Everyone turned to look at Lu Zhiyuan, causing an immediate commotion. Since entering the Court of Judicial Review, this old man had been standing quietly in a corner, head bowed, unnoticed by anyone. Due to their disdain for him, even when discussing people connected to Dicui, others’ gazes merely passed over him without lingering.
Yet now, Huang Zixia was holding up that iron wire, directing questions at him. Everyone’s attention followed Huang Zixia’s lead and fell upon him.
Lu Zhiyuan tried to conceal himself in the shadows of the hall. He maintained his hunched posture, wearing his half-worn cotton robe, the darkness making his facial features appear even more pronounced.
As if feigning ignorance, he slowly raised his eyes to look at Huang Zixia and asked sluggishly, “What did you say?”
Cui Chunzhan chimed in: “Eunuch Yang, didn’t you previously say this case was related to the Late Emperor’s painting kept by the Zhang family? Since their family treasured it, had Lu Zhiyuan ever seen that painting?”
“Of course, he had seen it. After Wei Ximin’s death, Dicui took out the Zhang family’s painting to appease her father who had come demanding a bride price. She also told him about our speculations regarding the three scribbles on the image. But when Old Lu expressed disbelief, she angrily pawned it for ten strings of cash and gave them to him.”
“So that painting… Old Lu truly did see it,” Zhou Ziqin affirmed, though his expression remained uncertain. “But… but you said he went there to demand a bride price. Someone like him… could he really… commit murder?”
“Hmph… I didn’t do it. I already got the money, why would I kill someone over a mere girl?” Lu Zhiyuan sneered and shook his head, firmly stating, “No! I never put such things in my candles. Perhaps someone else did it, or maybe the wire got mixed into the incense and ended up like this in the burner. What does it have to do with me?”
“But during all that chaos, only the main incense burner at Jianfu Temple remained standing. If the wire had been in there, how could it have been brought out? And you say someone else inserted the wire into the candle wick – that’s impossible.” She showed him the bent end. “If it were straight up and down, it might be possible to insert it into the reed wick, but this bent end is at the bottom. Besides your initial crafting, who else could have inserted this curved end into the tightly bundled reed wick?”
Lu Zhiyuan again spoke slowly: “Oh… I’m old, my eyesight is poor. Perhaps a wire got mixed into the reed wicks sometimes, and I didn’t notice. But let me ask you, Eunuch, even if I made this small mistake, what law have I broken?”
“Was it just an unintentional mix-up with the wire? I don’t believe it, because this seemingly casual action was the beginning and focal point of the entire case.” Huang Zixia shook her head and said, “Old Lu, you put tremendous thought into planning this murder. The weather was already oppressive in the days before the incident, with thunder and rain approaching. You noticed that the ten-foot candle was level with the main hall and that inserting a wire would easily attract lightning. So you inserted a wire into the wick of that massive candle you made. To prevent others from discovering it, you insisted on setting up the candle yourself – this way, you could pull out the wire hidden inside after the candle was erected. Once the ladder was removed, who below could notice a thin wire hidden within the burning flame of the candle wick?”
“So… the so-called heaven-sent thunderbolt was engineered by him?” Cui Chunzhan gaped in astonishment. “Then, then his luck must have been incredible, for the lightning to strike his enemy so precisely!”
“No, there was certainly a reason. Otherwise, how would the heavenly lightning choose Wei Ximin among the thousands of people in Jianfu Temple, striking him without deviation?” Huang Zixia showed the wire to everyone. “Have you noticed that this wire is straight above and bent below? The straight upper half not only shows signs of burning but also has some black residue. However, the bent portion below shows no signs of burning at all. Isn’t this strange? I’ve seen Old Lu make these giant candle wicks – he wraps and ties reed cores with linen, soaks them in wax, and then attaches heated iron tips to insert them into the semi-solidified candle. So even if the candle exploded, the reed cores tied with linen and frozen in wax would be very difficult to scatter. Even if, by some remote chance, they did scatter, the wax-soaked wire would have burned for a moment, leaving a black layer that even water couldn’t wash away. Yet the lower part of your wire is completely clean. What’s the reason for this?”
Cui Chunzhan, Wang Lin, Jiang Kui, and others passed around the wire, deep in thought.
Though the Emperor was curious about the eunuch’s death, he showed little reaction, only saying, “Yang Chonggu, explain quickly.”
“Yes. According to this servant’s analysis, the candle wick made by Lu Zhiyuan only contained wire for this half-length. The straight, blackened portion above was wedged in the wick, but below the candle’s wax surface, there was no wick at all. The wire was exposed, so naturally, it couldn’t burn.”
Everyone was stunned. Zhou Ziqin hurriedly asked, “Then what was the purpose of making such a huge candle with only a short wick at the top?”
“Because he needed to use that candle to hide something. And the curved bottom of this wire was bent specifically to avoid that thing.”
Zhou Ziqin slapped his forehead and immediately said, “He must have hidden sulfur and explosives inside the candle! So when the lightning struck, the wire conducted it, the candle burned, and Wei Ximin nearby was burned to death!”
