Chapter Four: Plum Blossoms Weeping Blood Chapter Thirty-Five: A Misstep in the Game

As soon as the mystery unraveled, Yu Bing could no longer sit still. She barely touched her food, called for two companions, and together they rode swiftly toward the outskirts of Yanzhou City...

When Yu Bing finally grasped the origin of all these events, she truly wondered if her deductions were wrong. There was nothing at all on the jade bangle—not a single hint or trace. If all this wasn’t because of the jade bangle, then what could be more desirable to the murderer, so much so that he’d kill so many for it?

“No, that’s not right!” Yu Bing handed the jade bangle to Zhang Huai. “It feels like we’re overlooking something!”

“Overlooking?” Kai Xin asked in confusion. “But the murderer killed for the jade bangle, didn’t he? Didn’t you already analyze the case earlier?” She snatched the bangle from Zhang Huai, holding it up to the sunlight, turning it over and over. “If it wasn’t for this, how could the murderer have killed the wrong person?”

“Wait!” A flash of inspiration shot through Yu Bing’s mind. She turned excitedly to Kai Xin. “What did you just say?”

“I said, the murderer killed for the jade bangle, didn’t he?”

“No, not that line! The next one!”

“You’d already analyzed the case earlier?”

“The one after that!”

“If it wasn’t because of this, could the murderer have killed the wrong person?”

“Yes!” Yu Bing took the bangle from Kai Xin, a relieved smile blooming on her face. “That’s it—the murderer killed the wrong person!”

“What!?” The other two were completely bewildered.

“How could someone kill the wrong person?” the quick-witted Kai Xin asked first.

“That’s right, wasn’t the jade bangle his motive for murder?” Zhang Huai chimed in, equally baffled.

“No, you’re all mistaken!” Yu Bing explained with a laugh. “Not only did they investigate in the wrong direction eight years ago, but so did we at the start! That’s why, even after eight years, the case remains unsolved!”

“We’ve been investigating in the wrong direction too?” The two looked at each other in confusion.

“Yes! The murderer’s methods were clever, but Master Chang and the Prefect were even more astute!” Yu Bing explained slowly. “Here’s how it must have happened:

Eight years ago, the murderer heard that General Li had gone to the Chang residence and, fearing his hidden identity would be exposed, followed him there—but he was a step too late. General Li had already taken the item. The murderer must have immediately reported this to his superior. When he asked Master Chang if he’d given anything else to General Li, Master Chang realized the murderer’s true identity. Seizing the opportunity, he shifted the murderer’s attention to the jade bangle, making him believe it was with the Prefect.

By the time the Prefect was killed, he too had probably realized the murderer’s hidden identity. He used the jade bangle as a decoy to mislead the real target. It’s a pity that the two coordinated so well, but no one else knew. So, when the murderer turned his attention to the jade bangle, every official investigating the case after that also followed the wrong lead.

“What, then, was the murderer’s true target? And where is it?” Zhang Huai spoke before Kai Xin could.

“It must still be at the starting point of all these cases.”

“What!?” Kai Xin exclaimed, shocked. “Back to the Ghost Courtyard?”

“Wasn’t it already cleaned out by the night thief?” Zhang Huai asked anxiously. “What could possibly still be left for us to find?”

“We won’t know until we look!” Yu Bing mounted her horse without further ado, turning her steed toward Xiaqiuxian. The other two, left with no choice, followed.

As before, night had already fallen by the time they arrived.

“With such chaos inside, what could we possibly find?” Kai Xin grumbled, holding a torch and picking her way carefully among the debris, casting suspicious glances around.

“Yu Bing, are you sure there’s still something here that no one’s found?” Zhang Huai likewise raised his torch high, sweeping its light across the messy room.

“I trust Master Chang. Since he realized the murderer’s intentions first and planned to divert him, he wouldn’t make it easy for anyone else to find the real item.”

“What if the murderer already found what you’re looking for?”

“It’s possible,” Yu Bing paused in her search, turning to Zhang Huai. “But I won’t give up until the very end. Let’s look around first; if we can’t find it, then we’ll consider another plan.”

“Hey! Bing!” Kai Xin, holding her torch, crouched by an overturned bookshelf and called them over excitedly. “Come quick, something’s odd here!”

“Where?” Yu Bing asked as soon as she arrived.

“Look at the floor—it’s a different shade from the rest,” Kai Xin pointed to a patch of floor under the fallen bookshelf.

“The color is deeper,” Zhang Huai observed, crouching down and running his hand over the area. “It looks like it was patched over later.”

“Let’s move this shelf.”

“All right, stand back a bit.”

Once Zhang Huai shifted the bookshelf and removed the top layer of the floor, a secret compartment appeared before their eyes. Carefully opening it, Yu Bing and her companions found a scroll of off-white drawing paper, aged by time. Zhang Huai took it out and unrolled it for all to see.

