“She’s the maid from my room who stole things.” Zhang Heting strode forward and looked at Ning Yan with disdain. “Father, don’t listen to her. She’s not in her right mind. Everything she says is nonsense.”
Zhang Xingben nodded and waved his hand. “Take him away.”
“Go back,” Liu Zhan said through clenched teeth, desperately signaling for her to leave and stop talking.
Ning Yan raised an arm, blocking everyone’s path. “I’m Liu Zhan’s cousin. If Master Zhang wants to drag him off as a scapegoat, then go ahead and try.”
“Y-you… what do you want?”
“I just want my cousin to stay safe. If Master Zhang dares to make him take the blame, then I have the means to make your entire family pay with their lives,” Ning Yan said coldly.
Zhang Xingben pointed at her, his face twisted with rage.
“Ning Yan! How dare you speak to my father like that!” Zhang Heting, accustomed to throwing her weight around, immediately raised her hand to slap Ning Yan.
Ning Yan grabbed her wrist with a backhand motion, then pushed and twisted.
Zhang Heting crashed to the ground. She stared at Ning Yan in stunned disbelief.
“Release him!” Ning Yan demanded of Zhang Xingben.
Zhang Xingben’s expression changed rapidly. Pointing at Ning Yan, he said each word deliberately: “Little girl, you’d better understand something. His servitude contract is still in my hands. I may replace him with someone else today, but tomorrow I can find any excuse I like and beat him to death.”
The people around them looked at Ning Yan, all wearing gloating, amused expressions, eager to see what would happen next. They thought she was far too arrogant.
Ning Yan calmed Liu Zhan, then turned to stare at Zhang Xingben. “In that case, Master Zhang, let’s make a deal.”
Zhang Xingben was taken aback again.
“You’re convinced that Second Master Zhang didn’t kill anyone. Then let me investigate this case for you. No matter who the real murderer is, I’ll give you a clear, satisfactory answer. What do you think?”
“If I solve it, you’ll give my family our indenture contracts.”
“You?”
“Yes. Me.”
Zhang Heting struggled to her feet and pointed at Ning Yan, about to speak again. Ning Yan merely glanced at her.
For some reason, fear rose in Zhang Heting’s heart. Deflated, she shut her mouth. “Do you even know what you’re saying? This is a murder investigation, not embroidery.”
Ning Yan nodded. “You need someone to investigate the case. Only when the truth is completely uncovered can Second Master Zhang truly clear his name.”
Otherwise, even if Liu Zhan took the blame today, there was no guarantee the case would not be reopened three or five years later. By then, too much time would have passed and the clues would have vanished. Even an innocent man could end up being treated as the murderer.
“And what if you can’t solve it?” Zhang Xingben asked.
“If I can’t solve it, then let my cousin take the blame. My entire family also promises that we’ll never report you to the authorities.”
Zhang Xingben knew that Ning Yan had no indenture contract. He had no control over what she did. Yet seeing the confidence on the girl’s face and her remarkably calm demeanor, he actually found the proposal feasible.
Narrowing his eyes, Zhang Xingben nodded. “Do you understand the consequences if you’re merely toying with this old man?”
“Of course!”
“Very well. Then I shall see whether you, you arrogant little girl, truly have some ability.”
Zhang Heting immediately cried out, “Father, if you’re going to have someone investigate, why not spend the money and hire people from the Tongtian Escort Agency instead?”
“Enough,” Zhang Xingben said, fixing his gaze on Ning Yan. “The fewer people who know about your brother’s matter, the better.”
The victim was a woman from a brothel. Even if his son were innocent, linking his name to such a case would still damage his reputation. What’s more, he was campaigning for votes in the upcoming Chamber of Commerce chairman election. This incident could affect that too, which is why he was in such a hurry.
“Let’s go!” he said. “I’ll take you to the brothel.”
Ning Yan lowered her voice and said to Liu Zhan, “I can handle this. Don’t worry.”
Still both shocked and worried, Liu Zhan nodded stiffly. “Y-yes. Then be careful.” He still had no idea that Ning Yan could investigate cases.
People from the neighborhood who knew her also gathered around, their voices filled with disbelief.
“Is that really Ning Yan?”
“She’s completely different from before. One illness changed her far too much.”
Liu Zhan had already felt that Ning Yan seemed different lately, but it had never been this obvious. Today, even he was stunned. His silly, simple-minded Ning Yan seemed to have truly grown up.
At Chunhua House, because a murder had occurred there, the establishment had already been sealed off.
A few prostitutes sat around the main hall in small groups, lazily playing cards. When they saw the newcomers enter, they glanced over and returned to their game.
The madam, Zhenniang, came forward and hooked her arm through Zhang Xingben’s. “Master Zhang, can we open for business tonight? We’re just a small operation. If we stay closed for even one day, we’ll all starve.” As she spoke, she dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, wiping away tears that were not there.
Zhang Xingben was already irritated. He snapped angrily, “My son was framed for murder in your establishment. The fact that I haven’t forced you to shut down permanently is already a tremendous favor.”
Zhenniang froze. Frightened, she quickly let go of his arm and did not dare say another word.
“Come!” Zhang Xingben called back to Ning Yan. “Second floor.”
The moment he called out, everyone in the room turned to look at Ning Yan, puzzled about why Zhang Xingben had brought her here.
“Could he be selling the girl?”
“She’s quite pretty. A promising prospect.”
Ning Yan’s gaze swept across their faces one by one before she headed upstairs.
Chunhua House’s central courtyard was square, with two floors. Twelve rooms sat downstairs and eight upstairs: three on each side and one at each end.
Ignoring odd and even numbering, if you started at the room at the far end nearest the staircase and counted clockwise, the crime scene was the third room, the middle one on the right-hand side.
When the door was pushed open, a mixture of cosmetic powder fragrance and wine drifted out.
The room was tastefully furnished. An orchid sat on the windowsill. A large carved bed hung with blue-and-white curtains stood inside. A round table sat in the center of the room, while a luohan couch rested farther in. On the tea table beside the couch were plates of fruit and dried snacks.
Zhang Xingben explained that he had strictly forbidden anyone from touching anything. Thus, aside from the victim’s body having been removed, everything in the room remained exactly as it had been.
Ning Yan stepped inside.
Suddenly, Zhang Xingben grabbed her. “Little girl, if you’re deceiving me, then you’ll be staying here and not leaving.”
In other words, he intended to sell her to Chunhua House.
“You don’t have to be so lacking in confidence, Master Zhang, that you feel the need to keep threatening me,” Ning Yan said as she examined the room’s furnishings. “When I give my word, I never go back on it.”
Zhang Xingben was left speechless. His old face reddened slightly, and he said nothing further.
Ning Yan stepped into the room, while everyone else stayed in the doorway.
A crowd of women gathered outside, chattering among themselves, asking who Ning Yan was and why Master Zhang had brought a young girl to investigate the case.
“Can she really do it?”
“She’s just a little girl. What could she possibly know?”
Ning Yan ignored the voices outside. She stopped beside the bed where the victim had been murdered.