TWWDS - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chao Qingxiu said politely, "I remember that before you went to sleep yesterday, there were no marks on your hands. Yet early this morning, wounds had inexplicably appeared on your palms, and you have gone out of your way to conceal them from everyone. If you truly did not leave the house all night, these injuries can only have been made inside the room. I have no idea how they came about. Please tell us what happened, and we will compare your explanation with what we know at once to see whether it is true or false." Before Liu Youcai could answer, she added, "Think carefully before you answer. If you lie in front of Deputy Magistrate Han and are exposed, you will be charged with a more serious offense."

Han Sihe had served as deputy magistrate for many years. She was not particularly skilled at investigating cases, but she was quite seasoned in all manner of routine business. She swept her gaze over the scene, and constables immediately stepped forward to seize Liu Youcai, making as if they would beat him and interrogate him on the spot.

Shen Lao still struggled, but two constables flipped him onto the ground. His temperament was plainly calmer than that of his master, Liu Youcai. The chief constable accompanying them gave a signal, and the constable holding Shen Lao grabbed a lump of mud, sealed his mouth with it, and forbade him to speak.

Liu Youcai was weak-willed to begin with, and with matters at this point, he was even less able to resist. After several rounds of intimidation, he finally poured out everything about the previous day, trembling and halting.

"My elder brother went out to sell goods, and I stayed at home to manage the fields and shops..."

The Liu family had a shop in the city, and Liu Youcai often had to check on its affairs. Weak-willed and unable to resist temptation, he was egged on by his servant Shen Lao and could not help but visit a gambling den several times to try his luck.

At first, he was only playing for small stakes, but soon his debts piled up until he had no choice but to mortgage the family property in exchange for money.

Though he felt uneasy and worried that his brother might notice something was wrong, he worked to convince himself that once his luck turned, he would quietly reclaim the property without anyone knowing.

Liu Youcai cried as he explained, "I had already decided that if I could win back half the money I had lost, I could go buy back the shop..."

Chao Qingxiu watched him silently for a moment.

For a man who believed he could make his fortune in a gambling den, Liu Youcai's staging of the scene was perfectly in keeping with his intelligence.

As for Shen Lao's choice to partner with a man like this, it also fit neatly with his character setup, since he had already inadvertently given himself away among the tenant farmers.

Liu Youcai was still explaining that he had wanted to wait for his gambling luck to turn, but before it did, a letter arrived from his elder brother saying that he would be returning home in a few days.

Although his elder brother, Liu Youde, was away from home, he had not entirely cut off contact with the family. He had heard some rumors, guessed that his younger brother was up to no good, and worded his letter rather harshly. Liu Youcai panicked. It was then that he heard rumors about Shanxiao, and Shen Lao, who harbored ill intentions, deliberately egged him on. In the end, he steeled himself and decided to lay hands on his brother.

They had planned very well. After all, the Wulin Alliance's efficiency in catching people was only passable. By the time Shanxiao was caught, who knew how many years it might take? Besides, the martial artists often worked in a muddled way. They could frame them for some cases, and the truth might never come to light.

Now that the truth had come to light, Wang He, who had deep affection for her master, silently fainted. Liu Youcai was arrested on the spot by the constables and taken to the county jail.

The county office still had business to attend to, so Han Sihe could not stay. Considering that no one was left to manage the Liu Family Manor for the time being, she left two constables to guard the entrance and also asked Zhou Fu to look after it. "Miss Zhou, I will have to trouble you to keep an eye on this place later."

Because Liu Youcai often went into the city for entertainments that would be difficult for his family to know about, Zhou Fu had spent more time at the manor than Liu Youcai had. On hearing this, she agreed, "Of course." Then she stood up. "I will see you all out."

Han Sihe said, "Miss Zhou is unwell; there is no need to see us off."

Zhou Fu said, "As a student, I was already planning to go into the city to buy paper and brushes. It so happens that I am going in the same direction as you, your honor." Then she looked toward the person who had just brought the case to light. "This..."

Chao Qingxiu introduced herself. "Chao Qingxiu."

Zhou Fu made an inviting gesture. "Would Miss Chao care to come along?"

Chao Qingxiu glanced at Zhou Fu, bowed slightly, and said politely, "Then I shall trouble you."

Although the Liu family had not proactively asked to end the contract, Chao Qingxiu, a thoroughly ordinary worker, had in only a day and a half managed to get her employer into the county jail, laying a solid foundation for changing jobs and for the unemployment that would follow. Clearly, it would be difficult for her to continue in her former workplace.

Looking back on what had happened yesterday and today, Chao Qingxiu felt that her fate was truly rather miserable.

As a transmigrator who had left refugee status only a day earlier, Chao Qingxiu had no possessions, and when she left Liu Family Manor she did not need to pack any luggage. Before boarding the carriage, she turned and made a slight bow to the others, as if taking her leave.

In the courtyard, Xia Jiaxin flashed her a grin, while Yu Tianji raised a thumb and silently mouthed, "Amazing."

The new laborers had not yet formed any attachment to the people of Liu Family Manor, and the true culprit had been caught in the blink of an eye. They had also avoided being taken to the county office for questioning and would not be subjected to criticism because of it. At that moment, their appetite for watching the commotion was greater than their wish to help the other side lament the family's misfortune.

Deputy Magistrate Han also looked toward Chao Qingxiu and courteously saluted, saying with evident sincerity, "The young are indeed formidable."

After the facts had been untangled, the case was not a complicated one. What made it remarkable was Chao Qingxiu's meticulous mind and quick perception. Almost as soon as she saw how everyone else looked, she had a hunch.

