Who Said He Was Poisoned

Qi Yan remained perched on the wall as he watched how Song Caitang controlled the direction of the conversation. She used all sorts of leading techniques so smoothly and so naturally, it was impossible for anyone else to realize that this was all a set up…

He was really impressed.

From a young age, he had loved to watch all sorts of happenings around town. From the palace to the marketplace, to even illegal activities. He had seen all sorts of situations, all sorts of clever people, and the wit of many characters had impressed him over the years. They had taught him a lot, so he knew when he could leave his brain at home, when he ought to be quiet and drink his tea, and when he could say whatever he liked.

But Song Caitang’s performance had bedazzled him. From being completely confused to silently waiting for a chance, his heart was on tenterhooks all the time and he simply couldn’t tear his eyes away. He couldn’t wait to see what she was going to do next.

Was this the time to enjoy tea and some snacks?

No way! There was no time for that!

The warm sunshine shone down on Song Caitang, her hair swaying in the gentle breeze. Her slim hands, her fair skin, her pretty face, her soulful gaze that could convey a million and one things, her skirt embroidered with elegant gold thread… She sat there with her chin slightly raised, as though there was nothing in the world that could be hidden from her.

Qi Yan felt that this woman must have a magical brain or something.

Lu Guangzong’s murder, Niu Xingzu’s skeleton buried in the mountains, Madam Gan, Niu Baoshan… there were so many people involved, so much information to sort through… how did she manage to understand everything?

How was she always able to find out how everything was connected together?

Qi Yan felt that he just needed to give her a small clue, and she would be able to guess the full story.

She might not say everything that was on her mind, but every statement she made was definitely given a lot of thought, was very logical, and was closest to the truth.

Madam Gan had been trying so hard to keep everyone focused on Lu Guangzong’s case and other matters in order to draw attention away from this.

Her secret was important to her, but her life was even more important.

She had killed Niu Xingzu!

Niu Baoshan had spent many years hurling insults at her and despising her precisely because he had suspected she had killed his son.

Moreover, Qi Yan was the one who had promised to find out everything about Niu Xingzu and Fourth Missy Gan, but it had never crossed his mind that Fourth Missy Gan could have been connected to Niu Xingzu’s death! That’s why Niu Xingzu had gone missing without a trace! It was because Fourth Missy Gan was the only person who knew and she had kept quiet for years!

And now, Lu Guangzong’s case might be linked to her too.

That sandalwood box had turned out to be with Madam Gan!

Qi Yan got so excited and anxious to find out more, he leaned a little too far forward and almost fell.

Thankfully, he had practiced enough martial arts all these years, so he stuck an arm and leg out to quickly steady himself and did not end up falling and ruining Song Caitang’s plans.

Song Caitang looked steely at Madam Gan, “Niu Xingzu wanted to get close to prominent people like Lu Guangzong for your sake. After he accepted the job from Lu Guangzong, he told Niu Baoshan about it because he wanted to impress his father and wanted his father to affirm him. But you…“

“He told you the details of this project because it was his pride and joy.”

That sandalwood box was definitely with Fourth Missy Gan.

Fourth Missy Gan bit her lips and slowly bowed her head, “Yes… it is with me.”

Niu Baoshan’s eyes bulged furiously, “You even took what belonged to my son?!”

“At that time… I couldn’t accept the fact that Xingzu had died and I wanted a memento, so I secretly hid that box away. But half a year later, I gave it to Commissioner Lu anyway.”

She wiped her tears and said in a low voice, “Xingzu was an upright man who placed a lot of importance on being trustworthy. He wouldn’t have minded if I took something of his as a memento, but this was something that rightfully belonged to a customer, so he would have wanted to make sure the customer got it.”

Song Caitang looked at Fourth Missy Gan quietly for a few moments before asking, “Commissioner Lu accepted it?”

“He did.”

“He used it?”

“I guess so…“

Song Caitang raised her hand and passed her teacup to the maid next to her. She raised an eyebrow, “Then you must know what this box was meant for.”

Fourth Missy Gan wiped away the sweat on her forehead. It was hard to tell if she was scared, or if it was because it was really hot outside. Her voice sounded shaky and a little uneasy, “It’s a sandalwood box the size of a palm that looks like any jewelry box from the outside, but there are actually four secret drawers inside, some shallow and some deep. The drawers are very well hidden and difficult to notice. Xingzu said that he had spent a lot of effort in making this box, and because it was made according to a secret design drawing plus the catch to open the drawers are all in secret places, nobody will know how to make it or find the drawers without the drawing. And even if you locate the drawers, you might not be able to open them.”

