Half an hour later in the main hall.
Zhong Li glanced at the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Ding seated nearby, her gaze falling on the woman opposite her.
Dressed in a plain linen garment and an藕色 (lotus root color) fine jacket, with her hair pinned up and adorned with a jade hairpin, wasn't this the standard attire for a married woman?
"Are you Tan Ling?" she asked, her brow furrowed slightly.
Indeed, the corpse was not Tan Ling's.
Tan Ling nodded and knelt on the ground, saying, "This concubine was once a maidservant in the Ding household, Tan Ling."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li looked at Mrs. Ding.
Mrs. Ding suppressed her emotional excitement and nodded at her.
"Concubine? So you are truly married," Zhong Li remarked, continuing her questions.
Tan Ling knew some things could not be concealed and truthfully replied, "Replying to Lord Si Zheng, this concubine married several months ago."
"Several months ago?" Before Zhong Li could ask further, Mr. Ding could no longer hold back and sternly demanded, "Tan Ling, what is the meaning of this? Your deed of sale is still with the Ding household, how could you get married?"
Tan Ling stole a glance at Mr. Ding, and as she lowered her gaze, tears of grievance splattered onto the ground.
Zhong Li looked at her, sensing she had her difficulties, and inquired, "You dare not return to the Ding household, you even gave up your deed of sale, is this related to your young lady?"
Hearing this, Tan Ling nodded, timidly glancing at everyone present, and said, "This servant is foolish and lost the young lady. This servant was afraid of being beaten half to death upon returning to the Ding household, so... so... so I fled Yongcheng to the neighboring county and married a blacksmith for a stable life."
"You!" Mr. Ding's anger flared upon hearing this. He pointed at Tan Ling and rebuked, "What do you mean by 'lost the young lady,' what do you mean by 'stable life'? Are you stable? Where is my Lan'er? Tell me, where did you take Lan'er?"
Tan Ling trembled all over, her arms shaking as she stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.
Zhong Li watched her, noting Tan Ling's timid, evasive, and cowardly nature. Mr. Ding's mere raised voice had startled her so much; it was evident that if Ding Xialan had wanted to leave the Ding family, Tan Ling would have been utterly incapable of stopping her. As for Mr. Ding asking Tan Ling for the person, it was naturally fruitless.
"Tan Ling," she took a deep breath and softened her voice slightly, "Tell me, when was the last time you saw Ding Xialan?"
Tan Ling tremulously wiped away her tears and began to think.
During this time, Mr. Ding grew anxious, attempting to urge her on multiple times, but Zhong Li stopped him.
After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Tan Ling said, "The young lady always disagreed with the marriage arranged by the head of the family. The young lady was spirited and unwilling to yield, and she quarreled with the head of the family many times to avoid the marriage."
Zhong Li looked at Mr. Ding.
Mr. Ding sighed and nodded.
"Continue," Zhong Li said.
"Once, the young lady argued with the head of the family and ran out alone. When she returned, she said she wanted to leave the Ding family," Tan Ling recalled, speaking slowly. "At first, this servant thought it was the young lady's momentary outburst and didn't take it seriously. Who would have thought that the next day, when this servant awoke, it was the young lady who woke her."
"What did she want to do?" Zhong Li had a vague premonition.
"The young lady had me change into one of her dresses to impersonate her and deceive the head of the family, while she herself prepared to run away from home," Tan Ling said.
"You impersonated your young lady, and no one saw through it?" Zhong Li asked, looking at the Ding couple.
Tan Ling shook her head. "Guests had arrived at the manor that day. This servant was timid and feared that if I failed to impersonate the young lady, it would implicate her and I would also be beaten. So, I decided to go find the young lady."
"Do you know where she went?" Zhong Li hadn't expected Tan Ling to reveal such a crucial clue.
Tan Ling first nodded, then suddenly remembered something and shook her head like a rattle drum.
"This servant doesn't know much about the young lady's affairs. The young lady always found this servant stupid and didn't want to say much to me. But since this servant has always followed the young lady, I naturally know a little. The young lady isn't actually running away from home, she's actually..." As Tan Ling said this, she secretly glanced at Old Master Ding. Seeing his seemingly restrained expression, she continued, "She's actually going to see her lover."
"Lover?" Mr. and Mrs. Ding exclaimed in unison.
Tan Ling nodded. "This servant knows somewhat. The reason the young lady resisted the marriage is because she already had someone she fancied."
"Oh, then do you know who that person is?" Zhong Li pressed, feeling that this lover was a key clue.
To her disappointment, Tan Ling didn't know much about Ding Xialan's affairs. "Who that person is, the young lady never said. However... this servant vaguely heard her murmuring, saying she had fallen for someone she shouldn't have."
"Fallen for someone she shouldn't have?" Zhong Li mused, her mind racing. The people one shouldn't like typically fell into a few categories: forbidden love between siblings, a married man, or a family enemy. She had investigated Ding Xianglan these past few days. Forbidden love was unlikely. That left...
"You haven't met that person either?" Zhong Li asked.
Tan Ling nodded her head vigorously.
"I snuck out of the Ding household and wanted to follow the young lady, but this servant searched for a whole day and never saw the young lady again. Fearing punishment, I left the Ding household. Now, half a year has passed, and I never imagined the young lady still hasn't been found. It is this servant's fault for not keeping a close watch on her. Please punish me, head of the family." Saying this, she repeatedly kowtowed to the Ding couple.
Mrs. Ding was too enraged to speak. Mr. Ding, with better emotional resilience, endured for a while before saying,
"Tan Ling, you were merely a laundry maid in the rear courtyard of the Ding family. When the mistress promoted you to the status of a head maid, she must have seen your loyalty and honesty. Tell me, have you spoken a single false word to the Si Zheng just now?"
Tan Ling shook her head frantically and raised three fingers, saying, "No, Tan Ling has not spoken a single false word. If I have, may lightning strike me!"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Ding closed his eyes deeply.
Mrs. Ding pursed her lips, holding back tears.
With Tan Ling's statement, everyone understood that even with Ding Xialan's utmost indulgence, after so much time had passed without any news, she was likely in grave danger.
At the hour of the morning muster, Zhong Li rode with Lu Wuxie back to the inn.
"I heard that the Crown Prince bought Tan Ling's deed of sale from Mr. Ding and returned it to her?" Zhong Li recalled Tan Ling kowtowing and bowing to Lu Wuxie earlier.
Lu Wuxie casually poured a cup of clear water and took a sip. "Yes. After all, she is a pitiable woman. Since she is already married, why trouble her further? Six months of hardship and anxiety are enough."
Zhong Li looked at Lu Wuxie deeply. The longer she spent with him, the more she realized he was actually a gentle soul.
"Now that the corpse is not Tan Ling's, and it's also not Ding Xialan's, the case seems to have returned to its starting point," she said, looking at the missing person record of Ding Xialan in her hand, her heart filled with complexity.
On one hand, she was happy that Tan Ling was alive and well. On the other hand, the longer the case dragged on, the more everyone's guard would lower, and the murderer would certainly have opportunities to strike again.
"Lier," Lu Wuxie said, looking at her furrowed brow. After a moment of thought, he added, "You remember Tan Ling saying she often followed Ding Xialan and guessed that Ding Xialan went to see her lover. Even if she doesn't know who this lover is, she must know the places Ding Xialan frequented. Perhaps we can start from there?"