Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang went immediately to find the household manager. At this hour, the manager’s office was in complete disarray, bearing none of its usual imposing air.
In the space of two short days, Old Master Feng had died, Feng Second Young Master had died, and the rumor that the Marquis Sui Pearl carried a curse was spreading wildly. The servants were in a state of panic, each afraid that the next one to die would be themselves.
Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang asked several people in a row, and none of them had seen the household manager. Li Huazhang, sensing something was wrong, immediately sent people out to search. One incense stick later, they returned and reported that at noon Feng First Young Master had summoned the manager to discuss some matter, and after that, no one had seen the manager since.
Following the deaths of Old Master Feng and Feng Second Young Master, the Feng household’s manager had also disappeared.
Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang went to find Feng First Young Master. When Feng Kun learned the manager was missing, his expression was genuinely surprised. “The manager is gone? That doesn’t make sense. He left here at midday in perfectly fine condition.”
Li Huazhang’s gaze swept across the room and noticed a pile of account books heaped on the couch-bed in the inner room. He gave no sign of this and asked, “What did you call the manager for?”
“Just to ask about the affairs of the household.” Feng Kun said as though it were the most natural thing in the world. “After all, I am now the head of the Feng family — the outer household matters should be taken over by me.”
Ming Huashang quietly tallied the timeline in her mind. At noon — when Feng Second Young Master had only just been pulled from the water, when they were still questioning witnesses at the scene — Feng First Young Master was already here, eagerly taking control of the outer household. Truly the picture of deep brotherly love.
Li Huazhang asked, “How long has the manager served the Feng family?”
“Twenty years, I’d say.” Feng Kun said. “For as long as I can remember, the manager was already helping my father with things.”
Twenty years. That made him a figure of enormous weight — speaking bluntly, Old Master Feng could have done without two sons more easily than without his household manager. Li Huazhang paused at the entrance to the inner room and said, “It seems we’ve come at an inopportune time — Feng First Young Master appears to be occupied?”
Feng Kun glanced at the couch-bed and smiled. “Not particularly busy — just taking a moment to look over the household accounts.”
Li Huazhang nodded and said, “Do you mind if I take a look?”
Li Huazhang’s expression was composed and his tone unhurried — outwardly no different from usual — yet Feng Kun felt, inexplicably, a sense of danger. Feng Kun furrowed his brow, but suppressed the feeling and smiled. “I wouldn’t dare refuse. Please, Your Highness, go ahead.”
Li Huazhang went through the account books, and Ming Huashang picked up a few from the side and looked through them. She found that the earliest accounts only went back to the fifth year of Tianshou, with nothing before that. Li Huazhang had noticed the same problem and asked, “Why is there nothing from the fourth year of Tianshou?”
Feng Kun shook his head, his expression suggesting it had nothing to do with him. “I’m not certain either, Your Highness and Princess Consort — as you know, I previously had no involvement in household affairs. These account books were just brought over from the manager’s office by me.”
Conveniently, the fifth-year-of-Tianshou accounts were preserved in perfect condition, but not a single ledger from the fourth year of Tianshou or earlier had survived. Li Huazhang set down the account book, his demeanor remaining composed and unhurried, and asked, “Would Feng First Young Master object to me taking these away?”
Feng Kun’s face showed discomfort. “This — Your Highness, these account books are the most important things right now. I’ve only just taken over the household, and with no knowledge of the outer affairs — if I lose the account books, I’m afraid no one will listen to a word I say. I hope Your Highness will not put me in a difficult position.”
Li Huazhang, with an expression that made his feelings impossible to read, said, “Are the account books more important than the murder case? Your father and brother just died. Rather than being in a hurry to avenge them, you’re holding tight to the account books?”
Feng Kun fell silent for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh. “Of course I grieve, Your Highness, but the dead cannot be brought back to life. Those who remain still have to live. The Feng family has just lost the Marquis Sui Pearl and suffered a great financial blow — if I don’t take careful stock of things, the people in this household may well go hungry.”
Li Huazhang nodded, looking altogether agreeable. “Feng First Young Master makes a fair point. Then I’ll only take the accounts from the fifth year of Tianshou — that shouldn’t interfere with your management of the household, should it?”
