According to the clues provided by Zhang Baoyue, Xie Yu and others hurried straight to the outskirts of the city. After making inquiries, they confirmed a residence known as “Dong Mansion.”
Upon the officials’ arrival, the butler of the Dong Mansion dared not show the slightest negligence. He promptly invited them in for tea and immediately dispatched someone to inform the master of the house. Shortly thereafter, a tall, middle-aged man of rather ordinary appearance arrived.
“I am Dong Ping. Greetings to all esteemed officials,” Dong Ping respectfully bowed and slightly bent forward to ask, “May I know how I can be of service?”
Xie Yu got straight to the point, “Does Master Dong have a brother-in-law named Zhou Xun?”
With a wave of his hand, the bailiff behind him took out a portrait of Zhou Xun. Dong Ping looked at it in confusion and nodded, “Yes, that’s indeed my brother-in-law.”
Xie Yu nodded again and asked, “Is your wife at home?”
Dong Ping hesitated slightly, “This…”
Ma Bing suddenly smiled, “Master Dong, don’t be nervous. We just have a few questions.”
Dong Ping gave a dry laugh, looking even more nervous.
Merchants usually long to cultivate relationships with government officials, wishing they could stay at the officials’ doorstep every day. Yet when officials suddenly showed up at their doorstep, it often meant trouble rather than good fortune.
The bailiff holding the portrait urged, “My master is asking you a question.”
“Ahh,” Dong Ping quickly replied, “She’s at home, but she’s feeling unwell, so it might be inconvenient.”
Generally, such a statement meant the woman was having her period. Before Xie Yu could speak, Ma Bing volunteered, “No problem. I’ll go see her myself.”
Without waiting for Dong Ping’s reaction, she turned to a servant boy standing nearby and said, “Lead the way.”
Xie Yu silently nodded in approval. That was well done.
Since Dong Ping had already mentioned that his wife was unwell, forcing her to come would seem insensitive. Yet if they waited for days, any collusion between the couple could make the investigation fruitless.
Moreover, separating them for questioning could prevent them from coordinating their stories. Very good indeed.
Xie Yu said to a bailiff, “Go with Miss Ma and wait outside the door for her instructions.”
“Yes!”
The bailiff saluted and immediately took position behind Ma Bing.
It would be inappropriate for a man to meet her, but since Ma Bing was a woman and had gone out of her way to visit in person, it would be unreasonable not to allow the meeting.
Dong Ping had no choice but to nod to his servants, “Go then, and make sure my wife receives her properly.”
After Ma Bing left, Dong Ping couldn’t help but ask, “May I ask, has Zhou Xun gotten himself into some trouble?”
Xie Yu picked up his teacup and gently skimmed the surface twice, “Oh? Why do you say that?”
Dong Ping couldn’t detect any clues from Xie Yu’s expression and had to honestly reply, “He is too free-spirited and unrestrained, somewhat like the refined scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Perhaps, well, perhaps his behavior isn’t quite appreciated these days…”
Xie Yu raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
To describe someone who neglects his duties and frequents brothels and teahouses as “free-spirited” and “refined,” Dong Ping’s praise for Zhou Xun was unexpectedly high.
If it were an ordinary person with such a brother-in-law, even if they didn’t openly show disdain, they probably wouldn’t be particularly fond of him either.
“It seems you know him quite well,” Xie Yu remarked.
Dong Ping replied, “In his younger days, he once lived at my house. Later, he gradually stopped coming around.”
“Why?” Xie Yu pressed.
After asking, he noticed Dong Ping’s fists, hanging at his sides, clenching and unclenching uncomfortably before he gave a bitter smile, “When a young man comes to understand desire, he naturally yearns for the young and beautiful.”
The phrase “When a young man comes to understand desire, he naturally yearns for the young and beautiful” comes from Mencius. The full sentence is: “When a person is young, they admire their parents; when they come to understand desire, they yearn for the young and beautiful.” It means that when people are young, they look up to their parents, but as they grow older and understand romantic and sexual feelings, they naturally shift their admiration toward younger, more attractive people.
