Feng Yu was dead.
Feng Yu’s body had already been pulled from the water and laid out on the open bank, where the coroner came hurrying over with his case on his back. Not long ago he had been examining the body of Old Master Feng, and now, barely a day later, he had to face the corpse of Old Master Feng’s second son. The feeling, truly, was beyond words.
The riverbank had been cordoned off by yamen runners who drove away the servants who had come upon hearing the news, yet a considerable crowd still gathered outside, watching from a distance as the coroner examined the body.
Ming Huashang stood inside the water pavilion. Like the Star-Plucking Tower, the space was small but furnished with an understated elegance that showed money had been spent on it. The pavilion was constructed entirely of wood, built out over the water, connected on the east side by a winding covered corridor to the bank, and on the west side to a terrace. Open on three sides, it commanded an excellent view — one could take in the scenery or fish from here.
The floor inside was laid with insulating wooden boards, and with a brazier set up, it wasn’t too cold. The east wall held the main entrance, the west wall opened onto the terrace, and against the north wall stood a daybed screened off by a folding screen. Outside the screen sat a small square table with two rush cushions placed facing each other — in winter, sitting here to brew tea over a flame while listening to the sound of water would surely be quite pleasant. But at this moment, the tabletop was in disarray with drinking vessels scattered about, three wine cups having toppled to the floor as though knocked over carelessly. Another wine cup sat on the outer terrace, its bottom bearing wine stains, suggesting it belonged to the same set. Ming Huashang crouched down, lifted each cup to smell it, then carefully set them back in place.
Ming Huashang paced a circle through the room and finally stopped at the entrance, examining the surrounding traces carefully. The water pavilion’s main door used a bolt lock, and according to the servants, when they arrived the door had been bolted from the inside. They had knocked without response, called out with no answer, and had been left with no choice but to have several manservants kick the door in. Apart from the marks left by the forced entry, the door bolt bore several shallow white scratches. Ming Huashang was studying these carefully when Li Huazhang came in from the bank, noticed her actions, and asked, “Have you found anything?”
Ming Huashang straightened up and shook her head. “Nothing yet. Has the coroner finished examining Feng Yu’s body? What did he say?”
“Without the Feng family’s consent, he couldn’t perform an incision, but there is mushroom-shaped foam at the mouth and nose, the hands are clenched, the eyes are open, the abdomen is bloated, the lividity is faint, the arms have gooseflesh, and the fingernails have mud and water plants caught in them. The preliminary conclusion is that he entered the water alive and drowned. Combined with the emptied wine pot and the fallen wine cups in the pavilion, the coroner believes Feng Yu likely lost his footing after drinking too much, fell into the water in the dark when no one noticed, and, too drunk to climb out, drowned.”
“And the time of death?”
“His palms have turned white and his eyes have not yet clouded over. Last night the temperature dropped sharply after midnight — working from the water temperature, he likely entered the water approximately six double-hours ago.”
“Six double-hours…” Ming Huashang murmured. “We arrived at the Feng estate at the hour of Chen today, and he was pulled from the water at roughly the fourth quarter of Chen. Counting back six double-hours… that would put him entering the water around the hour of Xu last night, when he drowned.”
“That is only a rough estimate. The specific time still needs to be confirmed.” Li Huazhang produced a list of names and said, “I have already recorded everyone who saw Feng Yu yesterday. Take a look — where do we begin the questioning?”
Questioning was something Ming Huashang excelled at, and Li Huazhang always left it to her to decide. Ming Huashang silently marveled at Li Huazhang’s efficiency — in less than one double-hour, he had secured the scene, completed the examination of the body, and even gone through the deceased’s recent associations.
Who could possibly keep pace with him?
Ming Huashang took the list and weighed each name on it, then said quietly to Li Huazhang in a tone of mild grievance, “We had only just agreed yesterday to come question Feng Yu, and that very night he supposedly lost his footing and drowned. What remarkable timing. And here we are heading into the twelfth month with Old Master Feng’s murder case still unsolved, and now another case has been added just one day later. Your performance review this year is probably in trouble.”
