Episode 88

Niu Baoshan’s actions bewildered everyone.

Where were these vengeful acts coming from even?!

Back when Niu Xingzu had gone missing without a trace, everyone pitied him and decided against speaking up even when he went around being nasty to others. But his son had been found and it turned out that he had died. Shouldn’t he be focused on getting the authorities to find out how his son died and if it was murder, whether he could still exact revenge on that person?

Why wasn’t he focusing on doing what he should? Why was he still harassing these two parties?

Most people couldn’t understand, but some started speculating that Niu Baoshan was still certain that his son’s death had something to do with these two parties…

A huge commotion arose as a result, but Song Caitang didn’t see any of it. She found out from Zhao Zhi.

She was still waking up in the middle of the night and Zhao Zhi’s habit of moving around at night continued. The guards patrolling the Guan family residence were no match for Zhao Zhi at all, so he didn’t need much effort to fly in anytime and land outside Song Caitang’s window.

“Hibiscus pastry.”¹

He threw a small bag onto Song Caitang’s table.

Yep, bringing her something to eat seemed to have become a habit as well.

Song Caitang did not refuse.

When Zhao Zhi first started bringing food to her, she accepted it happily because she was helping him with the investigation. The stuff he brought wasn’t expensive and he did not do anything that crossed the line either. Now, she felt like they could be considered friends. They weren’t best buddies, but they had gone through a “near death” experience together. He had saved her life and she had saved his, so what’s a little snack?

And it helped that this stuff…

She had no idea where he got all this food from, but each one tasted better than the last, and each one was more suited to her preference than the last. Even when she got Qingqiao to go out and buy her the same thing, Qingqiao could never find the same thing. Besides the food that Guan Wan cooked personally, no other food made her feel this way.

Song Caitang tore the paper bag open, took one out and bit into it. Her eyes immediately curved into a happy smile.

It was delicious!

And it was a flavor she had never eaten before!

Zhao Zhi’s gaze deepened as he watched her nibble on the snack. He did not make snarky remarks like he used to, and eventually turned his face away. He folded his arms, leaned against the wall next to the window and looked up at the moon in the sky.

After that, he slowly started telling her about the two things that Niu Baoshan did.

Of course, because Song Caitang was eating, he started with what Niu Baoshan did to Fourth Missy Gan.

“Fourth Missy Gan?” Song Caitang turned her head slightly, causing her silky black hair to cascade down her shoulder. The gentle night breeze made them sway like grass in a pond, as though it was filled with energy from the moon.

“Did she come outside and start crying from the way he was cursing at her?”

“No,” Zhao Zhi shook his head. His side profile against the moonlight outlined his high nose and lips, accentuating his handsomeness. “She wasn’t home. The one stuck inside who got scolded all day was Gan Zhixuan.”

“Gan Zhixuan argued back?”

She didn’t know the boy well, but from the few times she saw him, she sensed that this was a stubborn and fairly prideful young man.

Zhao Zhi chuckled when he recalled what happened, “Gan Zhixuan couldn’t possibly out-curse Niu Baoshan.”

If there were other people around, even if it was just one more learned person around, Gan Zhixuan would have had more ammunition. He was learned, but the environment in which he grew up made him stronger partly because his mother was weak, so he was willing to argue back loudly when bullied. But Niu Baoshan was someone who had hung out in the lower circles of society and had plenty of nasty vocabulary, plus he didn’t care about who you were or where he was when he cursed. Gan Zhixuan couldn’t fight that.

Song Caitang asked, “What happened next?”

“After that…” Zhao Zhi’s expression shifted slightly. He rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes, “Gan Zhixuan trembled all over. He couldn’t fight the man, so he said some threatening words. In essence, he was telling Niu Baoshan—Just you wait, I’ll get you someday.”

As though the young man was certain that he could turn the tables and slap Niu Baoshan in the face, as though Niu Baoshan would definitely regret doing this to him in the future.

If Lu Shen had been the one who said this, it would have made sense to Song Caitang. Lu Shen was an official while Niu Baoshan was an ordinary citizen. It was easy for an official to make things difficult for a citizen. But Gan Zhixuan was the one who said it…

The boy was talented and did well in school, but Song Caitang had read through the investigation notes and noted that Gan Zhixuan was not a likable character, so he didn’t have a lot of friends. He certainly didn’t have friends with money and power.

How was he, along with his widowed mother who had a poor reputation, going to be able to teach Niu Baoshan a lesson?

Wasn’t Gan Zhixuan being a little overly confident of himself?

