At noon, the Prince Xian’s manor.
Zhong Li emerged from the secret chamber. The golden nanmu table before her was already laden with the midday meal.
“How was it?” Lu Wuxie asked, blowing on his congee until it was lukewarm before placing it in front of Zhong Li.
Zhong Li, spoon in hand, ate her congee as she replied, “Yin Shuang is taking excellent care of Wang Mei. I’ve given the child a general check-up, and her physical condition is fine in all aspects. I heard that Physician Wu from the Wu family came to see Lin Jin early this morning. I’ll go take a look later as well.”
Lu Wuxie nodded. “Ever since Lin Jin’s incident, I’ve had people from the Wu family look after her. The external injuries are mostly healed, but there are still no signs of her waking up.”
Hearing this, Zhong Li’s eyes dimmed. She had been checking on Lin Jin’s condition whenever she had free time. Lin Jin had suffered a head injury, and coupled with significant blood loss, her body’s blood supply was insufficient. While her body had recovered, whether she would wake up remained an unknown.
“Tomorrow my holiday ends, and I’ll be preparing to attend court,” she said.
Lu Wuxie nodded. “The case of the ‘Qia Te Cao’ is almost fully investigated, but do you know what I discovered at the Beitian Nunnery?”
Zhong Li shook her head. Ever since she had solved the case, the follow-up at Beitian Nunnery had been handed over to the Judicial Inspection Office. Lately, she had been busy with Hua Yao’s matters, so she was actually unaware of the case’s current stage or progress.
Lu Wuxie casually took something from his robe and placed it on the table.
At first, Zhong Li glanced at it cursorily, looking at Lu Wuxie with disbelief.
Only when she received his nod to open it did she pick it up.
It was a woman’s肚兜 (dùdōu – a type of bodice). The way it was folded indicated it had been used. Zhong Li knew Lu Wuxie’s character. A normal person would assume this 肚兜 belonged to Miao Yun or Miao Hui. However, after Zhong Li opened it and saw what it looked like, her eyes narrowed. “This… isn’t this Tian Lianxue’s?”
If she remembered correctly, Lu Wuxie should have returned the 肚兜 that Tian Lianxue had previously given him. How could this item now be found at Beitian Nunnery?
“Any thoughts?” Lu Wuxie asked.
“It is indeed Tian Lianxue’s, as the embroidery needlework on this 肚兜 is very common and cannot be bought in ordinary places. But you said this case is related to Tian Lianxue, and I just don’t feel it’s that simple.”
“I feel the same way! After all, apart from this 肚兜, there are no other details at Beitian Nunnery that relate to Tian Lianxue.” Lu Wuxie said, casually placing the 肚兜 into the hands of a nearby attendant and gesturing for him to take it away. “But how did you come to this conclusion, since you haven’t been to the scene again?”
Zhong Li put down her soup spoon. “I know my statement is not rigorous, but Mo Cang is different. I can speak freely.”
Lu Wuxie smiled and clasped her hand.
Zhong Li said, “I always feel that the Tian Lianxue at Hua Man Lou is not the Tian Lianxue we initially met.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Wuxie’s gaze deepened.
-------------------------------------
Two months later.
“It’s really cold as winter sets in.”
“Yes, carrying all this cargo from south to north. If it weren’t for that little bit of money to feed our families, who would be willing to come out and suffer like this.”
On the path from An Ding County to Jin Cheng, two peddlers, their backs laden with goods, walked against the biting wind, chatting.
“Huh, what’s that?” A shorter peddler, with sharp eyes, faintly spotted something in the woods not far away.
The other peddler squinted in the direction he pointed. After a long while, he said, “Hiss… it looks like a carriage.”
“That carriage looks quite luxurious. Why is it stopped there? Where are the horses pulling it?” the shorter man asked.
The taller one replied, “How would I know? Let’s go. It’s too cold, and we’ll reach the inn ahead. We can warm ourselves by the fire.”
