Between Two Women

Song Caitang had purposely dressed this way and spoke in such a manner.

Questioning someone required some technique, regardless of whether it was being conducted in the somber chambers of a court or in an open street. Song Caitang was no professional, but she knew that the one thing she must not do within this brothel was to make Linglong feel nervous or wary.

And because any mention would definitely make Linglong nervous to a certain extent, she had to do something else to reduce the distance between them as much as possible.

Song Caitang was trying to make the air between them as amiable as possible, so she smiled at Linglong, “It’s been some time since we last saw each other. How have you been, Miss Linglong? Is everything going well?”

“I’m well, thank you for remembering me.”

Linglong quickly made a pot of tea and poured Song Caitang a cup. “I did not think that you would be willing to come to such a place, I thought you would despise it… I clean all the crockery in my room and they’re very clean, so you can use it without worries.”

After being a top courtesan for such a long time, Linglong truly lived up to her name. She wasn’t just a woman with a good figure, but a woman with a good head on her shoulders.

She had only met Song Caitang once, after all. And it didn’t take a genius to figure out why a woman from a clean background would come to such a place.

Besides being here to ask about the recent murder case, there was no other reason.

But Song Caitang’s attitude made her feel comfortable around her, so Linglong smiled sincerely too.

Song Caitang did not immediately talk about the case. She started chatting casually about all sorts of everyday things with Linglong, like what she ate, what she wore, where to find new desserts, what new designs the tailors came up with, where to watch interesting operas, where to find new storytellers who were excellent at their craft…

They were all topics that most women would be interested in.

Song Caitang’s personality or likings did not have to match Linglong’s, but as she went through topic after topic, she figured that she would find something that both of them liked and could continue chatting about naturally.

It was as though they were at a gathering in someone’s house and just talking about their week. But for Linglong… it made her sigh happily inside. It made her feel warm inside.

As a top courtesan, she looked like she was constantly the center of attention and had everything she wanted. But in reality, both men and women despised her inside. She never received real respect.

But ever since she met Song Caitang that night and how Song Caitang behaved toward her today, so far Song Caitang never seemed to look down on her or despise her in any way.

She could tell that while Song Caitang was not trying to get close to her or make friends with her, Song Caitang did not use her social class to treat her poorly at all.

Song Caitang was very sincere.

If she didn’t reciprocate this sincerity, then the one being rude and nasty was her, not Song Caitang.

Her fingers wrapped themselves around the light green teacup as she glanced downward, her side profile sweet and quiet. “Is that so? I need to go and hear this lady storyteller read a book sometime soon then.”

“But it’s too bad, the dark alley where Zhao Zhong died is very close to that lady storyteller’s book store. The owner is afraid of trouble, so he’s closed the place for a few days now.”

Song Caitang smiled as she spoke and did not emphasize any of her words, as though she was just speaking casually and not trying to sound anybody out.

Linglong’s expression did not flinch and she smiled back. “I see. That’s too bad.”

The sun shone in from the window and illuminated the side of the teacup, highlighting the flower pattern on it. It made this girls’ room warm and comforting to be in.

Song Caitang looked down and smiled. “I heard that you’re… of some age now, Miss Linglong.”

Linglong sighed as she sounded a little depressed. “Flowers bloom and fade. Women lose their youth very easily.”

“Youth ends at 20?”Song Caitang blinked and sounded like she didn’t agree.

Linglong sighed again. “Time is always especially harsh to women. You’re still young and you haven’t experienced a lot in life. You don’t know that the women with youth on their side are always the most arrogant, the most fearless. The ones who merely argue with older women are considered not too bad, because it’s more common to see them spit and curse and despise older women. It has never crossed their minds that one day, they’d grow old too.”

She sounded like she had experienced this personally. Song Caitang could understand where she was coming from.

In her previous life, she had lived till almost 30. She had never been in love and never got married, so she was already despised as a woman left on the shelf. Worse still, she was also seen as an especially independent woman with a strange temperament. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what others were saying about her.

Many times, the ones with harsh words for women weren’t men. A woman could dislike you for all sorts of unreasonable reasons if she wanted to.

