“So many banknotes!” Yan Li exclaimed in shock, beckoning to the guard Lu Yun who stood at the door. “Come here and count these…”

Even Qin Yan, who also came from a wealthy family, widened his eyes in surprise. The stack of banknotes that had fallen to the floor was thick, all contained within that bamboo tube. Though it was just one stack, each note bore an enormous denomination.

Lu Yun counted expressionlessly, “Master, Ten Thousand Silver Taels.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions in the room turned strange. Ten Thousand Silver Taels – even as the chief Salt Transport Commissioner of the Two Lakes, Liu Renli’s annual salary including all allowances barely reached a thousand taels. Even if Liu Renli served as Salt Commissioner for a hundred years, he couldn’t earn this much money. Where did these funds come from…

Simultaneously, Yan Li and Wang Huaiyu’s gazes fell on Pang Fuliang.

A bitter smile crossed Pang Fuliang’s face as he heaved a long sigh before speaking, “I dare not hide it from Your Highness and Lord Prefect. Brother Liu did indeed come to borrow money from me, and these banknotes worth Ten Thousand Taels are what I gave him the day before yesterday.”

Yan Li had just touched the bundle and now inexplicably felt there was an odd smell about it. He stepped further back and raised an eyebrow, “What would an imperial official like Commissioner Liu need so much silver for?”

Pang Fuliang smiled bitterly, “He only said there was a problem with official business that needed money to resolve…”

At these words, everyone present understood immediately. Yan Li’s brow furrowed and Qin Yan’s face darkened completely. When the official salt transport business required money to fix, there could only be one possibility. Just last year, several corrupt officials had been dealt with in the east, yet unexpectedly Liu Renli was also deeply involved. A cold look flashed in Qin Yan’s eyes, and he instantly lost all sympathy for Liu Renli’s death.

Thinking of this, Qin Yan couldn’t help but glance at Qin Wan. Earlier when Qin Wan had warned him, he had sent Zhou Huai to investigate Liu Renli and only discovered some irregularities in the salt tax accounts. He had made his decision then, thinking that was the extent of it. But who could have imagined Liu Renli would need to borrow Ten Thousand Taels from Pang Fuliang to cover his shortfall? If such an amount was discovered by the imperial court, it would certainly mean death. If he had returned to the capital and allowed Liu Renli into the Marquis mansion, it truly would have brought disaster…

Qin Yan felt some lingering fear, but his respect for Qin Wan grew even stronger.

“How interesting – needing Ten Thousand Taels to cover up. The amount embezzled must be quite substantial.”

Yan Li spoke with an amused smile, then continued, “Lord Pang truly deserves his reputation as the wealthiest man in the Northwest, casually lending out Ten Thousand Taels. And knowing Commissioner Liu had committed crimes yet helping to cover it up – how very benevolent indeed…”

Pang Fuliang knew Yan Li’s words carried mockery but dared not object, “Your Highness, please forgive me. This humble one initially didn’t know what he needed the money for. Later when I guessed somewhat and asked him, he wouldn’t explain clearly. This humble one didn’t know the full situation, and thinking of our old friendship, never thought to report it. This humble one has aided evil.”

Pang Fuliang’s attitude changed quickly. Yan Li laughed again, “Such behavior from Lord Pang is only human nature. However… to so casually give away Ten Thousand Taels – how much tax does Lord Pang’s business empire pay annually?”

Sweat beaded on Pang Fuliang’s forehead, “Your Highness jests. Outside they may call the Pang family wealthy, but in truth even these Ten Thousand Taels required considerable effort for this humble one to arrange. If not for our old friendship, this humble one certainly wouldn’t have lent it. Moreover, this humble one made clear to Commissioner Liu the other day that there would not be a next time. As for taxes, the Pang family’s businesses pay the highest in the Northwest, and would never dare evade even a fraction…”

Yan Li chuckled, “Don’t be nervous, Lord Pang. I’m just making conversation.”

As Pang Fuliang smiled apologetically, Wang Huaiyu looked at the banknotes on the ground and said, “These banknotes will be held for now. Once the case is solved, if Lord Pang is uninvolved, they will be returned. However, the matter of Lord Pang enabling Commissioner Liu will need to be addressed separately.”

Pang Fuliang could only smile in agreement. Nearby, Yan Chi looked at Pang Fuliang for a moment before turning his gaze to the doorway.

Outside the main hall, Pang Yiwen, who hadn’t been seen for several days, was peering in hesitantly. Seeing many people inside, he didn’t enter, but when he spotted Qin Wan inside, his gaze lingered on her a bit longer.

