The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

CH 12

The Estate of Marquis Wu’an had a fog of misery over it as of late.

Zheng Cheng had been the eldest authentic wife-born son. Due to word on the wind about him being bad, the Dynasty had dragged its feet in dubbing him, but this was, in actuality, a certain trick it used to manage those under it. Although he ultimately still might not get the noble title, in a situation like that, it could put a stranglehold on its subject, making Marquis Wu’an cautious and fearful of taking a wrong step.

This attitude of the Dynasty’s was not solely for the influential families of meritorious officials; the same treatment went towards its own old Zhu family, as well. Subsequent to the country’s long-time establishment, the Zhu surname branched out to cover the entire country, making the imperial clan worthless. In the opinions of the Emperor and the Court, they were all a bunch of vermin that just wasted the Dynasty’s supplies and did nothing useful. The only obstruction here was that there was no way to abolish his forebears’ rules.

That was the Dynasty’s stance, however. To Zheng Ying, even if Zheng Cheng had always given him a headache, he was still his oldest son, and no one could be in high spirits with a son dead. Zheng Cheng’s mother, Marchioness Wu’an, had cried herself into a tearful mess, overly heartbroken and bedridden.

When Sui Zhou and Tang Fan arrived at the Estate, everyone that entered their eyes was wretchedly pale. Zheng Cheng’s body was still being kept in the Northern Bastion Office, but he was dead, regardless. Plain white cloth was hung up all over the place, and even the servants were all wearing mourning clothes.

Upon catching sight of them, Zheng Ying naturally didn’t have a great complexion. It was only because of the Brocade Guard’s reputation that he had no choice but to mentally force himself to deal with them. “What has brought you gentlemen to my humble abode?”

Sui Zhou didn’t exchange pleasantries with him. “We want to see Miss Hui, Marquis,” he said, straightforward.

Marquis Wu’an was startled, reacting quickly. “Is she related to my son’s death?”

“This is just necessary for handling the case. That conclusion can’t be made yet.”

Marquis Wu’an spoke no more drivel, swiftly having someone bring Miss Hui over.

Tang Fan had already met Zheng Cheng’s one wife and three concubines the night of the incident, when he had followed Pan Bin to the Estate.

Lady Sun of Zheng was virtuous, but because of her average looks, she didn’t incur Zheng Cheng’s fondness, and the married couple were seldom in the same bedroom.

The eldest concubine Miss Wan had entered the earliest. Honest in personality, the love nevertheless loosened as her beauty waned, and he seldom ever set foot in her courtyard prior to his death.

Miss Yu was the most recently taken concubine, having a beautiful, jade-like countenance, and being right at the age where she was most delicate. At the Estate, she was Zheng Cheng’s favorite, but domestic flowers didn’t smell as good as wild ones; he still wanted to reach outwards from time to time. Even though she was favored, she wasn’t the only one that was.

Miss Hui alone had previously been getting more favor than Miss Yu. It was said that Zheng Cheng had given her a lot of jewels and clothes to make her happy, but after a new person crossed the threshold, her status gradually became uninsured. Tang Fan recalled that in the different reactions the four women had upon Zheng Cheng’s demise, Miss Hui had wailed the loudest. At first glance, she had been the most grieved, but now that he carefully thought back to it, it was really a bit lacking in realness due to how excessively grand the reaction was.

She was led over quickly.

As the saying went; to be beautiful was to be mournful. Miss Hui was awfully affecting in her plain white mourning apparel. Too bad that neither Tang Fan nor Sui Zhou had the mind to appreciate it.

The latter just had Xue Ling exhibit the portrait. “Do you recognize this man?”

She looked at it. “I do. He’s this lowly wife’s cousin.”

“Where is he?” Xue Ling asked.

Miss Hui, her lashes filled with tears, looked heartbroken. “To answer you, Sir, when he went out three days ago, he accidentally got hit by a carriage. He passed on the spot, and has now been buried!”

Xue Ling sneered. “What a coincidence that is. We come looking for him on our end, and he happens to have an accident on yours?”

“It’s absolutely the truth. My distant cousin was a servant of the Estate, but I dared not disturb the Marquis, so only the steward knows about this. If you don’t believe me, Sir, you can ask him to come testify!”

“It doesn’t matter. We aren’t looking for him right now, but rather you. The shopkeepers of the Three-Era and Kindness Halls have already identified him; he once went to their apothecaries to buy large quantities of thorowax, right?”

“This question you’re asking has no grounds, Sir. If he did go out to buy medicine, why would he inform me of it beforehand? And what would it have to do with me?”

“Yang-rich spring comes from an old recipe. It isn’t beneficial for health, but it also isn’t so severe that it would put someone in the ground after a brief few months. However, it just so happens that you incited your cousin to add the extra substance of thorowax into the pills, which caused Zheng Cheng’s sudden death that masqueraded as shed-yang disease!”

“That’s a false accusation—“

She had just finished shouting of her injustice when she was cut off by a sharp sound and a furious roar next to her — Marchioness Wu’an had automatically charged forward and viciously slapped her!

“You still dare to argue, you whore?! Your cousin and Cheng’r had no animosity, and he had no chance to get near him at all — why would he go plot his death?! The proof is undeniable! If it’s not you, then who?! I’ve long been seeing you all restless in your room, but I didn’t expect that you would dare to kill Cheng’r, bitch!”

The Marchioness, Lady Liu, came from a family of scholarly repute. When Tang Fan had last seen her, she had, at the very least, maintained her composure and self-restraint in spite of being grief-stricken by her son’s death. Now, though, when she saw that the murderer might be close at hand, she inevitably couldn’t hold back.

Miss Hui cried out, covering her cheek and side-stepping. “Save me, Marquis, save me! I’ve been accused wrongly!”

Seeing that she dared to dodge her, the fire of Lady Liu’s rage burned all the higher, and she threw herself at her with the intention to fight. The scene suddenly became a huge mess.

Watching this anarchy, Sui Zhou coldly asked, “Are you wanting us to observe this theatre of monkeys, Marquis?”

Even though Miss Hui was the most suspicious, she was still a woman of the Estate, as was the Marchioness. Men and women were to be separate; it wouldn’t be good for the Brocade Guard to intervene.

Marquis Wu’an took a deep breath, then shouted, “You’re still not stopping this?! Are all of you dead?! Help the Madam