The deep autumn night was bitterly cold. Darkness had fallen early, and the wind swept through the treetops, filling every corner with a lonely, desolate chill. Ming Huashang, dressed in her comfortable, warm everyday skirt-and-blouse, asked the maid: “Has Second Elder Brother come home yet?”
Ruyi poked her head out from the adjoining room and said: “My Lady, the lamps were just lit in Qinghui Courtyard — he must have only just returned.”
Ming Huashang glanced at the sky and murmured: “Only just returned.” She raised her voice: “Jinbao, how is the Chinese yam and lotus seed congee coming along?”
“In reply to My Lady, it has been ready for a while — it has been keeping warm on the stove.”
“Dish it out and put it in the food carrier, and bring a plate of osmanthus cakes as well.”
Jinbao answered promptly and asked: “My Lady, it is already so late — whom are you sending this to?”
“Second Elder Brother.” Ming Huashang rose, picked up her cloak, and gently shook it out before wrapping it around herself. “He has been out on his own — he certainly cannot be bothered to eat properly. I am going to bring him something warm.”
Zhao Cai came in through the door and was startled to hear Ming Huashang’s words: “My Lady, you are going yourself? It is so cold outside — let me run there for you. Why should you go out into the wind?”
“I will go.” Ming Huashang had already put on her cloak and said: “It is only a few steps. You do not need to follow — I will just go and chat with Second Elder Brother for a while and come back.”
Zhao Cai knew that Ming Huashang was always one to act first and deliberate later, so she pressed no further. She picked up the food carrier and said: “My Lady, your relationship with the Second Young Master was rather cool before, but ever since coming to Chang’an it has grown closer and closer. It is fortunate that he is your own elder brother — otherwise, sending a man food this late at night, you would practically have to marry into the family to make things right.”
Ming Huashang, as though a guilty secret had been exposed, shot Zhao Cai a look of annoyance and took the food carrier from her hands: “You talk too much. Keep the door open for me. If it gets very late and I am not back yet, go ahead and sleep — do not wait for me.”
“Oh!” Ruyi and the others laughed. “My Lady, you are only bringing Elder Brother a late-night snack. A round trip would take all of a quarter hour. How long are you planning to stay?”
The real reason was impossible to share with them. Ming Huashang paid no heed to her maids’ chatter, pulled her cloak tight, and pushed the door open: “I am off.”
The tenth-month night was both cold and fierce. Ming Huashang pushed through the wind and ran to Qinghui Courtyard. The manservant who answered the door was startled to see her: “Second Young Lady, why have you come?”
Ming Huashang hushed him and whispered: “Do not make a fuss. Walk ahead of me and do not announce my arrival.”
Ming Huazhang had just finished changing his clothes. Hearing a noise outside, he came out and asked: “What is it?”
Ming Huazhang pushed aside the curtain with one hand; lamplight poured down from behind him, and backlit, he appeared all the more tall and slender, like jade and gold, luminous in the cold night. Ming Huashang was hiding behind the manservant. As she drew close to Ming Huazhang she suddenly jumped out: “Hah! Did I startle you?”
Ming Huazhang had spotted her long since. He reached out and steadied her, thoroughly exasperated: “How old are you? Is this not childish?”
Ming Huashang was not satisfied: “Why did you not react? Was I frightening or not?”
Ming Huazhang gave a sound of assent, pulling her inside with an air of complete indifference: “You were frightening. Is it cold outside? Your hands are so cold. If there was something you wanted sent, you could have had a maid bring it — why did you come yourself?”
“If I let them come I would not have been at ease. Besides, if I do not come and oversee things myself, you will definitely be too lazy to eat.” Ming Huashang removed her cloak, walked into the inner room with the food carrier as though it were her own chamber, and said: “You have brought back so many case files! Second Elder Brother, you work so hard — I have especially brought you a soothing warm congee. Come and taste it quickly.”
Ming Huazhang folded her cloak neatly and placed it on the table, then signaled for the attendants to withdraw. He walked unhurriedly into the inner chamber; his gaze carried a smile that was not quite a smile: “You came all this way so late at night — all to bring me congee?”
Lamplight makes people look more beautiful than usual. Ming Huazhang was tall, slender, and fair-skinned; in the lamplight he was even more handsome, like a painting — both refined and cool. Ming Huashang could not help looking at him again, then said with an air of utmost seriousness: “Of course — I am most concerned about Second Elder Brother’s health.”
