No Regrets

The hall remained silent for a long time after Madam Ge was taken away. It took a while before voices could be heard speaking again.

Wen Yuansi was very busy.

The Gao family had prepared this party to gather the women of status in Luanze since an aristocratic lady from the capital was coming soon. But even if the guests tried to act merry and enjoy themselves, the atmosphere was already ruined. This party had to end as quickly as possible.

The atmosphere was ruined because the authorities were here to solve a criminal case. Governor Zhang was only the governor, so he couldn’t help. Governor Li was even more removed from this case and he had even given the case away, so it had nothing to do with him now. Why should he help at all?

As for Zhao Zhi… given his fierce expression and the arrogance of a big boss who left all the work to the minions, there was no way he was going to take the time to slowly explain things to the guests and calm them down.

It wasn’t right to leave this to a lady either, so Song Caitang did not have to handle this.

Wen Yuansi had no choice but to do this himself.

He had to explain everything and comfort the guests from the government, the men and women of the Gao family, and even guests from other prominent families who were in attendance.

Thankfully, he was good looking, had an elegant smile and exuded gentlemanliness. His words were appropriately chosen, his manner discreet. Before you knew it, he had gotten everything under control already.

Song Caitang was really impressed.

This local magistrate was someone who could go very far in life.

Zhao Zhi merely snorted and rolled his eyes.

Perhaps it was because of his features or his aura – when Zhao Zhi did these seemingly uncouth actions that screamed male supremacy, it didn’t look inelegant or feel unbearable to watch.

Song Caitang sighed inwardly. This guy was really something though.

The three of them were in charge of three areas today. Song Caitang was in charge of getting Madam Ge to confess, Wen Yuansi was in charge of keeping the crowd calm and make sure nobody upset their plans, while Zhao Zhi was in charge of carrying out all the plans they had discussed earlier, like the discovery of the fake castor beans in Madam Ji’s room, as well as stronger evidence to prove Madam Ge’s guilt. But he didn’t have a lot of time to do that.

One of the things they had failed to find were the castor beans connected to Madam Ge. Wen Yuansi had found a local seller, which was a good clue, but it wasn’t enough to arrest Madam Ge. So, Zhao Zhi went to search the Lin family residence. They were sure Madam Ge was the killer, so she must have hidden the stuff somewhere.

That jade token too. Madam Ge didn’t know why it didn’t work with Lu Guangzong, so she wouldn’t dare to throw it away and would hide it instead. And with regard to the arrow shot at Song Caitang, it meant that a martial artist must be working for Madam Ge. But they still couldn’t locate this martial artist even after days of secret investigations.

Since they had already decided to confirm Madam Ge’s guilt during the party, it meant that concrete evidence had to be produced by then. Zhao Zhi had to do a lot of things in very little time.

Of the three of them, Zhao Zhi should have been the busiest and the most tired.

But it didn’t show on his face at all. His face was expressionless. He didn’t look like he was hoping to be praised, and he didn’t look proud of himself either.

The only expression he had was that short period of fury when Song Caitang had nearly been stabbed by Madam Ge.

Song Caitang found this a little strange. The case had been solved. Wasn’t he the slightest bit happy and excited about it?

As she thought about that, she looked around and happened to spot Coroner Sun and Judge Guo.

Their expressions were ones of dismay and they looked even more upset when they saw her approach them. Judge Guo wasn’t so bad. Coroner Sun, however, turned to look in the other direction.

Song Caitang walked over with a smile, “Do you two remember our bet?”

They looked even more annoyed when she mentioned the bet.

They had been so confident and so boastful when they made that bet! They were filled with so much regret now!

Who would have imagined that Song Caitang would turn out to be someone with such capability! She was great at examining bodies, great at making conjectures and getting the killer to own up. She had been so sure of who the killer was and got the killer to admit to their guilt so quickly! They had lost in every aspect of their jobs!

This bet didn’t affect Judge Guo so much, but Coroner Sun was in trouble. He had bet his life on this!

There was no way either one of them wanted to even see Song Caitang right now.

But Song Caitang merely smiled and said, “It’s common to have arguments when we discuss work, and it’s only normal to get agitated when we can’t agree with one another. How can we take words we say under such circumstances seriously? You don’t have to take the bet to heart, I didn’t mean it at all.”

