Zhou Ziqin’s sister Zhou Ziyan had a pretty oval face, somewhat resembling Zhou Ziqin but with much more delicate features and build, though her presence was a hundred times more imposing than her brother’s.

“Brother, tell me, now that my almost-fiancé is dead like this, won’t I become a laughingstock in Shu Prefecture?” Zhou Ziyan slapped the table, her face full of resentment.

Zhou Ziqin clutched his head painfully and said, “Sister, it’s not the first time anyway… Before, weren’t you laughed at in the capital too…”

“So this is the second time, I probably won’t be able to get married in this lifetime. Fine, I might as well go back to the capital to find my true love!”

Zhou Ziqin looked pleadingly at his sister, hoping she would give him some face: “This is an official question now, please sit properly.”

She completely ignored him, crossing one leg and sitting sideways in her chair with a look of disdain: “I know all about your half-baked abilities. Brother, if you want to solve this case, I’ll give you a suggestion that will solve all problems!”

Zhou Ziqin leaned forward and asked softly: “What suggestion?”

Huang Zixia lowered her head wordlessly, pretending to be focused on reading the previous testimonies.

“Go outside and post an announcement saying Huang Zixia is innocent, asking her to come back quickly – the group of useless people at the magistrate’s office, led by Young Constable Zhou, are waiting for her to save them!”

Zhou Ziqin’s mouth twitched: “Would that work?”

Seeing that Zhou Ziqin was taking it seriously, Huang Zixia had to cough once.

He finally came to his senses and quickly smacked Zhou Ziyan on the back of her head: “Sit properly! This is an official question!”

Seeing that Zhou Ziqin couldn’t be relied upon, Huang Zixia had to take up the brush herself and ask while writing: “Where was Miss Zhou when the murder occurred?”

Zhou Ziyan wore a frustrated expression: “I was in the gauze screen the whole time, didn’t go anywhere… I’m going to have nightmares tonight. Who knows when he died? Who knows how long I was sitting next to a corpse!”

Huang Zixia asked further: “Did Magistrate Qi show any unusual behavior when he was beside you?”

“No, he just chatted with me about Madam Gong Sun’s sword dance and recited Du Fu’s poem to me, you know, the one that goes ‘In times past there was a beauty named Gong Sun, one dance of her sword moved all directions.’ Who hasn’t recited that poem? So I told him I’d read it too, and not to disturb me watching the sword dance. He was a bit embarrassed and stopped talking – I thought he was just afraid to show off in front of me, who knew he was dead!”

Huang Zixia was also speechless at this completely tactless girl, and could only ask: “Then, during the dance performance, did you notice any movement around you?”

“Movement…” She pursed her lips, thought carefully, then said, “I remember now, halfway through, when the flower petals were floating and somehow there seemed to be a commotion, I saw someone dragging a person to the edge of the bushes. Then a foul smell was blown over by the wind. I quickly covered my face and turned my head away. At that time, I think I heard Magistrate Qi, who was sitting by the gauze screen, make a ‘gu’ sound in his throat…”

“Are you sure it was at that time?” Zhou Ziqin asked excitedly.

“I think so, because I was thinking, I had a layer of gauze screen protecting me, but Qi Teng outside must have been suffocated by the smell, right?”

“Then, did you turn your head to look at that time?”

“No, it was so smelly, I wanted to avoid it as much as possible, who would turn to look? Besides, all the lights outside were out, and only a few lanterns lighting the water pavilion remained. It was already dark around me, and I was sitting inside the gauze screen with a layer of silk – even if I wanted to see outside, I couldn’t see clearly!” Zhou Ziyan pressed her folding fan against her chin, frowned in thought, and said, “But after that, it seems Magistrate Qi never moved again, I think he must have died at that time.”

“There wasn’t any other movement?”

She was very certain, without hesitation: “No, at least I didn’t feel any.”

Zhou Ziqin could only say: “Alright, you can go rest now… In any case, Magistrate Qi must have died at that time without doubt.”

Zhou Ziyan stood up, walked a few steps, then turned back to look at him and said: “Brother, let me give you a suggestion.”

“Hm?” Zhou Ziqin looked up at her.

“You should still go find Huang Zixia. I think it’s impossible for you, being useless, to solve this case.”

Zhou Ziqin stared blankly, then turned to look at Huang Zixia with tears in his eyes: “Chonggu! I beg one thing of you!”

“I know.” Huang Zixia expressionlessly turned a page of the records, “I will help you solve this case and restore your reputation in front of your sister.”

Wang Yun still maintained that elegant demeanor – though his face was somewhat pale and haggard, under the current lamplight, covered in a layer of hazy warm light, he appeared even more gentle and refined.

He sat properly before them with a faint smile in his expression: “It’s late, and you’re still dealing with this case – you must be tired.”

Zhou Ziqin said with a worried face: “Indeed, and especially since it’s the death of a magistrate from the Military Commissioner’s office – it’s a major matter, we must solve it quickly.”

