan, “you’re saying Wei He’an and Lu Yuxue might be romantically involved with one another?”

Qi Yan shook his head. “Who does Lu Yuxue have feelings for? I think every person in Bianliang knows…”

He didn’t finish his sentence and stole a glance at Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi got it. “Gan Zhixuan is not very clever, really. I think he was trying to say that he sees Wei He’an as an enemy. But he might not know what kind of relationship the two of them have, if any at all.”

Qi Yan nodded. “Yep! That’s what he meant!”

But Song Caitang fell into deep thought. She looked down at her teacup and did not comment.

“Next would be about what happened five years ago,” Qi Yan went on. “Fourth Missy Gan was in desperate need of money and wanted to sell an extremely intricate embroidery piece that she had spent a very long time on, which is why she went to Qingxian in the first place. She was afraid to leave her son alone at home, so she brought him along. At that time, Gan Zhixuan only cared about studying, so he didn’t take note of his surroundings or anything else in life at all, so he doesn’t remember much about what happened at that time. But he does remember three things especially clearly.”

Qi Yan put up one finger. “Firstly, Qingxian is not very far from Luanze, so it would have only taken a few days to go there and come back. She locked the door to her house and secretly left with Gan Zhixuan without telling anybody.”

“Secondly,” he put up a second finger, “it seemed like Fourth Missy Gan wasn’t in a great hurry to sell the piece. She wanted to get a really good price for it, so she often went out very early in the morning to search for a good customer and only returned very late. But three days later, she suddenly got very antsy. She sold her embroidery piece for a low price and started making Gan Zhixuan run and hide with her. Gan Zhixuan was very unhappy about having to do this and even threw a tantrum. Fourth Missy Gan had to coax and beg him before he was willing to cooperate. But he has no idea what happened back then, who she might have seen or what sort of trouble they were in.”

Qi Yan put up a third finger. “On the 20th day of the 7th month, Fourth Missy Gan locked Gan Zhixuan up in a cupboard. She told him there was danger out there and told him to bear with it and that he must never try to escape. He was quite obedient and actually curled himself up inside the cupboard without moving at all. After being scared and nervous for a while, he ended up falling asleep. By the time he woke up again, Fourth Missy Gan was back and they returned to Luanze together.”

“This trip was like nothing more than a dream to him.”

Zhao Zhi tapped his fingertips against the table with an aloof look in his eyes. “Fourth Missy Gan must have done something, but purposely kept it from her son.”

Wen Yuansi asked Qi Yan, “During this time, did Gan Zhixuan see any of the other people involved in this murder case?”

Qi Yan was rather disappointed as he said, “He didn’t at all! That’s the problem! Fourth Missy Gan brought up such a useless son!”

He was still certain that whatever happened five years ago must have had something to do with his uncle.

“I’ll talk about Wei He’an next.”

The next one to talk was Song Caitang. “Madam Wei and her nephew, Wei He’an, seem to be on really good terms. Madam Wei dotes on him dearly and he respects her a lot. But in reality, there’s something odd about the way they interact. There are hidden issues between them.”

“When we were looking through information about all the suspects in this case, we came across one rumor that said that Wei He’an’s mother did not die from an acute illness, but that someone had orchestrated her death. Allegedly, Madam Wei had been involved in this matter. But this concubine had died when Wei He’an was way too young. He couldn’t remember much yet and had very little interaction with his mother, so he wasn’t too attached to her and might not have thought too much about it. After all, it was more important for him to just survive. In the past, he didn’t have any ability or power to do anything. But now, he’s the heir to his father’s position, so he would definitely weigh his options even more carefully than before.”

This was something that Qi Yan could understand, since he had gathered so much gossip over the years. “Wei He’an and Madam Wei seem to be genuine toward each other and nobody has noticed anything amiss about them, so nobody would suspect anything.”

“But after talking to him, I don’t think that’s the case at all.” Song Caitang’s lashes fluttered slightly, casting two faint shadows below her eyes. “He has some other motive for behaving this way, as though he’s trying to get more information, or like he’s planning something… But his plans would revolve around the Wei family and would have nothing to do with Fourth Missy Gan. So, he wouldn’t have much of a motive to kill with regard to Fourth Missy Gan’s murder.”

If Wei He’an only cared about benefitting his family and was sincere in respecting Madam Wei and really wanted to get close to her, then perhaps he would kill for her. But if he wasn’t really trying to achieve any of that, then it wouldn’t be worth it to commit murder for her. He could always find a better or more appropriate method.

“Five years ago, the official heir to Count Wei passed on, so the family tracked Wei He’an down and brought him to Bianliang after that. I don’t think he went to Qingxian, so he would have nothing to do with what happened five years ago.”

Song Caitang continued her analysis while providing some conjectures, “But he isn’t strangers with Lu Yuxue. I’m sure they have had some contact before and might even have had some sort of agreement…”

Wei He’an had not said anything about that, but she was fairly confident she was right.

Because no real strangers would have stared at each other the way Wei He’an and Lu Yuxue would have along the corridor that day.

So, the reason why Lu Yuxue was involved in all this was important to this case.