Song Caitang had finished eating, so she dusted her hands and looked strangely at Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi happened to turn and look at her with the same expression in his eyes.

“Gan Zhixuan and his mother have a secret.”

They said it at almost the same time.

From the start of the case until now… not quite. All the way from more than ten years ago, when Fourth Missy Gan suddenly appeared in Luanze… She had come as a widow and was pregnant at that time. But a child doesn’t appear from nowhere. Who was Gan Zhixuan’s father?

Was Gan Zhixuan’s confidence tied to this?

Was Fourth Missy Gan really a widow?

And if she wasn’t, then why did she choose to live such a hard life instead of asking her son’s father for help?

“Also, Niu Baoshan…” Song Caitang’s gaze flickered, “Why is he making trouble for the Gans?”

And why now?

Zhao Zhi tapped a finger against the windowsill and raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t mention that? It’s because he thinks that the Gans are his son’s murderers.”

“Does he have proof?”

Zhao Zhi leaned forward slightly to look straight at her, “Nope. It’s just what he ‘thinks’.”

The moonlight cast their shadows against the wall and their shadows almost merged into one. They were fairly close to one another.

But Song Caitang didn’t notice any of it. She frowned and glanced downward as she began to think, “There are a lot of unanswered questions around the Gans.”

Zhao Zhi nodded, then went on to tell her about how the Lu family residence got drenched in poop.

The same person did two different things one after another. What did this mean?

Song Caitang said, “Niu Baoshan thinks that Niu Xingzu’s death is connected to the Lus, or rather, Lu Guangzong. So, even though Lu Guangzong is already dead, he still harbors great hatred toward the entire family.”

Zhao Zhi nodded, “I think, if we can find answers to these mysteries, we will be able to move forward with this case.”

“Work hard then, Mr. Surveillance Commissioner.” Song Caitang poured tea into a cup and reached outside the window. She had a smile on her face as she said cheekily, “Don’t go running about in the middle of the night. Make full use of the night and run all night instead.”

These words weren’t pleasant and should have upset the hearer, but she spoke in a slightly higher pitch and her cheeky tone exuded friendliness, which actually helped to lessen the distance between them. One could only joke like that around friends, and not in front of strangers.

Zhao Zhi glanced a little more intently than usual at Song Caitang.

Before she could say more, he took the cup from her and downed it in one go.

He did not say anything, did not express any annoyance, and did not make any snarky comments.

“Are there clues from the other parties?” asked Song Caitang, “What incriminating information does Manager Liu have on Commissioner Lu? Do we know if they’ve met or if Manager Liu tried to blackmail Commissioner Lu? And the woman whom the leader of the Green Gang met at the bar. Do we know who she is?”

Besides those, Pang Qian and the Lu family had to be investigated too…

Zhao Zhi leaned lazily against the window as he casually threw the teacup from one hand to the other for fun, “I’ve been checking on Manager Liu and the Green Gang, so we’ll probably turn up something in the next few days. I’ve gotten Wen Yuansi to settle Pang Qian and the Lus. He’s very good at reading people and wheedling information out of them, isn’t he? This is a good chance for him to make full use of that talent.”

Unfortunately, one person couldn’t split themselves into so many parts. If you focused on one thing, you would end up neglecting the other. It was going to be hard to get results quickly from the investigation if only the two of them were on it.

But getting information on everyone connected to the case quickly was very important.

Zhao Zhi stopped playing with the cup. He looked like he was deep in thought.

Song Caitang gave him an idea.

She asked, “Are you very familiar with Qi Yan?”

Zhao Zhi looked at her from the corner of his eye with an odd look on his face. It was hard to say if he was wary or unhappy.

“You’re curious about him?”

“No,” Song Caitang shook her head, “I just think he’s quite good at being a busybody, so if you’re familiar with him and you think he can be trusted, I think you could get him to dig out the Gans’ secret.”

In reality, describing Qi Yan as being just quite good at being a busybody was an insult. The man was a huge busybody who loved scandals and was excellent at getting his hands on juicy details.

Zhao Zhi thought about it for a while and he finally decided that the investigation was more important, so he sent someone to ask if Qi Yan could settle this. But Zhao Zhi really didn’t have to ask. Qi Yan immediately leaped up and told Zhao Zhi that he MUST allow him to settle this, promising that he would get information as soon as possible!

And reality proved that Qi Yan was indeed very capable in this area. He came back with new information even more quickly than Zhao Zhi and Wen Yuansi!

Also, the information he had gleaned was shocking.

