Jingkang Lane was the noisiest place in Bianjing City. Although it was crowded with shops, it was far from being a prosperous area; it was where ordinary people conducted their daily trades. Along the streets and alleys, shops sold everyday necessities for common folks: pottery jars, woven baskets, incense, paper horses, and the like. At dawn, there was an early market where open-air vendors sold fresh goods like sheep’s heads, chickens, rabbits, fish, and crabs. Entrails and discarded waste were casually thrown into woven baskets, blood flowing onto the ground, which would only be cleaned up starting from the afternoon market closure.
Mingshu arrived just as the early market was winding down. The townsfolk who had come early to buy groceries were dispersing, carrying their vegetable baskets. The damp ground was exposed, soaked with a mixture of blood and filthy water, and the street was filled with a strong fishy smell. Mingshu lifted her skirt and tiptoed a few steps to reach a cleaner spot. Just then, she spotted Yingxun standing outside a shop up ahead.
Yingxun’s complexion was not good; the pressure from above was intense. For the sake of Wei Xian’s case, he hadn’t slept well for two days.
The deadline given by Shangfeng was approaching quickly. If new evidence couldn’t be found, Yingxun felt pressured to hand over Wei Zhao, as suggested by the Chief Constable. Wei Zhao indeed had the strongest suspicion—he had motive and opportunity, and witnesses had seen him follow Wei Xian into the Eastern Garden. Yet, Yingxun couldn’t shake the feeling that there were significant doubts in the case. There was no direct evidence proving Wei Zhao’s guilt, and he was reluctant to hastily close the case.
However, the investigation was proving extremely challenging. It seemed as though fate was deliberately protecting the killer; despite searching every corner of the Wei family’s residence, no useful clues were found. Everything appeared too coincidental—the prefect had just switched the wine laced with sleeping drugs, providing the killer an easy opportunity; Wei Xian had been annoyed into entering the Eastern Garden by Wei Zhao; no one had witnessed anyone else entering the garden; and the crime scene yielded no evidence sufficient to identify the killer—except for phosphor powder, which was their sole discovery.
Even though he had begun to harbor suspicions, there was still no evidence.
“Sir, it’s been nearly ten years since the person died. I can’t remember. Besides, once she married into the Wei family, she belonged to them. Even if she’s dead, she’s still theirs. I don’t care about the Wei family’s affairs!” The shopkeeper, halfway through removing the shop’s door panel, answered Yingxun’s questions while yawning.
This was a small fragrance drink shop. The shop wasn’t large, with only a counter displaying names of fragrant drinks carved on bamboo pieces. Beside it was a small square table, and behind it, there should have been a kitchen for brewing fragrant drinks and cooking. Downstairs was for business, while upstairs was a living place, a room the size of a bedroom.
A shop this small earned just enough to get by, unable to afford an assistant. Generally, it was the shopkeeper who handled everything personally.
Yingxun couldn’t get any fresh information from him. Frustrated, he suddenly saw someone peeking behind him. Immediately, he asked impatiently, “Why is it you? What are you doing following me?”
Mingshu was peeking into the shop, looking past the messy counter. Beside it, a small table still had leftover wine and food. One plate had a few exquisite pastries shaped like peach blossoms. Two wine cups were facing each other and an overturned empty wine jar with red paper bearing the character “tribute” on it.
“I’m asking you a question!” Yingxun wanted to shake her off.
Mingshu withdrew her gaze and said, “I came to find you.”
“What do you want with me?” Yingxun walked out, saying, “Don’t tell me it’s about Wei Xian’s case. I have nothing to say!”
Before she could say the right words, he blocked her way, leaving her no choice but to curl her lips. The shopkeeper of the fragrance drink shop had already put the door panel back in place, and it looked like he didn’t want to open for business today. The signboard of the shop was half-faded—Huang Ji Fragrance Drink and the owner should be surnamed Huang.
“Ying Bu Kuai is investigating the matter of Wei Xian’s two concubines. The people in this shop are the relatives of Auntie Huang. Is the boss her father?” Mingshu guessed.
“…” Yingxun turned to stare at her and said after a while, “I have nothing to say!”
Mingshu nodded and looked around, saying, “Ying Bu Kuai, can you wait for me for a moment?”
Yingxun frowned, “What do you want me to wait for?”
“Just for a moment, don’t leave!” Mingshu smiled, turned, and ran across to the opposite side of the fragrance drink shop.
Opposite Huang Ji, there happened to be another fragrance drink shop. The sign was written in a loud voice—Ten Years Old Shop, Inherited Secret Formula.
Mingshu rushed into this fragrance drink shop. The shop was twice as large as Huang Ji Fragrance Drink, and it was neatly arranged. Over twenty kinds of fragrant drinks were neatly arranged on the counter, and there were several jars of signs on the counter. A woman was sitting behind the counter, peeling pumpkin seeds and looking after the shop. Seeing Mingshu coming in, she immediately clapped her hands and stood up, smiling to welcome her.
This was the look of doing business.
Mingshu smiled and supported her elbow on the counter, first dropping a few copper coins, then asking her, “Boss lady, I want to buy two jars of fragrant drinks. What is your signature? Introduce it to me.”
She introduced the shop’s fragrant drinks, and after listening for a while, Mingshu said only, “I’m afraid of bitterness. Sister, give me something else.”
The boss lady was already in her thirties, not much younger than Mingshu. When she heard Mingshu’s address to herself, she smiled so much that she couldn’t close her mouth. “You little lady, your mouth is sweet.”
Mingshu still smiled. “Has Sister’s shop been open on this street for ten years?”
