When Chun Tao entered, she saw A’Yuan in a state of utter distraction and thought something had happened.
“Master…”
A’Yuan slowly raised her head, her watery almond eyes swollen and red, “Tell Granny Zhu that the pouches don’t need to be sold anymore.”
“What happened?” Chun Tao knew her master was short on money. Besides the embroidery work for the old lady and the second wife, these pouches were what she had painstakingly embroidered by staying up late.
“…The young master discovered it.”
……
Since that day, Wei Xun had not stepped into A’Yuan’s courtyard for half a month.
Not only Chang Yuan, but colleagues at the official office also felt his low mood.
“Lord Wei, the case has a breakthrough!”
Qi Shaoyin excitedly walked over with the case file, completely unaffected by Wei Xun’s mood.
“All four victims had visited Jinxiu Pavilion. I suspect the killer is connected to Jinxiu Pavilion!”
The widow Tao was a regular customer at Jinxiu Pavilion, and the twin sisters had also bought needlework supplies there. Combined with Liu Niangzi’s pouch, the four seemingly unrelated individuals were perfectly linked together.
“It’s thanks to Lord Wei’s keen insight; otherwise, we wouldn’t have thought to look for clues from the pouches.”
Qi Shaoyin looked admiringly, but Wei Xun’s expression was grim.
These days, he had been ignoring A’Yuan, hoping she would admit her mistake voluntarily. Yet A’Yuan stayed holed up in her courtyard, never even stepping out.
Yes, she was a little liar; her previous obedience was all fabricated to deceive him.
Only he believed it, even thinking of marrying a gentle and virtuous wife to spare her from harsh criticism.
Now, thinking back, he was the fool who had been played like a puppet.
Wei Xun’s eyes suddenly turned cold, his voice sharp, “Capture them!”
The proprietor of Jinxiu Pavilion was a woman who retained her charm, surnamed Qin, others called her San Niang.
Qin San Niang had come to the capital ten years ago. She had no children, her husband had died early, and she had revived this embroidery shop in the capital by herself.
There were countless famous embroidery shops in the capital, and Jinxiu Pavilion was not conspicuous. No one had expected this shop to be connected to the case of missing young women.
“Officers, we are just a small business, always peaceful and law-abiding. How could we do illegal things?”
Qin San Niang swayed her waist, flattering Wei Xun and the others.
But Wei Xun had never been interested in women, and Qi Shaoyin was a bookworm whose mind was only on official duties. Her flirtatious glances were destined to be wasted.
“Whether there’s illegality will be known after investigation. Search!”
With Wei Xun’s order, the Metropolitan Prefecture soldiers rushed inside.
The customers of Jinxiu Pavilion had already been evacuated. Besides Qin San Niang and one assistant, there were no others inside.
Seeing the soldiers charge in grandly, Qin San Niang’s face turned pale.
“Officers, there’s really nothing inside, please don’t search…”
But how would the soldiers listen to her?
Jinxiu Pavilion was not large. After searching the front embroidery shop, nothing was found.
The leading soldier came to ask Wei Xun’s instruction. Wei Xun glanced at Qin San Niang’s forcibly composed expression and spoke gravely, “Search the backyard.”
“Bang!”
Upon hearing this, Qin San Niang’s legs weakened, knocking over the embroidery frame behind her.
“It’s over, it’s over…”
The backyard was where she and the assistant usually lived, with only one main hall and two side rooms. The soldiers split up to search, and within less than the time for a cup of tea, they found something.
“Lord, there’s a secret passage in Qin San Niang’s bedroom!”
Wei Xun and Qi Shaoyin exchanged glances, both their expressions turning grave.
The secret passage was right under Qin Sanniang’s bed. If Wei Xun hadn’t ordered every nook and cranny to be thoroughly searched, the officers would never have discovered it.
When the bed board was lifted, a stone staircase appeared before their eyes.
“Sir, let’s go down.”
Seeing Wei Xun about to descend, Lin Bao quickly stopped him.
“No need to argue. Both you and I will go down.”
“Then I’m going too!”
Not wanting to be left behind, Qi Shaoyin joined them, and in the end, all three stepped onto the stone staircase.
Lin Bao led the way with a lantern, while Wei Xun and Qi Shaoyin brought up the rear.
The passage was narrow and long, and as soon as they descended, a foul, rotting smell assaulted their senses.
Wei Xun narrowed his eyes, and the expressions on all three faces turned grim.
After walking for about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the passage suddenly widened, revealing a room ahead.
The room was small, with stone walls lined with several torches and various instruments such as whips and shackles.
And on those instruments were bound four female corpses.
Due to the cold weather, the bodies had not decomposed, but the enclosed space still reeked of decay. Moreover, all four had suffered brutal torture before death, their bodies bearing not a single patch of unblemished flesh.
“Ugh!”
Qi Shaoyin couldn’t hold back and vomited on the spot.
“Lord Wei, this murderer deserves to be executed by a thousand cuts!”
Having worked on cases at the Metropolitan Prefecture for years, this was the first time either of them had encountered such a deranged criminal.
Thinking of the suffering the four women had endured, Qi Shaoyin trembled uncontrollably.
“Rest assured, he will not escape justice!”
Wei Xun glanced back at the four corpses before leading Lin Bao and Qi Shaoyin back to Jinxiu Pavilion.
With the truth exposed, Qin Sanniang was already terrified out of her wits. “Officers, I didn’t kill them! It has nothing to do with me! If you want to arrest someone, go after someone else…”
Wei Xun stared at her, his dark eyes unfathomable and radiating a bone-chilling coldness.
“Take her away. Find out who is behind this. If she refuses to talk… use torture.”
Anyone could see that Wei Xun was furious.
Right under the Emperor’s nose, someone was using cruel methods to persecute innocent women. If the murderer wasn’t uncovered, who knew how many more women would suffer? The reputation of the Metropolitan Prefecture would also be ruined.
……
“Lord Wei, who do you think the murderer is?”
Qi Shaoyin had been sniffing camphor for a while, and only now did he feel slightly better.
Covering his nose, he discussed the case with Wei Xun.
Wei Xun’s deep eyes narrowed slightly. Whoever could commit such crimes under the watchful eyes of the Metropolitan Prefecture must be someone of noble status. Jinxiu Pavilion was merely a front.
And those who could evade the Metropolitan Prefecture’s surveillance were even fewer. He already had someone in mind.
Wei Xun turned to look in the direction of the imperial palace, his expression turning grave for the first time.
The only question was, which one of them was the murderer?
……
A’Yuan had been living in constant fear these past few days, even dreaming of Wei Xun’s cold, angry face scolding her.
“Master, why don’t you go beg the Young Master? What if he isn’t angry?”
Chun Tao couldn’t bear to see her master so anxious and unsettled. These days, with the Young Master not visiting, the servants in the Marquis Manor had started treating them differently, even daring to send leftovers from the kitchen. Not to mention the arrogance of the Second Madam, who had the audacity to order A’Yuan to do embroidery work for Su Yingxue.
A’Yuan twisted her handkerchief in her fingers, her resolve beginning to waver.
She still had to survive in the Marquis Manor. She could endure hardships herself, but she couldn’t drag Chun Tao down, especially since Chun Tao’s mother, Zhu Pozi, had lost her job because of her.
A bitter ache filled A’Yuan’s chest. Chun Tao had kept it from her, but she had eventually learned about it from a cleaning maid.
She usually hated to trouble others, and now that she had heard about Zhu Pozi’s situation, she naturally couldn’t sit still.
“Alright, I’ll go.”