Case One: The Double Death in the Flowerbed
Zhong Li sat in the Disciplinary Room, looking at the woman opposite her, dressed in a red satin jacket and a white women's cape. The woman remained silent, her head bowed. "How long does Miao Niangzi intend to remain silent?"
Called by her name, Miao Fenghua snapped back to attention, gazing at the cold-faced woman opposite her.
"This concubine does not know. This concubine truly does not know. How could there be dead people in this concubine's house?"
Zhong Li placed the portraits of Yue Tiannan and Yue Tianhu in front of Miao Fenghua and asked, "Do you recognize these two people?"
Miao Fenghua followed her gaze and looked down. After a long while, she shook her head. "No... not recognized. No, recognized..."
Zhong Li raised her eyebrows, waiting for her disjointed explanation.
"Temple Master Zhong should know what this concubine does for a living, right?" Miao Fenghua said.
"A peddler, is that correct?" Zhong Li replied.
Miao Fenghua nodded.
"What did you sell?" Zhong Li asked again.
"Anything and everything. Whether in Yongcheng or Jinzhou, as long as the goods entering these two ports were different, this concubine would buy and sell them back and forth, profiting from the price difference. It was at that time I got to know the Yue brothers." Miao Fenghua said.
"What did you sell them?" Zhong Li inquired.
"Their main business was selling tea, so naturally, I sold them tea," Miao Fenghua said cautiously.
"Oh, if I remember correctly, neither Jinzhou nor Yongcheng had tea listed among imported goods. What kind of tea did you sell?" Zhong Li pressed further.
Miao Fenghua faltered and quickly explained, "What this concubine sold was truly tea. Temple Master Zhong may not know, but although this concubine mostly sold imported goods, she occasionally sold items unique to the Southern Yue Kingdom but not produced between the two cities. Take tea, for example. Biluochun is best in Yongcheng, and Longjing is best in Jinzhou. However, these were all finished products."
Zhong Li understood that just as different environments nurtured different people, tea also shared a similar principle.
"Alright, since you don't know why Yue Tiannan and Yue Tianhu's bodies were at your house, you should recognize this, shouldn't you?" Zhong Li casually tossed an object onto the table.
As the object made a crisp sound against the tabletop, Miao Fenghua looked closely and exclaimed, "Isn't this... isn't this the key to this concubine's house?"
Suddenly, Miao Fenghua realized something and quickly covered her mouth. Her almond-shaped eyes instantly filled with tears.
Zhong Li observed the reaction opposite her, knowing that Miao Fenghua now had an answer to how the deceased appeared in her courtyard. "Tell me. You also know that since the Anhe era, cruel officials have been rampant. If someone else were interrogating you now, they wouldn't have this much patience."
Miao Fenghua blinked her eyes, wiping away the tears at the corners with her fingertips. "The house in the southern suburbs is indeed under this concubine's name. However, this concubine is not the only one who can enter that house."
"What do you mean?" Zhong Li looked puzzled.
"Ever since this concubine's husband's family passed away, this concubine found the house too large. Living alone felt desolate, so she moved out of the house several years ago." Miao Fenghua sniffled and explained, "She originally intended to sell it, but this concubine hesitated for a long time. She couldn't bear to part with it, so she left the house vacant and occasionally rented it out to traveling merchants who stayed in Jinzhou."
"Are you saying that Yue Tiannan and Yue Tianhu were tenants of the house?" Zhong Li asked.
Miao Fenghua nodded, admitting as much, but quickly added, "However, this concubine did not know that the two brothers from the Yue family were renting this concubine's house this time."
Zhong Li raised an eyebrow, her eyes filled with doubt.
Miao Fenghua swallowed a few times and organized her thoughts. "After her husband's family died, this concubine was busy with business to make a living. Therefore, she entrusted the management of the house to others. That person guaranteed that this concubine's house would not be empty, and if it was rented out, this concubine would receive eighty percent of the proceeds."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Li instantly understood the meaning behind Miao Fenghua's words. It was equivalent to her finding a 'real estate agent' in modern terms.
"Who is the 'other person' you mentioned?"
"Han Dong!" Miao Fenghua answered without hesitation. "Half a month ago, this concubine went to Yongcheng on business. The house happened to be empty at the time, so she gave the house keys to Han Dong. He has many connections, and it seemed like someone had already agreed to rent it."
As she spoke, she sighed. "If I had known such a thing would happen, this concubine would never have given Han Dong the house keys... *sob sob*... Now, if no one rents this house, it's one thing, but it can't even be sold."
Miao Fenghua began to cry again, her face filled with regret and helplessness.
"Where is he now?" Zhong Li asked, recalling the plaster casts of footprints from her own box. Could they belong to Han Dong?
"He should be at home..." Miao Fenghua said uncertainly.
The next day.
Guided by Miao Fenghua, Zhong Li and Ren Wenshu, along with several yamen runners, arrived at Han Dong's home north of Jinzhou.
The houses within Jinzhou city were relatively scarce and not as large as those outside the city walls. However, Han Dong's house, facing south and built to the north, was a two-story building with a small courtyard, considered a dwelling for the wealthy in Jinzhou.
Ren Wenshu led the way with the men. Seeing the locked main door, he reached out to knock, but Zhong Li stopped him.
"Temple Master Zhong," Ren Wenshu looked at the person beside him with confusion.
Zhong Li ran her fingers over the bronze ring on the door and then looked at the two small stone lions standing at the entrance. "There's no one inside. Let's pry the lock."
Ren Wenshu looked at her with surprise and waved his hand. The bailiffs following behind quickly opened the door with their tools.
Immediately, several bailiffs rushed in. A moment later, they emerged, and their unanimous answer was: "No one is inside the house."
Zhong Li had already slung her medicine box over her shoulder and walked past Ren Wenshu into the house.
"How did Temple Master Zhong know there was no one inside?" Ren Wenshu followed her, very curious about her ability to predict whether anyone was inside.
Zhong Li bypassed the front courtyard, her gaze sweeping over the withered plum tree buds in the yard, and walked directly towards the main house. She said, "Half a month ago, Lü Chao mentioned that it snowed in Jinzhou."
"Yes!" Ren Wenshu nodded, as he also knew this.
"The stone lions have clear, muddy, mottled traces, which must be due to the lack of upkeep after the snow half a month ago. Coupled with the accumulation of floating dust on the bronze ring at the entrance, if this were Han Dong's residence, someone capable of affording such a house would certainly not leave the stone lions at the entrance in such a 'sloppy' state," Zhong Li explained.
Hearing this, Ren Wenshu nodded in agreement. In the Southern Yue Kingdom, whether it was a small household or a wealthy family, the door gods at the entrance were extremely important.
"Then Han Dong didn't flee after realizing he had killed someone?" Realizing this, Ren Wenshu suddenly asked anxiously.
Zhong Li had reached the master bedroom and had just pulled open the wardrobe in front of her. Hearing his question, her gaze swept across the entire room. "Strange."
"What's wrong?" Ren Wenshu asked.
"How did Han Dong seem to disappear from inside the house so suddenly?"