The assembled physicians presented the “unknown” herb to the magistrate’s table. Magistrate Xu and Coroner Li stared at it intently for some time and could make nothing of it. They could only call Hua Yitang over to examine it together.
Hua Yitang looked closely. The herb had a thick and sturdy main stem, forking into branching shoots, with dull deep-green leaves of varying sizes, and a large, fleshy root system — medicinal herbs numbered in the hundreds, and even with his wide reading, he could not place it at a glance.
Hua Yitang hesitated. “Magistrate Xu — might I ask a friend to come up and identify it?”
Magistrate Xu readily agreed, and Hua Yitang waved his fan to beckon Lin Sui’an.
Unfortunately, Hua Yitang had overestimated Lin Sui’an this time around. As a “grains are a mystery” type of modern person, being able to tell spring onions from garlic shoots was already a heroic achievement — naturally she would not recognize so obscure an herb.
Magistrate Xu: “Doctor Ji — what herb is this, exactly?”
Ji Gaoyang sighed. “This herb is called Red Peach Nightshade. It originates from the Goryeo nation. When the root and leaves are dried and ground into powder, it can be taken orally to treat wheezing, applied externally to relieve rheumatism, and has analgesic properties as well.” He sighed again. “This herb is non-toxic. If you don’t believe me, look at the leaves — you can see many gaps in them. To be frank, those are from the rabbits I keep eating them. The rabbits are in my inner courtyard. If you don’t believe me, fetch one and test it.”
Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang exchanged a look: the rabbits!
Magistrate Xu examined the herb carefully and indeed found that several of the stems were completely bare, clearly stripped by some animal. “Bring one of the Ji Family Medical Clinic’s rabbits!” he commanded.
The constables sighed and grumbled, prodded two of their number out of the hall. They were back in less than half a cup of tea’s time — but one had his hair in disarray and the other was covered in dirt, a claw scratch on his face. The fat rabbit they were holding was thrashing all four legs in the air. It was all white fur, black-eared, and clearly a “familiar face” — the same one that had caused chaos at the clinic’s front hall earlier.
This rabbit had no shyness about strangers at all. Ignoring everyone around it, it made a full circuit of Magistrate Xu’s table, found its way to the Red Peach Nightshade, bared its two prominent front teeth, and began to munch away. The crowd stood in a ring around it, hardly daring to breathe, watching as the rabbit ate the entire plant, scratched one ear, raised its hindquarters, deposited several round black droppings, and then kicked its back legs to bolt. Lin Sui’an was quick — she shot out a hand and seized the rabbit by the ears, then watched it carefully for a while longer. The rabbit was lively and vigorous, showing not the slightest sign of poisoning.
A dead silence fell over the hall. Every gaze converged on Fang Ke.
Fang Ke’s brow furrowed. “Impossible. There must be another herb that was missed. I do not make errors.”
The constables who had spent all morning running about could not resist some pointed sarcasm: “Physician Fang, we turned the Ji Family Medical Clinic inside out and upside down. Not one weed was overlooked.”
Coroner Li: “You see? Being a coroner is not something just anyone can do. Examining a body incorrectly is a small matter; disgracing the dead is a grave one.”
The physicians who had been tasked with examining the medical materials piled on: “Fang Ke — give it a rest. Healing the sick and saving lives is clearly not your forte, but slandering your colleagues, that you’re quite good at. Spend more time reading your medical texts. Stop sticking your nose into things that don’t concern you, like a dog trying to catch rats.”
Amid the chorus of mockery and insults, Fang Ke reverted to that stone-carved look. His face was drained white, the pupils of his eyes holding no light. The daylight from outside fell across his thin and bony spine, highlighting every hollow and ridge in his frame.
The contrast he made with Ji Gaoyang could not have been starker. Ji Gaoyang wore an expression of sorrowful compassion — shaking his head, sighing — seeming deeply concerned for Fang Ke. But Lin Sui’an’s sharp eye caught it: in the instant Ji Gaoyang lowered his head to sigh, in the shifting interplay of light and shadow, a smile tugged strangely at the corner of his mouth.
Lin Sui’an narrowed her eyes, and quickly exchanged a glance with Hua Yitang.
