Eliminating Another Suspect

This dream should have had Zhao Zhi.

Should have had, because Song Caitang had caught a glimpse of his face during her dream and was very certain that they shared a past. For some reason, whenever she thought of his name and saw his familiar face, her heart would feel a terrible pain inside, as though a large part of her heart had been dug out, leaving behind a huge, bloodied hole.

They must have gone through something extremely terrifying. A terror that made her subconscious continue to hide, that made it refuse to face reality, and so, she was also simply unable to remember what happened.

But she also had no hate toward Zhao Zhi. Instead, she felt a reliance on him, a yearning to see him. Even though she couldn’t remember anything and all she had was this vague dream, when she woke up and thought of his name, she felt nothing but warmth in her heart.

This was a warmth that had become deeper and stronger over time.

What… did they go through in the past?

Song Caitang shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

That was not a dream. That was her past.

There was no Song Caitang born in Da’an who used to occupy this body. It had been herself right from the start.

The memories had stopped halfway and many details were missing. She had gone through an emotional rollercoaster and her mind was a big mess. Many questions filled her mind, like how did her father die? How did she knock her head and lose her memory?

And also… why Zhao Zhi had also lost this part of his memory for a while.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so distant and behaved like such a stranger at first.

It was only after they had interacted more that he began to suspect something and began to remember parts of his past… Then after the Night Sanctum case, he had a huge change emotionally, like he was a completely different person. He behaved very differently toward her after that

He had remembered his past.

But had he remembered everything?

Zhao Zhi was the heir to Prince Ping, a man of extraordinary standing. Why did he suddenly appear in her tiny town back then? How did they get separated later on and why did neither of them remember anything?

The other thing was water.

She never had any special feelings toward water before. She wasn’t afraid of it, but she didn’t particularly like it either. But after she woke up in this world the year before, she found that she loved water a lot. To the point where she was only able to sleep well and feel at peace if she was by the water.

But Zhao Zhi was very afraid of water.

He didn’t like to go near any body of water and didn’t like others to go near either, especially her.

But it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle it at all. He had managed to resolve the last few crises very well. And it was quite clear from his actions that he was actually well trained to handle dangers in water. He did not fear water before.

So what happened? Did their common experience include something about water?

The past was confusing and the events hit her in the face like a brick. She didn’t even have the time to feel sad. After the tense and weak feeling she had slowly faded, she wiped away her tears and calmed down.

She had to find out about what happened in the past.

She wanted to know the whole truth!

Zhao Zhi was asking questions about it himself, so she had to work hard at it too..

The first thing she did when she got out of bed was to write to Guan Qing.

Asking Guan Qing for help was not something embarrassing.

There was also Wei He’an.

This man must have recognized her. The “incredible, young coroner” he talked about had to be her back when she had to dress as a man.

They were probably not familiar with one another and not close. Perhaps they just lived in the same area and saw each other before… After all, if he knew her well, he wouldn’t have to approach her with such caution.

He had approached her but was very careful with his words. Regardless of his intentions, he had not told anybody else that he recognized her and just tried to sound her out. Why?

Was it because he needed something from her and didn’t want to ruin the relationship?

But the only capability she had was examining corpses.

Song Caitang narrowed her eyes slightly. She felt like she might be able to fish some information out of this man.

She didn’t know anything at all before this and was at a disadvantage. But now, she could try and sound him out instead.

After sleeping for such a long time and going through a long and tumultuous dream as well as multiple flashbacks of her life, then taking some time to calm down and pull herself together again, two days had passed before Song Caitang came out to meet the rest again.

Qi Yan had already calmed down by this time. His uncle’s death had been a big blow to him and the body remained a mystery, so he had been very bothered by it all these years. But now, he had finally gotten the answers he had been searching for and he could finally finish grieving, so he now had a more relaxed and determined look in his eyes.

After all, he still had to find out who killed his uncle. Once he had caught the killer and brought them to justice, he would bring the remains of his uncle back with him and give him a proper burial.

So, he was really thrilled to see Song Caitang. “Tangtang, did you have a good rest? Are you still tired? Hungry? Thirsty? If you need anything, just say the word and I’ll get it for you!”

