“Mother-in-law, I implore you to handle this matter justly and hand Xiao Jingduo over to the authorities. Let him pay for his crimes with his own blood!” Wu Junru’s resolute voice echoed in the Buddhist hall, startling everyone present.
Xiao’s second aunt and others were shocked by Wu Junru’s words. They covered their mouths and noses with their hands, exchanging surprised yet excited glances with those around them. Even the maids in the courtyard were startled, discreetly pointing and whispering about Xiao Jingduo.
“I never thought the eldest young master would be such a person…”
“So what? He just poisoned a servant. With the Marquis around, how could the authorities punish him?”
The people in the courtyard whispered among themselves, their private conversations unceasing. Xiao Jingduo stood amidst these gazes, yet remained very calm. He tilted his head slightly and asked with great confusion, “Madam, what are you talking about? Why don’t I understand?”
“Heh,” Wu Junru laughed coldly. “You killed Nanny Wei, and now you’re playing dumb with me? Nanny Wei’s body is right next door. Do you want me to point it out to you?”
“Nanny Wei?” Xiao Jingduo frowned, looking very confused. “I didn’t know Nanny Wei had come to the Buddhist hall.”
“What? You didn’t know Nanny Wei came to the Buddhist hall?” The old madam was also bewildered by Xiao Jingduo’s words. “What’s going on here?”
“I don’t know,” Xiao Jingduo shook his head, his expression as innocent as could be. “I was in the Buddhist hall copying sutras for my mother’s passing. Suddenly, I felt moved, remembering grandmother’s kindness to me. For ten years, grandmother has poured her heart and soul into teaching me. Isn’t this love akin to that of a parent? Feeling emotional, I wanted to visit grandmother in the Longevity Hall. As it’s extremely hot today, I went back to Qingze Courtyard to fetch some ice, intending to personally make a cold drink for grandmother as a small gesture of filial piety. But when I arrived at the Longevity Hall, I learned grandmother had come to the Buddhist hall. I followed, and upon entering, I heard grandmother mention something about a ‘sinful creature,’ and the Marchioness talking about some ‘murderer.'”
Xiao Jingduo smiled and continued, “Grandmother, I really don’t understand what the Marchioness is talking about. Could you please enlighten me?”
“So you’re saying you left the Buddhist hall early and didn’t see Nanny Wei?” The old madam finally cleared her thoughts and asked, half surprised and half doubtful.
“Yes.”
“Act, keep on acting!” Wu Junru, abandoning her usual gentle image, shouted sharply at Xiao Jingduo. “You say you left the temple early, but do you have any evidence? You clearly poisoned her, and now you’re here quibbling, trying to clear yourself. It’s laughable. You might be able to fool my mother-in-law, but you can’t fool me!”
“Yes, Duo’er, do you have any witnesses?” the old madam chimed in.
“Qiuju can testify for me. If you don’t believe me, Grandmother, you can call her here and ask her when I returned to Qingze Courtyard.”
“Qiuju is your maid. How can her words count?” Wu Junru scoffed. “You said you left the Buddhist hall early, so why didn’t the door maid see you leave?”
Hearing the madam suddenly mention her, the door maid trembled and replied nervously, “I… I indeed didn’t see the young master leave…”
“Oh, this is truly fascinating,” Xiao’s second aunt, standing among the crowd, burst into laughter.
Even the old madam’s gaze became suspicious as she looked Xiao Jingduo up and down. Xiao Jingduo calmly asked the door maid, “When I left, you were dozing off, so naturally you wouldn’t know.”
The door maid’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. “I… This was my negligence. Please forgive me, masters.”
At this point, other servants came forward to testify: “When we passed by the Buddhist hall, we indeed saw the little maid dozing off.”
After verifying with Xuelan and others, the old madam angrily spat at the door maid, “What a lazy girl, often sleeping while on duty. If so, it makes sense that Duo’er could have left while she was sleeping.”
