Ming Shu wasn’t hard-hearted after all. She asked Commander Wei for more refreshments, and this time they brought two plates of snacks and three cups of tea. Except for Ming Shu, both Lu Chang and Song Qingzhao each received their plate of snacks and cup of tea.
Now there should be nothing to fight over, right?
Ming Shu truly couldn’t understand what these two were fussing about. Perhaps they hadn’t competed enough in the imperial examinations and needed to continue their rivalry in private.
After distributing the snacks, she watched the two young men sipping their tea and became momentarily entranced. Both wore red robes and had similar builds – from a distance, it was almost impossible to tell them apart.
Though they sat side by side now, they had created enough space between them to fit two people comfortably. Ming Shu, needing to discuss the Wei Manor case with them, thought to sit between them for easier conversation. But before she could act on this thought, she saw Lu Chang move closer to Song Qingzhao, reducing the space between them until it couldn’t even fit half of Ming Shu.
The message was clear enough – Ming Shu would have to be a fool not to understand. She chose to sit beside Lu Chang, leaning forward to explain the Wei household situation to both of them.
From afar, Commander Wei watched the three young people sitting together on the stone steps and couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
The youth was truly wonderful.
————
Though the Wei Manor’s haunting wasn’t a long story, explaining it still required considerable effort. Ming Shu finished an entire cup of tea before thoroughly explaining the ghost situation and the Wei household circumstances to Lu Chang and Song Qingzhao.
“The Kaifeng Prefecture should have sent a female doctor to examine Lady Du Wenhui’s condition by now, and Investigator Ying has taken people to search for evidence of the ghost impersonator. Results should come soon. Whether Lady Du Wenhui was truly imprisoned and abused by Master Wei, whether someone really helped her fake the haunting, and who that person might be – all should be revealed shortly.” Ming Shu concluded her analysis with these words.
“Do you think there’s a connection between the haunting and Master Wei’s death?” Song Qingzhao asked Ming Shu’s opinion.
Ming Shu shook her head: “Hard to say. The most challenging aspect of this case is that Master Wei left the banquet at the Hour of Hai. By that time, except for the servants attending the banquet, most people in the rear court had retired for the night, making it difficult to provide solid alibis. Without precise alibis, anyone in the Wei Manor becomes a suspect, making it very difficult to narrow down suspects. For now, we can only investigate through possible motives, and the haunting incident happens to expose Master Wei’s hypocritical nature. His low character means there are more people with motives in the Wei household. Besides Lady Du Wenhui and the officially suspected Wei Chao, Master Wei’s concubine Yan Shao might also have a motive. A man who could treat his legal wife that way wouldn’t be kind to his concubines. In Master Wei’s mind, women were probably just playthings – some to be kept on a high shelf for his amusement, others to be given away to curry favor or use in transactions.”
When Commander Wei arrived at the Wei Manor last night, Yan Shao had been dressed up and sent to serve in the outer court, proving her status in Master Wei’s household – merely a concubine to be traded at will. Though Yan Shao came from a pleasure house, being redeemed to become someone’s concubine surely made her hope for a normal life. Master Wei treated her as a mere object, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she developed resentment over time.
Most murders have three possible motives: love, money, or hatred.
The Wei household servants were all personally selected by Master Wei, making romantic or financial entanglements unlikely. Looking at the household, only Lady Du Wenhui and Yan Shao had direct relationships with Master Wei. Judging purely by motives, either could be possible.
“As for why Wei Chao is considered a suspect, I don’t know. They won’t tell me what they’ve found. After the murder, Investigator Ying kept watching me, so I could only stay by Uncle Wei’s side and couldn’t investigate anything.” Ming Shu still felt angry mentioning Investigator Ying.
“According to military organization, one army consists of two thousand five hundred men under one Commander. This Master Wei commanded two thousand five hundred men and rose from nothing – regardless of his character, his capabilities must have been considerable. Someone with a military background would have good fighting skills, reflexes, and perception, especially someone like Master Wei who climbed to his position through his efforts – he shouldn’t be underestimated. Ming Shu, have you considered whether any of the people you mentioned would have the ability to push Master Wei into the lake and drown him without a sound?” Lu Chang asked incisively.
As he finished speaking, he saw Ming Shu’s delicate brows furrow.
This indeed seemed impossible. Not only Lady Du Wenhui and Yan Shao, but even the only two men in the rear court, Ding Xuan and Wei Chao, couldn’t have done it.
First, pushing Master Wei into the lake would be difficult. Second, even if Master Wei couldn’t swim, he wouldn’t have resigned himself to death – he would certainly have called for help. To kill him, the murderer would have had to hold his head underwater until he drowned. Meeting all these conditions while avoiding detection by passing servants would require exceptional abilities from the killer.
“There’s another possibility – the lotus pond in the East Garden might not be the initial crime scene. He might have been killed elsewhere and then pushed into the pond. His true cause of death might not be drowning,” Song Qingzhao speculated.
“If not drowning, then he must have had a confrontation with someone on the ground and been ambushed. But with Master Wei’s fighting skills, he should have at least struggled. When they discovered the body this morning, I glimpsed it – he had no apparent injuries, his clothes were neat, his hair undisturbed, his expression normal…” Ming Shu pondered, resting her chin on her hands supported by her elbows.
