Whether the several household heads had indeed conspired to commit murder remained unclear, but with their family members mysteriously missing, they had hoped to extract some clues from their testimonies. Now, however, their efforts had been in vain.
Miao Yin was a meticulous person. Among the bailiffs that Lian Yu had assigned to them, there was one skilled in portraiture. She had this clerk question the villagers about the appearance of each family’s missing members, drawing their likenesses and posting reward notices throughout various locations.
However, since these people had been gone for some time, this was tantamount to searching for a needle in a haystack, and the prospects were not optimistic.
Seeing that the leads here had run cold, everyone went to Philanthropist Liao’s residence, hoping for new discoveries.
Upon arriving at the Liao mansion, the steward came out to greet them upon hearing the news. His attitude was attentive, saying that the master was personally preparing tea and refreshments in the inner chambers to entertain the distinguished guests.
While passing through the courtyard, they encountered several male servants and maidservants walking toward them, whispering in low voices. They seemed to be complaining that their master had not paid their wages for two months, and had previously underpaid them as well.
The steward’s expression changed, and he immediately scolded them: “Go on, go on! It has always been the custom to settle this month’s wages next month. Where do all these complaints come from? Get back to work!”
The servants naturally dared not argue further and quickly dispersed.
Shortly after, they entered the main hall and met Philanthropist Liao. He was a man over fifty years old, with slightly slanted eyes that gleamed with shrewdness. Though he tried to restrain himself, one could tell at a glance that he was a cunning and ruthless person. He appeared respectful and cooperative toward everyone.
At least, that was how it seemed on the surface.
When discussing the details of the day the incident occurred, Accountant Hu Wei had carried the funds over during the day to secretly negotiate with those four households. This sum was no longer the fifty taels per household originally agreed upon, but had been increased to sixty taels, totaling two hundred and forty taels of silver.
Originally, the other villagers had all agreed to the amount of fifty taels per household, but these four households, relying on their advantageous location at the village entrance, had become greedy.
Since they were given more silver than the others, if the villagers found out, there would surely be dissatisfaction. Therefore, Hu Wei disguised himself and went there secretly, unseen by the villagers.
This also gave those four household heads an opportunity to exploit.
They could kill him, take the money, and then pretend that Hu Wei had absconded with the funds. This Hu Wei’s parents had died early, and he only had an elder sister who had married and moved to a neighboring town years ago. After he grew up and learned some poetry and literature, he returned to his hometown to work. With no family burdens, escaping would be quite convenient. Although the young man was generally kind in his daily life, he was ultimately carrying a large sum of money. As they say, you may know a person’s face but not their heart – absconding with the funds would be reasonable and understandable.
After Philanthropist Liao finished speaking, he added with an apologetic smile: “This humble person is a merchant, so I understand these people’s mentality. Though I do have some silver, and adding forty more taels wasn’t much, I still didn’t want to get entangled in further disputes. I hoped everything would go smoothly and construction could begin quickly. Who would have thought such a thing would happen… Now, all work has had to be abandoned. These few troublemakers are truly detestable – murdering for money. Your Ladyships must seek justice for this humble person. Most importantly, Hu Wei died unjustly. This matter shouldn’t have been his responsibility, but since he was originally from that village and had lived there in his early years, knowing these people, I asked him to handle it.”
Lian Yue glanced at him and said coldly: “If you have grievances, we will naturally see that justice is done.”
“Yes, yes, thank you, Princess Imperial.”
Philanthropist Liao was smiling obsequiously when Gu Shuangcheng suddenly asked: “May I ask, Philanthropist, do you have other construction projects that require using other people’s land?” Philanthropist Liao’s eyes changed, clearly reluctant to answer this question, but he eventually said that he wanted to build some inns and taverns at the entrance to the prefecture west of Min Mountain.
Miao Yin looked thoughtful and said with a smile: “This would probably require enclosing quite a bit of neighboring farmland. Philanthropist Liao would have to spend quite a sum of money.”
“Indeed, indeed. Fair compensation is always necessary. A gentleman loves wealth but acquires it through proper means.” The man bowed his head and repeatedly said “proper means” several times.
Murong Xin, however, was not one for pleasantries. She coldly interrupted him: “Murder and robbery? In this palace’s opinion, the matter is probably far more complex. The coroner’s autopsy record states that judging from the corpse spots and decomposition on Hu Wei’s body, he indeed died on the day of the secret negotiations, dying during the wei hour of midday.” (Wei hour: 1:00-3:00 PM)
“He went there in disguise, unseen by anyone. If he was not killed by those four households but died elsewhere and his body was later moved to one of their homes, that’s also possible. What do you say, Philanthropist Liao?”
Actually, if these four households were indeed innocent, then this would be the truth of the case. Everyone understood clearly that if this were the case, the murderer was either Philanthropist Liao himself or very likely someone Philanthropist Liao had bribed – perhaps Huang Tianba – and afterward, he had Huang Tianba frame these people as suspects and sentence them to death!
But everyone knew that Philanthropist Liao was old, cunning, and slippery, and would never admit to anything. So they all avoided direct questioning, only probing with indirect inquiries. But Murong Xin asked directly.
