Something was embedded in the sturdy rosewood, as though some high-temperature element had burned into it and left a dent. There were a few traces in each dent, but Su Yunkai couldn’t tell what they were.
Su Yunkai rubbed the remains between his fingers. They felt coarse. He looked carefully and found that his fingers had black streaks. “Rust.”
“Are the other ones also filled with rust, too?” Ming Yue pointed to the silvery-white color beside the rust and rubbed some of it between her fingers. “This seems like silver.”
Iron and silver? Su Yunkai turned the wood over several times in his hands. “Bai Shui, where did you find this?”
Bai Shui replied, “Behind the villa. The fire hadn’t stopped completely when I found it, but the villa had nearly burned to the ground. I went over and found that there was still a fire behind the villa, so I climbed to a higher location and saw that someone was still burning it up. When the person saw me, he didn’t come over immediately. Instead, he continued to set the fire. When I rushed over, I found that there was a passage near the cliff.”
Su Yunkai hadn’t had a chance to soak in the scenery of Mount Gu because he had been busy solving homicide cases last time. Upon hearing what Bai Shui was saying, he demanded, “There’s another channel?”
Bai Shui nodded. “Yes. I went up there to fight him. I captured him alive, but he killed himself through poison. I was curious about where the passageway led, so I took a look. I found many wooden frames in the hillside area. The shelves had been destroyed and I didn’t know what they were for. They might’ve been used for refining something. I searched around and found this wooden board. I didn’t know if it was useful, so I brought it back with me.”
Su Yunkai pondered the situation for a moment, then said, “Before, when the bridge was destroyed, the secret road was blocked, and the villa was burned, I wondered how a single culprit could’ve done all of that alone. Later, I guessed that there were accomplices, but how come no one had ever seen those accomplices? Turns out there was another passageway.”
“My lord, look at this.” Bai Shui poured something out of her money bag. “Is this crude iron? When I was at the back of the mountain, I found that there was a big hole in the middle. The hole was ten yards high and about a dozen yards wide. It was dark on all sides. I found these black things in the innermost layer. There were also some hoes scattered around.”
Su Yunkai suddenly understood. He looked at the wood, which had been dented by molten rust and silver. His confused thoughts began to gradually clear. One by one, knots of doubt blossomed like flowers, breaking through his confusion. He straightened out all the things that happened in the past few days. He was even able to clear up some things from the past, starting from Bai Ying’s death and including when he himself had suddenly gotten transferred back to Kaifeng.
Su Yunkai clenched the piece of rosewood and asked, “Were the shelves also rosewood? Were there a lot of rosewood trees at the back of the mountain?”
“Yes. They were planted all over the mountains.”
Su Yunkai nodded. “I am going to send Ming Yue to the Li residence first. Bai Shui, you will follow me back to the Su residence to rest.”
“My lord, my injuries are fine. I can take a carriage—”
“No, you need to rest.” Su Yunkai looked at Bai Shui calmly. “No one has ever detected you before, but my coachman detected you today. Your wounds are not light.”
Bai Shui’s pale face demonstrated her unwillingness. “I haven’t caught the culprits yet.”
“No, you’ve already caught them,” Su Yunkai said. “If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have been able to think through this case. With these clues, I already know who the murderer is. What is missing is the evidence, which you cannot help me with. Leave the rest to me. Right now, you need rest.”
When Bai Shui heard that Su Yunkai knew who the murderer was, her eyes watered and her voice trembled. “My lord, who is the murderer?”
Su Yunkai looked at Bai Shui and said, “Promise me that you won’t seek revenge in private.”
Bai Shui shook her head. “Never. I just want to see that person caught and punished under the law. I want to bring justice to my brother and let that person atone for his crimes before the entire world.”
Su Yunkai sighed and said slowly, “Yu Fenglin.”
Bai Shui was stunned. “My brother and Yu Fenglin have no misunderstanding. They barely know each other.”
Bai Shui was still clenching the black iron in her hand. Her hands were nearly bleeding and she didn’t even notice. It was Ming Yue who took Bai Shui’s hand and tied it up gently with a handkerchief. Bai Shui finally stopped trembling. “My lord, I will listen to you. I believe that you will avenge my brother.”
The words were filled with hatred, resentment, and forbearance. Ming Yue was sorrowful as she heard her friend speak. She was reluctant to release Bai Shui’s hand.
Bai Shui had become a part of her family long ago. Ming Yue used to always rely on Bai Shui, but now it was Bai Shui who needed Ming Yue.
Ming Yue wanted to stay with Bai Shui, but Li Kang was an outsider. There, Bai Shui’s identity would be exposed, so it was safer for Bai Shui to stay at the Su residence.
Su Yunkai looked at the sky. It was already late. A while later, there would be no more pedestrians in the streets. In that case, the three of them would seem more conspicuous, so Su Yunkai immediately sent Ming Yue over to the Li residence. As he was about to leave, a servant called out to him, “Lord Su, my master has something urgent to tell you.”
