Chapter 16: Misunderstanding

Fang Yan had been pondering what Doctor Gu had said, and hadn't noticed what the two people beside him were saying. Suddenly being called, he froze for a moment, his face a bit dazed. "What?"

"Nothing, I'm just praising you for your wisdom, bravery, justice and fairness." He Xuan said casually.

Fang Yan's face was filled with surprise. His eyes paused for a moment on He Xuan's face, and his earlobes felt strangely hot. "Thank you for the compliment. I'm honored."

He Xuan couldn't swallow his saliva and almost choked himself to death.

"Brother He, if you're feeling unwell, why don't you go back and rest? Xiao Shu and I are here to handle the case, so you can rest assured. Xiao Shu and I will go see County Magistrate Zhao later, and I will personally take her back to the coffin shop later."

Fang Yan's concern struck He Xuan as a naked provocation. He sneered and waved his hand, "Forget it. I also happen to live in the coffin shop, so I won't bother you with sending Xiao Shu home." He didn't give Fang Yan a chance to refuse and continued, "I'll accompany Xiao Shu to see County Magistrate Zhao later. There's something else you need to send someone to do."

He said this as if Fang Yan was his subordinate and had to obey his orders.

Fang Yan frowned, glared at He Xuan fiercely, and said reluctantly, "What's the matter?"

"What Doctor Gu said is ultimately just one person's opinion. No one has ever mentioned before that Su Mei had a child before Wang Fuwan. Lord Fang needs to send someone to investigate this matter thoroughly and confirm the specific circumstances of that child."

Xun Shu added, "We must find out when the child died. It would be even better if we could know where he was buried."

"When did he die?" Fang Yan was stunned, then suddenly realized, "You are suspecting—"

Xun Shu's face was filled with helplessness. His rain-soaked hair stuck to his temples, making him look even more dejected. "Yes, but it's just a suspicion, no evidence. If we can find the child's body, perhaps we can discover something."

-

The third courtyard of the yamen was used exclusively by Magistrate Zhao. Besides his office, it also housed a temporary residence. The courtyard was small and exquisite, with yamen runners stationed there. Without permission, outsiders were prohibited from entering.

Fang Yan led the two of them to stand at the gate of the courtyard. He went in first to pass the message, then turned back after a while and led the two of them through the courtyard and into the main house.

Having recently lost his wife, County Magistrate Zhao looked visibly haggard, his eyes red and swollen, bloodshot. He sat at his desk, a large stack of official documents spread out before him. Upon seeing Xun Shu and He Xuan enter, he stood up and sat down on a chair in the hall, asking the servant to serve him tea.

Xun Shu never exchanged pleasantries with anyone. His eyes, like gleaming glass beads, stared straight at County Magistrate Zhao without blinking. "County Magistrate Zhao, do you know that Zhao Yuanming is not your child?"

Fang Yan was about to leave, but when he heard this, he put his raised foot down again, found a seat in the corner and sat down quietly, as if nothing had happened, and listened quietly to what they were saying.

County Magistrate Zhao pursed his lips into a line, his face gradually darkened, and he stared at Xun Shu for a long while without saying a word.

Xun Shu's words were no different from directly pointing out Madam Zhao's infidelity. It was like slapping Magistrate Zhao in the face. But she looked serious, without the slightest hint of joking or teasing, as if she genuinely just wanted to ask a question.

The atmosphere was extremely gloomy.

Magistrate Zhao rubbed his forehead and dismissed the waiting yamen runners and guards. He did not answer directly, but instead asked, "What do you mean?"

"That's exactly what it means." Xun Shu, unaware that Magistrate Zhao had misunderstood her, spoke slowly, "I've seen Madam Zhao's face. She has very few children. If she hadn't died a violent death, she would have been left alone. But your son, Zhao Yuanming, is in good health, with a bright and smooth life palace, a sign of longevity. Furthermore, Zhao Yuanming has fine lines at the root of his nose, a sign of adoption. Therefore, I conclude that Zhao Yuanming is not your biological son, and naturally, not yours either."

Xun Shu spoke slowly but logically. Magistrate Zhao listened attentively, his eyes gradually filled with shock and his face was full of disbelief. "What did you say? Zhao Yuanming is not my wife's biological son?"

Xun Shu looked carefully and saw that County Magistrate Zhao didn't seem to be lying, so he breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems that this matter really has nothing to do with you, my Lord. I am relieved. Before coming here, I was thinking that this might be your handiwork. Maybe you saw that the original child was dying, and you were afraid of upsetting your wife, so you found a child of similar age and helped replace him without anyone noticing—"

Magistrate Zhao interrupted her, his voice filled with urgency: "Are you telling the truth? Do you have any evidence?"

Xun Shu recounted to Magistrate Zhao the key points of what she had just heard from Doctor Gu. She added, "I know physiognomy can't be used as evidence in court, but more than a decade has passed since this incident, and those who knew the truth are no longer alive. It's difficult to find evidence proving that the current 'Zhao Yuanming' is not the same 'Zhao Yuanming' as before. Unless we can find your son's remains, perhaps we can find evidence. If not—" She bit her lip lightly, "I can't think of a better way."