Zhao Zhi started sharing what he knew, “Lu Yuxue was around for both this case and the case five years ago. She’s a cautious one, so besides what we already know, she didn’t divulge any other information about Fourth Missy Gan’s case. But she did tell me more about what happened five years ago. She said she had randomly run into Fourth Missy Gan five years ago and had also spotted both the Count of Peace, his wife and vaguely noticed Sang Zheng once.”

He repeated what Lu Yuxue had told him.

After that, he concluded, “Based on what I know of her, I don’t think she’s lying, but I think she’s hiding something.”

In other words, there were things that Lu Yuxue was deliberately keeping secret.

The topic had turned toward the count, his wife and Sang Zheng, so Song Caitang suddenly turned to Wen Yuansi and asked, “Did you notice anything strange about Zeng Deyong, Madam Wei and Sang Zheng?”

Sang Zheng and Madam Wei, in particular, were of concern. Were they really just acquaintances? Could they have made or executed plans in secret?

Wen Yuansi paused to think, then said, “I personally don’t think Sang Zheng and Madam Wei’s relationship is clean. And I don’t think Zeng Deyong is completely clueless about it.”

Qi Yan’s eyes lit up. “That’s scandalous! Are you being serious, Mr. Wen?”

“I don’t have evidence and you wouldn’t expect them to admit to such a thing,” Wen Yuansi nearly rolled his eyes at Qi Yan, but he spoke confidently, “but when interacting within the same space, a man and woman who’ve been together and a man and woman who’ve not been together look at each other very differently. Madam Wei and Sang Zheng think that the amount of eye contact they have and the way they look at one another is perfectly innocent but actually, Sang Zheng is always supportive of Madam Wei and very protective of her. Madam Wei seems to enjoy this very much and shows it off subconsciously. It’s definitely not the look that someone has if the other person is merely his benefactor from years ago.”

“As for Zeng Deyong, he comes off as someone who doesn’t seem to understand the situation at all and constantly prioritizes Madam Wei’s needs and wants, but he often gives me the sense that he’s very relaxed and unbothered. What he’s bothered by… doesn’t seem to be what we previously thought would bother him.”

Wen Yuansi had investigated cases for many years and had seen many such relationships, so he was quite confident of his judgment.

Song Caitang was a little surprised by what she was hearing from him. “So, Sang Zheng and Madam Wei are having an affair, Zeng Deyong knows about it but he can’t do anything about it and doesn’t want to give her up, so he feels aggrieved and that’s why he keeps looking for pretty women to stare at?”

That would match her impression of this man.

He had married the most beautiful woman in Bianliang at that time, but despite the fact that she refused to let him sleep around and had an affair, he still couldn’t let go of her. So, he started to actively flirt with women. The more he did that, the more useless he seemed, so the more Madam Wei despised him and the more she let him do what he wanted…

Qi Yan took a long time to absorb this information and finally let out a gasp. “If that’s the case, Zeng Deyong is a man to be pitied… Does that also mean that he has to help to cover up Madam Wei’s filthy deeds? After all, she does such things often and it’s very dangerous, so someone has to keep a lookout. If he wants to ensure his days ahead are free of trouble, he will have to make sure the truth never gets out!”

Zhao Zhi nodded. “When the body was first discovered, Zeng Deyong kept trying to stop us from getting close and conducting an investigation. Regardless of whether he was doing this out of sincerity or not, it did look like he was trying to help Madam Wi out. It was like he suspected Madam Wei had something to do with this, so he quickly stepped in to block our way.”

“That’s only to be expected,” Qi Yan made a face. “The fact that the count only has one wife and one child makes things very obvious. Madam Wei has definitely brought harm to more than one woman in the house.”

But after they had analyzed the situation, the count didn’t seem like the happy-go-lucky man with no achievements and no taste that everyone thought he was.

This was a man with schemes up his sleeve!

The room was silent again as everyone fell into deep thought. Wen Yuansi then continued what he hadn’t mentioned earlier, “Also, Madam Wei’s attitude toward Lu Yuxue is a little strange. According to our earlier investigations, Madam Wei really liked Lu Yuxue and would sing her praises each time she saw her, as though she wished Lu Yuxue was her own daughter or something. But the one who told me that Lu Yuxue was at Qingxian was her. She was the one who told me, as though she’s deliberately trying to drag Lu Yuxue down. Did Lu Yuxue suddenly offend her?”

“Or is it to protect herself?” Qi Yan made some guesses based on his experience with such stories. “She’s faced with a murder case and she’s a big suspect too, while Lu Yuxue isn’t someone from her family. Protecting the reputation of the count and her household would be her priority.”

But Song Caitang shook her head. “Not necessarily so. It’s possible that she wanted something from Lu Yuxue but Lu Yuxue did not give it to her, so she became unhappy with Lu Yuxue.”

Qi Yan was stumped now. “What could she have wanted out of Lu Yuxue? Did she want her to be a goddaughter?”

But Zhao Zhi suddenly narrowed his eyes and suggested something else, “Becoming godparent and godchild is not the only way for two families to become close. There’s another way.”

Those words made everyone fall silent.

Wen Yuansi and Song Caitang both turned to stare at him with a shocked look in their eyes as they understood what he was implying.

Only Qi Yan didn’t understand a single thing. He scratched his head and pinched his cheeks anxiously, “There it is again! The telepathy between clever people! What is it?! What has come to your minds?! Why won’t you tell me?!!”