Zhong Li and Hua Yao stayed at the Marquis Anping’s mansion that day to begin the investigation.
The Marquis Anping had urgent business and left the mansion, specifically arranging for the butler, Xu Qiu, to liaise with them.
“Director Zhong, Miss Hua.” In the reception hall, Xu Qiu approached Zhong Li, taking two cups of tea from a servant and offering them to the two.
Zhong Li looked up at the man opposite her. Although dressed in the simple attire of a butler, his shoulders were broad, and his build was slender-waisted, comparable to Lu Wuxie. If not for the half-mask covering his face, Zhong Li thought the world would have gained another handsome man.
“You’re too kind, Butler Xu. We can drink tea anytime. Could you take us to where Madam passed away?”
Xu Qiu glanced at Zhong Li. Seeing that she had no intention of accepting the teacups, he gave a wry smile and handed the cups to the person beside him, saying, “It is said that Director Zhong does not like to dally. It appears to be true. Please, follow me.”
As he spoke, he gestured for Zhong Li to proceed.
Zhong Li glanced at Hua Yao, who picked up the drawing board they had brought and followed along.
“Madam has been deceased for some time. The family head is concerned about the delay in the mourning rituals, so please do not be offended, Director Zhong.” Xu Qiu walked ahead of the two, reassuring Zhong Li as they went.
Zhong Li curved her lips. She didn’t mind. She didn’t care about the Marquis Anping’s temperament; solving the case was her priority.
“Butler Xu, you are quite young. May I ask when you entered the Marquis Anping’s mansion?” she inquired.
Xu Qiu stopped in his tracks, looking utterly bewildered.
Zhong Li explained, “Butler Xu, please do not misunderstand. The reason I ask is that if Madam’s case is indeed suspicious, we may need to inquire about some of the complex relationships within the household from you.”
Hearing this, Xu Qiu smiled and replied, “To answer Director Zhong, I have only been in the mansion for about five years. As for that person…”
He pointed to a person in the garden wearing servant’s clothes and holding a watering can. “That is the eccentric old man. He has been in the mansion the longest.”
“Eccentric old man?” Zhong Li followed Xu Qiu’s gaze. Before she could get a clear look, Hua Yao leaned in to examine.
Xu Qiu nodded.
Zhong Li looked at the person engrossed in tending to flowers amidst the bushes. His back was hunched, like a peak pressing down on him. As for his face…
“He’s so ugly!” Hua Yao blurted out Zhong Li’s thoughts, exclaiming, “His nose and eyes are all scrunched together, and his face is like a flower cow. How can anyone be so ugly?”
“Then…”
“It’s burn scars!” Xu Qiu was about to explain when Zhong Li rubbed Hua Yao’s head, cautioning her about her words before explaining herself.
“Burn scars?” Hua Yao was stunned. The next moment, her eyes were filled with pity and compassion. “That’s too tragic. He’s so pitiful.”
“Since you find him pitiful, you should be more careful with your words,” Zhong Li chided Hua Yao with a glance and continued walking with Xu Qiu.
“I apologize, Yao’er didn’t mean anything by it. Her heart is in the right place,” Zhong Li said to Xu Qiu as she walked beside him, explaining.
Xu Qiu shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. “It’s alright. It seems not only Miss Hua calls him the eccentric old man. Moreover, after Miss Hua learned about his burn scars, the emotion in her eyes was genuine. I do not blame her.”
“Thank you.” Zhong Li nodded, standing still to wait for Hua Yao to catch up.
The three walked around the corridor and arrived at the spot where Madam had fallen to her death.
The rockery was already cordoned off by the Dali Temple using ropes. Two patrolling constables, upon seeing Zhong Li, quickly unsealed the area to let her in.
There weren’t many rockeries in the Marquis’s mansion’s backyard. Zhong Li walked around the largest one blocking her path and immediately saw the outline of a human figure drawn with flour at the base of the tallest rockery.
“This…” Hua Yao seemed hesitant to speak.
Zhong Li knew what she wanted to say. This rockery was over ten feet high and looked somewhat perilous. Unless Madam Nian was blind and ran around or climbed recklessly, considering her build and age, why would she foolishly go to such a place to end her life?
“Please sketch this area first, calculating the proportions and height,” Zhong Li instructed Hua Yao out of the corner of her eye.