Philanthropist Liao proved quite composed, respectfully answering: “In response to Your Ladyship’s words, after this humble person had the chief accountant give the silver to Hu Wei that day, I went to discuss business with Boss Xia from Jade Pavilion. Boss Xia can testify to this. Your Ladyships just said that Hu Wei died during the wei hour, but I had already left home during the si hour.” (Si hour: 9:00-11:00 AM)
Murong Xin gave a cold laugh, her red lips closing as she said: “This palace will naturally question Boss Xia, but surely you have no one else available to handle such matters – did it have to be you personally?”
Philanthropist Liao understood her meaning. His small eyes blinked as he replied: “This would truly be a false accusation. If Your Ladyship doesn’t believe it, please have the relevant authorities investigate thoroughly.”
Later, they summoned Boss Xia for questioning. Indeed, Philanthropist Liao had been with him that day, and there were tavern attendants who could testify. They also questioned all the household guards and enforcers at the Liao mansion, who all said that Master Liao had never instructed them to kill anyone, and most had witnesses proving their whereabouts at the time.
From Philanthropist Liao’s end, there seemed to be no more leads to pursue. As for Hu Wei’s sister, though she was the victim’s family, she had now come to Min Mountain with her husband to await the trial. But since she wasn’t in the area at the time, she could hardly provide any leads. Everyone met with the couple and found that both she and her husband were honest people. After their heartbroken lamentations, there was nothing more to ask.
However, before leaving the Liao mansion, Wu Yan caught hold of a maidservant and took her to a private place for questioning.
“Tell me, does your master owe wages and refuse to pay them?”
The maidservant looked frightened and trembled all over in panic. Only after Shuangcheng gently coaxed her and guaranteed that this matter would absolutely not be reported to her master did she stammer out: “There is such a thing.”
“The steward said that this month’s accounts are settled next month – isn’t that the usual practice?” Shuangcheng deliberately said.
The maidservant shook her head, her eyes showing a hint of anger: “Often it’s two or three months before settling once, and wages are arbitrarily deducted.”
She quickly realized her impropriety – after all, she had signed an indenture contract – and refused to say anything more.
Everyone exchanged glances. They hadn’t misheard in the courtyard earlier. With this inquiry, everyone had their own thoughts. After brief consultation, they returned to the village once more, determined to investigate the murder scene.
When no evidence could be found on the suspects, scene investigation and the condition of the victim’s body became the only leads.
They say human hearts are unfathomable. The human heart is most complex, and those with superior methods play everything without leaving a trace, watching the drama from the shadows. But the dead and environmental evidence don’t lie.
Hu Wei’s corpse had been discovered in the front courtyard of the second house at the village entrance.
The group passed by the first house and went directly to the burial site.
Shuangcheng suddenly called out softly: “Wait, something’s not right!”
Since Shuangcheng had once helped Lian Xin, even though she was still disliked by Lian Xin’s mother, Empress Dowager Xiao An, Lian Xin no longer disliked her as much as before, feeling she was a woman of genuine character. Thinking of the situation at the brothel that day, she had been constantly troubled. At this moment, she couldn’t help but ask curiously: “Ah Gu, what have you thought of?”
“I can’t quite say, but comparing it to what’s described in the court records, something feels wrong.”
Everyone tensed at these words. By now dusk had fallen, casting everything in dim light. The villagers had all returned home for dinner, and the sounds of chickens and dogs were rarely heard. These four dilapidated earthen houses stood forlornly at the village entrance. When wind passed through, it set the dried, shriveled bacon hanging in front of the doors buzzing, while curtains half-hung at windows were indistinct. Only the vague outline of blackness inside the houses could be seen, with a red-clothed woman hanging on the wall directly opposite, swaying and floating in the wind that leaked into the house.
Even though they were all women of courage, Murong Xin cried out in alarm, and everyone saw fear in each other’s eyes.
Hadn’t they said no one lived here anymore? Then… what exactly was inside…
Lian Yue pursed her lips and summoned two soldiers, commanding sternly: “Go inside and look. Come out immediately to report whatever you see.”
“Yes.”
The two soldiers acknowledged and quickly went inside.
The remaining soldiers gathered around the women in front of the house. The long-tasseled spears and several Huo family troops that Huo Chang’an had dispatched closely guarded Lian Yue, while Wu Yan lowered her head with a self-mocking smile.
Soon, the soldiers returned to report: “Reporting to all the masters, it’s only a set of women’s clothing hanging on the wall. There are no human traces.”
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Miao Yin glanced at Shuangcheng and said neither warmly nor coldly: “Oh, so the impropriety Miss Gu mentioned refers to this place? It’s just a set of clothes.”
How could Shuangcheng not know she was being provocative? She sneered inwardly but didn’t take offense on the surface, saying calmly: “Not this place. It’s that the location of this house and what’s described in the court records present a rather strange contradiction.”
Everyone was startled – they had all carefully read the court records and now recalled the scene described in the case testimony of how the body was discovered: A bailiff patrolling for security passed this place, happened to be thirsty and asked a nearby homeowner for water to drink, then encountered a local dog barking wildly at the ground, frightening the owner who tried to drive it away…