It was obvious that this box was meant to keep secrets.

Very important secrets too.

Why would Lu Guangzong give this job to someone he had not met before and did not know at all?

No matter how talented Niu Xingzu was, he was just a young man who was still honing his skills.

Song Caitang raised an eyebrow, then asked an important question, “Where did this design drawing come from?”

Madam Gan shook her head, “I don’t know. Xingzu never said where it came from.”

“You gave it to Lu Guangzong too?”

Fourth Missy Gan bent her head slightly. Her gaze flickered, “I don’t know, I only got the box.”

Song Caitang analyzed Fourth Missy Gan’s expression to figure out if she was lying or not. She raised her brows slightly and her eyes shone bright, “Many things are forgotten after someone passes away, especially if that person wasn’t someone prominent. Commissioner Lu helped you to settle Niu Xingzu’s body and even allowed rumors about him having an affair with you to float about… all that just because Niu Xingzu asked him to?”

That was impossible.

Lu Guagnzong had been an official for decades and enjoyed an excellent reputation. He definitely cherished that and wouldn’t want to destroy it.

“They must have been having a real affair!” Niu Baoshan spat violently, sending a thick glob of phlegm flying onto Fourth Missy Gan’s shoe. “Your son isn’t Lu Guangzong’s, but you wanted your son to have a rich and powerful dad! Like mother, like son – your son’s like this, so I’m sure his mother is no better! You must have given yourself to Lu Guangzong back then in exchange for protection! What a great choice! A high ranking official would have been very useful!”

Niu Baoshan spoke very confidently, but Song Caitang didn’t think that was a fair judgment. That probably wasn’t the case at all.

But… it was going to be hard for Fourth Missy Gan to take these words lying down.

Gan Zhixuan’s biological father’s identity was a secret that Fourth Missy Gan hid with all her might. Talking about this in such a manner would definitely ruffle her feathers.

If this went on, the truth was going to come out without her doing anything!

Song Caitang stared intently at Fourth Missy Gan.

Just as she had expected, Fourth Missy Gan became rather agitated, “That’s not true! Don’t spout nonsense like that!” She immediately flew off the handle. In order to prove her innocence, she decided to stop hiding the truth, “It’s because even though the drawing is lost, I’d seen it before and I remember most of it. I remember how the pieces fit together, where the drawers are and how to trigger the catches! I know all of that! I know Lu Guangzong used the box to hide very important things, so I used that to threaten him! If he didn’t help me, I’d tell everyone about this box and its details!”

Niu Baoshan snorted and said sarcastically, “Oh my, that’s so terrifying! Do you even know what Lu Guangzong’s rank was? Why would he be afraid of a mere woman like you?”

“He didn’t have a choice back then. He couldn’t find a more suitable box, and people were watching him, so he had no choice but to give in! Besides, I didn’t want much from him. I just wanted him to bail me out if I faced any difficulties in life!”

She said all of that in one breath and she was now out of breath. Her chest heaved and she took quite a while to calm down again.

Several moments later, she finally wiped her tears away, then picked up her skirt to slowly kneel down and looked pleadingly at Song Caitang, “Miss Song, that’s all I know – it’s really all I know! Please put a good word in for me with the authorities since I was cooperative…“

“Xingzu… died a tragic death, but I really didn’t mean to kill him! It was really just an accident!”

Fourth Missy Gan’s eyes were bloodshot and she started crying again, “I still have a son… I can’t die now…“

Song Caitang’s lips finally curled into a faint smile, “And who said Niu Xingzu was poisoned to death?”

Her voice was not loud and was fairly emotionless. But the words were shocking enough by themselves.

The whole place fell silent and everyone turned to look at Song Caitang.

Qi Yan seriously fell from his spot on top of the wall in shock this time. If he hadn’t quickly used his hands to land quietly and somersault to break the fall, everyone would have turned to stare at him instead.

He stared at Song Caitang with a mix of shock and admiration in his eyes.