Li Huazhang was quite unperturbed. “The Personnel Ministry’s performance reviews exist to encourage officials to govern diligently and care for the people. As long as the people of Shangzhou live and work in peace, it makes no difference to me whether I receive an excellent rating or a poor one.”
“That’s all well and good for you, but Shangzhou is already a lower-grade prefecture. If your review comes back poor on top of that, it will be difficult to return to Chang’an.”
Li Huazhang turned and asked without warning, “Return to Chang’an for what purpose?”
“Your uncles, your aunts, your cousins — they’re all in Chang’an. Don’t you want to go back?”
“No.” Li Huazhang’s expression was calm, his tone unhurried. “It was only after leaving Chang’an that I came to realize how narrow my perspective had been. When I was serving as Jing Zhaoyiin, I thought myself quite experienced in governing the people and managing affairs. But coming to an outer prefecture, I discovered that Chang’an and Luoyang are only a tiny portion of the Tang realm, and the methods that work in Chang’an are completely ineffective out here.”
“That’s to be expected. Every scholar in the realm breaks his neck trying to stay in Chang’an, or at the very least, Luoyang. The difference in administrative ability between capital officials and those in the outer prefectures is like heaven and earth.”
“And yet the outer prefectures — where governance is weak and the capital officials refuse to go — are where the vast majority of the people live.” Li Huazhang said. “Shangzhou is still within the heartland, and even here, many of the minor clerks cannot read. Without literacy, without understanding the law, imperial edicts arrive and cannot be carried out, and power at the grassroots level remains in the long-term grip of local notables. I don’t rule out that there are good local gentry — but the vast majority of them are exactly like the Feng family. When the people’s livelihoods are controlled by such men, how can they ever live well? And this is still the Central Plains. Go further out, to the frontier regions, and what kind of lives are those people living?”
Ming Huashang had finished reading the list by now. She folded the slip of paper and shot Li Huazhang a glance with a half-amused expression. “Mind your words. You’re still standing on the Feng family’s property, and you’re already speaking ill of them?”
Li Huazhang was contemptuous. He let out a soft scoff, “Just stating the truth.”
He clearly wanted to roll his eyes but stopped himself, forcing an expression of scholarly composure. It looked remarkably like him during those early days when Ming Huashang had started clinging to him — when he was clearly unaccustomed to being close to people, yet too embarrassed to push her away. Ming Huashang burst out laughing and threw herself at him, seizing his face and squeezing hard. “So adorable — make that expression again.”
Li Huazhang, flustered at being called adorable, kept a straight face and reached for her hands. “Stop that.”
Ming Huashang knew there was still business to attend to outside, and quickly reined in her playful impulse. “Who was the first person to find Feng Yu?”
“Ziyu,” Li Huazhang said. “The maid who stumbled and fell on the terrace when we came in.”
Ming Huashang nodded. “Let’s question her first.”
Ziyu was being held in an empty room under yamen guard. When Ming Huashang entered and saw her dazed, trembling state, she said to the yamen runner, “Bring Miss Ziyu a cup of hot water.”
Ziyu caught sight of Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang and rose nervously, her hands rubbing and wringing her clothes. “This servant… this servant pays her respects to the Prince and the Princess Consort. This servant truly knows nothing…”
“Don’t be nervous.” Ming Huashang took the hot water from the yamen runner’s hands, placed it in Ziyu’s grip, and gently pulled her back into her seat. “We are only here to gather clues, not to suspect you. Sit down, and we’ll talk slowly.”
Ziyu sank into her seat in a daze and took small sips of the hot water. Once Ming Huashang felt she had recovered enough, she asked, “Were you the first person to come to the water pavilion today?”
Ziyu nodded carefully. “Yes. A servant announced that an honored guest had arrived and was waiting in the front hall to see Second Young Master. The Second Mistress sent me to the water pavilion to find Second Young Master. I called out for him from outside several times and got no reply. I pressed my eye to the gap in the door and the daybed seemed empty, but the door was bolted from inside. I began to panic and called for people to help. We all called out together for a very long time and Second Young Master still didn’t answer, so the manservants steeled themselves and forced the door open. We searched through the room and didn’t find Second Young Master, so everyone spread out to look. I noticed that a lotus stem in the water had been broken — it struck me as strange, so I went over to look. Who would have expected that when I parted the water…”
Ziyu’s testimony matched that of the other manservants. Every one of them said that when they arrived the door was bolted from inside, and that it had taken several people working together to break it down — this could not have been faked. The water pavilion stood alone over the water with no way out except through the main door, yet the door had been locked from within. It appeared, on its face, that the death of the Feng family’s second young master must have been accidental.
