CH 15

“Are you informed of why Momo Yu was sent to the ancestral hall?”

Zhèng Wén Yàn’s visage turned blank, as if he could not remember who Momo Yu was at the moment. Huò Wēi Lóu supplemented, “A maidservant that your mother brought from the Capital. She’s a trusted aide, and yet she was punished to watch over the ancestral hall for fifteen years.”

Zhèng Wén Róng’s eyes brightened slightly, “Her, huh…. She was indeed the most trusted person by Mother’s side. In the first few years, she would always be the one arranging my return to the residence, and it was changed to another steward later. While Mother allowed me to return to the residence for a short stay, it was just to make it up to me a little. I was still being hidden from the public with great rigour, but I don’t know why she was changed for someone else.

“However, I have an impression of that Momo. She came from the Capital, received the best education from Marquis Xinyang Residence with Mother, and was deeply familiar with all the etiquette and practices of an aristocratic and large family. Every matter that Mother had to attend to, she would be at the side scheduling and arranging everything, the servants were also personally taught by her, her conduct and behaviour in society was more than thorough, and she has never committed a mistake.

“My Father was still in the world back then, and Mother was not the only person in the back courtyard, but with her aiding Mother, Mother has never been threatened within the back courtyard. However, she was rather cheerless and mechanical, and also harsh to those under her. I was still quite young back then, and every time I saw her, I would feel slightly afraid.”

A person who had received the best education with her master; a person who handled her duties while ensuring that not a single drop of water could leak out, and yet she erred and was negligent on a matter as huge as a small concubine delivering a child, such that it led to the death of the mother and child, how was anyone supposed to believe that?

Zhèng Wén Róng then said: “Has she gone to the ancestral hall? I haven’t been to the ancestral hall for many years, perhaps… only after death, will I be able to enter the Zheng clan’s ancestral hall…”

Misery lined his words to some degree.

Huò Wēi Lóu glanced at the night colours outside, “The questioning will stop here for tonight, you may withdraw.”

Zhèng Wén Yàn was about to bow, but he could not resist asking: “Hou’ye, is the murderer someone within the residence?”

Huò Wēi Lóu’s pupils shrank slightly, “That’s right.”

Bitterness coloured Zhèng Wén Róng’s eyes as he sighed audibly. After a prolonged bow with clasped hands raised, he turned around and left the hall. He arrived like he was framed with bones of an immortal cultivator, now that the cold winds were hoisting his sleeves and robes, his strength of character was intact, but he still returned to the mortal world of chaos; his footsteps were sluggish and laden.

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Hè Chéng said with a sigh, “Xiaguan has been an official in Qingzhou for numerous years, and has been to the Marquis Residence numerous times, and yet he was genuinely unaware that the Third Master and Fourth Master were twin brothers. For many years, one had merely heard that the Fourth Master was gravely ill or travelling outside, but for it to stem from this reason was unexpected. Speaking of which, was it necessary to go so far? The Marquis Residence is not in the Capital, and having a pair of twins would merely result in a rumour or two, why did they have to separate a mother and child like this?”

Fu gonggong said: “Hè daren is unknowing to some extent; the more influential and noble a family is, the more they will believe in such sayings. While Marquis Anqing Residence has stayed in Qingzhou for a long time, they wholeheartedly wish that they can return to the Capital. Therefore, regardless of whether it was the old Marquis Anqing or Lao Furen, they dare not be careless.”

Hè Chéng’s origins were rather humble, and it was natural that he was not cognizant of the beliefs that old prominent families subscribed to. After hearing Fu gonggong utter those words, he could not help but feel modest as he received his instruction.

At this moment, an embroidered emissary stepped inside and said: “Hou’ye, Zheng wu’ye (5th) headed to the ancestral hall one pillar of incense (30 minutes) ago, and he has yet to come out up until now.”

This was within Huò Wēi Lóu’s expectations, “Is it possible to eavesdrop on the conversation?”

The embroidered emissary shook his head, “We have men close by, but there is no sound or noise coming from the building.”

Once Huò Wēi Lóu heard those words, his eyebrows rose. No sound or noise? Even if it was difficult to hear the words and phrases of two living people speaking inside a room, the embroidered emissaries were all trained, how was it possible that they didn’t even pick up on a single sound?

“It looks like the Zheng clan’s ancestral hall is more than what meets the eye as well.”

