Upon returning from the Wu’an Marquis Manor, Madam Hu went to speak with Qin Shu, thoroughly satisfied. Seeing this, Qin Xiang knew there was no changing the situation. Though Qin Shuang wanted to tease her while touring the garden, Qin Xiang returned to her courtyard alone.
Before Qin Wan could return to Pine Breeze Courtyard, a servant reported that Old Master Han had arrived.
Hearing this, Qin Wan immediately knew that Old Master Han had finished preparing the residence in the west. When she reached the front courtyard, indeed, Old Master Han had come to report good news. After a brief conversation, seeing it was still early, Qin Wan decided to make a trip out.
Before leaving, Qin Wan had Bai Ying send a message to Yan Chi.
Although Qin Yi was responsible for escorting Qin Wan to the palace to treat the Empress Dowager, starting today, Qin Wan would only visit the palace every other day. Thus, she hadn’t seen Qin Yi all day, which suited her purposes well.
After informing Madam Hu, Qin Wan left with Fu Ling and Bai Ying, accompanying Old Master Han out of the manor.
The carriage headed west, and after about two cups of tea worth of time, they arrived at the Qin residence in Chang Le District.
At the gate, they saw that what had been covered in dust and cobwebs just days ago was now completely renewed. The door had been repainted, the locks replaced with new ones free of rust, and a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy stood guard at the entrance.
Old Master Han explained, “Young Miss, this is a child from a farming family on the estate. Two years ago, his parents died of illness, so I had him work as a servant on the estate. He’s a good child. When this old servant returned to the city, I brought only him among others. This residence isn’t large – this old servant and he are enough to handle Young Miss’s affairs.”
Looking at the boy, he added, “Er Bao, kowtow to Young Miss.”
At these words, Er Bao knelt and kowtowed to Qin Wan.
Since the residence was entrusted to Old Master Han’s care, Qin Wan naturally didn’t interfere with staffing matters. Moreover, Old Master Han seemed to understand her thoughts and hadn’t chosen any suspicious strangers.
“Rise. It’s not convenient for Old Han to live alone, so it’s good you’re here. Take good care of Old Han regularly.”
Er Bao rose, repeatedly agreeing. Old Han, understanding Qin Wan’s thoughts, showed some emotion in his eyes.
Entering the gate, they found the residence indeed as elegant as Old Han had described. Though not large, both corners of the entrance courtyard were filled with bamboo groves. A tall screen wall bore an elegant poem. Past the screen wall was a through-hall with four wing rooms, moon gates on both sides and beyond the through-hall lay a spacious central courtyard.
In the depths of winter, only withered branches remained of the lotus pond in the courtyard’s center, while green bamboo and several blooming red plum trees lined the courtyard walls. As they walked, Old Han explained, “These past days we’ve only cleared the courtyard. No one lived here before, and weeds grew everywhere. After clearing those, we made some renovations. This old servant took the liberty of opening an account at the shop to buy some new furniture, so Young Miss can stay comfortably when she visits.”
He continued, “The main hall in the back is for Young Miss. Of the side courtyards, the left-wing rooms will serve as storage, while the right-wing rooms are plenty for me and Er Bao. The kitchen is also in the right side court.”
Qin Wan found this arrangement acceptable and said nothing more. Entering the rooms, she saw that half the furniture was new and half showed age. The rooms had been cleaned spotless, with new curtains on all sides. Though not as elegant and refined as Pine Breeze Courtyard, it was suitable for a young lady’s residence. Qin Wan understood Old Han’s thoughtful efforts.
After viewing the main hall, Qin Wan checked both side courts. Upon completing her inspection, she said, “Old Han, you should start living here tonight. I may not come every day, so make yourselves comfortable.”
Old Han quickly nodded, “This old servant understands Young Miss’s meaning. Please be at ease – this old servant will be here whenever Young Miss comes.”
These words warmed Qin Wan’s heart. Old Han had been the Second Branch’s steward for half his life, and now knowing Qin Wan could only live as a guest at the Marquis Manor, he worried about her suffering any grievances there.
After looking around, Qin Wan said no more. Soon, Bai Ying, who had been watching outside, entered the inner court.
“Young Miss, His Highness the Young Master has arrived—”
Qin Wan quickly said, “Please invite His Highness in.”
Old Han showed momentary surprise, as did Er Bao standing nearby.
His Highness the Young Master? Though the Loyal and Brave Marquis Manor was noble, hearing the title “His Highness” still caught Old Han off guard. Qin Wan said, “I need to discuss some matters with His Highness. Don’t worry about it, Old Han, you may retire.”
