Last Spurt

Song Caitang flew rapidly through the sky at Zhao Zhi’s speed.

The sunshine through the trees and in between the roofs illuminated her pretty eyes, the slightly warm wind gently caressed her face, her hair and skirt swayed a little in the wind. She felt like a fairy of sorts.

She was very anxious to get to Qi Zhaoyuan’s residence. The little discomfort she felt was negligible. It wasn’t as bad as Qingqiao imagined it would be.

“Slow down! Young Mistress! Slow down…”

Poor Qingqiao had a glum look on her face as she picked up her skirt and ran as quickly as she could.

At first, all she could think about was how it was terrible for an unmarried man and woman to be so physically close to another. She had been worried that Zhao Zhi would wrap his arm around her Young Mistress’ waist, which would be so disrespectful toward her. But she quickly realised she was worried about the wrong thing. He wasn’t a pervert or anything. The way he behaved was crazy most of the time but he wasn’t that sort of person…at the same time, this was still ridiculous!

The height they were flying at, the speed they were flying at, that rope…

She was now more worried for her Young Mistress’ life!

This guy was way more dangerous than a perv! Her Young Mistress had to be wary of him! She ought to!

But Zhao Zhi was a very high ranking official. Her Young Mistress wasn’t complaining, so as her maid, she couldn’t order him around. She only dared to tell her Young Mistress to slow down, hoping it would be enough of a hint to Zhao Zhi.

To her utter dismay, Zhao Zhi didn’t seem to get it at all. He continued to fly at the same speed!

Qingqiao was so angry, she nearly vomited blood.

She watched as the two flew in the sky, one in a higher position and the other in a lower position. Zhao Zhi was on top, her Young Mistress below. And because they were tied together by a rope, Zhao Zhi was a little further in front .

The two of them flew very quickly, and they were about to collide with a wall ahead!

Zhao Zhi was flying high enough so he needn’t worry, but the wall was oddly taller than most and her Young Mistress wasn’t going to make it over!

“AHHHHHH YOUNG MISTRESS!!!!” Qingqiao’s eyes bulged when she could see that Song Caitang was headed straight for the wall.

“You’re really nothing but skin and bone. It’s time you ate better.” Zhao Zhi pulled on the rope and Song Caitang sailed over the wall with ease. As he grumbled about her weight, he also grumbled about her maid, “That little round-faced girl is really noisy.”

Song Caitang ignored him and shouted to her maid to console her, “Qingqiao, I’m okay! You can take your time!”

Zhao Zhi merely snorted.

This martial arts skill worked wonders. It only took a few minutes for them to arrive at Qi Zhaoyuan’s residence.

And they were lucky too. He was in.

The sunshine was just right, so he got his servants to bring out the teapot and teacups so that he could have some tea at the stone table in the yard.

After the tea was steeped, he closed his eyes and took a slow sip when the tea reached a good temperature. But as he enjoyed the bittersweet taste of the tea in his mouth before swallowing it down, he opened his eyes and saw two people fly in this strange manner over the wall…

PFFT! He spat half his tea out and choked on the other half that went down his throat the wrong way. He coughed and coughed until his face and eyes were all red.

“You two…what in the…”

Zhao Zhi pulled the rope closer to himself to allow Song Caitang to land nicely, then marched over and patted Qi Zhaoyuan on the back hard, “Don’t waste your breath on useless remarks. I just want to ask you one question.”

Song Caitang felt that he was not being direct enough and went ahead to ask the question, “Did Yun Nianyao bring a jade token with her when she left the capital? When you went to her room, did you see that jade token?”

The questions caught Qi Zhaoyuan by surprise.

He raised a sleeve to slowly wipe away the tea around his mouth, then narrowed his eyes to think hard.

He tried to recall what his wife did before leaving the house, what clothes and items she packed, what he saw in and outside her room at Tianhua Temple…

“Yes,” he said very confidently, “Yaoyao did bring a jade token with her. It’s very good jade and a deep green color. Her grandfather had kept some of this jade in his storeroom for a long time, and in the later half of last year, he cut some of it to make a jade pendant for Yaoyao as her birthday present. Yaoyao liked it very much and brought it along for this trip, but when I went to her room to collect her things…I didn’t see it anywhere.”

“She was very close to Old Master Yun and she really liked the jade itself as well, so she played with it very often after it was given to her and she couldn’t have given it away…why didn’t I notice that it was missing…”

His eyes reddened as he spoke, and used the back of his hands to roughly wipe his tears away.

Under normal circumstances, Song Caitang would have given him some personal space, but she couldn’t do that now.

She only paused for a few seconds to let him calm down, then continued asking, “Do you know if Yun Nianyao is on good terms with Madam Ge? Or anything about their relationship?”

Qi Zhaoyuan shook his head, “I know they know each other, but I was at the border when they got to know each other and I don’t have any details.” He clenched his fists and pursed his lips, “Gao Zhuo might know.”

During the time he was away from the city, he did not regret his decision at all. He had things he wanted to do, he had dreams he wanted to chase. But thinking about it now made his heart ache.

