The people from the Dali Temple carried Wu Xiuchu's body back to the autopsy chamber.
Zhong Li sat in the carriage, gazing distractedly at the gradually receding Huanxi Building.
The Dali Temple officials had been busy at Huanxi Building all afternoon, but none could determine why Wu Xiuchu had died in Wei Fu's room, nor why Wei Fu was in the adjacent one.
The crowd of constables trailing behind the carriage all kept their heads down, looking dispirited.
Zhong Li retracted her gaze, scanned the faces of those behind her, and remained silent.
"Have some water." Lan Heng, unable to bear seeing the woman opposite him so dejected, poured her a cup of clear tea.
Zhong Li did not take it, appearing not to have heard his concern.
Lan Heng sighed, placed the cup on the table, and said, "Li'er, don't torment yourself like this. The Dali Temple's cold cases are already piled up in a warehouse; one more won't hurt. Being too suffocated is bad for your health."
Zhong Li heard Lan Heng this time.
She picked up the cup on the table, drank the water within in one go, and then shook her head, "My Lord misunderstands."
Lan Heng was taken aback.
"Wu Xiuchu's death, and Wei Fu's situation, I've already figured them out. There's just one thing I don't quite understand."
Lan Heng, hearing that Zhong Li had solved this locked-room mystery, raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Li'er has figured it out?"
"Yes," Zhong Li nodded. "It's just that the evidence is insufficient, so the conclusion cannot be finalized."
"Then what is it you don't understand?" Lan Heng pressed.
Zhong Li thought for a moment and said, "The patrol rules of the Dali Temple constables."
"What do you mean?"
"By rights, Wei Fu needed protection. Why wasn't there a constable guarding her door?" Zhong Li asked.
Lan Heng understood upon hearing this. "Xu Qing was protecting her, but he unexpectedly fell asleep. As for the others, most of the new recruits Xu Qing brought this time. Dali Temple regulations stipulate that newcomers lacking experience cannot protect victims. On one hand, it's to prevent them from making mistakes, and on the other, it's to prevent them from underestimating the danger and losing their lives."
Zhong Li suddenly understood. During the previous dynasty, when Lin Guo's Dali Temple Minister Si Yanxiu and his wife were ambushed while out, over a dozen subordinates were lost, the vast majority of whom were new recruits. Therefore, after Lan Heng joined the Dali Temple, he established this rule, hoping to minimize casualties.
"In other words, when Liu Wu knocked, the second floor of Huanxi Building was unguarded. By the time Xu Qing went down to call for people, these individuals only then arrived." She asked after thinking it over.
"Yes!" Lan Heng nodded. "However, they are not to blame for the case going awry. Huanxi Building showed no signs of external intrusion."
"Of course, there couldn't have been outsiders," Zhong Li's lips curled into a smile. "Because it was the thief crying 'stop thief,' how could there be outsiders?"
"'The thief crying stop thief?'" Lan Heng was surprised.
Zhong Li did not elaborate further, instead gazing at the streetscape of Wenchang Street and said, "Just now, I recall Lin Jin came to find you when we left Huanxi Building?"
Lan Heng nodded. "Yes, he had come to the Dali Temple looking for me. I wasn't in, and the constables said I was at Huanxi Building, so he came there."
"What did he say?"
Lan Heng's lips twitched slightly. "It's good news. The fifty-ninth missing servant from Prince Xian's estate has been found."
The next day, in the Dali Temple's criminal investigation chamber.
Zhong Li looked at the small house servant kneeling on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, and asked, "Ah Qi, was it you who let Yuan Shang into Prince Xian's estate?"
Ah Qi glanced up at the person opposite him. He recognized this person as the coroner the young master had brought from Anding County, but he had been a man when he first entered the estate; when had he become a woman?
"I'm asking you!" Zhong Li shot a cold reprimand at the dazed Xiao Liuzi.
Ah Qi quickly came to his senses and said tremblingly, "Ye... yes."
"Then why did you flee?" Zhong Li asked again.
This time, Ah Qi's floodgates opened.
He sighed at length and said, "Since people had died, how would this lowly one dare to stay in Prince Xian's estate any longer?"
"People died, the matter escalated. You know how to evade. Do you understand that as a servant, leading a villain into the master's residence is also punishable by law?" Zhong Li snorted coldly.
