No Riddle Too Hard For Me

Song Caitang’s glanced at the middle aged woman who spoke to her. Her gaze flickered a little before she smiled politely and said, “I’ll start then.”

The middle aged woman did not speak and just held her right palm out to motion to Song Caitang to start. Her expression was still stiff and solemn.

“Let’s start with the place I’m staying at right now,” Song Caitang looked around the room. “It’s very quiet here. There are no voices, no footsteps, and even hardly any birds or insects can be heard, besides someone telling others that this place is out of bounds. My guess is that this area is very spacious.”

“I’m not living in a very large place, but the area around this house must be huge.”

“To own such a huge piece of land in a city where every inch of land costs an arm and a leg, I’m sure the person who has “invited” me here must have extraordinary financial status.”

Song Caitang’s skirt hem moved slightly as she walked, rippling like the surface of a pond. Her eyes glowed with an intelligent gleam, the light in her eyes even prettier and brighter than water.

“Next would be the furnishing of this room.” Her slim fingers touched the dark red wooden table as well as the plain white ceramic top. “High grade redwood, this white porcelain… The design isn’t lavish, but it is a very well built piece of furniture that will last a long time. The shelves are also built this way…”

“Every item in this room is very simple in terms of design and they’re a bit old too, so they don’t look fancy and you might not fetch a really good price if you tried to sell them, but it wouldn’t be easy for most people to even get their hands on these items.”

“Because…they’re rare.”

“There are many people in the world, but there are only so many of certain items. The more rare items you own, the more extraordinary your status must be.”

Song Caitang spun around to stare intently at the screen. “Those who have extraordinary financial status and social status are very particular about the way they do things. Their servants always have to keep their heads bowed and their ears up. The servants are full of respect for their masters and would never dare to disobey them. The person who has “invited” me here must be one with even greater capabilities and authority than most.”

The room fell silent but the atmosphere didn’t really change.

The woman standing next to the screen stared at Song Caitang. “Are you done?”

“Don’t look down on others like that. You’d only embarrass your master.”

Song Caitang smiled faintly as she blinked a few times at the woman and went on, “I don’t often form feuds with others, and there are very few people of this level of wealth and status, capability and authority who would come straight for me. And if we look at the timing…”

She purposely trailed off and sounded a little sarcastic at the same time, making the woman next to the screen a little annoyed. “What are you driving at? Can’t you say it all at one shot?”

Song Caitang wanted this displeased reaction.

This woman was one who could speak on behalf of her master from time to time without having to check with her master first. This woman also enjoyed special status.

And those with special status usually knew a lot.

Song Caitang continued, “Now, now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As the old saying goes, the impatient are still unable to eat hot tofu – if I don’t go through everything in detail, how would you understand how capable I am?”

Perhaps the person behind the screen gave a signal. The woman next to the screen took a small step backward and just glared at Song Caitang, but did not say anything.

“The timing is a very sensitive one. There’s only one case on my hands right now…”

She trailed off and did not specify which case it was, what the case was about or how far along they were in the case. “If you were trying to be wary and wanted to scare me, you didn’t have to do it now. Or perhaps, you could have done something much more severe. After all, kidnapping me is something that takes a lot of effort with very little payoff. It’s easy for someone to find traces of your involvement, so you have to carefully erase all traces.”

“The fact that you’ve “invited” me here at the risk of exposing your identity, I suppose trying to scare me is just thrown in as a bonus. My guess is that you need my help with something, and…you need my help very urgently.”

The room fell silent immediately after she said that. The atmosphere in the room was somber.

The look in the middle aged woman’s eyes changed immediately. She stared daggers at the young maids standing by the side with her head bowed, as though she suspected they must have told Song Caitang something.

Song Caitang chuckled. She wasn’t done yet. “You’re too careful, even making sure to choose a screen that isn’t even translucent. But you forget – even if I can’t see, I can smell.”

