Magistrate Wang Huai Yu strode ahead with the yamen runners, while Yan Chi and Qin Wan walked side by side behind them.
When they reached Qin Wan’s guest quarters, Qin Shuang and Qin Yan rushed out from their courtyards upon hearing the commotion. Qin Yan caught up with large strides and, looking at Magistrate Wang’s formation ahead, asked, “Young Lord, Ninth Sister, what’s happening?”
Qin Wan glanced briefly at Qin Yan, “Master Pang is dead. We’re going to apprehend the suspect now.”
Both Qin Yan and Qin Shuang’s expressions changed dramatically. Qin Shuang hurriedly asked, “How did Master Pang die? Wasn’t he said to have escaped?”
Qin Wan frowned, “I’ll explain later…”
Qin Shuang knew this wasn’t the time for explanations and quickly nodded, “Alright, alright.”
Though Qin Shuang and Qin Yan didn’t know what was happening, they followed behind Qin Wan toward the west. Qin Wan had only said they were going to apprehend a suspect, without saying who it was. When Wang Huai Yu stopped in front of Madam Chang’s courtyard, Qin Shuang’s eyes widened in disbelief, “The… the murderer is here?”
Qin Wan didn’t answer. The courtyard gate opened, and Wang Huai Yu hesitated at the entrance for a moment. After a pause, he turned back to look at Yan Chi and Qin Wan. They exchanged glances and walked forward.
The hour was late, and the night was dark as ink. The winter wind howled through this small courtyard, yet it brought no chill to those inside the house. Two warm lamps burned in the main room of this small courtyard, and laughter could be heard from inside even at the gate. Among the voices, Pang Jia Yan’s was particularly distinct.
Meanwhile, Wang Huai Yu asked the yamen runners, “Did Qing Niang go out?”
The yamen runner quickly nodded, “Yes, Qing Niang went out about half an hour ago, for about two to three-quarters of an hour, saying she was… saying she was getting some trinkets for Third Young Master.”
Wang Huai Yu looked at Qin Wan, who thought about the timing and said, “The time matches.”
There was only one Qing Niang in the mansion—Qin Wan couldn’t have mistaken her, nor could the yamen runners.
Wang Huai Yu nodded. Just then, the unlocked door opened, and Pang Jia Yan stood in the doorway with a solemn expression. Seeing so many people at the courtyard gate, he showed neither surprise nor fear. He simply looked at Wang Huai Yu and the others quietly for a moment before turning back to say, “Mother, Magistrate Wang is here—”
The chatter and laughter inside immediately stopped.
Soon, footsteps sounded softly, and Madam Chang was the first to come to the door. Standing behind Pang Jia Yan, the smile gradually faded from her face. Then, Qing Niang came over holding Pang Jia Yun’s hand. Pang Jia Yun held a cloth doll, her pink jacket and skirt looking lively and lovely. The four of them stood at the door, blocking the not-so-wide doorframe. Madam Chang and Pang Jia Yan’s expressions were calm but somewhat grave, while only Qing Niang and Pang Jia Yun still wore smiles.
After a moment of silence, neither Madam Chang nor Wang Huai Yu at the gate spoke.
Eventually, Qing Niang said with a smile, “It’s late now, Madam. You should rest with Young Miss and Young Master—tonight, you should sleep together with Young Miss and Young Master—”
These words finally broke the silence.
A flash of reluctance crossed Madam Chang’s face, but before she could respond, Qing Niang placed Pang Jia Yun’s hand in Madam Chang’s.
“Madam, please go. I leave Young Miss and Young Master in your care.”
Madam Chang’s lips moved several times, looking at Qing Niang with unspoken words for a few moments. Then she pressed her lips tightly together before taking Pang Jia Yan’s hand in one hand and Pang Jia Yun’s in the other, walking toward the warm chamber. Qing Niang watched with a smile as Madam Chang led the children away. Only after their figures disappeared did her smile fade slightly. After another moment’s pause, she turned around.
She still wore a smile, but it was so faint and thin that it somehow conveyed a sense of sadness.
Wang Huai Yu waved to the people behind him before slowly walking in.
“You seem to have known we would come for you.”
Hearing this, Qing Niang’s lips curved slightly, but she looked past Wang Huai Yu to Qin Wan, “With Ninth Young Miss here, it was only a matter of time.”
Qin Wan frowned, also walking in a few steps, “Should I call you Qing Huan?”
Hearing this, Qing Niang looked at Yan Chi, “I suppose this is Young Lord’s doing.”