Magistrate Xu slammed his gavel down with force: “Fang Ke, you have maliciously slandered Ji Gaoyang, caused a public disturbance in this court, and made a mockery of the yamen. Your conduct is contemptible. This court sentences you to forty strokes of the rod, and a fine of three thousand coins. Do you accept this judgment?!”
Fang Ke said nothing. He paid the magistrate no attention whatsoever.
Magistrate Xu trembled with outrage. “Constables! Drag Fang Ke out and give him a thorough beating!”
“Hold.” Hua Yitang stepped forward, leaned close, and said in a low voice: “Do not apply the punishment yet. I still have use for this man.”
Magistrate Xu bent in close. “What does the fourth son mean by that?”
“To speak plainly — the Hua Family’s Precious Treasure Pavilion has had a theft, and this man is connected to it. If he is beaten senseless, my investigation cannot continue.”
“I see — so this man is guilty of still more crimes!” The magistrate nodded vigorously. “Then in your view, fourth son — how should he be handled?”
“Place him in custody for now. Once I have gathered the evidence, both cases can be tried together and a full conviction obtained. He will have no choice but to admit his guilt.” Hua Yitang said, then produced a bulging purse of gold leaves from his robe and pressed it into the magistrate’s palm. “This matter is closely tied to the Hua Family and must be handled with care. I am grateful for Magistrate Xu’s trouble. Once the case is resolved, the Hua Family will offer its substantial thanks.”
Magistrate Xu pocketed the heavy purse, his eyes narrowing to two satisfied slits. “Fourth son of the Hua Family, rest easy. Constables — place Fang Ke under arrest and see that he is carefully guarded!”
Two constables stepped forward and, amid a tide of contemptuous looks, hauled Fang Ke away.
“Doctor Ji, thank you for your trouble — what a difficult morning this has been. Please do go home and rest.” Magistrate Xu turned to Ji Gaoyang with a respectful bow.
Ji Gaoyang rose and returned the bow. “Thank you for Magistrate Xu’s consideration. Though Physician Fang’s conduct is rather extreme, his heart is not bad — please do not be too harsh with him.”
Magistrate Xu was moved. “Doctor Ji truly has the heart of a bodhisattva.”
The crowd joined in with universal praise. Ji Gaoyang bowed in return to every side, then walked out of the hall with his head held high.
“Your Excellency — my uncle’s pearl still hasn’t been found!” Lujiu finally found his moment and bellowed: “This was supposed to be my case!”
“Lujiu — do not make a nuisance of yourself!” Magistrate Xu snapped. “I will have someone look into it for you. Wait at home.”
“How long do I have to wait?!”
“Constables — take Lujiu out and administer his rod punishment.”
“Aaah! My uncle died unjustly! My pearl! My pearl!”
Magistrate Xu slammed his gavel: “Court is dismissed!”
The hearing had ended. The case had not merely failed to advance — every lead they had found before was now gone. The mood among the group was somewhat subdued.
Lin Sui’an sorted through her thoughts, then asked Jin Ruo to investigate the backgrounds of the other nine individuals in Fang Ke’s autopsy records, and compare their situations against Lu Shi’s. Perhaps something could be found there.
Jin Ruo was deeply unhappy about this — lunch was less than half an hour away, and he lived in fear of Hua Yitang leaving nothing for him at the table. After Lin Sui’an swore three times that she would personally reserve at least six dishes and three soups, he went off without further protest.
Back at the guesthouse, Mu Xia had conjured a rich midday meal as if by magic, and Yita had prepared a pot of some deeply suspicious dark blue brew. His large blue eyes were fixed on Lin Sui’an with eager expectation.
Lin Sui’an focused intensely on doing anything except making eye contact with Yita and shoveled steamed buns into her mouth, not leaving so much as a crack. Hua Yitang the great bottomless pit, by contrast, had inexplicably lost his appetite entirely. He sat at a graceful angle to one side, his fan lightly tapping his temple, long lashes half-lowered — tap, tap, tap. Then he let the fan fall and began to turn it slowly.
This was his habit when thinking — the fan had to stay in hand, and the faster his thoughts moved, the faster the fan turned. Lin Sui’an had an idle whim: what if his fan were ever lost — would he lose the ability to reason?
“Pig person, have some tea.”