Hearing that it was fifth-year-of-Tianshou accounts — nearly ten years old — Feng Kun thought, what use could those possibly be? He didn’t care. “Since Your Highness has asked, I have no objection — take whatever you need.”
Feng Kun appeared composed and sincere, with nothing that seemed feigned about it. Li Huazhang gave no outward sign of what he had observed, and signaled the yamen runners to come carry the account books away.
Ming Huashang carefully sorted through the fifth-year-of-Tianshou ledgers, while Li Huazhang paced the room and said casually, “Feng First Young Master, what is your view on the deaths of Old Master Feng and Feng Second Young Master?”
Feng Kun tried hard to conceal it, but a trace of contempt still leaked through. “I don’t know how the Old Master came to be killed. Feng Yu got drunk and fell into the water — what a pity, the Feng family has had terrible luck lately. I should invite a high monk over to perform some rites one of these days.”
His father and younger brother had just died violently, yet from his tone there was little grief — and even something of a pleased air. He already had the presence of mind to go through the account books and concern himself with the Marquis Sui Pearl — he did not look like a man tormented by fear and dread.
Ming Huashang finished selecting the account books, signaled the yamen runners to take them away, and asked in a casual aside, “The Feng family has lost two people in quick succession, and the killer is still at large. Others in the Feng family may also be in danger. Feng First Young Master — aren’t you afraid?”
Feng Kun shrugged. “What does it matter whether I’m afraid or not? Life must go on regardless.”
Li Huazhang raised an eyebrow. “Feng First Young Master is bold indeed, but two deaths in the Feng family mean we cannot risk lives. How about I leave two officers to give close protection to Feng First Young Master and the family members — what do you say?”
Feng Kun frowned the moment he heard this. “That… there are ladies in the household, and having officers following them around would be inconvenient. Your Highness had better keep them for your own use.”
Li Huazhang said, “I will instruct them to be mindful of propriety — guarding Feng First Young Master during the day and remaining outside the courtyard gate at night. It will not affect the reputations of the ladies at all. Feng First Young Master need have no concerns.”
Feng Kun still refused. “I am soon to be the head of the Feng family. If people see me followed by officers wherever I go, unable to move without their approval, what sort of face would I have left? The Feng family has its own guards — I will arrange for them to patrol. I appreciate Your Highness’s goodwill, but I must decline.”
Since Feng Kun was an adult man who refused, Li Huazhang couldn’t very well force the arrangement on him. Li Huazhang said, “Since Feng First Young Master has other arrangements, I will not insist. I hope Feng First Young Master takes care of his own safety and protects the ladies of the household. The murder scene will remain sealed off — I will arrange for officers on duty, and it will not inconvenience the Feng family. Feng First Young Master may rest easy.”
Feng Kun was only too glad to keep well away from those inauspicious places, and was entirely indifferent to this. “Your Highness, please do as you see fit.”
Li Huazhang said in a warm and courteous tone, “Thank you for your cooperation, Feng First Young Master. There is one more thing I’d like to ask. On the third day of the month, when tea was brought up to Old Master Feng — did you notice anything unusual about it?”
Feng Kun started. His eyes shifted and he asked, “Why does Your Highness ask this?”
“Routine inquiry,” Li Huazhang said. “After all, Feng Second Young Master’s death is suspiciously well-timed — it’s possible the same person was responsible and deliberately staged it to look accidental. The killer is still free, and catching him quickly is the only way to prevent the next tragedy.”
Feng Kun’s eyes darted back and forth. “I don’t know anything about solving cases — I can’t make heads or tails of all this talk of accidents and killings. But on that day, the third, I went up and down the stairs and you saw it all yourselves. The tea was already prepared — I just picked up the tray and brought it upstairs. I have no idea how the Old Master died. And yesterday I locked my door and went to sleep early, and don’t know what happened at the water pavilion. Surely Your Highness doesn’t suspect me?”
Li Huazhang smiled slightly. “Feng First Young Master need not be anxious — we put these questions to everyone. Purely routine.”
