In the serene night at the Suishui Yamen, Xiao Ning recounted how Li Si had discovered the fourth walnut. Meng Fanchuan absentmindedly gazed toward the rear courtyard of the county yamen. Over an hour had passed since the murder, yet there was still no sign of Meng Xiu. Gao Ling patted his junior martial brother on the shoulder. Not long after, Meng Xiu arrived wearing a dark green thick robe. He had caught a slight cold and only came after taking medicine. Xiao Ning continued describing how the bizarre black cat had vomited up the fourth walnut, after which the cat was poisoned to death. Meng Xiu’s face was sallow, and he constantly wiped cold sweat with his handkerchief. Meng Fanchuan looked at him with a somewhat strange expression.
“The black cat delivering walnuts would expose the perpetrator’s tracks, so killing the cat eliminates evidence,” Gao Ling said coldly. Meng Xiu asked, “Where is Lord Li?”
“He’s in the black room,” Xiao Ning said, blinking his dry eyes.
County yamen black room. Li Si and the coroner Wu Zuo had already been busy for an hour. The deceased was named Tao Nan, the music and dance instructor at Furong Garden. Tao Nan’s cause of death was clear—he had been strangled to death with a rope. There was nothing suspicious among his belongings, which differed from the previous two cases. For instance, in Zheng Hounian’s case there were iron filings in the boot sole, and in Shang Yun’s case there was a pearl hidden in the silver belt. Li Si decided to perform an autopsy.
After the autopsy, the coroner discovered a fingernail-sized black stone in Tao Nan’s abdomen. Li Si’s eyes flickered as he said, “This is magnetite.”
Coming out from the black room, Li Si handed the black magnetite to Meng Xiu. Meng Xiu said in surprise, “Magnetite can be used in medicine. Perhaps Tao Nan was ill.”
“Not so. Although magnetite has medicinal effects for nourishing the liver and removing impure toxins, it is actually toxic itself. Therefore, when physicians use magnetite in medicine, they must pair it with detoxifying herbs as supplements. But no residue of supplementary medicine was found in Tao Nan’s body. Moreover, physicians grind magnetite into powder—it’s impossible to have a patient swallow it in chunks. From this, it appears swallowing the magnetite was not Tao Nan’s intention, but rather someone forcibly made him swallow it.”
“It could only be the murderer,” Xiao Ning shook his head, expressing puzzlement. Li Si gazed absently toward Meng Xiu and Gao Ling, as if pondering some question.
“Forcing him to swallow magnetite—the murderer is truly insane,” Gao Ling said indifferently. “There’s also the iron filings and the pearl—all deliberately placed by the murderer. Could it be he’s hidden some mystery in these things?”
Meng Xiu asked what should be done next. After pondering for a moment, Li Si proposed, “Send people to investigate the connections between Zheng Hounian, Shang Yun, and Tao Nan—even the most insignificant details cannot be overlooked.”
“A merchant, an escort leader, and a dance instructor—what kind of connection could these three have?” Meng Xiu sighed.
Xiao Residence. Li Si returned to the side room without a sound and opened the wooden cabinet. Inside the cabinet were four walnuts wrapped in red cloth.
Faint fluorescence flickered at the edge of the red cloth. Li Si smiled mockingly and put the walnuts back.
County yamen study. Meng Xiu was startled by Meng Fanchuan’s sudden appearance. He quickly stuffed a package under the couch, then Meng Xiu forced a smile and said, “Fanchuan, why aren’t you asleep at this late hour?”
“Isn’t Father also still awake?” Meng Fanchuan placed a package on the desk. “I found this package of cold medicine in the back kitchen. Why is the medicine still here?”
“Ah… they got this prescription wrong. I went to get another one to take.” Meng Xiu said to his son with a stiff smile. Meng Fanchuan said, “Is that so? Which pharmacy gave Father the wrong medicine? We can’t let them off so easily.”
“Forget it, forget it. I already reprimanded them.” Meng Xiu took the medicine and waved at Meng Fanchuan. “It’s too late. Hurry back to sleep.”
“Yes, Father.” Meng Fanchuan walked out of the study, his gaze inadvertently sweeping past the bottom of the couch.
Meng Fanchuan encountered his senior martial brother in front of the room. Gao Ling seemed to be waiting for him. Gao Ling said, “Junior brother, you seem to have something on your mind these past two days. You’re always distracted.”
Gao Ling showed rare concern. Meng Fanchuan smiled woodenly, “I’ve worried senior brother. I’m fine.”
Gao Ling looked deeply at Meng Fanchuan and nodded. “Good. Come find me if anything comes up.”
January 5th. The dark clouds gradually drifted away and the sky cleared.
Shanliu Ju. Whether due to the impact of Tao Nan’s death, today there were far fewer people at the teahouse. Even those who came to drink tea only spoke cautiously in small groups of three or five.
Li Si sighed inwardly and took a sip of tea.
The blind old man told a new story segment. This time he told a tale of dramatic ups and downs and tragic romance called “Intertwined Branches.” In the story, there was an infatuated woman who mistakenly believed the words of treacherous villains, thinking that her lover who had achieved top honors in the imperial examinations had forsaken her. As a result, she committed suicide the night before the top scholar returned. The top scholar was heartbroken, and ultimately chose to build a hut by the woman’s grave to spend the rest of his life there.
The blind old man told the story with deep sorrow and pathos, moving listeners to sighs of lament. The young girl Wei’er struck a small drum at his side in accompaniment, each drumbeat resounding as if striking the hearts of the audience.
