According to Madam Lü's tearful account, Squire Qi had fallen to the ground and died suddenly on his own. She was afraid that this would still be considered murder by her, so she came up with the idea of hitting the back of Squire Qi's head with an inkstone and writing a bloody character to frame Qi's eldest daughter-in-law.
At this point, all the neighbors were scolding her, and no one questioned Madam Lü's words.
Even Yao Huang felt that the case could end here.
Magistrate Xu, however, continued to interrogate Qi San and his wife, who lived in the south-facing room of the front courtyard: "Elder Qi went to the east wing in the middle of the night and had a dispute with Madam Lü. Did you two really not hear a single sound?"
Qi San's wife cried: "This commoner woman truly heard nothing! My youngest son is only three years old. I take care of the child all day long, and when he went to sleep last night, I also fell asleep. I didn't wake up until I was frightened by my mother-in-law's screams. If Your Honor doesn't believe me, you can ask Seventh Son. He is young and wouldn't lie!"
Magistrate Xu looked at Qi San. Qi San knelt on the ground with his head bowed, his entire body trembling.
Qi's eldest daughter-in-law suddenly said: "Reporting to Your Honor, my third brother complains about the children crying and making noise, so he sleeps in a room by himself most of the month. If Madam Lü wanted to find someone to help, finding him would be the most convenient!"
Madam Lü: "Shut your mouth! I did this alone, it has nothing to do with the third son!"
Magistrate Xu: "You obstinate woman, there's no need to quibble. Looking at the scattered bloodstains around Elder Qi, no matter who used the inkstone to smash him, they would be splashed with blood. Men, go search the rooms of Madam Lü and Qi San. If you find nothing, go search the other rooms."
The time of the crime was too short, and Madam Lü and her accomplice had no time to dispose of the bloody clothes. Burning them in the stove might alert neighbors who woke up in the night and leave an odor.
Before the constables could even acknowledge the order, Qi San swayed and collapsed to the ground.
When the constables found a bloodstained inner garment hidden inside a winter boot under Qi San's cabinet, Madam Lü once again took the blame upon herself, claiming that she had forced Qi San to help her by threatening him with her life, and that Qi San was a filial son who was forced by her, and so on.
Magistrate Xu didn't listen to her sophistry and ordered his men to escort Madam Lü and Qi San, mother and son, to the county yamen for a detailed trial. Squire Qi's body was also to be taken away. The coroner needed to conduct a further autopsy to determine whether Squire Qi died from a sudden illness or the heavy blow to his head.
Qi Da had lost his father and cried heart-wrenchingly. Qi Er had lost his father and was about to lose his mother, so he also cried miserably.
Seeing that Magistrate Xu was about to leave, Qi's eldest daughter-in-law stepped forward and requested Magistrate Xu to help them preside over the division of the family: "Your Honor, Madam Lü and her sons and daughters-in-law are extremely difficult to deal with. My father lost his life because they disagreed with dividing the family. Now that Madam Lü and the third brother have been arrested, my second brother, second sister-in-law, third sister-in-law, and their relatives are still here. Our family of five cannot fight them. If Your Honor does not help us divide the family, I'm afraid the next ones to die will be my husband and me!"
She knelt in front of Magistrate Xu and kowtowed heavily.
Dalang, who had rushed back from the academy, also knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "Madam Lü is suspected of murdering my grandfather and colluding with my third uncle to frame my mother. She disregards family ties and is cruel and merciless. I beg Your Honor to stand up for us. Our family does not want the family property; we only ask to sever ties with Madam Lü and her people."
The neighbors echoed their support, hoping that Magistrate Xu could help the first branch of the Qi family with this favor, otherwise there would be more trouble in the future, leaving the neighbors with no peace.
Magistrate Xu thought of the family division list that Squire Qi had already drafted on the desk in the north room. The old man had given his three sons roughly equal shares of the family property, but Qi Er and Qi San were both born to Madam Lü. At first glance, it seemed that Madam Lü's branch had taken advantage, so Madam Lü deliberately left this list as evidence of Qi's eldest daughter-in-law's resentful murder.
Magistrate Xu ordered someone to fetch the list and read it out in public.