Whether or not Feng Kun believed it, he visibly relaxed on the surface and said, “I have a clear conscience — I trust Your Highness will examine the matter clearly. I still have a great deal of accounts to sort through, and I’m afraid I can’t keep Your Highness company any longer. If there is anything Your Highness needs, please send word.”
After Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang left, Ming Huashang said to Li Huazhang with certainty, “He wasn’t telling the truth.”
Li Huazhang knew it as well as she did. He sighed. “But the Feng family is already his. Until we have concrete evidence, there is nothing we can do to him even with suspicion.”
“Things have worked out remarkably well for him.” Ming Huashang said. “Old Master Feng, who disliked him, is dead. His capable younger brother is dead. Even the household manager — who had spent years in the outer household and knew the Feng family’s secrets in full — has suddenly disappeared. In just two days’ time, the Feng family has come entirely under Feng Kun’s sole authority. Looking at it that way, Feng Kun’s luck is really extraordinary.”
Li Huazhang made no comment either way. He glanced at the sky and said, “Too much luck always invites suspicion. It’s getting late — I wonder if they’ve found any trace of the manager.”
Ming Huashang gently took his hand and offered comfort. “Don’t worry — we will catch the killer. Once we’ve gathered a few more leads, I should be able to draw a portrait.”
Li Huazhang said nothing. It was not Ming Huashang’s ability he doubted, but the fear that the killer might strike again while they were still working. Yet idle worry was useless — only action could resolve things. Li Huazhang pressed down his restlessness and asked, “What else do you need?”
“I need to investigate the previous owner of the Marquis Sui Pearl.” Ming Huashang said. “Everything started from when Old Master Feng produced the Marquis Sui Pearl — perhaps that is the root of all of this.”
“Good. I’ll go with you to look through the archives.” Li Huazhang said. “And while we’re at it, there is something I want to do again.”
“What?”
“Examine the bodies.”
·
Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang had spent the day at the Feng estate, and by the time they returned to the Prefect’s residence it was fully dark. The residence’s staff, learning they had returned, came one after another to make their reports. Li Huazhang first instructed someone to pull all the archive records from before the fifth year of Tianshou, and he and Ming Huashang made their way toward the mortuary while listening to the yamen runners’ reports.
“Prefect, the medication you asked us to investigate has been identified. The sachet you brought back, and the one Old Master Feng was wearing when he died — both match the prescription on the slip. They are all common tonics and are not poisonous.”
“The coroner examined Old Master Feng’s clothing, shoes, and socks — he even removed the insoles — and found no poison.”
“The list of names you asked us to look into yesterday — we searched the household registers of the entire Shangzhou prefecture and found no trace of these individuals. Perhaps they are not from Shangzhou?”
Li Huazhang listened and replied to each in turn. “Keep the sachet as evidence and have the coroner continue examining what poison Old Master Feng died of. The people on the list don’t need to be investigated further for now — go and find the archive records from before the fifth year of Tianshou.”
Everyone accepted their orders and dispersed. They arrived at the mortuary, and Li Huazhang stopped before two stretchers and asked, “These are Feng Rong and Feng Yu?”
“Yes.”
Li Huazhang put on gloves. The coroner, seeing this, moved to take over, but Li Huazhang waved him off and said mildly, “You can all go attend to your other tasks. I don’t need anyone here.”
The coroner and the yamen runners looked back and forth between Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang, hesitation on their faces, but in the end they didn’t dare disobey Li Huazhang. They bowed and withdrew. Once no one else was in the room, Li Huazhang said, “I’ll be examining the bodies for a while — why don’t you go back to your room and wait?”
“No need. I also need to look at the bodies to complete the portrait.” Ming Huashang faced the corpses without a trace of discomfort. She stood beside the stretcher and asked, “Who do you want to start with?”
“Feng Yu.” Li Huazhang said. “I was worried about information leaking out at the Feng estate and didn’t look carefully there. When Feng Yu had just been pulled from the water, I noticed there were wood shavings in the gaps of his fingernails. I found a chance to look again later — the material matched the wooden posts under the water pavilion.”
“Oh?” Ming Huashang pressed quickly. “Are you saying Feng Yu didn’t fall in by accident?”