Yan Chi stepped in and stood beside Qin Wan. Qing Niang looked at Qin Wan, then at Yan Chi, and said nothing, though her smile deepened slightly. Qin Wan continued, “What happened back then?”
Qing Niang’s smile flickered for a moment, “Back then… back then…”
The past events stirred the grief in her heart, and for a moment she couldn’t find the right words to describe that chaos. After a pause, she looked at Qin Wan frankly and asked, “What’s the most vicious woman Ninth Young Miss has ever seen?”
Qin Wan was suddenly caught off guard by this question and was momentarily stunned.
A vicious woman? Qin Wan searched through her memories but couldn’t think of who she would consider the most vicious person she had met.
She didn’t even count her past life, but in this new life, the most ruthless person she had encountered was Cai He. Yet thinking of Cai He’s tragic background, she was reluctant to label her as vicious. Though she had met others who bore her ill will, like Qin Xiang and Qin Shuang, even with all their scheming, they could hardly be called vicious.
Qin Wan shook her head—she had no answer to Qing Niang’s question.
Seeing this, Qing Niang gave a slight smile, “But I have seen one… That woman was competitive from childhood, and because her senior sister found happiness while she didn’t, she became vicious enough to plot against her senior sister’s entire family.”
“When people speak of that case, they probably think the perpetrator must have been after the wealth, but that’s not it. That family massacre’s deepest reason was nothing more than jealousy.”
Qing Niang said with a hint of mockery, “People can become vicious, as long as they start to feel jealous.”
Speaking this, she looked at Wang Huai Yu, “Back then, the plan for the Mengzhou route was supposedly foolproof, but she pretended to want to reminisce with Master about old times. Master wasn’t careful, and the plan was exposed. Then came the great fire at the post station.”
“People in theater troupes can meet both nobles and commoners, mixing with all walks of life. They poisoned everyone’s food, and if that was all, it would have been one thing. But that woman… she tortured Master’s family to death.”
At this point, Qing Niang’s voice began to tremble, “Master’s children were just learning to walk at the time but to force Master to reveal where the key to the silver cart was, she threatened to drown them right in front of Master. Master fell for it and revealed the key’s location, but that vicious woman! She still threw those two little children into the water.”
Qing Niang’s calm expression suddenly showed traces of madness. She ignored Yan Chi and Wang Huai Yu, looking only at Qin Wan, “Ninth Young Miss is kind, and not a government official, so I ask only you—in this world, what is right and wrong? What is legal justice?”
Qing Niang’s eyes blazed, her eye sockets reddened, and this question rang out like a heavy hammer striking Qin Wan’s crown. Qin Wan was stunned by this question—what is right and wrong? What is legal justice?
Qin Wan remembered clearly the laws of Great Zhou, but she knew this wasn’t the answer Qing Niang wanted.
She also remembered clearly all her father’s teachings, but she knew that wasn’t the answer Qing Niang wanted either.
Qing Niang looked at Qin Wan and suddenly gave a bitter smile, “I once thought about exposing it, reporting it to the officials would be enough, but… but I know that in this world, the law is just a tool used by the powerful to rule over us, poor common people. This tool has unlimited power in the hands of the powerful, but when placed in the hands of us common people, it’s nothing more than a futile struggle. Since that’s the case, I used my methods.”
Qin Wan felt Qing Niang’s words were wrong, but faced with her determined gaze, she couldn’t find words to argue. Facing this victim’s family member who had personally experienced the events of that year, praising Great Zhou’s laws would be useless. Fifteen years had passed since the case occurred, and she had carried this enormous burden through the best fifteen years of her life. At that moment, Qin Wan thought of herself—her father had once been the Minister of Justice, representing Great Zhou’s criminal laws, but hadn’t he too lost his life to Great Zhou’s criminal justice system?
Qin Wan didn’t know whose hand had pushed her father to seek justice, but she was certain that among them must have been a hand called “power.” From this perspective, although Qing Niang’s words were biased, they were also painfully accurate.
“Liu Ren Li, Qing Qin, Pang Yi Wen, and Pang Fu Liang—you killed them all, didn’t you?” Wang Huai Yu asked Qing Niang irritably. As the Prefect of Yu Prefecture, he couldn’t stand to hear Qing Niang’s rebellious words.
Qing Niang smiled, “Magistrate Wang has no evidence yet—how can you say I killed them?”
Wang Huai Yu was choked by these words, a breath stuck in his chest, and he instinctively looked at Qin Wan. Qin Wan frowned slightly, “You suddenly disappeared from the Small Red Tower earlier, and then Pang Fu Liang was found dead in his study. That sword strike required someone skilled in martial arts to execute in one move. Qing Niang, both the timing and the skill match you.”
