Chapter 23: I Can Cure Your Illness

Lady Wang Wuniang offered a formal salute and replied, "I have come here today, Junior Minister Lu, to share a story with you. I wonder if you have heard of a puppet play currently popular in Luoyang, titled 'The Tale of Huo Xiaolian'?"

"I have not."

"Xiaolian was the daughter of Prince Huo, born to a singing girl. After the Prince was executed for his crimes, Xiaolian and her mother were taken into the Music Conservatory. By the age of sixteen, she was exceptionally beautiful. Hoping she might one day marry into a respectable family, her mother educated her in the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, and literature, strictly forbidding her from ever selling her body, even within the Conservatory. Yet, Xiaolian fell in love with a refined scholar named Li. This Scholar Li promised that once he passed the imperial examinations, he would surely make her his wife. However, upon returning to his hometown, his mother arranged a marriage for him with the daughter of a court eunuch. Though the scholar tried to explain Xiaolian’s background, his mother despised her status as a singer and adamantly opposed the union.

"In the end, prioritizing his career, the scholar happily married the eunuch's daughter, casting Xiaolian aside. Xiaolian fell into a lingering illness and, with the help of a Taoist priest, managed to see Scholar Li one last time at the Ziyu Temple before dying in bitterness. Before her death, she placed a curse upon him, vowing that after she died, his household and concubines would never know peace again.

"Junior Minister Lu, are you aware of how that story ends?"

Lu Ling did not answer; he rarely watched puppet plays. Instead, Lu Shiyilang replied, "I have heard this story. In the end, the scholar's household indeed knew no peace, and the man grew suspicious of every one of his wives."

"What is the meaning of this story?"

Wang Wuniang said, "Junior Minister Lu, I am merely lamenting that even a woman of such noble birth as the daughter of Prince Huo, once her family was destroyed and her life fell into ruin, could only meet such an end! And how innocent are the women trampled by Zhou Jiulang! If Scholar Li received his due retribution, what of Zhou Jiulang? Is his death not well-deserved? Why should others have to pay the price for the life of such a wretch?"

With that, Wang Wuniang knelt and offered a salute, her tone resolute. "Though I am but a woman, I wish to seek justice in this world for those harmed by Zhou Jiulang! For this, I am willing to accept the punishment on behalf of the killer!"

Lady Liu, standing by, panicked. "A-Ying, what are you spouting?"

Lu Ling was also quite surprised. "There is no need for this, Lady Wang. Go back! I will catch the killer, and as for those harmed by Zhou Jiulang, I will petition the Sage to grant them justice!"

"Thank you, Junior Minister Lu." After expressing her gratitude, Wang Wuniang departed with Lady Liu.

Lu Ling still felt that something was amiss. He thought to himself, *Could she have come all this way just to tell an unrelated puppet story?*

"Wait, Lady Wang, how did you know that Zhou Jiulang trampled upon many women?" Lu Ling suddenly called out to stop her. She was a sheltered young woman who rarely left her home, and he had not publicized the discovery of the body in the well. How did she know?

Wang Wuniang gave a sorrowful smile. "Ever since Zhou Jiulang proposed to my family, I have been inquiring about everything regarding him. It is no secret that he often accompanied his father in raiding homes and exterminating clans, his hands stained with the blood of countless people, and that he was fond of frequenting brothels. Furthermore, the people I sent were able to discover that he often tortured and killed maids, women, and servants in his own home; in his eyes, their lives were worth less than grass! That is why I, Wang Wuniang, would rather drown myself in the lake than marry him!"

As she spoke, tears shimmered in her eyes, looking particularly desolate. Lu Ling’s heart softened, and he felt a pang of shame. "Very well, go now," he waved his hand.

After she left, Lu Ling turned his gaze back to Murong Huan, only to find her staring at a spiderweb in the corner of the mortuary, frowning in deep thought.

"What are you looking at?" Lu Ling asked.

Murong Huan asked, "Is this spiderweb newly spun?"

"What does that prove?"

Murong Huan looked back at Zhou Jiulang's corpse and asked the coroner, "Since Zhou Jiulang's body was brought here, has anyone else visited this mortuary today?"

The coroner, Xin Wei, shook his head. "I have been here the whole time. Aside from you and your companions, no one else has come." He paused, then added, "Oh, the wives of the Guo and Hou families caused a scene outside for a while, and a servant woman from the Zhou residence was brought in to answer some questions before leaving."

"Did you find out anything?"

Lu Shiyilang interjected, "The wives of the Guo and Hou families did nothing but weep, claiming their sons must have been killed by Zhou Jiulang. They refused to allow an autopsy and had the bodies taken back. The old woman from Zhou's house was quite calm; she claimed to know nothing, saying she had stayed in the residence all night and only heard of Zhou Jiulang’s death this morning."

"What about the others in the Zhou household?"

