"You may go back now. In the future, be cautious and mind your manners…"
"Composed?" Wen Jiao pointed at her own nose and pursed her lips. "Which eye of Cousin's saw me composed? My heart nearly leaped out of my chest at the time! But because I was afraid of ruining our young lady's reputation, I could only suppress my fear and pretend to be calm."
As she spoke, she extended her hand toward Song Langyu. On her fair palm were bloody marks left by her own fingernails.
"I did all this to myself—I was nearly scared to death!"
Wen Jiao's explanation was quite convincing, and Song Langyu believed seventy or eighty percent of it. However, he disapproved of her actions today and scolded her: "Since you went with Mother, you should not have slipped away on your own to wander about. That is your first mistake."
Wen Jiao hung her head and obediently listened to the reprimand.
"After the incident, you should not have concealed it on your own. You ought to have immediately informed the elders of the family. That is your second mistake."
Wen Jiao sneered inwardly with disdain. She didn't believe Song Langyu had no secrets of his own—clearly the pot calling the kettle black! A sanctimonious hypocrite!
But her words were obedient: "Jiao Jiao knows she was wrong. I wouldn't dare do it again."
The two were merely cousins by marriage and had never been close, so Song Langyu couldn't scold too harshly. Seeing that Wen Jiao's attitude toward admitting her mistake was quite good, he stopped his lecture and instead said, "Liu Yuqing's words and deeds are improper. I will report this to the chief official and ensure he is not permitted to serve at the Court of Judicial Review. If he oversteps his bounds again, you may tell me directly."
"I understand." Wen Jiao was glum.
A maidservant knocked on the door outside: "Master, Nanny Zhou has arrived. She says Madam requests your presence."
Song Langyu's head ached slightly. Today at the Liu residence, he had wanted to see how Wen Jiao would handle things and had played the role of a spectator watching from across the shore. If Madam Wu was summoning him now, it was likely to give him a scolding.
"You may go back now. In the future, be cautious and mind your manners."
Song Langyu finished speaking and prepared to leave, but unexpectedly his sleeve was grabbed by Wen Jiao. He frowned, about to rebuke her, when he saw that Wen Jiao's eyes were red, carrying both grievance and stubbornness. His words died in his throat, and he frowned instead, asking, "What do you want now?"
"Cousin… please don't tell Aunt about this. If she finds out I deceived her, she'll surely be angry with me. I don't want Aunt to be angry." Tears fell in rapid drops onto the back of Song Langyu's hand, yet they failed to soften his iron heart.
"This matter must be made known to Mother. No amount of crying and pleading from you will change that. If you fear hurting Mother, then in the future, don't do things that would cause her pain."
Wen Jiao wasn't actually afraid of Madam Wu finding out. But if she let Song Langyu go report her without putting up a struggle, that would make her words and actions inconsistent.
She pleaded tearfully with great emotion for a while, but Song Langyu remained unmoved. Only then did she release his sleeve with a pitiful look, sobbing, "If Cousin insists on telling Aunt, please, at the very least, put in a good word for me…"
Song Langyu naturally didn't say any good words for Wen Jiao. He simply recounted the events to Madam Wu exactly as they had happened. But who knew what kind of confusing spell Wen Jiao had cast on Madam Wu—not only was Madam Wu not angry with her, she felt even more sorry for her, and still gave Song Langyu a thorough scolding.
She called him "cold and heartless," "lacking familial feeling," and "full of prejudice," lecturing him for a full half hour before letting him leave.
She then had someone invite Wen Jiao over and spoke many comforting words to her, to ease her troubled heart.
Early the next morning, Song Langyu went to pay his respects to Madam Wu. The moment he entered the hall, he saw Wen Jiao. Today she wore an autumn-gold gauze half-sleeve jacket with a pleated skirt below, and a pale yellow sash tied at her waist. Her skin was porcelain-white and delicate, her features lovely, and her long black hair loosely gathered into a double-loop bun, making her look charming and adorable.
