Timeline

Song Caitang’s reminder was a really good one.

She was always like that – steady, familiar with the work, astonishingly detailed. At least when it came to investigating cases, she was always outstanding.

The light moved along with her steps, the sunshine leaped between her hairs, her brows were gentle yet serious, her posture elegant.

It was rare for Wen Yuansi to go into a daze while working, but that’s exactly what happened.

For that one moment, he felt that Song Caitang was even brighter than the sun. Her brilliance was unmatched.

It made him want to draw near to her, it made him want to have her.

But unfortunately, he was not the one she loved.

Wen Yuansi looked toward Zhao Zhi, who stood beside Song Caitang. He was tall and broad, his brows thick and his eyes sparkled. Every time he looked at Song Caitang, his eyes would be filled with a gentleness he never showed others, and Song Caitang would look back at him in the same way.

Whenever they were together, their thoughts and actions would be so coordinated, as though there was nobody else in the same space as them.

A faint bitter taste slowly spread in Wen Yuansi’s mouth. He lowered his gaze and took a deep breath. Regardless of whether he still stood a chance or not, now was definitely not the time to think about all this.

Work was work. He ought to know which matters took priority.

He had to work hard to make others, as well as himself, feel proud of him.

They were more or less done with looking at the scene of the crime and they couldn’t do anything else here. Song Caitang looked at Wen Yuansi and asked, “Where’s the head of the household? Is there someone who can tell us what happened before and after the body was discovered?”

Wen Yuansi looked back at her solemnly. “I’ve already gotten someone to fetch him, I think he should be… Oh, he’s here.”

Just then, the head of the Zheng family, Zheng Fangquan, walked toward them.

Song Caitang was not surprised.

On her way here, she had heard from Zhao Zhi about the Zhengs. Zheng Fangquan was the head of the family. He was the oldest in the household, the person with the most experience and a court official. He was in charge of the Salt Department, so he was an extremely powerful official. His wife passed away early and left him with only one son, who married Madam Wang, who gave birth to Zheng Kanghui. But this son unfortunately passed away before he turned 30…

In other words, the Zhengs had three members who were in charge of the household. One was Zheng Fangquan, one was his daughter-in-law, Madam Wang, and the last one was Zheng Kanghui, the grandson who was studying abroad and was unable to return right now.

The victim was the person in charge of the inner house, so Song Caitang guessed that the person coming to talk to them must be someone in a higher position than her. It would either be the butler, or the head himself, Zheng Fangquan.

And in the end, Zheng Fangquan was the one who came.

It was just that…

Song Caitang’s gaze flickered slightly as she looked at the man walking toward them.

This man was a grandfather, but Zheng Fangquan didn’t look old. His hair was jet black, he walked with a straight back and exuded elegance and class. He had the air of a scholar. He wasn’t super handsome, but he was definitely charming.

Song Caitang thought about how old he probably was and figured he was around fifty or so. That was considered old in this era, and even in the modern times she hailed from, they would be considered middle aged.

When he came closer, she noticed that his nasolabial folds were a little deep and there were obvious creases around his eyes, which showed his age. But… he still had the charm of a mature man.

The only problem was, this “mature man” did not look friendly or pleasant at all. His expression was stern and his brows were furrowed. He was clearly furious.

“So, who killed Madam Wang! You’d better have an answer!”

Wen Yuansi took a step forward. “It takes time to conduct a thorough investigation. Please take care of yourself and don’t get too worked up.”

An important member of the family had died from unnatural causes, so it was normal for surviving members to feel terrible and get emotional. Wen Yuansi could understand that. But nobody could crack a case instantly. If the authorities could figure out who a murderer was after just taking a look at the body, there wouldn’t be so many unsolved mysteries in the world today.

Wen Yuansi was always so calm and steady in the way he carried himself and spoke to others, so his voice had the power to comfort people. Even though he was giving a reminder, he spoke at a comfortable pace and sounded professional yet sincere.

Zheng Fangquan stared at him for a moment, then shut his eyes and let out a long sigh. He stopped being so angry.

They could talk to him properly now.

Song Caitang had taken a look at the scene of the crime and heard from Wen Yuansi that the body was found by servants who realized that their mistress had remained in the room for a little too long. They entered her room, were horrified to discover her body, and quickly reported this to their master, who reported it to the authorities.

But she had no idea what happened before that.