So, it turned out that Niu Xingzu had not died by poisoning. Fourth Missy Gan had only thought all this time that she had killed him by accident and felt guilty. After she was pushed into a desperate corner and faced Niu Baoshan’s rage, she became less guarded and blurted all of it out…

At the same time, Song Caitang had already guessed as much. She made use of their psychological state and set this whole thing up!

When did she figure all of this out?

If the issue at hand was just trying to find out what caused Niu Xingzu’s death, then she could run a few tests and make observations to guess what it was. But she already knew that Niu Xingzu hadn’t died from poisoning, yet she managed to figure out what happened and was able to understand what was going on in Madam Gan’s mind…

This woman was so scary.

Fourth Missy Gan looked a little confused, as if she didn’t understand what those words implied. After a long time, her mouth slowly fell open and she covered it with her hands. There was a slight gleam in her eyes, “Are you saying that… Xingzu… it wasn’t because he had been poisoned… he was gone because he…“

Song Caitang’s expression remained calm, “Did I mention that he had died from poisoning?”

Fourth Missy Gan shook her head.

Song Caitang hadn’t.

Right from the beginning, Song Caitang had only put her in a situation where she could not lie and had only said that Niu Xingzu’s bones were now in the courthouse. But she never mentioned the cause of death.

She… she had said that herself.

She was the one who admitted to poisoning Niu Xingzu!

She was the one who had leaped right into this trap and even divulged a whole bunch of other secrets!

It was hard for her to describe how she felt now. The huge mountain weighing down on her heart had moved away and she felt so much more relaxed now. She was also annoyed that Song Caitang had not only not helped her, but had also trapped her into saying so many things she shouldn’t have, but none of that was important now. Most importantly, she hadn’t killed Niu Xingzu!

She picked herself off the ground and glared furiously at Niu Baoshan, “What else do you have to say now?! I didn’t kill your son! Both of us were truly in love and were so happy together! If you hadn’t stopped us, we wouldn’t have thought of going to the temple to pray, Xingzu wouldn’t have died on that trip and you might have had several grandchildren by now! Niu Baoshan, do you regret it now? DO YOU?!”

Niu Baoshan was a little too stunned for words, “It… wasn’t you? How… could that be…“

Fourth Missy Gan raised her head and puffed her chest out. She was so confident, she could even snort at him, “So much for looking for a killer! I think YOU were the one who killed Commissioner Lu! You hate me and you can’t wait for something bad to happen to me, and you wished I would be sentenced to death! You hated Commissioner Lu too, because you think that both of us caused Xingzu’s death! You wished so hard you could kill him! Each time you saw him you must have been overcome by hatred, right?”

“Commissioner Lu was all by himself at that pub and looked very weak, so he was easy to deal with. That would have been your perfect chance! You wouldn’t let it pass!”

“It was you! You must have been the one who killed Commissioner Lu!”

The tide had turned in favor of Fourth Missy Gan suddenly, and she seemed to have lost it.

Niu Baoshan had been sullen because of his son’s death, but he burst out laughing maniacally when he heard what Fourth Missy Gan just said.

“You suspect me? HAHAHA! That’s right! I killed him! Arrest me then! Throw me in jail!”

His expression was frightening and he had a crazed look in his eyes, “I don’t have any other relatives left and should have died a long time ago! I’ve achieved nothing in my lifetime, only daring to pull a few small pranks and never dared to actually kill anybody! I’m so glad that a righteous person stepped forward to kill Lu Guangzong, so I can finally live in peace. I don’t mind going to jail on his behalf!”

“I admit to the crime! I killed Lu Guangzong!”

“Miss Song!” He spun around and kowtowed to Song Caitang, his head resounding with a loud thud each time it hit the ground, “Arrest me! Put the nail in the coffin for this case! Don’t wait for a trial either! Just sentence me right now!”

Niu Baoshan was being fairly insistent, as though he was really willing to be locked up.

But a criminal investigation didn’t work this way. One needed evidence to make an arrest. You couldn’t be arrested just because you wanted to.

Song Caitang’s expression remained calm, “I’m only the coroner helping with the case and not the official in charge. I’m afraid I will not be able to accede to your request.”

The drama was over and she had new clues, so she had to sort them out and report it.

