Fragrance rises to dance

Chapter 4

Shengxiang looked at him in surprise, noticing the curious glances from passersby as they watched the two of them arguing and pulling at each other in front of Baitaotang. "Who asked you to come in as a customer..." Before he could finish his sentence, Bi Qiuhan, unable to bear the growing crowd and Shengxiang's perpetually loud voice, grabbed his hand and hurriedly dragged him inside. It was better than saying all this in front of a crowd.

Once inside, Shengxiang looked at him with a smile, "I didn't force you to come in."

Bi Qiuhan had nothing to say, so he could only keep his mouth shut with a stern face.

At this moment, a soft laugh came from upstairs, "This is the first time Young Master Shengxiang has brought a guest into my house. Master Bi, there's no need to be angry with him. He's just like that no matter what."

The voice, languid and tender, came from the top floor. It was the first time Bi Qiuhan had ever heard anyone address him as "Hero Bi" in Bianjing, and he looked up in surprise. There, on the third-floor railing, stood a woman in purple, dressing herself. Seeing him look up, she smiled sweetly at him. "Hero Bi, do you still remember the battle on the lotus boat ten years ago?"

The woman before him remained unchanged in voice and appearance. The battle on the lotus boat was arguably the first time Bi Qiuhan had faced a formidable enemy and nearly lost his life since his debut; how could he forget it? "You are—" he exclaimed, "Miss Shi?"

The owner of this Hundred Peach Hall is none other than Shi Shimei, the girl who sang on the lotus boat back then. She also witnessed that amazing bloody battle. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "We met once ten years ago. I didn't expect that Master Bi would still remember an old friend. I am flattered."

A woman as beautiful as Shi Shimei is one in a lifetime, perhaps only a few. Although Bi Qiuhan was dignified, he still vividly remembered the young girl who had captivated heroes with her smile. "Brother Nan, how are you?" he asked loudly. During the battle on the lotus boat, Shi Shimei had a handsome young man by her side. It was this young man who had saved them in their time of crisis; otherwise, everyone on the lotus boat would have sunk to the bottom of the Han River with it.

Shi Shi smiled and said, "I married someone else. What do you think of him?"

Bi Qiuhan was taken aback by her answer and paused for a moment. In that moment of pause, Shi Shimei broke into a smile, "Master Bi is not good at joking. Young Master Shengxiang, please come up. I have found some clues about the matter you asked me to investigate a few days ago."

The saying, "If you want to find a woman who smiles, you should come here," actually refers to the fact that Sheng Xiang asked the well-informed Shi Shimei to help him investigate. Shi Shimei was in charge of the brothel, and she was well-liked, so it was much easier for her to investigate such matters than for Bi Qiuhan.

The three of them were in Shi Shimei's room. She held a finely crafted, clearly aged sachet between two fingers and gently shook it. "This was given to me by the owner of Fengyuan Inn. Fengyuan Inn has been in the capital for nearly a century. Almost thirty years ago, the owner was the same person now. He said this was left in a guest room by a very beautiful woman. He started managing the accounts at eighteen and took over the inn at twenty, and he'd never seen a woman smile so brightly." Back then, the owner of Fengyuan Inn said, "When she smiled at me, if she wanted anything, I would give her anything, including this inn that's as precious as my life."

Bi Qiuhan stared sharply at the sachet and said in a low voice, "Xiao Ji had a romantic relationship with four senior figures in the martial arts world. Within half a year of her disappearance, all four senior figures were found dead from being hacked to pieces... I really can't understand why she would do such a cruel thing?"

“I disagree,” Shi Shimei said slowly. “If she truly loved them, even if she were to marry someone else, she wouldn’t hire someone to kill them. I’m a woman, and unless Xiao Ji has gone mad, I don’t believe she could be so heartless.”

Shengxiang interjected, "Who are her four lovers?" He was only interested in gossip.