Perhaps bored from waiting, her calves swung back and forth, and her fingers restlessly twisted the pale yellow sash.
When she noticed Song Langyu had arrived, the young girl's eyes brightened. She immediately stood to greet him, calling out cheerfully, "Good morning, Cousin!"
As if she hadn't been crying her eyes out yesterday, and as if there wasn't a trace of resentment in her heart.
Song Langyu responded with a faint acknowledgment and said no more. Wen Jiao seemed to have more to say, but Nanny Zhou had already come out to invite them in.
After breakfast was finished, Song Langyu left first, but he had barely reached the doorway when he heard Wen Jiao calling him.
She lifted her skirt and ran over, her hair slightly mussed. Before her hurried breathing had even settled, she said urgently, "Cousin, have you changed your incense recently?"
Song Langyu frowned. "I never use incense."
"Huh?" Wen Jiao looked puzzled and leaned in. Song Langyu took a step back, re-establishing the distance between them.
"What is it?"
"Yesterday I smelled Dew-Stamen Lotus on Cousin. I thought perhaps the incense shop was passing off inferior goods by using Dew-Stamen Lotus in their incense, but Dew-Stamen Lotus can't be used to make incense. I meant to tell Cousin, but I cried so much yesterday that my head ached, and I forgot."
In truth, she hadn't forgotten—she had been hesitating about whether to tell Song Langyu. Dew-Stamen Lotus had hallucinogenic properties; no one used it to scent clothing. Song Langyu had visited Madam Wang's bedchamber yesterday, and the scent had most likely been picked up there.
Wen Jiao wanted to investigate the source of the Dew-Stamen Lotus herself, but she was limited in her movements and had no helpers. Who knew when she'd make any progress? Better to give this information to Song Langyu and let him charge into battle while she reaped the benefits from the sidelines.
Song Langyu clearly realized that the scent had been picked up in Madam Wang's bedchamber. His expression turned serious as he asked, "Why can't Dew-Stamen Lotus be used to make incense?"
"Because Dew-Stamen Lotus makes people dizzy and nauseous, and in severe cases, it can cause hallucinations," Wen Jiao said, wrinkling her nose with a hint of pride. "My nose is very sharp, Cousin. You must have been deceived by someone!"
When they sent people to Jiangdu to investigate, they confirmed that Wen Jiao's family had originally run a spice shop, so it was no surprise that she could detect the scent of Dew-Stamen Lotus.
But Song Langyu had never noticed it, which showed that the scent of Dew-Stamen Lotus was extremely subtle. Today was the day of Madam Wang's funeral procession, and by custom, all items she had used in life were to be burned…
Song Langyu's face grew grave. Without time to explain, he led Wen Jiao and hurried to the Liu residence.
By the time they arrived, the funeral procession had already departed. When the household steward saw the Court of Judicial Review medallion, he dared not obstruct them and led the two to the bedchamber in the rear courtyard.
"The mistress passed away so suddenly. My master has been heartbroken, unable to eat or drink these past few days, weeping countless times. He won't let anyone touch her old belongings," the old steward said, dabbing at the corner of his eye. "They had been together for over twenty years, respecting and loving each other… Vice Minister Song, please do investigate the cause of the mistress's death!"
As they spoke, they reached the bedchamber. Song Langyu led Wen Jiao inside and said, "Search this room and find which items carry the scent of Dew-Stamen Lotus."
Wen Jiao's cheeks puffed up in anger as she glared at Song Langyu. "Cousin, my nose may be sharp, but this isn't how it should be used!"
Song Langyu said seriously, "This concerns a human life. Search quickly."
The room was not large. To the east stood a carved canopy bed, by the window sat a dressing table with cosmetic cases, and along the north wall was a row of carved rosewood wardrobes.