She had played a crucial role in finding his uncle’s remains, so he would never forget how much he owed to her.

Wen Yuansi was relieved to see Song Caitang. His gaze was relaxed and his smile was warm. “You’re here.”

Only Zhao Zhi sensed that… there was something different about her.

Her eyes were still sweet looking with an intelligent gleam like before, but the way she looked at him was different now.

Her gaze was not filled with love or anything like that, but she looked more relaxed and comfortable with him.

Before this, it was as though her path had been blocked by a gigantic rock, so she couldn’t get past it and didn’t want to get past it either. But now, the rock had been removed, so she could continue walking down the path without problem.

Zhao Zhi couldn’t help but take a few steps toward her as a possibility struck him. He looked into her eyes, his gaze like the stars and his voice seemingly from afar, “Did you… recall something?”

This question did not seem out of place and both Qi Yan and Wen Yuansi thought he was referring to the case. After all, Song Caitang often noticed other things they hadn’t and could analyze clues from different angles, resulting in new conclusions that surprised them. Perhaps she had thought of something they hadn’t again.

But she stared back at Zhao Zhi and tilted her head slightly. “Nope.”

“I’ve been so tired, I’ve slept an entire day and more. Did you guys gather any new clues?”

She smiled beautifully, like the unmatched brilliance of the sunshine in spring.

“Won’t you tell me about them?”

“I’ll tell you!” Qi Yan showed Song Caitang to her seat with the excitement of a little puppy.

Wen Yuansi got Song Caitang a cup of tea that was just the right temperature and the right flavor.

Zhao Zhi… Zhao Zhi’s reaction was a little slow, so he had no choice but to make use of his quick moves to grab the seat that was right next to her.

He sensed that his girl was… keeping something from him.

But it didn’t matter. They were going to spend a long, long time together, so she could take her time to talk.

This time, he wasn’t going to let go and he wasn’t going to leave his seat vacant.

The four of them sat down, showed some concern for one another as friends, and got into the zone again. They were ready to talk about the case now.

Song Caitang had been busy with the skull restoration process, then rested for two days because she was so exhausted after that, so she didn’t know what happened during this time and was not updated on any clues or advancement in the case. This meeting was spent just quietly listening to the three men tell her all the clues they had gathered.

So, it turned out that Fourth Missy Gan’s case was not only connected to what happened five years ago, but also what happened 18 years ago.

She frowned slightly as she went into deep thought.

After recounting all the details, Zhao Zhi folded his arms with a solemn look in his eyes as he concluded, “So now, we can be very sure of one thing. The authorities’ bandit raid on Beiqing Mountain involved a lot of people. There was the clever leader of the bandits who betrayed his men and got a new lease of life by living as Zuo Xiuwen, and there were also others who purposely muddied the waters.”

“I agree,” Song Caitang nodded. “Otherwise, things wouldn’t be such a mess and facts would not be so well-hidden. I’m sure each of the persons involved had different motives for being there at that time. But what was it?”

This was a very important question.

Qi Yan clicked his tongue and looked rather frustrated. “How would anyone know that? It’s already been so many years and it was so chaotic that day too. It would be impossible to find out now!”

Wen Yuansi stared down at his teacup with a thoughtful look in his eyes. “Never mind the rest – the Lu Guangzong case from before and Jing Yan’s case both involve a huge amount of gold and foreigners. Does that mean that 18 years ago, someone already betrayed the country and started communicating with a foreign country?”

“There’s also the box with secret drawers and its blueprint that has appeared twice now.” He stared at the other three with a grim look on his face. “I have a feeling that these two might have been working together.”

Song Caitang listened to what he said and her gaze flickered. “Based on what we know now, Zeng Deyong and Sang Zheng are not close. If Zeng Deyong was the one behind Fourth Missy Gan’s case, then that bottle of poison must have been placed there in order to set up Sang Zheng.”
If Zeng Deyong was trying to frame Sang Zheng, the two men couldn’t be on good terms.

“If Sang Zheng was the one who killed Fourth Missy Gan, then the time and place he chose, as well as the way he murdered her, would seem like he was trying to humiliate Zeng Deyong.”