With that, Song Caitang turned around and walked off without even waiting for their response.

Coroner Sun and Judge Guo exchanged conflicted glances.

It was bad enough to lose a bet. Neither liked losing. But having a young lady say that she hadn’t taken the bet seriously to begin with and called it off despite winning the bet seemed pretty embarrassing too.

It made her look a lot more magnanimous than themselves, and it made them look… even more useless.

Guan Qing walked over with Guan Wan and looked intently at her for a while, but did not say anything about the case. This wasn’t the right place to discuss such matters. She only asked, “Are you coming home with us?”

Song Caitang shook her head, “I need to settle some paperwork with the authorities, so I have to return to Tianhua Temple. I’ll head home once I’m done with all the paperwork.”

Madam Zhang came over as well and was about to say something when Old Madam Li approached Song Caitang with a big smile on her face. The older lady took her hand in hers and patted it, “Let’s spend two more days worshipping at the temple and we’ll go home, alright?” She even turned to look at Madam Zhang with a friendly smile and said, “Madam Zhang, I suppose you don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

Madam Zhang couldn’t possibly say no, so she just smiled in response and said, “Of course, of course. Accompanying you is Caitang’s honor.” She even left Song Caitang instructions, “Don’t just have fun by yourself, remember to take good care of Old Madam Li, you hear me?”

Guan Rongrong’s face was terse and her eyes were red from anger. She obviously wanted to make a comment, but her mother pulled her away.

Wen Yuansi was really good at calming the crowd. He looked very gentle and kind, and he wasn’t the sort to raise his voice and command others. He just needed to stand there, smile and say a few words, and everything remained orderly and peaceful. There was no chance for anybody to act up or have an outburst.

Song Caitang cheered him on from her heart and returned to Tianhua Temple knowing that everything would be well taken care of here.

There was a lot of paperwork to be done, but that could only be done after the authorities came back. She didn’t have anything else to do besides wait for everyone to come back, so she thought she’d have a nice, long sleep.

That was what she had hoped for, but she still woke up in the middle of the night anyway.

At the usual time, she woke up to the usual darkness.

There was no moon in the sky at all, which made her a little upset. She pulled a coat over herself and started making her way toward the lake beyond the mountain.

Before she got there, she spotted some lights in the distance and smelled sandalwood. She turned the corner and realized that Qi Zhaoyuan and Gao Zhuo were burning papers in Yun Nianyao’s residence to mourn her.

The case was closed, so it was time for Yun Nianyao to be buried and rest in peace.

The two men looked depressed and were no longer as crazed or angry as before when they were at each other’s throats. They kept their heads bowed as they stared blankly at the leaping flames in the pot. They looked like their souls had left them and there was almost no life in their bodies.

Gao Zhuo murmured, “Yaoyao… has gone to a faraway place.”

Qi Zhaoyuan said quietly, “The murderer has been arrested. She should be able to rest in peace now.”

“Your daughter…”

“I will take care of her.” Qi Zhaoyuan paused, then said, “I will not marry another woman.”

“Yaoyao would definitely be worried about her family. She was such a kind soul, so she would definitely have been worried about her grandfather and blamed herself for being unfilial… I want to help her.”

“This is a very grave matter and it’s going to take more than a day or two to settle. You can try to help, but you’ve got to stop being so flippant and you have to take it very seriously.”

The two men spoke very slowly and softly, as though something was weighing them down.

The flames illuminated their faces while flickering in the wind, making the flames look like a gentle hand comforting them.

Gao Zhuo’s tears rolled down his chin and fell drop by drop into the pot. Qi Zhaoyuan used a hand to cover his face and his voice sounded a little nasal.

Song Caitang did not interrupt their grieving and quietly moved away. She made her way to the lake and sat on her favorite large rock, cupping her chin as she stared at the quiet waters.

The water was calm and as peaceful as a mirror. It reflected the stars in its clear waters, and seemed like it could reflect one’s heart too.

After some time, she heard the sound of footsteps.

She turned to look. It was Wen Yuansi.

“What brings Magistrate Wen here?”

