Ning Yan did not immediately investigate Ma Si. Instead, she returned to Mudan’s bedroom at Chunhua House.
The room sat in the rear courtyard, a small but self-contained chamber. It was kept very tidy. Yet, apart from a dazzling array of colorful dresses, nothing of value was inside. Not even a single hairpin.
Turning to Taohong, Ning Yan asked a question. “Nothing at all?”
Taohong hurriedly dragged a chest out from beneath the bed. When she opened it, she found it completely empty. Her face immediately filled with shock.
“T-there used to be four hundred taels’ worth of banknotes in here, along with some jewelry given to her by patrons. They’re gone!”
“But no one has come in here.”
Ning Yan crouched before the chest and examined it for a long while without speaking.
“I-I didn’t take them, really!” Taohong said anxiously, on the verge of tears.
Ning Yan patted her on the shoulder. “Did Miss Mudan do anything unusual recently?”
Taohong thought for a moment and shook her head. “No. She didn’t go out much. She did pretty much the same things every day.”
Ning Yan then asked whether Mudan had any enemies.
Taohong replied that although Mudan could be somewhat domineering, she had never truly made enemies of anyone. If there was one exception, it was Miss Qingzhi.
“As soon as Qingzhi arrived, she stole quite a few of Sister Mudan’s regular patrons. Sister Mudan really disliked her.”
“Which patrons was she closest to? Or which customer had the best relationship with her?” Ning Yan asked while taking notes.
Taohong began counting on her fingers. “Commander Ma, Second Master Zhang, Fourth Master Xu, and a butcher named Jin Shu. He came to see Sister Mudan several times. Every time he came, he never paid, and he stayed the longest.”
Ning Yan was surprised. She hadn’t expected Ma Si to be one of Mudan’s patrons either.
Ning Yan asked for Jin Shu’s address, and Taohong replied, “At the market in the eastern part of the city. You’ll spot him as soon as you get there. He’s exceptionally tall, with a round face, and quite fat.”
“Oh, right. Jin Shu came by today, too. He just stood outside the door without saying a word. After standing there for a while, he turned around and left.”
After making another round of inquiries, Ning Yan found that night had already fallen. She returned to the Zhang residence. The entire Zhang family was waiting for her.
Zhang Heting grumbled under her breath, but she no longer dared openly insult Ning Yan as she had in the past.
“Well?” Zhang Xingben asked. “Have you reached any conclusions?”
After following Ning Yan around most of the day, Zhang Xingben had gained a great deal of confidence in her abilities.
Ning Yan nodded. “Based on the information and clues currently available, I believe the Second Young Master was framed.”
Zhang Xingben’s eyes lit up. To their family, that conclusion seemed obvious, but from an evidentiary standpoint, it was extremely difficult to prove.
“You don’t need to tell us that. We already know it,” Zhang Heting said.
Ning Yan suddenly looked at her and replied coldly, “Since Miss Zhang knows everything, perhaps you should investigate the case yourself?”
“You—!” Zhang Heting’s face flushed red with anger.
“Enough!” Zhang Xingben shouted. “This has nothing to do with you. Go back to your room.”
Stamping her foot furiously, Zhang Heting stormed off.
“Go on,” Zhang Xingben said. “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”
“The crime scene was too tidy.” Ning Yan continued: “Second Young Master returned to the room drunk last night. The two of them argued. He also requested tea, and he vomited twice in the middle of the night.”
“After all that commotion, the room should not have been so neat. Yet when I saw it, aside from the bed being in disarray, every other part of the room looked as though no one had stayed there at all.”
“So,” Zhang Xingben said, “you think someone entered the room, killed her, and then cleaned everything up afterward?”
Ning Yan nodded.
“Do you have any idea who the murderer might be?”
“It’s too early to say. The crime scene was cleaned too thoroughly. Nothing useful was left behind.”
Zhang Xingben nodded thoughtfully.
“Tomorrow, I plan to meet Ma Si first. I’ll have to trouble you, Master Zhang, to show me the way.”
Zhang Xingben froze. A look of alarm appeared in his eyes. “You mean… go to the military camp to see him?”
If there were anywhere else they could meet him, that would be far preferable.
Zhang Xingben and his wife exchanged glances. Both wore the same apprehensive expression. After a long pause, Zhang Xingben finally steeled himself. “Fine. I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
Ning Yan said nothing more and returned to the small courtyard where she and her family lived.