“Even if he did fall in accidentally after drinking, he had already grabbed hold of a wooden post — how could he have drowned?” Li Huazhang, through his gloves, carefully examined Feng Yu’s mouth and nostrils, and said, “But he genuinely presents the appearance of drowning, and his vital signs also indicate he entered the water alive. What I suspect is that someone held his head under and prevented him from surfacing, drowning him that way.”
Ming Huashang nodded, lost in thought. Li Huazhang moved to the other side of the body and looked up at her. “Do you have a suspect?”
Ming Huashang sighed. “I have one, but I can’t be certain yet. The Feng family is not without clues — in fact it has too many of them, which makes it difficult to judge. Many people have not told us the truth. Each acting out of their own motives, they’ve all mixed a few lies in with their honest words. I’ll need to eliminate everyone else’s motive before I can draw a portrait of the person behind the murder.”
“Are you certain it was one person? Could it be a group?”
“It should be one person.” Ming Huashang said. “Do you remember what I told you — that when I first entered the Star-Plucking Tower, the scene of Old Master Feng’s death struck me as too ordinary, too natural? Today when I entered the water pavilion I had the same feeling. Without speaking to anything else, both these murders were committed by the same hand.”
Li Huazhang nodded. In these matters he always trusted Ming Huashang’s judgment. He continued the examination, and both of them fell silent. The only sounds in the mortuary for a time were those of tools being set down.
Ming Huashang stared vacantly for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh. Li Huazhang had already finished examining Feng Yu’s body and was washing his hands. Hearing her sigh, he looked up and asked, “What is it?”
Ming Huashang shook her head. “Nothing — it’s just that a few details make no sense to me no matter how I think about them.”
Li Huazhang could roughly guess what was troubling her, because the same problem had stopped him as well. But Li Huazhang believed that every scheme ultimately had to be grounded in reality. No matter how the killer calculated and plotted, the bodies would not lie.
By the time Li Huazhang finished examining Old Master Feng’s body, it was nearly the hour of Hai. The two of them came out of the mortuary. The sky was black as a deep chasm, and fine snow drifted down from high above. Ming Huashang pulled her collar close and said, “It’s been truly cold this year — I hear that Shangzhou normally doesn’t get snow, but this year this is already the second snowfall.”
Li Huazhang took off his cloak and draped it over her shoulders, gripping her hand warmly. “I’ve had some hot soup prepared. You’ve been busy all day — go back and warm up, and sleep first.”
Ming Huashang shook her head. “The archives still haven’t been looked at, and this concerns lives. How can it be put off? Let’s go to the main hall first.”
Li Huazhang knew he had no hope of talking Ming Huashang out of it, so he didn’t even try. The two of them went hand in hand toward the main hall. Li Huazhang held the door open for her, and Ming Huashang hurried inside and shook the snow from herself. Looking around, she saw records stacked everywhere on the floor. “Goodness — so many!”
Following Li Huazhang’s instructions, the clerks had moved out every archive file from before the fifth year of Tianshou, piling them from the corners of the tables all the way to the floor. Li Huazhang closed the door and gently wiped the moisture from Ming Huashang’s hair, while saying quietly, “There’s no hurry. I’ve asked the maids to bring hot soup here — warm yourself first before you look through them. Are you still cold? Should I have two more braziers brought in?”
“No need — there are so many scrolls here. Be careful of fire.”
Li Huazhang was insistent. “Your health comes first.”
The two were still in the middle of this debate when a yamen runner suddenly came running in through the snow and called out urgently, “Prefect! Something has happened — the Feng family’s household manager has been found!”
Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang both stopped short. They looked at each other, and Li Huazhang quickly moved toward the door. “Where is he?”
“Outside the city, but…”
Ming Huashang heard that something was wrong and immediately moved to change clothes. “I’ll come with you.”
“No need.” Li Huazhang stopped her and said, “You focus on looking through these archives. I can handle what’s outside the city on my own. Don’t worry — I can manage.”
Ming Huashang was worried. “But it’s so dark outside, and the snow isn’t stopping…”
Li Huazhang took her hand and tucked a strand of hair away from the side of her face. “I trust you — you need to trust me too. When we need to divide the work, we divide it, and each of us does what we do best. That way we’ll solve the case as quickly as possible. While I’m gone, the prefectural residence needs you to keep watch over things here.”