She closed her eyes and took a shallow breath. “Orange biscuits. A faint bitterness, a refreshing fragrance. It’s not overly sweet like overripe oranges, but like the orange flowers in the rain, mixed with the leaves… The process and ingredients used to make this snack are all of very high grade.”

“Thanks to Prince Ping, even though I’m just an ordinary citizen, I have some knowledge of the things that the royal family uses. On the day the emperor allowed Prince Ping to conduct a paternity test on Prince Ling, Prince Ping came to meet with me after he left the palace. I detected a faint smell on him back then, and it was this smell.”

Song Caitang opened her eyes and they seemed to sparkle. “There’s only one person who likes this smell. Only Her Majesty is used to this smell. My guess is correct, isn’t it, Your Majesty?”

The entire room fell deathly silent.

It was like the calm before a storm. Nobody dared to speak and nobody dared to move.

After a long time, a voice came from behind the screen, “You are indeed very clever.”

After she spoke, the maid next to the screen seemed to have received an instruction. She bowed with her head bent and her hands folded in front of her, then proceeded to pull the screen away.

Song Caitang’s pupils constricted. It was really the empress!

She had never seen Empress Chen in person, but who else would dare to wear the robes and crown of the empress?

Her brows were straight and thick like a man’s, but she was still beautiful. They were slightly furrowed but she did not look pitiful or in need of help. When she was calm, her facial features made her look earnest, reliable and trustworthy. Her gaze was authoritative, but she looked gentle and sweet when she smiled…

Exactly the way Zhao Zhi had described her.

Empress Chen definitely wasn’t ugly, but she wasn’t the most gorgeous woman in the country. Her features were special, and she really exuded a lot of earnestness.

Earnestness was a valuable virtue to have. The older one grew, the harder it became to stay earnest.

And it was difficult to refuse people who seemed truly earnest.

And if someone was able to constantly portray earnestness without panicking or losing patience, with a confidence that she could overcome everything, then this person was a really scary person for sure.

Empress Chen held a teacup in her hand as she slowly looked at Song Caitang.

“Since Miss Song is such an intelligent girl, why don’t you guess what help I need from you?”

This time, Song Caitang was rather surprised. Empress Chen was really steady and confident.

Despite everything that Song Caitang had said, this woman had no reaction whatsoever!

Because the screen had been removed, the middle aged woman now stood next to Empress Chen. She too, had no expression on her face.

Song Caitang quickly took everything in and figured it out.

Empress Chen had initially planned to wear her out. Anybody who had lived long enough in the palace would know how to break a person down. Hurling insults were nowhere as effective as locking someone up, especially since Song Caitang was locked in a place with no information about where she was and nobody to talk to. Plus, she needed Song Caitang for something else.

Since Song Caitang had been kidnapped without any obvious reason, Empress Chen thought she would get nervous or frantic, so after enough time had passed, she would be very frightened and would cooperate with everything Empress Chen wanted her to do. But her reaction turned out to be the complete opposite.

There was no point in waiting any longer, so Empress Chen decided to come today.

Empress Chen was probably equally curious to find out what Song Caitang’s reaction would be when she arrived, and whether she would be shocked to realize the person who had kidnapped her was the empress.

What Song Caitang said earlier would definitely have some sort of effect on the empress, so the empress might reprimand her servants later. But the empress was used to being in a position of power and an expert at concealing her true emotions, so it was hard for anyone to know how she was feeling or what she was thinking about.

As for now…

Song Caitang was pretty sure she saw a tiny smile line on Empress Chen’s face that disappeared in a flash. The empress was probably pleased that Song Caitang had proven to be clever, because only those who were smart enough would be useful to her.

Since the empress was looking forward to her display of intelligence, Song Caitang wasn’t going to disappoint her.

Song Caitang’s eyes brightened and she smiled even more confidently. “I don’t really know how to do anything else besides examining corpses. I know how to do the things that others know how to, and I know how to do the things that others don’t know how to. I’m not too bad at investigating cases too. Your Majesty has invited me here to crack a case, correct?”
The room was silent.

Empress Chen looked down at the tea in her cup and did not respond.