The shorter man nodded, preparing to follow him. After a few steps, he felt unwilling to give up. He tugged at the taller man’s sleeve and said, “That carriage looks luxurious, but it has no horses. Something must have happened. Why don’t we go take a look? Perhaps we can find some valuable items.”
The taller man hesitated and did not immediately agree.
The shorter man fanned the flames, saying, “Let’s go take a look. There are two of us. We won’t lose a piece of flesh by looking.”
“Alright!” The taller man was persuaded. He tightened the load on his back and walked towards the carriage.
It was already cold in winter, and the withered trees and fallen leaves on the path outside Jin Cheng offered no shelter. A gust of wind blew, making the two men feel as if they were being slapped by a human palm, the cold biting them painfully.
“Hiss… we’re not there yet. It looks close, but it’s quite far when you walk,” the taller man, who hadn’t wanted to come in the first place, grumbled a little.
The shorter man shot him a glance and continued pulling his sleeve forward. “Almost there.”
Shortly after he spoke, the two reached the carriage.
From afar, the two hadn’t gotten a clear view of the carriage’s style. Now, seeing it, their eyes widened in unison.
The carriage was gilded, with two rows of agate inlaid on the dark lacquer, making the entire carriage exceptionally beautiful.
Where the horses were tethered, the ropes had been cut. The cuts were neat, indicating that someone had deliberately led the horses away.
“You know what’s strange,” the taller peddler said, circling the carriage. “The carriage looks so new from the outside, with no dents. Why would the carriage owner take the horses and leave the carriage?”
The shorter man, knife in hand, stood on the carriage shaft and had already begun prying off the agate from the carriage. As he stuffed them into his pocket, he said, “Why bother with so many questions? Perhaps something happened, and the carriage was inconvenient. Hurry up and help me. I can’t reach the agate on top; you need to climb up.”
The taller man heard this and walked over to the shorter man. After roughly estimating the height, he tugged at the shorter man. “Then you come down, and I’ll go up.”
The shorter man nodded and slowly began to climb down. “Agreed, I discovered this carriage, so we’ll split it three and seven.”
Before the taller man had even climbed onto the carriage, he heard the shorter man say, “Without me, you wouldn’t even be able to take the agate from the top. Four and six!”
The shorter man thought about it and felt that the other man had a point. He nodded, signifying his agreement.
At this moment, the taller man was busy, and the shorter man, tired from a day’s travel, found a rock to rest on.
Just as he was about to pull the agate from his pocket to count them, he suddenly saw a large puddle of water beneath the carriage.
Curiously, the shorter man walked under the carriage and discovered that the water was flowing out from the gaps in the carriage’s wooden planks. He mused for a moment, wiped some of the water onto his hand, and licked it.
A strong腥味 (xīngwèi – fishy smell) assailed his nostrils.
However, instead of the usual disgusted reaction of a normal person, the frown on his rugged face broke into a smile.
He quickly called out to the taller man, who was still busy above, “Do you know what I discovered?”
The taller man shook his head. “What? Did you find a treasure trove in this carriage?”
“Not at all!” the shorter man waved his hand. “It’s a fishy smell!”
“What?” the taller man asked, somewhat confused.
The shorter man pointed into the carriage. “There are sea fish in this carriage. It’s the smell of sea fish. With such a large puddle of water, it’s likely a carriage full of sea fish. Sea fish are sold at exorbitant prices in Jin Cheng. We’re rich!”
After he finished speaking, without waiting for the taller man to come down and see for himself, he excitedly lifted the carriage curtain and climbed inside.
The taller man shook his head at his eagerness, sighed, and put the last agate into his pocket. Just as he was about to jump down from the shaft, the carriage suddenly jolted, and he nearly lost his footing and fell.
Just as he was about to shout a few reprimands at the shorter man inside,
A heart-wrenching scream came from within.
At the same time, the carriage shook again. The shorter man jumped out of the carriage as if his backside were on fire, falling clumsily to the ground.
“What’s wrong?” the taller man asked, clearly annoyed.
“Na… no…” the shorter man stammered, somewhat shaken. He swallowed a few times with difficulty. “Naked… female corpse… no… it’s a female ghost, oh my!”