In that moment of distraction, Yita found his opening and pressed the teacup practically to her lips. The thick dark-blue liquid was bubbling sluggishly, giving off the smell of a muddy pond in frog season. Lin Sui’an accepted the cup without comment, turned it in her hands, and said with an expression of thoughtful concern to Hua Yitang: “Do you have any thoughts on what to do next?”
Hua Yitang was quiet for a moment. “I’m wondering if we may have misjudged things. Perhaps the Precious Treasure Pavilion case and the Lu Shi case have nothing to do with each other — it may be purely coincidental that they arose at the same time. It might be better to treat the two cases separately. That might yield a breakthrough.”
Lin Sui’an had arrived at the same thought.
The two cases had arisen nearly simultaneously, Xiao Yan happened to be entangled in both, and the distraction of the pearl hairpin had guided their early assumptions — so from the start, they had chosen to investigate them together. But as the investigation deepened, more and more evidence suggested the two cases shared no common thread. Lin Sui’an was now forced to consider another possibility — that these two incidents were the result of her own bad luck and Hua Yitang’s knack for attracting trouble operating at the same time… surely not?
That was even more unsettling. She refused to accept it.
Hua Yitang asked Mu Xia: “Has my elder brother replied?”
“I sent word back to Yangdu as the fourth son instructed, and received the head of family’s reply at dawn. He says—” Mu Xia paused. “Actually, over this past year, besides the Five Capitals, counterfeit goods have turned up in several of the Hua Family’s jewelry shops in various major county cities. Not in large numbers, but spread across a fairly wide area — the situation closely resembles what has been seen in Heyue City.”
Hua Yitang gritted his teeth. “I knew it. A pampered young master like me who manages nothing should be the last one called on to audit accounts — clearly my elder brother sent me here to investigate the counterfeiting case all along!”
Lin Sui’an nodded. “The head of the Hua Family is wise.”
Waste, put to use.
“In all these incidents, there are three common elements: first, genuine items were replaced by counterfeits. Second, when the staff reviewed their memories, they recalled that before each incident a customer had tried on the genuine piece. These customers were mostly accompanied by a regular patron, largely well-dressed women ranging from seventeen or eighteen to fifty or sixty years of age — refined in speech, graceful in manner, clearly of distinguished families, and difficult to be on one’s guard against. Third, when the managers later asked the regular patrons about these women, the patrons said they did not actually know them — they had only happened to meet and, finding each other good company, had come to the shop together.”
Lin Sui’an clicked her tongue thoughtfully. “Most likely a roving thief. The method was probably to pose as a noble lady shopping for jewelry, and while trying on a piece, to switch the genuine article for a counterfeit without anyone noticing. For example, that aunt-by-marriage of the Yuan Family’s fifth daughter — the method sounds simple, but executing it is far from simple.”
First, you needed acting ability. Second, you needed rock-solid composure. Third, you needed exceptional social skills. Most importantly — what technique did this thief use to impersonate women of different ages and appearances? Could it be—
Hua Yitang fanned himself vigorously. “What came of the investigation into the Yuan Family’s aunt?”
Mu Xia: “Word came back from Guangdu. The Yuan Family fifth daughter’s aunt-by-marriage has indeed been dead for more than two years. So the elderly woman the fifth daughter saw was either someone who simply happened to look like her aunt, or someone else in disguise.”
Hua Yitang scoffed: “There are no such coincidences.”
Mu Xia: “If it was a disguise—”
Yita raised a hand: “I know this, the story books have it, it’s ‘con-stume art.'”
Lin Sui’an was enormously excited: “There’s actually a disguise technique?!”
“That level of craft vanished from the martial world about fifty years ago,” Jin Ruo said, striding in with the wind in his step, dropping into a seat beside Mu Xia and grabbing a steamed bun to stuff in his mouth. He said, garbled: “And even if the person had returned to the world, they wouldn’t stoop to petty theft like this.”
“Oh, who are you talking about?” Lin Sui’an asked.
Jin Ruo held up five fingers. “Martial world secrets of that caliber — fifty gold per piece of information.”
Lin Sui’an changed the subject immediately: “What did you find in Beiyue Ward?”
