Douse The Fire

Ling Qianqian was none other than the aristocratic relative that the Gaos had in the capital, the one whom everyone with some status in Luanze looked forward to meeting and the one whom Madam Zhang had attempted to use to get chummy with Song Caitang.

Since she was the daughter of a prominent family of high standing, she could not travel without the protection of a male relative. The man speaking to Song Caitang, Qi Yan, was the older male cousin who had escorted Ling Qianqian to Luanze. He came from a fairly prominent family as well and was an official.

Well, he just had a title, but having a title still made you an official.

Qi Yan had the hallmarks of a vain man, loved to talk and was very good at explaining himself away.

The stool that Zhao Zhi had kicked over was strong enough to hit the back of Qi Yan’s knees, but kind enough to make sure he didn’t end up falling on his knees. Instead, he fell backward and landed on the stool.

This was definitely a warning. Anyone who saw that would be able to tell.

But Qi Yan merely froze in shock for a moment, checked himself over to find that he wasn’t hurt, and burst out laughing, “My Brother Zhi is always such a good host, he even got me a stool to sit on! You didn’t have to, Brother Zhi, I’m not tired! I know you love me very dearly, but I’m at an age where my body is burning with energy, so I can afford to stand!”

As he spoke, he put a palm over his other fist to greet Zhao Zhi while winking at him, as though they were as close or even closer than brothers.

Zhao Zhi’s eye kept twitching as he flung a teacup at the younger man, “You’d better make sure your body doesn’t burn too fiercely! I’d advise you to douse the fire!”

Qi Yan managed to catch the teacup, but the tea inside…

Splashed all over his face.

Qi Yan remained undefeated. He wiped his face and said, “Brother Zhi, how did you know I was feeling warm and really wanted to wash my face?”

Song Caitang was speechless. This guy was… really thick-skinned.

Thankfully, it was time to take his statement and he could stop clowning around. Wen Yuansi had come back into the hall and gathered everyone formally.

Qi Yan dried his face and sat quietly in a corner with his cousin. They did not interrupt the investigation at all.

This was an era where people of sufficiently high standing had special rights. If it wasn’t something really important, leeway was normally given wherever possible. For example, as long as Ling Qianqian did not make a nuisance, say anything or do anything that would affect the work being carried out, nobody would say anything.

Ling Qianqian was well brought up, so she knew when it was okay for her to throw tantrums, and when she couldn’t. She looked like such a demure and well-behaved young lady when she sat down quietly.

As for the other people connected to the case who had come…

Most of them didn’t know who Ling Qianqian was and would probably think she was connected to the case as well. They didn’t dare to ask too much and wouldn’t chase her away.

Zhao Zhi sat down by the side silently with a frosty look on his face. Wen Yuansi began the proceedings.

The first ones up for questioning were Fourth Missy Gan and her son, Gan Zhixuan.

“Where were you between seven and nine in the evening of the 10th day of the 4th month?”

That was after sunset.

Fourth Missy Gan frowned seemingly out of habit and looked like she was worried about something, “Business was poor that day. I hadn’t finished selling my braised food by that hour, so I didn’t pack up and continued waiting for more customers.”

Wen Yuansi then asked Gan Zhixuan, “What about you? Where were you at that hour and what time did you meet with your mother?”

Gan Zhixuan was at a stage where his voice was changing, so his voice was hoarse and grating on the ears, “I noticed before sundown that my mother hadn’t returned, so I went to look for her. We stayed by the pub together until everything was sold.”

“Did the two of you see the victim? What was he doing and did you approach him to talk to him?”

Fourth Missy Gan shook her head, “We didn’t talk to him. Commissioner Lu’s clothing was in disarray and his hair was very messy, so I didn’t recognize him at first. It was only after he had sat by the window for a long time without moving that I thought… he looked a little like Commissioner Lu.”

Gan Zhixuan nodded and chimed in, “She just thought that man looked like Commissioner Lu, but she wasn’t very sure. She doesn’t have any interaction with him, so regardless of whether she’s sure or not, she wouldn’t have approached him. When he turned to look at us, she just nodded in response and that was enough.”

Wen Yuansi continued asking, “Anything else? What time did the victim leave, whom did he meet, what did he drink and eat? Did you notice any of this? Did you notice anything unusual? What time did both of you leave?”

Fourth Missy Gan paused to think, then said, “That day… I went back later than usual. I only headed back slightly after 9pm. I didn’t see Commissioner Lu meet or speak with anybody, and… I didn’t notice what he was eating or drinking. But he kept looking out of the window, as though he was waiting for someone and wasn’t focused on the food. As for whether there was anything unusual… I don’t know. I’m not familiar with him, so I can’t tell. We left in a hurry and didn’t purposely look at him when we left, so I don’t know if he had left by then or not.”

“Do you often see Lu Guangzong?” Zhao Zhi suddenly cut in with a glint in his eye, “You’re very familiar with what he looks like?”

Tears immediately started brimming in Fourth Missy Gan’s eyes, “Sir, what do you mean by that? I am only a woman who lives quietly in her own town. How could I possibly be familiar with the pacification commissioner?”

Zhao Zhi continued staring straight at her, “If you aren’t familiar, then how could you have recognized Lu Guangzong when he looked so different from before? Just because you stared at him long enough?”

