by Qinghan CeCe
It was a frightened Zhou Ziqin.
Li Shubai signaled for the guards to let him come over. They walked to the pavilion and motioned for Zhou Ziqin to sit. “What happened?”
Zhou Ziqin looked confused and hesitant, his fists clenched.
Li Shubai frowned. “What happened?”
“I . . . I may have . . .” Zhou Ziqin was pale and trembling. He looked at Li Shubai and Huang Zixia before finally forcing out some words: “May have killed someone.”
“May have?” Li Shubai said.
“I just can’t say it right. Chonggu knows. I never wanted to kill them!”
Huang Zixia was shocked. “What does it have to do with me?”
“Because the people who died were the beggars I gave food to last night!”
Huang Zixia gasped.
Li Shubai glanced at her. “Ziqin, tell me exactly what happened.”
“Right,” Zhou Ziqin said nervously. Zhou Ziqin told Li Shubai about that night and giving the food to the beggars. “I do it a lot and never had any problems.”
Huang Zixia nodded encouragingly.
“Then, this morning after I got up, I heard the board people are examining corpses found next to Xingqing Palace, so I went and found out that it was the beggars from last night!”
“So the food we gave them was poisoned?” Huang Zixia asked. “But we didn’t notice anything unusual while we were eating.”
Zhou Ziqin anxiously grabbed her hand. “Really! They died from poison. I secretly took the lotus leaves I used to wrap the food home for testing and found traces of poison, and it’s a poison we rarely see.”
Li Shubai looked at their hands. Huang Zixia brought hers quietly back. “What poison?”
“The sap of a poisonous tree. The Nanman call it antiaris. Anyone who ingests it dies before they can take ten steps. It’s one of the most poisonous substances in the world.” Zhou Ziqin frowned. “It’s rare in the capital. I’d only heard of it in books. It causes black ulcerations all over the skin. Pus and swelling make people unrecognizable. It’s horrible!”
“The beggars were like that?”
“Yes, and the board is determined to find the killer.” Zhou Ziqin’s lips were pale, and his shoulder was still trembling. “But, Chonggu, you know I had no intention of harming anyone!”
Huang Zixia frowned. “How did our food suddenly get poisoned on the way? We’re all fine.”
“We ate the food, and it was we who wrapped it up and gave it to them.”
“I think the most important thing,” Li Shubai said, “is who it was you were eating with that poisoned the food.”
Huang Zixia nodded. “Minister Cui, Wang Yun, us, some court officials, and Jin Nu.”
Zhou Ziqin seemed to count them on his fingers and decide they couldn’t be murderers. “Chonggu, do you think we’ll be blamed?”
“What do you think?” Huang Zixia said.
“When we were walking there, it was almost curfew, so no one saw us, so I think maybe as long as we don’t say anything, we’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d check the stomach contents. Beggars don’t get to eat food that good very often, so the range of suspects will narrow. And the lotus leaves were fresh. Usually, the kitchen uses spare dry ones for that. Why would they use fresh ones just to pack food? The capital is at a low altitude, wet and cold. The ponds just filled up, so restaurants have to get lotus leaves from fisherman outside the city. They send them with fish and shrimp in the morning. They’re not easy to come by.”
“Then maybe they used lotus leaves for takeout to be misleading.”
“Maybe, but before considering that possibility, detectives will have visited the major restaurants and found out that Zhou Ziqin, who never wastes food, wrapped up those specific dishes—unambiguous evidence. You could be under investigation immediately.”
Zhou Ziqin collapsed in his chair. His face went white and his eyes wide.
“Don’t you always work with bodies?” Huang Zixia asked reluctantly. “Why are you so afraid of death?”
“I like to study bodies,” he said weakly, “not turn people into dead bodies.”
As Huang Zixia and Li Shubai exchanged a look, Jing Yu arrived. “Prince, Minister Cui has come to see you.”
“What does the court want with me?”
“He said it has to do with the case.”
Zhou Ziqin jumped up. “No, it can’t be. Does he know I’m here?”
“Ziqin,” Li Shubai said. Zhou Ziqin snapped out of it. Even if Cui Chunzhan knew he was responsible, he wouldn’t immediately come to Kui Palace to find him. “Ask him to come in,” Li Shubai said.