Hearing that Su Yunkai had come in the middle of the night, Li Kang ran over without even putting on his outer clothes. He happened to bump into Su Yunkai, who was walking in after receiving the servant’s message. Li Kang hurriedly pulled Su Yunkai into the backyard and called the servants away. “I wanted to find you this morning, but now that you’re here, this saves me the trip.”
“What’s the matter? Why so urgent?”
“Before, you asked me to investigate the Marquis of Pingxi and his relationship with Chen Lilang. For the former, I discovered the warehouses of money. For the latter, I only just discovered tonight how deeply everything was hidden. On the surface, Chen Lilang has nothing to do with the marquis. In fact, almost all of the money the marquis receives is handled by Chen Lilang.”
“Yes, I know.”
Li Kang wanted to continue reporting his findings, but he halted at Su Yunkai’s calm words. He was surprised. “You know? Since when did you know?”
“I just confirmed it.” The summer resort had belonged to Chen Lilang, but the real owner was the Marquis of Pingxi. Su Yunkai added, “I have one more thing to trouble you with. Something of great importance. If you do it well, you will be promoted. You will get raised at least three levels higher than your current rank.”
Li Kang smiled. “I’m a fourth rank official right now. Do you mean that I will get promoted to a first rank official?”
“I do,” said Su Yunkai. “Merit, service, glory, grace. You will have all of those.”
Li Kang’s throat went dry. If someone else had told him this, he would’ve laughed it off, but this was Su Yunkai. His expression was so serious. “A-are you serious?”
Su Yunkai didn’t answer. He simply asked, “Will you help me investigate?”
Li Kang squeezed out a smile. “If it can really get me to reach the clouds, it’s worth a fight, even if I risk losing my head. Say anything and I will definitely do it for you. By the way, I have one more thing to tell you.”
Su Yunkai was familiar with Li Kang’s personality. He was afraid that he would forget what he was going to say earlier if Su Yunkai continued speaking.
“These past few days, there’s been a girl constantly wandering by the gate of the ministry. She doesn’t come inside, though, which is suspicious. As soon as a yamen officer comes out, she hides.”
“When did it start?”
“I think it started when we found Bai Ying’s bones.” Li Kang thought for a moment. Then, he said, “However, after Bai Ying’s bones were found, we didn’t spread the news. No one else should know.”
Li Kang was right. It is impossible for the common people to know. However, the girl might be from an aristocratic family. Suddenly, Su Yunkai thought of a possibility.
Noticing that Su Yunkai didn’t provide further analysis, Li Kang said, “Tell me what you want me to do.”
*
The front of the Ministry of Justice in Kaifeng was not unlike the other yamen. There were two stone guardian lions guarding the entrance. Early in the morning, a yamen officer was sweeping the dust at the entrance.
Su Yunkai leaned against the side of the wall, waiting for the girl. After a long while, just as he thought she was not going to come, the corner of a robe appeared in the dark alley. When someone came out of the yamen, the robe disappeared back into the alley. Once the front of the yamen was empty again, she appeared once again, her shadow slanting against the wall, revealing the ornaments in her hair.
From the projection of the shadow, the girl did not wear her hair in a bun, which confirmed Su Yun’s conjecture. He stopped hiding and strode over.
Hearing the sound, the shadow quickly retreated. When Su Yunkai came over to the alley, he could only see her back. He called out, “Miss, please stay.”
The girl stopped for a moment before moving forward quickly. When she heard footsteps coming from behind, she looked back. Her eyes were frightened and she said sharply, “Don’t provoke me, you womanizer.”
Su Yunkai didn’t expect her to be so bold. Even though she was afraid, she still carried an imposing manner. He stood a little farther away, handed over his waist badge, and said, “I’m Su Yunkai, an official from the Ministry of Rites.”
The girl looked at him, saw the badge, then asked, “The Su family from Jiangzhou?”
“My hometown is indeed Jiangzhou.”
“I know the Su family.” The girl relaxed. “I heard that you weren’t in good health. You couldn’t even accept the imperial edict, so you stayed at home. Now, I see that you are well. You are deceiving the emperor.”
Su Yunkai stowed the pendant away and spoke calmly, “Ordinary people don’t know much about these things, but that was clearly reasoned. I was right to guess that you are a daughter in an official family.”
The girl’s face flickered, but she did not panic. “Yes. My father holds a position in the yamen.”
“So you became acquainted with Constable Bai Ying at the yamen?”
The girl was stunned. Her calm demeanor disappeared as she blanched. “What did you say?”
Su Yunkai sighed inwardly. “Miss, I think you are the woman Constable Bai liked. After he disappeared, you sent a bag of silver to his sister, right?”
.
A Hint of Spring 