Lu Ti saw red. If he hadn't been restrained, he would have long since dashed over to punch Cui Buqu's sickly face. What he couldn't manage physically he made up in words: he and the rest of the Lu family shouted and cursed Cui Buqu without cease.
Cui Buqu didn't look up from his work. "Silence everyone aside from Lu Ti and Su Xing," he said impatiently.
"You think I'll thank you for this?!" Lu Ti raged. "My little girl is dead. Do you wish to steal her peace, even in death?! I'll never forgive the Jiejian Bureau as long as I live!"
Pei Jingzhe coughed twice. "This Cui-langjun is from the Zuoyue Bureau, not the Jiejian Bureau."
With his back to him, Cui Buqu said carelessly, "I'm unhappy to hear that. If Feng Xiao hadn't sent you to me for help, I wouldn't be here now. Lao-Lu, you're right to place the blame on the Jiejian Bureau."
"I don't care if it's the Jiejian Bureau or the Zuoyue Bureau! Either way, today's humiliation is engraved upon my heart!"
"There's no point snarling like that. Even if you did summon someone from the Fanyang Lu family, my Jiejian Bureau wouldn't fear you."
Qiao Xian and Zhangsun Bodhi were both speechless.
The corner of Pei Jingzhe's lips twitched. He was admittedly disturbed by the obscene acts Cui Buqu was performing in the name of investigation—he had the niggling feeling the man was merely taking this opportunity to smear the Jiejian Bureau's good name. But just as he was about to put a stop to it, his eyes widened. Cui Buqu had bent and pried Lady Lu's mouth open, then shoved his fingers deep into her throat.
"You—"
Cui Buqu withdrew his hand and turned nonchalantly back to Pei Jingzhe. "Do you have a handkerchief?"
Pei Jingzhe produced one from his sleeve and handed it over. He'd seen it for sale earlier on the street and liked the look of it, so he'd bought it with the intention of giving it as a gift.
Cui Buqu took the handkerchief and wiped his hand.
Pei Jingzhe felt a wave of nausea as he watched Cui Buqu rub the filth from his hand onto the handkerchief. But Cui Buqu acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary. He said to Lu Ti, "Your daughter didn't drown. She was murdered."
Lu Ti's enraged expression froze in a terrifying rictus. "Don't speak nonsense!" he yelled.
Cui Buqu extended his hand to show some kind of sticky, yellow residue smeared on the handkerchief. "What did Lady Lu eat before her death?"
Lu Ti didn't know; he looked to his wife Madam Li, but she didn't know either. In large, wealthy families like theirs, parents didn't stick close to their children. They were usually only together during the morning and evening greetings.
Madam Li immediately summoned her daughter's nurse and maid for questioning.
The nurse was over forty years old, with a frank and honest face. The maid was fifteen or sixteen and dressed in pink. Though she wore neither makeup nor accessories, a palm-sized lotus flower was embroidered near the hem of her skirt, which lent her a splash of brightness.
Cui Buqu prompted them to explain what they'd been doing the night of Lady Lu's death.
The nurse had been watching a pot as she prepared a portion of spun-sugar swallow's nest for the young lady. The swallow's nest had to be simmered for two hours, and she'd planned to serve it to Lady Lu right before bed. The nurse therefore hadn't seen her all evening and didn't know what the lady might have eaten.
The maid spoke next: "That night, Daniang ate some green bean pastries. This lowly one brought them to her."
These days, it was common for servants to refer to their masters by their place in the family. As Lady Lu was an only daughter, the maid addressed her as Daniang—eldest lady.
"Was there anything unusual about her that night?" asked Cui Buqu.
The maid glanced at Lu Ti and hesitated before saying, "Earlier in the day, the master summoned Daniang. When Daniang returned, she was deeply unhappy. I asked why, but she refused to tell me. Su-gongzi17 sent someone to invite Daniang to go flower viewing, but she didn't want to go. She insisted on staying alone inside the house."
The nurse added, "He-niang is right. Early that morning, Daniang went to pay respects to the master, and she stayed for about two hours longer than usual. I thought it strange at the time and sent someone to hurry them up, but one of the master's servants said Daniang had already left."
Previously, Lu Ti had been overwhelmed by his rage. Now, listening to the servants recall the events of the day, he got himself under control and did his best to remember as well. "That's right. That day, I mentioned to Daniang the prospect of marrying into the Wang family of Taiyuan, but she refused. She said she and Su Xing were in love. I… Hah, if only I had known! How could I have made such a terrible mistake?"