For a moment, no one spoke in the room. The suffocating silence spread to every corner, wrapping the four people in the room layer by layer, making it impossible to breathe.

County Magistrate Zhao sat at the very top, as if enveloped by a huge dark cloud, his annoyance and sorrow threatening to swallow him. After a moment, as if suddenly remembering something, he asked doubtfully, "I thought you came to me about my wife's murder, but I didn't expect it was about my son's background." He looked at Xun Shu, his eyes devoid of a smile. "What I said in court yesterday was no joke. If you don't find the murderer within three days, I will have you imprisoned and await trial. Do you understand?"

Xun Shu slumped his shoulders, showing no intention of refuting, and said in a muffled voice, "I understand."

He Xuan frowned for a moment, thinking to himself that Magistrate Zhao was truly a piece of shit. Xun Shu had clearly been out of town at the time of the crime, so how could he pin it on her? He suppressed his displeasure for the moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was thick with uncontrollable disgust. "Master Zhao, I have one more question. From your expression just now, it seemed as if you already knew that 'Zhao Yuanming' wasn't your biological child, correct?"

He Xuan's tone wasn't particularly pleasant, but Magistrate Zhao was so deeply troubled at the moment that he naturally didn't care. He sighed deeply, exhaustion washing over him. "You're right. I've had my suspicions for a long time. Dalang has been in poor health since birth and nearly died. He was my wife's first child, and she was heartbroken, even hysterical... But he was also my first child, so I was just as heartbroken! For those few months, I prayed for Dalang every day, praying for his recovery..."

"Later, Dalang's illness suddenly improved. My wife and I were ecstatic. My wife also gradually recovered, and we finally became a normal pair of parents, having the opportunity to watch Dalang grow up. Later, Er Niang was born. Although her health was not good, she was much better than Dalang's at that time. My wife and I were very satisfied. But it was also Er Niang's birth that reminded me of something, something that I had overlooked in Dalang's life."

County Magistrate Zhao stretched out his hands and spread them in front of everyone.

These were a very ordinary pair of hands, with obvious calluses where they held the pen. Xun Shu looked at each finger one by one and found nothing different. It was not until the hands were slightly bent that she noticed something unusual.

The two little fingers of these hands actually have four knuckles.

After confirming that several people had seen the mystery on his hands, County Magistrate Zhao withdrew his hands, hid his pinkies, and whispered, "You can see that the pinkies on both of my hands are different from those of ordinary people. They have four knuckles. My father was like this, my grandfather was like this, and everyone in my family is like this." He opened his hands again, looked at the fingers that were different from those of ordinary people, and smiled bitterly. "When Dalang was born, he was in poor health. His hands were clenched into fists, about the size of grapes. I was afraid that if I breathed heavily, he would startle him, so I didn't have the heart to pry his hands open for a careful examination. Later, due to my wife's illness, we neglected to take care of him. Gradually, I put this matter behind my mind and forgot to check it again.

"Until one day after Rong'er was born, Second Mother, I suddenly noticed that her little finger had four knuckles. It was then that I suddenly realized that Dalang's fingers seemed no different from those of an ordinary person. After coaxing Rong'er to sleep, I hurried to Dalang's yard. Dalang was about two years old at the time, and his fingers could already stretch naturally. While he was asleep, I carefully examined his fingers and confirmed that his little finger only had three knuckles." County Magistrate Zhao took a deep breath, pursed his lips tightly, and his cheeks trembled slightly with restraint. "If Dalang is truly my child, he should be the same as me and Rong'er. It was then that I suddenly realized that Dalang might not be my child. My wife, she betrayed me."

Tears welled up in Magistrate Zhao's eyes, a gleam of endless sorrow and regret. "My wife and I have been married since we were young, for many years, deeply in love. I don't want to believe she's betrayed me, but Dalang's finger truly defies explanation. I've wanted to ask her countless times, but I can't. I dread her answer. What if she says 'yes'? What should I do? What if she says 'no'? Does that mean I'll have no more doubts?"

"But you still asked." He Xuan folded his arms and looked at County Magistrate Zhao. His eyes were calm and sharp, and there seemed to be a hint of mockery at the corners of his lips. "Zheng said that she heard you two arguing last autumn. She thought it was about the matter between Zhao Yuanming and Wang Fuwan. I'm afraid it's not that simple, right?"

Magistrate Zhao was stunned for a moment before nodding. "Yes. My wife adores Dalang and once wanted to find him a suitable match who could help him find a marriage, but he fell in love with Sumei's daughter. My wife tried to persuade him several times, but he was adamant, even arguing with his mother. My wife couldn't bear to put Dalang in a difficult position, so she gradually began to think of giving in...but how could she do that? No matter what, Dalang is nominally my eldest son. How could I let him marry a maidservant and a merchant's daughter? My wife discussed this matter with me the other day, trying to persuade me to accept. I argued with her for a moment, and in desperation, I blurted out that Dalang wasn't my biological son. If he wanted to stay in the Zhao family, I didn't ask him to bring honor to the family, but at least he couldn't bring shame to it." His eyes filled with tears, and he choked out, "I can still remember my wife's heartbroken expression. In all those years, I've only seen it twice, and both times it was because of me...If I had known this would happen...sigh."

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