Not long afterward, Madam Zhang sent over an elaborate dinner along with tea and pastries.
Liu Ye and Liu Zhan had been pacing anxiously around the house all day. It took Ning Yan quite a while to reassure them before they finally calmed down.
“I’ll go with you tomorrow,” Liu Zhan said quietly. “Things involving the military aren’t the same as matters outside. Whether it’s General Pei or Ma Si, they’re people we can’t afford to offend.”
Ning Yan did not object.
The next morning, just as the sun rose, the soldiers at the Qiantan Garrison were already drilling, their thunderous shouts shaking the air. Inside the command tent on one side of the camp, Pei Yan sat signing official documents and frowned. Without looking up, he asked, “What did the men following her report?”
“The young lady is investigating the case. She was busy all day yesterday. Judging by the situation, she probably still won’t come today,” the subordinate reported.
With a sharp snap, Pei Yan crushed the wolf-hair brush in his hand.
“Master, that girl doesn’t know what’s good for her. Why don’t I take a few brothers with me and just bring her back tied up?”
It was a rare thing for their commander to take an interest in a woman, and he had been thinking about her for days. They couldn’t let a woman who was practically within reach slip away.
Leaning back in his chair, Pei Yan’s face was as cold as frost.
Just then, someone rushed into the tent and pointed outside. “Master! The girl from that day at Xilin Pagoda has come.”
A flash of delight appeared in Pei Yan’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. Letting out a contemptuous snort, he said, “She waited two whole days before coming. She certainly thinks highly of herself.”
Then he ordered, “Go teach her a lesson. Tell her all the positions among my personal guards have already been filled and that she should go home and wait for news.”
Shiwen was stunned. “Master, well… ah… about that…”
“What? Has your tongue been swallowed?”
“Actually… she’s not here to see you.” The more Shiwen spoke, the quieter his voice became. “She’s investigating a case. It seems to involve Deputy Commander Ma. She came to ask about the case.”
The smug satisfaction that had just appeared on Pei Yan’s face immediately vanished. Picking up the brush he had already snapped in half, he broke it into four pieces and sneered. “Tell her Ma Si isn’t here. Tell her to go back.”
Shiwen turned to leave.
Still fuming, Pei Yan added, “And tell her that the military camp isn’t a place she can enter whenever she pleases.”
“Then should we make her kneel outside the gate for three hours?” Shiwen asked curiously.
“Has a horse kicked you in the head?” Pei Yan threw the shattered brush pieces at Shiwen’s face. “If she’s asking someone for a favor, then she ought to show the proper attitude of someone asking for a favor. No matter what, Ma Si is still one of my men.”
Shiwen’s eyes rolled thoughtfully. Then he turned and ran out.
Outside the military camp, Ning Yan stood quietly, taking in her surroundings.
Because Qiantan Prefecture lay on the frontier and Qianbei began just beyond Zining County, the Northern Mang tribes grazed their livestock outside the border walls every day and eyed the region greedily; a large number of troops were stationed here.
According to Zhang Xingben, four hundred thousand soldiers were deployed along the entire northwestern front. Of those, two hundred thousand were stationed in Zining County under Pei Yan’s command.
So when Ning Yan saw the endless stretches of farmland and the vast sea of military tents disappearing into the distance, she was astonished.
The Pei Yan she met that night seemed only around twenty years old. He had seemed carefree and unruly, perfectly fitting her preconceived image of an idle young playboy. She had never imagined that such a young man could command two hundred thousand troops. Looking at the thriving farmlands and the orderly military camp, she could already sense the extraordinary ability hidden beneath Pei Yan’s carefree exterior.
One truly could not judge a person by appearances.
Just as Ning Yan finished thinking this, a man emerged from the camp. She recognized him immediately. He had been attending Pei Yan at Xilin Pagoda that night.
Shiwen walked over.
Zhang Xingben had just stepped forward to greet him, hoping to use their acquaintance to smooth things over, but Shiwen didn’t even glance at him. Instead, he stopped directly in front of Ning Yan.
“Miss Ning,” he said, “when you’re asking someone for a favor, you should show the proper attitude.”
Ning Yan frowned slightly. “And what attitude would that be?” she asked.