The bones were complete. The body bore no signs of injury. However, it had only been five years since Bai Ying disappeared, yet his corpse no longer had any flesh. There weren’t a lot of insects in the cave, so his body did not seem to have decomposed due to other organisms.
Ming Yue observed the bones on the wooden board and suddenly asked, “How is Shui Shui?”
After Shen Wei had escaped, Cui Xiu and Zhao Kang were the ones who brought him back. Bai Shui, on the other hand, did not return. They waited for a long time for her. Finally, everyone went to go find her. They came upon Bai Shui in a cave. She had fainted and was embracing a skeleton.
They had brought Bai Shui back outside with the skeleton. Su Yunkai and Ming Yue had known the identity of the corpse because there was a waist badge that had not yet corroded. Clearly imprinted upon the pendant were the words “Kaifeng Constable Bai Ying.”
Su Yunkai sighed. “Qin Fang didn’t trust others to take care of her, so he brought her back to the yamen.” Noticing a change in expression upon Ming Yue’s face, Su Yunkai asked, “What is it? Have you detected the cause of death?”
Ming Yue’s eyes dimmed and she said slowly, “It is not possible for a corpse to turn into a skeleton in five years, unless some special drug was smeared or consumed. Look at Brother Bai Ying. All of his bones are black, which means that he swallowed some fatal poison that caused his body to decompose quickly.”
Su Yunkai looked at the corpse in front of him and frowned. “From the marks in the cave, it doesn’t seem like he was moved there.”
Ming Yue was surprised. “You mean he went there of his own accord?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange,” Ming Yue said. “The cave is quite far from the foot of the mountain. Judging by the color of his hyoid bone, the poison was deadly. Even the strongest and healthiest people, such as people who have a good martial arts foundation, would only be able to hold out for a quarter of an hour at most. How could he have gotten there from the foot of the mountain so quickly…” As she spoke, she suddenly realized that she knew the answer. “Brother Bai came from the villa?”
“That is a possibility,” Su Yunkai said. He continued, “Bai Ying is good at martial arts as he is a constable. He should’ve realized very soon that he had gotten poisoned. It is impossible to escape down the mountain, so he fled to the woods, but the poison took effect quickly. Maybe he wanted to avoid pursuers. Or perhaps he wanted to leave some clues after his death, so he hid in a cave.”
Ming Yue clenched her jaw. She couldn’t bear to think how Bai Ying might have despaired while he fled. She asked, “What could Brother Bai have seen in the villa at the time…?”
“I will investigate.” Su Yunkai thought of Bai Shui, who had come to Kaifeng at such a young age for the sole purpose of finding her brother. She had not hesitated to disguise herself as a man in order to enter the yamen. She had tried her best to find her brother, yet five years later, she had only found bones. Su Yunkai’s heart grew even heavier. Only by finding the murderer and the cause of death could Su Yunkai ease the suffering of Bai Shui and her deceased brother.
“Brother Su… I don’t understand how a Kaifeng constable could suddenly disappear. Why did no one search for him? Why wasn’t there a deeper investigation? The case seemed to have been closed so rashly. Five years later, we found him in a cave in a lonely mountain by accident. There must…”
Su Yunkai heard a voice outside and quickly covered her mouth, gently shaking his head.
There was a knock outside the door. “Is Lord Su in there?”
“Yes.”
When the wooden door opened, the morgue instantly became brighter. Li Kang stood in the doorway and bowed to greet Su Yunkai. Seeing Ming Yue as well, Li Kang was surprised. After all, he had met her before, when Su Yunkai had brought her with him to enjoy the Qixi Festival. They were in a morgue, now. . .
Suddenly, Li Kang remembered. “You must be Miss Ming Yue, then?”
Ming Yue nodded.
“Lord Su, although you and I are friends and you were one of the first to find the body, you are still from the Ministry of Rites. You cannot stay here any longer. Please go.”
This was a kind reminder and Su Yunkai understood. Although, after staying here for over an hour, he could already clearly recall Bai Ying’s bones. Su Yunkai was more worried that Ming Yue might have missed something. He looked down at her and she nodded at him. At this, he knew he needn’t have worried.
Su Yunkai turned to Li Kang. “My mistake. We will leave now.” Su Yunkai added, “I am very concerned about this case. If Lord Li needs any help, the door of the Su family will be open for you at any time.”
Li Kang was very pleased to hear this. “Of course. If it weren’t for Lord Su, the pond corpse case would not have been solved so quickly.”
“It was just luck.”
“It’s still a skill to bump into the killer by mistake.”