Since the Dong couple were Zhou Xun’s only relatives in Kaifeng, and given the traditional saying “an elder brother is like a father, an elder sister is like a mother,” though they were merely cousins, the application of this phrase was barely acceptable.
“I didn’t expect Master Dong to also be a scholar-businessman,” Xie Yu said. “From your words, it seems you disapprove of his behavior. If so, why haven’t you tried to advise him to improve himself?”
Dong Ping hurriedly replied that he dared not, then sighed, “I have tried, but his nature is hard to change.”
Seeing that the official had asked so many questions without revealing his purpose, Dong Ping grew increasingly uneasy and finally couldn’t help asking, “May I ask, what exactly has happened to him?”
Xie Yu didn’t answer but instead asked, “When was the last time you saw him?”
Dong Ping blurted out, “Three days ago.”
Xie Yu let out a soft laugh, “You’re lying.”
The human mind is like a ball, and memory is like the air inside it—there’s only so much it can hold. Once it’s full, something has to be pushed out.
Three days isn’t a short time for anyone. If suddenly asked, unless one has extraordinary memory, one would need to think carefully to recall accurately.
But Dong Ping gave an immediate answer.
Very suspicious.
Either he was the murderer, deliberately claiming he hadn’t seen Zhou Xun around the time of the incident to clear himself;
Or… Zhou Xun was too special to him, so much so that even the time of their last meeting was etched in his memory, requiring no thought at all.
“Do you know the penalty for deceiving an imperial official?” Seeing Dong Ping’s body growing increasingly tense, Xie Yu’s voice suddenly turned serious. “Where were you yesterday morning? What were you doing? Do you have any witnesses?”
This kind of questioning… A sense of foreboding rose in Dong Ping’s heart. His voice was no longer as calm as before, “I was at home going through accounts. I didn’t go out. All the servants can testify to that.”
“You only needed to answer where you were and what you were doing. Why did you specifically emphasize that you didn’t go out?” Xie Yu’s fingers lightly tapped the table, once, then again.
“Moreover, your servants depend on you for their livelihood. Naturally, they will side with you. Their testimony won’t be reliable unless under extreme circumstances.”
Dong Ping was a merchant, a grain trader who annually traveled between the north and south, and to facilitate his business, he had met countless officials of various ranks. He believed he had seen it all, yet none of them had ever given him such an oppressive feeling as the man before him.
Seeing Dong Ping’s forehead gradually breaking into a sweat, Xie Yu suddenly said without warning, “Zhou Xun is dead.”
Dong Ping stiffened abruptly and quickly looked up.
Xie Yu stared at his expression, not missing a single detail, “Yesterday morning, he died.”
“How could this happen?!” Dong Ping exclaimed in shock.
Strange. He truly didn’t know Zhou Xun was dead. This reaction couldn’t be faked.
Xie Yu’s brows slightly furrowed. In his mind, a whirlwind arose, connecting all the clues gathered so far, linking them together, then quickly fading away.
Earlier, Dong Ping had clearly lied about the time he last met Zhou Xun. He must be hiding something. The most likely possibility was that he was the murderer.
But then why didn’t he know that Zhou Xun was already dead?
He wasn’t the murderer. Xie Yu was almost certain of that.
But the last time he saw Zhou Xun was definitely not three days ago.
Why lie?
What was he trying to conceal?
Just as the two were locked in tension, a wailing cry suddenly erupted from the back courtyard. The sound was heart-wrenching, clearly indicating the person was overwhelmed with grief.
It seemed Zhou Xun’s cousin had learned of his death.
“My wife!” Dong Ping, unable to contain his grief, instinctively wanted to rush to the back.
“Ah De.”
At Xie Yu’s call, the bailiff behind him stepped forward and blocked Dong Ping, “Stay put. My master hasn’t dismissed you yet.”
“Master!” Dong Ping pleaded.
