Chapter 11 – A Woman’s Heart

Editor: mako

Proofreader: kllua

Although Second Liu remained in place, Da Tou and the two other policemen dared not let their guard down. Seeing that Second Liu was unable to deny his involvement in the cases, they then rushed forward and apprehended him. 

Due to such a scene, all the vendors were craning their necks to see the ruckus. Pointing at Second Liu, they were all making guesses of the crime he had committed.

Meanwhile, Second Liu, who was apprehended by the policemen, only had his eyes fixed on Huo ZhenYe as he said, “Do not look for my senior sister.”

However, there were no traces of any smile on Huo ZhenYe’s face. No matter what Jin DanGui and Big Liu did, Su ManLi was still innocent.

Several people took Second Liu to the precinct interrogation room. Thinking that his plan had been flawless, he was waiting for Huo ZhenYe to reveal how he had gotten into Su ManLi’s room.

His face then turned gray. Could they actually find out the killer from the footprints?

“You knew since quite early on?”

“Yes.” Tapping his finger on the table, Huo ZhenYe continued, “When you came to the precinct to pick up Big Liu, the news of Su ManLi’s death had not yet been reported. How would you have known that?”

Initially, it had only been his speculation, but Huo Zhenye had followed it up with the search for evidence.

Meanwhile, Second Liu found it hard to believe his words. Huo ZhenYe was aware, but during the three times they met, he had revealed nothing.

Able to guess what Second Liu was thinking, Huo ZhenYe smiled. “I was afraid that before the evidence was consolidated, all of you would run away.”

In the end, when the policemen came to collect Second Liu’s fingerprints and footprints, he did not resist.

Huo ZhenYe asked, “The reason why you imitated the murderer’s killing technique was to exonerate your senior brother from the crime?”

Second Liu looked down at the table and remained silent.

“But he does not deserve it.”

Right then, Second Liu finally looked up. Although he did not speak, he used his glare to refute Huo ZhenYe’s words. His senior brother had already promised that the three of them would live together well.

Huo ZhenYe pulled out his silver cigarette case and took a stick of cigarette out. However, instead of lighting it, he only held it between his fingers. “Your master left your senior sister a dowry.”

Hearing that, Second Liu was shocked, as he had not expected Huo ZhenYe to find out about it. After all, this was something handed over to Senior Sister before their master’s death.

Keeping the cigarette in his hand, Huo ZhenYe then rummaged through the case folder and took out a pair of diamond earrings.

“This is what Big Liu gave to Jin DanGui, and we have already checked them. He had exchanged a jadeite necklace for the earrings with an Indonesian businessman.”

Because the Indonesian businessman had refused to give up the necklace for evidence collection, Huo ZhenYe had bought it from him. At that moment, he took it out and showed it to Second Liu.

The jadeite beads were dark green with sufficient transparency, and at first glance, they could be determined to be of excellent quality. There was also a jade butterfly with golden edges hanging from it.

For Big Liu to use this necklace to exchange for the diamond earrings was a big loss.

Meanwhile, Second Liu could definitely recognize the necklace. That was his senior sister’s favorite item in the whole chest.

However, she had not planned to use it as her personal dowry, saying that she wanted to sell it. After all, with the money from it, she could set up a business or do small transactions, allowing her to be set for life.

At that time, Second Liu could clearly remember Senior Sister’s expression as she caressed the necklace. He had even said that she would look really beautiful if she wore it while getting married. Never had he expected that his brother would take it and exchange it for diamond earrings to give to Jin DanGui.

“You lie!” Despite his loud refute, Second Liu was already convinced by Huo ZhenYe’s words.

“He also planned to take Jin DanGui and leave Shanghai. The tickets for the boat have already been bought, and there are only two.” Here, Huo ZhenYe put on airs and took out the tickets from the case folder. Rubbing it between his fingertips, he separated the stacked tickets and showed Second Liu that there were definitely two.

After that, he gave them a meaningful glance and continued, “This month, the 28th.”

As if he had been punched in the heart, Second Liu was completely tongue-tied. The 28th was the hundredth day after his master’s death, but his brother actually wanted to leave without even paying his respects.

While the story surrounding the earrings and necklace was true, the tickets were false. However, with Huo ZhenYe taking out the evidence one after another from the case folder, Second Liu was already firmly convinced.

“For you to shoulder a person’s life for him, is he worth it?”

Saying that, Huo ZhenYe left the interrogation room.

After comparing the fingerprints and footprints, it was confirmed that Second Liu was the one who left the footprints on top of Su ManLi’s house. This, coupled with his own confession, allowed the case to be finally resolved.