Old Han hesitated for a moment. “Er Bao, go brew tea—”
Old Han treated Yan Chi as a guest, seemingly worried about Qin Wan being discourteous. Qin Wan smiled. “Go on, Old Han, it’s fine. Fu Ling is here, she can handle these things.”
Only then did Old Han withdraw with Er Bao, and soon after, Yan Chi entered the inner court.
Fu Ling and Bai Ying bowed, and Qin Wan led Yan Chi inside.
Yan Chi glanced around the courtyard. “It was prepared so quickly?”
Qin Wan nodded and went straight to the point. “Have there been any developments in the Meng family case these past two days?”
Yan Chi’s eyes darkened slightly at her words. “Meng Hui is highly suspicious. Fourth Madam is his only alibi for those two nights, and being his wife, her testimony isn’t entirely credible. He’s the only one in the household who practices martial arts.”
He continued, “Not only was that holly tree near the Third and Fourth Branches, but the traces by the lake also led toward the Third and Fourth Branches. After killing Meng Wei on the fourth night, the killer left through the lake, leaving traces on the opposite shore. All evidence points to the Third and Fourth Branches. But the three people in the Third Branch are all elderly, weak, or ill. In terms of the capability to commit the crime, only Meng Hui fits. Official Zheng has already detained Meng Hui in the Lin’an Prefecture jail pending investigation.”
Qin Wan listened with pressed lips. Her main responsibility was examining corpses; suggesting leads was merely offering her thoughts. Now that the Lin’an Prefecture and Ministry of Justice had made deductions based on the evidence found, it was perfectly normal.
Qin Wan sighed. “There’s something I feel might be related to the Meng family case – I thought of it today while attending the banquet at the Wu’an Marquis Manor—”
Yan Chi’s expression became serious. He had known Qin Wan must have had a reason for suddenly asking him here. “Tell me.”
“Today at the Wu’an Marquis Manor banquet, Old Madam Song had also invited a painter. We were in Moon-Viewing Pavilion, looking at my Fifth Sister’s prospective husband. The painter was working from the east, while my Fifth Sister’s future husband came from the west. In the end, the painter’s work only showed the plum grove and us in Moon-Viewing Pavilion because he couldn’t see the people coming from the west.”
Yan Chi’s eyes narrowed. “Because his view was blocked by the plum grove?”
Qin Wan nodded. “Exactly. He saw us looking down from the tower and assumed we were admiring some scenery, not knowing we were watching people.”
Yan Chi frowned slightly, still not understanding what Qin Wan meant to say.
She continued, “That day when I went to treat Miss Meng Yao and her brother, I saw the paintings Ning Bu Yi made of everyone on the eighth day of the twelfth month. You should know about this. I saw one painting where the three Meng brothers were on Ming De Tower. Meng Zhou and Meng Hui were laughing together, both looking into the distance, but Meng Jin’s gaze was downcast. At the time, I thought the painter had simply captured a moment and painted it, and even felt that Meng Jin couldn’t join in Meng Zhou and Meng Hui’s jovial conversation, revealing the Meng family’s internal strife. But today I realized these were all secondary – Meng Jin was looking down at someone below. Meng Yao said that while posing for the paintings, they walked around casually, and if the painter had a composition in mind, they would pause briefly for him to sketch. When being painted, everyone would present their best side. Meng Zhou and Meng Hui were displaying brotherly affection, but what caught Meng Jin’s attention? Who drew his attention?”
As Yan Chi listened, his frown deepened. Qin Wan continued, “We’ve said before that the struggle for the Meng family fortune might not be the direct cause of harm to Meng Wei and his son. Perhaps there are circumstances we don’t know about.”
Yan Chi nodded. “So you think this is our chance to discover other circumstances?”
Qin Wan nodded. “Those paintings are still in the Meng Manor, and every scene was painted according to the actual locations. If we find all the garden tour paintings now and compare them with the area around Ming De Tower, or ask the painting studio’s artists, we can know who would have been visible from the angle of Meng Jin’s downward gaze… We might make a discovery.”
Yan Chi’s eyes brightened as he listened. He hadn’t expected Qin Wan’s banquet visit to yield such insights, that she could notice such subtle details in these paintings—
“I understand what you mean. I’ll go to the Meng Manor right away.”
Yan Chi’s deep eyes held a clear light. “Would you like to come along?”
Qin Wan smiled and shook her head. “If I went, it wouldn’t make sense. You go ahead – it’s fine if nothing comes of it.”