“No, shortly after the explosion, I went to investigate and didn’t smell any strong sulfur or gunpowder odor,” Cui Chunzhan immediately refuted. “Moreover, Lu Zhiyuan wasn’t at the scene at the time. How could he ensure that when the candle exploded, Wei Ximin would be beside it and that the one burned by the lightning fire would be Wei Ximin, whom he wanted to kill?”
Zhou Ziqin scratched his head and could only look toward Huang Zixia with confusion.
“What I’ve mentioned are the visible pieces of evidence. However, this case has one piece of invisible evidence. That is – among those present at the time: Prince Kui, Zhou Ziqin, Zhang Xingying, Lu Dicui, and myself, the five of us were at varying distances from the exploding giant candle, but none of us saw Wei Ximin before the candle exploded.” At this point, Huang Zixia turned to look at Li Shubai.
Li Shubai nodded, affirming: “Indeed, this prince did not see Wei Ximin at the time. Since he was someone in the Princess’s service, if this prince had caught even a glimpse of him at Jianfu Temple, it would have left a definite impression.”
“That Prince Kui, with his perfect memory, didn’t notice Wei Ximin might be explained by Wei being lost in the crowd, too far away to see. But Zhang Xingying and Lu Dicui were right next to the candle, and Wei Ximin was someone who had harmed Lu Dicui, wearing a distinctive scarlet eunuch robe. Since he was burned by the fire immediately, he must have been very close to the candle. Why wasn’t he seen by others who were also beside that giant candle?”
Amidst the thoughtful gazes of everyone present, Huang Zixia finally revealed the most crucial conclusion: “Because that candle was over ten feet tall and one and a half spans thick. Even accounting for the melted wax at the top and the thinner portion at the bottom, it was still at least eight feet tall, while Wei Ximin was only five and a half feet tall – enough to hide inside the candle!”
The hall fell silent, everyone shocked, stunned, and unable to believe this mad theory.
“The originally semi-transparent yellow wax was dyed in various colors to conceal what was hidden inside; the candle wick was cut off to create more space; holes could be poked in the carved flower patterns to prevent the person inside from suffocating; the bent wire was to avoid Wei Ximin’s head, and could also guide the lightning into the candle’s interior, causing the rapid explosion and scattering of the wax mixed with cinnabar, sulfur, black oil, and other flammable materials.”
Zhang Xingying, Zhou Ziqin, Li Run, and everyone else were dumbfounded. They looked from Huang Zixia to the hunched, unsavory Lu Zhiyuan, unable to believe it.
Lu Zhiyuan stared at the blue brick floor beneath his feet, still wearing a sneer: “Eunuch, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Did I hide a living person inside a candle? And I delivered this candle containing a person to Jianfu Temple? You’re completely delusional!”
“It may sound absurd, but as I said, I have conclusive evidence.” Huang Zixia spoke clearly and deliberately. “First, on the day you delivered the candle to Jianfu Temple, despite having worked through the night making the candle and being exhausted, why did you refuse help from others and insist on delivering it personally, only leaving after seeing it properly installed?”
“I am devout in my faith. This candle took months of my attention – how could I trust others to deliver it!”
Huang Zixia continued without comment: “Second, Jianfu Temple spent over half a year collecting enough wax to make that giant candle, yet when it exploded, it all burned away instantly. Would ordinary wax burn so thoroughly when exposed to fire, leaving only that half jar of wax you scraped away at the end? You feared that too little remaining wax would reveal your candle was hollow, so you added large amounts of heat-reactive dyes to burn away all the remaining wax.”
Lu Zhiyuan wouldn’t even look at her, saying: “What do you know? When making candles, various dyes must be added to create different colors.”
“However, after decades of candle-making, wouldn’t you know that adding excess cinnabar, sulfur, and black oil means the entire candle might burst into flames at the slightest spark?” Huang Zixia shook her head again and said, “Moreover, you made a mistake that no experienced candle maker would ever make – adding cinnabar to the wax.”
Lu Zhiyuan sneered, “Who says I chose cinnabar? I used the same ordinary dyes as always. How can you make such baseless accusations?”
“Although no one was seriously harmed, I do have evidence. After the incident, the rain washed the candle’s remains into the fish pond, and all the fish in the release pond died overnight!” Huang Zixia turned to look at the slack-jawed Zhou Ziqin and asked, “You took some dead fish back for examination – what was their cause of death?”
“Mercury poisoning,” Zhou Ziqin quickly replied.
“Yes, this is exactly why cinnabar cannot be used as a dye in candle-making. When cinnabar burns, it transforms into mercury. The mercury vapors spread through the air, poisoning anyone who breathes them – how could it possibly be used? Yet you still chose cinnabar to make the candle more flammable!” Huang Zixia stared directly at Lu Zhiyuan and continued, “When I visited your shop before, I saw you adding red color to candles. That red wax wasn’t made with cinnabar and wouldn’t have released toxic fumes. So why did you use expensive and dangerous cinnabar specifically in that giant candle? You keep claiming to be devout, but why would you make such a harmful candle for a Buddhist ceremony? Weren’t you afraid the toxic fumes from the burning candle would harm all the men, women, elderly, and children in Jianfu Temple?”
Lu Zhiyuan was momentarily speechless. Standing in the shadows, the wrinkles on his face appeared even deeper, his face seeming to age years in an instant.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.