In Han Sihe's assessment, Chao Qingxiu spoke sensibly and bore no resemblance at all to a mere refugee. Yet a young girl from a scholarly family would probably be unwilling to be hired out to work the fields, whereas Chao Qingxiu did not care about such things in the slightest and instead possessed the free, uninhibited air of a disciple of a major martial sect.

Han Sihe strongly suspected that Chao Qingxiu might be a member of the martial world, and that she had chosen to hide in plain sight because certain circumstances made it inconvenient to reveal her identity. For her own part, Han Sihe would be glad to form a friendly relationship with her.

The country roads were rough, and the carriage compartment was not an ideal place to doze, so Chao Qingxiu had to lift the carriage curtain and look at the scenery. Suddenly, she heard someone beside her ask a question.

The speaker was Zhou Fu. She asked with curiosity, "May I ask, Miss Chao, when did you know that what had happened today was not Shanxiao's doing?"

Chao Qingxiu said, "I do not know much about affairs of the martial world, but when I saw Liu Youde's body hanging from the dead tree in front of the stable, I had a suspicion. Even after hearing the rumors about Shanxiao, it did not seem like his handiwork."

Zhou Fu asked, "Why so?"

Chao Qingxiu said, "If the purpose was to intimidate people, hanging him from the large tree in the courtyard would clearly have been more suitable."

Rather than making it take some effort to find the body in front of the stable, hanging it from a large tree in the courtyard would also create a more frightening sight: one would wake to find the corpse staring back across the courtyard, an image far more likely to linger in the minds of onlookers.

Zhou Fu thought for a moment. "Second Son of the Liu Family did not hang his brother's corpse in the courtyard, probably because he was afraid that someone getting up in the night might see him while he was doing it."

Chao Qingxiu said, "That is one reason, but in my opinion there may be another. There are too many blossoms on the tree in the courtyard. Even a light touch sends them falling. A martial arts expert might come and go without knocking many loose, but the man from the Liu family was different. And if he had accidentally carried a petal away with him, that would be another potential loose end."

There was another thing that made her suspicious. The day before, Shen Lao had made a fuss over some missing farming tools. Looking back, the sickle might not have been kicked under the winnowing basket by chance. It was entirely possible that Shen Lao had suddenly gotten the idea while picking up the tools and had secretly hidden the sickle so that he could use it as an excuse to make trouble.

Liu Youcai used the pretext that he had not managed to obtain enough plowing oxen, sent all the tenant farmers away, and reduced the number of people on the farm as much as possible so that he could commit the crime. Unfortunately, he had not expected Wang He to hire people to come from the city that same day, which made the plan go awry.

Zhou Fu turned Chao Qingxiu's words over in her mind. For a moment, she was genuinely won over, then asked, "May I ask one more question? How did you happen to notice that Second Son Liu had an injury on his palm today?"

Though it was the first time she had met Chao Qingxiu, Zhou Fu had already spent a long time at the Liu household and knew Liu Youcai reasonably well. She knew that he was not only fond of ease and averse to work, but also somewhat suspicious. If he had an injury on his palm, he would never readily show his palm to anyone.

Chao Qingxiu smiled. "I did not see it. I only guessed. This morning, when Steward Wang brought the washing supplies, Second Son of the Liu Family did not take the salt powder directly with his hand. He broke off another branch and used it to dip up the green salt, then smeared the green salt onto a willow twig. From that, I inferred that his hand was injured."

She had considered that Liu Youcai was pampered and, unlike Wang He, refused to touch the green salt with his hands. But Wang He was meticulous. If this really was Liu Youcai's usual habit, she would certainly have brought an extra length of branch along when she brought him hot water.

"He had an injury on his hand, and it was a fresh injury, so he had to avoid touching salt. Moreover, he had not told Wang He about it, which shows that Liu Youcai believed the matter had to be hidden, even from those close to him."

So Chao Qingxiu suspected that something shameful had happened between last night and today, giving him a reason not to touch the green salt with his hand.

Zhou Fu asked, "What if Second Son Liu had grime on his hand and that was why he could not touch the green salt?"

Chao Qingxiu said, "At that time, Sister Wang had brought hot water and a soft cloth. If there were dirt on his hand, he could have washed it away immediately."

After thinking it over carefully, Chao Qingxiu felt that the more plausible explanation was that Liu Youcai had several small abrasions on his hand that were difficult to detect.

Zhou Fu let out a breath and said sincerely, "I have often heard that martial artists are ruthless in their actions. Even with the Wulin Alliance restraining them, such things cannot be completely prevented. There are many unsolved cases every year. If it had not been for you, Miss, one more wronged spirit would have been added to the world."

Chao Qingxiu gave a faint smile. "I do not deserve the credit. With Deputy Magistrate Han present today, even if I had not spoken, the deceased would not have been wronged."

Noticing that something was wrong with the murder case was only one reason she was willing to step forward that day. The things that truly prompted her to decide to step forward and solve it were the Detective System and Han Sihe's attitude.

Earlier, the constables had already found a feather on the body. If Han Sihe had intended only to close the case quickly, she could have gone along with it and pinned the blame for it on the martial artists. But her hesitation showed clearly that she did not want to accept that excuse.

Whether she did not want to offend the Wulin Alliance and was preparing to find someone else to take the fall, or simply wanted to uncover the truth, Chao Qingxiu did not mind stepping in to help resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

After all, the county office would have to question the people at Liu Family Manor to investigate the case. Chao Qingxiu had been a refugee until then. If she became involved, even if she were released a few days later, she might still come under criticism and find it difficult to get work in the future.

To preserve her employment prospects, Chao Qingxiu had no choice but to make her own modest contribution by bringing her current employer to justice and doing her part to set Great Xia's workplace culture on the right track.

There was still some distance to the main city. Sitting idly in the carriage, Chao Qingxiu opened the Detective Panel, which only she could see, and prepared to review the system prompts that had appeared earlier.

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