"Villain... villain?" Ah Qi was taken aback; he clearly did not understand Zhong Li's meaning.
Seeing his reaction, Zhong Li roughly guessed that Ah Qi had quietly fled Prince Xian's estate around the time Xing'er discovered Yuan Shang's body. He was unaware of subsequent events, such as Ping'er's death, which was why he was surprised that Yuan Shang had become a villain.
"He violated Ping'er. You don't know about this, do you?" she said.
Upon hearing this, Ah Qi finally understood why the Dali Temple was sparing no effort to find him.
"Alas!" He pounded his chest and stamped his feet in remorse. "If I had known it would turn out this way, even with a hundred times the courage, even with a thousand taels of gold, I would not have gone to that gambling house!"
"Gambling house? What does Yuan Shang's matter have to do with a gambling house?" Zhong Li asked with confusion.
Ah Qi sighed and organized his thoughts. "Actually, I didn't know Yuan Shang before. I met him in the Bole Gambling House. At that time, I don't know how, but without anyone noticing, I felt like gambling a bit.
My luck was truly bad. In just a few hours, the money I had saved over several months was all lost to my opponent, Yuan Shang.
I even signed an IOU at the time."
As he spoke, he sighed incessantly, as if he truly regretted his choice. "However, Yuan Shang did not urge me to repay the debt during that time. Just when I thought he had forgotten, he suddenly found me at the entrance of Prince Xian's estate a few days ago."
"Found you? Was it about entering Prince Xian's estate?" Zhong Li asked.
Ah Qi nodded and replied, "I didn't know Yuan Shang liked Ping'er before. It wasn't until he found me that time and asked me to lead him into Prince Xian's estate in exchange for clearing my debt, that I realized Yuan Shang, this renowned performer at Huanxi Building, had never married or had children.
And the only person he fancied was Ping'er from Prince Xian's estate."
"Since his purpose in entering Prince Xian's estate was to see Ping'er, did they have any so-called vows of eternal love?" Zhong Li asked.
Ah Qi pondered for a moment and shook his head. "Whether the two of them had vows of eternal love, I don't know. All I know is that Yuan Shang wanted to see Ping'er this time because he wanted to marry her. Judging by his tone, he seemed to have a large sum of money to give Ping'er as a betrothal gift."
"A large sum? How much?" Zhong Li pressed.
Xiao Liuzi bit his lip, counted on his fingers, and finally held up five fingers.
"Fifty taels?" Zhong Li guessed.
Xiao Liuzi shook his head. "Five thousand taels."
Upon hearing this, the usually calm Zhong Li's pupils contracted slightly. So much money was enough to buy half of Huanxi Building, and Yuan Shang was merely an actor; how could he have so much money?
"With so much money, did he win it gambling?" Zhong Li asked.
"How could he!" Ah Qi waved his hand, looking disdainful. "If Yuan Shang had that ability, he would have been infamous at the Bole Gambling House long ago. That time he gambled with me was the first time. This fellow is truly lucky."
Although Zhong Li disliked gambling, she knew a little about it. There was no such thing as fairness in gambling; the dealers were merely tools for the gambling houses to make money, engaged in the profession of cheating.
As for Yuan Shang's matters, she vaguely felt that it was not that simple.
"Miss Zhong," Ah Qi saw that Zhong Li was no longer reprimanding him, scratched his head, and gave a simple laugh. "I've said all I know. Considering we knew each other before, could you let me leave?"
Zhong Li was pulled back to reality by this call. She glanced at the man opposite her and asked, "You want to leave?"
"Yes," Ah Qi bowed subserviently, his demeanor humble and cautious.
Zhong Li picked up the clear tea before her and took a sip. "Leaving is possible, but without you leading Yuan Shang into Prince Xian's estate, the young master or Ping'er would not have been implicated. Therefore, this punishment..."
"Miss Zhong," Before Zhong Li could finish, Ah Qi's face fell, and he wailed, "If I had known things would escalate to this extent, I wouldn't have done such a foolish thing. I beg you, let me off the hook!"
"Is there no one behind you directing you?" Zhong Li ignored Ah Qi's plea and voiced her doubts.
"No, how could there be?" Ah Qi knew he had fallen into a hole he couldn't get out of, and he prostrated himself on the ground, begging, "Miss Zhong, I actually know one more thing. As long as I can redeem myself and be exempted from punishment, I will tell you everything without reservation."