Linglong worked in a brothel, so she was faced with either customers or competitors who stood to gain or lose depending on her behavior. If they were unhappy, they would definitely start yelling and cursing very loudly, as if it was their right to do so.

But Song Caitang was trying to find out Linglong’s real age from this conversation. She didn’t ask directly and Linglong did not answer her straight either, mentioning how younger women were unfriendly and nasty instead. Of course she wasn’t talking about Song Caitang, but it was her way of stopping Song Caitang from asking the real question she had.

Because if Song Caitang tried to ask, then she would sound as nasty as the younger women Linglong had interacted with.

After saying those words, Linglong smiled at Song Caitang gently, “You’re at the prime of your youth, so you should enjoy it. Don’t live with hesitation and end up neglecting the ones who are truly good to you.”

Those were fairly sincere words with rather deep implications.

Song Caitang paused to decipher what Linglong was trying to say, then smiled even more brightly.

“I’m not afraid of that,” after all, Zhao Zhi wouldn’t dare to despise her, “and to be honest with you, I live very simply and can’t really be bothered with such things, but the older women in my house don’t think the same way. They keep trying to find secret formulas to upkeep one’s youthful look and say that they’re going to make sure I get married with every skincare item they can find because if I start using them at an appropriate age, it should work well .”

“They all call them secret formulas, but they’re not that secret. You can get your hands on them with some money and effort. I heard a lot of people use these things. Don’t you use them too, Miss Linglong?”

Song Caitang threw in the last question at the end, which was as good as asking Linglong directly if she used any skincare.

If she used good skincare, then her skin should look better than this and she was lying about her age, which meant she was way older than 20 or 21. But if she didn’t use any, then it made sense for her skin to be in this condition, but it wouldn’t make sense given her line of work.

As a top courtesan, she would be focused on finding ways to maintain her position and earn as much money as possible. Besides, most women were vain, so why would she choose not to do anything to take care of her skin?

Linglong’s expression did not shift and she was still smiling gently. “I agree that I have money and the time, but… it’s hard for me to put in the effort.” Her expression fell at those last words. “Women usually doll themselves up for the person they love. I’m not as blessed as you and I don’t have such a person by my side. What’s the point in trying to upkeep my youth?”

“The world of nightlife entertainment enjoys roaring business every night. It’s a lively party every day and looks like it’s full of fun and laughter, but it’s actually a lonely and depressing business. I don’t want to live like this anymore.”

She actually spoke about her hopes for the future!

This woman was truly impressive.

Song Caitang admired her, but she was also more wary now. It wasn’t going to be easy to fool this woman. She might get fooled instead.

“You’re too humble, Miss Linglong. I know of a lot of people who treat you as their one and only partner in life, who hope that you would even just glance at them and give them a chance.”

Linglong covered her mouth with a handkerchief. “You dare to believe the words of a man? Especially in this sort of place?”

Song Caitang didn’t have a response to that.

Linglong folded her sleeve up and poured her guest another cup of tea. “I know you’re definitely here to talk about the case and not my age. After all, the older a woman gets, the less they like this question and the more unwilling they are to state the actual number. What else do you want to know? You can ask me anything. But if you’re here to ask about Jiang Shaoyuan…”

She lowered her gaze. “Then you will have to forgive me in advance. He’s very good to me and I don’t want to believe that he’s that sort of person and I don’t want to smear his reputation in any way. When it comes to him, I have no further comments to make. I’ve told Prince Ping the same thing.”

She first avoided the topic of age, then addressed it directly to make her sound sincere and decisive. Then she stated her stance directly and said she would not talk about Jiang Shaoyuan, which was a direct and adorable thing to do. It was hard not to admire her strong personality.

She was good at making sure she didn’t offend anybody or ruin her reputation.

That’s how she became the top courtesan around here without a hitch.

Song Caitang seldom took her hat off to others, but Linglong was really good at this.

“Sure, we’ll talk about something else.” Song Caitang was not one to have only one strategy. On the contrary, she liked a challenge. The harder it was, the more excited she got. “Do you have any impression of the other victims in this serial murder?”