“I remained seated in my original position watching the dance the whole time. After Yu Xuan and Yuan Long left my side, although no one was beside me, there were still several deputy commanders and advisors – I think everyone can testify that I never left my spot.” Wang Yun spoke casually, seemingly unconcerned about Qi Teng’s death.

Zhou Ziqin nodded and said: “Of course, I believe Commander Wang, but at the time everyone was watching the water pavilion, and the seating area below was dark. You were sitting at the far left, with no one behind you, and Yu Xuan and Fan Yuan Long on your right had left – I wonder if anyone three seats away would have noticed whether Commander Wang ever stood up and left…”

Wang Yun smiled wryly: “That’s hard to say, after all, everyone was looking forward – who would look left to see if I was still sitting there during the dance?”

Zhou Ziqin consoled him: “It’s alright, after all, you had no entanglement with Magistrate Qi. Logically speaking, Commander Wang had no motive.”

He didn’t seem to care, speaking casually as if just chatting: “What do you two think of this case?”

Zhou Ziqin said worriedly: “Looking at this case currently, we haven’t found anyone who had the opportunity to commit the crime, so the main point of investigation can only be the motive.”

“Right, just grab everyone who had a reason to kill Qi Teng and question them, wouldn’t that work?” Wang Yun said, looking at Huang Zixia with a smile in his eyes, “But I should be the first one eliminated from the list of suspects, right? After all, I just came from the capital and had no connection with Magistrate Qi.”

Huang Zixia asked calmly: “What brings Commander Wang to Chengdu Prefecture?”

“The Imperial Guards are promoting several commanders, three or four of whom are from Shu Prefecture – we need to investigate their family backgrounds. This wasn’t originally my responsibility, but since you all came to Shu Prefecture, I was quite bored alone in the capital, so I came too.” He spoke with a smile, his words careful and measured.

Zhou Ziqin was very moved and immediately declared: “Brother Wang, you must stay here for a few more days! Once this case is solved in a couple of days, we can all travel around the area for half a month and properly appreciate Shu’s famous landscapes!”

Huang Zixia silently lowered her head to drink tea while saying: “Commander Wang is kind. It’s getting late, let’s quickly question the deputy commanders.”

The several deputy commanders of the Western Sichuan Army testified for each other, firmly insisting that they were all together at the time and no one had left alone.

“Besides, we’re military officers and Magistrate Qi was a civil official. Although we interacted regularly, it was just a superficial nodding acquaintance – there were no interests involved. Even if he’s gone, none of us would have the opportunity for promotion, so how could we possibly kill someone?”

The several military advisors of Chengdu Prefecture also testified for each other – their relationship with Qi Teng was even more distant, so how could they possibly kill someone?

The musicians were at one side of the water pavilion at the time, following Yin Luyi’s conducting at all times. Even though there was a segment with only the flute, the other musicians still had to wait, all sitting there – no one had gotten up to leave.

The servants were on the other side of the water pavilion, including Zhou Ziyan’s several personal maids. Although the dozen or so people standing there were somewhat chaotic, they stood quite close together – if anyone had moved, others would certainly have noticed.

It seemed witness testimony couldn’t be relied upon, and the other important physical evidence was also completely without leads. No matter how many times they searched through the remaining garbage, they found nothing that could be the murder weapon.

Huang Zixia went back to carefully examine Qi Teng’s body once more, remaining silent in thought.

Fan Yuanlong still hadn’t left, though his drunkenness seemed to have somewhat subsided. He wandered over to her side again: “Master Yang, listen to me – the killer is Yu Xuan! Relying on his good looks, he intended to get involved with the Prefecture Lord’s daughter! He had seduced the daughter of Prefecture Lord Huang before, and now he’s set his sights on Prefecture Lord Zhou’s daughter. Now seeing that Prefecture Lord Zhou wanted to marry his daughter to Magistrate Qi, anger rose in his heart and evil filled his courage – in for a penny, in for a pound! Yu Xuan, ah Yu Xuan, you specifically target Prefecture Lords’ daughters – you’re too ambitious!”

Yu Xuan cast him a cold glance, saying nothing, and continued looking up at the sky.

His cold and arrogant demeanor made Fan Yuanlong suddenly jump up in anger – if he hadn’t been firmly held back by the people beside him, he definitely would have attacked.

Seeing that this late-night commotion wouldn’t stop anytime soon, Zhou Ziqin stood behind Huang Zixia, at a loss: “This case is too difficult! We know the killer must be among our group, but not only did no one have the opportunity to commit the crime, but everyone was in plain sight, yet we still don’t know who it was. And we can’t even find the murder weapon!”

Huang Zixia nodded and said: “It is very strange…”

Someone behind her handed her a cup of tea, saying: “Have some tea first, take it slowly. With Master Yang’s wisdom and talent, I believe the truth of this case will come to light in three to five days.”

Huang Zixia took the tea and looked back – it was Wang Yun standing behind her with a gentle smile as if the murder and the surrounding commotion hadn’t affected him at all.