He had even boasted about his grave-digging skills, but unexpectedly Yu Xuan discovered it right away—though what Yu Xuan certainly wouldn’t discover was that the grave robbers were standing right in front of him, and one was the current Duke of Kui while the other was the very constable he had come to for help.
Yu Xuan naturally had no idea that the constable Zhou standing before him with such a complex expression was the culprit, and only slowly said: “I think everyone in Chengdu knows that Governor Huang was honest and upright, his tomb containing mostly books and writing materials—what grave robber would target such a tomb?”
Zhou Ziqin righteously nodded: “Exactly! Brother Yu speaks the truth! I think there must be something suspicious about this!”
Huang Zixia lowered her head in silence, only staring blankly at the bamboo branch beside her.
Li Shubai pulled down that bamboo branch, carefully examining the veins on it, as if there were precious wisdom written there.
Zhou Ziqin glanced at the two of them, seeing their expressions were subtle and melancholy, completely impenetrable, and neither spoke up to support his words. He could only counter-question Yu Xuan: “Then what do you think… why did those people rob Governor Huang’s tomb?”
Yu Xuan shook his head and said: “I’m not sure, but there must be a reason—for example, perhaps to harm the new governor; or, Constable Zhou should also know that after Governor Huang’s daughter Huang Zixia fled, there’s been no news of her. Perhaps someone wants to use this to draw out Huang Zixia and harm her?”
At the mention of Huang Zixia, Zhou Ziqin was greatly startled: “Really? Could that be the intention?”
“I don’t know… but, I hope Constable Zhou can help me watch out for any suspicious criminals with such movements. Or…” his gaze turned toward Huang Zixia, his voice rising slightly, “let Huang Zixia know that there may be forces she can’t yet see, preparing to deal with her.”
“Oh… we’ll keep an eye out, the yamen will certainly pay extra attention and properly protect Governor Huang’s grave.” Zhou Ziqin said, secretly winking at Huang Zixia and Li Shubai, meaning “See, this person thinks too much, yet can’t figure out it was us, haha!”
But Huang Zixia ignored his little expression. She stood in the bamboo grove, pondering for a moment in the whistling wind, then raised her head to look at Yu Xuan, her gaze calm and clear: “Thank you for your kind warning, and thank you for concerning yourself with Huang Zixia’s safety. But this matter… I think there may not be any forces involved behind it, no need to worry too much.”
He looked at her uncomprehendingly.
She turned her gaze elsewhere, saying: “We did it.”
Yu Xuan was stunned, even his footsteps unsteady as he stepped back in disbelief. A few harsh words squeezed out of his throat, barely forming sentences: “You… you went to dig up Governor Huang’s and others’ graves?”
Huang Zixia nodded, saying: “Yes. We also found conclusive evidence that Huang Zixia is not the murderer.”
Yu Xuan stared at her, mumbling another question: “You went to dig up… the graves of the Huang family?”
“Chonggu was sick that day and didn’t go. It was me trying to re-examine the bodies to appeal the case, so with… so I went alone.” Zhou Ziqin covered up Li Shubai’s involvement, proudly saying, “My handiwork was clean, wasn’t it? After digging up the graves and examining the bodies, I rebuilt everything. Unless you visit the graves daily, I guarantee that after two or three days, or just one rain, no one will be able to find any traces.”
He was bragging, but Yu Xuan completely ignored him, only striding forward to press his hand on Huang Zixia’s shoulder, staring at her intently and asking: “What were the results of the re-examination? What is this conclusive evidence you speak of that proves Huang Zixia isn’t the murderer? Who is the real culprit? How did they kill? Why did they frame someone? And how did they frame them?”
Seeing that his usually clear eyes were instantly bloodshot, almost losing rationality, Huang Zixia could only sigh and say: “Calm down, I haven’t found the real culprit yet.”
“But you’ve… proven your innocence?” he pressed.
Huang Zixia silently gazed at him, slowly pulling his hand from her shoulder, but saying nothing.
Li Shubai turned to look at Zhou Ziqin, asking: “Ziqin, I wasn’t paying attention earlier, how many petals were on that hydrangea painting in Wenyang’s room?”