“His hairpin…“ Fourth Missy Gan bit her lip, “Commissioner Lu seemed to like that pin very much and used it very often. I don’t know if anybody else has noticed, but every time I happen to see him when he has to make his rounds, he seems to wear the same one…“

Song Caitang listened to what Fourth Missy Gan said and began thinking about it. Fourth Missy Gan had left at around 9pm and wasn’t sure if Lu Guangzong had left or not.

On the 11th day of the 4th month, when she and Wen Yuansi had gone to the pigsty to do the first examination of the body, the patches on the body had reached their peak. Most of them were dark colored, some disappeared when she pressed them with a finger and some did not. The entire body was stiff and he was stuck in that position, so it had been very hard to even carry him out. His cornea was moderately cloudy and the scope of vision of his pupils was very small. All of these were signs that the victim had already died for 12 hours or so.

Counting backwards… the victim should have died around this time. Between six and nine at night.

This era didn’t have modern technology that could help to ascertain the exact time of death and she wasn’t allowed to dissect the body either. She needed more clues in order to narrow the time of death further.

Fourth Missy Gan had looked at the victim for quite a while, so that meant he was still alive until at least half past eight.

As she thought about these questions, she happened to notice the look on Qi Yan’s face.

Qi Yan’s eyes were narrowed and the smile he was giving Fourth Missy Gan was a little… cheeky.

It wasn’t lecherous. It was more like he was saying “I know you’re lying”.

Did he know something?

But she didn’t ask and waited for Wen Yuansi to continue the questioning process.

The next person was Niu Baoshan.

“You ask what I was doing there? Of course I was there to drink! It’s a pub, so what else could I possibly do there? But what about that Lu Guangzong? He’s someone of such high standing but he was willing to patronize such a small pub? He must have been up to something! Maybe he went to see his little lover! Otherwise, how could this Gan woman recognize him when nobody else noticed him? I can’t believe you even asked! Of course it’s because they’re ‘familiar’ with one another! That woman is best at doing this! She just has to look pitiful, shake her ass a little and start crying, and all of you would believe her! PUI! All of you would think she’s some pure and innocent woman!”

Niu Baoshan glared nastily at Fourth Missy Gan as he said that on the night of the 10th, he had also seen Lu Guangzong at around the same time as Fourth Missy Gan. He had even seen them look at one another. But just like her, he had no impression of what Lu Guangzong did during his time there, whether he met with anybody or what time he left. He had been in a foul mood, so the worse he felt, the harder he drank, and it didn’t take long for him to get drunk and fall asleep on the table. Many regulars had noticed that.

“Why didn’t I say all of this when the body was discovered and even made a scene? PUI!! Why should I tell you any of this! What good does it do? He deserved to die anyway! Good riddance to bad rubbish! Isn’t that wonderful?!”

Niu Baoshan wasn’t drunk today, but even so, his temper was just as foul.

He didn’t cooperate with Wen Yuansi and refused to answer the questions properly. He either spoke very sarcastically, very angrily, or kept arguing.

Wen Yuansi shook his head disappointedly.

The next person made Song Caitang pay closer attention.

It was Manager Liu.

When Wen Yuansi asked him a question, he took a step forward, bowed politely and answered just as politely.

“Yes, I was at that small pub at that hour and I saw the unkempt and poorly dressed customer that the pub owner was still willing to take in. I didn’t know he was Commissioner Lu, but since everyone says he is, I suppose that was him.”

“I’m a regular at that pub and would go for a couple of drinks every now and then. I went on the 10th out of habit. There was no special reason.”

“But unlike them, I did speak to Commissioner Lu.”

The atmosphere in the hall instantly changed when he uttered those words.

Wen Yuansi looked at him, “What did you talk about?”

Manager Liu sighed, “I got myself a new flask of wine, but when I walked past him, for some reason, he knocked into me. The flask fell onto the floor and a lot of wine spilled out. I was very unhappy and argued with him for a while. But I didn’t know that man was Commissioner Lu, so… I’m sorry, but I don’t have any clues that can help you, Magistrate Wen.”

Manager Liu had answered properly and politely, as though he was very open and had nothing to hide. But Song Caitang had noticed that he would always steal a glance at Fourth Missy Gan as he spoke.

That glance… did not look like he was looking at just any person on the street. It seemed to contain some romantic feelings.

Wen Yuansi merely nodded in response to what Manager Liu said and his expression did not flinch.

“We are waiting for a few more people, so can we have Mr. Qi to speak first?”

When he heard his name, Qi Yan spread his arms wide to shake his sleeves out coolly before slowly standing up, as if to display his classic, aristocratic air as much as possible.

If he were wearing one of those formal robes with really huge sleeves instead of this fitting outfit with small sleeves, he would really look the part.

But not only did he fail to look classy, he actually looked a little comical.

His words, however, weren’t the least comical.

“Fourth Missy Gan, right? You were lying, weren’t you?”

Fourth Missy Gan stared at him, her lips pursed so tightly, they had turned white, “Everything I’ve said is true… I don’t know who you are, or why you would suspect my words…“

“Simple.”

Qi Yan fished a fan out from his front pocket, opened it with one move and waved it in front of his face such that half his face was covered. Only his eyes peeked out over the fan and they were narrowed like a sly fox’s as he stared straight at Fourth Missy Gan and said mysteriously, “Because I saw you that day.”

“You were standing and talking to that poorly dressed but very charismatic Commissioner Lu.”

Fourth Missy Gan’s face instantly paled and she looked like she was about to faint.

Wen Yuansi immediately hit the gavel and glared steely at her, “Fourth Missy Gan, you’d better come clean with me!”