Chapter 14: Just How Much Did They Hate Her?

Bai Xiuming didn’t address Achan’s question, only saying calmly, “I’m never interested in other people’s family affairs.”

“Then when would my lord be interested?”

“When it’s necessary.”

Achan wasn’t disappointed, but she grew more wary of her uncle. She felt his words just now weren’t spoken carelessly.

Still, the investigation was the Mirror Division’s business. If there was an issue, they would handle it. For now, she could only wait for the outcome.

Achan quickly shifted her focus back and asked Bai Xiuming, “Is there anything else my lord wishes to know?”

“No, you’ve been very thorough.”

“May I ask my lord a question?” Achan ventured.

“Go ahead.”

“Will you be taking my aunt’s body away later?”

“It involves a supernatural entity, so her body must be taken to the Mirror Division first to ensure no anomalies occur.”

“Can I see her?”

Bai Xiuming was slightly surprised but didn’t refuse, only warning, “A dead person’s appearance isn’t pleasant.”

Achan was resolute. “I want to see her.”

“Alright.” Bai Xiuming led her inside, and Achan followed, carefully stepping around the large pools of blood on the floor.

Lady Xiao Lin had died in her bedroom, where the blood was less prevalent. It seemed she had cut open her abdomen in the outer room and then stumbled back to the inner room.

As Achan entered, she saw Lady Xiao Lin’s body neatly laid out on the floor. Someone had evidently examined it, and afterward, it was covered with a white cloth adorned with red talismans.

Achan stepped forward and lifted a corner of the cloth. Lady Xiao Lin’s bloodless face came into view, her expression frozen in terror, eyes wide open as if she had seen something horrifying before death.

Achan slowly crouched beside her, the memory of their first meeting echoing in her mind—her aunt’s sharp, somewhat harsh words.

Humans were so fragile, so easily lost.

Bai Xiuming stood a short distance behind, watching Achan, who remained motionless beside the body. He said, “My condolences.”

His voice snapped Achan back to reality, but she didn’t turn around.

“Where does my lord see my sorrow? I wasn’t close to my aunt. She even wanted to dress me up and marry me off as a concubine to a high-ranking family for the Zhao family’s benefit.”

Bai Xiuming didn’t respond, simply listening quietly.

“But… when someone’s at their wit’s end, if there’s a person willing to lend a hand, even if they’re not entirely kind, doesn’t that make them a good person? It’s a pity she died like this.”

Achan replaced the cloth and slowly stood.

Turning, she looked up slightly at Bai Xiuming. “My lord will find the truth quickly, won’t you?”

Even if the truth might not bring peace to the unjustly dead.

Bai Xiuming didn’t answer, only saying softly, “Let’s go,” before stepping out.

Achan walked a few steps, then paused, glancing back at Lady Xiao Lin’s still form. Now that she had a human body, would she one day die like this too?

Even without meeting an unnatural end, even with a natural death, a human life spanned only a few decades.

She suddenly understood why some people obsessed over seeking immortality. She didn’t want to die so soon either.

Achan lingered briefly before leaving.

The Mirror Division’s questioning of the Zhao household wasn’t finished, so she had to wait outside.

After more than an hour, Achan felt chilled to the bone by the cold wind. She couldn’t help thinking that if she could get home early tonight, she’d need to brew some warming medicine, or she’d surely wake up feverish tomorrow.

Her gaze drifted enviously to the man standing under the corridor, occasionally receiving reports from his subordinates. His official robe was so thin, yet he didn’t seem cold at all.

Having cultivation was truly advantageous, but her body was unsuited for it.

After another quarter-hour, those taken for questioning gradually returned to the courtyard, their faces pale, likely terrified from their first encounter with the Mirror Division.

The Zhao family members were brought back last. Zhao Ming’s expression remained composed, but his jaw was tight, as if suppressing anger.

Zhao Wenyue seemed displeased with the rough handling by the Mirror Division guards but didn’t dare speak. Zhao Wensheng, however, was the most disheveled, dragged back by Jiang Kai, who held him by the neck.

In the courtyard, Zhao Wensheng was flung to the ground like a heap of mud, his face ashen, teeth chattering uncontrollably.

