Zhong Li knew that the penal laws of the Southern Yue Kingdom were cruel, especially after Lu Jing'an ascended the throne and resurrected the positions of tyrannical officials.
"Speak," Zhong Li said, looking at A Qi. "I will plead with Lord Lan for you later."
Upon hearing this, A Qi kowtowed gratefully several times and said, "This humble servant heard that the Liu Family Troupe at Huanxi Lou is having internal strife lately."
Zhong Li narrowed her eyes at this, awaiting his next words.
"Shen Hong and Yuan Shang have always been the pillars of the Liu Family Troupe. It seems that since last year, they have been prone to boycotting performances. I heard that the troupe leader, Liu Wu, is almost treating them like lords," A Qi said.
Could such a thing be happening?
Zhong Li pondered for a moment and asked, "In the Southern Yue Kingdom, there aren't too few famous opera troupes like the Liu Family Troupe. Since Shen Hong and Yuan Shang no longer wish to be in the Liu Family Troupe, why don't they just leave? What is the purpose of making things difficult for a troupe leader?"
A Qi, after listening to Zhong Li's analysis, nodded in agreement. "At first, I thought the same. After all, renowned performers like Shen Hong and Yuan Shang can make a living anywhere. However, I also heard something else.
It seems Shen Hong and Yuan Shang have discovered some secret about the troupe leader Liu, and the reason they haven't left is because they intend to treat Huanxi Lou as their long-term source of income."
As soon as A Qi finished speaking, Zhong Li suddenly recalled the small black box she had found on Yuan Shang, which contained a golden floral hair ornament.
The item seemed small and made with little material, but those who knew would realize that this golden hair ornament was not cheap. After all, in ancient times, such exquisite craftsmanship for making gold leaf was quite costly.
Moreover, as A Qi had just said, the reason Yuan Shang went to find Ping'er was that he had saved enough money for a wife.
It seemed she still had to make another trip to Huanxi Lou to find clues.
The evening sun cast a particularly red glow on the willow alley of Jincheng. Autumn geese circled the sky once before disappearing into the sunset clouds.
Zhong Li, dressed in a plain white gown, stood at the entrance of Huanxi Lou.
Since the death of Wu Xiuchu had yet to be investigated, and with Shen Hong and Yuan Shang also dead, Huanxi Lou was no longer bustling. The so-called Liu Family Troupe was merely a name.
Zhong Li bypassed the Dali Temple guards at the entrance and walked directly into Huanxi Lou.
The building was terrifyingly silent at the moment, with only the sounds of revelry from Huaman Lou at the alley's entrance reaching her ears.
Zhong Li stepped onto the wooden stairs and ascended to the second floor. She hadn't noticed it before when the place was lively, but the stairs were already creaking and groaning loudly due to disrepair.
Like most people, she disliked such noises, so she moved her steps more gently.
Slowly, she arrived at the room where Wu Xiuchu had died. She carefully pulled off the seal and pushed the door open.
The private room was simply furnished. The only difference from other private rooms was a bronze mirror specifically for Wei Fu.
Zhong Li walked to the wardrobe, pulled open the door, and the scent of rouge and powder belonging to Wei Fu immediately filled her nostrils.
As Liu Wu had said, most of Wei Fu's clothes were white, and any other colors were pale shades like lotus root pink.
Zhong Li's fingertips brushed over each garment, and suddenly a crisp sound accompanied her movement.
She froze, quickly looking down. It was a pair of jade earrings.
How could this thing be here?
Zhong Li examined the earrings closely and suddenly realized something. She hurried out of the private room and straight to Wu Xiuchu's room on the third floor.
On the day Wu Xiuchu died, the Dali Temple investigators had examined this room. As it was not the scene of the crime, the room's door had been left ajar, not sealed.
Zhong Li pushed the door open and entered.
Wu Xiuchu's room was much larger than Wei Fu's. It was divided into an outer and inner chamber; the outer was for receiving guests, and the inner was the bedroom. She went through the beaded curtain and directly to the dressing table in the bedroom. As the jewelry box was opened, all of Wu Xiuchu's belongings came into view.
Zhong Li's lips curved into a smile. It seemed the evidence for the secret murder case had been found.
"Who... who is in there?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded from outside the door.
Zhong Li froze. Before she could react, the voice spoke again, "Is it Miss Xiuchu? Is... Miss Xiuchu back?"
She followed the sound, passing through the beaded curtain to see an elderly woman in mourning weeds walking unsteadily. Her eyesight seemed poor, and she squinted at Zhong Li.
Zhong Li had not seen this woman before. However, based on her familiarity with the room and the fact that she called out Wu Xiuchu's name, Zhong Li could guess that this old woman was likely an elder from Huanxi Lou.
"Grandma, you've mistaken me. I am a coroner from the Dali Temple, not Miss Wu," Zhong Li said, moving around the bedroom to the guest area.
Upon hearing this, the old woman's hopeful gaze instantly dimmed. She showed a look of pity and sighed, "I apologize, young lady. This old servant is blind and cannot see. Please do not be offended."
With that, the old woman turned to leave.
Zhong Li looked at the old woman's whitewashed and hollow eyeballs and then noticed the dust clinging to her footsteps. She quickly asked, "Grandma, you must be an elder of Huanxi Lou, aren't you? How long have you been here?"
The old woman paused upon hearing this, thought for a moment, and said, "How long has it been? Perhaps... twenty? Thirty years? Or forty years?"
Zhong Li watched her back, faintly guessing that she was counting on her fingers.
"Earlier, I heard Grandma call Miss Wu Xiuchu 'Miss Xiuchu.' May I ask, Grandma, what is your relationship with the flower-clad Miss Wu, or perhaps you are friends?"
"Friends?" The old woman trembled at this unprecedented address and quickly turned back, waving her hands. "This old servant is merely a servant. How can I be on equal footing with the masters?"
Masters?
Zhong Li looked at the old woman, her eyes filled with confusion.
"If I recall correctly, Miss Wu was part of the Liu Family Troupe. When did she become a so-called master?"
"What Liu Family Troupe? There is no Liu Family Troupe here at all!" Upon hearing Zhong Li's question, the old woman's previously sad expression turned to anger. She stamped her foot in indignation and said, "This place originally belonged to the Wu family. Liu Wu is merely a dog of the Wu family!"
Zhong Li did not expect that such a simple probing question would cause the woman before her to become so agitated. She knew she had found the origin of all the cases and, feeling excited, stepped forward a few paces, grabbing the old woman's clothes. "Grandma, what do you know? Please tell me."
The old woman seemed hesitant.
Zhong Li quickly added, "Grandma, I am from the Dali Temple, here to investigate the case of Wu Xiuchu. Please, feel free to tell me."
Saying this, she took off her waist token and placed it into the old woman's hand.
The old woman felt it with her hand and then, with a 'plop,' knelt on the ground.
Zhong Li was somewhat bewildered by her action.
Just as she was about to step forward to help the old woman up,
The old woman, seemingly stubborn, said to Zhong Li, "So you are an official young lady. I can tell you everything you want to know, but this old servant has only one request."
Zhong Li retracted her hand from the old woman's clothes and awaited her next words.
"I only ask that you bring the culprits to justice, to comfort the spirit of Miss Xiuchu in heaven."