“There was a big event in the house yesterday?” asked Song Caitang quietly. “When we walked in, we noticed there were some gold decorations that had not been put away yet.”

Zheng Fangquan folded his arms behind his back. “We did have something yesterday and we had a lot of guests.”

And that’s all he said.

Song Caitang turned to look at Zhao Zhi. They were clearly thinking about the same thing.

So, Zhao Zhi asked the next question, “Were you having a private party in the house yesterday? Did you… invite a Miss Linglong from Yuchun Court?”

After all, everything just seemed too coincidental. This estate wasn’t far from Yuchun Court too. They couldn’t help but think that what they saw the night before was connected to this.

Zheng Fangquan’s first reaction was to frown at them with a questioning look in his eyes, as though he was wondering how Zhao Zhi knew about this. But his expression relaxed as he figured that anybody would be able to find out about this, since the party wasn’t a secret anyway.

“I wouldn’t say it was a private party,” said Zheng Fangquan calmly. “We don’t have any laws against courtesans and brothels, and it’s very common for one to invite a few ladies to sing and dance at parties. It was my day off yesterday, so I invited a few friends over for a gathering. Madam Wang wanted to be a good host, so she invited some ladies from Yuchun Court to make the gathering more lively. They just came to sing and dance, nothing more—”

His expression suddenly turned into one of fury. “Are you saying that this terrible thing was done by one of those shameless people?!”

Zhao Zhi maintained a serious expression. “That is not what I am saying. A proper investigation has to be carried out before we can arrive at the truth. I’m asking only because I chanced upon something last night. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“Regardless of who it is, you must find the killer!”

Zheng Fangquan’s emotions were written all over his face. He could barely contain his anger.

Just when he was about to explode, a voice came from afar.

“Mr. Zheng, calm down.”

The man who had arrived wore a high crown on his head and walked elegantly. His facial features were not the best looking or the most outstanding, but people were judged more by their clothing. His expensive clothes were more than enough to make up for any lack of looks or aura. He wasn’t the handsomest man in town, but he was definitely someone of high standing who was respected by everyone.

Zhao Zhi seemed a little surprised to see who it was. “Marquess Anyang? Why are you here?”

Song Caitang didn’t know who this man was, but she knew who this title belonged to.

Chen Jitong was a famous person in Bianliang. He was the older brother to the current empress and was given the formal title of Marquess Anyang. He did not have any real authority, but his status in the country was too high for anyone to disregard.

Why… was this man here?

Did he rush over after hearing what happened? He was so close to the Zhengs?

Song Caitang had the same questions as Zhao Zhi.

“Prince Ping, you’re here too.” Marquess Anyang greeted Zhao Zhi casually. “There’s nothing surprising about my presence here. I stayed the night yesterday.”

Zhao Zhi narrowed his eyes. “Is that so?”

The fact that a man with his own home and family was staying the night at someone else’s house was strange enough.

“Don’t look at me like that,” the marquess calmly folded his hands in front of him. “Your butler, Zhao Zhong, came last night too and would have been given a room too, but he left early and didn’t stay the night.”

Zhao Zhi looked at him. “Zhao Zhong?”

That was indeed the old butler in charge of his house. He was also a trusted confidant and assistant to Consort Ping.

The marquess went on, “That’s right. He came last night as a representative from your household and didn’t come empty handed either. He brought a present from that cousin of yours, Lu Yuxue, was it? He brought a present from her.”

Zhao Zhi frowned slightly. Song Caitang found it strange too. Why was Lu Yuxue seemingly everywhere?

And the butler, Zhao Zhong… Was the Prince Ping household going to be embroiled in this case too?

“Well, let’s not waste time on the unimportant details. Tell me who came last night, what happened and what time everything happened,” said Zhao Zhi as he looked at Zheng Fangquan and the marquess with a stern look on his face. “Anything could have a connection with the killer, so please go into as much detail as you can, don’t hide anything from us.”

Zheng Fangquan agreed.

He didn’t intend to hide anything and it wasn’t possible to hide the facts anyway, so he started recounting what happened, “The gathering I had last night was arranged a long time ago. Madam Wang started preparing for it quite a while back, so she made all the arrangements needed, including the two ladies from Yuchun Court, Linglong and Ningyan.”

