The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

CH 15

Faced with Qingzi’s corpse, Tang Fan had to smile bitterly. “We were too careless!” he said to Sui Zhou.

The other frowned. “She took the blame for someone else, concealing the true murderer.”

Tang Fan nodded. “She admitted to it too readily just now. I thought that was fishy, so I wanted to interrogate her in detail after she was brought back. I just didn’t expect that she would be so determined as to instantly kill herself!”

“What did you remember just then?”

“The Eastern Depot! Even if she had devised the plan to kill Zheng Cheng herself, then nevermind how she managed to pilfer the money off of Zheng Cheng, or how she came to be well-versed in acupuncture — how was she, a brothel woman, able to get the Depot to intervene by snatching the corpse from your Office? That’s highly suspicious!”

Sui Zhou nodded, having obviously just thought of that as well.

The two were synchronized in many ways of thinking, making them have a very rare tacit understanding when investigating cases, different from others’.

“I will go check out the Eastern Depot,” Sui Zhou said.

Tang Fan understood. “I’ll continue to check her here.”

Sui Zhou nodded slightly. With nothing else said, he immediately left.

Tang Fan looked at Qingzi as she lay on the ground. She was as beautiful as ever now, but that peony-esque bearing from when she was a famed beauty was gone. A dagger stuck deep in her chest, her blood had already slowly congealed, with her body beginning to go stiff.

People died like candles extinguished. With one step into the river of yin and yang, everything was no more. How much money one had, peerless looks — those were all in vain.

Her committing suicide was plainly because she had been afraid of being questioned after entering the prison, thus getting the real killer behind this drawn out of her. Still, lone deaths had been challenging since time immemorial; for her to be able to make such a decisive act in such a short period of time, there clearly had to be someone or something that drove her to shield the murderer.

Yet, with her death, Tang Fan and them were truly cut off from the trail of clues. Could the investigation continue?

Yes, obviously.

No matter how daring she had been, she had merely been a brothel woman, in the end. With her limited range of view, there was no way she could have thought too far ahead, only believing that everything would be resolved once she died.

He started to hypothesize from a different angle.

She had purchased a residence outside and wanted fiscal redemption; that wasn’t for herself, but for someone else. If it had been for herself, then she wouldn’t have committed suicide, because those that coveted life and feared death would not let it go, given that there was a thread of an opportunity to struggle free on death’s door. For that, she had to have done it for another.

It had been precisely because she knew that she had been found out, and no matter what conclusion she’d get from this, it wouldn’t be anything good. Considering that she might be unable to endure the torture and would reveal the truth, it would have been better for her to simply kill herself so that she could save the one behind the scenes.

The one behind the scenes…

Tang Fan stood up. “Old Wang.”

“Sir Tang?”

“You previously stated that Qingzi had a maid help her buy the house. Where is that maid now?”

“She wasn’t at Jubilance today, Sir. She must have been veered elsewhere. We had followed her for many days, though, and know where Miss Qingzi bought the house. I had Old Gao keep watch outside it, too!”