Ming Huashang knew Li Huazhang was right. She was no good at riding or archery, and going along would only slow him down. She stopped pushing to go with him and urged him again and again: “Be careful on the road. Know your limits — don’t push yourself. Understand?”
Li Huazhang agreed to everything. He reached for his cloak and began to dress as he gave instructions: “Tell Jin Bao, Jixiang, and the others to come here. Make sure they watch and see that the Princess Consort drinks her hot soup. And bring in two more braziers — keep her company and make sure she doesn’t tire herself out.”
The servants agreed. Ming Huashang made to see him off, but Li Huazhang stopped her at the door. “It’s cold out. Don’t come outside. Use the carrier pigeon if something comes up, and you also watch your own limits — don’t read too late.”
Ming Huashang stood in the doorway and watched him walk away into the wind and snow without looking back. Jin Bao, Jixiang, and Ruyi came over carrying the food box and, seeing Ming Huashang standing motionless at the doorway, said, “My lady, Second Young Master can handle anything that comes up — nothing will happen to him. It’s cold out here. Please go inside and wait.”
Ming Huashang was pulled into the room by the maids and let them fuss over her, but her mind had already flown far away. She didn’t know what was waiting at the manager’s location, but from the tone of the yamen runner’s voice, the manager’s situation was likely not good either. Three days, and already three people dead — even Liao Yushan, who had once publicly declared the intention to kill and attempted regicide, had never struck so rapidly and mercilessly.
Was the true culprit simply extraordinarily lucky, or had they overlooked something?
Ming Huashang couldn’t suppress her anxiety, but she knew that at times like these, keeping a level head was the most important thing. She took a deep breath, forced herself to be calm, and opened the archive records to read.
Getting angry would accomplish nothing. The only solution was to find the killer as quickly as possible.
The real reason Li Huazhang and she had asked the Feng family for the account books was not that they expected to find anything in them. Old Master Feng was sharp and cunning — he had surely seen to it that the books were clean of evidence long ago. But that itself had created a new weakness: since all the accounts from before the fifth year of Tianshou were gone, it meant the Feng family must have had a major disbursement or receipt in the fourth year of Tianshou — of a sum too large to be smoothed away even on paper, so large that the only option had been to destroy every ledger from the fourth year and earlier.
That is simply how things work in this world. Try to cover over one dark spot, take pains to patch it up, and you only leave behind a larger dark spot.
Ming Huashang focused her attention on litigation records from the fourth year of Tianshou that involved money. Gradually her anxiety receded, and she immersed herself completely in the work. Jixiang, seeing how absorbed Ming Huashang was and worrying that she’d strain her eyes, poured a cup of tea and placed it at her elbow. “My lady, you’ve been staring for a long while. Take a rest.”
Ming Huashang surfaced from the documents, rubbed her eyes, handed the scroll to the maid, and said, “Set this one aside separately. How long have I been at this?”
Ruyi made a deliberate joke, “A very long time. The roosters just crowed — dawn is almost here.”
Ming Huashang raised an eyebrow but didn’t dismiss the maid’s playful intention, and played along with the banter. “Is that so? How come I didn’t hear them crow?”
“You did, my lady — you just weren’t paying attention.” Ruyi laughed. “Jixiang, you know how to imitate a rooster crowing, don’t you? Crow again — we’ll pretend we didn’t see it was you.”
Jixiang was flustered and indignant. “Stop it — I never did that!”
“Hurry up — my lady is waiting.”
Ruyi kept teasing, and Jixiang couldn’t hold out. Pinching her nose, she made a sound like a rooster crowing. The maids dissolved into laughter, and Ming Huashang, holding her teacup, couldn’t help but smile as well. But as she laughed, the light in her eyes gradually deepened and stilled.
She thought she had understood something.
Ming Huashang was about to call someone when footsteps came from outside. She looked up, and a sense of foreboding instantly came over her.
“Princess Consort, something has happened — the men stationed at the Feng estate have sent word that Feng First Young Master has been found dead!”