Chapter 4 Yao Er 4 Bai Xing
When Xun Shu and the other two arrived at Zhao's house, a white banner had been hung on the door lintel. The servants coming and going were walking hurriedly with their heads lowered and sad expressions, as if they were sad about Madam Zhao's departure.
The last time she visited the Zhao residence, Xun Shu didn't enter. She only observed the feng shui of the entrance, believing it must have been guided by a master. This time, as she followed Fang Yan into the residence, she appeared well-behaved, but her eyes were never idle, quietly scanning her surroundings as curiosity slowly turned to disappointment.
He Xuan kept an eye on Xun Shu from the corner of his eye. Seeing her frown getting tighter and tighter, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you see anything?"
Xun Shu couldn't hide his disdain in the corners of his eyes and brows. He lowered his voice and said, "The last time I came to see Madam Zhao, I looked around and found that this house was built on a Feng Shui treasure land. I guessed that it must have been built with guidance from someone. Now that I've walked into it, I'm wondering if I was wrong."
Fang Yan had unknowingly moved to Xun Shu's other side, nodding his head in agreement. He pointed to the mulberry tree in the corner of the courtyard and said, "Planting mulberry trees in the house will bring disaster."
Xun Shu looked at the tall, new tower on the north side and added, "Adding a tower to an old house will bring disaster to the owner."
The two of them kept talking back and forth, mumbling nonsense, which made He Xuan feel quite disgusted. "Ah Shu is fine, but how can a county lieutenant believe such things?"
Fang Yan paused, a look of embarrassment on his face. "I've been hanging out with Uncle Jiang and Ah Shu a lot, so I've learned a few things. Unlike some people who live in a coffin shop but don't even know the basics."
He Xuan sneered and pointed at the mulberry tree in the corner with a sharp look in his eyes. "You only know that it's a mulberry tree, but you don't know that it's not an ordinary mulberry tree. It's a tree from the Western Regions called the Jialuo Sang. It's very precious and is said to bring wealth."
As soon as the words fell, the tree shook in the wind, and the leaves rustled, as if responding to He Xuan's words.
Xun Shu tilted his head to look at him: "No matter how precious it is, it's still a mulberry tree."
"...You're right." He Xuan was unable to refute.
"I didn't know you knew so much about tree species." Xun Shu's eyes were as clear as a mountain spring, and he expressed his doubts without hiding them. "Do you remember what happened in the past?"
He Xuan paused, then shook his head, his brows etched with distress. “No… I just felt these things were very familiar, so they just came out naturally.”
Half a year ago, when He Xuan was picked up by Xun Shu and brought back to the coffin shop, he was covered in wounds and took a full two weeks to recover. At that time, the coffin shop was so poor that it was almost impossible to make ends meet. Xun Shu saved him out of kindness and the desire to make money. However, he had lost his memory after opening his eyes, and only remembered that his name was He Xuan.
The coffin shop had to waste a large amount of money on medical treatment, making their already impoverished life even worse.
At that time, Xun Shu could only comfort himself that it was okay, maybe it was just because of the hit on the head that made him suddenly forget the past, and he would be able to remember it in time. But now several months have passed, and He Xuan still shows no sign of recovering his memory.
Xun Shu would sometimes have some doubts in her heart. After all, if He Xuan was really a royal relative or a rich and powerful man as she thought, then someone should have come to look for him after he had been missing for so long... Could it be that she had read his face wrongly?
but--
It’s also good that He Xuan has more coffins.
So much time has passed, some things are no longer important.
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The Zhao residence is divided into three parts: east, middle and west. The west part has two courtyards in the north and south. Mrs. Zhao lives in the southwest courtyard.
Her body was now placed here. Magistrate Zhao had called in a coroner to perform an autopsy, and yamen runners were guarding the gate. Xun Shu and his companions did not disturb the servants and, guided by the servants, went to the place where the body was found, located in the garden behind the Sanlu courtyard.
The Zhao residence's garden occupied a small portion of the compound, with a square pond in its center, surrounded by knee-high bluestone railings carved with koi carp patterns. There were no lotuses in the pond, only a few scattered koi, their outlines faintly visible in the murky water. They hadn't moved for a long time, their lives uncertain.
Fang Yan looked around and asked the officer guarding nearby, "Where was the body found?"
The officer pointed to the south side of the pond not far away and said, "Your Excellency, that's where the body was found."
There are dense reeds on the south side of the pond, and you can only see the stones hidden in them if you get close. If there is a person or a corpse hiding here, it would be similar to these stones and cannot be detected unless you get close.
The officer was following behind the others, about to tell them what had happened that morning, when he looked up and saw his colleague leading Bai Xing towards them. He bowed slightly and said, "Sir, that is Bai Xing, the maidservant of the Zhao residence. She was the one who discovered Madam Zhao's body."
After leaving the yamen, Bai Xing hurried back to the Zhao residence to help Mrs. Zhao in her yard. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the yard, she was taken to the pond in the back garden, where the lady's body was found in the morning.
Bai Xing looked at the people by the pond and immediately spotted Xun Shu in the middle. She glared at her fiercely and said through gritted teeth, "How dare you come here? Aren't you afraid that Madam will seek revenge on you tonight?!"
Xun Shu blinked and said slowly: "Don't be afraid, I can draw a spell to suppress ghosts."
"you!"
Xun Shu looked serious, but Bai Xing was furious and tried to argue, but was interrupted by Fang Yan beside her: "Miss Bai Xing, we are here today because of Madam Zhao's death. Please tell us everything about the situation when you found the body."