At the other end of the hall, the brother and sister pair were performing new magic tricks, but somehow the older brother Ashan seemed distracted. Several times he exposed the trick’s mechanism and was booed by the tea customers. His younger sister Ashui worked hard to complete the performance. Right after finishing, Ashan said to his sister with a playful grin, “There aren’t many people today, so let’s stop here. Sister, I’m going out for some fresh air. Don’t wait for me for dinner!”
“Brother, brother, wait…” While Ashui was still packing up the props, Ashan had already rushed out of Shanliu Ju.
Li Si watched Ashan’s retreating figure thoughtfully.
The owner of Shanliu Ju came over and said to Ashui, “Ashui, what’s your brother rushing off to do in such a hurry?”
“I don’t know either,” Ashui shook her head gently.
“He paid off the silver he owed me yesterday. It seems he suddenly has money. Ashui, you must keep a close eye on your brother and don’t let him get mixed up in gambling dens again, or there’ll be no saving him.” The Shanliu Ju owner said earnestly. Ashui reacted and said to the owner, “Boss, I’ll come back to pack up the things later.”
With that, Ashui also rushed out of the teahouse.
Gaoqing Gambling Den.
“Brother Shan, your luck has been incredibly strong lately. How many rounds have you won in a row now?” A skinny little man advised kindly, “You should quit while you’re ahead. Keep betting and you’ll lose it all again.”
“Lose it all then. Your Brother Shan has plenty of money now. Here, take these five taels as gambling capital.” Brother Shan was indeed Ashan. He had transformed into someone of importance at the gambling den. The skinny little man gratefully accepted the silver, then proceeded with a round of flattery.
“Hehe, I’ll bet big this round!” Ashan raised his hand to place silver, but was blocked by a hand reaching over from behind.
Ashan shouted angrily, “Who the hell…”
Ashan was caught off guard to see Ashui’s deathly pale face. Ashan was stunned for a long moment before saying, “Sister… I won money! I won a lot of money! From now on we won’t have to grovel and perform magic tricks for people anymore. I can support you.”
“Slap!” Ashui delivered a heavy slap to Ashan. Ashan was dazed. Tears streamed from Ashui’s eyes as she shouted, “You’re not my brother anymore. You’re not my brother anymore. You’re a bastard!”
Ashui turned and ran out of the gambling den. Ashan, covering his burning cheek, also rushed out of the gambling den, wanting to chase after his sister. But at the gambling den entrance, Ashan’s path was blocked by someone.
“Get out of the way, don’t block my path!” Ashan roared at the man in a blue shirt standing in front of him, then suddenly realized this man in blue looked very familiar. A saber-carrying constable appeared beside the man in blue, glaring at Ashan.
“What do you want?” Ashan panicked.
“I’d like to have a chat with you in the prison,” Xiao Ning said, touching his saber handle.
Ashan was greatly alarmed, but fortunately he wasn’t sent to prison. Instead, he was brought back to Shanliu Ju. Ashui also came.
Ashui looked at Li Si in confusion. “Does Ashan owe you money? I’ll pay it back for him.”
“Miss Ashui, your brother hasn’t borrowed money from us,” Li Si smiled faintly, then turned to face Ashan. “You have a good sister. I hope you won’t repeatedly make mistakes and disappoint her.”
Ashan hung his head and said nothing.
“What exactly happened to Ashan?” Ashui asked.
“You should ask him yourself,” Li Si took a sip of tea. Xiao Ning glanced at the silent Ashan and sternly asked, “On the 26th of last month, nine days ago around the hour of You, where were you and what were you doing?”
“That was so long ago, how would I remember?” Ashan replied in a small voice.
“Such poor memory. Fine, let me help you think.” Xiao Ning slapped a portrait on the table—it was a drawing of Ashan’s face. Ashan stammered, “What is this… ah?”
“Just over an hour ago, I sent your portrait around the neighborhood near my residence asking people to look at it. Two households recognized you, identifying that nine days ago at the hour of You, you furtively slipped out from the alley behind my residence. Do you remember now?” Xiao Ning said, blinking slightly.
“Maybe… maybe they mistook me for someone else, or got the date wrong. I don’t know anything,” Ashan said, not daring to make eye contact with anyone as he spoke.
“Two households saw you at the same time. As for the date, there’s definitely no mistake, because that day happened to be one household’s child’s one-month celebration. How could they remember such a date wrong?” Xiao Ning said calmly. “There’s also your gambling capital. The gambling den manager said ten days ago you were dirt poor, owing the gambling den twenty-five taels in gambling debts. But right after the 26th, you not only repaid the gambling debt but also possessed a very large sum of gambling capital. Ashan, have I said anything wrong?”
“This…” Ashan wrung his hands on his clothing corners, licking his dry lips.
“Where did this gambling capital of at least a hundred taels come from?” Li Si picked up his teacup and gently swirled it.
Ashan looked toward Ashui. Xiao Ning spoke up, “Your sister doesn’t have that much silver to help you. Don’t count on her.”
“Ill-gotten gains are either stolen or robbed. First throw him in prison for ten or twenty days,” Xiao Ning said unquestionably. Ashan’s legs went weak and he dove under the table. Ashui grabbed Ashan and shouted, “Brother, speak up! If you don’t speak now, I can’t help you either!”
“Don’t throw me in prison. I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything,” Ashan said weakly.