Cui Chunzhan approached them, bowed to Li Shubai, and nodded at Ziqin and Zixia. He didn’t seem to pay much attention to them, which calmed Ziqin down some.
It was surprising when the first thing he said was, “You must know why I’ve come today, my Prince. Ziqin, Mr. Yang, you also know, right?”
Zhou Ziqin jumped up. “I-I know.”
“Yes, so you also heard.” He looked at Li Shubai before continuing. “The body’s skin was festering with black pus, face bloated and twisted . . .”
Zhou Ziqin turned pale. He trembled as he spoke. “I saw.”
“What? You already saw it?” Cui Chunzhan was shocked. “Seems Ziqin has quite the reputation. The palace calls you first, even on such a big case like this.”
Huang Zixia and Li Shubai looked at each other, realizing he was talking about a different body.
But Zhou Ziqin was still rattled by guilt.
“You examine a lot of bodies, but it’s the first time you’ve seen this too, right? The killer’s cruelty is truly unthinkable!” Cui Chunzhan shook his head and sighed. “It even scared me half to death. This is the most brutal case the capital has seen in over a decade! Ziqin, you know a lot about poison. What type was it?”
He opened his mouth but couldn’t make a sound.
Huang Zixia was trying to kick his foot when Li Shubai said, “This is why Ziqin came to me. He thinks the killer used the sap of a poisonous tree.”
Cui Chunzhan nodded. “I knew this fellow would figure it out.”
Zhou Ziqin looked like a man with a guilty conscience. Huang Zixia stared at him hard. Why couldn’t you play it cool? Now that we’re directly involved, how are we going to find the real killer?
“Where was Wang Ruo’s body found?” Li Shubai asked.
Huang Zixia couldn’t believe he was able to keep his composure so well. It made her shiver.
Zhou Ziqin jumped up. “Wh-what? The Princess who disappeared from the palace is dead? And you already found the body?”
Cui Chunzhan looked shocked. “Isn’t that what we’ve been talking about?”
“I . . . I thought you were talking about . . .”
“Before you came, we were talking about the vicious murder of a group of beggars. Ziqin thought that’s what you were referring to,” Huang Zixia said.
Cui Chunzhan waved his hand. “A few beggars! We’re talking about the Empress’s cousin here. Much more important.”
“Beggars are people too,” Ziqin said weakly, “especially when there’s three or four of them.” Huang Zixia kicked him, and he finally shut his mouth.
“If you were discussing the beggars,” Cui Chunzhan asked, “how did you know I was talking about the Princess?”
“You rushed over here on just any night needing to speak with me immediately. What else could it be?” Li Shubai said calmly.
“In that case . . . we’ve all been talking about the same thing?” Zhou Ziqin had finally shaken off the glaze over his eyes.
Cui Chunzhan nodded. “Yes. I think there was a misunderstanding. I was confused as to how you went to see the body of the Princess.”
Of the four, only Huang Zixia remained focused. “Minister Cui, where was Princess Wang’s body found?”
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe it,” Cui Chunzhan said with a frown. “An hour ago
, her body suddenly appeared in Yongchun Temple’s east hall.”
“What?” Zhou Ziqin said, jumping up again. “Didn’t she go missing from there?”
“Yes, since the incident happened, the place has been tightly guarded. Today, the eunuchs went inside to have a look, because someone smelled something in the afternoon. Inside, they found the Wang girl’s body in the bed. She still had the same clothing and leafy golden hairpin as the day she went missing, but the body was festering and black—poisoned to death!”
Huang Zixia frowned slightly but didn’t say anything.
“This is incredible,” Zhou Ziqin said. “How can someone mysteriously disappear without a trace and then mysteriously reappear?”
“Exactly. It’s like she was never gone, there the whole time, but in two or three days became unrecognizable.” Cui Chunzhan shook his head. “This case is a tough one.”
Faced with such an important event, Li Shubai didn’t bother observing the curfew. He asked Jing Yu to come help him change, so he could go to Yongchun Hall.
Huang Zixia straightened up her own clothes. “How could something be invisible?” she mused.
