Jing Zhi’s sudden call was what made Yan Qing realize there were now two people before her. She put down her book, rolled her slightly stiffened neck, and said at an unhurried pace, “Stay calm when something happens. Don’t rush.”

“Oh, yes, Jing Zhi understands, Jing Zhi will definitely take note next time.” Jing Zhi came forward still catching her breath. “Miss, even though I didn’t find the pillow or the bedding in the rubbish heap, I found out a very important piece of news. This Cui Nong used to be involved with a cook called A-Li from the kitchen. A-Li would often visit Cui Nong in the rear service building, and people had seen them meeting in the small grove. But after Cui Nong was reassigned to the First Young Master’s courtyard, she and A-Li had no further contact. They say A-Li couldn’t let go and kept pursuing Cui Nong, and the two of them had a fierce argument. Cui Nong scratched A-Li’s face raw.”

Murong set the medicines she’d bought on the table. “Could it be that A-Li killed Cui Nong out of love turned to hatred?”

Jing Zhi nodded eagerly. “Xiao Yue said that A-Li had threatened many times to make things miserable for Cui Nong, and that Cui Nong was terrified of him. I think Cui Nong’s death was A-Li’s doing.”

“It wasn’t him.” Yan Qing dismissed their reasoning with absolute certainty. “A-Li is a rough, common man — he would have no use for a goose-down pillow. However, he may still be able to give us some new leads. Come — let’s go meet this A-Li.”

A-Li worked as an ordinary chopping hand in the kitchen, handling tasks like cutting vegetables and cleaving meat. He was not tall, nor was he of imposing build, but he was solidly sturdy.

Not wishing to attract attention, Yan Qing had Murong bring A-Li to the kitchen woodshed. The moment he laid eyes on Yan Qing sitting there, A-Li startled, then quickly offered his respects: “Sixth Miss.”

Yan Qing studied him carefully for a moment before speaking. “How much do you know about what happened to Cui Nong?”

A-Li’s face changed at once upon hearing the question. He instinctively stepped back two paces. Murong immediately blocked the doorway and said in a low, firm voice, “There’s no running from this. You’d better come clean.”

“Sixth Miss, I haven’t had any dealings with her for a long time. I don’t know anything. Her death has absolutely nothing to do with me.” A-Li dropped to his knees with a thud and shouted his innocence.

Yan Qing waited until he’d wailed for a moment before speaking quietly: “Cui Nong was killed.”

“Killed?” A-Li stopped his howling at once and stared at Yan Qing in shock. She did not speak again, only calmly held his gaze.

After a moment, A-Li let out a sudden wail and burst into tears, crying and shouting all at once: “I always said a toad can’t ever reach the swan — but she just wouldn’t listen. Well, there you have it. She never became a mistress, and she threw her own life away in the bargain.”

Jing Zhi and Murong exchanged a glance. Jing Zhi couldn’t help pressing him. “A-Li, Sixth Miss is here to stand up for you now. Tell us everything you know. What was really going on between you and Cui Nong?”

A-Li sobbed for a long while before managing to speak in fragments. “Cui Nong and I knew each other before either of us came to the Yan Family. We were… we were sweethearts, you could say. Things were going fine between us — we planned to save up a few more years and go back to our hometown to get married. But then one day, out of nowhere, Cui Nong said she didn’t want to be with me anymore. I pushed her for a reason, but she hemmed and hawed and wouldn’t say. So I followed her secretly, and I found out that things between her and the First Young Master were… not proper. I confronted her directly, but she talked me into giving up. She said she was going to marry the First Young Master as a concubine and live a life of wealth and luxury. I went to her several times after that, but she always spoke harshly to me and told me not to ruin her happiness. And then, about a week ago, I’d had a little to drink and tried again to get her to change her mind. When I saw her, her face was badly swollen. She was crying and said the First Young Mistress had beaten her. I told her to give it up, but she said that after coming this far, she couldn’t afford to fail. She said she had a way to get the First Young Master to take her as a concubine.”

“And after that?” Jing Zhi urged.

—