Wen Yuansi stood next to the rock, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “The air here is wonderful. It’s so refreshing.”

Song Caitang laughed, “It’s great, isn’t it?”

“Now that the case is closed and a heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders, I thought I could get a good night’s sleep. But I was too excited and woke up again shortly after I fell asleep.” Wen Yuansi looked at Song Caitang, “Did the same thing happen to you, Miss Song?”

Song Caitang just smiled and didn’t say anything.

Wen Yuansi was not bothered by her lack of response and moved on to another topic, “After this case, I’m afraid the officials based in Luanze will go through a big reshuffle.”

Song Caitang understood that part. Every major case like this counted toward the officials’ achievements, so the officials always fought to get on such cases. Governor Li took great interest at first and made it so hard for Governor Zhang and even the local magistrate, Wen Yuansi, to get involved. But Zhao Zhi suddenly appeared and his temperament… wasn’t great, so everything changed. It was hard to say which way the wind would blow among the officials.

But none of these things had anything to do with her. She was only interested in cases and not interested in becoming an official. She couldn’t become one anyway.

Wen Yuansi probably realized that this topic wouldn’t go anywhere, so he changed to something else, “My grandmother will be leaving the temple in two days, why don’t you come along? Then you could help me to take care of her as well.”

Song Caitang looked at him and smiled.

This man always spoke so beautifully. Even his concern for another person was so pleasant to listen to.

Old Madam Li had plenty of servants, so she definitely didn’t need to be taken care of. It was more likely that Wen Yuansi was afraid that there wouldn’t be someone to take care of Song Caitang.

“What about you? You’re not leaving?”

Wen Yuansi shook his head, “The case is closed, but there are still many loose ends I have to tie up, so I’ll be staying here for a few more days. Oh, and Miss Ling from the capital, the aristocratic relative of the Gao family, will be arriving soon with an older male cousin, so I’ll have to prepare a bunch of things. Even if I go home, I won’t spend a lot of time there. If you could visit my grandmother more often, I’d be very grateful.”

Song Caitang smiled and said, “Sure.”

As they spoke, the sound of another set of footsteps filled the air. Compared to Wen Yuansi’s, this person’s footsteps were a lot heavier. It was as though they were stomping on the ground as hard as they could, afraid that others might not hear them coming.

They turned to look. It was Zhao Zhi.

Wen Yuansi was surprised, “What brings Surveillance Commissioner Zhao…”

“So noisy. Both of you are so noisy, I can’t sleep.”

Zhao Zhi marched over and squeezed himself into the space between the rock and Wen Yuansi, forcing Wen Yuansi to move more to the side.

Both Wen Yuansi and Song Caitang were speechless.

Did this man have no shame?

Besides, it wasn’t noisy at all. They were so far from his room, so they couldn’t have woken him up with their conversation!

Wen Yuansi looked more carefully at Zhao Zhi and noticed the dirt on his face and the mud on his shoes, “You just came back and you haven’t gone to sleep yet?”

Zhao Zhi didn’t say anything and did not yawn either. He just kept his arms folded as he glared at the lake as though it were his greatest enemy.

Song Caitang chuckled.

She noticed where Zhao Zhi was looking, so she jumped off the large rock and walked back toward the residences, “I’ve admired the water for a long enough time and it’s very late. I think both of you should go and sleep.”

Zhao Zhi quickly took a couple of leaps to make sure he was far, far away from the water. His face was tense as he said, “I agree. Compared to the waters, lying down on the bed is a better way to make yourself feel sleepy.”

“Fine with me.”

Wen Yuansi slowly walked away from the waters as well. His brows were furrowed and he seemed to be in deep thought.

Did something… he didn’t know about… happen?

The next morning, Song Caitang spotted Madam Ji.

She was packing her things and her family members were around too.

This was the first time Song Caitang had seen her husband. He was a slightly plump man with genial features. He supported her as she walked around, was extra careful and always checked if she was feeling alright. It was clear that this man truly cared for Madam Ji and their child.

But things were different with the other Fu family members.

Fu Xiuxiu looked at Madam Ji with slight disdain; a slightly older woman who looked like Madam Ji’s sister-in-law spoke nicely, but her smiles were fake; the servants and maids looked like they were working hard and taking care of her, but they had looks of disapproval and disrespect in their eyes.