Meanwhile, Wang Huaiyu instructed, “Search this place thoroughly. The rest of you come outside with me.”

As Wang Huaiyu gave orders, he looked at Yan Chi, who said, “Go ahead, don’t mind me for now.”

Wang Huaiyu respectfully acknowledged and led people outside. Pang Fuliang followed with Pang Youde. Outside, Pang Yiwen hurried up, “Father, how did another person die…”

Hearing this question, anger instantly flared in Pang Fuliang’s heart, and he shot Pang Yiwen a fierce glare without answering.

Pang Yiwen, already nervous about Pang Fuliang discovering his use of the Thousand Gold Dream Pills, naturally didn’t dare act presumptuously and hurriedly followed behind Pang Fuliang respectfully—

Inside, Qin Wan was examining Liu Renli’s room.

After looking around, her gaze fell on the lamp stand by the east window.

It was a bronze crane-shaped lamp, and now the candle inserted in it had burned completely out. The white wax, stained brown, had dripped down along the socket, with even the wick burned down to just a few black specks.

Qin Wan turned to look elsewhere in the room but saw no other lamps. She frowned, finding it strange.

Yan Chi approached, “What’s wrong?”

Qin Wan pointed to the crane lamp stand, “The candle burned out completely.”

Yan Chi looked over and also frowned. Yan Li came forward, “What’s wrong? So what if the candle burned out?”

Qin Wan asked, “Would Your Highness let a candle burn completely out?”

Yan Li tilted his head in thought for a moment, “When a candle burns down, the light dims. There’s no reason to let it burn until even the wick is gone. Usually, you’d replace it when there’s still a bit left…”

Qin Wan said, “Qinghuiyuan takes excellent care of its guests. If they noticed a candle was gone or running low, they would naturally replace it. This suggests Lord Liu likely stayed up all night, which is why the candle burned completely out.”

Yan Chi looked at Qin Wan as she continued, “This explains why Lord Liu died in the middle of the night yet was fully dressed – he must have been too anxious about something to sleep…”

Yan Li laughed, “He got the banknotes – what else could he be anxious about?”

Yan Chi and Qin Wan exchanged a glance, and she shook her head, “It’s not certain yet. Another strange thing is that this room couldn’t have had just this one lamp. If a candle burned all night until it was gone, there must have been other lamps.”

Yan Chi’s brow furrowed slightly as he turned and walked to the door to give Bai Feng some instructions.

As Bai Feng left to carry out the orders, Yan Chi returned to find Qin Wan examining Liu Renli’s bundle. He strode to her side and saw her looking at the mud stains on it. Wang Huaiyu had said the bundle was found by yamen runners outside Huiyuan. These past few days had been clear, the snow was starting to melt, and a bundle that fell would naturally pick up some mud stains.

After a moment, Qin Wan brought her hand that had touched the bundle to her nose and sniffed lightly.

Yan Chi raised an eyebrow, “What is it?”

Qin Wan shook her head, “There’s a strange smell, though not very strong. I can’t quite identify it.”

Yan Chi examined the bundle but saw no obvious stains. After a moment he brought his fingertips to his nose to smell, and though he also detected something odd about the scent, he couldn’t identify it either.

Meanwhile, Qin Wan spoke in a deep voice, “Lord Liu died at the lotus pond. If this is Lord Liu’s courtyard, this is the lotus pond, and this is Huiyuan – how did his bundle end up outside Huiyuan?”

Qin Wan pointed to three spots on the table, each in a different direction.

Yan Li leaned forward, “What if Commissioner Liu planned to leave at dawn? Then went to find Lord Pang. Then… they had some argument? Besides, Lord Pang giving Commissioner Liu Ten Thousand Taels is quite suspicious… Perhaps there was some entanglement between them.”

That was likely what any normal person would think, and the bundle’s appearance had connected Liu Renli’s death to Huiyuan. Qin Wan shook her head, “Though that’s possible, Lord Pang doesn’t seem that foolish. To argue Huiyuan, yet Lord Liu ended up dead in the lotus pond – the distance from Huiyuan to the lotus pond seems about the same as from Lord Liu’s courtyard to the lotus pond.”

Yan Chi narrowed his eyes, “Qingyin was poisoned while dining with Lord Pang, and now Liu Renli’s bundle appears outside Huiyuan. Both incidents seem connected to Lord Pang, yet don’t stand up to scrutiny.”

“Put that way, did the killer do this deliberately?” Yan Li’s reaction was rather quick.