Yuchun Court was the most luxurious brothel in all of Bianliang. All their courtesans were excellent at their jobs and would change their act according to what the customers liked. They could be as secretive, pure, shy or downright flirtatious as a customer wanted them to be. Pretending to be an elegant, upper class woman was something they were very good at doing.

Linglong and Ningyan were Yuchun Court’s most expensive courtesans. Linglong was a little older and had been popular for many years now. Ningyan was a rising star over the last two years and looked like she could replace Linglong soon. Both ladies were very expensive to hire, so not only did you need to have enough money to hire them, you had to be of a certain status too.

Zheng Fangquan continued to recall what happened the night before, “The entertainment and all that was secondary – the main purpose was to just have a gathering. The party was to start in the afternoon. Guests started arriving around 3pm, so Madam Wang and I began to welcome them separately.

“I can attest to that,” the marquess walked over to stand next to Zheng Fangquan with a slightly mocking smile on his face. “Mr. Zheng’s subordinate at the Salt Shipping Department, Jiang Shaoyuan, arrived first. He didn’t seem to understand that he was here for a gathering and actually asked about work. He was too stupid to pick up any of the hints that were dropped, which made Mr. Zheng angry. Mr. Zheng ended up scolding him a little, which really embarrassed him in front of others.”

Zheng Fangquan did not refute what the marquess said. “Well, I only chided him a little within the confines of my house, so he wouldn’t be embarrassed out there. If this happened outside the house, he wouldn’t just be embarrassed.”

Song Caitang furrowed her brow slightly. Jiang Shaoyuan… was the father of Guan Rongrong’s husband, right?

“Yes, yes, Mr. Zheng is always so considerate when it comes to his subordinates,” said the marquess with a smile. “But it’s too bad that Jiang Shaoyuan didn’t want to admit his mistake and his rival, Ji Bo, arrived at this time…”

Wen Yuansi asked, “The two men started arguing?”

The marquess replied, “No, they didn’t argue. They were at a gathering hosted by Mr. Zheng, after all, so they couldn’t possibly make things ugly at such an occasion. But of course, many sarcastic remarks and snide comments were made.”

Zhao Zhi interjected, “So, Jiang Shaoyuan started getting upset?”

“Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t,” the marquess rubbed his palms together with a faint smile. “Madam Wang wasn’t the sort to allow any form of disagreement to just carry on. She was a very observant and detailed woman who was able to think on her feet. She could resolve this small matter very easily. In fact, she didn’t even have to do much. She just needed to get the two pretty girls, Linglong and Ningyan to come over, and the two men weren’t going to fight anymore. They would be busy with the girls.”

“In order to appease his anger, Madam Wang even pushed Ningyan into Jiang Shaoyuan’s arms… Ningyan is young, but she took it in her stride. She immediately stuck herself to him and fawned over him while throwing Linglong glances to antagonize her.”

“When it comes to competing for the top courtesan spot, men might not understand and the two ladies might not have been obvious about it, but everyone could tell that the competition is fierce. It was clear that Jiang Shaoyuan visited such places very often.”

And that was why he could become someone the courtesans would bother fighting over.

Zheng Fangquan added on, “Ji Bo seemed rather envious that Jiang Shaoyuan had gained the favor of a pretty girl, or perhaps he wanted to make sure he didn’t lose to Jiang Shaoyuan. He immediately put an arm around Linglong’s shoulder and spoke gently to her.”

The atmosphere became rather tense because both the men and the women were competing with one another.

Zhao Zhi nodded. “What happened after that?”

“After that, all of us sat down together in the living room.” Zheng Fangquan furrowed his brow, “I was very busy because the Salt Department is allocating licenses and so almost everyone wanted to talk to me. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Madam Wang was taking very good care of the guests and didn’t seem distressed or anything like that.”

Wen Yuansi then asked, “When did the gathering end? What was the situation like then?”

“We were done once we finished dinner,” said the marquess. “I had gotten a little too carried away and drank too much, so I spent the rest of the night in my room and didn’t see anything. In fact, it was Prince Ping’s residence butler who helped me back to my room. We sat down and started talking about the past, then called for someone to bring more wine and completely passed out. As a marquess, I’m allowed to just sleep the night away. But Zhao Zhong’s status doesn’t allow him to do that, so he forced himself to get up in the middle of the night and left by himself.”

Zhao Zhi then turned to look at Zheng Fangquan.

