E’Yuan came to stand before Madam Yan’s body. He reached out and turned her face toward him. Her face was a mass of blood and mangled flesh, her hair matted together with dried blood.

He pressed his hand against the back of the corpse’s skull. The distinct grating of bone told him there was likely severe cranial fracturing.

E’Yuan cleared away the deceased’s hair and discovered along her neck and shoulders several reddish marks resembling lividity.

Yet these marks differed from the livor mortis pooled elsewhere on the body — their color was noticeably redder.

A large question mark formed in E’Yuan’s mind. Based on the livor mortis, these patches appeared in blotchy and stripe-like patterns, and they faded under finger pressure. Combined with the state of rigor mortis, he made a preliminary estimate that the time of death was within the past two hours.

E’Yuan repeatedly examined the deceased’s neck, unable to make sense of the large lividity marks beneath her chin.

“Has the body remained in this position the entire time? Has anyone moved it?” E’Yuan asked.

Yan Xu, who stood nearby cooperating with the investigation, replied: “My fifth younger sister lifted Mother’s head briefly, but set it down again quickly. When I came forward and saw that Mother had already stopped breathing, I did not disturb her further.”

“So when the body was discovered, she was already in this posture?”

Yan Xu nodded.

“Strange indeed.” E’Yuan pressed his fingers against the lividity marks at the lower neck and across the chest — the marks did not fade or disappear, entirely unlike the livor mortis that had formed on the back after death.

If the deceased had maintained this position throughout, the lividity should be concentrated on the lower surfaces, not beneath the chin and across the front of the chest.

E’Yuan was baffled. Why did the body show two distinct patterns of livor mortis? Could the deceased have been moved after death?

“Officer, how exactly did my Mother die?” Yan Xu asked, his agitation growing.

As E’Yuan directed the men to carry the body away, he said: “Preliminary examination indicates the deceased was struck from behind with a copper kettle, causing intracranial injury. Simply put — she was beaten to death.”

Yan Xu’s eyes shot a venomous glare toward where Yan Qing stood. In his mind, he had already convicted Yan Qing as the murderer.

“The body is to be brought back to the Military Police Division for a full autopsy. Everyone present here is also to come to the Military Police Division for questioning.” Bai Jin said from the side. “Don’t bother collecting anything — we leave now.”

“Officers, you must punish the killer severely.” Yan Qin suddenly rushed forward and cried out in agitation: “You cannot show her leniency just because she is your Division Commander’s wife. A life for a life — that is the law of Shun Cheng. Wasn’t that Shun Cheng Code personally drafted by your own Division Commander?”

Bai Jin looked at her with thinly veiled impatience. “The case has not yet been concluded. Please refrain from condemning others arbitrarily.”

“With both witnesses and physical evidence, you call this inconclusive? I say the Military Police Division intends to bend the law for personal gain.” Yan Qin turned to the gathered onlookers and wept aloud: “Everyone, take a good look! Just because Yan Qing is affiliated with the Military Police Division, she can kill someone and escape justice. If that’s how things are, what use is Shun Cheng’s law? Everyone might as well just go become Shi Ting’s wife!”

Yan Qin’s wailing was grating to the ears. Yan Qing paid her no mind and walked up to Bai Jin. “I’ll go back with you.”

Letting Yan Qin carry on like this would only damage the Military Police Division’s reputation.

The word “sister-in-law” nearly slipped from Bai Jin’s lips; it circled on his tongue several times before he swallowed it back. “All right.”

~~

Inside the Military Police Division, Bai Jin first questioned the members of the Yan Family. Yan Xu and Yan Qin had been the first to arrive at the scene. They could attest that by the time they heard the maid’s screaming, Madam Yan was already dead — and that at the scene they had both seen Yan Qing as well as the copper kettle that served as the murder weapon.

“My Mother was definitely beaten to death by Yan Qing.” Yan Qin said with firm conviction. “She and my Mother have never gotten along.”

Bai Jin glanced at her sideways. “Murder requires a motive. No one kills just because they don’t get along, surely?”

“What’s so impossible about it?”

Bai Jin said coolly: “So what Fifth Miss Yan is saying is — whoever doesn’t get along with you, you’d want to kill them? Or perhaps this is something Fifth Miss Yan has done before?”

“You——” Yan Qin slammed the table and leapt to her feet in fury. “What do you mean by that? The suspect isn’t me, it’s Yan Qing. Keep talking to me like that and I’ll go to the Inspection Bureau and report you — report your Military Police Division for being a law unto itself!”

Bai Jin inwardly scoffed. He hadn’t expected this Fifth Miss Yan to know about the Inspection Bureau. The Inspection Bureau’s Director Xie Zhiming — though Shi Ting had once done him a favor — was a man of strict impartiality. If a complaint actually reached him, it would be a troublesome affair indeed.

“Miss, please calm yourself.” Bai Jin said with a frown. “I am only conducting a routine inquiry.”

Yan Xu pulled Yan Qin back down into her seat. “That’s enough, stop making a scene. Mother just died — what are you arguing about?”

Yan Qin still held some fear of her eldest brother, and upon hearing his words, she huffed and turned her head away.

Bai Jin lowered his head and continued making notes. He had barely written one character when a thin, hesitant voice arose: “I — I think I might know Sixth Miss’s motive for the killing.”

