Chapter 21
“You may speak now, Miss Huai Xi.”
Once inside the inner room, I sat on a chair, looking at the woman across from me.
“This humble woman, Yun Huaixi, greets the County Sheriff.” The woman threw herself to the ground, kneeling and kowtowing repeatedly. “Dong Jingmo colluded with the Crown Prince’s Tutor, Dong Jiangli, to amass wealth in secret and recruit private soldiers for the Crown Prince. Zhao Tiandong discovered their scheme, so Dong Jingmo murdered Zhao Tiandong. I beg the County Sheriff to seek justice for him!”
Her words made me sit up straight. “To accuse an official of the third rank is a grave crime. Do you have any evidence?”
Yun Huaixi replied, “I have the account books that prove Dong Jingmo recruited soldiers for the Crown Prince.”
I asked, “Where are the account books?”
Yun Huaixi said, “They are with Dong Jiao’s Third Concubine, Bai Wei.”
“Bai Wei?” I was a little surprised. “I heard that Bai Wei is not on good terms with you. Why would she cooperate with you?”
Yun Huaixi shook her head and gave a bitter smile. “Bai Wei is also a woman of misfortune. She and her senior brother from the opera troupe were in love and were about to marry. But Dong Jiao took a fancy to her and forcibly made her his Third Concubine. Her senior brother came to reason with him, but Dong Jingmo sent men to deal with him in secret.
“She entered the household as a pawn, moving between Dong Jiao and Dong Jingmo, and seized the opportunity to steal the account books.”
“So that’s how it is. I have another question,” I said. “Last night, you disguised yourself as a Female Ghost-was it to test me?”
Yun Huaixi nodded somewhat guiltily. “I had long heard of the cases you solved in the Capital, County Sheriff. As soon as you arrived in Anyang, Fu Ling and I devised the Night Banquet Skeleton scheme. Thanks to Bai Wei and several sisters, we managed to secretly place Dong Ge’s remains at the banquet, ensuring you would investigate the case.
“Later, Fu Ling led you to Drunken Beauty to check the spices, and you sent Zi Su into the residence to gather information, and even re-examined Dong Ge’s remains. All of this proved that you are truly a just official who seeks justice for the people. It’s just that, after all the dangers and hardships I’ve experienced, and the ways of the world, even though I knew Fu Ling’s words were true, I still wanted to test you myself. I didn’t expect you would find me first.”
I said, “Do you realize that this matter not only implicates a third-rank official, but may even involve the Crown Prince himself? Whether what you say is true or not, you must first endure thirty strokes of the rod.”
“I understand,” Yun Huaixi knelt down again and kowtowed heavily. “As long as Dong Ge’s injustice can be redressed, I fear nothing.”
“Very well.” I raised my hand for her to rise. “We set out at once. Disguise yourself as a man, and we will return to Anyang immediately to retrieve the account books.”
“Yes, County Sheriff.”