Cui Chunzhan looked pained. “It must be possible. How else could it have passed under two hundred people’s noses?”
“I’m going to run home and get a few things. You chaps have to wait for me and let me go to the hall with you!” Zhou Ziqin joined in.
Li Shubai ignored him and began walking away. “Don’t. She’s royalty, regardless. You can’t put her under the knife.”
“Then, can I at least look?” he asked.
Li Shubai titled his chin toward Cui Chunzhan. “Doesn’t the Central Court ask you to look at a lot of crime scenes? What’s one more?”
Cui Chunzhan waved him on. “Come on, Ziqin. My carriage is this way.”
Eleven
UNSEEN AND UNHEARD
Though it was nighttime, Daming Palace was full of light. The lanterns lit pavilions from below, giving them a noble appearance. The two carriages arrived at its eastern gate. They got off and, escorted by eunuchs holding lanterns, walked straight to Yongchun Hall in the corner of the palace grounds. The gate was closed, so they had to walk westward along the wall until they reached the southern side and could turn north where there was an entrance.
“Can’t believe such a closed place couldn’t keep a rumor in,” Cui Chunzhan said.
As the three of them entered, they heard people arguing. They stood in the outer hall and saw several members of the Langya Wang family. Huang Zixia recognized Wang Yun and his father, Wang Lin, from the Board of Punishments.
Wang Yun was saying, “Wang Ruo is family. She was set to marry the Prince of Kui. A maiden is a precious thing. How can we let an examiner cut her open? It’s unthinkable!”
Minister Wang sounded miserable. “You know your father here is a minister on the Board of Punishments. The law says the bodies of those who die suddenly should be examined. If we don’t do an exam, what do we say to the court, or to the Prince of Kui?”
“Did you ever think doing an autopsy on the Princess-to-be might be a slap in the Prince of Kui’s face? I don’t care who thinks it’s right; I don’t think the Empress will allow it.”
Wang Yun was ready to walk away when he saw Li Shubai and Huang Zixia standing on the veranda and hesitated.
Li Shubai’s face had a rare smile on it as he walked toward Wang Yun. “You know me well. Of course I don’t want some examiner touching Wang Ruo. That’s why I brought the very best.”
Wang Yu quickly greeted him and motioned Zhou Ziqin toward the body. “I think we all know him, the son of Zhou Xiang. He can look at Wang Ruo’s body, as long as he doesn’t use tools.”
“Very thoughtful of you,” Wang Lin said with a sigh.
Zhou Ziqin gave them all an apologetic look, then took Huang Zixia into Yongchun’s eastern hall.
The east hall was lit with countless lamps. Everything was the same as it was the day of the incident. Since it was the imperial palace, everything had been put back after the search.
And in this bright, familiar environment was a body. It was dressed in a yellow robe, her hair in a loose bun, feet in silk slippers—just as she was when she disappeared. But her skin was festering and black with streams of blood and pus. Her face looked nothing like before. No one would be able to tell now that she was blossoming and young.
Huang Zixia looked at her quietly. Then she thought of the leafy hairpin of gold and pearls she had on the side of her head. A moment later, she pursed her lips and went over to the bed.
Zhou Ziqin brought a chair to the bedside, put on a pair of thin, soft leather gloves, bent over, and took the body’s face in his hands.
Though Huang Zixia was used to the sight of dead bodies, this swollen, distorted face was unbearable to look at. She turned away. “I thought you didn’t bring tools. When did you get the gloves?”
“When I left this morning. I heard about the poison murders by Xingqing Palace and grabbed them. When examining a body that’s been poisoned, especially with something this toxic, the skin can break, causing poisonous fluids to spread onto your hands, so gloves are absolutely necessary. Who knew I wouldn’t use them then but use them now?” Zhou Ziqin looked closely at the eyes, nose, and ears, then opened the mouth to see the tongue.
“The body’s wearing Wang Ruo’s clothing. Is the age and build hers too?”
“The victim is a young, slim woman. About five feet seven inches tall. It’s unusual for women to be that tall, so it basically matches. Did Wang Ruo’s body have any moles or birthmarks?”