Ming Huazhang lifted the hem of his outer robe and sat down on the daybed. Hearing this, he raised his gaze and swept a glance at her — clear and lucid as ice, saying nothing yet understanding everything. Ming Huashang grinned and sat down beside him, opened the food carrier, and placed it before him with a flourish: “Second Elder Brother, I know you have been working so hard. I made this congee specially for you — I started it at the hour of you and have kept it warm all evening!”
Ming Huashang ladled out a full bowl of congee. Ming Huazhang accepted it; his fingertips rested on the white porcelain bowl, smoother and more delicate than the porcelain itself. Ming Huazhang did not normally eat anything after nightfall, but this congee had been cooked until it was soft and fragrant, and suited his taste exactly. With Ming Huashang sitting beside him chatting and laughing, he ate more than half of it before he knew it.
The warm congee settled in his stomach, and heat suffused him steadily from the inside. He felt considerably more at ease. Ming Huazhang’s brow gradually softened without his realizing it. Ming Huashang saw that he had relaxed considerably, and only then asked: “Second Elder Brother, how are things going with the case? Is the investigation progressing well?”
The Xuan Xiaowei’s mission had been issued to the “Twin Jade Bi” — if Ming Huashang had received it, then Ming Huazhang must also have received it. Perhaps because Ming Huazhang was the official person in charge of this case, the Xuan Xiaowei had added her to the effort, making the fullest possible use of available resources — or, to put it less charitably, not letting any talent go to waste.
Ming Huashang and Ming Huazhang were siblings, which made it easy to exchange information about the case without having to disguise their identities as with previous cases — convenient for both internal and external purposes alike. Ming Huashang did not yet know whether the other members of their unit had also received the mission, and she could not go inquiring rashly, so she had no choice but to come and consult with Ming Huazhang.
Ming Huazhang pressed his fingers to his temple — his hands were long-fingered, and with his eyes covered, his nose appeared all the more elevated; even without any expression on his face, he was pleasing to look upon. With a trace of weariness, he sighed: “I went to look at the scene of the Huang household master-and-servant deaths from four years ago today. There is no progress at present.”
“Oh?” Ming Huashang grew attentive. “Are the Huang household master and maid the victims from four years ago?”
“That is correct.” Ming Huazhang rose and went to the writing table, picked up a scroll of case records, and beckoned to Ming Huashang to come over. “Up to this point, there are three cases and four victims. The first case occurred in the sixth year of Tianshou — five years ago — when the victim was a female beggar who died near Qingshan Temple. When she was found, half her body had already been mauled beyond recognition by stray dogs. It was winter at the time, and the authorities assumed she had frozen to death and been gnawed by the dogs, so they paid it little mind, jotted down a note, and quickly closed the case.
“Four years ago, the daughter of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, Huang Caiwei, took her maid Yuyan to Qingshan Temple to burn incense, and the two of them subsequently went missing. The Chancellor of the Imperial Academy came looking for them that very night, so her body was found in good condition when it was discovered — but Huang Caiwei’s right leg and the maid’s left leg had their bones removed. It was only then that the constables connected it to the beggar woman’s case from the previous year — she had also been found without leg bones. The method of removing only the tibia of the lower leg was exceedingly rare. The Capital Prefecture suspected the same perpetrator, but without any eyewitnesses the investigation was extremely difficult. The Prefecture searched intensively for several months without finding the killer, and in the end the matter was dropped.”
Ming Huashang took the case record. The beggar woman’s record was nearly blank; the records for Huang Caiwei that followed were considerably more detailed. Ming Huashang asked: “Where is Qingshan Temple?”
“It is now Pude Temple.” Ming Huazhang said. “After the murder case caused an uproar four years ago, Qingshan Temple’s reputation suffered greatly. To protect their incense offerings, they renamed it Pude Temple.”
Ming Huashang nodded slowly and asked: “As I recall, the latest case is also connected to Pude Temple?”
“It is.” Ming Huazhang drew out another scroll of case records. “The victim this time is named Chujun — a courtesan woman from a pleasure establishment in the Pingkang Ward. She was found on the official road leading from Pude Temple to Chang’an, her legs severed below the knee by a sharp implement. The city gates had just opened at the time, and many travelers on the road saw her. The situation was exactly like the cases of four years ago, and talk of a serial killer spread through the city and grew ever more alarming. For a while, all of Chang’an was seized with fear.”