Ming Huashang asked, “What time did you come to the water pavilion?”
“This servant didn’t check the time,” Ziyu said. “As soon as the Second Mistress heard the honored guest had arrived, she sent me out. I ran the whole way here. After arriving at the pavilion, I called out for about one cup of tea’s time, and then went to fetch help.”
Ming Huashang quickly worked out the timing in her head. They had arrived at the Feng estate at the exact hour of Chen, waited one cup of tea’s time before going to find the Second Mistress Feng, and then came to the water pavilion together with her — by which point the door had already been broken down. Accounting for walking time, this matched what Ziyu had said.
Ming Huashang asked again, “What time did Feng Second Young Master go out last night?”
“Around the hour of Xu. Second Young Master and the Second Mistress had just finished dinner and were chatting in the room. I had gone to the main kitchen to deliver something, and when I came back I found Second Young Master was gone, while the Second Mistress was sitting alone in the room in a poor mood. The other maids whispered to me that the two of them had exchanged a few words and he had gone out, and the Second Mistress was still upset. So I didn’t dare go in and disturb her.”
Ming Huashang asked, “From when Feng Yu went out until this morning, did anyone see him during that time?”
Ziyu thought for a moment, then said, “They should have. This servant was attending on the Second Mistress the whole time and didn’t know what was happening at the water pavilion. But at the second quarter of Xu, the Second Mistress sent someone to ask Second Young Master to come back. He said he had been drinking and wouldn’t return, that he would sleep at the water pavilion. The Second Mistress went on about it for quite a long time, complaining that the pavilion was damp and cold and not fit to sleep in, and didn’t rest until the hour of Hai.”
Ming Huashang pressed on, “Who was sent to deliver the message? And was that Feng Yu’s own reply?”
“Malachite was sent. As for whether those were Second Young Master’s own words…” Ziyu pursed her lips, uncertain. “This servant isn’t sure. It was very cold outside, and Malachite hadn’t put on an outer robe because she didn’t want the bother. When she came back she was so frozen she could hardly speak clearly. She also complained that it was dark and cold out there — frightening enough on its own — and that Second Young Master hadn’t even let her in, just sent her away from the door. She said she’d never take such a wretched errand again.”
Ming Huashang made a soft sound of acknowledgment, offered Ziyu a few words of comfort, and then dismissed her. Li Huazhang saw her looking thoughtful and waited a moment before asking, “Who do we call next?”
Ming Huashang came back to herself. “Let’s call Malachite.”
Malachite was busy tending to the Second Mistress Feng, who had fainted, when she was suddenly summoned by the Prince of Yong and his consort. She arrived looking thoroughly bewildered, still visibly trembling as she came forward, and bowed in reverent apprehension. “This servant pays her respects to the Prince of Yong and the Princess Consort of Yong.”
Malachite kept her eyes downcast, not daring to raise her head. Li Huazhang’s face was extraordinary to behold, but his silence made him genuinely intimidating. Ming Huashang could only make herself warmer and more approachable, and she called the maid up with a smile. “There’s no need to be nervous. We just have a few questions. Yesterday — were you the one who went to the water pavilion to find Feng Yu?”
Malachite’s voice trembled when she heard Ming Huashang ask this. “It was this servant.”
“Who sent you?”
“The Second Mistress.”
“What time did you go?”
Malachite thought about it, then said, “About the second quarter of Xu.”
“What was the water pavilion like when you arrived?”
