“You think Meng Yuan has a problem?”
When Zhong Li returned to her room, Lu Wuxie had prepared food and was waiting for her.
Picking up her wooden chopsticks, she ate while recounting everything that had happened at the Meng Mansion that day.
“Does the Heir think it’s problematic if a person has two different habits?” Zhong Li asked.
Lu Wuxie peeled a shrimp and placed it in Zhong Li’s bowl. “Are you referring to Meng Yuan’s tea-drinking habits, Li’er?”
“Not just tea-drinking, but also his habit of changing clothes. Whenever he drinks green tea, he wears simpler attire, and when he drinks red tea, he dresses more vibrantly,” Zhong Li said.
Lu Wuxie recalled Zhong Li’s words and thought that it did seem to be the case. “However, Meng Yuan’s behavior is understandable.”
“How so?”
“Didn’t Magistrate Dong mention earlier that the current residence of the Meng family was previously owned by merchants?”
Zhong Li nodded; she remembered this.
“Merchants have such customs, saying that red wards off evil,” Lu Wuxie said, then changed the subject. “I heard that when Meng Yuan married Feng Niannian, his mother was still alive.”
“By the Heir’s implication, his mother was alive when he married Feng Niannian, but is no longer so?” Zhong Li asked.
“One could say that. Of course, I only heard this. His mother did not quite agree to the marriage with the Feng family. Meng Yuan was originally going to give up, but by chance, his mother suddenly died, and only then did he marry Feng Niannian in the same year,” Lu Wuxie said.
“The same year?” Zhong Li thought she misheard and asked.
After all, with a mother’s passing, from a modern perspective, one would at least observe a year of mourning without celebrations. Yet, Meng Yuan married in the same year. What was that supposed to mean?
“So, I heard the Feng residence had no celebratory fanfare, and Feng Niangnian and Meng Yuan merely went through the motions,” Lu Wuxie said.
Zhong Li pondered for a moment, then said, “If that is the case, could the Heir help me with one more thing?”
“Investigating someone again?” Lu Wuxie looked at her and smiled.
Zhong Li nodded and said two words: “Yu Zhen.”
The next day.
Zhong Li arrived early in the morning at the small stall on Fenghe Street that sold oil cakes.
To be honest, this fried oil cake stall was truly popular. It was barely past the hour of Chen, and she was already the tenth person in line.
However, her objective was not the oil cakes, but to wait for someone who was buying oil cakes.
“Have you heard? The Meng Mansion is haunted again yesterday.”
“No way? The year has just begun, and the New Year beast hasn’t even left, yet their place is already so eerie?”
“Who knows? I heard someone passing by the Meng family’s backyard late at night saw a female ghost dressed in red through the gap in the door. That person seemed to be drunk and was urinating by the back door of the Meng mansion. He was so scared that he held it in midway.”
“And then?”
“And then? What else? Isn’t this eerie enough? Do you need a ‘then’?”
...
Standing in line, Zhong Li heard two old wet nurses in servant attire behind her incessantly discussing the Meng family, their talk becoming increasingly supernatural, even invoking the Jade Emperor and the seductive Daji.
She shook her head, somewhat dismissively. She knew Feng Niannian particularly favored the color red. Perhaps there was some commotion in the mansion late at night, and someone was moving around wearing such attire.
“Boss, are there any more oil cakes?”
A voice broke Zhong Li’s thoughts.
The voice sounded familiar, and she turned towards the source. She saw Bi’er standing at the fried oil cake stall, inquiring.
“Look at this long line. There must be none left this morning. Come back this afternoon!” The boss was busy with business and had no time to attend to Bi’er, waving her away.
“This afternoon? My lady wants one right now, how can…”
“Bi’er, what are you buying? I’ll give you mine,” Zhong Li called out, seeing the somewhat flustered Bi’er.
Upon hearing this, Bi’er looked at Zhong Li with joy and thanked her profusely.