Hua Yao seemed a little confused but mostly understood Zhong Li’s meaning.
Zhong Li walked around to the back of the rockery. Just as she had expected, the back of the rockery had a small staircase, about two palm-widths in size and one palm in width, specifically designed for climbing.
However…
She leaned in to examine the steps closely. Apart from a clear imprint of embroidered shoes, the surrounding area was covered in thick dust and dried, solidified mud. This indicated that apart from Madam Nian’s recent visit, no one had climbed this rockery for a long time.
The Marquis Anping’s mansion had no children, and most of the masters were middle-aged. With their limbs not as agile, the rockery being neglected was understandable. Moreover, Madam Nian was corpulent, considered obese in the Southern Yue Kingdom. Why would she climb a rockery for no reason?
Zhong Li mused and began to ascend the rockery along the steps.
Before long, she reached the summit, and the entire layout of the Marquis Anping’s mansion was laid out before her.
The Marquis Anping’s mansion was designed in a conventional manner. The Marquis’s study and master bedroom were in the center of the mansion. The courtyard on the right was draped with white streamers and paper lanterns; without guessing, it was Madam Nian’s courtyard. Following that, behind the Marquis’s study, were two slightly smaller annexes, which seemed to be for the other two madams of the household.
As for the left side of the study.
Zhong Li frowned, a hint of confusion in her eyes. That courtyard was about the same size as Madam Nian’s. It seemed that no one had lived there for a long time. Weeds covered the roof ridges, and the spring breeze, with just a gentle caress, stirred up small ‘hurricanes’ of dust on them. As for the courtyard within, it was planted with crabapple trees. Regrettably, due to a large lock on the gate, the crabapple trees had withered without careful cultivation.
“Li’er, Li’er!”
Zhong Li was gazing intently when Hua Yao, standing at the base of the rockery and seeing her absorption, quietly called out, pulling her thoughts back.
Zhong Li came back to her senses and quickly began to inspect the mountaintop.
There were many stones covered in soil on the summit, which was normal, considering the constant rain and wind. However, what she found incredible was that on one part of the rockery, she saw some smooth stones.
Zhong Li moved closer and picked up the stones to examine them. They were rain flower stones. How did they get here?
Thinking, she looked down from where she found the rain flower stones. Directly below was the spot where Madam Nian had fallen.
“Li’er, are you done?” Hua Yao’s voice sounded again.
Zhong Li placed the rain flower stones in her sleeve, nodded, and descended the rockery.
“What, are you finished drawing?” she asked Hua Yao as she approached her, looking at the completed scene sketch in her hand.
Hua Yao nodded, fanned the sketch to dry it, and handed it to Zhong Li.
Zhong Li took it, glancing at it as she said to Hua Yao, “Yao’er, could you please go up the rockery and sketch the entire Marquis’s mansion?”
Hua Yao nodded, took out new paper, and walked up the rockery.
Zhong Li glanced back at her, knowing that Hua Yao would take some time. She walked out of Madam Nian’s death scene holding the sketch.
Although Hua Yao’s drawing skills were not as good as Lan Heng’s, she had one advantage over him. Lan Heng liked to mark detailed and complex areas with symbols that only he could understand, while Hua Yao preferred to depict detailed elements vividly.
This resulted in Lan Heng’s drawings being understandable only to him, whereas others could comprehend Hua Yao’s drawings with careful examination.
At this moment, Zhong Li frowned, looking at a marking in the drawing. Hua Yao had likely drawn a small flower, but it was early spring. There were no plants that bloomed in early spring in the Marquis Anping’s mansion. Where did this flower come from?
Thinking, Zhong Li returned to the vicinity of the rockery and, based on where Hua Yao had drawn, found the flower next to the rockery where Madam Nian had died.
In fact, it was less of a flower and more of a fake one. The flower was painted on the rockery with red dye. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was supposed to be a crabapple blossom.
“Why would someone paint a flower here?” Zhong Li murmured to herself and walked towards the corridor, wanting to ask Butler Xu if the flower had any special meaning.
Zhong Li, engrossed in the sketch, did not notice two women walking towards her. A woman’s startled cry pulled her back to reality.
“Oh, you lowly servant! How can you walk like that?”