“The lake was dark as ink, with only the water pavilion lit up inside. The wind off the bank was fierce — it cut like a knife, very frightening.” Malachite could see that the Princess Consort of Yong was sweet-smiling and approachable, nothing like the cold and lofty Prince, and her nerve gradually steadied and her words multiplied. “The Second Mistress said it was unseemly for Second Young Master to sleep outside, and asked me to call him back. But Second Young Master seemed very impatient to speak with me. I called out to him several times when I arrived, and he didn’t respond. I could see there was a light on inside, so Second Young Master should have been awake — I thought to push the door open and enter. But the door was already bolted, and I couldn’t push it open. It was only then that Second Young Master spoke from inside and said he was drunk and wouldn’t be coming back tonight.”
“Are those his exact words?”
Malachite nodded blankly. “Yes.”
The Second Mistress Feng’s endless grievances this morning had led Ming Huashang to expect quite a lengthy exchange. She had not expected the conversation to have been so brief. She asked, “Are you certain it was Second Young Master’s voice?”
Malachite was almost taken aback by the question. “Of course — I have served the Second Mistress all this time. How could I not recognize Second Young Master’s voice? Although…”
Prompted by Ming Huashang’s question, Malachite seemed to realize something. Ming Huashang quickly asked, “Although what?”
“Although Second Young Master’s intonation was a little strange.” Malachite furrowed her brow slightly. “Perhaps because he was drunk.”
“After you left, did anyone else see Feng Yu?”
Malachite replied with difficulty, “Answering the Princess Consort — this servant would not know.”
“Thank you. What you have told us has been of great help.” Ming Huashang said with a smile. Malachite unconsciously smiled back, and then suddenly Ming Huashang changed direction and asked, “Did Feng Yu and the Second Mistress have a quarrel last night?”
Malachite started. By the time she tried to school her expression, it was already too late. Ming Huashang had gotten her confirmation and asked with satisfaction, “What did they quarrel about?”
“This…” Malachite grew even more uncomfortable and hemmed and hawed, unwilling to speak. Ming Huashang understood, exchanged a glance with Li Huazhang, and Li Huazhang sighed, rose, and pulled the door shut.
Malachite stared at this in amazement. Ming Huashang winked at her and said, “Now there are only the three of us — no one else will know. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on the Prince of Yong and make sure he doesn’t say anything. You can speak freely.”
Malachite’s lips worked hesitantly. “Actually this servant didn’t hear much of it… When Second Young Master and the Second Mistress were eating dinner everything was still fine. After dinner, Ziyu cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, and this servant went in to pour the tea. Second Young Master asked the Second Mistress…”
Malachite broke off and shot a careful glance at both Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang. Ming Huashang sensed what she was holding back and smiled as warmly and patiently as she could. “Speak freely. We are not petty people who confuse right and wrong. My Lord — wouldn’t you agree?”
She rarely called him “My Lord” — but it came quite readily when she was playing a role. Li Huazhang glanced at her lightly and gave a slight inclination of his head. “Speak plainly. Even if the words are about me, I will not take it amiss.”
“I would never dare.” Malachite quickly said. “Second Young Master was only asking what questions the Prince of Yong and the Princess Consort of Yong had asked that morning — there was no other meaning. The Second Mistress answered honestly, and then said that the kitchen should be watched more strictly going forward, to prevent anyone from putting poison in the food. Some word of hers must have angered Second Young Master, because he suddenly lost his temper, upbraided the Second Mistress, and then strode out the door. We could all call after him and he wouldn’t come back.”
“I see.” Ming Huashang made a gentle sound of understanding, her face wearing a sympathetic expression. “The Second Mistress hadn’t said anything excessive — why did Second Young Master react so strongly? Men really are all so unreasonable.”
Li Huazhang’s hand paused over his teacup. He looked at her with a long, languid gaze. Unfortunately Ming Huashang didn’t so much as spare him a glance. Malachite, as though she had found a kindred spirit, said, “Exactly — if it had just been the two of them it would be one thing, but Precious Pearl was right there. For Second Young Master to make the Second Mistress lose face in front of her like that — wasn’t he just making them a laughingstock?”
Ming Huashang agreed with her, and Malachite began pouring out her complaints like tipping over a jar of beans, one thing after another coming out of her without her noticing. After Malachite left, Ming Huashang’s mouth was parched from all the talking, and she hastily seized a teacup and poured a large mouthful down her throat. Setting the cup down, she found that Li Huazhang was looking at her sideways, again and again, without saying a word.