Ming Huashang acknowledged this and said: “A beggar, the wife’s household of a government official, a courtesan — there is no connection between the victims in terms of background. The only shared point is Qingshan Temple. It seems the killer cannot be separated from Qingshan Temple.”
“I think so as well. After examining the scene today, I also went to Pude Temple to question the monks. But Pude Temple has over thirty monks inside, and the number of worshippers passing through is beyond counting. None of the three cases had any eyewitnesses, and questioning everyone one by one would not only be time-consuming — it would also be very difficult to find the killer this way.”
If only the scope could be narrowed — which was surely why the Xuan Xiaowei had brought Ming Huashang into this case.
Ming Huashang asked: “Even I have to expend considerable effort picking the bones out of a chicken. For the killer to sever the leg bones of these victims, it would certainly have been far more time and effort-consuming. Were the crime scenes the primary scenes? Did the killer remove the bones elsewhere and then move the bodies to where they were found, or was the bone removal done on the spot?”
Ming Huazhang said: “There are no records for the beggar woman’s case. In the Huang Caiwei case, the testimony, though detailed, was constrained by Huang Caiwei’s status as the Chancellor’s daughter — the coroner did not dare examine the body, so the descriptions of the scene and the body’s condition are vague and inconclusive. Tomorrow I will go find the old constables to see if any of the original handlers from four years ago can still be located. In the Chujun case, by the time I arrived the scene had already been disturbed by people and vehicles, so it was impossible to identify footprints. But the surrounding soil was soaked with blood to a depth of four-plus inches at the deepest point. If the body had been moved there from elsewhere, there should not have been such a large volume of blood loss. I suspect the crime scene is also the scene where the body was dismembered.”
Ming Huashang nodded slowly. She studied the case records for quite some time and asked: “Is this the entirety of the records for the beggar woman from five years ago?”
“That is all of them.” Ming Huazhang said. “She had no home or family to demand justice on her behalf. She was also the first case, and the Capital Prefecture did not recognize it as a murder — they recorded it as an accidental death, disposed of the body, and that was the end of it.”
Ming Huashang gave a sigh of deep regret: “The first few cases in a string of murders are the most important. What a pity that nothing at all was preserved.”
Ming Huazhang watched her fine porcelain profile in the lamplight — a person who normally grew tired of practicing zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting within the space of a single incense stick was now poring over case records in the lamplight, turning them over and reading them again, with not the slightest trace of impatience.
Ming Huazhang’s heart softened. He asked: “Looking at things like this so late at night — are you not frightened?”
“If I were afraid, all the more reason to catch the killer quickly.” Ming Huashang did not look up, examining the case records word by word, scrutinizing the testimony of suspects, and said: “Four years passed and then he struck again — I have a feeling the killer will not stop. The sooner we find him and let everyone go out safely without worry, the better way to deal with fear.”
Outside the window the autumn wind sighed and lamented; inside, the lamplight glimmered like a boat on water, swaying and casting its light over the writing table. The table was piled high with case records. As Ming Huashang followed the scroll along, she inadvertently touched a pair of hands cool as jade. She looked up and found that Ming Huazhang was also reading the same scroll — without realizing it, the two of them had drawn very close to one another.
Ming Huazhang paid no attention to Ming Huashang practically leaning against him and asked: “Can you draw a portrait of the killer?”
Ming Huashang was startled, and hastily said: “Without having seen the crime scenes myself, I would not dare declare what kind of person the killer is based on records alone. And even if I were so bold, would Second Elder Brother dare believe me?”
“Then what else do you need?”
Unlike Ming Huashang, Ming Huazhang still sat ramrod straight; seen from the side, he was severe as bamboo, clear as jade. In her memory, her Second Elder Brother had always been a proud, self-disciplined, and cool young man who did not much engage with others. Sometime — she did not know when — he had shed his arrogance and become emotionally steady and composed in action, calm and collected in the face of anything, asking only how to solve the problem rather than how difficult or unfair the task was.
He was growing more and more dependable; more and more like an “elder brother.”
