Upon seeing Bai Xiuming, Jiang Kai strode forward and saluted. “My lord, Ji Chan has been brought.”
The Captain’s booming voice practically forced everyone’s attention toward them.
Achan had no choice but to step forward, bowing respectfully. “Ji Chan greets the Lord.”
Bai Xiuming looked at the demure Achan, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the hilt of his sword. He recalled the report his subordinates had submitted the day after the Flower Festival, its contents nothing short of sensational.
Seeing Bai Xiuming stare at Ji Chan without speaking, the others grew anxious, unsure what displeased the Commander.
Fortunately, Jiang Kai, who was oblivious to reading the room, sensed the awkward atmosphere and called out again, “Lord Commander?”
Bai Xiuming glanced at him and finally spoke. “Take them to be questioned separately.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jiang Kai directed his men to lead the Zhao family members to separate empty side rooms for questioning, while he personally handled the main members of the Zhao household.
He had intended to take Achan along as well, but Bai Xiuming stopped him.
“Leave her here.”
“Huh? Yes, sir.” Jiang Kai turned and continued his tasks.
The main courtyard buzzed with people moving in and out, yet everything was orderly. The seemingly rough captain was, in fact, highly capable.
Left alone, Achan remained calm. After all, she had faced such a scene once before.
“Follow me,” Bai Xiuming said, turning to lead her into the main house.
Achan hesitated briefly before lifting her skirt and following.
At the doorway, she was hit by a pungent stench of blood mixed with an overwhelming fishy odor, forcing her to cover her mouth and nose.
The floor was covered in blood that, for some reason, hadn’t coagulated. Achan stared at the crimson pool, unsure where to step.
Finally, she couldn’t hold back. “My lord, how did my aunt die? Why is there so much blood?”
“Suicide.”
“What?” Achan thought she misheard.
Bai Xiuming said calmly, “She used a dagger to cut open her abdomen and died from blood loss.”
“How could that be? Why would she do such a thing?”
“Good question. That’s exactly what I want to ask you,” Bai Xiuming said, looking at her. “What circumstances would lead her to do this?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you can’t think of anything, you’ll stay here tonight to figure it out,” he said, his tone deceptively gentle.
Achan sensed he was deliberately picking a fight today. She needed to placate him carefully to avoid truly angering him.
But given Lady Xiao Lin’s personality, even if something had happened, suicide seemed unthinkable.
Achan suddenly thought of the large jar she had seen earlier. “My lord, may I ask what’s in that jar?”
“The contents of her womb.”
“Contents?” Achan’s voice rose slightly.
Bai Xiuming gave a faint smile. “With your memory, you should know about the Widow Fish.”
Achan did know. Back before she came down the mountain, the clan elders had told stories about such creatures.
The Widow Fish looked almost identical to ordinary fish, so even experienced fishermen struggled to distinguish them.
Though called a fish, it was a strange entity born from the lingering resentment of a wrongfully dead pregnant woman. They didn’t actively attack people and posed little danger. Their purpose was to create more of their kind.
Some human chronicles even recorded cases where women ate fish caught in the wild, became pregnant, and after ten months, gave birth to monstrous creatures.
Ate…
Achan’s heart jolted. She looked up at Bai Xiuming, only to find his gaze fixed on her face, observing her closely.
This man was impossible to sway. Achan grumbled inwardly and decided to take the initiative.
“My lord, do you suspect me every time there’s a case?”
Bai Xiuming looked away. “I haven’t said anything.”
Achan curved her lips. “Oh, my lord may not know, but your eyes speak for you.”
Teased by a young woman, Bai Xiuming remained unfazed. “Can you tell from my eyes what I’m going to ask you next?”
Achan lowered her eyes with a sigh and said, “In my visits to the Zhao residence, I often heard that my cousin has been very filial lately. My aunt wanted fresh fish, so he specifically bought live fish for her to eat, three meals a day, without fail.”
From the moment she ate the Widow Fish, her aunt was doomed to lose her child. But why would Zhao Wensheng do such a thing?
“Was it because my aunt discovered she wasn’t carrying a human fetus and couldn’t bear it?” Achan said hesitantly.
But she quickly dismissed the idea. If Zhao Wensheng had deliberately sent the Widow Fish, he wouldn’t likely reveal it, so how would her aunt know and choose suicide?
It didn’t add up.
“You’d have to ask her dear son,” Bai Xiuming said, yet he didn’t move.
Achan understood. “My lord, you must already have suspicions about this.”
Zhao Wensheng’s fish deliveries were no secret. Anyone paying attention would know. The Mirror Division, with all its investigations, wouldn’t need an outsider like her to point it out. There must be other doubts.