“More than that.” The boss lady picked two kinds of fragrant drinks for her and answered as she packed them, “It was passed down from my husband’s family, and when I married over, it was already open. It’s been more than ten years, and the reputation is outside.”
“That’s an old brand, and it should be fresh, unlike the shop opposite.”
“Opposite? Are you talking about Huang Ji? What’s wrong with that shop?” The boss lady became interested.
“The boss of that shop isn’t honest. My mother was greedy for his cheapness and went to buy two jars of fragrant drinks a few days ago. As a result, the boss sold the fragrant drinks that had been left for I don’t know how many days to my mother. When my mother opened the jar, the soup was already stinky, which made her angry.” Mingshu pretended to be angry and glanced at the price list of this shop. The price of the two shops was almost twice as different.
“Not to mention, you get what you pay for. You can’t be greedy for cheap when buying things.” The boss lady listened to these words, and her eyes subtly said, “Little lady, rest assured, although our price is slightly higher, these fragrant drinks are all ancestral secret recipes, made of real materials, and different from other homes, that old man, it’s even more incomparable. A man who survives by selling women and girls, what ability does he have? He opened a fragrance drink shop just because he was jealous of my good business. He didn’t have the skill to dare to boil the fragrant drink. He was scolded by customers every three days. The neighbors around here didn’t dare to buy his fragrance drink, and they cheated on newcomers. Little lady, just moved to the capital?”
Mingshu nodded, “I’ve just moved here for a short time. Sister knows a lot about their family.”
“I know it’s not enough to talk about, but my husband and that old man have been neighbors for more than 30 years. That kind of nasty thing in his family, I know something about it.” The boss lady put two jars of fragrant drinks on the counter and came close to Mingshu.
Mingshu’s eyes brightened and asked, “Sister, tell me about it.”
Yingxun waited impatiently against the wall outside the shop, almost ready to leave when he heard MingShu’s voice.
“Ying Bu Kuai!”
He turned his head and saw MingShu hurrying out of the shop towards him.
“This is for you.” MingShu reached Yingxun and shoved a small ceramic jar into his hands.
“What is this?” Yingxun held the jar, puzzled.
“Twenty-four Herb Liver-Clearing and Fire-Reducing Drink.” MingShu smiled, holding her jug of sweet and sour plum juice. “I see your liver is quite fiery, so this will do you good.”
Yingxun’s face darkened, and he turned to walk away.
“Don’t be upset.” MingShu caught up with him in two steps, walking beside him. “Don’t you want to hear what I discussed with the shop owner? Huang Ji, the owner of Huang Ji Fragrance Drink, Huang Laosi, is one of the two concubines who died with Wei Xian, right? Huang Xingzhi’s father?”
Yingxun abruptly stopped. “What are you trying to say?”
“Huang Laosi is a scoundrel. When he was young, he did nothing, living off his parents. Even after marrying and having a daughter, things didn’t improve. When his parents passed away successively and no one controlled him, he worsened—drinking heavily and gambling. If something upset him, he would take it out on his wife and daughter. More than twenty years ago, he couldn’t repay his gambling debts, so he sold his wife to pay off the debt, leaving only Huang Xingzhi as his daughter. When Huang Xingzhi reached marriageable age, he received a dowry from the Wei family and sent his daughter to the Wei Mansion as a concubine, starting Huang Ji Fragrance Drink to make a living.” MingShu explained methodically.
Yingxun narrowed his eyes. “I already knew this information. I didn’t need you to investigate.”
He came to investigate the deaths of the two concubines from the Wei family, and the Wei family was secretive about it. Although he couldn’t prove the connection between the events ten years ago and Wei Xian’s death, he had to try everything.
“I know you came to investigate the deaths of the Wei family concubines.”
“Did you find anything?” Yingxun asked her.
MingShu shook her head. “The Wei family’s matters don’t spread outside, let alone the reasons for the deaths of the two concubines. Even if there is suspicion about Huang Xingzhi’s death, even if Huang Laosi is Huang Xingzhi’s father, Wei Xian wouldn’t have let him know.”
From the various clues earlier, Yingxun knew Wei Xian’s methods, and it would be useless to ask Huang Laosi about the secrets of the Wei family.
Yingxun didn’t want to answer her. He didn’t know this. He just came to try.
“Although I didn’t ask about the deaths of the Wei family concubines, I did find out something else.” MingShu continued.
Yingxun looked up at her.
“Huang Laosi’s wife, whom he married thirty years ago, Huang Xingzhi’s birth mother, her surname was Lv.” Thirty years ago, few people remembered the people and things, and a woman who was sold out of the city soon after leaving behind too little trace almost disappeared into the memory of the streets and lanes.
Ming Shu had some luck.
“How about it? Shouldn’t you thank me again?” MingShu said.
Sometimes women inquire about news, and they are much better than these grim and evil constables.
Yingxun looked at her for a long time in silence before opening his mouth, “Thank you…”
Before a “thank you” could be revealed, MingShu hit back: “With this pot of twenty-four herbs, you owe me three favors. I don’t want you to thank me, just to clear up this case so that I can give Mrs. Wei Er a clear explanation, and that won’t stop you, will it?”
“Okay, I promise you.” Yingxun nodded.
“A toast before action.” MingShu lifted her jar of sour plum juice and clinked it against the ceramic jug in his hand, drinking a big gulp with pleasure.
Sour and sweet, refreshing to the core.
Unknowingly, Yingxun lifted the ceramic jug and took a big gulp, his face instantly wrinkling.
Bitter, extremely bitter!
“The boss lady said, their fragrant drinks are made of real materials!” MingShu looked at Yingxun’s rarely-seen second expression and laughed out of breath.