Bai Jin frowned and looked up.

The speaker was Guo Yanrong, the Second Yitai of the Yan Mansion. She sat there, her face tinged with anxiety and fear, her mouth opening and closing as though she had something to say yet dared not say it.

“You know?” Bai Jin asked. “Go ahead and tell us.”

Guo Yanrong glanced carefully at Yan Qin and Yan Xu. Both were legitimate children of the Yan Family, their status always higher than hers. Now with the Master ill and Madam Yan dead, these two were half the masters of the Yan Household.

Seeing her hesitation, Yan Xu said with undisguised impatience: “Second Yitai, whatever you know, say it. Stop dithering. This is the Military Police Division — a place of justice. Are you afraid someone here will do you harm?”

Yan Xu’s implication was that Guo Yanrong might fear the Military Police Division would shelter Yan Qing and thus be too frightened to tell the truth. He put his words down early to prevent the Division from favoring Yan Qing.

Emboldened by Yan Xu’s encouragement, Guo Yanrong finally spoke: “Last night, I said some things to Sixth Miss. I believe it was those words that gave her the desire to kill the Madam.”

Bai Jin’s frown deepened. “What did you say?”

“I told Sixth Miss that back then, Third Yitai’s death had something to do with the Madam — that Third Yitai may not have taken her own life, but was strangled to death by someone the Madam sent. Beyond that, I also told Sixth Miss that the Madam had put poison in her food when she was young, which left her with crippled legs at such a tender age.”

“You’re talking nonsense!” Yan Qin snapped, agitated. “When did my Mother ever do such a thing?”

Guo Yanrong replied: “As for the Madam having someone strangle Third Yitai — I didn’t witness it with my own eyes. But that night, I saw the Madam’s people slipping out of Third Yitai’s courtyard in the dead of night, sneaking about as though up to no good. The very next day, Third Yitai was found hanged, ruled a suicide. As for the poisoning of Sixth Miss — the Madam was speaking with Fifth Miss that day, and I heard it all from outside the window. Doesn’t Fifth Miss know this better than anyone?”

“You——” Whether Madam Yan had sent someone to kill Wen Wan, Yan Qin did not know. But that Madam Yan had once poisoned the young Yan Qing — that, Yan Qin knew with perfect clarity.

Faced with Guo Yanrong’s retort, she momentarily had nothing to say. But she quickly reconsidered: Madam Yan was already dead, and no one would pursue her responsibility. On the contrary, Guo Yanrong’s words could serve as Yan Qing’s motive for murder — far more convincing than her own claim of “not getting along.”

Seeing Yan Qin fall silent, Guo Yanrong continued: “When Sixth Miss heard this, she was very agitated. I kept urging her to calm down, and she finally suppressed her anger. I thought she might confront the Madam or reproach her, but I never imagined she would actually — actually beat the Madam to death. Alas, Sixth Miss acted in a moment of impulse. She is not that kind of person.”

“Did you personally witness Yan Qing kill anyone?” Bai Jin asked. “Just as you did not personally see Madam Yan order the killing of Third Yitai — a few words alone are not sufficient evidence to identify the murderer.”

Yan Qin pressed: “But the maid saw it with her own eyes!”

Bai Jin had endured her long enough. He said with measured patience: “Bring that maid in.”

A moment later, an officer led a young woman inside. She appeared no older than fifteen or sixteen, her face still carrying a childlike quality, dressed in a plain blue cotton jacket and trousers, her hair arranged in a simple bun.

“What is your name?” Bai Jin asked.

“My name is A’Jin,” A’Jin said timidly. “I am the Madam’s maid.”

“Tell us what you witnessed today.” Bai Jin tossed his record book to an officer beside him to take notes.

A’Jin said: “The Madam had intended to visit the Master today, but she felt a little unwell and decided not to go. Around midday, she said she had some matters to discuss with Sixth Miss and sent me to bring Sixth Miss over.”

Bai Jin interjected: “Before you went to fetch Sixth Miss, what was the deceased’s condition?”

A’Jin thought for a moment: “The Madam seemed nothing out of the ordinary. She only asked if the tea had been brewed. I brought in the freshly boiled tea and then went to find Sixth Miss.”

“Continue.”

“After I found Sixth Miss, I brought her to the Madam’s quarters. The Madam did not like to be disturbed when speaking with guests, so I waited outside and let only Sixth Miss enter. About an hour later, I thought it was time to bring in a fresh pot of tea, so I knocked on the Madam’s door. After knocking for a long while with no response, I opened the door and saw the Madam lying in a pool of blood. Sixth Miss stood beside her, holding a blood-covered copper kettle in her hands. I was so frightened I let out a scream — my mind went completely blank.”

A’Jin shuddered at the memory. “The Madam lay on the ground surrounded by blood, and Sixth Miss held a kettle stained all over with blood.”

“While you were outside, did you hear any sounds at all?”

“No.” A’Jin shook her head.

“What time did you last see the deceased?”

A’Jin thought it over and said: “The Madam had finished lunch not long before. She always dines at eleven-thirty in the morning. I believe it was around noon — after I brought in the tea and left to find Sixth Miss, when I next saw the Madam, she was already dead.”