“Fourth Missy Gan had thought of remarrying before, actually. She had set her sights on Niu Baoshan’s son, Niu Xingzu and hoped to marry him!”

Song Caitang was at the courthouse, so Qi Yan brought his own teapot along and came over to look for her. He plonked himself down on the stool to drink tea and tell Song Caitang about his findings.

“When Fourth Missy Gan first arrived in Luanze, she ended up moving house several times over the first few years because she was slowly running out of money. Eleven years ago, she happened to move into the place right next to Niu Baoshan. Her son, Gan Zhixuan, was exactly four years old that year.”

“People always gossip about widows, and Fourth Missy Gan got her fair share of that. She was the sole breadwinner and her son was still so young, so it was only natural for her to want to find someone to rely on. Niu Xingzu had a good temper, was reliable, well-loved by everyone who came in contact with him and liked her as well. After some time, it was hard for her to not consider him as a potential partner.”

Qi Yan came closer to Song Caitang and whispered secretively, “Soon enough, these two started talking about getting married!”

Song Caitang played along with his actions and put on a curious expression, “Oh my! Really?”

“Yep!”

Qi Yan slapped his thigh and continued excitedly, “But it’s too bad that love and loyalty are things that often don’t get rewarded in this world! Not everything went well for them! For the sake of her reputation, Niu Xingzu kept their relationship secret, making sure that nobody knew that he was showing her concern and taking care of her. Madam Gan had suffered a lot of insults as a widow, so she didn’t want to make their relationship public since they hadn’t settled on a wedding date yet. They lived right next to one another, so it was easy for them to stay in touch. But that meant it was also easy for Niu Baoshan to find out about them!”

“It had been so hard for Niu Baoshan to bring his son up and his son had finally reached an age where he could marry a nice girl and live happily ever after. But this son of his was blinded by love and insisted on marrying a widow with child! This widow also had a poor reputation and attracted the attention of so many men too! Niu Baoshan refused to let them get married, no matter what…”

“But he didn’t want anyone to speak ill of his son either, so he helped to quell any rumors going around outside. But at home, he would argue with Niu Xingzu and even threatened to kill himself if they didn’t break up.”

“A couple truly in love were split up just like that!”

Qi Yan did a lot of acting and singing to reenact what must have happened then, playing both male and female roles, and even a child’s role all by himself. He put up a really good show.

And after all that, he still wasn’t tired, as though the person who had been making countless rounds around the room wasn’t him.

Song Caitang was truly impressed.

“How… how did you find out about all of this?”

“Oh my! It was SO HARD! You have to carefully get close to the people involved and sound them out, you have to observe the people around them carefully and look out for various details, gather information about any incident, regardless of how big or small it was, whether it was hilarious or not… then put the truth together from there!”

Qi Yan spun rapidly with a fan between his fingers. He was very proud of himself. “Based on my experience, the conclusion I draw from doing all these things is usually almost identical to what actually happened!”

“Miss Song, you’ve got to believe me!”

Of course Song Caitang believed him.

If Fourth Missy Gan and Niu Xingzu had been an item before, then… she could understand why Niu Baoshan would hate her so much.

Based on the details provided by Qi Yan, Niu Baoshan saw Fourth Missy Gan as a jinx who brought bad luck to anyone close to her, but his son only listened to her, which caused a rift between father and son. And during this very difficult time, Niu Xingzu suddenly went missing. He couldn’t be found anywhere, dead or alive…

It was only normal for the father to push the blame and his anger upon Fourth Missy Gan.

Qi Yan fanned himself, covering half his face and sounded very secretive, “Rumor has it that during this time, Lu Guangzong did interact with Fourth Missy Gan. He didn’t hide his actions from others and there was some ambiguity between them. Also, because Niu Xingzu was good at his craft, he clinched a major deal. The client in that major deal was Lu Guangzong.”

Song Caitang immediately caught on, “Niu Xingzu was a woodworker… he was asked to make something for Lu Guangzong?”

“I heard it’s a sandalwood box, but before it was completed and passed to Lu Guangzong, Niu Xingzu went missing.”

Qi Yan hopped onto a stool as he carried on, “This box is a mystery too. Niu Xingzu was good with his hands, but too poor to get good material, so it was Lu Guangzong who provided the sandalwood and the design. But after Niu Xingzu went missing, these things disappeared as well and nobody could find them. Including the balance of the unused sandalwood.”

“Niu Baoshan couldn’t find the box, so he thought that the goods had been handed over to Lu Guangzong already, but Lu Guangzong said he didn’t receive anything. The two of them argued about this for a long time, but failed to reach any conclusion.”