Qi's eldest daughter-in-law cried: "My father had a hard life and couldn't enjoy his old age in peace. Please, Your Honor, help divide the portion he didn't divide."
Magistrate Xu then ordered people to bring over the savings and valuable items not mentioned on the family division list.
Basically, everything could be divided equally, leaving only a birthday celebration painting that Squire Qi had cherished and kept in a box.
Magistrate Xu unrolled the scroll, and after seeing it clearly, he was stunned.
Yao Huang also saw this painting, and her blood rushed to her head. She raised her voice and said: "Reporting to Your Honor, this painting was drawn by this commoner woman's husband. He never paints to give away, but as Squire Qi's sixtieth birthday was approaching, Squire Qi pleaded earnestly, so he carefully painted this picture to celebrate Squire Qi's birthday. Now that Squire Qi is dead, this commoner woman hopes to burn this painting to comfort Squire Qi's spirit in heaven. May Your Honor grant this request."
Except for Squire Qi, no one else in the Qi family was worthy of collecting this painting by Prince Hui.
Dalang was the first to support this move, followed by Qi Da and his wife, and Qi Er had no face to object.
Magistrate Xu said "What a pity," and set fire to this birthday celebration painting that had failed to fulfill the old man's wish.
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Magistrate Xu left with the constables, but the neighbors who were still blocking the inside and outside of the Qi family's house were still praising the Magistrate's brilliance.
Yao Huang also felt that this magistrate was brilliant, but when she looked at Magistrate Xu's back as he rode on his horse, being sent off by the neighbors lining the street, and listened to the neighbors' continuous praise, the lonely figure of Prince Hui sitting alone in a wheelchair reading Buddhist scriptures before she left home floated in her mind.
Magistrate Xu stayed in the north room for two quarters of an hour before coming out, while last night Prince Hui had made a decision after just a few glances at the door of the north room.
Yao Huang didn't necessarily want the neighbors to change their tune and praise her husband instead; she just felt sad for Prince Hui. He was clearly capable in both literature and martial arts, not inferior to anyone, but simply because his legs were crippled, he no longer had the opportunity to display these talents.
He said he didn't need political achievements and praise. At only twenty-three years old, how could he have cultivated such a state of having no desires or demands?
Was he reading too many Buddhist scriptures, or did he feel that it was useless for a disabled prince to have political achievements and praise, and it was better to leave them to those who needed them more?
The neighbors were still discussing the Qi family's lawsuit. Yao Huang took A'Ji back to the west courtyard, and then went from the moon gate of the front courtyard to the east courtyard alone.
Before turning to the door of the main room, Yao Huang forced herself to smile.
Zhao Sui had long heard the princess's footsteps. He lowered the Buddhist scripture in his hand, looked up, and saw a princess who was smiling, but with a somewhat complex expression.
He put the Buddhist scripture aside and asked, "Did they interrogate and find the murderer?"
Yao Huang nodded. She didn't sit on the chair next to the long table, but sat directly on the long table facing Prince Hui, held his hand, and said, "Madam Lü, did you guess it was her last night?"
Zhao Sui: "Indeed, she was the most suspicious."
Yao Huang: "Then did you see that she had an accomplice?"
Zhao Sui had already heard some gossip from the street and guessed Magistrate Xu's trial process. The truth had come to light, so the princess should be happy. Asking this now, could it be that she felt her husband was not as good as Magistrate Xu in finding out more, and was feeling uncomfortable?
After a moment of silence, Zhao Sui said, "Looking at the bloodstains on the ground, Elder Qi fell to the ground first before his head suffered a heavy blow, otherwise the splashed bloodstains would be further away from his head. Last night, Wang Dong didn't hear any sound, which means that when Elder Qi fell to the ground, he was already unable to call for help and could only let someone attack him. Madam Lü did have the opportunity to act alone, but a woman who was not calm enough and full of flaws would probably find it hard to swing an inkstone and strike her own husband so ruthlessly."
Madam Lü was greedy for wealth. A person like her might kill on impulse, but asking her to strike a lethal blow again at her unconscious or even dead husband—even if she was ruthless enough, she wouldn't be able to control her strength precisely.