A bold, stirring poem of expedition lay before them:

Grass grows tall, orioles fly as the general’s steed advances,
A hundred thousand warriors ride, their shadows shroud the moon.
Braving wind and dew, crossing the border in hardship,
When will our swords be sheathed, and homeward we return?

“Bing, who wrote this? What a powerful military painting!” Kai Xin marveled at the vigorous, unrestrained calligraphy.

“The brushwork is superb! And the artistic conception even more so!” Zhang Huai agreed.

“My deduction was correct. The murderer is indeed him!” Yu Bing relaxed at last. “This calligraphy is the death warrant behind all these cases!”

“But isn’t it just an ordinary painting?” Kai Xin stared in shock at the unremarkable scroll, trying to see what could have driven so many to their deaths for it.

Now that the culprit’s identity and the truth of the case were clear, it was time for Yu Bing to take the stage.

Those hiding in the shadows—let them be ready for her move.

Three days later, it happened to be the fiftieth birthday of Lord Jiang, the former Chief Clerk of Central Prefecture.

“Dong... dong-dong... dong... dong-dong!” A group of yamen runners paraded down the street, one carrying a giant copper gong while another followed with a mallet. As they walked, the man with the mallet loudly announced:

“Tomorrow, the Lord of Central Prefecture invites everyone! Dong... dong-dong! Lord of Central Prefecture will present a play at the hour of Chen! Dong... dong-dong! Celebrating Lord Jiang’s birthday! Come to the Jiang family’s market for the play! Dong... dong-dong!” Their cries echoed through the streets as they moved farther away.

“Father! Father, I want to see the play! I want to go, I want to go!”

“All right, we’ll all go tomorrow at the hour of Chen!”

“Which Lord Jiang is this?”

“Don’t you know? It’s that famous Jiang the Fool from Jiang Market! They say he was so powerful back in the day that even Lord Chang, then Chancellor of the Imperial Secretariat, was his friend since childhood—everyone showed him respect!”

“Wow! It’s going to be lively for sure. I want to see it too!”

“Great, we’ll go together. I’ll call you when it’s time!”

“Deal! I’ll be waiting!”

With the procession announcing through every street, more and more people heard that tomorrow, at Jiang Market, Lord Xu would invite everyone to a play. No one knew which troupe would perform—not even the most well-connected knew. The more mysterious, the more it sparked everyone’s curiosity. All decided they must go and see for themselves.

The next day, at the vegetable market in Jiang Market.

Once a place that evoked fear and dread, the old execution ground was now filled with a lively crowd. Where once spectators had watched with solemn, anxious faces, today children ran about, laughing and playing, utterly carefree. Quick-thinking vendors had arrived early, weaving through the crowd to sell their wares.

It was not yet the appointed time, but the place was already packed, everyone craning their necks in anticipation, eager for the show to start.

At the precise hour of Chen, a single strike of the gong fell. Instantly, the marketplace fell silent—everyone knew the performance was about to begin.

“My lord! The general has arrived!” A servant, dressed as a page, climbed onto the stage and called toward the curtain.

“Oh? He’s here?” A booming voice responded, drawing cheers from the audience. The curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man, dressed as a scholar, stepped onto the stage. “Quick, invite him in!”

“At your command!” The page withdrew.

“Ah! Hahaha! Lord Chang, it’s been too long!” An actor dressed as a general, weapon in hand, bounded onto the stage, waving and laughing familiarly at the scholar.

“General Li! You’re here at last!” The scholar greeted him warmly. “Come, please sit!”

“Thank you!” General Li, with no pretension, sat right down.

“Have you come to collect the item on his orders?” The scholar, having sat, got straight to the point.

“Indeed, I have! Please, my lord, hand it over!” General Li nodded politely.

“No hurry, no hurry!” The scholar seemed intent on keeping him a while longer. “After dinner will do as well!” Raising his voice, he called, “Wife! We have a guest for dinner—be sure to prepare plenty of dishes!”

“Right away!” came a lovely soprano from behind the scenes. “Just leave it to me!” The audience burst into thunderous applause.

“Wait!” General Li, hearing he’d be delayed for a meal, rose immediately. “My master instructed me: ‘Once you have the item, return at once.’ I fear I cannot stay for dinner!”

“No hurry, no hurry! No matter how busy you are, a moment more won’t hurt. I’ll pick a fine horse for you later—an express ride of eight hundred miles, isn’t that enough?” Unwilling to let him go, the scholar pressed him to stay. General Li, unable to refuse, finally agreed.

Three rounds of wine later, General Li received the item and bid farewell, leaving the stage.

A few yamen runners lit torches as night fell.

The stage transformed, now divided with screens into several small rooms, each with people sleeping inside.

A shifty-looking fellow, clearly up to no good, crept onto the stage, darting behind the screens and casting furtive glances all around, as if searching for something...