"Li'er, you know, I didn't chase after you because of what happened just now."
Lu Wuxie stood a few steps away from Zhong Li. Today, he had changed his usual attire, wearing a white robe embroidered with silver threads. He was tall and handsome, with an elegant demeanor. Under the moonlight, he appeared even more solitary and cold.
Zhong Li turned around and looked at the man opposite her. Although it was night, she could still see the bruises and swelling on his face.
It seemed that what Lin Jin had said about Lu Wuxie being injured was true.
Her lips parted, and she wanted to say something to inquire and show concern, but not a single word could escape her. She had no identity or standing to ask about the private matters of someone unrelated to her.
"What is it?" she asked.
Lu Wuxie swallowed a few times and said, "Did Ah Wu borrow money from you?"
Zhong Li was stunned and asked, "You..."
"Don't overthink it. I didn't send anyone to follow you. I guessed," Lu Wuxie said quickly, afraid she would cover her face.
Zhong Li nodded and said, "Yes, you're worried that I won't be able to repay the money you gave to Qiong'er. Don't worry, I can write you an IOU right now."
As she spoke, she started to move towards the house to get paper and a pen.
"You know clearly that's not what I meant," Lu Wuxie said anxiously, stepping forward and grabbing Zhong Li's arm.
Zhong Li lowered her gaze to his hand.
Lu Wuxie choked slightly, released her hand, and said, "I apologize, that was impolite."
"How did the Young Master guess that Ah Wu would borrow money from me?" Zhong Li asked, looking at the man's face close at hand, and taking a few steps back hesitantly.
Lu Wuxie looked at her movement, a flicker of hurt in his eyes. After thinking for a while, he said, "I wasn't involved in the case of Huamanlou. I can't give you a specific answer, but I've heard some of the situation. This case is very strange."
"How so?" Zhong Li pressed.
"Have you looked through the case files from three years ago?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Zhong Li thought for a moment and nodded, "The Dali Temple had fewer cases a while ago, so I flipped through them when I had free time, but..."
"Did you find that the last file was missing?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"Yes," Zhong Li nodded, suddenly realizing, "Could this case be related to three years ago..."
"A similar case happened three years ago," Lu Wuxie replied. "At that time, Lan Heng was in Lingshan. Xu Qing took over this case. Because the case was too bizarre, I had it transferred to the Shenxingyuan for a thorough investigation."
"So, this case from three years ago is now in your hands?" Zhong Li asked.
Lu Wuxie nodded and turned to sit under a nearby pavilion.
Zhong Li guessed that he might have a lot to say, so she took a pot of clear tea and two cups from the house and sat down with him.
"Why isn't it clear wine?" Lu Wuxie asked, smelling the tea.
Zhong Li lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Lu Wuxie gazed at her like this, and suddenly remembered how he had come to her residence drunk a few days ago. He pulled at the corners of his mouth apologetically and said, "My drinking manners are actually always very good."
Zhong Li remained silent, only picking up the clear tea in front of her and taking a sip.
Lu Wuxie gave a self-deprecating smile, took out a case file, and placed it on the table, saying, "The deceased three years ago was a woman named Jiayue."
"Still at Huamanlou?" Zhong Li asked as she took it and flipped through it.
Lu Wuxie nodded, "Yes, still at Huamanlou. The case file from three years ago recorded that this woman named Jiayue, dressed in red clothes and red shoes, with makeup like a bride and red painted fingernails, jumped from the third floor of Huamanlou."
"Did she leave a suicide note?" Zhong Li asked.
"Yes," Lu Wuxie said, taking out a reddened letter from his sleeve and handing it to Zhong Li.
Zhong Li opened it to examine it. When she saw the content, she couldn't help but frown. Then she returned to the house and took out the suicide notes from Jin Yi and Qiong'er.
"Look, the content seems to be the same."
Lu Wuxie took them to examine and said, "Yes, the handwriting is clearly written by three different people. There shouldn't be much to investigate regarding the handwriting of the suicide notes. As for the rest of the content, it's all quite similar."
"There are no such coincidences in the world. The reasons for the suicides of three people are the same, and their actions at the time of death are also similar," Zhong Li agreed, continuing to flip through the case file in her hands.
Suddenly, her expression turned serious, and she said, "This..."
"What did you find?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Zhong Li placed the case file between them and pointed to the content, saying, "Jiayue was suffering from 'shixin feng' before her death?"
Lu Wuxie followed her finger and said, "What is recorded in this case file should be correct. At that time, Xu Qing was not yet the Shaoqing, and the Dali Temple was evaluating him. He couldn't be careless with this case."
"Is that so..."
"What? Did you find something?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Zhong Li nodded, walked into the house, and took out an autopsy report from the medicine box, handing it to Lu Wuxie. "This is Qiong'er's."
"Zusanli, Gongsun, Shaohai..." Lu Wuxie read the contents of the autopsy report and said, "These are for treating..."
"These are acupoints for treating 'shixin feng'. If a person has a mental illness, traditional Chinese medicine will prick these acupoints to alleviate or treat it," Zhong Li finished Lu Wuxie's sentence.
"So you think Qiong'er also had 'shixin feng'?" Lu Wuxie asked.
Zhong Li nodded and said, "Generally, mental illnesses are divided into two types: congenital, such as hereditary, and acquired. Of course, there are too many reasons for acquired causes, and it's not what our case is about. I visited Qiong'er's home before, and found that her mother and three younger brothers had very normal mental states, even overly shrewd. Before this, Qiong'er was infatuated with a scholar named Liu and even wanted to reform her ways for that scholar. I can't understand how she could be linked to 'shixin feng' in just a few days."
Lu Wuxie nodded in agreement and picked up the three letters on the table, saying, "Then we'll have to ask these three people why they wrote similar suicide notes for no reason."
"So, find the madam?" Zhong Li finished his sentence.
-------------------------------------
The next day.
Huamanlou.
The madam looked at the woman sitting in front of the rosewood table carved with clouds and said obsequiously, "Officer Zhong, this establishment has been sealed for three days now. The people in my brothel also need to eat, don't they? What about the matter of unsealing it..."
Zhong Li glanced at Hua Yao, who was still having lunch opposite her. They had come to Huamanlou early in the morning. Now that enough time had passed and the madam had finally lost her patience, she said, "Madam, I have a question for you, and I hope you answer truthfully."
The madam nodded. She truly admired Zhong Li now. What official had such patience? She had been coming and going from her Huamanlou for three consecutive days, preventing her from even doing any clandestine business.
"Jiayue, she was one of your people, right?"
"What did the official say?" The madam was stunned, her sallow eyes wide.
"I'm asking about Jiayue."
"Ah!" As soon as Zhong Li finished speaking, the madam acted as if she had seen a ghost, hiding under the table, afraid to come out.