Zheng Fangquan didn’t need to be asked to know that he was up next. He immediately added, “After the gathering had ended, my subordinate, Jiang Shaoyuan, went into a bedroom with Ningyan. I have no idea what time they were done and what time they came out. Ji Bo and I had something to discuss, so we went to my study. In the middle of our discussion, Madam Wang came in with tea once. After that, I told her she could turn in for the night…”

Nothing else happened after that, until the servants found Madam Wang dead in her room the next morning.

But there was one problem here. Song Caitang asked, “What about Miss Linglong then?”

This time line was not the most detailed and seemed fairly loose. But while pretty much everyone had been accounted for, Linglong had not.

What was she doing? What had she done?

Zheng Fangquan shook his head. “I have no idea. Madam Wang was in charge of the women. Ningyan was with Jiang Shaoyuan, and Linglong should have been with Ji Bo, but Ji Bo had to talk to me and was going to take a long time, so… I suppose Linglong left?”

Song Caitang glanced at Zhao Zhi. It was probably better to ask Linglong directly about this.

Zhao Zhi nodded, then remembered what Song Caitang had mentioned earlier. He asked, “Do you know who had gone into the victim’s room during this time? Did either of you see anything?”

Zheng Fangquan frowned. “No idea.”

The marquess shrugged and sounded a little sarcastic, “What sort of question is this? There are rules around the inner house of a court official. Did you think just anybody could go in and out as they please?”

It seemed like they weren’t going to get any answers to that question.

Zhao Zhi gave that up and proceeded to ask one last but important question, “This case is fairly complicated and a proper examination of the body is critical. And so, I have to ask Mr. Zheng for his opinion on one matter.”

Zheng Fangquan replied, “Go ahead.”

“We might need to dissect Madam Wang’s body. Would you be agreeable to that?”

Zheng Fangquan seemed to know what he was trying to say and his sharp gaze instantly landed on Song Caitang.

Song Caitang smiled faintly as she looked back at him without avoiding his gaze or looking nervous.

“Sure.” To everyone’s surprise, Zheng Fangquan agreed with a snort. “That’s all she’s capable of doing, anyway.”

He had agreed, but his expression and tone were disdainful.

Song Caitang’s smile faded a little.

“I’ve heard about what this line of work entails. She can dissect the body,” said Zheng Fangquan as he pointed at Song Caitang. He stared at Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi, “But both of you must be the ones investigating and cracking the case.”

The smile on Wen Yuansi’s face disappeared.

Zhao Zhi scoffed. “Why, you don’t trust the people on my team?”

Zheng Fangquan was about to speak when Song Caitang smiled and took a step forward. “Just like what you’ve said, Mr. Zheng, I will conduct the autopsy, but Mr. Wen and His Highness will take care of the case.”

Since she had made her stand and agreed to this arrangement, Zhao Zhi couldn’t do anything about it. He stood aside and did not speak.

Zheng Fangquan raised an eyebrow. “Excellent.”

After he said that, he turned and walked away, not caring if the people in the room had any reaction, or whether he had made them unhappy or not.

The marquess quickly ran after him. “Mr. Zheng, wait for me! Wait for me!”

Even though they were a distance away, the people in the room could still hear their conversation.

“I know you’re not in a good mood, but what’s the point in getting angry with a woman?”

“You mean I can’t do as I please in my own house? What can she do? Kill me from where she’s standing?”

“Alright, alright, I know you’re in a tough situation now, so you can’t be expected to be courteous and cordial all the time, but that’s not what others might think…”

“Who cares? It’s just a woman…”

Their voices went further and further until they were no longer audible.

Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi both looked a little worriedly at Song Caitang.

But Song Caitang didn’t feel awkward at all. She had faced such a situation and this sort of attitude so many times before. Zheng Fangquan wasn’t the first one and he wasn’t going to be the last one either.

She remained silent not because she was unhappy, but because she was thinking about something else.

Based on what everyone in this household said about Madam Wang, Madam Wang was someone who was very capable and adaptable, and she was also a very independent woman with strong opinions. Why was Zheng Fangquan willing to accept Madam Wang and even seem to appreciate and admire her, but have trouble accepting Song Caitang?

He just didn’t like her face? Or something?

“He’s not usually like this. I think what’s happened today has agitated him and so he’s not able to suppress his real self,” Wen Yuansi tried to console her.

Song Caitang nodded. “Yeah, I understand. Thanks.”