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Xing Ruyi never expected that the cook beside Zhu had such a complex relationship with him. This made Zhu's cause of death even more mysterious, which left the ever-curious Xing Ruyi feeling as if her heart was being clawed at like a cat's paw.
She thought to herself how nice it would be if Brother Chang were still around. Although Chang Tai was merely a Constable in Divine Capital Luoyang, being in the capital meant that any official there held more weight than those in the countryside. If he were present, even if he couldn't interfere with the case, he could at least uncover some inside information.
Feeling troubled, she lay down on the carriage and fell asleep. The bumpy ride combined with her heavy thoughts left her in a half-dreaming state. When she finally woke up, they had returned to Yun Family Village. Despite the drizzling winter rain, there were still many pedestrians on the streets, adding a lively atmosphere compared to the silence of the mountains.
The door of Rouge was wide open, but there were hardly any customers inside. After all, during this cold winter month, who besides those selling smiles would be willing to reach into their sleeves to apply makeup for attention? Dazed, she got off the carriage and heard Li Mao chuckling softly nearby. Looking up, she saw a familiar face standing in the fine winter rain.
"Brother Chang?"
At first, Xing Ruyi couldn't believe it. She rubbed her eyes and when she opened them again, not only was Chang Tai standing there, but also Yin Yuan, who was bundled up like a dumpling.
Yin Yuan was munching on a chicken leg while asking Chang Tai, "Is my Fox Demon mother acting silly? Why does she look like that upon seeing us? Did she encounter some evil spirit in the mountains and lose her mind?"
Chang Tai initially showed no expression, but upon hearing Yin Yuan's words, he became slightly tense. Noticing that Xing Ruyi's clothes were covered in mud and that she hadn't even bothered to open an umbrella, he hurried over. Once close, he asked, "Are you alright? Did you encounter something in the mountains?"
Warm breath brushed against Xing Ruyi's face through the winter rain. Her nose tingled and her eyes felt warm; she inexplicably wanted to cry. Holding back for a moment, she couldn't resist anymore and stepped forward, throwing herself into Chang Tai's arms. With a low voice filled with grievance, she said, "Brother Chang, why did you come back so quickly?"
Seeing Xing Ruyi rush over, Chang Tai's rationality told him he should step aside, but his feet refused to move. The girl with her cold aura had thrown herself into his embrace; his once hardened heart softened while his body grew rigid instead. His hands were outstretched as if wanting to hold her tightly but hesitated for a moment and maintained his position.
Chang Tai tried hard to appear relaxed; he forced a smile and looked down at Xing Ruyi in his arms. He remarked, "Why does it sound strange when you say that? Are you blaming Brother Chang for coming back too quickly or too slowly?"
Xing Ruyi sniffled and awkwardly pulled away from Chang Tai's embrace.
"What about Si Niang? Did you safely bring her back to Luoyang?"
"What about Lingzhang? Has Si Niang buried her next to her brother?"
"Did Si Niang blame me? If I hadn't insisted on having her and Lingzhang accompany me to Qingqiu to witness my marriage, Lingzhang wouldn't have met such an untimely death, and Si Niang wouldn't have had to return to Luoyang all alone."
"Fox Demon—" Chang Tai looked at the somewhat thinner Xing Ruyi before him and felt uneasy: "Brother Chang just got back; can you allow me a moment to catch my breath before answering all your questions?"
"Okay!" Xing Ruyi replied obediently for once, which only made Chang Tai feel worse inside.
"Fox Demon, listen carefully to Brother Chang." Chang Tai held Xing Ruyi's shoulders: "Si Niang has safely returned to Luoyang; she's doing well and has reopened the Tavern for business. Everyone is taking good care of her. Lingzhang has been laid to rest peacefully; her brother is by her side watching over her. She won't be lonely or bullied. Si Niang has never blamed you from the beginning. Lingzhang's incident was an accident; none of us wanted that accident to happen."
"Do you know why Si Niang chose to return to Luoyang with the bell? On one hand, she wants to bury the bell in her homeland; on the other hand, she is worried about you. She fears that as you look at her every day, you will always remember the bell; she worries that you will torment yourself, blaming the death of the bell on yourself; she is concerned that you will feel guilty every day, unable to return to the way you were before, Xing Ruyi. The Fox Demon, Si Niang cares for you."
"Brother Chang!" Xing Ruyi's nose tinged with sadness, and tears streamed down her face as she once again fell into Chang Tai's embrace, sobbing. Chang Tai sighed lightly; this time he did not hesitate but gently wrapped his arms around her, standing under the winter rain, quietly listening to the girl in his arms as she alternated between loud cries and soft whimpers.
Li Mao felt somewhat out of place standing nearby, so he quietly moved next to Yin Yuan and asked in a low voice, "Young Master, if Lord Yin saw this scene, would he blame us?"
"No!" Yin Yuan licked the meat off a chicken leg and tossed the bone to Li Mao.