The old madam was inclined to believe her grandson, but Wu Junru was not so easily convinced. She laughed coldly and said sarcastically, “The young master is indeed clever as ice and snow, knowing how to take advantage of the door maid’s lapse. But where in the world is there a principle of testifying for oneself? Your words are not credible. If you truly have a clear conscience, why don’t you provide other evidence?”
“Why is the Marchioness so certain that I’m the murderer?” Xiao Jingduo pointedly asked. “Nanny Wei died in the Buddhist hall. Is there any evidence at the scene proving that I did it? If not, I’d like to know why the Marchioness is so adamantly accusing me in front of everyone. What exactly is your intention?”
“That’s right,” the old madam also realized, “Junru, why are you so insistent that it’s Duo’er?”
“I…” Wu Junru was at a loss for words. She knew it must be Xiao Jingduo – the mechanism in the Buddhist hall was designed specifically for him. Now Nanny Wei was accidentally killed, while Xiao Jingduo was unharmed. Who else could it be but him? But Wu Junru couldn’t explain the reasons behind this. She could only insist, “There were only Xiao Jingduo and Nanny Wei in the Buddhist hall. Who else could it be besides him?”
As Wu Junru and Xiao Jingduo faced off, the old madam was caught in the middle, completely confused. Just as the argument in the Buddhist hall was reaching no conclusion, a loud announcement came from outside: “The Marquis has arrived.”
Xiao Jingduo withdrew his confrontational gaze from Wu Junru, slightly bowed his head and stepped aside. Everyone else in the courtyard also stood up to welcome Xiao Ying’s arrival.
“Marquis.”
“Ah, my son, you’ve finally returned.” The old madam quickly walked over and grasped Xiao Ying’s hand tightly. “Come in quickly. Your mind is sharper than mine. Come and listen to see which of them is making sense.”
Xiao Ying had already learned about everything that happened at home while on his way. With a stern face, he strode into the courtyard and asked in a deep voice, “What exactly is going on?”
The old madam was right; Xiao Ying was indeed much sharper than her. Under his authoritative gaze, everyone in the courtyard reined in their thoughts, obediently lowered their heads, and dared not speculate further.
Wu Junru, knowing the importance of first impressions, quickly spoke up. She recounted everything that had just happened to Xiao Ying, striving to make him predisposed to believing that Xiao Jingduo was indeed the murderer.
Xiao Jingduo didn’t argue with Wu Junru, allowing her to make her accusation first. He lowered his head, looking at the porcelain bottle in his hand, and smiled indescribably.
After Wu Junru finished speaking, Xiao Ying’s cold and authoritative gaze turned to Xiao Jingduo. He sternly asked, “Your word alone is indeed not enough. Do you have any other witnesses?”
“After I returned to Qingze Courtyard, I only saw Qiuju. However, I’m sure the Marquis and Marchioness will say that since Qiuju is my maid, her words are also not credible.” Xiao Jingduo gently swirled the ice in the porcelain bottle and casually raised the entire vessel. “As I said before, I returned to Qingze Courtyard to get a cold drink for Grandmother. I hadn’t used the ice given to me earlier for cooling off, but instead hid it in the ice mirror. Today, I took out a whole block of ice from the ice mirror and waited for it to melt sufficiently before bringing the cold drink to Grandmother. For a whole block of ice to melt to this state, it takes at least half an hour. Marchioness, why don’t you calculate – from the time Nanny Wei left to when you discovered her death, was it enough to cover half an hour?”
Wu Junru was momentarily speechless. She had sent Nanny Wei to the Buddhist hall to check on Xiao Jingduo’s situation, then waited for about a quarter of an hour (roughly half an hour in modern terms). When Nanny Wei didn’t return, Wu Junru felt something was wrong and immediately brought her maids to the Buddhist hall to search for her. Upon arriving, they found Nanny Wei already dead. From Nanny Wei’s departure to the discovery of her body, about half an hour had passed. Meanwhile, Xiao Jingduo had spent an hour just melting the ice. If what Xiao Jingduo said was true, he indeed wouldn’t have had time to commit the crime.