Jin Ruo drank some water. “Nine dead — four old men, five old women. All over sixty. All widowed and alone. All chronically ill, all destitute, all without family or kin. They were barely ever seen around the ward — the number of times they stepped outside in a month could be counted on one hand. They died in their homes, rotted for half a month or more before anyone found them, with no one to collect the bodies, buried in the Wasteland Burial Grounds. Compared to them, Lu Shi was actually fortunate — Lujiu may never have given him any care, but at least he was a distant nephew, and Xiao Yan visited him regularly, so his body was found sooner than any of the other nine.”
Lin Sui’an pondered this. “The sooner a body is found, the sooner an autopsy can be done, and the more difficult it is to conceal the cause of death. The longer a body goes undiscovered, the easier it is to hide how the person died…”
So the killer deliberately chose those nine people… didn’t he…
Hua Yitang: “The core question now is the cause of Lu Shi’s death. If Ji Gaoyang was telling the truth, it was an accident. If Fang Ke’s account is correct, it was poisoning. Under ordinary circumstances this should not be a question at all — but Coroner Li is completely useless. A tragedy born of the lack of competent forensic talent.”
“And I keep feeling that something about that Red Peach Nightshade is strange…”
Jin Ruo: “But the rabbit ate it and was perfectly fine.”
Yita raised a hand: “Bald man eat the medicine first.”
Mu Xia translated: “The rabbit ate the antidote first.”
“That’s not it.” Lin Sui’an shook her head. “When we went to the Ji Family Medical Clinic before, we saw those rabbits — they were roaming all through the herb garden, eating everything in sight. If the herbs were toxic, they’d have been dead long ago.”
Jin Ruo: “So you actually find Fang Ke more credible?”
Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang both nodded.
Mu Xia was greatly puzzled: “Why?”
Yita was confused: “Fang Ke’s face looks more like a bad person.”
Lin Sui’an: “I watched Fang Ke conduct the autopsy myself. His method was considerably more rigorous than a typical coroner’s.”
“The autopsy records he wrote were clear in their structure, precise in detail, and stringent in their reasoning — not the kind of thing that could be fabricated.” Hua Yitang tapped his fan. “And furthermore — in Heyue City, every man, woman, and child speaks nothing but praise of Ji Gaoyang. That is not natural. Even the most exceptional person in the world finds it difficult to be liked by everyone.”
At these words, everyone except Mu Xia was taken aback.
Jin Ruo: “Someone like that actually exists? Who?”
Hua Yitang’s eyes curved, the fan in his hand spinning in a full arc before pointing squarely at himself. Mu Xia stepped smoothly to one side and struck a pose of grand introduction: “None other than Hua Family’s fourth son — famed throughout the land!”
Yita broke into applause.
Jin Ruo nearly choked to death on his steamed bun. “Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!”
Lin Sui’an pressed a hand to her forehead, making every effort to steer the conversation — which had veered wildly off course by roughly ten thousand li — back onto its proper heading. “Based on the characteristics of the nine victims and the killer’s pattern, Lu Shi was not the ideal target. So why take the risk of killing him? Unless there was some particular reason—”
As she said it, something clicked in her mind. She looked sharply at Hua Yitang.
Hua Yitang had clearly arrived at the same thought. His eyes gleamed as bright as stars: “Because the killer saw the pearl jewelry and was seized by greed!”
Lin Sui’an’s heart hammered unevenly in her chest, though her expression stayed steady. She nodded: “Very plausible. But there’s no evidence.”
Jin Ruo: “Now I’m wondering — does the jewelry even actually exist? Lujiu didn’t find it, Xiao Yan, the person closest to Lu Shi, didn’t know about it — didn’t even know what kind of jewelry it was. Except for Lu Shi himself, there’s no living person who’s ever seen it.”
Lin Sui’an: “There is someone who’s seen it.”
Jin Ruo, Mu Xia, and Yita: “Who?!”
Her golden ability had seen it!
Of course — and also—
Lin Sui’an narrowed her eyes. “The killer.”
Jin Ruo: “What good does that do?! Are you expecting the killer to just take it out themselves?”
“A fine idea.” Hua Yitang snapped his fan shut and smiled — a look of complete, serene innocence. “Let’s have the killer take it out themselves!”
Side Story
Hua Yitang: Now it’s my stage! Come on — let’s make some drama!