As she spoke, she lowered her head and said: “Even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice. What’s the use of us discussing this? It’s all speculation. Without seeing the coroner’s report or the crime scene, we have too few clues to make any deductions. We can’t do anything. It’s all that Investigator Ying’s fault!”
“Investigator Ying?” Lu Chang and Song Qingzhao said in unison, then glanced at each other before looking away.
“Yes, that young detective from Kaifeng Prefecture – stubborn, arbitrary, and overbearing!” Ming Shu complained casually, then looked up to see Kaifeng Prefecture officials returning to meet Commander Wei in the courtyard. “Look, that’s him.”
Lu Chang and Song Qingzhao looked over just as the group was saying something to Commander Wei and looking their way, their gazes meeting. Commander Wei beckoned to Ming Shu.
“Uncle Wei is calling me. Wonder what trouble Ying has stirred up now. Let’s go see!” Ming Shu jumped up and ran toward Commander Wei.
Lu Chang and Song Qingzhao naturally stood and followed.
Commander Wei’s guards had brought several lanterns, illuminating the case files Investigator Ying had handed to him. As Ming Shu approached, Commander Wei put down the files and said kindly: “Investigator Ying says your suspicion is basically cleared, and you can go home with your brother.”
Ming Shu looked at Investigator Ying in surprise: “How did I suddenly become unsuspected?”
“It’s only temporarily cleared,” Investigator Ying said stiffly. “We’ve questioned all Wei household personnel and examined the manor’s layout. From the Second Branch’s side garden to the East Garden, one must pass through the night watch point arranged by the Main Branch in the rear garden. Two elderly women were on duty there, and we’ve verified that during the Hour of Hai, they didn’t see you in the rear garden. We’ve also confirmed your purpose for entering the manor with Second Madam Wei, confirming your story. So we can temporarily exclude you as a suspect, but we don’t rule out other possibilities. If we discover new suspicious points, we’ll have to ask you to return.”
Without waiting for Ming Shu’s reaction, he turned to Commander Wei: “Commander, these are the investigation files sent by order of the Deputy Magistrate, including the coroner’s report and statements from everyone in the Wei household. Please review them.”
Commander Wei responded with a “hmm” and lowered his head to open the files. After reading just two lines, he looked up again: “Little one, look at the time – shouldn’t you go home with your brother?”
Ming Shu looked at Lu Chang, who remained silent. Understanding his meaning, she smiled and asked: “Can I stay?”
“Stay?” Commander Wei asked in surprise. “This is a murder scene. You’ve finally been cleared of suspicion and can go home – why stay?” He paused, seeing Ming Shu hesitate to speak, then suddenly realized, “You don’t want to stay to investigate the case, do you?”
Ming Shu nodded vigorously.
Commander Wei laughed, looking at the three young people before him: “So, you all want to stay?”
“In response to the Commander, this Qingzhao wishes to do his utmost to assist the court.”
“Lu Chang as well.”
“Hahaha.” Commander Wei laughed out loud, pointing at each of them in turn. “Song Qingzhao… Lu Chang… Lu Ming Shu, the new Top Scholar, this year’s Second Scholar, and the Top Scholar’s sister… Interesting. The Songling Academy case was also solved by you three, wasn’t it?”
“The Songling Academy case was solved through the collaboration of the Third Prince, Lord Lu, and all attendants present. We three dare not claim credit,” Lu Chang replied with a bow.
Commander Wei’s smile gradually faded as he studied them seriously for a moment before saying: “Very well, you may stay…”
“Commander, this breaks protocol,” Investigator Ying frowned.
Commander Wei waved his hand: “Master Wei’s death involves military matters. I need to solve this case and catch the murderer quickly. I will personally explain this to your Deputy Magistrate. If there are any issues, I’ll take full responsibility. You need to say no more.”
With his words final, Investigator Ying had no room to object and could only bow and accept the order.
Ming Shu was overjoyed, eyeing the case files in Commander Wei’s hands: “Then… can we see the files?”
Commander Wei pulled out two pages for her – the coroner’s report.
Ming Shu immediately began reading upon receiving them, with Song Qingzhao and Lu Chang gathering around her to look.
“Time of death between mid-Hour of Hai and end of Hour of Chou, no obvious external injuries, death confirmed as drowning, with no signs of struggle. The deceased had taken… ” Ming Shu paused, looking up to exchange glances with Lu Chang and Song Qingzhao, “sleeping drugs before death?”
If he had been drugged unconscious, that would explain why Master Wei drowned in the pond without struggling.
“This subordinate came to ask the Commander about the sleeping drugs. Besides dining with the Commander, Master Wei didn’t go anywhere else. He entered the East Garden after leaving the banquet at mid-hour of Hai, so the drugs were likely consumed during the banquet. Did the Commander notice anything unusual?” Investigator Ying asked with cupped hands.
Commander Wei’s kindly expression vanished, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes sharp as he said: “The drugged cup of wine… was given to him by me.”
“…” Everyone looked at Commander Wei in shock.