Huò Wēi Lóu fiddled with the black jade ornamental thumb ring on his hand as he stood up, “Continue to watch that ancestral hall, and dispatch someone to watch Zhèng Wén Ān after he leaves,” he said as he looked towards that embroidered emissary, “Monitor with greater scrutiny.”

The embroidered emissary complied with due haste, then Huò Wēi Lóu instructed Hè Chéng, “Continue to oversee the crucial paths in the residence and deploy more government hirelings over.”

Hè Chéng quickly agreed, “Hou’ye can be at ease, more men have been deployed. That Taoist priest is currently doing the calculations, and the results should be out by tomorrow.”

In the end, he had to calculate fifteen years’ worth of double-hours and Huò Wēi Lóu did not want to urge him at all. He was going to leave the hall but after a sweeping glimpse, he noticed that Bó Ruò Yōu was contemplating deeply with knitted brows, her thoughts unknown, which made his eyes focus slightly.

Hè Chéng coughed lightly, “Xiao Bó—”

Upon raising her eyes, Bó Ruò Yōu realised that Huò Wēi Lóu staring at her, and she could only respond: “Min’nü was pondering if min’nü had deduced wrongly, since none of the people within the residence who were inspected bore a resemblance to the murderer.”

In response, Hè Chéng said in a difficult and astringent manner: “This… Apart from Da Furen and Momo Yu, it’s true that everyone was here, and it’s not possible that it’s either of them since the murderer needs to have some skill in climbing.”

Since the murderer could rappel down from the Moon-viewing Pavilion via rope, flip over the wall and climb into the courtyard, it was not possible that it was a half-century-old elderly or a severely ill woman who even had issues recognising the road. Hè Chéng did not blame Bó Ruò Yōu, but he was very confused as well. Perhaps, Bó Ruò Yōu did deduce wrongly? The murderer’s stature and characteristics were obtained from her post-mortem autopsy, and once there was an error, the trajectory of the inspection would be wrong from the very start.

“The employed should not be doubted.”

The employed should not be doubted. (用人不疑)

These four words also had the strength of thirty thousand catties, which tugged and shook Bó Ruò Yōu’s heartstrings.

The fists in her sleeves curled gently, but only a trace of a sweet-tempered smile appeared on her visage.

Fu gonggong then said: “It is getting late, Bó guniang should head back and rest first before convening tomorrow. It can’t be rushed, the more anxious we are, the messier it will become—”

Bó Ruò Yōu was hesitating when Huò Wēi Lóu seemed to hear the conversation inside the room from outside. He pointed at an embroidered emissary, “Send her back.” He paused and added, “Stand guard outside her courtyard tonight.”

Bó Ruò Yōu was about to say that it wasn’t necessary but Huò Wēi Lóu had already looked over, “The murderer’s pathing is hard to determine, and they are exceedingly skilled at hiding themselves. The people handling this case must not be harmed by the murderer, especially you.”

Especially you.

Heart warming, Bó Ruò Yōu lowered her eyes and said: “Yes, then min’nü will take her leave.”

Huò Wēi Lóu nodded before turning back to the embroidered emissary he was previously speaking to. In the middle of their conversation, Bó Ruò Yōu seemed to catch the two words “Luozhou”, Luozhou was northwest of Qingzhou, could that be the official business that Fu gonggong was talking about?

The murderer used the seventh death day as a marker; in the next six days, there might be another homicide. Bó Ruò Yōu knew that this case had to be solved within six days. Furthermore… Huò Wēi Lóu must be in a great rush.

With an additional embroidered emissary sending her all the way back to the guest courtyard, Bó Ruò Yōu still felt very safe despite walking along the small path under the dim shadows of the lanterns. The night was already deep, and though there were guards on the crucial paths of the Marquis Residence, the murderer could conceal themselves in the darkness of the expansive and uninterrupted buildings and courtyards.

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Once she returned to the courtyard, Chūn Táo, who had dozed off from waiting, immediately welcomed her. After washing up and having a meal, Chūn Táo could not help but remark: “Guniang, nubi saw guniang at the front courtyard today. When guniang was standing beside Marquis Wuzhao, it was truly imposing in style, and guniang is helping the government office with the case? Guniang is truly amazing!”

Bó Ruò Yōu looked at Chūn Táo’s adolescent face, and she did not have the heart to tell her that she examined the corpses. Instead, she replied: “Then you must have seen Zhen si’ye.”