“My lord didn’t summon me just to hear about my cousin, did you?” she probed.
“Tell me about the rest of the Zhao family. What’s your impression of them?”
Achan thought for a moment. “Let’s start with my cousin, Wenyue. My lord likely knows that my uncle seems to want her to marry Xue Mingtang. She’s fond of him too, even saying she’d marry no one else. But my aunt disapproved, and they often argued over it.
Last time at the Flower Goddess Temple, we ran into the Xue siblings and Lady Xue’s children. My aunt clashed with the Xue family, and it was quite ugly. Wenyue fought with my aunt over it, but later she bought a jade hairpin to appease her.”
Bai Xiuming, listening to her detailed account, raised an eyebrow. “You’re suggesting the Xue siblings are highly suspicious.”
Achan’s expression turned aggrieved. “My lord misunderstands me. I just have some questions. Did Lord Xue try to kill me because I stood in his sister’s way, or because I’m of the Lin family’s blood?
Now that my aunt is dead, it seems the Lin family, aside from those exiled, has only me left. If I hadn’t met my lord, I might not have survived that night.”
Though she intended to point fingers, her questions weren’t baseless.
First, Ji Chan’s mother died, then Ji Chan, and now Lady Xiao Lin. The connections were unclear, but it was too coincidental.
She couldn’t help but wonder how many of the exiled Lin family members were still alive.
Bai Xiuming gave a mocking laugh. “You didn’t survive because you met me.”
“My lord jests. Without you, how could I have kept my life?”
“And so?”
“So, my lord, shouldn’t you investigate Xue Mingtang? He’s awfully suspicious.”
From hinting to instigating to pinning blame, Achan’s tactics opened Bai Xiuming’s eyes.
In the end, she added, “I’m just speaking the truth. Don’t misunderstand, my lord.”
“I’m not misunderstanding. I just think you don’t need to worry about him coming to kill you.”
Achan looked at him, puzzled.
Bai Xiuming’s striking peach-blossom eyes narrowed. “When you told Lady Xue you were close to me, you should’ve worried whether I’d take your life first.”
Achan: …
Achan coughed lightly and said seriously, “My lord, let’s return to the matter at hand.”
Bai Xiuming continued to stare at her with a heavy gaze.
Avoiding his eyes, Achan pressed on. “Actually, something else happened on the mountain that day that struck me as odd.”
Her words finally shifted his attention away from her.
While he was staring, Achan had broken out in a cold sweat. Who could’ve guessed he’d have her watched?
Fortunately, he didn’t seem too concerned about his reputation being “tarnished” by her.
If he had cared, he’d likely have dragged her to the Mirror Division the day after the Flower Festival to flay her alive.
“Speak.”
“It’s about the jade hairpin my cousin bought for my aunt. My lord can ask Sun Mama and my aunt’s personal maids; they all know about it.”
She quickly realized that since he had her watched, he likely knew everything.
But the watcher only reported what she did, not necessarily her thoughts, giving her room to maneuver.
“What’s wrong with the hairpin?”
“I couldn’t tell anything specific, but the jade was of high quality, yet my cousin bought it for only five taels, which seemed suspiciously cheap. Later, when my aunt told me to browse, I looked for the hairpin vendor but couldn’t find him.
The nearby vendor selling velvet flowers told me the man sold only one hairpin to my cousin, spoke with her at length, and then packed up. That struck me as odd.”
Bai Xiuming looked at Achan, whose expression seemed nervous, unsure if she was genuinely afraid or acting for his benefit.
Setting aside the mysteries surrounding Ji Chan, Bai Xiuming’s impression of her, after several encounters, was consistently above average.
Smart, bold, adaptable, and good at gauging boundaries.
Unfortunately, those traits had never been evident in the old Ji Chan.
He shifted his gaze from Achan and asked, “What about Zhao Ming? What’s your impression of him?”
Achan thought for a moment. “I haven’t met my uncle during my visits to the Zhao residence, but in my aunt’s words, he was the best husband in the world.”
“How so?”
Achan smiled. “For a woman, a man who doesn’t flirt or keep concubines, who’s devoted solely to his wife, already surpasses most.
Moreover, my uncle has always been ambitious. His rank isn’t high, but it’s enough to satisfy my aunt. Sun Mama also mentioned that in all their years of marriage, even when they argued, it was always my aunt who started it, and he was the one to make peace.”
“And that proves Zhao Ming is a good man?”
“Isn’t it?” Achan’s eyes flickered. “Does my lord know something?”
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