Fang Yan, dressed in his official robes, had a serious expression. His eyes were filled with the earnestness of his determination to get to the bottom of Madam Zhao's case, and the anger within Bai Xing instantly extinguished. She took a half-step closer to the pond, recalling the events of that morning, unable to help but choke back a sob. "This morning, I saw Madam's bedroom door was closed, and I assumed she wasn't awake yet. She's been restless lately, sleeping poorly, and having nightmares. So I didn't disturb her and went straight to the garden, intending to gather some dew and fresh flowers to make a floral water for her. As I passed the pond, I vaguely spotted something in the grass. As I approached, I saw... a person lying facedown in the pond... I didn't realize it was Madam at first, and was so frightened that I called the people nearby. After we fished her out, we discovered it was Madam, who should have been resting in her room... she was already dead..."
Bai Xing was overwhelmed with grief and covered her face with her hands as she cried, while the three people opposite her seemed to be lost in thought.
It was spring, and the trees were lush and green, a vibrant sight that required no care. A small path surrounded the pond, the only path through the garden. The path was overgrown with weeds, and scattered clusters of flowers lay deep within, likely the place Bai Xing had mentioned for collecting flower dew.
To reach the flowers, one must pass by the pond where the body was found. Bai Xing must be telling the truth.
Fang Yan looked around, wondering what was so special about this messy garden. He frowned, "Does Madam Zhao come here often?"
Bai Xing shook her head. "Madam is weak, and the air near the pond is quite cold, so she rarely comes here. Occasionally, when we host a banquet to entertain guests, it's always held in the front yard."
He Xuan interrupted, "Even if your wife doesn't come to the backyard, what about the others? Why don't you arrange for someone to take care of the garden? It's such a pity to let it go to waste."
Bai Xing sighed, "My Lords, you should have noticed when you came in. Although this house is large, we have few servants. How could we possibly have the manpower to care for such a large garden? Our master is an honest official and doesn't like extravagance. This huge house is fully half vacant, uninhabited and untended, let alone this garden."
Everyone in Chaozhou City knew that Magistrate Zhao was frugal. They had originally thought that he was being pretentious, but now it seemed that they had misunderstood him.
Fang Yan was dissatisfied with He Xuan's interruption and brought the conversation back to Mrs. Zhao's case.
"Did anything unusual happen before Madam Zhao went to bed yesterday?"
"If you want to talk about abnormalities, Madam has been acting strangely these past few days. That day, when she came back from the market to have her palms read, she was in a trance and cried until midnight. That night, I stayed with her outside the house, watching the light in Madam's room go out until dawn. I just couldn't understand why Madam cared so much about the words of a charlatan. The next day, Madam went out early in the morning to look for Aunt Sumei, and ran into that swindler again at the door." Bai Xing glared at Xun Shu again, then looked away, unwilling to look at her again. "When Madam went to look for Aunt Sumei, she didn't let me follow her, so I could only wait in the front yard. About an incense stick of time later, Madam walked out of the house angrily. After returning to the mansion, she went to the eldest young master's yard and had another quarrel with him. After that, Madam returned to her own yard and never went out again."
"Who is Sumei?"
"Su Mei was once Madam's personal maid. She accompanied Madam when she married into the Zhao family and was like Madam's own sister. Aunt Su Mei stayed with Madam for a few years before marrying and leaving. Madam had arranged that marriage for her. It was to a very well-off family, and she married into the family and became the principal wife. After she left, she often returned to visit Madam, and Madam would occasionally go looking for her."
"This happened the day before yesterday?" Fang Yan confirmed with Bai Xing.
Bai Xing nodded. "Yes. Madam stayed in the house all day yesterday, in a bad mood, and didn't even eat. How could we, the servants, dare to disturb them? Madam understood our hard work and let us go back home to rest early... I didn't think much of it. I didn't expect Madam to be so upset at night that she came to this pond alone... If I had known this, I would have stayed by Madam's side and would never let her do such a stupid thing..."
Xun Shu had been huddled in the corner since Fang Yan began questioning him, but now he couldn't help but ask, "Why do you say your wife committed suicide? Why couldn't she have been killed by someone else?"
Bai Xing was stunned. "Madam is kind and gentle, and treats her servants very well. I've served her for so many years, and I've never heard of her making enemies with anyone, or anyone trying to kill her. It was those inexplicable words you said that made Madam distracted and accidentally fall into the lake. Or maybe she was so upset that she jumped into the lake, or maybe she was killed by the talisman you cast... In any case, you are responsible! You are responsible for Madam's death!"
Xun Shu rubbed his toes on the ground and didn't speak for a long time.
Although Bai Xing's thoughts were in turmoil, she was right about one thing: Madam Zhao's death did have something to do with her, and she couldn't completely stay out of it. If she could help Fang Yan solve the case, it would probably help alleviate some of the guilt she felt.
Xun Shu was just lowering his head, thinking about where to start the investigation, when he was startled by a sudden shout next to his ear.
"I remember now! If there was anyone in this house who would kill Madam, it must have been that person!" Bai Xing said excitedly, "That person is the master's concubine. She has always disliked our Madam and, relying on the master's favor for her, has been domineering in the house. Now that our Madam is gone, it won't be long before the master will make her his second wife!" Bai Xing's voice grew louder, with a sense of satisfaction at having found the real culprit and avenged Madam Zhao. "She must have killed our Madam! Hurry and capture Zheng and avenge our Madam!"
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