“It’s quite simple, isn’t it? You knew from the start that after burning for a while, the entire candle would explode, and when that happened, the crowd would scatter – that small amount of mercury wouldn’t be fatal,” Huang Zixia shook her head and said. “But even with your careful planning, you still left traces in the wax blocks. Jianfu Temple took so long to collect wax, yet you managed to gather enough wax to make such a large candle in just days. I ask you, where did you get all that wax? You claim you saved it up over many years – if you had so much wax stored, why would Jianfu Temple need to search nationwide? The truth is, you never used that much wax from the beginning, because the candle was hollow – much of the wax blocks Jianfu Temple sent you remained unused, never incorporated from the start!”
Seeing Lu Zhiyuan’s ashen face, unable to defend himself, Zhou Ziqin quickly asked: “Chonggu, I have a question! Although those days were already oppressive with thunderstorms approaching, what if the storms never came? What was his backup plan?”
“Even if the iron wire hadn’t attracted lightning, the wax below still contained black oil and sulfur. After burning a while longer, the entire candle would still have exploded, the wax blocks would have all burned, and Wei Ximin, hidden inside with flammable substances already applied to his body, would still have burned to death! Then he could just claim the candle malfunctioned, exploding and accidentally harming someone – he could still explain it away, just without the dramatic touch of death by heavenly lightning.”
Cui Chunzhan frowned and said: “Indeed… Wei Ximin was inside the candle, and right when Master Liao was speaking about karmic retribution, thunderstruck, the wire attracted lightning, and the candle exploded – everything seemed like heaven’s will. In the chaos, everyone would assume the person who fell was someone standing near the candle who got burned. Who would notice where he came from in the crowded mass of people?”
Zhou Ziqin, his mind full of questions, asked again: “But why would Wei Ximin quietly stay inside the candle? He was rolling and wailing on the ground – why would a grown man agree to hide in a candle?”
“The Lingling incense – don’t you remember? Money Guansuo heard Lu Zhiyuan had premium Lingling incense, so he bought some to give to Princess’s kitchen maid Changpu as thanks. Changpu, being a servant, naturally had to present such valuable items to the Princess for approval first. However, the Princess hadn’t conceived after marriage – how could she use something known to hinder pregnancy? Wei Ximin was both greedy and suffered from headaches, so the Lingling incense was perfect for him, and he naturally took it for himself. One or two qian each day, by the seventh day the incense was gone. He went to ask Changpu for more, and after causing a scene, went to pressure Money Guansuo, who took him to Lu Zhiyuan’s shop – this was the night before the Jianfu Temple ceremony. That night Wei Ximin never returned, and this man, whom everyone agreed showed no respect for gods or Buddha, suddenly appeared at Jianfu Temple the next day without anyone seeing him arrive, appearing only to die screaming, engulfed in flames.” Huang Zixia stared at Lu Zhiyuan and continued slowly, “Lu Zhiyuan had calculated everything: first, the Princess’s household rule that all valuable gifts must be presented to the master; second, using Money Guansuo to recommend his Lingling incense; third, calculating the dosage for someone with headaches to ensure he’d come back for more right on schedule. Everything went according to his plan – Wei Ximin walked right into the trap and disappeared into his shop. That night of Wei Ximin’s disappearance, I believe Old Lu used doctored Lingling incense in his shop, keeping him unconscious until he awoke to find himself burning alive.”
Everyone’s gaze focused on Lu Zhiyuan, watching this withered old man kneeling before the court, motionless like a long-dead tree root, covered in gray-black weathering, yet still showing vigorous lines.
Huang Zixia’s voice remained firm as she continued: “And Sun Laizi’s death is also inextricably linked to you.”
“No, Eunuch Yang, you might be mistaken about Sun Laizi’s case,” Zhang Xingying said, looking at the silent Lu Zhiyuan. “When Sun Laizi died, it was noon… Both Adi and I had been there, wanting to act but finding no opportunity. At that time, we didn’t see Old… Old Lu in Daning Ward, and many later confirmed he was making candles in his West Market shop at noon. I don’t believe he had the opportunity to kill Sun Laizi.”
“He didn’t need to be present, because from the moment someone was called to repair and reinforce his house, Sun Laizi was already doomed.” Huang Zixia turned and gestured to Zhou Ziqin to show everyone the iron plaque they had pried from Sun Laizi’s door, saying, “Above Sun Laizi’s front door was mounted one of these fashionable iron plaques currently popular in the capital. The craftsman who reinforced Sun Laizi’s doors and windows installed a brand new one with bright, fresh paint, but after the incident, we found the paint had completely peeled off.”
“That iron plaque… Money Guansuo arranged it!” Cui Chunzhan immediately pointed at the collapsed Money Guansuo.
Everyone’s attention shifted back to Money Guansuo.
Money Guansuo, previously looking lifeless, now looked from Huang Zixia to Lu Zhiyuan, his constantly dull eyes finally widening. Finding strength from somewhere, he pushed against the ground and cried hoarsely: “Wronged… I’m wronged! This commoner didn’t kill anyone! The iron plaque was… was forged at Liu’s blacksmith shop, and after bringing it back, it just sat there – I barely looked at it!”