Chūn Táo’s expression changed instantaneously, “Yes, nubi was badly frightened, and thought that the Third Master’s corpse had reanimated. Nubi didn’t expect that the reason for the Fourth Master not returning to the residence for so many years was because he and the Third Master were twins. Guniang, did you know that twins are extremely inauspicious.”

“I am aware,” Bó Ruò Yōu did not continue this topic. Rather, she turned around and said: “I met Da Furen tonight as well.”

Chūn Táo’s pupils dilated as she said in a low voice: “Isn’t it very scary? Da Furen has been ill for many years, never breaking off from her medication all these years and yet it still hasn’t turned for the better, but the strangest thing is that… Da Furen stops being insane once she sees the residence’s stupid girl.”

Before Bó Ruò Yōu could ask, Chūn Táo talked about it first, so Bó Ruò Yōu casually asked: “The stupid girl?”

Chūn Táo wrote all her emotions on her face, and there was a glint of fear and disgust flitting past the bottom of her eyes, “Guniang hasn’t met her? When everyone was in the front courtyard, she was there too. There’s a huge scar on her face, and it’s said that she already had it when Da Furen picked her up.”

“When did Da Furen pick her up?”

Chūn Táo thought back for a moment, “Nubi entered the residence much later, so she is unaware of the specific timing, but it was around six to seven years ago? Based on the stupid girl’s appearance, it’s impossible for her to stay in the residence. There was hearsay that during an instance where Lao Furen was bringing Da Furen to see a senior monk, in hopes that the senior monk could treat Da Furen’s illness, she picked up a stupid girl that had fainted from hunger along the roadside as they were making their way back. Da Furen descended into a fit of madness and no one could not stop her, not even Oldest Young Lady, and she persisted in wanting to bring the stupid girl back. Lao Furen had no other alternative so she could only be brought back.

“Afterwards, Da Furen became extremely intimate with the stupid girl, treating her like she was her own daughter, and whenever the stupid girl is present, Da Furen’s illness becomes much better, and apart from her inability to remember things, she can speak, eat, and drink medicine. Hence, Lao Furen decided to let the stupid girl stay. When Da Furen did not need the stupid girl, the stupid girl would run some maidservant errands; if her illness relapses, the stupid girl would be made to stay by Da Furen’s side for a few days. Look at that, this is the fortune that each person has, and it’s unknown how many people within the residence envy her…”

Chūn Táo spoke in an unceasing torrent, though she sighed when she reached this point, “But she’s pitiful too. Her face was ruined, she’s muddleheaded, foolish, unable to talk, and even her foot was broken from a fall. If it were not for Lao Furen’s kindness, maybe she would be dead.”

Bó Ruò Yōu raised an eyebrow, “Her leg, it was broken from a fall after she entered the residence?”

Chūn Táo nodded, “Yeah, it was roughly two to three years ago. She dropped into the dried up well in the east of the Marquis Residence, and she nearly lost her life because she was stuck at the bottom of the well for a few days. Back then, everyone thought that she had run away, and it was an old servant who was passing by as he was running errands that saved her. Her leg was broken in that fall, and Lao Furen sought medical advice and medicine to treat her.”

Bó Ruò Yōu felt slightly sombre as she thought about the injury on the back of Zhèng Yún Ní’s hand, and the unexpected and palpable tender affection that Da Furen had for a stupid girl, only feeling that something was rather strange. Although she wanted to inquire about events that happened even earlier, Chūn Táo was clueless, going to the extent where she had never heard of a person like Momo Yu. Deeply aware that she would not be extracting more information, Bó Ruò Yōu went to bed first.

Just as she was about to slip into her dreams, Bó Ruò Yōu heard the sound of firecrackers in the distance in her drowsiness. A vague thought flowed past her mind, the Lantern Festival, which was on the fifteenth of the first lunar new month, was here.

Bó Ruò Yōu did not sleep deeply that night, and she woke up before the skies brightened. Her head was woozy from just waking up when she suddenly heard human voices coming from outside the courtyard. Her heart moved, and she hastily got off the bed and changed her clothes to dash out of the courtyard doors to investigate.

Once the courtyard doors were opened, Bó Ruò Yōu was promptly stunned.

Presently, Zhèng Yún Ní was leading more than a dozen servants towards the Marquis Residence gates, and those dozen servants were each carrying clothed bundles on their backs and lifting chests… This array, were they trying to run out of the residence in secret?