Wang Xin’s body was kept at the mortuary under the supervision of a caretaker. A coroner had already performed an autopsy and concluded that the cause of death was undoubtedly drowning.
Ye Zhao circled the corpse twice, scrutinizing every inch and refusing to overlook a single detail. He pried open the deceased’s mouth; after a few seconds, a very low "Hmm?" escaped his throat.
"Did you find something?" Pei Shian asked, having watched his every move. Seeing Ye Zhao release his hold and stand still by the corpse, he prompted for an answer.
Ye Zhao picked up a clean cloth from the side to wipe his hands. "Jiang Ziqi has a sliver of hope," he said calmly.
He did not elaborate further, offering only a single instruction: "Have someone keep a close watch on this body."
Pei Shian did not press for details, simply giving the order in a cool voice.
It was only when the two stepped out of the mortuary that Pei Shian spoke again. "Is there anything else you need my help with? Just say the word."
Ye Zhao paused, then smiled. "No. I’ve troubled you enough by having you run around with me today. You should head back first. I can handle the rest myself."
"You don't need me to accompany you?"
"No need," Ye Zhao said softly.
"Very well..."
Pei Shian did not insist. He turned, boarded his carriage, and returned to his manor.
Ye Zhao was followed by both Imperial Guards and hidden guards, so there was no need for excessive concern. As for the prison, Pei Shian had already made the necessary arrangements; no one would mistreat Jiang Ziqi, and Ye Zhao could visit him whenever he wished.
With only a single day to work with, Ye Zhao visited several locations in quick succession, seeking out and questioning numerous people who had connections to Wang Xin.
It was not until the moon reached its zenith that he returned to the jail.
Jiang Ziqi, unable to resist his exhaustion, had been dozing off. He was startled awake the moment he heard someone calling him.
"Ye Zhao? Why are you back again?"
"Did you find a way to save me?" Jiang Ziqi asked, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Ye Zhao shook his head slowly, his expression weary. "I came because I have a few more questions for you."
"Ask away." Jiang Ziqi was inevitably disappointed at first, but he immediately turned serious.
Ye Zhao’s first question was direct: "Do you have any enemies? The kind who would want you dead?"
Jiang Ziqi agonized over the question for a moment, searching his memory thoroughly before shaking his head. "No. If I had to name someone I get along with the least, it would be Zhang Zuyao. But I haven't had any dealings with him lately. When we meet, we don't even exchange greetings; we’re basically strangers now. He doesn't provoke me, and I ignore him."
Ye Zhao frowned. He had met Zhang Zuyao before. Ever since the incident at the Imperial Palace, the man had treated him like a stranger, no longer seeking out trouble or acting provocatively as he once had.
While Zhang Zuyao might dislike Jiang Ziqi, it was unlikely he wanted him dead—nor did he have the courage for such a scheme.
"What is it? Why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Jiang Ziqi asked, finding it strange that Ye Zhao had suddenly fallen into deep thought.
Ye Zhao looked up. "I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Jiang Ziqi’s brow twitched. He hesitated. "Then... the good news first?"
"The good news is that while they claim Wang Xin was pushed into the lake and held underwater by you until he drowned, that isn't the case. He was smothered to death. In other words, the current murder charge against you cannot stand."
Because the victim did not die of drowning, and Jiang Ziqi had no window of opportunity to commit the act, it could not be said that he was the killer.
Jiang Ziqi’s mind raced to catch up, and a look of pleasant surprise flooded his face. "Really?! That means this has nothing to do with me!"
"Don't be so quick to celebrate." Ye Zhao timely doused him with cold water. "I haven't told you the bad news yet."
Jiang Ziqi suppressed his excitement and braced himself. "Tell me. What is the bad news?"
"The bad news is that since he didn't drown, who killed him? Why kill him? And more importantly, why frame you?" he said calmly. "We still don't know the answers to any of these."
"If we don't find the real killer, you still won't be able to clear your name."
Jiang Ziqi’s eyebrows began to knit together. He unconsciously clenched his fists as his mind became a chaotic mess, these questions swirling around him.
After a moment, seeing him remain silent, Ye Zhao took the initiative to ask another question. "Are you certain the person you were drinking with was Wang Xin?"
Jiang Ziqi snapped back to attention. "I'm certain!"
"Then, did he ever leave your sight or walk away alone at any point?" Ye Zhao asked. The killer obviously couldn't have smothered the man right in front of Jiang Ziqi. The only possibility was that Wang Xin had been swapped midway. The real Wang Xin must have been killed after he stepped away, and the one who returned was actually the killer!
Sure enough, a brief recollection triggered a realization in Jiang Ziqi. He cried out in shock, "Yes! When we left the tavern, he went to use the latrine. After that, we walked home together, and he never left my side again."
"Could it be that from that moment on..."
Jiang Ziqi felt a wave of lingering fear just thinking about it. He had actually walked the whole way with a murderer?
Ye Zhao was also quite impressed by him. "On the entire walk from the tavern, you didn't notice anything wrong with him?"
Jiang Ziqi looked like he wanted to cry but had no tears. "I was half-drunk and half-awake then! It was too dark, and I didn't look at his face very closely. How was I supposed to know he was a fake Wang Xin?"
It was too late for regrets now. Ye Zhao was speechless. "In other words, you don't know what the person looked like?"
Jiang Ziqi replied, "He... he probably still looked somewhat similar to Wang Xin, right?"
