The lock was open?
Zhong Li was puzzled. If she remembered correctly, this place had been locked before.
After hesitating, she pushed the door open and walked into the courtyard.
Tonight, the moon and stars were sparse, and the spring breeze was gentle. Whether it was psychological or not, as soon as Zhong Li stepped into the courtyard, she felt a cold wind that made her skin crawl.
She wrapped her outer cloak tighter and quietly walked towards the desolate wing room not far away.
All along the way, dry branches and fallen leaves under her feet made crisp sounds. Occasionally, an owl flapped its wings and let out a long cry, like a prisoner who had been confined for a long time, its voice mournful and desolate.
Zhong Li raised her eyes to glance at the owl, her gaze falling on a dead, rotten tree. It was a begonia, long neglected, its withered branches drooping. It seemed unwilling to give up, with some withered branches extending beyond the wall, trying to break free and call out for freedom.
She sighed, feeling a pang of pity for such a towering presence being abandoned. She then bypassed the large tree and pushed open the door to the wing room.
The layout of the third madam's room was similar to the first madam's, but it lacked a certain vibrancy. From the furniture to the decorations, it was evident that no one had lived here for a long time.
She walked past the main hall and into the bedroom. As soon as she entered, a bronze mirror appeared before her eyes. Zhong Li hadn't expected such a furnishing and was almost startled by her reflection.
She took a breath, shook her head, and chuckled at her own apprehension. She quickly walked to the dressing table and opened the drawer to examine it.
Changsun Tang must have had a preference for simplicity. Her jewelry was not numerous or flashy, yet it couldn't hide its exquisite elegance.
Zhong Li closed the drawer and lightly rubbed her fingertips on the table. After a long while, she didn't rub off the expected dirt and dust, but rather... water?
Puzzled, she looked up and saw a small potted plant on the bedroom window frame. Was it a begonia seedling?
She frowned and took out a tinder from her懷 to observe at close range. As the fire lit up the room, the bronze mirror in front of her suddenly flickered. She quickly reacted, put away the tinder, and chased after it.
Damn it!
Zhong Li chased out of the wing room and stood in the courtyard. She looked at the empty, vast space with only a lingering breeze, knowing clearly that the person had escaped.
With a sigh, she was about to return to the wing room to continue her investigation when she suddenly smelled a burning odor. She frowned and followed the scent around the wing room to the back of the house.
In the corner, she saw a man crouching on the ground, burning something. Beside him was a small stove with three incense sticks stuck in it.
"Are you... Young Master Chang?" Zhong Li hesitated, calling out his name.
The man's body stiffened noticeably. He got up and slowly turned his head.
Chang Yanzhi looked at the woman standing under the withered vine and begonia tree. The clear moonlight fell on her face. He called out with a hint of excitement, "A'tang..."
Zhong Li was startled, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
Seeing her reaction, Chang Yanzhi narrowed his eyes and looked at the person before him. He shook his head and said, "My apologies, young lady, I mistook you for someone else."
"You mistook me for Changsun Tang?"
As soon as Zhong Li said this, Chang Yanzhi's recently calmed emotions were immediately filled with sorrow. His brow furrowed, and his eyes dimmed as he nodded, "Perhaps I was in a hurry to return and my mind was muddled. I beg your forgiveness for any offense."
Zhong Li remained silent, watching Chang Yanzhi.
She had thought that with Marquis Anping's fiery temper, his son Young Master Chang Yanzhi, who had been separated from his mother for eight years for a woman, would not be easy to deal with. Now, seeing him polite and well-behaved, he indeed had the demeanor of a noble son.
"You are Young Master Chang Yanzhi?" Zhong Li asked again.
Chang Yanzhi blinked, looking somewhat confused.
Zhong Li cut to the chase, taking out her waist token. "I am Zhong Li, the Judicial Officer of Dali Temple. I am here specifically to investigate the death of your mother, Madam Nian."
"Investigate thoroughly?" Chang Yanzhi frowned and asked, "My mother... did not die in an accident?"
"An accident? Who told you it was an accident?"
"It was..." As soon as Chang Yanzhi spoke, he suddenly realized something and quickly stopped himself.
Zhong Li narrowed her eyes at him and said, "If Young Master doesn't say, I know who it is?"
Chang Yanzhi quickly replied, "It has nothing to do with him. He just hoped I could return with peace of mind and not worry on the journey."
"Since Young Master is here for the funeral, why aren't you in the first madam's courtyard? What are you doing here?" Zhong Li asked.
Chang Yanzhi's throat tightened at the mention of his sad affair. He turned his head and looked at the pile of burnt paper money and some wooden hair ornaments in the corner. "I came to pay respects to an old friend first. As for my mother, I will definitely go see her."
"Young Master's priorities are so confused, are you still resenting your mother?"
"What do you mean?" As soon as Zhong Li finished speaking, Chang Yanzhi seemed to have been struck in a sore spot. He lost his previous gentle demeanor and glared at the woman opposite him, shouting.
Zhong Li was not annoyed. After all, his reaction gave her more reason to investigate further.
"Young Master has some special feelings for the third madam, don't you?"
"Bastard, what are you talking about?" Chang Yanzhi was completely enraged by Zhong Li. He rolled up his sleeves and rushed towards her.
Zhong Li narrowed her eyes, looking at the man opposite her. If she had thought Chang Yanzhi was polite earlier, his temper now was exactly like his father's.
She slightly sidestepped to avoid Chang Yanzhi's attack and, with a natural movement, kicked him in the backside.
Chang Yanzhi stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
"You!" He looked back, intending to scold Zhong Li for her disrespect, only to find that she had already flashed to his side.
"Did I hit a nerve?" Zhong Li clasped her hands and stared at him coldly.
Chang Yanzhi's Adam's apple bobbed, but he bit his lip tightly, refusing to say a word.
Zhong Li let out a cold laugh. "Does Young Master feel that what I said earlier was offensive?"
Chang Yanzhi still said nothing.
Seeing this, Zhong Li threw a letter she had hidden in her sleeve at him.
Chang Yanzhi was initially confused. It wasn't until he picked it up and used the faint firelight to read the contents of the letter that his body swayed. "This..."
"This is the sixty-third letter your mother wrote to you. I found it under her pillow. I estimate you must have received nearly a hundred letters in the eight years you were away," Zhong Li said, estimating. "I don't know what kind of person you like so much, nor do I know what kind of woman you would dote on, even with the thought of incest. But for someone impossible, you torment your mother like this. She carried you for ten months and went through hell during childbirth. Now that she's dead, and you've returned, your first act isn't to see her, but to visit your father's concubine? Do you think this is reasonable?"
"I..." Chang Yanzhi wanted to argue, but found he couldn't say a single justifiable word.
"If the woman in this courtyard were your wife, and she had more or less conflict with your mother, I would understand your mourning for your late wife and could even seek justice for her. But your current actions, what right do you have? What position do you hold?" Zhong Li looked at Chang Yanzhi and asked again.
"I..."
"I have never been a mother, but I can read your mother's longing for you from her words. You left home for eight years, and in these eight years, you never even sent a word of safety. You knew your father disliked her, yet you left her in this empty courtyard. How could a woman manage on her own?"
"No, it's not true, it's not true!" Zhong Li's three questions completely broke Chang Yanzhi. He covered his head, shaking it as if trying to escape, "I just didn't know how to face her. I couldn't accept that my mother indirectly caused the death of the woman I loved most."