Yao Huang only found it ironic: She couldn't bring herself to do it, yet Qi San, his own biological son, was able to strike.
It made sense. Madam Lü had caused all this uproar just to fight for the family inheritance for her two sons. If she successfully framed Qi's eldest daughter-in-law, Qi Da would have neither the face nor the capability to compete for more. The inkstone that Qi San swung at his old father's head was ultimately for his own gain, not to help his mother cover her tracks.
Zhao Sui swept his gaze over the empty courtyard, his right hand caressing the princess consort's heavy-hearted face, and said, The dead are gone. There is no need to dwell on it.
Prince Hui had a thick layer of calluses on his palms. Every time he touched her, no matter where, it would make Yao Huang feel a tickle. And it wasn't just a simple tickle; much like his breathing against the side of her neck behind her ear at night or in the afternoon, it easily ignited a spark of desire.
But Yao Huang knew that Prince Hui only wanted to comfort her at this moment and absolutely had no other intentions.
Ignoring that tiny, untimely spark, Yao Huang pulled Prince Hui's hand down, lowered her head, and said, Alright, let's talk about something else. I asked Magistrate Xu to burn the painting you gave to Uncle Qi. Will Second Master mind?
Zhao Sui clasped the princess consort's hand back, turning his palm downward: It was meant for Uncle Qi anyway. It should be burned.
Yao Huang smiled and brought up Magistrate Xu: Second Master wants to entrust the reclamation of wasteland and the planting of Siberian Solomon's seal to Magistrate Xu. Why didn't you take the opportunity to see him while he was here?
Zhao Sui: He had a case to handle. Today was not the right time.
Yao Huang: Seeing how fast he tried the case, he must be a capable magistrate. Perhaps he really can help Second Master get this done.
Zhao Sui didn't tell the princess consort that after he had the idea of reclaiming the wasteland, he had sent people to investigate the character of the magistrate of Lingshan County. If he were a muddled or incompetent official, Zhao Sui would not have entrusted the wasteland reclamation to him.
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On the very day Magistrate Xu took Madam Lü and her son away, Qi Da, Qi Er, and Qi San's wife divided the family property. Qi Da's family got the backyard of the Qi residence, Qi San's wife and her two children got the front yard, and Qi Er's family got the storefront with a single-courtyard house on the main street. The farmland was divided equally among the three families.
There was a small door between the two courtyards of the Qi family. Qi Da and his wife directly removed the door and walled it up, living their own separate lives from then on. Because her husband had committed the act of smashing his own father's head, Qi San's wife could not hold her head up in front of the neighbors, so she temporarily took the children back to her maiden home. Therefore, the Qi family's side had been quiet and peaceful these past few days, without any more noisy quarrels.
On the twenty-eighth of July, the county magistrate's office reached a verdict. Squire Qi had indeed died of a sudden illness, but Madam Lü and Qi San had first mutilated Squire Qi's corpse and then conspired to frame Qi's eldest daughter-in-law. Qi San, who directly laid hands on Squire Qi's corpse, was sentenced to beheading for grave unfilial conduct, while Madam Lü was sentenced to exile, pending execution only after review by the Court of Judicature and Revision.
With the case settled, Qi Da and Qi Er took a coffin to the county office to bring Squire Qi's body back, and buried him that very night.
After sending Squire Qi off on his final journey and returning to the East Courtyard, Yao Huang sighed to Prince Hui, Now we don't even need to find a special excuse to move away. With a murder case happening at a neighbor's house, and since our family is not short of money, the neighbors will understand if we move.
Zhao Sui silently observed this small courtyard where they had lived for over a month.
The princess consort suddenly leaned close from the side, smiling as she asked him, Is Second Master also reluctant to leave? If nothing else, once we return to the princely manor, it won't be as convenient for Second Master to come to my place for an afternoon nap as it is here.
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes, not replying.
Yao Huang was long accustomed to Prince Hui's daytime reserve. When night fell, she snuggled against him and asked, What do we do in the future? Will the prince still accompany me for my afternoon naps?
Prince Hui pressed down on the princess consort's hand, which was playing with his Adam's apple, and said, unable to tell whether it was against his will or exactly what he wanted, I will.