Qing Niang’s lips curved slightly, “I merely went to get some trinkets for Third Young Master. How does Ninth Young Miss know I suddenly disappeared? I walked out through the main gate. Perhaps Ninth Young Miss, hiding behind the flower wall, missed it for a moment.”
Yan Chi frowned slightly, but Qin Wan’s expression remained unchanged as she said, “You lit the lamp in Master Pang’s study, and that lamp oil was mixed with Wei Zhou Island dragon musk. We found traces of spilled oil on the lamp stand earlier. If I’m not mistaken, your sleeve must also be stained with it. Shortly, we need only apply another medicine to your sleeve, and the dragon musk will turn red.”
When Qin Wan finished speaking, Qing Niang’s smile froze slightly. At the same time, she unconsciously touched her sleeve. This action, falling under everyone’s eyes, made everything self-evident. Qing Niang herself gave Qin Wan a deep look before finally smiling coolly, “I wanted to see what abilities Ninth Young Miss had, and how you would break my scheme, but I didn’t expect to be defeated by such minute details. Very well, I knew Ninth Young Miss and these others would eventually uncover the truth. Sooner or later, what difference does it make?”
Qin Wan’s expression remained unchanged, “Qing Niang, you’ve hidden in the Pang household for many years, showing exceptional intelligence and skill. My discovery of the truth was mere luck. There’s still one thing I’d like to ask you about.”
Qing Niang looked at Qin Wan silently, and Qin Wan continued, “Why did Qing Li die?”
At this question, Qing Niang smiled, “So there are still things Ninth Young Miss hasn’t figured out.”
Speaking thus, Qing Niang gave a cold smile, “Never mind, what harm is there in telling Ninth Young Miss? She was cut from the same cloth as her master—back then, she too was one of the instigators of that chaos.” After a slight pause, Qing Niang continued, “The key to this case lies in that mechanism. I believe Ninth Young Miss and Magistrate Wang have already investigated it.”
Wang Huai Yu raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment, and Qing Niang said, “You must have examined the mechanism’s timing device, but did you look at those arrows?”
Qin Wan frowned, and Wang Huai Yu demanded sternly, “You tampered with those arrows?”
Qing Niang took a deep breath, “Forty-nine arrows in total—just one more was enough for Qing Li to die on stage. It seems her martial arts weren’t up to par; she wasn’t qualified to be a troupe leader.”
Wang Huai Yu glared at Qing Niang, who looked at the yamen runners standing outside and took a shallow breath, “I had hoped to quietly kill a few people and then leave this place, but now that’s impossible. Magistrate, let’s go. My revenge is complete, my heart’s wish fulfilled. When I go underground, I can face Master with a clear conscience.”
As Qing Niang spoke, she lifted her chin and walked toward the door. Just as she crossed the threshold, heavy footsteps pursued from behind. Qing Niang paused but didn’t look back. She walked slowly until she stood before Qin Wan.
“Who would have thought that among so many people, it was Ninth Young Miss who saw through the mystery, rendering all my careful planning futile.”
Qin Wan met Qing Niang’s composed eyes, then looked at her sleeve after a moment, “There is no dragon musk that turns red.”
Qing Niang was slightly startled, looking at Qin Wan and then at her sleeve, before suddenly laughing.
Her laughter grew louder, and after a moment she let out a long breath, “Good, good, good—this time I truly admit defeat.”
Qing Niang’s tone was admiring. Qin Wan’s lips tightened slightly as she said, “You didn’t plan everything so carefully. From the moment you walked out today, you knew I was following you. You seemed to set up a scheme, but left the biggest flaw—you never actually left the Small Red Tower. You disappeared, and then the murder occurred. All the previous minor suspicions could be confirmed.”
Qing Niang looked at Qin Wan and smiled faintly, “Oh? And why is that?”
Qin Wan looked into Qing Niang’s somewhat clouded eyes, “Good follows reason, evil defies it—only demons are unreasonable. You knew you were already under suspicion and simply didn’t want to hide anymore. Or perhaps, from the moment you killed Qing Li, you were prepared for this day. If not for the past events, you would never have killed anyone.”
Qing Niang’s smile deepened, “Ninth Young Miss is truly a kind person. I only wish that from now on, everything goes as you wish, and you remain forever happy and peaceful.”
After saying this, Qing Niang let out another long breath, then suddenly turned and walked outside.
Her steps were light and her expression relaxed, as if she had cast off the greatest burden on her shoulders, showing a kind of unrestrained delight.