“Thank you, Temple Magistrate,” Bi’er said, holding the oil cake and following Zhong Li, beaming. She hadn’t bought the wrong thing this time and had even gotten a favor. She was incredibly happy.
Zhong Li waved her hand.
“Oh, right, Temple Magistrate, you gave me yours, what will you eat?” Bi’er, though clumsy, was not foolish. Seeing that it was still early, she asked.
Zhong Li did not answer. She disliked such cloyingly sweet things. She was only lining up to wait for Bi’er.
“It’s fine, I’ll buy some next time.”
“Temple Magistrate Zhong, you are so kind,” Bi’er said, her smile growing even wider. “You helped me escape the blame for breaking a vase, then you bought the oil cakes I mistakenly purchased, and now you’ve given your oil cakes to me. Bi’er doesn’t know how to repay you.”
“It’s nothing, just a small favor,” Zhong Li replied, shaking her head. After walking for a while, she suddenly asked, “By the way, do you know if your mistress had a maid named Yu Zhen before?”
“Yes, I do!” Bi’er nodded. “That was a maid who grew up with my mistress’s mother, like sisters!”
“Then do you know where Yu Zhen went?” Zhong Li asked.
As soon as Zhong Li finished speaking, Bi’er’s steps faltered. She looked deeply at Zhong Li and said, “Temple Magistrate Zhong, why do you ask this?”
Zhong Li narrowed her eyes, deciding not to hide anything. “I’m investigating a case. After all, the female corpse dug up in the southern suburbs still has no name, doesn’t it?”
Upon hearing this, Bi’er felt a chill run through her heart. She clutched the oil cake, preparing to leave.
Fortunately, Zhong Li was quick-handed. She grabbed Bi’er’s shoulder and said, “Bi’er, do you know something?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Bi’er shook her head frantically, preparing to run away.
But how could she be a match for Zhong Li? Zhong Li’s hand applied just a little force, and Bi’er’s shoulder ached so much that she could not move.
“Temple Magistrate Zhong, this is…”
“Bi’er, I advise you to answer truthfully, or the yamen will be your destination,” Zhong Li sneered.
Bi’er bit her lip, looking as if she dared not speak. After struggling for a long time, she finally said, “Temple Magistrate Zhong, I, Bi’er, am too foolish. I can’t find a job with more silver than the Meng mansion. Otherwise, even if beaten to death, I wouldn’t stay there.”
“How so?” Zhong Li felt there was a lead. Perhaps the case would soon be cleared up.
“Actually, my mistress is ill,” Bi’er said, pulling Zhong Li to a secluded spot and speaking softly.
“How so?” Zhong Li pressed.
“Temple Magistrate Zhong, I’ll tell you, there’s a mysterious secret room in the Meng family,” Bi’er said, glancing around to ensure no one was paying attention to them.
Zhong Li narrowed her eyes, a vague premonition of something bad forming in her heart.
“At first, I didn’t know. One time, I saw my mistress wearing a red dress and entering the secret room. When she came out, she was completely dazed. I wanted to call her and ask if she was feeling unwell, but my master discovered me and warned me not to speak of it. Afterwards, he gave me a gold ingot,” Bi’er said, gesturing with her hands the size of the gold.
Zhong Li looked at the fist-sized ingot. Compared to modern times, it would be the weight of a large gold bar. She knew then that Feng Niannian’s situation was far from simple, otherwise, Meng Yuan wouldn’t have spent so lavishly.
“Then I followed my mistress back to her room as the master instructed, to help her wash up and get into bed. Only then did I start my own chores. My mistress remained dazed the entire time,” Bi’er continued.
“Did you discover anything else?” Zhong Li thought of Feng Niannian, whom she had seen during the day. She couldn’t imagine Feng Niannian being someone who appeared and disappeared mysteriously.
“After I finished my own tasks, I took my mistress’s clothes to wash them. Do you know what else I discovered?”
Zhong Li shook her head.
“Blood… Her clothes and embroidered shoes were all covered in blood!”