Wen Jiao went straight to the cosmetic cases, pulling out the face powder, rouge, and eyebrow pigment, sniffing each one—but she detected no scent of Dew-Stamen Lotus.
Confusion filled her eyes. She tilted her head in thought, then went to sniff the incense ashes in the room's burner.
"Ah-choo!" Wen Jiao was choked by the ashes. Rubbing her nose, she muttered to herself, "No Dew-Stamen Lotus here either."
She had examined everything in the room without finding anything, leaving only the row of wardrobes against the wall.
Wen Jiao's heart quickened. She reached out and opened the wardrobe, and a heavy fragrance rushed into her nose. Upon closer discernment, she found that within that thick scent was a trace of Dew-Stamen Lotus. Had she not been born with an exceptionally keen sense of smell, she would never have detected it.
The wardrobe was stuffed full of clothes in bright, fashionable colors, showing that Madam Wang had been very fond of beauty—which made it all the more puzzling what could have driven her to hang herself.
"Is the scent of Dew-Stamen Lotus coming from here?" Song Langyu asked.
Wen Jiao nodded, speaking with uncertainty: "I checked the incense ashes in the burner earlier—there was no trace of Dew-Stamen Lotus in them. But it's on these garments. I can't tell whether the incense used for fumigating the clothes contained Dew-Stamen Lotus, or whether she picked it up somewhere else."
Song Langyu summoned the steward and asked about the incense used for fumigating Madam Wang's clothes. The steward then brought in the maidservant who had attended to Madam Wang's clothes-fumigation, along with the incense they used. Wen Jiao examined each one but found no trace of Dew-Stamen Lotus.
"Where did Lady Liu usually go when she went out?" Song Langyu asked.
"The lady enjoyed socializing. She visited the homes of other ladies and also frequented shops on the streets. If Vice Minister Song wishes to know, I can ask the servants who usually accompanied her and write up a list for you," the steward said cooperatively.
"Then I'll be in your debt."
Earlier this month, the wife of a Director in the Ministry of Works had died in her bedchamber. After the Ministry of Justice's investigation, she was found to have died of poisoning from hook vine. There were no signs of struggle in the room, and the maidservant stationed outside said no one else had entered except the deceased, so it was ruled a suicide.
In the middle of the month, the beloved concubine of Marquis Wenxin had died by swallowing gold. After investigation, it was likewise ruled a suicide.
And Madam Wang was the third official's wife to die this month.
Even though all were ruled suicides, three wives of officials dying in a single month was suspicious.
Yet no matter how the Ministry of Justice investigated, they could find no trace of foul play.
Sun Chengyuan, the Minister of Justice, had some friendship with Song Langyu, so he had asked for his help.
Song Langyu had someone escort Wen Jiao back to the Duke's residence, then went himself to the Ministry of Justice to seek assistance.
"That ungrateful dog! He uses people when he needs them and casts them aside when he doesn't. Hmph!" Sitting in the carriage, Wen Jiao muttered curses under her breath.
Back at the Duke's residence, the anger still churned in her chest. Coincidentally, Madam Wu summoned her, and Wen Jiao—feigning innocent naivety while harboring a heart full of mischief—proceeded to badmouth Song Langyu extensively.
Things like "Cousin said I don't know proper manners," "Cousin is so cold and frightening," "Cousin abandoned me and left on his own," and so on.
One bite of sugar cake, one piece of slander—truly honeyed words with a hidden dagger.
So when Song Langyu returned home, he was summoned by Madam Wu and subjected to an hour of scolding, followed by much nagging.
And he couldn't even defend himself, since the words had indeed been spoken by him and the deeds done by him—Wen Jiao had merely embellished them.
Later in the evening, Wen Jiao received a brocade box.
The box had been sent by Song Langyu.
Wen Jiao had only just lodged a complaint against him at Madam Wu's place during the day, and her heart felt slightly uneasy. She gritted her teeth and opened the box, but when she saw what was inside, her eyes blazed with fury!