Da Tou admired Huo ZhenYe immensely. “Young Master Huo, you are truly great. How did you manage to think of Second Liu? Like this, our precinct would no doubt gain a great reputation.”

At this moment, Chief Song was also beaming with joy. The big case that alarmed the whole of Shanghai had been solved by his people in a week, and they had not even gotten to the seventh day of Jin DanGui’s death yet.

In front of the British, this was a big limelight.

“I will report all of your contributions to the superiors. Tonight is my treat.”

As Huo ZhenYe watched the people in the room rejoice, he injected, “For Jin DanGui’s case, there is no solid evidence that Second Liu was her murderer.”

Chief Song glanced at Huo ZhenYe. This time, the help provided by Huo ZhenYe was undeniable. As soon as he found out, he instantly made a call to NanJing and praised Huo ZhenYe’s intelligence to Secretary He.

However, despite Huo ZhenYe’s intelligence in solving the case, he was a little senseless.

“What more evidence do we need? Both cases were responsible by Second Liu.” With such words, Chief Song concluded the case.

In the end, the case involving the beauties of the world of flowers was resolved just like that.

Da Tou, who had some doubts, asked, “Young Master Huo, if it is not him, who else can it be?”

In the whole room full of jubilation, Huo ZhenYe was the only one who felt insipid, and he yearned to see Bai Zhun.

Meanwhile, Bai Zhun had slept until afternoon. Because he had eaten the sweet custard and beancurd skin buns in the morning, he did not feel hungry, just bored.

So, he moved “Mu GuiYing” and “Lord Yue” back to the courtyard.

Sitting on the steps by himself, he watched the two paper dolls play around with their silver spears. Usually, he would also occupy his time just like that. However, even though he did not find it boring, he felt that the building was too quiet.

No matter how much he watched, he just found it uninteresting. With a wave of his hands, the two paper dolls came to a stop.

At this moment, Ah Xiu, who was holding a paper vase, held it in front of Bai Zhun. She pointed at the flowers and shook her head.

While the paper flowers in the house would not wither for years and would always look delicate as if they had just been plucked, the flowers in the vase looked as if they could not hold on anymore after half a day.

As Ah Xiu did not understand why the red petals had slightly rolled up, she could only carry the vase to Bai Zhun.

“It is wilting.” Here, Bai Zhun remembered that there was only a small vase in front of the altar, and for such a large quantity of flowers, there was really no place to put them.

Ah Xiu tilted her head. She did not understand what “death” was, as paper and bamboo would not decay. Not familiar with the concept of life, she looked down at the flowers in worry.

Bai Zhun harrumphed, “Troublemaker, he is someone who will only cause me trouble.” How was he supposed to talk to a paper doll about life and death?

Speak of trouble, and trouble will arrive.

At this moment, three knocks sounded from the door, one long and two short.

Bai Zhun rolled his eyes. The other person had even knocked out a rhythm.

Without waiting for permission from Bai Zhun, Ah Xiu hurriedly opened the door for Huo ZhenYe. Once she saw him, she handed the vase over, signaling for him to save the flowers.

Huo ZhenYe had always thought that Ah Xiu was mute. Seeing that she was unaware that flowers needed water, he assumed that her mind was stuck in a child-like state and pacified her, “It’s okay. I will bring the flowers back and save them before giving them to you tomorrow.”

Ah Xiu nodded, feeling happy hearing that.

Huo ZhenYe placed a food container on the table. “I’ve brought you some braised shark fin.”

“What is delicious about shark fin? It’s either too hard or too soft. I’m not eating it.”

“It’s not that kind of shark fin.” From the food container, Huo ZhenYe then took out a large bowl.

In the Hui Cuisine Restaurant, one could find a dish of red braised fishtails. However, despite the tenderness of the meat from the tails of the black carps, it could not be compared to the fins. Specially curated for fins, the sauce of this dish was rich, and the flesh was delicate.

“Rich man.” Despite the satisfaction Bai Zhun felt in his heart, he still had to take a jab at him.

With Huo ZhenYe watching him, Bai Zhun picked up a piece with his chopsticks and ate it.

For such a dish to be delicious, it must be served with rice. So, by pairing the fish gravy with the freshly cooked rice, Bai Zhun managed to demolish almost half of a small bowl. It has been a long time since he was so satisfied, and the more he ate, the more satisfied he became.

Huo ZhenYe rested his arms on the table. Even the way Bai Zhun ate was condescending as he used his chopsticks to pick at the rice grains like it was something unappetizing.