"The rest have scattered. Once Zhou Jiulang died, the servants all fled. Only that old woman remained, and she is blind."

A flicker of doubt appeared in Murong Huan’s eyes.

Sensing her hesitation, Lu Ling said, "I have already sent people to investigate that blind old woman. She was indeed in the Zhou residence all night, and given her infirmity and the night curfew, it would have been impossible for her to move about outside."

Murong Huan nodded and asked no more, saying, "If you have no further questions for me, Junior Minister Lu, I shall take my leave."

As Murong Huan turned to go, Lu Ling suddenly called out, "Wait—I was wrong just now. I should not have suspected you. You have already helped me sketch the likeness of the deceased; that is enough. You need not concern yourself with the rest. Return to the Su family with Su Sanlang."

Su Sanlang was overjoyed, but Murong Huan was surprised; she had not expected a high-born son accustomed to luxury like Lu Ling to apologize to her.

"Very well! However, I still intend to find the killer for you, and my condition remains the same: justice must be served for the deceased! If, after three days, the killer has not appeared and you still suspect me, you may deliver me to the residence of Minister Zhou or take me into custody yourself—either will suffice."

Lu Ling was stunned, remaining silent for a long time. It was not until Murong Huan and the others had left the mortuary that Lu Shiyilang roused him. "Tenth Brother, what do you intend to do about this case?"

...

Just outside the mortuary, Murong Huan suddenly turned to Xiao Muchen, who was about to board his carriage. "Official Xiao, do you have a moment to talk?"

Xiao Muchen paused, looking back at Murong Huan with great curiosity. "Very well! What do you wish to discuss?"

His response drew the eyes of many outside the mortuary, including Su Qing, who had just arrived. Seeing Su Sanlang and Murong Huan unharmed, Su Qing had sighed in relief, but upon hearing Murong Huan’s bold and direct request to speak with Official Xiao in broad daylight, his underlying anxieties flared up again.

"Official Xiao, Official Xiao, wait!" Su Qing hurried over, glancing around before whispering, "My Huan-er grew up in the countryside and is ignorant of many things. Regarding the last time—please do not misunderstand! She did not know what kind of place that was; she merely stumbled in by mistake, so you..."

Seeing Su Qing’s embarrassed expression, Xiao Muchen was puzzled. "What exactly is the Marquis trying to say?"

"I just want you to..."

A-Shu, seeing the situation deteriorating, rushed forward and stepped between them. "My Lord, please, say no more!" *How mortifying!* Turning to Xiao Muchen, she smiled, "Please, go ahead and talk! Our Lord meant nothing else by it, truly!"

Xiao Muchen smiled and ignored them, gesturing for Murong Huan to lead the way. They walked to a nearby teahouse, where Xiao Muchen secured a private room.

Xiao Muchen was a man of great refinement, and the room he chose was quiet and secluded. Through the window, one could see rolling, mist-shrouded mountains in the distance, and nearby, clusters of peonies were in full bloom, appearing vibrant and magnificent.

Once seated, Xiao Muchen got straight to the point. "What do you want to talk about? You aren't planning to kill me to silence me, are you?"

Murong Huan smiled. "You have many attendants, and I am not a fool; I would not seek my own death here. Besides, you shielded my identity back at the mortuary." *He stopped Lu Ling from helping me up precisely because he feared that physical contact would reveal my identity,* she thought, *especially since I still bear a scar on my shoulder, even if it has stopped bleeding.*

"I apologize for my previous offense," Murong Huan said sincerely. "Today, I wish to become your ally and strike a bargain."

Xiao Muchen was surprised. "What kind of deal could there be between us?" As he poured her a cup of tea, he heard her voice turn low and resolute.

"I want to use your talents to topple the Minister of Justice, Zhou Xing. I want him dead." She then looked at Xiao Muchen’s shock of white hair. "In exchange, I can cure your illness."

Xiao Muchen looked up abruptly, meeting her eyes at close range.

Xuan Yu was even more astonished. "Didn't you say last time that you couldn't cure his illness?"

Murong Huan replied, "I couldn't cure it then because I didn't understand it well enough. In truth, I cannot cure it yet, but in the near future, I will be able to!"

"So, the condition for being able to cure him is to understand my Master well enough?" Xuan Yu asked with a laugh.

Murong Huan nodded and looked earnestly at Xiao Muchen. "Yes. The prerequisite for curing you is to understand you completely."

A man like Xiao Muchen was clearly exceptionally sharp and highly guarded. She did not have the absolute confidence to hypnotize him; if she failed, she might end up like Wen Zhi, and it was not worth her own life.

Seeing Xiao Muchen’s enigmatic, half-smiling expression, Murong Huan asked directly, "Well? Can we cooperate?"

"Tell me first: what is your plan? And what do you want me to do for you?"

"Also, why do you hate Zhou Xing so much?"