Su Yunkai smiled and left with Ming Yue. After the two left the department, Ming Yue asked, “Can we go to the Qin residence to see Shui Shui?”
“Mhm. My thoughts exactly.” The Su family and the Qin family were close friends. It would not be difficult to go over and visit. Su Yunkai looked at Ming Yue. In her anxiety to find Bai Shui, Ming Yue had stumbled and her clothes had gotten scratched. Su Yunkai thought for a moment before saying, “First, go change your clothes and wash your face. Don’t let Bai Shui see you in this state. You’d make her sad.”
Ming Yue teared up as she looked up at Su Yunkai. “Brother Su, Shui Shui and her brother depended on each other. They had a very good sibling relationship. I think…Bai Shui may not ever be the same again after finding out about his death. She did so much and she persisted for so long just so they could be reunited.”
Su Yunkai also sighed, rubbing Ming Yue’s head. “I’ll take you home. Change first. Then, we’ll go see her.”
Ming Yue wiped her tears with the back of her hand and said, “By the way, this was in Brother Bai’s hand. I thought it was strange, so I concealed it.”
She opened her palm, revealing a silver tael. Su Yunkai asked, “Why did you find it strange?”
“Brother Bai’s money bag was on his waist, but the ingot of silver was in his hand. When he was removed from the cave, I saw the ingot fall from his fingers.”
That was indeed strange. Why would someone be clutching a piece of silver in their hand when they were about to die?
Su Yunkai took the silver.
By the time they arrived at Ming Yue’s house, he still hadn’t thought of any possible explanation. Carefully, Su Yunkai put the money away and stood in front of Ming Yue’s door, waiting for her to finish changing.
As people walked past, they glanced at Su Yunkai, perhaps because of his handsome appearance. Su Yunkai had a feeling that he should avoid arousing suspicion, so he stood to the side. This position also allowed him to see Bai Shui’s house, which was next door.
Because Bai Shui had neglected to take care of her home, there wasn’t even a couplet on the door. As Su Yunkai thought about what had happened to the Bai family, the house began to somehow seem even more dreary and dismal.
Ming Yue changed her clothes and washed her face, trying to make herself look more upbeat. Otherwise, Bai Shui might feel even sadder if she saw Ming Yue’s haggard appearance. Ming Yue walked outside to find Su Yunkai staring at Bai Shui’s house. Her heart started hurting. “Brother Su.”
Su Yunkai heard the sound and looked back. Seeing that Ming Yue was dressed, he said, “Let’s go. The Qin residence is pretty far. Let’s head to the street entrance to find a carriage.”
“Okay.”
*
At this time, the Qin residence was peaceful. The servants occasionally chattered about the fact that the young master had brought a good friend back.
The reason why this person must’ve been a good friend was because Qin Fang never let people enter his room. This friend, however, was even allowed to sleep there.
Qin Fang, who never took care of others, sat at this friend’s bedside until he nearly turned to stone. Qin Fang, who never cared about daily necessities, went to ask a doctor what sick people should eat. He even reminded the kitchen staff to remove the oil from the soup noodles.
This made Madam Qin feel very curious. She sent the butler over to see which young master Qin Fang had brought over.
The butler came back and said, “It’s not a gentleman of a noble family, but a small constable who just entered the yamen this year. The constable was originally from Damingfu. He was the Su family’s young master’s subordinate. Wasn’t our young master with the Su family’s young master in Damingfu for a while? I think that they have known each other for some time.”
Madam Qin nodded. “All visitors are guests. Take good care of him.”
The housekeeper smiled uncomfortable. “How would we ever get a chance to take care of that constable? Young master changes his clothes and cleans his wounds. How could we even get involved?”
“Foolish.” Madam Qin frowned. “How can the child of a duke serve others? He’s being righteous while all of you are being idiotic and presumptuous!”
The housekeeper shuddered and knelt down to admit his mistake. Madam Qin waved her hand. “Whatever. Since it’s his friend and he’s also wounded, I’ll go over to take a look. Consider it my duty as the hostess.”
The butler quickly stood and led her over. Madam Qin was very curious. How come she had never heard about any such close friend before? Her son, she knew, had never been sensible. He loved to make merry and was never serious. She had spoken to him about wanting a daughter-in-law, but he had refused to listen. Madam Qin still hoped that a wife would bring him back home and restrain his attitude.
As she thought and walked, she arrived at her son’s door. She was about to knock on the door, but then she heard someone cry “Shui Shui” inside. Her heart skipped a beat. How come this name sounded like a girl’s name?
.
A Hint of Spring 