When Huo ZhenYe saw such a scene, he wanted to laugh. However, at this moment, Bai Zhun’s gaze swept across him, so he quickly held it in and asked, “Where is the gramophone? Why are you not using it?”

Here, Bai Zhun might not know how to use it, but he would never admit it to him.

Even then, Huo ZhenYe could infer so, and his face wavered as he controlled his facial features tightly. He was afraid that if he were to laugh again, he would be thrown out of the Bai residence for the third time. Rolling up his shirt sleeves, he then carried the gramophone out.

Taking out two records and holding one on each hand, Huo ZhenYe asked, “Which one do you want to hear? Fight the Gods and Report¹“打神告庙” (there is no official English translation for this so I took liberty and translate it as “Fight the Gods and Report”) is often used to refer to “情探” (A Test of Love) which is based on Wang Kui Betrays Guiying (王魁負桂英), a Chinese story dating from 11th-century Song dynasty. Apparently, after Wang Kui’s baffling death, there was the circulation of a story (note that different variations exist): When a young courtesan named Jiao GuiYing falls in love with an impoverished student named Wang Kui, she supports him with her savings as he prepares for the imperial examination. At that time, Wang Kui promised her that once he succeeded, he would immediately go back and fetch her. However, after finishing first in the examination and becoming the talk of the capital, he cruelly writes GuiYing a letter telling her that he now plans to marry a high-ranking minister’s daughter, causing her to commit suicide. Her ghost then wanders from the Underworld to Wang Kui’s residence, where she haunted him and later captured and dragged him to the underworld. or The Case of the Black Basin² “乌盆记” (The Case of the Black Basin) refers to the part in The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants (三侠五义) that narrates how Bao Zheng (an upright official known for his stressing the dignity of law) solved a homicide conducted over greed for money after his appointment to DingYuan county. If you are interested to know more about Bao Zheng and the various adaptations he had you can try: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bao_Zheng#Literary_traditions?”

Both of the plays narrated the fight for justice after a person’s wrongful death.

Bai Zhun’s eyes narrowed into slits. Huo ZhenYe had compared him to Hades and Bao Zheng to test him. Bai Zhun released a snort of laughter and replied, “I do not have such great power.”

What he had done so far was requested of him.

Despite facing Bai Zhun’s mild rebuff, Huo ZhenYe still continued to hold him up in high esteem. “Then we will go with Fight the Gods and Report.”

Huo ZhenYe put the record in the gramophone, held up the needle, and continued saying with his back facing Bai Zhun, “Second Liu pleaded guilty.”

However, Second Liu was not Jin DanGui’s killer. Huo ZhenYe gently placed the needle onto the record and turned back to Bai Zhun. “What were the anesthetic drugs in the wine? How can she not leave any trace?”

Such drugs were not easily sold. Huo ZhenYe has searched all the Western hospitals that Han Zhu could come into contact with, but there were no records of such a transaction.

At this time, the record started playing. As GuiYing cried to the temple of the sea god, Bai Zhun closed his eyes and listened to two sentences before saying slowly, “The flowers in her yard had bloomed well.”

Huo ZhenYe did not understand why Bai Zhun was thinking of flowers again. Did he want to plant a little in his courtyard too?

“What flowers do you like? I will send you some pots tomorrow. Or do you prefer a rack to plant some wisteria? When the flowers bloom in spring, it will definitely look good.”

Bai Zhun felt stifled. It was not easy for him to give Huo ZhenYe a hint, and yet he still did not understand? He was just going to close his eyes and ignore this blockhead.

It was only after a while that he heard Huo ZhenYe leave hurriedly through the door. Bai Zhun opened his eyes and became slightly sullen. Like this, how was he going to repay the debt he had towards Third Master Han now?

Meanwhile, when Huo ZhenYe arrived at the Han family courtyard for the third time, Han Zhu was collecting the dried clothes from the bamboo racks in the yard. With the current weather, the clothes had dried in just half a day.

As she collected her clothes, she looked at the door from time to time. Second Liu had gone out to open his stall, but he should be coming back soon.

Before Han Zhu could react to Huo ZhenYe’s appearance, Big Liu already started sobbing upon seeing him. For the whole day, he did not have anything to eat or drink. This, coupled with his exposure to the bright sun, had almost caused him to be on the verge of collapsing.

Big Liu was sitting at the foot of the wall in a bamboo wheelchair that Second Liu made.