Linglong stopped to think, then said, “Yes and no. The two female victims were in this line of work too, so even though we didn’t know each other, I heard a lot about them later on and became more familiar with them. The men… I know the ones who patronize me often and spend a lot of money. Those who spend less or are very quiet, I don’t have much of an impression…”

She did her best to recall and told Song Caitang what she could remember.

Song Caitang listened quietly, shutting her eyes sometimes and clasping her fingers together sometimes. She was a serious listener.

After Linglong was done speaking, the room fell silent for a moment before Song Caitang asked her next question, “Then… do you have any special memories with regard to my surname?”

Her surname. Song.

Linglong was stunned for a moment. Her eyes tensed for a split second, then relaxed again.

This change in expression was very quick. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Anyone else might have thought they were imagining things, but not Song Caitang.

She had been observing Linglong with every ounce of energy she had.

Everything she had done and said before this was all leading up to this. She went with the flow and found the right chance to ask this question, because this was the most important question of all!

Was Linglong the woman in the portrait found in her father’s study? Did she know a man named Song Yi, or anyone with the surname Song?

It seemed like everyone was hiding a lot of secrets from the past and it was suffocating. Song Caitang was certain that if Linglong was really that woman, she would have deep impressions and memories of her father and would react at any mention of him.

And as she had hoped, Linglong’s expression had changed for just a moment.

In that moment, Song Caitang got very excited, as though she had confirmed that there was something suspicious about Linglong. If that was the case, she definitely wasn’t in her very early 20s. All her answers earlier were just creating a smokescreen and a way to explain herself. She did not give direct answers to anything, but she hadn’t lied either.

This was a really clever woman.

“What do you mean by that, Miss Song?” Linglong clutched her chest. “You were talking about the murder case, then suddenly about your surname. You mean – gosh, I got a shock.”

She found an excuse for her reaction extremely quickly and her words were appropriate too.

Song Caitang knew she could not ask about this matter directly because Linglong would not talk about it.

She relaxed and smiled as she said, “Oh, you see, we found a victim in this case named Song Mingli, and there’s something a little different about him, so I asked. But if you don’t remember anything, it’s fine.”

Actually, there was no such person. Song Caitang made it up.

“I don’t remember having such a guest,” said Linglong curiously. “I don’t think I’ve even heard of this person before. Where’s he from? Is he a current court official or a merchant?”

Song Caitang was about to speak when she heard the sound of a kitten mewing from outside the window.

That was a signal from Qi Yan that they had agreed on beforehand.

She had come fully prepared not just to question Linglong, but to sound her out.

And now, another person had come…

It was time for her to retreat and give the other person space.

“We’re still investigating.” She got up and straightened her clothes. “I’ve taken up quite a bit of your time, so I should get going. I’ll take my leave now, Miss Linglong.”

Linglong bowed and smiled . “I’ll see you out.”

After Song Caitang stepped out, she felt like… she had forgotten something, but couldn’t remember what.

But that wasn’t urgent now. There was more work to be done.

She walked down the street, then took a turn into the back alley. Qi Yan had already put up a very simple ladder where they could peek into Linglong’s room through a hidden window without being discovered.

Qi Yan dared not speak loudly, so he just waved his arms about and mouthed to her: Hurry!

Song Caitang picked up her robe and climbed the ladder. She whispered, “He’s here?”

“Almost,” Qi Yan smiled like a little fox, “Jiang Shaoyuan will soon arrive in this room.”

Thus far, the investigation team had been eliminating suspect after suspect and they couldn’t get anything out of trying to guess the killer’s motive and couldn’t find any more loopholes.

After they failed to make progress despite observing all the suspects for several days, they decided to set the suspects up instead. Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi had laid some groundwork, then Song Caitang and Qi Yan pushed them toward this setup separately…

They looked forward to this meeting between Jiang Shaoyuan and Linglong.

In no time, there was a knock on the door and voices could be heard in Linglong’s room.”

“The wind is strong and the waves are high right now. I think you ought to be more careful, Mr. Jiang.”