Chapter 24

Yun Shuang was rather impressed with her decision to wear the veiled hat — and yet, that guy still immediately recognized her. Glancing at the room ahead with its wide-open door, she asked, “What’s going on?”

Yan Fang, practically bursting with gossip like Sister Hua, blurted out, “Originally, General and I were supposed to return to the garrison this afternoon. After breakfast, we planned to drop by the county office one last time to ask about Lady Luo’s case. But as soon as we got there, an inn servant from Yiyuan Inn came running to report — there’s been a murder!”

“Not long after Magistrate Ding and the rest left, the people I had tailing Miss Lianxin hurried over too, saying Lady Luo had been found at Yiyuan Inn. Heavens! I never imagined such a coincidence!”

“At first, I didn’t think it was related to Lady Luo at all — it was the General who suggested we go check things out. And once we got there, we discovered the victim was Fan Youliang’s mistress!”

“That cursed scoundrel! He’d been hiding her here all along — and when he realized his secret was about to be exposed, he murdered her!”

Yun Shuang immediately asked, “You’re saying Fan Youliang killed her?”

“Yes! Who else could it be?! Early this morning, Fan Youliang snuck into Yiyuan Inn and stayed in the victim’s room for about fifteen minutes. They even had a loud argument — the inn staff said so!”

Yan Fang looked as if he’d unearthed the absolute truth. “After that, Fan slammed the door and stormed out in anger. But the inn staff said he didn’t leave — he just went downstairs and sat quietly drinking tea, like he was cooling off. Not long after, they heard porcelain shattering in the victim’s room!”

“But…”

Yun Shuang frowned slightly. “Didn’t you say Fan Youliang stayed downstairs drinking tea? How would he have committed the murder?”

Yan Fang opened his mouth, but couldn’t quite answer. “Well… how should I know? I just heard from Xiao Yang and the others — they said Fan must be the killer…”

“Deputy General Yan, don’t pin this on us.” A voice rang out from behind Yun Shuang — it was Yang Yuanyi.

Yun Shuang quickly turned to see him, looking just as energetic as yesterday, escorting a visibly panicked Fan Youliang along with another constable.

Seeing Yun Shuang, Yang Yuanyi grinned brightly, all charm. Before he could say anything, Fan Youliang burst out anxiously, “I didn’t kill anyone! I didn’t!”

His face was still covered in bruises from the previous day. Agitated, he accidentally pulled at one of the wounds, hissing in pain as he clutched his swollen right cheek. Gone was the refined gentleman from the previous day.

“Fan Youliang, I suggest you say less,” Yang Yuanyi said slowly. “You have absolutely no alibi right now.”

Yang Yuanyi turned slowly, deliberately cutting off Fan Youliang’s protests. “Yes, you were drinking tea on the first floor — but you were hiding behind a pillar in a secluded corner. The inn staff said that was your regular spot. What, are you so guilty that you lurk like a rat in the gutter, afraid to be seen?”

“You also told the inn staff not to disturb you unless you summoned them, so apart from refilling your tea, they didn’t go near that corner. Your spot is so well hidden behind that pillar that none of the other guests even noticed someone was sitting there.”

“But the key point is this…” Yang Yuanyi’s tone dropped gravely. “After the murder, the inn staff went to find you, since the victim was someone you knew. But you were nowhere to be found. Finally, they located you on the way to the latrine. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I…” Fan Youliang’s face was pale as chalk, trying hard to stay calm. “But I didn’t kill Zhenniang! At that time, I was just using the latrine. I didn’t know anything! Like I said earlier, when I came out, I saw another guest — around thirty, broad-faced, big-nosed, wearing dark green clothes…”

“We found that man,” Yang Yuanyi cut in with a click of the tongue. “And according to him, before he went to the latrine, he heard porcelain shattering on the third floor. Nature called, so he didn’t wait — but when he came out, he saw you exiting the latrine.”

“There’s a staircase from the third floor straight to the rear courtyard. You could’ve killed someone, dashed downstairs, slipped into the latrine — and pretended you’d been there the whole time. Perfectly feasible!”

“This is all speculation!” Fan Youliang snapped, his face darkening. “Are you lot solving murders on guesswork alone? If you insist I killed Zhenniang, then why not accuse Chen Hao!?”

Suddenly, he raised his arm and pointed directly at a silent, cold-faced gentleman nearby.

Yun Shuang had noticed the man earlier — one of those standing near the victim’s room. She’d seen him just yesterday at the Luo residence: Chen Hao.

Since the confrontation began, Chen Hao had been glaring at Fan Youliang with eyes full of fury. Oddly enough, now that Fan Youliang’s affair was exposed, Chen Hao didn’t seem quite as agitated as yesterday.

“Fine! I’ll tell the truth!” Fan Youliang shouted through gritted teeth. “I went to the latrine because I saw him enter the inn!”

“I saw him come in and start questioning the staff. I knew he was here for me. Luckily, I’d already paid the inn staff a pile of silver, instructing them to say they didn’t know me if anyone asked. And just as planned, the staff denied knowing me. But the guy didn’t give up — he waited for a distraction and sneaked upstairs!”

“I figured I’d be discovered if I stayed, so I went to the latrine instead. I waited awhile, thinking he’d leave, and was about to ask around when—suddenly—I found out a murder had happened!”

“I didn’t even know it was Zhenniang at first! Officer, every word I say is the truth. If I’m lying, may heaven strike me down!”

Chen Hao had watched Fan Youliang coldly throughout, waiting for him to finish. Then, in a voice like ice, he replied: “Fan Youliang, stop spewing filth. You’re the one panicking over guilty secrets, not me.”

“Yes, I followed you here. After discovering that handkerchief yesterday, I had someone tail you. Just now, that person came and told me you’d entered the Yiyuan Inn, so I came to see what you were doing.”

“My informant clearly saw you go in — and not come out. Yet the inn staff swore they hadn’t seen you. Suspicious, don’t you think?”

“I came upstairs hoping to spot you. When I heard the sound of porcelain breaking, I was on the stairs between the second and third floors. That’s why I rushed over.”

At that moment, a stout, gray-clad man nearby nervously poked his head out. “Um… I can confirm that, sir. I’m Zhang Da, one of the inn’s staff. When the sound of smashing porcelain came from the third floor, I was the first to go check. I came up using the staircase from over there…”

Zhang Da raised his hand and pointed toward the same stairs Yun Shuang had used to arrive.

The layout of Yiyuan Inn was such that rooms were positioned on all four sides of the building, with an open courtyard in the center. Each floor had staircases in all four corners leading down to the level below.

The first and second floors housed standard and mid-tier rooms, while the third floor featured premium suites, which meant the rooms there were larger, with only two rooms on each side of the building.

The victim’s room was located on the north side, to the left. There were staircases on both the left and right ends of that corridor, and at that moment, Zhang Da pointed to the staircase on the right — the one Yun Shuang and her group had used to ascend.

He continued nervously, “When I came upstairs… I saw the door to Miss He’s room wide open, and that gentleman was standing right at the doorway, looking inside…”

“You still dare say you didn’t do it?”

Fan Youliang instantly jumped at what he thought was a slip-up, pointing at Chen Hao and shouting, “You must’ve killed her and didn’t have time to flee — so you pretended you’d just arrived! Officer, compared to me — who wasn’t even on the third floor at the time — isn’t his suspicion even greater?”