It’s Him

Right from the start of this investigation, signs of a connection to the past kept appearing. Zhao Zhi had some suspicions, so he got his men to investigate the past of the people involved in this case. He got them to find out exactly where these people were at certain points in time.

For example, where they were when this case happened, or where they were five years ago around the time Jing Yan died, or where they were 18 years ago, on the night that connected the person Lin Feizhou was looking for to Jing Yan…

And he actually got results out of doing this.

Zhao Zhi nearly scoffed out loud when he read the notes from his men.

It turned out at the end of the day, it was just the same group of people over and over again!

18 years ago, Qiu Wenkang wasn’t the head administrator of the crown prince’s residence yet. He was still struggling as a low level official back then and he had barely made it into the team that was going to raid the bandits. He had hoped to gain credit for this raid and get a promotion.

Fourth Missy Gan was very pretty and had been captured by the bandits. The leader of the bandits back then loved doing this. After all, the same fate befell Madam Gu from the last case as well.

As for Zeng Deyong and Madam Wei, they didn’t know anything about these bandits or the raid at all. They were merely on a leisurely trip. When the raid happened, they were terrified. Zeng Deyong peed his pants in fright and ran like he had lost his mind. He even totally forgot about his precious, pretty wife. He got lost while running and was eventually rescued by the troops and escorted home.

Madam Wei had been luckier. She ended up running away from danger and spent a safe night in an abandoned temple near the foot of the temple. She also happened to end up saving the life of Sang Zheng, who was still a young man then.

Sang Zheng had gone up Beiqing Mountain to pick some herbs and was not headed in the direction of danger either. But it was hard to walk at night and he slipped and rolled down the side of the mountain. If Madam Wei hadn’t found him and saved him, he would have died that night.

That was how this whole relationship between them started and it carried on for years after that.

Zhao Zhi didn’t have to explain anything. Wen Yuansi and Qi Yan could read everything for themselves.

It was a mess that night and a lot of people were involved. It wasn’t hard to find out who was there and who wasn’t, plus the soldiers who were part of the raid weren’t blind either. But the fact that it was so messy and chaotic helped to cover up certain things too. They only knew who was around, but had no idea what they did during that time.

Besides, was everything that was recorded really the truth?

This was going to be way more complicated than it seemed.

“There’s one more thing. I think I don’t have to keep it a secret anymore at this point.”

Zhao Zhi sat down and looked at Wen Yuansi. “Do you remember what happened in the second month of last year at Tianhua Temple in Luanze? The Yun Nianyao case?”

“Of course.” Wen Yuansi nodded. That was a tricky case because the victim was an aristocratic woman visiting Luanze, as well as a group of thieves who fought among themselves. They kept getting thrown off by the clues they found because it was so hard to verify if they were true. If not for Song Caitang, it would have been too difficult to crack the two murders that occurred.

Yun Nianyao was the aristocratic woman in the case.

“I know about the case too!” Qi Yan raised his hand.

He wasn’t in Luanze then and didn’t know the details of the case, but Yun Nianyao was from Bianliang and there was a big stir when news of her death reached the capital. He was always interested in gossip like that, so he went to find out more.

“Someone had written an anonymous letter saying that Yun Nianyao’s grandfather had betrayed the country and even had evidence. Old Master Yun killed himself and left a note behind to say that he was innocent. It stirred a lot of talk then, but nobody talked about it after a while…”

It was clear from Zhao Zhi’s expression that there were some people who never forgot this happened.

Of course there would be some who were still paying attention to this.

“There is indeed someone within the courts of this country who has betrayed the country and is working with the enemy. This person has great power and makes very good plans, so they have not slipped up at all thus far. While I still don’t know who it is, it’s definitely not Old Master Yun.”

Zhao Zhi’s bright eyes and steely gaze made him look especially stern. “This is top secret information that I was not supposed to tell anyone, but the case we’re investigating is rather special. I’m sure you’ve realized that by now.”

Qi Yan quickly nodded as vigorously as a chicken eating seeds off the ground. “Don’t worry, Brother Zhi. We know the rules and we’ll not tell anyone!”

But Wen Yuansi immediately realized that perhaps Zhao Zhi had become a surveillance commissioner because of this matter.

The emperor was secretly getting him to investigate!

The stories about how Zhao Zhi had fallen out of favor with the emperor and was not allowed to be in charge of the troops and not given the position of prince was nonsense. The rumors about how he had no future ahead were false. Zhao Zhi was actually the one whom the emperor trusted the most, the one who could take on great responsibility!

At the same time, another thought briefly flashed in Wen Yuansi’s mind.

He had become part of this investigation purely by chance and he knew so much only because he investigated some of the previous cases too. But if he continued investigating this case seriously, he would definitely get some credit for it in the future!

If all these mysteries were solved, he would have a bright future ahead!

But if they couldn’t be solved…

He scanned the room quickly, including the overbearing Zhao Zhi and the confident Qi Yan, then thought about Song Caitang, who was still focused on restoring the face of the body they had found in the yard. His lips curled slightly upward into a confident smile.

With these teammates around, it was impossible for this case to remain unsolved.

He quickly put a hand over his other fist and bowed slightly toward Zhao Zhi, “I will definitely do my best to help you crack this case!”

That was all Zhao Zhi wanted out of him, really.

This was a man who had feelings for his girl and he didn’t like the sight of him, but he had to admit that Wen Yuansi was capable. At the same time, Wen Yuansi probably acknowledged Zhao Zhi’s capabilities, and that’s why he continued to treat Zhao Zhi with respect.