Zhou Ziqin immediately broke into a sweat: “Ah? Does this… have anything to do with the case?”
“No connection, but this prince wants to count them.” He said, turning to leave.
Zhou Ziqin could only wave helplessly to Huang Zixia, hurrying to follow him.
Seeing Li Shubai’s departing steps were light, Huang Zixia calmly withdrew her gaze and nodded to Yu Xuan, saying: “Yes, the cause of my family members’ deaths was not arsenic.”
“Not arsenic? Could it be…” Even though he was mentally prepared, he still couldn’t avoid being shocked, could only stand there stunned, his facial muscles twitching slightly, shock, regret, joy and fear interweaving into complex currents, making him almost unable to stand steady.
Until he unconsciously stepped back twice, his back hitting a cluster of bamboo, Yu Xuan finally leaned against the bamboo, his gaze floating and grief-stricken, staring at Huang Zixia and asking in a trembling voice: “I… was wrong?”
Huang Zixia gazed at him, saying calmly: “Yes. Although I bought arsenic, although you say you saw me holding that package of arsenic with a strange expression, none of this had anything to do with my family members’ deaths—because they did not die from arsenic.”
“I… wronged you.” He repeated blankly, his body trembling.
“Yes. And you didn’t believe me, using the love letter I wrote you as evidence of guilt, personally imposing on me a crime that was hard to clear.” Huang Zixia didn’t avoid his gaze, she stared straight at him, her voice low and calm, “But fortunately, we have discovered irrefutable facts of the truth, and someday we can clear this injustice.”
Yu Xuan stared at her with wide eyes.
He saw her standing before him, pupils clear, her whole body bathed in midsummer’s vitality. The sunlight shining on her only made her appear more brilliantly dazzling, almost painful to his eyes.
Because of the pain in his eyes, he raised his hand to cover her from his view and also to hide from her the thin haze before his eyes, lest she see his loss of control and remorse.
He recalled his hatred then, hating how she had destroyed his home in an instant—after years of wandering, he had finally found a corner of the shelter, a trace of warmth, yet it was destroyed by the person he loved. His mind was haunted day and night by the image of her holding that package of arsenic, her cold and eerie expression then… that love turned into dark tainted blood, overwhelming him completely, making him lose his senses. By the time he came to his senses, he was already in the Military Commissioner’s mansion, and that love letter was already presented on Fan Yingxi’s desk.
Leaning against the bamboo behind him, he felt his whole body covered in a cold sweat, fate splitting two phantoms before his eyes in the world, making him tremble, his chest feeling like it was being cut by a dull knife, pain beyond relief.
One phantom was that early summer when he was sixteen, seeing Huang Zixia barefoot in the mud, the sunlight hazily red, the whole world seeming dyed the color of blood. That was their first meeting, beautiful yet so ominous.
And the other was when he was fourteen, opening his eyes to see sunlight shining through the broken window lattice from outside, everything around frighteningly silent, without a sound. He crawled out of bed, stumbling outside, then saw on the mottled mud wall, the red sunlight casting his mother’s shadow, hanging from the beam, seemingly still swaying gently.
Life is often like this, meeting someone, bidding eternal farewell to someone, seemingly all the same color, so one can’t tell if this fate is joy or sorrow, if this large mass of bright red before one’s eyes is bloodstains or light.
Huang Zixia’s voice hazily rang in his ears: “I’ve already investigated everyone in the household at that time, but haven’t found anyone suspicious yet. Therefore, what we’re investigating now is the murder case at the Fu residence in Songhua Lane.”
Yu Xuan breathed hard, his chest rising and falling rapidly, forcing himself to calm down. His voice trembled slightly, but at least he could finally speak: “You say, you’ve already proven you’re not the murderer, because… it wasn’t arsenic poison?”
“It was gelsemium poison, which shows very similar symptoms to arsenic when it takes effect, so even Chengdu’s most famous old coroner made mistakes multiple times.” Huang Zixia nodded.
He looked at her for a long while, then asked: “Then where did the gelsemium poison come from? And how was it administered? If it was gelsemium poison, wouldn’t it be even more convenient for you to add a bit along the way without anyone noticing?”