“Not just that, but I also know whose corpse you want me to examine.”

Song Caitang stared intensely at Empress Chen. “It’s the body of the eunuch, Li Qi, isn’t it?”

It was Empress Chen’s turn to be really surprised. It was hard to tell if it was because she wasn’t holding the teacup properly when she passed it to the nanny next to her, or if the nanny had failed to take it from her properly. Their hands collided, causing the lid to hit the cup, resulting in a very loud, crisp sound.

The cup didn’t fall and didn’t break, but causing such a loud sound was considered rude in the palace.

But of course, the empress was never wrong. Only the servants were wrong.

The middle aged nanny held the teacup and fell to her knees as she bowed with her head to the floor. “I have done something deserving of death! Please forgive me, Your Majesty!”

“Nanny Sun, you’ve served me for a long time now. You ought to be more careful with everything you do,” Empress Chen glanced at Nanny Sun with a distant look in her eyes.

The middle aged woman, or Nanny Sun, felt cold sweat fill her palms. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Those who lived in the palace often made sure their words were as indirect as possible, and even their actions often implied many other things. As Song Caitang watched this scene, she suddenly wondered if the empress was actually directing those words at her and not Nanny Sun.

Empress Chen asked, “You know Li Qi?”

“I don’t know him,” Song Caitang shook her head, “but I know he’s dead.”

That was the latest clue they had gotten, and it had passed from the crown prince to Zhao Zhi. The two of them tried to find out more about Li Qi, but failed to find him. They found out he had gone missing, and after such a long time, they concluded that he was probably dead.

Li Qi was someone who worked within Empress Chen’s palace. According to the crown prince, he was a senior eunuch who wasn’t very high ranking. He was seldom tasked with a lot of work and he was happy to quietly enjoy his free time. But when the occasional special task came along, it was given to him because he was a senior eunuch, so he got the limelight sometimes, but remained invisible most of the time, and was also often bullied.

After putting everything together, it made sense why Song Caitang would think of him.

Empress Chen glanced at Song Caitang with a slightly conflicted look in her eyes, then raised her hand. “Bring it in.”

In no time, two eunuchs carried a wooden stretcher in, keeping their heads down at all times. The stretcher was covered by a white cloth, and there was a human shape beneath the cloth. It was clear that this was a corpse.

Song Caitang narrowed her eyes.

No wonder neither the crown prince nor Zhao Zhi could find the man’s body. It had been with Empress Chen all this time.

Once the stretcher was put down, the eunuchs dared not look at anyone. They bowed toward Empress Chen, then hurried out again.

“You said you’re capable in this aspect, so show me how capable you are.” Empress Chen raised her eyebrows slightly into a slightly sinister expression. “If you can tell me who the killer is, I’ll let you go.”
Song Caitang looked down at the corpse covered by a white cloth on the floor. “I claimed to have this capability and you believe me?”

“Are you trying to tell me how bold you are?” Empress Chen looked at her nails and laughed. “I’m not trying to scare you, but I’m the only one who knows where you are. Nobody will be able to get here, including the emperor and the crown prince.”

“And you can forget about Prince Ping finding this place.”

Empress Chen moved her fingers slightly. “I hold your little life in my hands. As long as I want to, as long as I’m happy to, I will spare you. But if I suddenly don’t want to anymore…you can only continue to be missing. You will go missing forever.”
She stared at Song Caitang with a rather earnest expression on her face. “This world is full of unreliable men. Women have to live for themselves.”

It took a while for Song Caitang to even react to that.

What Empress Chen just said…contradicted everyone’s impression of her!

Wasn’t this woman the one who always said that men were the sky, women were the ground, and that women ought to observe all the rules set for them, which made women’s lives revolve around men?

So, it was just a tactic to control the people? It was all just an act? She didn’t actually agree with that herself?!

When Song Caitang realized this, she felt her heart shudder. This woman was really a force to be reckoned with. It wasn’t going to be easy to deal with someone with such strong mental resilience and abilities.