Though the case had been resolved, there were still several troublesome loose ends to clear up. Ji Yunshu still had no clue other unspeakable secret Ye’er was hiding.
Zuo Yao was not stupid. He knew what Ji Yunshu meant by her words—she wanted to continue investigating this case.
Jing Rong stood up from the pear blossom chair and walked over to Ji Yunshu with a frown on his stern face. He had the same misgivings in his heart as Ji Yunshu did, but still he said to her, “Now that the Ye’er’s murderer has been identified, any further investigation should be left for the future.” He then told Zuo Yao, “Magistrate Zuo, since the case has been solved, you should prepare a case report to the Ministry of Crime as soon as possible so that the Supreme Court can settle it.”
“Understood. This lowly official will handle it without delay.”
“But don’t celebrate just because the case is solved. It is still uncertain if you will be able to keep your position or your life yet.”
Of course he knew! His palms that had been beaten swollen and bloody would not forget that lesson anytime soon. He bowed, “This lowly official will remember it and will do my best to investigate the missing disaster relief funds.” How respectful and sincere he sounded! But to put it bluntly, he was only trying to save his life.
Ji Yunshu wrote a case report and left it in the yamen as a supplementary record, which was much more detailed than the bribed coroner’s report. Soon after, Jing Rong dragged her away.
After seeing the two off, Zuo Yao returned to the public court. He sighed in despair and waved his sleeves to slap his thighs with his hands, but accidentally bumped his wounded palms, which made him wince in pain. Damn, it really hurts!
Constable Zhang approached him and asked, “My Lord, are your hands alright?”
He raised his gauze-wrapped hands. “My head hurts more than my hands.” He was indeed having a headache.
“My lord, what is your worry?”
“Though the case three years ago has been settled and the prince hasn’t denounced me yet, for a county magistrate like me, I might be sentenced to death for accepting bribes. If I can’t contribute to finding the disaster relief silver, I’ll definitely lose my official’s hat and my life.” He sighed heavily after these words.
Soon, news of the solved case spread throughout Yufu County, deeply astonishing the people. They didn’t expect the murderer to be Liang Da, who was considered timid and weak because of his customary hunched posture and uncommunicative manner. No one had thought he would commit murder and be perverted to the extent where he would poison and kill the cats in the city. People of this kind should go to hell. They deserve death, and should suffer thousands of stabs before their death! On the other hand, the people also praised the mysterious Teacher Ji as a man of omniscience. The case three years ago was clearly explained by her declaration, as if she had been on the scene when the case occurred. They regretted not attending the public court at the yamen!
Since the day of the sentence, Aunt Xie kept crying for two days and two nights lying next to her daughter’s remains until her eyes almost went blind. On the third day, the remains were finally buried. The people from the Qiao family also attended the burial. They even ordered a coffin made of premium wood, carved a tombstone, and sent a fengshui master to decide the burial place. They did all they could to show their benevolence.
Ji Yunshu, however, didn’t attend. Rather, she was sitting in her yard, deep in thought. What was Ye’er trying to tell Qiao Zihua? Why did she want to notify the officials? Ji Yunshu took out the piece of paper on which the jade pendant was drawn and gazed at it carefully, thinking about who the owner could be. She sat there and pondered until Qiao’er brought her a pot of tea and placed it on the stone table.
Qiao’er glanced at the picture of the jade pendant on the paper. “Teacher Ji, what is the picture on the paper? Is it jade, or some pattern?”
Ji Yunshu narrowed her eyes and didn’t answer her question, “Qiao’er, do you know who habitually carries a dizi with him in Yufu County?” [1]
Uh? Qiao’er thought for a while, “I don’t remember seeing someone like that. Why did Teacher suddenly ask such a question?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh.” Qiao’er was about to leave when she suddenly stopped her footsteps, her eyes shining as she remembered something, “Teacher, I haven’t seen anyone with a dizi, but I did hear someone play it before. Does that count?”
“Who?” She asked slightly anxiously.
“It came from the neighbour next door, but I only heard it twice, both late at night when people were asleep.”
From their neighbor? Ji Yunshu looked at the wall separating them. She had moved here for days, why hadn’t she heard the sound? Could it be Qiao’er’s hallucination?
Shi Zijin happened to walk in at this time and told her that Aunt Xie was back, but she was limp from crying too much and was supported to the yard. Ji Yunshu set aside the dizi sound for the moment and ran to the courtyard where Aunt Xie was.
Upon seeing her, Aunt Xie knelt down heavily and made several loud kowtows. “Teacher Ji, thank you for bringing justice to my daughter. You are my benefactor. I can’t pay you back even if I reincarnate as a cow or a horse to serve you.” She trembled as she knelt.
Ji Yunshu quickly helped her up. “I don’t need you to serve as my cow or horse. It’s most important that you take care of your body.”
Aunt Xie brushed away her tears from her red eyes as she said, “The beast deserves to die by a thousand cuts for robbing my daughter’s life in such a manner.” She ground her teeth in hatred.
Ji Yunshu had to comfort her several times, and added, “You can pick up your grandson Nan’er after a few days, and you two will live well in the future.”
Ji Yunshu had inquired about Ye’er’s son and heard that he was a fair and chubby little boy. When Aunt Xie entered the Capital to appeal the case, she had sent him to her relative’s house and planned to pick him up when the case was solved. The Qiao family offered Aunt Xie a large sum of money, and even a house to accommodate her and her grandchild. By doing so, the Qiao family forgave and forgot the previous unhappiness between them, instead demonstrating benevolence and generosity. Thus, the two families finally let bygones be bygones.
After Aunt Xie calmed down, Ji Yunshu asked, “Aunt Xie, I want to ask you something.”
“Don’t hesitate to ask. I will tell you everything I know..”
“It’s about the cloth doll.”
“The cloth doll?”
She nodded, “The doll is embroidered with a pattern which looks like a character, but it also resembles a flower. I want to know what it is.”
Upon hearing it, Aunt Xie took the cloth doll out of her bag and rubbed her finger on the pattern. She then shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask much when Ye’er’s father embroidered it. Is there any meaning behind it?” She was also confused.
“To be honest, this pattern means a lot to me.”
Aunt Xie was puzzled. How does this cloth doll, which her daughter had kept for more than ten years, have any relation to this Teacher Ji?
Ji Yunshu, “Can you tell me about Ye’er’s father? Or, what did he do before you married him?”
“He was a blacksmith. He was kind of famous in Yufu County during his lifetime. Before I married him, he was alone with no other family. I’ve also asked him about his family before, but he only said that they all starved to death when he was a child. He was such a hardworking person and treated me so well. And…”
In short, she said a lot! But Ji Yunshu didn’t get what she wanted to know. Or rather, she did not get any information about the wooden plaque left by her mother. After Aunt Xie finished reminiscing her past, she asked again, “Did Ye’er’s father leave anything after his death?”
“Just a few broken clothes, pairs of shoes, tools for making iron, and several boxes of ironware.” That was all!
Does it mean she is back to square one again with no more clues?
[1]Black gauze hat: Officials in ancient China wore black gauze hat. “Lose one’s black gauze hat” means being removed from his position.
[1] A dizi is a Chinese transverse flute, aka flute held sideways, commonly made of bamboo.