Then again, the way Madam Ji hankered after Gao Zhuo so publicly in the past for so many years had left a deep impression on them. Despite her decision to give up on Gao Zhuo, despite how much richer and more influential her family was, and despite the fact that she was pregnant with a descendant of the Fu family, her husband’s family still didn’t like her.

But Madam Ji ignored them all. She even smiled brightly when she saw Song Caitang, “Miss Song! Would you like to come in and have some tea?”

Song Caitang shook her head, “I have to attend to some urgent matters, so I’m afraid I have to turn you down today.”

“Don’t worry about that! When you’re not so busy, I’ll invite you to my place for tea!” Madam Ji rubbed her belly gently and gave off a motherly glow. She was in an exceptionally good mood and her smile was even more charming than the sunshine in spring. “Bring your older sister along too so that I can apologize to her!”

Song Caitang smiled faintly, “I’ll have to impose on you then.”

After exchanging a few more friendly words, they went their own way.

Song Caitang overheard a little of the gossiping between the Fu family servants as she walked away. They said that the Lin family was in trouble…

The Lin family?

The only Lin family that anyone would care about of late was definitely Madam Ge’s husband’s family.

They were in trouble already?

Song Caitang shook her head and kept walking.

She walked past two more residences and saw Madam Ge. Madam Ge was escorted by the runners and she was here to answer questions at the scene of the crime.

The older woman was still dressed in yesterday’s clothes, but she wasn’t unhinged anymore. She was very calm and she had done her best to look clean and tidy. Her hair was also tied up neatly again. There was no change in her emotions as she went through the details of her crimes.

And even when she saw Song Caitang, she only narrowed her eyes slightly, but did not react otherwise.

Qingqiao was very unhappy about that, though. “Young Mistress, is she blaming you for what happened to her? She’s killed someone and she thinks she’s in the right?”

Song Caitang did not answer her and carried on walking toward her destination.

But as they walked past one another, Madam Ge spoke to her.

“My family’s in trouble.”

Her voice was flat and soft. If Song Caitang weren’t familiar with her voice, she wouldn’t even have realized that she was saying anything.

“Hmm?” Song Caitang turned around.

Madam Ge turned to stare straight at Song Caitiang. “I do not believe a single thing you said yesterday. And I do not regret killing Yun Nianyao. Even if you turned back time and you gave me another chance to choose, I would have done the same thing.”

“For the sake of my family, I’m willing to take this risk.”

Her irises were very black and her stare was intense, so she looked a bit frightening. “Every person in this world has something they care about more than anything else, don’t they? And because they care about this one thing, they have to give up another thing. Every person has to make decisions. I chose my family and my children. What’s wrong with that? The only thing I regret is not being careful enough. That’s how I ended up walking into your trap.”

“Song Caitang, you’re very clever indeed. If we were in a different place with fewer people and without my husband and children around, you wouldn’t have won. You won because you used despicable methods, not by your abilities. I just didn’t match what you did!”

Her hatefulness increased little by little. It reached its maximum by the time she finished speaking. It was like hate was a black smog that engulfed her, a black smog too thick to blow away.

“Just you wait! After I’m dead, I’m going to visit you every night!”

She was cursing Song Caitang even before she was dead!

Most people were fearful and reverent toward supernatural beings like ghosts. When Madam Ge said that, everyone’s faces paled a little and they all backed away from her.

But Song Caitang didn’t care.

She smiled after hearing what Madam Ge had to say.

“I suppose that actually sounds about right. How could any of this be your fault? It will be a few more months before your execution date. If you admit to your wrongdoings now, how are you going to survive the next few months? It’s better to live shamelessly than to die in glory. It’s very easy for a person to forgive themselves for what they’ve done. There’s a reason for everything. Everything is someone else’s fault.”

“Madam Ge, I hope that when you suffer in your jail cell and can’t sleep at night, you will still be able to lie to yourself like that!”

Song Caitang stared right back at her, her brows lifted and her gaze burning, “After you’re dead, you’re welcome to visit me in my dreams. Come and see for yourself if I’d be afraid of you.”