Hearing that questioning tone, a surge of irritation rose in Ye Zhao’s heart.
*And you claim you kept a sliver of sobriety?*
*To hell with that!*
He took a long, deep breath to suppress his anger and rubbed his temples. "I told you—why did you have to drink so much for no reason? Look at the mess you're in now!"
He couldn't help but complain. Jiang Ziqi was also filled with endless regret. How could he have known? He had lived peacefully for over twenty years; how could he suddenly be entangled in a murder case?
He had been in a daze until the moment he sobered up in the jail cell.
"How was I to know I'd get dragged into this? He finally found a piece of news worth looking into and was so happy. Why did he have to drag me out for drinks? Now look—he's dead, and he left this mess for me to clean up. Sigh..."
Jiang Ziqi felt stifled, wishing he could travel back in time and beat his talkative self to death. After blaming the other man, he began to condemn himself. "It's my fault too! Why did I have to agree so readily?"
Seeing that Jiang Ziqi still had the heart to ramble even now—truly living up to his reputation as the king of chatterboxes—Ye Zhao casually picked a topic to interrupt him. "Oh? Tell me, what kind of news was it?"
Jiang Ziqi thought back and said offhandedly, "If you leave Tianshangjing and head twenty miles south, there's a village. Many people in that village have contracted a strange illness. Either their hands or their bodies become swollen and enlarged. The symptoms are so bizarre that he wanted to write about it as a curiosity."
"Swelling?" Ye Zhao asked, intrigued.
"Yes. I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but according to Wang Xin, many people in that village have this strange disease." Jiang Ziqi nodded.
Ye Zhao frowned, finding it quite peculiar. "They didn't see a doctor? What did the doctor say?"
Jiang Ziqi said, "They did, but it was useless. The doctors couldn't explain the cause, which is why it's called a strange disease."
"And another thing—Wang Xin said the people in that village are mostly the elderly, the weak, or the disabled. They can't do heavy labor, yet they make a living selling salted fish and cured meat, and they live better than people in other places. Don't you think that's odd?"
Jiang Ziqi had his arms crossed, leaning against the wooden bars in a relaxed posture. If given a handful of melon seeds, he could probably keep chatting for an entire day without stopping.
Ye Zhao was speechless. He shot him down, saying, "So what if it's odd? Can it save your life?"
He was truly exasperated with Jiang Ziqi. Who was the one jumping up and down in panic at the start? Now he didn't seem worried about his own life at all...
Ye Zhao returned his thoughts to the main issue. The clues had reached a dead end with Jiang Ziqi. How should he...
Wait!
Something flashed through his mind like lightning. He immediately turned to leave, but after two steps, he ran back. "When you go to court tomorrow, just explain everything you know clearly. Whatever you do, do not confess! Do you understand?"
"Oh, okay..." Seeing the urgent look on the other's face and hearing the final instruction, Jiang Ziqi was a bit dazed.
Ye Zhao left him with one final sentence: "Leave everything to me. Wait for my return!"
With that, he departed.
Jiang Ziqi opened his mouth, his face a mix of surprise and confusion.
*Ah? Did Ye Zhao discover something?*
Outside the prison, Ye Zhao headed straight for the mortuary.
After Wang Xin’s death, his personal belongings had been placed under the care of a designated official. Ye Zhao arrived and roused the man from a sound sleep. Ignoring the official’s disgruntled gaze, he inspected Wang Xin’s items.
After finishing, he thought to himself: *So it really was for such a reason!*
Then, he left the city under the cover of night.
The Imperial Guards and hidden guards following him in the shadows sent word to their superiors before following him out of the city.
The next day, the sky grew bright.
Jiang Ziqi was led out of his cell and taken to the courtroom.
Following Ye Zhao’s instructions, Jiang Ziqi tried his best to remain calm. He said what needed to be said and hid nothing. Likewise, he refused to confess to the crime!
The Jiang couple watched from the back of the hall, their hearts filled with anxiety.
The official from the Ministry of Justice responsible for the trial had been grinding away at Jiang Ziqi for nearly two hours. His patience finally snapped. He slammed his gavel down. "Will you confess or not!"
Jiang Ziqi stiffened his neck and said resolutely, "I will not!"
"Fine, fine, fine... If you won't confess, this official has plenty of ways to make you!" The official nodded repeatedly in anger, laughing out of sheer fury.
He let out a sharp roar. "Men! Beat him! If he won't confess, beat him until he does!"
"Why should this official show any courtesy to such a stubborn wretch!" The official flicked his sleeve and watched with a cold sneer as Jiang Ziqi was pinned down. He picked up the teacup on his desk, intending to take a sip.
"Hold!"
"Who dares to disturb this court?"
The tea was never drunk. Two figures slowly walked out from the crowd.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
义庄 | Mortuary | A place where bodies are temporarily kept before burial, often managed by a charity.
仵作 | Coroner | A forensic examiner in ancient China.
一线生机 | A sliver of hope | Literally "a thread of life/opportunity."
羽林卫 | Imperial Guards | Specifically the "Forest of Feathers" guards, an elite imperial unit.
暗卫 | Hidden guards | Secret bodyguards who follow from the shadows.
天京 / 天上京 | Tianshangjing | The capital city in the novel's setting.
惊堂木 | Gavel | Literally "the wood that startles the hall," used by officials in court.
刑部 | Ministry of Justice | One of the Six Ministries, responsible for judicial and penal affairs.