Their likes and dislikes were personal matters that were part of their private lives, while work was a completely different matter. Both Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi drew the line between personal and work matters very well, so working together wasn’t hard.

“She’s done! She’s done!”

Someone suddenly came running in with a message for the three men. His face was red with excitement. “Miss Song is done restoring the skull!”

“What? She’s done?”

Qi Yan had just mumbled those words in a daze for a second before he suddenly leaped up like a monkey and half flew toward the room where Song Caitang was.

Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi got up immediately as well and followed behind Qi Yan.

After working for days with hardly any rest to make tiny adjustments according to all the data she had, Song Caitang felt like her body didn’t belong to her anymore. She couldn’t even stand and she had dark rings around her eyes. When Qi Yan rushed into the room, she could only raise her head weakly and didn’t have much expression on her face.

“I’m not sure if I’ve done a good job. Take a look.”

In modern times, she could use computer software to recreate a face with all the measurements she had and it would be able to match a photograph. But given the resources she had, this was the best she could manage.

She put together a complete skull with clear features and a typical man’s hairstyle. Based on the victim’s age, she made some adjustments like the type of accessories used, the fact that he probably wouldn’t have white hair as well as what he would look like with and without facial hair…

She felt like she couldn’t have done as well as modern technology, but Qi Yan was too stunned for words when he laid eyes on the skull.

“This… this…”

This was a face he couldn’t be more familiar with.

The brow bone that was higher than most, a pair of roundish eyes, a slightly fleshy nose, the right side of the chin was a little different from the left side after a fall during childhood that was not very obvious unless you knew about it…

“That’s my uncle, Jing Yan!”

Qi Yan reached out to touch the clay head with trembling hands, but before he could touch it, his fingers froze, as though he was afraid he might ruin it. His eyes reddened and tears started pouring down his cheeks.

Song Caitang blinked several times in surprise.

Even though she felt she might not have done the best job since she didn’t have the help of modern technology, she was still confident of her skills. If the victim was really Jing Yan, then her reproduction of his face ought to be fairly accurate. But a sculpture was not a 3D photo after all, so it might not be as lifelike and required a bit of time for one to confirm who it was.

She was surprised that Qi Yan was so quick.

She had forgotten how the paintings of this era were often drawn extremely accurately, such that even wanted posters from the authorities looked as good as photos. This skull she had restored really looked a lot like the real person.

Qi Yan didn’t care about anything else. He fell to his knees and sobbed loudly.

“Uncle… I’ve… finally found you…”

Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi only arrived a little later, but when they saw the head on the table, they were just as amazed as Qi Yan.

Actions spoke louder than words, after all.

Even though they trusted that Song Caitang could really do what she said, they didn’t expect her to be able to make something that looked so real.

The sculpted face was so real, it looked like it had a soul. Even the brow hairs were placed individually. How did she do it?

After working on this for days without much rest or energy to tidy the place, the room was very messy. Song Caitang sat on the chair in front of the table, and while she wasn’t filthy, she looked rather untidy. But she continued to sit there, her hair half untied and with dark rings around her eyes as she lazily propped her head up with her arm. She didn’t look elegant, but Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi couldn’t find it in themselves to dismiss her for that. Their eyes lit up with pure amazement and admiration.

This woman always surprised them and never disappointed them!

Qi Yan’s reaction made it obvious that her job was done here. Song Caitang closed her eyes. She knew it wasn’t appropriate of her to feel this way, but she was really relieved that it was all over.

“I’m sorry, I have to go back to my room to rest.”

She got Qingqiao to help her get up, because she could barely keep her eyelids open. She nodded slightly at Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi, then left the room.

Nobody stopped her from leaving and didn’t even want to hold her back by showing any concern. The best way to care for her was to allow her to get real rest right now, so they silently watched her walk away.

There was no way Qi Yan could think about the case now, and Song Caitang really needed to recuperate.

Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi both thought the same way, so they did not talk about the case and decided to focus on consoling Qi Yan first, then wait for Song Caitang to regain her energy before talking about the case.

Song Caitang ended up sleeping the entire day away.

Initially, she was sleeping very soundly. But she started having dreams in the later half.

She had had such dreams before. It was always about her past.

The difference was, in the past, she couldn’t see the faces of these people in the dream and she couldn’t sense how they felt, including her own presence in the dream. But this time, she could see a lot.

She could see her parents’ faces.

It seemed like she was already in Da’an when she was born… As an infant, she could already sense the deep love her parents had for her. Her mother resembled Guan Qing a lot. But while these eyes made Guan Qing look aloof and distant, they made her mother elegant and kindly.

Her mother passed away when she was two.

Strangely enough, she had a very deep impression of her mother.

Her father’s name was Song Yi and he never remarried. He said he would only have two women in his life. His wife had passed on, so he was only left with his daughter. He wanted to be there for her, so he never allowed others to bully her. Never.

Her father was an excellent coroner, but it seemed like he had offended someone, so he kept a very low profile. After he found out that she was interested in examining corpses and he failed to convince her otherwise, he accepted and understood her passion and stopped trying to prevent her from becoming a coroner. He helped her to get started in this line by dressing her up as a man and clearing up any messes left behind…

In this country, you couldn’t become a coroner just because you said you knew how to examine corpses, and you wouldn’t get a case just because you were a coroner on the list. Every industry had their own way of working.

Her father had helped her a lot, even though that went against his preference to keep a low profile.

Yet such a wonderful father ended up passing away in an accident where he slipped and rolled off a cliff. He didn’t even leave any last words for her…

Her dream stopped here abruptly and she couldn’t get to see any further. But based on her age at the end of the dream, she knew that this dream stopped not long before she hit her head and lost her senses.