“My lord, we’ve got answers. Zhao Wensheng admitted he bought the fish,” Jiang Kai reported, saluting.

Bai Xiuming approached slowly. Zhao Wensheng, trembling, tried to crawl backward but couldn’t move, muttering repeatedly, “I didn’t know, didn’t know Mother would die. He said no one would die, really.”

Bai Xiuming stopped a few steps away, looking down at him. “Who is he?”

Zhao Wensheng seemed lost in a daze, unresponsive.

Bai Xiuming glanced at Jiang Kai.

The captain stepped forward, stomping on Zhao Wensheng’s hand. The sharp pain made him scream, instantly snapping him back to clarity.

Jiang Kai, heedless of Zhao Wensheng’s father standing nearby, grabbed his collar with a menacing expression. “When our lord asks a question, you answer honestly. Lie, and I’ll cut off your hand. Understood?”

“Understood, understood!” Zhao Wensheng nodded frantically.

“Then answer!” Jiang Kai roared.

“It was someone from the gambling den. I… I met a gambler there. He said his village had live fish, and eating them… eating them…”

“What happens when you eat them?”

“The fetus… it turns into a monster.”

Achan hadn’t expected this. Zhao Wensheng had fed Lady Xiao Lin the Widow Fish to prevent her from giving birth to the child.

“You didn’t want your mother to have the child. Why? Your brother wouldn’t threaten your position.”

The word “brother” seemed to strike a nerve. Zhao Wensheng’s voice rose sharply. “Just an unborn fetus, what kind of brother is that?

Ever since she got pregnant with that little bastard, she’s been endlessly dissatisfied with me. I only gambled a few times, and she cut off my allowance. I was mocked by my peers for not even affording a meal out. She told Father I wasn’t ambitious, wanted to send me back to our hometown, and said I couldn’t return to the capital unless I passed the provincial exam.

Hah, she thought I’d never pass, that I was useless, so she wanted another child to replace me.” Zhao Wensheng vented with a hoarse roar, but no one in the courtyard sympathized with him.

Even his own sister, Zhao Wenyue, stared at him in disbelief, while Zhao Ming was so furious it seemed he might charge forward and strangle his son.

To blame all his mistakes on an unborn child—perhaps it would have been better to send him back to their hometown and never let him return.

“So you wanted to ensure she couldn’t carry this child to term?” Bai Xiuming asked.

“Yes. I thought about using drugs, but that would be too easily discovered. Then one time, I sneaked to an underground gambling den and met that man. He told me some people in his village had eaten a strange fish, and their babies were born monsters. So I borrowed ten taels of silver from him to have fish delivered to me daily.”

“How did you make your mother crave fish?” Bai Xiuming pressed.

“Grind the fish bones into powder and have someone drink it. It makes them crave fish. I learned that from him too.”

“And then? What else did you do?”

Zhao Wensheng looked dazed. “Nothing, nothing else. I just sent the fish to the kitchen for Mother to eat every day. I didn’t do anything more.”

“Then why did she cut open her own abdomen?”

“I don’t know!” Zhao Wensheng collapsed to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly to Bai Xiuming. “My lord, believe me, I didn’t mean to kill her. I confirmed with that man multiple times—the fish wouldn’t kill anyone. I just didn’t want that fetus to be born. How could I kill my own mother?”

Before Bai Xiuming could respond, Zhao Ming roared in anger and kicked his kowtowing son, sending him sprawling. “Utter nonsense! Even now, you dare lie!”

“I’m not lying, Father, I didn’t kill her!” Zhao Wensheng clung to his father’s leg, sobbing and protesting.

Watching this absurd scene as a bystander, Achan was momentarily at a loss for words.

Perhaps Zhao Wensheng, as he claimed, hadn’t intended to kill Lady Xiao Lin, only to prevent the child’s birth.

But to unhesitatingly feed his own mother a monstrous entity just to abort his sibling showed he had little humanity left, if any.

As the father and son descended into chaos, Bai Xiuming lifted his chin and ordered, “Separate them.”

His men immediately stepped forward, restraining Zhao Ming and dragging the bruised and battered Zhao Wensheng to his feet.

Zhao Wensheng seemed reluctant to stand, wanting to continue kowtowing to Bai Xiuming.