Yan Chi’s voice deepened. “Did you call me here just for this? Will you come here often?”
Qin Wan nodded then shook her head. “It was urgent, I didn’t want to waste time. I won’t come often, after all, I can’t stay overnight. But if there’s anything important, I’ll likely send you a message to meet here.”
Understanding her meaning, Yan Chi stepped forward and embraced her briefly before quickly departing.
……
……
At the Meng Manor, Meng Yao was quite surprised when she learned that His Highness the Prince Rui’s Young Master had come with guards to see the paintings from the eighth day of the twelfth month, but she still calmly had people bring out all the scrolls.
In the front hall of the Meng Manor’s main courtyard, Yan Chi sat astride his sword-bearing horse while Meng Zhou stood nervously at attention nearby.
“Your Highness, why do you suddenly want to see the paintings from the eighth?”
The murder hadn’t occurred when the paintings were made on the eighth, so they couldn’t possibly be related to the case.
Yan Chi’s lips bore a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes, making him appear not friendly but rather mysteriously dangerous. “Master Meng need not concern himself with that.”
With just one sentence, he blocked any further questions from Meng Zhou, who dared not ask more. After a moment, several matrons from Meng Yao’s household brought the painting scrolls to the front hall.
Yan Chi stood up and, remembering Qin Wan’s words, opened all the scrolls one by one.
Soon, he found the painting of the three brothers on the tower.
Yan Chi studied it carefully, set it aside, and then found all the garden tour paintings that included people. He had Bai Feng and others hold the paintings, then ordered Meng Zhou to take him to Ming De Tower.
“Tell me, where were the painters positioned when creating these works that day?”
Even though he didn’t understand why Yan Chi wanted to see the paintings or visit the Ming De Tower, Meng Zhou dared not disobey. The two walked along the corridor toward Ming De Tower, soon reaching a pavilion.
Meng Zhou said, “Master Ning was painting from this pavilion at the time – it has a good view of Ming De Tower.”
Yan Chi narrowed his eyes. The pavilion stood in a flower garden, and not far away was an ornately carved flower wall, with Ming De Tower standing behind it. Though quite far from the tower, if one got closer, the view would narrow and wouldn’t be suitable for painting. Yan Chi nodded and pointed to the locations of other paintings. “Show me these places.”
Though confused, Meng Zhou hurriedly led Yan Chi around. The other paintings had been completed from various flower gardens and pavilions around Ming De Tower. Yan Chi then asked, “Were these paintings all completed simultaneously?”
At this question, Meng Zhou nodded again. “Yes, all around the same time. The individual portraits were done at one time, sitting in the main courtyard. For the other garden scenes, we first posed together on the west side of Ming De Tower, then one master followed my brothers and me, while two other masters followed the young ones and the sisters-in-law respectively.”
Yan Chi nodded, walking through each location shown in the paintings and noting them down. Finally, he climbed Ming De Tower and looked down following Meng Jin’s line of sight. His brow immediately furrowed.
To confirm, he opened several painting scrolls to compare, finally picking up one.
In that painting, the Third Branch’s Meng Zi Yi and his wife stood under a corridor, with their painter at the other end of the corridor. The couple looked like figures from a painting themselves as they gazed at distant plum blossoms.
From Meng Jin’s line of sight, the only people visible would have been Meng Zi Yi and Madam Xu, and since Meng Zhou said all the paintings were done at the same time, Meng Zi Yi and Madam Xu must have been under that corridor when Meng Jin was on Ming De Tower.
Meng Jin surely wasn’t looking at his sickly nephew, so the only explanation was that he was looking at his nephew’s beautiful wife, Madam Xu. Could Meng Jin have feelings for Madam Xu…?
Yan Chi’s frown deepened, almost in disbelief. The Third Branch’s Meng Zi Yi had a stutter and had been injured before. Moreover, he was short and sickly – how could he have killed Meng Wei and Meng Jin?
“Take these paintings back. This matter stays between us – don’t let others know.”
After Yan Chi’s pronouncement, he ordered Bai Feng, “Go to the Lin’an Prefecture office and invite Official Zheng and Captain Zhan.”
Bai Feng accepted the order and left. Meng Zhou nervously asked Yan Chi, “Your Highness, what has happened?”
Yan Chi’s lips tightened slightly. “The case of Meng Jin and his son isn’t without variables. Now, I suspect someone in your household is feigning illness. When Official Zheng and Captain Zhan arrive, I want to test this thoroughly.”