She though back to her time with Wang Ruo. “I don’t think she had any marks like that, but there were some freckles on her right wrist. Do you see them?”
Zhou Ziqin rolled up her right sleeve, took a look, and said sadly, “I’m afraid the poison spread from her right hand. The skin there is so black, nothing can be made out, not moles, and certainly not freckles.”
“I see.” Huang Zixia looked at the disfigured hand and thought back to the first time she met Wang Ruo in the carriage. Her hands were so beautiful then. “How did her hands get like this?” she asked. “They used to be so slender and nice.”
“Slender?” Zhou Ziqin took the body’s fingers into his. “Impossible. Her hand bones are relatively large. No way they were slim, even before being poisoned.”
Huang Zixia gasped. “Give me the gloves.”
Zhou Ziqin looked at her doubtfully. “Why?”
She just stuck her chin up and squinted. Zhou Ziqin obediently handed them over.
Though the gloves were made of soft leather, they were men’s gloves after all, and a little big on Huang Zixia. Taking that into consideration, she compared her gloved hand with the body’s. The swelling was mainly horizontal, but they were still longer than hers, which Chen Nian said was good for playing the guqin.
“Look,” Zhou Ziqin said. “You’re male but were probably purified at a very young age, so your hands are even smaller than hers.”
What does purification have to do with hand size? Huang Zixia wanted to say as she pinched her own fingers through the gloves, then did the same to those of the body. She had to pinch deeper and deeper because of the swollen flesh. What she felt confirmed Zhou Ziqin’s conclusion—the hand bones were far from slender.
“Don’t press too hard, Chonggu,” Zhou Ziqin said nervously. “The skin’s already weak.”
Huang Zixia stopped and looked to make sure she hadn’t broken any. Luckily, only some on the palm was cracked. A thin white layer of skin showed, but there was no blood.
“It’s a callus. And all her skin is festering; breaking a little of the callus doesn’t matter,” Zhou Ziqin said. He looked at the crack below her pinkie finger and smiled. “Strange, in all these years, I’ve never seen a callus here.”
“Yes, logically, people get the most friction between the thumb and index finger. The outside of the palm is more likely.” Huang Zixia took another look. There
was also hard skin between the middle and third finger and some on the thumb. She thought about writing, embroidery, and clothes washing, but nothing fit.
Zhou Ziqin put his gloves away and said, “Nothing noteworthy besides that. This girl was born well off. Her hair and teeth are in good shape, and her body doesn’t seem to show any signs of wear. This person might not be Wang Ruo, but we don’t have good reason to say so.”
“The safest thing would be to state the cause of death but avoid that issue altogether.”
The two opened the door and went into the outer hall where everyone was waiting. Zhou Ziqin bowed to the crowd, then read his conclusion. “The deceased is female, five feet seven inches tall, with distorted facial features and swollen, festering, black skin. Her teeth are complete, her hair long and healthy. The body shows no signs of trauma, and was likely poisoned to death.”
“How terrible!” Wang Lin said. “I never thought my niece could be killed in such a heavily guarded place!”
Two of Wang Ruo’s brothers who had come from Langya for the wedding turned pale. The older one said, “So what’s the cause of death?”
“Poisonous tree sap,” Zhou Ziqin said.
Everyone looked at one another. “The one the Nanman call antiaris?” Wang Yun asked.
“Yes, it’s very uncommon in the city. But another group of people were killed with it last night,” Zhou Ziqin said. Huang Zixia was keeping quiet.
Before long, Empress Wang came. She looked at the woman on the bed and quickly turned and held on to Zhang Ling to keep from falling. She staggered away, hiding her face, without saying a word.
That night, Zhang Qing and a group of court servants worked silently to recover the body. The Wang family carriage left with the body. Li Shubai stood at the palace gate to see them off.
Zhou Ziqin went with Cui Chunzhan into his carriage. Huang Zixia prepared to mount the horse tied to Li Shubai’s, but one look from him was enough for her to get down and go into the cab and sit on her usual stool.
The horses took them all the way to Kui Palace.
Li Shubai didn’t look at her. He just fingered the glass jar holding the little red fish, which chased his fingers, its gossamer tail flowing behind it.