“Master Dong,” Xie Yu’s tone sounded calm, almost cruelly so, “What could you possibly do if you went?”
“But…” Dong Ping’s face turned red, his eyes clearly showing urgency and worry.
“Miss Ma is a physician,” Xie Yu said. “She will take care of things. Now, continue answering my questions.”
Judging from his appearance, it seemed he had deep feelings for his wife. Could it be that his affection for Zhou Xun was also out of love for his wife?
Ah De took another step forward, “Master Dong, please stay.”
Seeing Xie Yu’s firm stance, Dong Ping had no choice but to glance several times toward the back courtyard before slowly retreating.
Seeing him look so shaken, Xie Yu ordered, “Sit down and answer.”
Whether Dong Ping heard or not was unclear, but his legs suddenly gave way, and he plopped down onto the chair behind him.
His eyes were dazed, as if his soul had left his body. He stared blankly at the empty space in front of him for a long time before tears began rolling down both eyes, “My dear younger brother!”
Although everyone knew Dong Ping was grieving, no one expected him to be so devastated.
Looking at his tearful face, it seemed as if it wasn’t just a cousin who had died, but a real brother.
So overwhelmed was Dong Ping by grief that he couldn’t hear any of Xie Yu’s subsequent questions and only continued to beat his chest and cry bitterly.
Seeing this, Xie Yu had no choice but to suppress his suspicions for now and ordered Dong’s servants to help him rest.
“Master, what now?” Ah De whispered.
It wasn’t a big deal to leave the host “broken,” but it was a pity they couldn’t continue the questioning.
Xie Yu sat calmly in the empty hall, gazing composedly toward the back courtyard, “Wait for Miss Ma to come out.”
He believed Ma Bing wouldn’t return empty-handed.
“Yes.”
“Also,” Xie Yu added, “Dong Ping must be hiding something. I’ll send more people later. You’ll keep watch around here.”
Dong Ping was a merchant, a very successful one at that. Logically, after years of traveling far and wide, he should have seen enough of the world to have a mindset far beyond the average person. If he were to grieve, he would naturally grieve, but he shouldn’t be so overcome with sorrow that he couldn’t even answer simple questions.
Either he was using this as an excuse to avoid questioning, or… his relationship with Zhou Xun was far from what it seemed on the surface.
About an incense stick’s time later, Ma Bing finally returned from the back courtyard. Xie Yu immediately noticed the restrained excitement in her expression.
She must have found something.
Xie Yu stood up, “Let’s go.”
Not long after leaving Dong Mansion, Ma Bing, her face glowing with excitement, said, “There’s definitely something suspicious!”
Ah De added, “Of course. That Dong Ping…”
Before he could finish, Xie Yu raised his hand to stop him, “Let Miss Ma speak first.”
Ah De awkwardly withdrew and listened as Ma Bing continued, “Zhou Xun’s cousin isn’t having her menstrual period at all!”
Xie Yu: “…”
The two bailiffs: “…”
That’s it?
Is it appropriate to discuss a woman’s menstrual cycle in public?
“I took the opportunity to check her pulse. At first, she resisted, but I convinced her,” Ma Bing didn’t seem to mind their expressions, speaking calmly, “She does have some bleeding, but it’s not her menstrual period…”
Xie Yu pinched the bridge of his nose.
Menstrual period this, menstrual period that…
I wonder what kind of persuasion method you used?
Ma Bing continued chattering, “Her pulse was short like a bean, slippery and forceful. Do you know what that means?”
Xie Yu remained silent.
Ah De struggled to look up at the sky for a moment before tentatively guessing, “Pregnant?”
Ma Bing rolled her eyes at him, “You only know about pregnancy pulses!”
Ah De felt wronged, “Then why don’t you just say it directly? I’m not a doctor!”
Ma Bing lowered her voice mysteriously, “Shock and fear.”
This pulse pattern indicates shock and fear.
In other words, Zhou Xun’s cousin wasn’t genuinely ill—she was frightened!
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