Zhou Ziqin, unable to contain himself, grabbed Huang Zixia and asked: “In your view, what’s the connection between this small iron plaque and Sun Laizi’s death?”
Huang Zixia countered: “Do you remember what the Daning Ward liaison told us about a black vapor rushing out when Old Money broke down Sun Laizi’s door, which everyone thought was Dicui’s vengeful spirit?”
“Yes, the liaison mentioned that.” Zhou Ziqin looked at Zhang Xingying, scratching his head and frowning, “But the problem is, Dicui hadn’t died – how could there be any vengeful spirit?”
“Because someone had burned something on the door, and when the door was broken down, the ashes were disturbed. Since it had been sealed inside, when the door suddenly opened, the black ash immediately drifted out, creating what appeared to be black ‘killing qi’.” Huang Zixia pointed at the scorched, peeling paint on the iron plaque and said, “But there were no burn marks inside the house – the only ashes were inside the hollow iron plaque. So, the killer’s handiwork in Sun Laizi’s death was right here.”
“After discovering Sun Laizi’s death, the Court of Judicial Review immediately sealed the house, so no one could have access to this plaque. Therefore, the only possibility is that between the night after the doors and windows were reinforced and noon the next day, someone burned something inside Sun Laizi’s iron plaque. This something, I’m certain, was Lingling incense – because when we investigated that night, Magistrate Wang’s son, Commander Wang, escorted us there and detected the lingering scent of Lingling incense. He’s a renowned incense expert in the capital and wouldn’t mistake it. I’m also certain this Lingling incense was the same type used to drug Wei Ximin, which explains why Sun Laizi maintained that position even after being stabbed twice, dying without moving.”
Cui Chunzhan hurriedly asked: “Then how did Lu Zhiyuan sneak into that sealed room to kill Sun Laizi? Could he… also have known about the sewer passage there?”
“This case has no connection to the sewers. If the killer had entered through the sewers, there would have been traces inside, and even if they were trampled flat by the crowd that rushed in with Money Guansuo, the floor couldn’t have remained so firmly packed. Besides, Lu Zhiyuan was busy in his shop – where would he find time to crawl through sewers?” Huang Zixia had Zhou Ziqin lift the openwork pattern on the iron plaque and said: “Everyone can see two finger marks in the ash residue inside. Before we examined the plaque, who would have noticed this thing among all the talismans and images on Sun Laizi’s wall? Even less likely would anyone imagine something hidden inside the plaque. I think the only person who would retrieve something from inside must have been the killer. And what did the killer take from here?”
She pointed at the two marks remaining in the incense ash and said: “This is a larger circular mark. If it were a solid circle of this diameter, it absolutely couldn’t have been removed through these irregular openwork patterns. If it were a flat circular disk, the killer could barely insert one finger to move it from the bottom, taking it out through this long cloud-pattern gap below – but that’s not how the killer took it. They removed it from above, but up here, the only opening could only fit one finger. What kind of large circle could be removed through such a small hole?”
Everyone couldn’t help but ponder as they looked at the small hole. The court fell silent, except for Zhang Xingying standing in the hall, looking at Dicui’s father as if at a stranger, while Lu Zhiyuan stood there in a daze, neither speaking nor moving, as if everything Huang Zixia said had nothing to do with him.
After a brief silence, Li Shubai slowly spoke: “It was a crossbow spring.”
“Yes, the kind used in crossbows. When scraped against the ash, it would leave a large circular mark, but no matter how small the hole, with a few twists it could be easily removed.” Huang Zixia said, turning her gaze back to Lu Zhiyuan, speaking almost like a sigh, “And Old Lu, who once served in the military, was specifically in the crossbow unit.”
“You mean Lu Zhiyuan… installed a crossbow in here?” Zhou Ziqin was stunned.
“No, just two springs were enough.” Huang Zixia pointed at the plaque to explain, “The outer layer was coated with phosphorus powder, behind it was Lingling incense, behind the incense were wax-sealed springs, and on top were two poisoned thin iron blades.”
“I remember now! Sun Laizi’s sores on half his body forced him to maintain that side-sleeping position and Old Lu had been a crossbow soldier for many years. He only needed to adjust the springs according to the angle between the door and bed, seal them with wax, and aim at that bed with barely any space left, where someone always slept in that position!” Zhou Ziqin suddenly realized: “That day at noon – or perhaps not even noon, just when the sunlight was strong enough to shine on the plaque, the phosphorus powder would heat up and ignite the Lingling incense. This sleep-inducing incense would make Sun Laizi drowsy, and his bed faced directly at the front door and the plaque above it. Once the incense burned out, creating an open flame inside the plaque, the wax sealing the springs would melt instantly, releasing the springs and launching the iron blades at a slight downward angle directly into Sun Laizi’s body. The incense that kept Wei Ximin from waking even after a night of jostling – Sun Laizi, in his drugged sleep, probably never felt a thing before dying!”