He thought he had a long time, a lifetime to spend hand in hand with his wife, so a few years less wasn’t going to make much of a difference. But life didn’t always go as planned. The blessing he thought he would have for life was gone. The regrets he thought he wouldn’t have haunted him now.

He started to hate himself, and he started to envy Gao Zhuo.

His emotions were a mess and he couldn’t really understand his own thoughts.

The case was close to being cracked and both Song Caitang and Zhao Zhi were very busy, so they didn’t spend too much time consoling him. Of course, he didn’t need them to console him either. What he needed was time alone. A lot of time to heal.

Song Caitang and Zhao Zhi’s next destination was Gao Zhuo’s residence.

Logically speaking, their residences should have been arranged close to one another since they were both men, but the two of them were enemies in love. As a result, Gao Zhuo’s residence was very, very, very far from Qi Zhaoyuan’s.

Song Caitang turned to look at Zhao Zhi and wanted to say something, but Zhao Zhi moved very quickly and tied the rope around her waist again.

She…oh well, fine. They could fly there like that again.

They flew off in as much of a hurry as when they arrived.

Qingqiao panted as she came running into Qi Zhaoyuan’s yard, only to see a sobbing Qi Zhaoyuan with his face buried in his hands. Her Young Mistress and that animal of a surveillance commissioner had disappeared!

She asked the servants where they’d gone.

They said…they didn’t know.

Qingqiao’s knees nearly gave way and she almost fell to the ground.

ARGHH! Zhao Zhi was trolling her!

Luckily for her, Qi Zhaoyuan’s head maid had picked up from the conversation that they might have headed for Gao Zhuo’s. Qingqiao gratefully got to her feet, bowed low to thank the head maid for the information, then ran like a crazy person toward Gao Zhuo’s.

But by the time she got there, they were gone.

Song Caitang and Zhao Zhi had gotten the answers they wanted. Gao Zhuo did know how the two ladies met and all that.

Yun Nianyao was very kindhearted, genuine, and willing to befriend absolutely anybody. She didn’t despise another person just because their status was low.

Madam Ge had run into quite a lot of trouble when she took care of her cousin who was sitting for the Imperial Exam in the capital back then. Yun Nianyao helped her twice and got her to sit with her at events, which helped to raise her status in society. Their families lived in two different places and they were not of the same class, so while they could never become best buddies, they could still be friends.

Gao Zhuo had helped Madam Ge with her husband’s woes also because of Yun Nianyao.

He didn’t actually have much dealings with Madam Ge himself.

Song Caitang and Zhao Zhi exchanged glances. Their eyes shone similarly.

“In other words, Madam Ge came to help Yun Nianyao check on her pregnancy, but she wasn’t doing that for Yun Nianyao and the fetus’ health…”

“She was also here because of her husband and hoped Yun Nianyao could help her!”

Yun Nianyao was from a prominent family that had status and power. If she was willing to speak up for the Lins, Madam Ge’s woes would be over immediately!

And based on Yun Nianyao’s personality, she would definitely try to help…

But Madam Ge didn’t know that the Yuns were in very, very big trouble right now.

Before they could walk out from Gao Zhuo’s, Wen Yuansi sent someone to bring them to his residence because he had discovered something.

They needed to consolidate all their new clues, so they sat down together again to sort everything out once more…

And so…after Qingqiao made it to Gao Zhuo’s, she had to head straight for Wen Yuansi’s instead. She had been too slow right from the start, so she failed to catch up with her Young Mistress even after running around all day.

So much so, she was determined to be extra wary the next time she saw Zhao Zhi.

The man was a trap! She had to beware of him!

After Song Caitang, Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi put all their clues and thoughts together, they came to the same conclusion.

Madam Ge wanted Yun Nianyao to do her a favor, but they didn’t know if she did ask Yun Nianyao or what Yun Nianyao’s response was, or whether there was any disagreement. But Madam Ge knew that Lu Guangzong was on good terms with the Yuns and knew Lu Guangzong came to visit Yun Nianyao on the 8^th and had a good chat with her.

Perhaps she had even overheard that Lu Guangzong had left something here and wanted to use it for herself.

Unfortunately, An Pengyi and his two sworn brothers struck first and stole that golden ornamental ball. Madam Ge didn’t know what the actual item was, so after she had ransacked Yun Nianyao’s room, she believed that the jade token was the item and took it with her.

The fact that the three sworn brothers had chosen to take this golden ball didn’t make any difference to them, since they could sell any item they stole for money. But Madam Ge taking the wrong thing had terrible consequences for herself.

That jade token didn’t belong to Lu Guangzong at all. Of course he wasn’t going to entertain her.

Every time Zhao Zhi remembered the way the Lu family servants described what happened, he felt like laughing, “Apparently, Madam Ge had arrived with great fanfare and had been extremely confident when she knocked on the Lu family residence with that jade token in hand.”

She had been certain that Lu Guangzong would help her.