Bai Xiuming looked at him calmly. “I believe you didn’t want your mother dead. So why did she die? Did you say something to her you shouldn’t have?”

“No, I didn’t say anything. I’ve been at the gambling den this whole time. The fish were sent straight to the kitchen. I haven’t even seen her.”

Bai Xiuming glanced at Jiang Kai.

Jiang Kai stepped forward and said quietly, “My lord, I’ve sent men to investigate the underground gambling den he mentioned. The people there have been detained, and we’re also apprehending the man who sold him the fish.”

“Good.” Bai Xiuming raised his hand, and Zhao Wensheng was dragged to the side.

Then Bai Xiuming turned to Zhao Wenyue, who was trying to calm her father.

“Zhao Wenyue.”

The moment her name was called, Zhao Wenyue flinched, as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head.

“M-my lord,” she stammered, turning shakily, her head bowed, too afraid to meet Bai Xiuming’s gaze.

Sensing his daughter’s fear, Zhao Ming gripped her hand, offering some comfort.

“I heard you bought a jade hairpin for your mother at Yongshan?” Bai Xiuming asked.

Zhao Wenyue instinctively denied it. “I didn’t.”

As Jiang Kai approached, she panicked, nearly shrieking, “No, no, I mean, I gave the hairpin to my mother, but I don’t know what happened to it. It was just an ordinary hairpin bought from a stall!”

“Just an ordinary hairpin? What did the vendor who sold it to you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Is that so? But someone saw you talking at length with the stall owner.”

“I didn’t.”

Seeing her stubborn denial, Bai Xiuming didn’t press further, only instructing, “Jiang Kai, I want to see that hairpin vendor by tomorrow.”

“Rest assured, my lord. We’ll have him before dawn.”

As Jiang Kai spoke, Zhao Wenyue’s face turned deathly pale.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but her hand was squeezed tightly. Glancing at her father beside her, she ultimately stayed silent.

Their subtle movements weren’t overt, but anyone watching closely noticed, including Bai Xiuming and Achan.

Zhao Wenyue’s reaction practically confirmed that the jade hairpin she gave Lady Xiao Lin was problematic, and she knew it.

“Lord Zhao,” Bai Xiuming said coldly, “if you interfere with my questioning again, I’ll have no choice but to send you to the prison for a few days.”

Zhao Ming’s expression changed, and he quickly said, “Forgive me, Lord Bai. I was only concerned for my daughter.”

“Escort Lord Zhao out and treat him well.”

“Yes, sir.”

Zhao Ming tried to protest, but two Mirror Division guards gagged him and dragged him away, leaving Zhao Wenyue alone, with no one left to rely on.

Bai Xiuming took two steps forward. “Zhao Wenyue, I’ll give you one chance. Speak now, or wait until we catch that vendor and you die alongside him. Choose.”

Zhao Wenyue, who had never faced such a situation, saw her father taken away and heard threats of death. She could no longer hold back.

Trembling, she spoke. “The man said the hairpin was carved from medicinal jade gathered north of the Northern Wilderness. Wearing it would gradually alter a person’s temperament. I just wanted Mother to agree to my marriage with Young Master Xue!”

“Is that all?” Bai Xiuming seemed dissatisfied.

“There’s… there’s more. He said at first, it might cause hallucinations or headaches, but nothing severe. Taking it off would fix it.”

“Did she take it off?”

Zhao Wenyue fell silent.

Her mother loved the hairpin and wore it every day since, never taking it off.

But she had seemed perfectly normal, showing no signs of distress. Zhao Wenyue had thought the vendor was just exaggerating.

At this point, the truth seemed to emerge.

Lady Xiao Lin ate the Widow Fish provided by her son and wore the jade hairpin given by her daughter. One day, perhaps plagued by terrifying hallucinations or some unknown change, she succumbed to fear or despair, cut open her abdomen, and died.

Achan no longer looked at the Zhao siblings, who kept proclaiming their innocence. If Lady Xiao Lin’s body weren’t still lying in the main house, she might have thought this was a farce.

How could such a ridiculous thing happen in this world?

Her own children, each taking action against their mother. Just how much did they hate her?