Xiao Ying didn’t express an opinion, but simply ordered someone to bring him the porcelain bottle from Xiao Jingduo’s hand. He carefully examined the delicate white porcelain, which felt cold to the touch. Small ice fragments were still floating inside. Even the old madam came over to look. After careful examination, she confidently said, “I’ve seen the ice distributed in the mansion. To melt like this, it would take no less than an hour.”
“So it seems it wasn’t the young master after all…” The servants were stunned by this turn of events. Constrained by Xiao Ying’s presence, they dared not speak loudly, only whispering to their companions in hushed tones.
“Impossible…” Wu Junru hadn’t expected such a twist. Without refrigerators at that time, there was no way to quickly freeze water. The iced water in Xiao Jingduo’s hand could only have come from naturally melted ice. Wu Junru realized she had fallen into Xiao Jingduo’s trap again. Had all her efforts only served to provide an alibi for Xiao Jingduo?
Wu Junru scoffed at this possibility. She was certain that Nanny Wei’s death was Xiao Jingduo’s doing, but how to explain the ice in his hand? Suddenly, an idea flashed in her mind. She hurriedly said, “I know! He used fire to melt the ice, shortening the melting time!”
Xiao Jingduo chuckled softly, “It seems the Marchioness is determined to see me as the culprit. The firewood in Qingze Courtyard is rationed. Since my mother’s death, we haven’t been brewing medicine in Qingze Courtyard for a long time, and the small kitchen has long been abandoned. You’re welcome to go to Qingze Courtyard and see for yourself – there’s no firewood there at all.”
No firewood? Wu Junru wracked her brains and came up with another possibility: “He must have colluded with a maid. Qiuju helped him melt the ice in Qingze Courtyard while he came to the Buddhist hall to poison Nanny Wei!”
Xiao Jingduo sneered, disdaining to answer. Even the old madam showed disbelief: “Junru, what’s wrong with you today…”
Wu Junru still looked incredulous, seemingly unable to understand how Xiao Jingduo had managed this. The coolness from the white porcelain bottle still lingered on Xiao Jingduo’s hands. If one smelled carefully, they could detect the scent of saltpeter on his hands.
It indeed takes over half an hour for a block of ice to melt, but if ice is made quickly, it doesn’t require that much time.
Xiao Jingduo had once read in a medical book that putting saltpeter in water causes it to dissolve, absorbing a large amount of heat and freezing water in moments. After returning to Qingze Courtyard, avoiding the crowd, he immediately took a water vat, filled it with water, and added saltpeter. The temperature in the vat dropped rapidly. Xiao Jingduo then placed the white porcelain bottle in the vat, easily obtaining a drink with floating ice. This back-and-forth saved him a lot of time and allowed him to use the ice as evidence in his favor.
However, Wu Junru didn’t need to know how Xiao Jingduo had created his alibi. She only needed to know that he wouldn’t let her off easily.
“The Marchioness has gone to great lengths to eliminate me,” Xiao Jingduo spoke slowly, seeming deeply hurt by today’s unfounded disaster. “I thought the Marchioness would always maintain her graceful demeanor, but it turns out you can also twist words and speak maliciously, just to put someone you dislike to death.”
“Shut up!” Nanny Wei’s death had already deeply affected Wu Junru, and now Xiao Jingduo was adding fuel to the fire. Wu Junru hated him to the core and no longer cared about maintaining her image. She immediately burst into a tirade, “I know it was you. You may fool others, but you can’t fool me. I’ll make you pay for this. Just wait, I’m reporting this to the authorities right now. Let them investigate and get to the bottom of this!”
Report to the authorities? Xiao Jingduo’s heart skipped a beat. The officials of the Da Li Temple were experienced and battle-hardened. If they were to come, they might notice something amiss. This wouldn’t do.