Huang Zixia retorted: “I had no way to obtain gelsemium poison! This kind of poison only circulates in the palace, rarely found among common people. Moreover, deliberately using gelsemium poison, which looks the same as arsenic poisoning after death, to create the false appearance of arsenic poisoning, must be someone else trying to frame me.”
“Then… how do you explain that letter?” His voice, trembling with a hint of doubt, let her know he still couldn’t completely believe her.
Huang Zixia was stunned for a moment, remembering the letter she had written to Yu Xuan when she was in Longzhou, and said: “That letter… was just my random thoughts, you overthought it.”
“Is that so…” he said, but ultimately, his expression looking at her softened, “Perhaps, my previous insistence that you were the murderer, I was probably wrong… if you need anything, you can come to find me, I also want to work with you to clear up the deaths of my adoptive parents.”
“Mm, and about the suicide case in Songhua Lane, there are some things in this case where I do need your help. After all, in this case, one of the deceased was also someone you knew.” Huang Zixia let out a long breath, saying softly, “This Fu residence case in Songhua Lane might be related to my parents’ matter. Because… the poison used was the same.”
“Is gelsemium poison really that rare?” he asked.
She nodded, saying: “Yes.”
Yu Xuan pressed his temples, waiting for the spell of darkness before his eyes to pass, then said: “I didn’t interact much with Wenyang, but we occasionally met at the same poetry gatherings before.”
Huang Zixia then asked: “Do you know about his relationship with Fu Xinruan?”
Yu Xuan was stunned for a moment before remembering something and asked: “I heard… he committed suicide with a courtesan?”
Huang Zixia nodded, then asked: “What kind of person was he usually?”
He lowered his eyes, avoiding her gaze, saying softly: “Wenyang was usually quiet in public, but privately… he had a bad reputation.”
“What kind of reputation?” Huang Zixia pressed.
Yu Xuan hesitated to speak, but seeing she wouldn’t give up, finally said: “His private conduct was improper, which is why I kept my distance from him.”
Huang Zixia understood in her heart, probably Wenyang had been discovered frequenting brothels, and with Yu Xuan’s personality, he naturally wouldn’t associate with him.
“Then, do others know about Wenyang’s actions?”
Yu Xuan shook his head: “Probably not many, otherwise how could the people in our poetry gathering, who mostly keep themselves pure, mix with such a person?”
Huang Zixia nodded, then remembered something else and asked: “Do you often go to Master Shushan at Guangdu Temple now?”
Yu Xuan nodded, saying: “The world is impermanent, all things change. I’ve been reading Buddhist scriptures lately, feeling that heaven and earth are vast, the body like a mustard seed, the sufferings of mortals in the world no more than dust on a mustard seed. Sometimes thinking about it, one can obtain temporary liberation.”
“But it’s only temporary after all, isn’t it? Only by discovering the truth and paying respects to loved ones can one find eternal peace.”
Yu Xuan gazed at her stubborn face, saying softly: “Yes, Axia, I’m ultimately not as clear-sighted as you.”
“I’m not clear-sighted, nor penetrating, I have no interest in transcending the world.” Huang Zixia shook her head, “In this world, whether suffering or joy, I’ve never wanted to escape. What should come will come, whether good or bad, I will face it head-on, never giving up until the truth comes to light.”
Yu Xuan silently nodded, the two standing in the bamboo grove, listening to the flowing water around them, momentarily wordless.
On the other side of the alley, Li Shubai and Zhou Ziqin had returned.
Li Shubai calmly looked at Huang Zixia, saying: “Let’s go.”
Zhou Ziqin excitedly asked Huang Zixia: “Do you know how many petals were on that painting?”
Huang Zixia didn’t look back, saying flatly: “Many petals.”
“Hey, with that attitude, you’re destined to never become a detective like Huang Zixia! Huang Zixia knows every inch, every detail of the crime scene inside and out, not like you, with such an incorrect attitude…”
Yu Xuan bowed to them and left with his things.
Li Shubai and Huang Zixia both chose to ignore him, directly mounting their horses and moving forward.
Zhou Ziqin helplessly pursed his lips, muttering: “Chonggu you petty person, just admit it if you’re not as good as Huang Zixia!”