As soon as Huo ZhenYe saw this, his face turned dark. He did not want to see another person sitting in the same type of wheelchair as Bai Zhun.

Han Zhu laughed. “He is a disabled person. How can he be mentioned in the same breath as the Seventh Master?”

“Second Liu killed Su ManLi.”

Han Zhu’s hands tightened. She had long known about it since the day Second Liu went to pick up Big Liu.

“However, who was the one who killed Jin DanGui?” Huo ZhenYe advanced two steps forward and continued bluntly, “I did investigate you, but you are very cunning. There were too many people at Astor House, and it was impossible to retrieve any useful fingerprints. I also checked the hospital pharmacies, and there was no evidence of you buying medicine.”

Big Liu was stunned. Wide-eyed with his chest constantly heaving, he kept his eyes fixed on Han Zhu unmovingly.

Han Zhu shook out the clothes and folded them over her arms. “I do not understand what Mr. Huo is saying.”

“Flowers of Infatuation, also known as Devil’s Snare, can be picked during its flowering period in August. After drying them, they can be ground into powder and mixed into wine. Besides feeling dizzy as if you are drunk, you would also not feel pain despite being cut open after drinking it. This was recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica³“本草” (Compendium of Materia Medica) is a Chinese herbology volume written by Li Shizhen during the Ming dynasty. It is a work that lists the materia medica of Chinese medicine known at the time..” If a person overdosed on it, they would turn out like Big Liu.

Beneath the flower shelf, there was a bamboo strip of the mentioned flowers being dried. Han Zhu followed Huo ZhenYe’s gaze and looked over. “Mr. Huo must be joking, as I do not know what Compendium of Materia Medica is. This is just my father’s side prescription for treating rheumatism, and there are many people who use such a prescription.”

“He used it when he was alive, so why are you drying it under the sun now?”

“My father’s hundredth day of death is coming up, and this is my show of filial piety. When that time comes, I will be burning them to my father with the other stuff.”

The two of them looked at each other through the flower rack. Han Zhu’s reasoning was watertight, and with only a bamboo strip of flowers laid out to dry, she could not be determined as the killer.

Big Liu trembled all over. He tried to make a sound but could only release “ohoh” sounds.

Meanwhile, Huo ZhenYe had not come with the intention to catch Han Zhu either, as he only wanted to know who the real culprit was. He took out something from his pocket and handed it to her. “This is yours.”

A jade butterfly slid out of his palm, and the golden wings glistened.

Han Zhu shook her head. “Since Mr. Huo bought it, it is yours now. I just want…to see Little Liu.”

“That is possible. I will arrange it.”

In the end, only Han Zhu and Big Liu were left in the courtyard. Big Liu stared at the door, unwilling to give up hope. He was hoping that Huo ZhenYe would return and take Han Zhu away.

Han Zhu stood in front of the clothes rack for a long time. As the setting sun stretched out her shadow, she suddenly turned around lightly and smiled gently at Big Liu.

Big Liu’s heart trembled, and coldness began settling in his bones. He suddenly realized that his brother would not be coming back, so there was no need for his senior sister to put on an act anymore.

• 1
  “打神告庙” (there is no official English translation for this so I took liberty and translate it as “Fight the Gods and Report”) is often used to refer to “情探” (A Test of Love) which is based on Wang Kui Betrays Guiying (王魁負桂英), a Chinese story dating from 11th-century Song dynasty. Apparently, after Wang Kui’s baffling death, there was the circulation of a story (note that different variations exist): When a young courtesan named Jiao GuiYing falls in love with an impoverished student named Wang Kui, she supports him with her savings as he prepares for the imperial examination. At that time, Wang Kui promised her that once he succeeded, he would immediately go back and fetch her. However, after finishing first in the examination and becoming the talk of the capital, he cruelly writes GuiYing a letter telling her that he now plans to marry a high-ranking minister’s daughter, causing her to commit suicide. Her ghost then wanders from the Underworld to Wang Kui’s residence, where she haunted him and later captured and dragged him to the underworld.
• 2
  “乌盆记” (The Case of the Black Basin) refers to the part in The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants (三侠五义) that narrates how Bao Zheng (an upright official known for his stressing the dignity of law) solved a homicide conducted over greed for money after his appointment to DingYuan county. If you are interested to know more about Bao Zheng and the various adaptations he had you can try: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bao_Zheng#Literary_traditions
• 3
  “本草” (Compendium of Materia Medica) is a Chinese herbology volume written by Li Shizhen during the Ming dynasty. It is a work that lists the materia medica of Chinese medicine known at the time.