"Really? I feel like if Lord Yin saw the shopkeeper throw herself into Lord Chang's arms, he would definitely be angry."
"That's why I said Father Fox wouldn't blame us." Yin Yuan looked at Li Mao. "He would only skin you alive."
"Why me?"
"Because I am the son of the Fox Demon mother and also Father Fox's son. Haven't you heard that tigers do not eat their young, Li Mao?"
After finishing his sentence, Yin Yuan started walking toward the kitchen.
"Young Master... wait... Young Master, what should we do about this situation? We can't just run up to the shopkeeper and Lord Chang and say: 'You can't do this; my Lord Yin will get jealous and angry!'"
"Of course not, because it would make my mother feel embarrassed and Uncle Chang feel awkward. Given my mother's temperament, she might even hit you just to cover up her own embarrassment."
"Oh no, oh no! I'm not cut out for this kind of work." Li Mao shook his head repeatedly but had no intention of going back to remind Xing Ruyi and Chang Tai. Instead, he followed Yin Yuan into the kitchen. "Young Master, can you leave one chicken leg for me? I've done most of the hard work in the mountains and haven't even had a sip of water."
"Is it that pitiful?"
"Yes, it's very pitiful!"
"Since it's so pitiful, then don't eat the chicken leg. There are two chickens still running in the backyard; go catch them. You can have everything else except for the chicken leg."
In the kitchen, Yin Yuan lifted the pot lid and glanced at the empty clay pot before generously pointing at the two chickens still running in the backyard.
Under the eaves, Xing Ruyi finally cried enough. The emotions that had built up in her heart over these days seemed to have disappeared along with her tears. She wiped her eyes and looked up at Chang Tai with slightly red and swollen eyes.
"I'm sorry, Brother Chang. The Fox Demon made a fool of you."
"Have you started talking nonsense again? Since you called me Brother Chang, how can I bear to see you in pain? If you feel wronged and want to cry in front of me, all I feel is heartache, not amusement. Besides, even if you cry your eyes swollen, you are still the most beautiful girl here."
"How is it that after just one trip to Luoyang, Brother Chang, you've become so talkative?" Xing Ruyi laughed as she rubbed her eyes. "It's cold here; let's go back inside to talk. By the way, did anything happen on your journey?"
"Nothing! But I heard from Yin Yuan that you encountered some issues at Yun Family Gathering, and those issues are somewhat related to your background?" Since he didn't bring an umbrella, Chang Tai took off his outer garment to shield Xing Ruyi from the rain as they walked back to the room. At that moment, Xing Ruyi was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't notice Chang Tai's actions. When they finally returned indoors and she saw him drenched while she only had a light sprinkling of water on her clothes, she realized what he had done.
Her mind was in turmoil, yet she said nothing. She quietly went to fetch a change of dry clothes for Chang Tai and prepared a bowl of ginger soup to warm him up. While busying herself, they chatted quite a bit. Xing Ruyi asked Chang Tai about the situation while escorting Si Niang home, and Chang Tai inquired about what had happened after he left. When he heard that Xing Ruyi's recent troubles were somehow connected to the current Empress, he was slightly taken aback but didn’t dwell on it. However, when it came to discussing Xing Ruyi's own "condition," he became noticeably more anxious.
As their conversation continued, they arrived at the case involving Zhu and the beggar. Xing Ruyi shared her views on the case and the existing doubts surrounding it. After listening quietly, Chang Tai looked into Xing Ruyi's eyes and said, "From the analysis of the entire case, it's clear that the beggar in prison has been wronged; however, who murdered Zhu remains unclear."
"It is indeed quite perplexing." Xing Ruyi habitually tapped her fingers on the table. "After Zhu's death, her husband Wang Jiang's reaction was rather subdued, and on the night of the incident, his whereabouts were unknown, making him one of the suspects; Wang Jiang's brother Wang Chong visited Wang Jiang's home that night and saved the Wang Family's cook, making him another suspect; and if Zhu's cook is indeed the daughter of the village chief who framed these two sisters back then, she would have sufficient motive to kill Zhu."
Chang Tai nodded: "I just heard you say that when Zhu was found, she wasn't wearing embroidered shoes?"
"As one of the first witnesses at the scene, A Niu remembers clearly that Zhu was only wearing one embroidered shoe and no socks."
"The embroidered shoe couldn't have just disappeared without reason. It's not summer; if Zhu went out, she would definitely need shoes. Therefore, the disappearance of this shoe could be related to her murder. It could either have been left at the murder scene or hidden by the murderer because it had some evidence on it. Of course, there's also a possibility that during the process of moving or burying Zhu's body, the murderer accidentally dropped this shoe." Chang Tai narrowed his eyes: "Regardless of which situation applies, this missing embroidered shoe is key evidence in this case."
"But the problem is, how do we find this missing embroidered shoe?" Xing Ruyi frowned and muttered softly: "Are we supposed to use the old method and summon Zhu's spirit from the Underworld to ask her how she lost it?"
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