Wen Yuansi was reminded of something else, “When the pacification commissioner saw An Pengyi for the first time, he pinned the younger man down and accused him of stealing. Since the three brothers stole the golden ornamental ball…”

“It probably wasn’t over this item,” Zhao Zhi carefully thought through what happened that day, “Lu Guangzong was probably referring to something else that happened earlier. The three brothers were habitual thieves, so they might have crossed paths before.”

Based on the way Lu Guangzong behaved that day, he probably didn’t know that the ball had gone missing.

As for now…

Yun Nianyao had been killed, the scene of the crime was cordoned off and cracking the case was of utmost importance. Nobody would throw that little ball away, so he could get it back from the authorities later on.

Besides, there had to be a special way to use this ball. It was useless to anybody who didn’t know how to use it.

The problem now was, all their conjectures made sense and it was even the only explanation for some scenarios. But they were still missing concrete evidence that could convict their biggest suspect.

Song Caitang glanced downward as she pressed a finger against the table subconsciously, “Madam Ge…wouldn’t make a run for it, would she?”

“And where would she go?” Zhao Zhi snorted with scorn, “Her home is here, including her husband and children. Where would she go?”

Even if she was willing to leave all that behind, the authorities weren’t blind.

Both his and Wen Yuansi’s attention were focused on her. If they still managed to let her escape under their noses, then they could jolly well throw their reputations on the ground and let the people trample all over it.

Wen Yuansi had the same perspective as Zhao Zhi, “If she’s really the killer, then when she planned this murder, she would have made many preparations beforehand to make sure she wouldn’t get caught. Running away is definitely not part of her plan.”

She clearly intended to get away with murder and live her life as usual.

“Very good,” Song Caitang slowly got to her feet, her eyes shining intelligently, “I would like to look at the corpse again.”

Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi both turned to look at her, “Look at the corpse?”

Now?

Song Caitang nodded, “I suddenly thought of something that I did not take notice of before.”

Zhao Zhi got up and looked like he was going to help her carry her box of tools, “Sure, I’ll go with you.”

“I don’t have anything to attend to, so I’ll go with you too.” Wen Yuansi straightened his sleeves and got up with a big smile, “It’s just that…while work is important, so is health. It’s already mid-afternoon, so don’t you think you should eat first?”

Song Caitang suddenly realised that it was already around 3pm and she hadn’t eaten lunch yet.

No wonder she was feeling a little hungry.

The case had come to a point where they were about to crack it and everyone was focused on that. But since their suspect wasn’t going to escape and they knew what sort of evidence they were looking for, then they could afford an hour or two for a meal.

Filling the stomachs gave them more strength and more brain power to deal with the case.

“Great! Let’s eat first!”

Zhao Zhi was almost on his way out, but he stopped and rubbed his stomach. His mumbling seemed to be him talking to himself, but also seemed directed at someone else, “I think I’m hungry too.”

What could Wen Yuansi say at this point? As always, he smiled politely and made an offer like the gentleman he was, “Surveillance Commissioner Zhao, you should join us too.”

Zhao Zhi turned around and grinned, “Great! I’m getting a free meal from Magistrate Wen!”

The atmosphere around the table was a little…strange.

They had just finished a long discussion about work, so Song Caitang was a little tired and didn’t want to talk, choosing to eat her food quietly instead. Wen Yuansi was an observant and considerate person, so when he noticed how tired she was, he did not insist on talking either. Zhao Zhi…was even quieter.

He buried his face in his food and ate like a hurricane passing through the dishes. His actions weren’t barbaric and were actually fairly elegant, but if you observed him for a while more, you would realise that he ate as quickly as one simply pouring the food straight down his throat.

Did he even chew?!

Besides, he had a big appetite and his hands never stopped. He ate rapidly alongside Song Caitang and Wen Yuansi, and put his chopsticks down at the same time as them.

Song Caitang was in disbelief. This man was a bottomless pit!

And this tension…

She always had loads to talk about when she sat down with either Wen Yuansi or Zhao Zhi. But when both of them were at the same table, somehow nothing seemed quite right. For some reason, an awkwardness from nowhere existed between them and it tired her out.

After they were done eating, Governor Zhang called Wen Yuansi over, so Song Caitang took the chance to take a short nap. She proceeded with what she intended to do only after her mind had rested sufficiently.

This time, Zhao Zhi carried the box of tools for her and served as her assistant.

He assisted her as she prepared herself, sanitising her hands with water and alcohol, lighting those herbs in the pot, putting on her coat, gloves and face mask…

“Where do you want to look at this time?”

Song Caitang looked into her box, picked a scalpel, then walked toward Yun Nianyao’s upper half, “Her head.”

Yun Nianyao was of very high standing in society, so her body had been well preserved in ice even when the weather was still cold. The weather had become warmer over the past few days, so more ice had been used to preserve her body and her rate of decomposition had been kept as low as possible. It was still alright to do any form of dissection at this point.

She used her fingers to carefully feel her way around the victim’s ears, scalp, temples and so on before finally placing the scalpel against the skin just above the left ear. She gently made a cut through the skin.

“I want to see if anything’s hiding in here.”

If her guess was right, then they could arrest the killer right now!