Ming Huashang understood the look perfectly and asked first, “What is it? Did I neglect you just now?”
Li Huazhang was coolly poised and refined as ever. “No.”
“Good.” Ming Huashang said. “I thought you might be annoyed that I used you as a shield to draw out her testimony.”
Li Huazhang had, in truth, been somewhat displeased — but now that she had brought it up herself, he thought: why did she use only him as a shield, and not some other man? Naturally because she trusted him enough, because she was close enough with him. Thinking of it that way, Li Huazhang found he had no reason to mind.
Having worked through his feelings, Li Huazhang became more talkative. “Am I really the sort of person who would confuse right and wrong, in your eyes?”
He was quoting back what she had said of him to Malachite, and he still remembered it. Ming Huashang suppressed a smile and blinked, looking entirely innocent and wronged. “Of course I never thought that. It’s only that when you stand there without speaking, it’s like having a plaque inscribed with ‘Righteousness and Impartiality’ thrust in front of everyone’s faces. The pressure is immense — witnesses don’t dare say a word. How about next time I’m questioning someone, you go for a little walk?”
Li Huazhang refused to agree. Between one thing and another, Ming Huashang’s habit of using him as a foil for the sake of a case seemed, by comparison, quite acceptable.
Ming Huashang next summoned Feng Yu’s personal attendant and the manservants from the garden, but nothing useful came of it. The attendant didn’t know why Feng Yu had suddenly been in such a foul mood either, but the water pavilion was only so large — not large enough for many people — and Feng Yu found them all an eyesore and drove them away, forcing them out and leaving himself alone on the water in peace.
After Feng Yu had chased them out, it was so bitterly cold that the attendant, unable to stand it, had gone back to his room to sleep, and knew nothing of whether anyone had come to find Feng Yu. As for the garden manservants, in theory they were supposed to patrol the garden each night, but last night had been so freezing cold that they felt the guards outside were enough to ensure nothing would happen, and had gone off to find somewhere warm instead.
In short, apart from Malachite, no one had seen Feng Yu after the second quarter of Xu, and no one had noticed anyone passing by the water pavilion overnight.
Before they knew it, it was time for the midday meal. Since the strange events at the Feng estate had begun, Li Huazhang no longer trusted the family’s food. The dishes were brought in from outside, and even the yamen runners went back to the Prefect’s residence in shifts to eat, not touching a grain of the Feng household’s rice or water. Jin Bao came in to set out the meal. Seeing no Feng family members nearby, Ming Huashang asked, “I asked you to make casual conversation with the maids here — what did you learn?”
Even while conducting her questioning, Ming Huashang had not forgotten to set a covert operation in motion, sending Jin Bao to mingle with the crowd in idle chat, without needing to deliberately pry for anything — information gathered that way was the most authentic.
Jin Bao was honest and a bit slow-witted; her usual duties in the residence were confined to cooking, and she was genuinely not skilled in the art of gathering intelligence. She shook her head honestly. “Nothing in particular. This servant followed your instructions, my lady, and first approached the maids from Old Master Feng’s courtyard. But they all said there was nothing unusual last night — at the first quarter of the first night watch, Precious Pearl went to check the rooms, confirmed everyone was in, and locked the gate. They slept in the courtyard all night, and the gate wasn’t opened again until the hour of Mao, so they knew nothing about what happened last night.”
At this point Jin Bao looked left and right, then lowered her voice. “My lady, many people in the Feng household are now saying that the consecutive deaths of Old Master Feng and Feng Second Young Master are the result of a curse.”
“Oh?” Ming Huashang played along with a suitably surprised expression and also lowered her voice. “How does that come about?”
“That Spirit Snake Pearl — isn’t it said that the spirit snake, out of gratitude to Marquis Sui, brought it up from the Dragon Palace as a gift? But the other feudal lords, wishing to possess the pearl for themselves, destroyed Marquis Sui’s state, and from that time on the spirit snake’s pearl transformed from a token of gratitude into a curse. Whoever possesses it will suffer a great calamity, and the members of their family will die one by one in mysterious ways, until the entire clan is wiped out.”