She waved Qi Yan over, then told him to quickly report everything he had heard to the higher ups. As for Fourth Missy Gan and Niu Baoshan… the Gao family party was still ongoing, and this place was quite secluded, so very few people had seen what happened here and the party was not affected. They could be quietly taken away for questioning about the Niu Xingzu case…

Everyone got busy, and Qi Yan quickly came back with an answer. He had a conflicted look on his face as he told her that Zhao Zhi had disappeared and he couldn’t find him at all, so he had probably already left the party. Wen Yuansi was still busy speaking to other persons of interest to the case, so the only person he could get a hold of was Governor Zhang.

Governor Zhang had been very cooperative too. He didn’t have anything urgent to attend to, so when he heard what Song Caitang needed, he quickly rushed over. He went by the book and questioned the two parties, informed the Gaos about what happened, then summoned a few runners who weren’t dressed in official robes to quietly lead Fourth Missy Gan and Niu Baoshan out from the side gate and toward the courthouse.

Song Caitang and Qi Yan were witnesses to their conversation, so they had to go along and give their statement.

Everything had gone smoothly and Governor Zhang was soon on his way to the courthouse with everyone else.

There was only one thing he couldn’t understand, “What about Surveillance Commissioner Zhao and Magistrate Wen? Aren’t we waiting for them?”

Actually, what he really wanted to ask was, what were these two guys doing? Especially Zhao Zhi – he seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

“By the time they return…“ Song Caitang smiled faintly at Governor Zhang, “We would be able to make some progress on Commissioner Lu’s case.”

She was very confident that the two men would bring back even more information that was even more important and vital to the case than what she got.

When she recalled her conversation with Lu Shen, she secretly waved Qi Yan over and whispered, “Can you get me a map of Luanze?”

Of course, this wasn’t a problem, so Qi Yan immediately nodded. But for Song Caitang to ask for a map…

He looked her up and down and stared at her puzzledly, “You… want a map?”

Wasn’t she so bad at directions she could barely follow a path? Why would someone like that want a map?

Song Caitang’s expression didn’t flinch as she nodded sternly, “That’s right. I need to study it.”

Qi Yan stared wordlessly at her.

He wasn’t going to believe that!

But he still secretly found her a map and passed it to her.

At the Guan family residence.

Guan Rongrong came running back home frantically and burst into tears when she saw her mother, “Mother! How… how could they do this to you? How dare Guan Qing do this to you?!”

“Calm down! You’re the daughter of an influential family! You shouldn’t be crying in such an unsightly manner!”

After scolding her daughter, Madam Zhang sighed, “Why are you here instead of staying at the party and making the friends you’re supposed to? Who told you to come home?”

“Nobody did. I heard what Guan Qing did and… I was very worried.”

Guan Rongrong was indeed worried about her mother, but there was one more reason why she came running home. She had failed to fit in at the party.

Wen Yuansi ignored her, the other ladies her age didn’t like her, and all the other girls who usually buttered her up didn’t get their hands on an invitation. She felt very lonely and demoralized from failing to fit in. It made her so uncomfortable to be there.

Guan Qing only took care of Guan Wan and didn’t even cast her a glance!

Since nobody cared about her, she wasn’t going to care for them either!

She didn’t say any of this out loud, but Madam Zhang knew her well and guessed as much.

Madam Zhang shut her eyes and let out a long sigh.

No matter how frustrated she was with this girl, Guan Rongrong was still her daughter.

Madam Zhang straightened her thoughts out, called Guan Rongrong over to her side to comfort her and teach her a few things. Once her daughter started smiling again, she obediently returned to her room to rest.

The room was now left with just Auntie Chang, her closest subordinate. Madam Zhang slowly finished a cup of tea as her gaze grew more and more resolute.

So what if that happened? She still had other cards in her deck.

“Send a letter to Qingdan Place.”

Auntie Chang was hesitant, “But you’ve been grounded, so if you go out…“

“I can go out anytime I want,” Madam Zhang narrowed her eyes, “Just do as I say.”

Auntie Chang put her hands in front of her and bowed, “Yes, Madam.”

After a long time, Madam Zhang asked another question, “Where has Young Master been lately?”

“According to the last letter from Master, he’s brought Young Master to the capital and should be returning soon.”

Madam Zhang touched the rim of her teacup with a finger as her gaze grew more intense, “It’s high time our Young Master wrote a letter home.”

At the end of the day, her son was the only male heir in the entire Guan family. The old lady and Guan Qing never liked her, but they never ill-treated her son.

The heavens still cared for her, after all.

Madam Zhang’s lips slowly curled upward.