“Junru!” The old madam hadn’t expected Wu Junru, who had always presented a gentle image, to have such a side. She put on a stern face and rebuked sharply, “It’s just a servant. How can you think of making this public?”
Wu Junru sneered, “Is a servant’s life not a life? If he dares to do it, why is he afraid of an official investigation? The coroners and constables of the authorities are experienced and perceptive. I want to see if his little tricks can fool the professionals!”
“Nonsense!” Xiao Ying also frowned. It was bad enough that there had been a death in the noble Marquis’s mansion, but to report it to the authorities? What about his reputation? Xiao Ying had thought Wu Junru was a virtuous wife who would become a good mother, but today he realized that Wu Junru’s so-called gentleness and virtue were merely because she hadn’t been personally affected before.
Wu Junru, however, was determined to report to the authorities. If she couldn’t see through Xiao Jingduo’s tricks, she’d let the officials handle it. She was determined to make Xiao Jingduo pay, even if it meant tearing apart the image she had carefully cultivated for so long. Given Wu Junru’s family background, the people of the Marquis’s mansion couldn’t really do anything to her despite her behavior.
Wu Junru was resolute, ignoring all attempts to persuade or threaten her. She was about to walk out when she suddenly saw Xiao Jingduo bend down, as if picking something up from the ground.
Wu Junru’s pupils contracted. She immediately recognized what Xiao Jingduo was playing with – it was the poisonous bee she had worked so hard to obtain. She had learned about this type of bee during a modern-day tour. The guide had said that these bees were extremely poisonous, with one bee capable of killing an adult. However, unless they came into contact with their special honey, these bees wouldn’t sting easily.
The poisonous bees didn’t sting readily because doing so would shorten their own lives. What Xiao Jingduo was manipulating on his fingertip was the bee’s corpse.
Wu Junru was greatly alarmed. Did Xiao Jingduo know? How was that possible? Could Xiao Jingduo also be a time-traveler? Wu Junru’s thoughts were in chaos, and her previously firm resolve began to waver.
Xiao Jingduo stood in the corner. Though surrounded by many maids and servants, his gaze seemed to pierce through the crowd, directly capturing Wu Junru’s entire being. Under this gaze, Wu Junru felt a chill throughout her body, unable to move.
And yet, Xiao Jingduo was smiling. Without any attempt to hide, he was telling Wu Junru that he had seen through her tricks, that he had indeed killed Nanny Wei, but so what? If Wu Junru dared to report to the authorities, he would make all of Wu Junru’s actions public.
Wu Junru felt as if all the blood in her body had frozen. Meanwhile, the old madam was still advising her: “Junru, I know you were close to Nanny Wei, but family scandals should not be made public. Let the eldest son investigate this matter. We absolutely cannot report this to the authorities! Our family cannot afford such a loss of face.”
Wu Junru nodded stiffly, agreeing, “Alright, I’ll listen to you, mother-in-law.”
The old madam was overjoyed: “That’s good, that’s good. Junru, I must say, you can’t blindly accuse people like this in the future. Even if Duo’er isn’t your biological son, you can’t treat him this way!”
Wu Junru closed her eyes tiredly, not wanting to hear any more.
A thousand-mile dike, destroyed in an instant.
This incident had already become ugly enough. Xiao Ying, with a grim face, dismissed the women and servants, issuing a gag order on today’s events before leaving. Xiao’s second aunt and others, seeing that the culprit wasn’t a family member, naturally didn’t want to stay in a place of death and absorb bad luck. The crowd surged out en masse. Wu Junru stood in the flow of people, dazed and confused, not knowing where she was.
The maids from the Wu family hurried over to support Wu Junru’s arms. Wu Junru’s face was pale. Just as she regained her senses, she saw Xiao Jingduo also walking out with the crowd.
As he reached the doorway, he suddenly turned to the side and smiled at Wu Junru.
That smile was clean and pure, and combined with his outstanding features, he looked like a Western angel.
But Wu Junru was so frightened that she stepped back and suddenly collapsed.
Author’s note: Small scene:
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