"How long did the two of you talk?" asked Cui Buqu.
"Around half an hour," said Lu Ti. "Her mother came in to persuade her, and then I asked her to go home and think about it. Who knew she would…"
"How long does it take to walk from where you spoke to the house she lived in?"
Lady Lu's nurse was the one to answer. "We servants move quickly, so we can get there in about five minutes. Daniang walks slower, so she'd take around ten."
"So you chatted for half an hour. Even adding on the ten-minute walk, there's still more than an hour left to account for. Where did she go?"
Everyone looked at the maid who daily accompanied Lady Lu and never left her side. The girl stuttered, "D-Daniang said she wanted to enjoy some fresh air, so she walked more slowly than usual."
"Is that the truth?" Cui Buqu countered. "Or did she go somewhere after, and you're too afraid to say?"
"How could my lowly self lie?!" exclaimed He-niang.
"Call every servant in the manor; ask if anyone saw Lady Lu that day. Then we'll know for certain," said Cui Buqu coldly.
Pei Jingzhe didn't know why Cui Buqu had suddenly jumped from examining the corpse to interrogating Lady Lu's maid, but when he saw how flustered she looked and heard how hesitant her speech was, he too became sure she was hiding something. He watched quietly from the side, waiting to see where this led.
He-niang panicked; she fell to her knees. "Daniang went to find Su-gongzi!"
Furrows appeared on Lu Ti's brow. Without waiting for Cui Buqu to ask more, he cut in: "Why did she go to Su Xing? And why would you lie about it?!"
"Uncle, Cousin rushed in while I was painting," said Su Xing. "She was upset and told me you wished her to marry another man. I gave her some advice and calmed her down, then told her to go back home. I thought I could talk to her again when she regained her composure and then everything would be fine. I didn't expect her to succumb to despair and…" The words faded into a deep sigh. His haggard expression tore at the heart.
The rims of Lu Ti's eyes grew red as he held back his tears. "I failed you both…"
"Please wait," Cui Buqu interrupted. "He-niang, Su Xing resides with the Lu family, and he and Lady Lu went out often together. That she would run to Su Xing after hearing bad news is to be expected. So why were you afraid to tell the truth?"
He-niang hesitated, so Su Xing answered instead. "I asked her to keep it secret. I was the cause of the disagreement between my uncle and my cousin. If Uncle learned she came straight to me, he might have thought I was trying to influence her. I only sought to avoid any accusations."
Pei Jingzhe was appalled. "She stood up to her father for you, yet all you worried about was staying out of it and keeping your nose clean?"
Su Xing's smile was bitter. "You are unaware of the difficulties that come with living under someone else's roof. My cousin and I were in love, but I have neither family, home, nor career. A place with the Wang family of Taiyuan was far more suitable for her. If I were Uncle, I too would wish my daughter to marry into a good family!"
Lu Ti opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. His face was written with guilt.
Madam Li sobbed and lowered her head to wipe at her tears.
Yet Cui Buqu remained unmoved. "You say you were painting. What did you paint?"
"Summer Sun on Lotuses," replied Su Xing.
"Show me."
Su Xing frowned. "Daoist Master Cui, what does this have to do with my cousin's death?"
Pei Jingzhe also felt that Cui Buqu's questions were starting to stray off course. But Cui Buqu insisted. "Bring all the paintings from your room here, including Summer Sun on Lotuses."
Even Madam Li couldn't help but speak up. "Daoist Master Cui, this…"
"This is related to your daughter's death," said Cui Buqu.
Lu Ti was confused, his mind in turmoil. He gestured for his steward to follow Cui Buqu's instructions, and the paintings were swiftly brought over from Su Xing's room.
Su Xing's paintings filled an entire basket, but Cui Buqu had Qiao Xian unroll each scroll in turn. Most of the paintings were of various kinds of lotuses: some with new buds yet to bloom, and some with blossoms withering in death.
Pei Jingzhe didn't know much about painting, but those who haven't eaten pork have still seen pigs run. Su Xing's paintings were average at best; he had some ability but not much talent. If he'd had talent, he wouldn't have spent so many years living with his relatives—he could've left to blaze his own trail long ago.
Lady Lu lay quietly in the coffin as it was surrounded by dozens of scrolls blossoming with lotus flowers. It was a scene to make anyone sigh.
"He-niang," Cui Buqu said suddenly, "Was your daniang good to you?"