Seeing Qin Wan appear to be deep in thought, Yan Chi said, “Let’s wait and see what Lord Wang can find.”

As he finished speaking, Qin Wan walked to the doorway. She stood there, frowning in thought for a moment, then walked forward a few steps to stand in the courtyard. She looked at the courtyard entrance, then around the courtyard, finally stopping at the entrance.

Qin Shuang was the first to follow when she saw Qin Wan’s actions. Yan Li also walked out, which left Yan Chi a step behind. Qin Shuang approached Qin Wan, “What are you looking at?”

Qin Wan said in a deep voice, “I’m thinking about how Lord Liu came out.”

“What do you mean?” Qin Shuang’s large eyes showed confusion.

Qin Wan glanced toward the lotus pond, “There are no signs of struggle in the room, and the courtyard appears normal. This suggests Lord Liu likely walked out of the room on his own.”

As she spoke, Qin Wan walked along the south path leading to the lotus pond.

The winter lotus pond held no scenic beauty. Even during the day, only Pang Jiayan would play there. At night, it was even more deserted. Qin Wan walked slowly along the path, her eyes dark and thoughtful.

She was pondering the case, while Qin Shuang followed behind her. Behind them came Yan Li and Yan Chi, and finally Qin Yan walked slowly. At one point Qin Wan’s steps faltered, and turning back to see so many people following, she raised an eyebrow.

She hadn’t noticed anything unusual on her way and had almost thought her deduction was wrong. Now seeing everyone following her, she couldn’t help but find it both amusing and exasperating. Qin Shuang said, “Why did you stop? Where are you going? The lotus pond?”

The lotus pond was indeed ahead, but Qin Wan felt Liu Renli wouldn’t have come to the lotus pond alone late at night. She shook her head, “I haven’t found anything. Let’s head back.”

Qin Shuang naturally had no objection. Yan Li walked forward with some confusion and said, “This is quite secluded indeed.”

Liu Renli’s courtyard was located slightly north of the compound’s central axis, while the lotus pond was in the southwest. The entire path was lined with the garden’s lush flowers and trees, not the compound’s widest main road. Even fewer people would walk here at night.

“Yes, let’s wait for Prefect Wang’s search results.”

Qin Wan had just spoken and was about to turn back when Yan Li suddenly twitched his nose.

“Wait, do you smell something?”

Having grown up in luxury, Yan Li was particularly sensitive to scents. His brow furrowed in disgust.

Hearing this, Qin Wan paused, and just then a cold wind blew from the southwest direction. A flash of insight crossed Qin Wan’s eyes as she continued forward along the path. Yan Li rubbed his nose and followed. Soon even Qin Wan could smell that odor – the same strange smell that had been on Liu Renli’s bundle, though now carried on the cold wind it was somewhat stronger…

“I smelled this in that room earlier.”

As Yan Li spoke to himself, Qin Wan quickened her pace forward. Soon she saw the rockery group north of the lotus pond. There were two separate rockeries on the east and west sides of the pond, each hollow inside with mysterious passages. Qin Wan’s brow furrowed briefly when she saw the rockeries, then she quickly walked up to them.

“Is it here?” Yan Li asked, also following Qin Wan to search. However, after searching around, Qin Wan didn’t see anything unusual outside the rockeries. Suddenly, she stopped.

“This seems to be the smell of lamp oil…”

At Qin Wan’s words, Yan Li also seemed to realize, “Why would there be lamp oil here?”

As he finished speaking, Yan Li saw the entrance to the rockery before them. Curiosity struck him, and he simply ducked inside. Qin Wan felt a flutter in her heart – could it be inside the rockery? Just as this thought formed, Yan Li suddenly called out from within the rockery’s passage, “Here, it’s here, I found it—”

Hearing this, Qin Wan immediately went inside. Though the rockery was hollow, small holes in the walls let in light. After walking a few steps, Qin Wan saw Yan Li standing looking at something at his feet. She hurried forward to look and sure enough saw a broken oil lamp on the ground of the passage. Qin Wan’s brow instantly furrowed deeply.

Yan Li wondered aloud, “Why would it be here? Not only did Commissioner Liu come to the lotus pond late at night, but he also crawled into the rockery. Was he planning to play hide and seek…”

Speaking thus, Yan Li couldn’t help but shiver, naturally thinking of that bowl when he saw Pang Jiayin.

Behind them, Yan Chi and the others had followed. Seeing Yan Chi enter, Qin Wan said, “Lord Liu certainly wouldn’t have come here for no reason, unless he was led here by something.”