And if Sang Zheng was trying to humiliate the count, then they were definitely not on good terms.

But if their disagreement was bad enough for them to kill and frame the other, then these two were not just simple business partners.

After saying that, Song Caitang turned to look at Zhao Zhi as though she wanted to know what he thought.

Qi Yan finally realized something and asked Song Caitang, “So… we’ve narrowed down Fourth Missy Gan’s killer to Zeng Deyong or Sang Zheng?”

Song Caitang froze for a second, then nodded.

It was as if she was stunned by how slow he had been to realize this.

Qi Yan nearly broke down in tears, but he was used to being the slow one now and wasn’t embarrassed by it anymore. He quickly asked a second question, “What about Qiu Wenkang? Why has he been eliminated from the list?”

Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi threw him pitiful looks at the same time.

Qi Yan stared at them. “So… so… you guys already figured this out?”

The other two men didn’t say anything. They didn’t need to. Their expressions said everything.

Qi Yan felt like crying.

“Any murder case would require a motive for killing.” Song Caitang was a little kinder to him and started explaining the situation gently, “Think about it. Why would Qiu Wenkang want to kill Fourth Miss Gan? And why would he do it in a place like the count’s residence, at a time when the count is throwing a huge banquet?”

Qi Yan scratched his head. “Because… it was convenient?”

They had raised this possibility before. The killer might have noticed that someone else was trying to kill her, so they quickly killed her first and tried to frame the other for it.

“But that doesn’t give us a motive.” Song Caitang raised three fingers. “There are three common motives for murder. Revenge, money, secrets. Which one would Qiu Wenkang fall under?”

“He got to know Fourth Missy Gan five years ago in Qingxian. If he had a feud with her from 18 years ago, he wouldn’t have helped her five years ago, and actually, killing her back then would have been way more convenient. And if they somehow had a feud from five years ago and he wanted to kill her after she appeared in Bianliang, it would still have been easier for him to kill her along some street elsewhere. The count did not treat Fourth Missy Gan well but they did not restrict her from leaving the house. Their meeting five years ago is considered a secret that almost nobody knows about. If he killed her quietly somewhere else, nobody would trace it to Qiu Wenkang and he would be in a much safer position. Wouldn’t it be very foolish of him to commit murder in such an audacious manner?”

Qi Yan argued, “But it’s not like absolutely nobody knew about what happened five years ago. The person who killed my uncle dumped his body in that yard in order to frame Qiu Wenkang. That person would know that Qiu Wenkang and Fourth Missy Gan had met.”

“Yes, the killer would have known that. But would they have said anything about it?” Song Caitang reminded him, “The killer didn’t do something he would like other people to know about.”

Exposing one’s crime in the process of exposing another’s crime would be pretty stupid.

Qi Yan had no answer to that. “That… makes sense.”

“And more importantly,” Song Caitang narrowed her eyes slightly as she gently touched the sides of her teacup, “the time and place of the murder. Qiu Wenkang had no prior interaction or business with the count or his household. He went for the banquet only because the count had sent an invitation and it would look bad on the crown prince if he didn’t at least go over for a while. He wouldn’t have known anything about the special characteristics of the house, where the rooms were, which rooms were meant for guests and which rooms were, or what the program was for the day.”

“But the way Fourth Missy Gan was killed, whether it was by waiting for the poison to take effect or her violent rape, either way would have required some time. To be able to secretly move around, commit a murder despite the number of guests and bustling activity in the house, then secretly get away means that this killer knows the house and the program for the day very well.”

Qi Yan got it now. “Oh… you’re right! Even a killer with a motive would need a plan of sorts. Qiu Wenkang would not have been able to pull this off at all!”

Zhao Zhi put his cup down with a soft clink. “Mr. Qi is indeed a clever man whose mind works quickly.”

Qi Yan nearly squeaked. He laughed nervously, “Um, I can’t be compared to you, Brother Zhi.”

“Can I continue now?”

Qi Yan quickly refilled Zhao Zhi’s cup with an ingratiating smile. “Please do, please do.”

Zhao Zhi went on, “So now, we’ve got a few groups to look at…”