The maid was taken aback. "Of course. Daniang was wonderful to me!"
"Then why did you betray her and help Su Xing conceal her murder?" asked Cui Buqu.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"Daoist Master Cui, what are you saying?!" Lu Ti blurted.
"Your daniang is dead. Even if your house currently lacks for mourning clothes, there's no reason you should be wearing pink. That dress is embroidered with lotuses, and you are called He-niang, which means lotus. What a coincidence that Su Xing here also likes to paint lotuses. Can it really be chance? You tell me."
"Watch what you say, Daoist Master Cui!" said Su Xing coldly. "He-niang likes lotuses because her name is He-niang. What does that have to do with me?"
"Is that so?" Cui Buqu sneered, then turned to the steward and Madam Li. "Was her name He-niang when she entered the manor?"
Madam Li shook her head. She paid a great deal of attention to the maids who served her daughter. "She used to be called Shi-niang because she was the tenth child in her family. They were poor, and her parents couldn't afford to raise her. We purchased her at the age of six, and two years ago, Daniang personally changed her name to He-niang."
Cui Buqu looked at Su Xing. "Two years ago, you would already have been living at this manor."
"So what if I was?" said Su Xing.
"Do you know why I put my fingers into Lady Lu's mouth just now? She'd eaten some green bean pastries that night, and the residue remains in her mouth. If she'd drowned, water would have poured into her mouth and nose and these traces would have been washed away. Yet there was no sediment from the water in her mouth, and the leftover bean paste remained. This proves she was placed in the water after her death, when she was no longer breathing. That's why the water couldn't enter."
Lu Ti was stunned. He began struggling fiercely, and at Cui Buqu's signal, Zhangsun let him go. Lu Ti wobbled and stumbled forward to look down into the coffin.
Cui Buqu looked at Su Xing and said, "The night Feng Xiao won the jade at the auction, many experts visited Qiushan Manor. The one in black was you, was it not?"
"I see Daoist Master Cui wishes to frame me," said Su Xing coldly. "You're trying to pin everything on me!"
"You were the one who sent that jade to Linlang Pavilion," said Cui Buqu. "You did it to test everyone's reactions and lure out your accomplice. That's why you acted differently than the others. You didn't come to steal the jade; you were there to hide and observe. Once you confirmed your accomplice wasn't present, you left. Do you know how I recognized you? Because that night, the person in black stood with his right wrist in his left hand, just as you do now. You can disguise and conceal your face, but your body tells the truth!"
Su Xing remained unmoved. "That's because I spend too much time painting and writing," he said evenly. "I overtax my wrist, so sometimes it's sore. Many scholars experience this issue. If you don't believe me, find another scholar and examine them. Then you'll see."
At that moment, Zhangsun attacked him from behind with a powerful strike. He put eight-tenths of his full strength into the blow, enough to kill Su Xing where he stood. Su Xing turned his head slightly aside but remained still as Zhangsun's blow came closer and closer. At the last second, Zhangsun withdrew his palm and stepped back.
Su Xing knew he'd made the right call—they'd only wanted to test him.
But Cui Buqu wasn't going to let him off so easily. "Why pretend? The exact reaction you just tried to avoid has demonstrated you're a martial artist, and a powerful one at that."
Su Xing scoffed. "If all you want is to add to my charges, why should I stand here and listen to your slander? I'm leaving!"
He flicked his sleeves and turned to go. In a flash, Qiao Xian's sword glare swept toward his back, brimming with the murderous force of a thousand troops crushing their enemies. This killing intent was naked, unlike Zhangsun Bodhi's probing blow. At last, Su Xing could no longer feign ignorance; he stepped aside to evade.
That one sidestep removed all doubt—this man was a martial artist.
Exposed, he no longer hesitated. He reached for his waist, and a rippling, glinting blade appeared in his hand. He turned and sped toward Qiao Xian—but halfway across, he made a sharp turn and grabbed Lu Ti instead. In an instant, Lu Ti became a hostage, Su Xing's whip sword coiling around his neck.
"Stay back, or I'll kill him!"
Cui Buqu shook his head. "What's the use in taking him hostage? When the Jiejian Bureau wishes to settle something, we won't stop for anyone!"
Pei Jingzhe was at a loss for words.
Deputy Bureau Chief, this man is throwing your authority around and directing all blame to the Jiejian Bureau, yet still you want his help? Doesn't the Jiejian Bureau have enough enemies already?!