Ming Huashang thinking these thoughts, leaned her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and said: “At a minimum I need to see the crime scenes — the more faithfully reconstructed, the better — and the state of the victims’ bodies when found: what injuries were present, how they were positioned. The earlier victim, the beggar woman from five years ago, would be ideal to have information on. And the victims’ personalities, family situations, itineraries…”
Ming Huazhang considered this and said: “I will find the coroners and constables who handled things four or five years ago and have them reconstruct the scenes. I will find an opportunity to take you to see them. As for the last condition — the beggar woman had no fixed home and information about her may not be obtainable. Huang Chancellor has disciples spread throughout the court and his household rules are particularly strict; he likely will not cooperate with questioning. But you need not worry about that — it is my task to handle him. You only need to prepare your questions. Chujun’s situation is the easiest to investigate — I will send people to the Pingkang Ward to make inquiries tomorrow.”
After saying all this, Ming Huazhang asked with curiosity: “When you are building a portrait of the killer, why do you ask about the victims’ personalities?”
“The victims were worlds apart in background and status, and did not know one another — which suggests the killer did not murder for money, for love, or for revenge, but was driven by some sort of psychological need. If that is so, then identifying the victims’ common characteristics will allow us to uncover what kind of fantasy the killer was trying to fulfill. Once we reach that point, finding him will not be far off.” Ming Huashang finished and then asked: “Second Elder Brother, all of this is painstaking and laborious. Are you not afraid that in the end I will have drawn no portrait at all, and will have wasted your time for nothing?”
Ming Huazhang smiled lightly and said: “The decision is mine. If in the end the killer is not found, that is a failure of my own judgment — it has nothing to do with you. You need only follow your own instincts.”
Ming Huashang felt even more indebted, and opened her eyes, saying with great seriousness: “Second Elder Brother, I will definitely help you find him.”
Ming Huazhang lowered his gaze and saw her face close before him; the softness in his eyes shifted without his knowing. He steadied the back of her head and sat her upright, saying: “If you are tired, go back and sleep. I will let you know when there is new evidence.”
Ming Huashang looked at the densely written case records on the writing table and knew that Ming Huazhang planned to read through all of them. All that material — would he not be reading until midnight? Ming Huashang said: “I will keep you company.”
Ming Huazhang glanced at her indifferently and said: “If I am reading until the hour of zi, would you leave at the hour of zi? If that reached Father’s and Grandmother’s ears, I would have no way to answer for it. Rest easy — I know what I am doing. Go back and sleep peacefully.”
Ming Huashang still refused to leave. Ming Huazhang stopped negotiating with her and put an arm around her waist, lifted her up, and carried her toward the outer room. Ming Huashang’s feet left the ground and she got quite a fright: “What are you doing? Put me down at once!”
Ming Huazhang paid no attention, carried her to the main hall, and draped the cloak over her from head to toe. Ming Huashang struggled and could not break free, and said huffily: “You have tangled my hair. Put me down — I will walk myself!”
Ming Huazhang stepped aside upon seeing this. Ming Huashang jumped down from the table, tugged at the cloak around her, and said: “Repaying kindness with unkindness — I come to check on you out of good intentions, and this is how you treat me?”
Ming Huazhang had already picked up the lamp. Hearing this, he glanced at her and said: “How have I treated you?”
Ming Huashang looked at his gaze — cold, clear, direct, with a recklessness that had an air of having decided to go through with it regardless and carry her straight back to her room. Ming Huashang’s nerve faltered. She clutched the cords of the cloak, shrinking and ingratiating herself, and shook her head meekly: “Never mind. I was just saying things.”
Ming Huazhang looked at her once more, did not continue the topic, and pushed open the door to see her back to her courtyard. On the way, the two of them fell into an inexplicable silence. The autumn wind swept past them, fallen leaves sighing mournfully, the sound of melancholy filling the air. Ming Huazhang stopped at the courtyard gate, placed the lamp in Ming Huashang’s hand, and said: “Go back. Do not overthink things. Sleep early.”
Ming Huashang made a sound of assent, said “Second Elder Brother, you should also sleep early,” then carefully drew the gate shut. In the narrowing crack of the door, she saw Ming Huazhang’s bright, dark, tranquil eyes. She was certain that a moment ago, just for an instant, he had truly intended to carry her out the door and lay the matter open before their elders.
But why? Ming Huashang only knew she was a false daughter through her prophetic dream. She was certain she had never mentioned this to anyone. In Ming Huazhang’s mind, they ought to be siblings. Why would he want to do such a thing?