Bi Qiuhan gave a cold laugh, a laugh born of heightened emotion. “‘Dongfeng Linye’ Leng Yuqiu, ‘Wujing Xiansheng’ Ye Xianchou, ‘Tai Kuangsheng’ Li Chenglou, and…” he enunciated each word carefully, ““Nearly thirty years ago, the son of the martial arts alliance leader Nanpu, ‘Taoli Chunfeng’ Nan Bibi. It was because his only son died a violent death that Elder Nan strictly forbade his children and grandchildren from venturing into the martial world…”

These figures were influential not only thirty years ago, but also today. Their stories are still talked about with great interest, but the protagonists in those stories have long since turned to dust.

This was all because the owner of the sachet was involved. Bi Qiuhan stared at the sachet; it was an exquisitely embroidered item containing some dried flower petals that had long since crumbled, and about three taels of silver. The front of the sachet was embroidered with the phrase "Cold leaves in spring breeze," and the back with "Exhalation forms a tower," which included several men connected to her. On the inner lining was a half-embroidered character for "fragrant," suggesting that the original intention was to embroider the words "fragrant sachet" on the outside, but the idea was later changed.

"She stayed at Fengyuan Inn, and then where did she go?" Shengxiang asked.

Shi Shimei shook her head. "She stayed at the inn for one day, and after leaving the next day, she never came back. She didn't even pay the inn's bill." Otherwise, the reputable Fengyuan Inn wouldn't have withheld the guest's belongings.

"What kind of flower are these petals?" Shengxiang glanced at the petals a few times. "Knowing where she picked them can give us a general idea of where she came from."

“That’s exactly why I’m here,” Shi Shi said seriously. “At first, it was just for fun. I asked someone to look up what kind of flower it was, and the result surprised me.” She held up a withered and broken petal between two fingers and asked, word by word, “Do you know what this is?”

Bi Qiuhan's expression turned serious. "Poison?"

Shi Shimei's pretty face turned deathly pale. "That's right, it's poison! These are petals from the highly poisonous flower 'Lone Swallow.' If an ordinary person eats them, they will vomit blood and die within moments!" She let out a long breath. "This is a rare poisonous flower from the Western Regions."

"Could it be that she came to the capital to kill someone?" Bi Qiuhan said. "Then we only need to find out who died from this poison thirty years ago..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shengxiang interrupted him: "There were many people who died suddenly thirty years ago. Are you going to ask them one by one? Besides, she might have used it for self-defense, not necessarily to kill people."

“But at least we know one thing,” Bi Qiuhan said coldly, “she must have some connection with the Western Regions.”

"I'll teach you a lesson: money makes the world go round." Sheng Xiang slapped Bi Qiuhan's head again with her folding fan. "Bring me paper and pen!"

After a while, Shengxiang smiled and held up a notice covered in ink, the first words of which were "Urgently Needed" and "Generous Reward".

"Dear brothers, sisters, elders, and fellow villagers of Bianliang: A family member of mine has suddenly fallen ill with a strange disease and urgently needs the ashes of someone who died suddenly from vomiting blood nearly thirty years ago. If anyone has any information, please inform Mei Niang of Bai Tao Tang and receive five taels of silver in cash. If my family member recovers from the strange disease, I will reward you with an additional one hundred taels of silver."

Bi Qiuhan was both amused and exasperated. "If this thing is posted, everyone will think you're joking. Who will believe you?"

Shengxiang twirled the gold-rimmed folding fan between her fingers a few times, just smiling.

"What I mean by 'Sacred Incense' isn't a real reward, but rather that if this document were posted out, it would undoubtedly become the most sensational topic in the capital recently." Shi Shimei smiled slightly. "The strange illness thing is obviously nonsense. A person who died suddenly from vomiting blood nearly thirty years ago—that's sensational enough. If it starts being discussed in the streets and alleys, those who know the story might recall some memories. And since it's linked to my place, which is known for its gossip, it'll attract even more attention. If someone really knows the story, they might actually come to me."

"If they find out someone is investigating this matter and then hide, wouldn't all this effort be wasted?" Bi Qiuhan asked.

Shi Mei glared at him. This man was no ordinary stubborn and slow-witted person. "If someone is afraid of being known, even if you don't flaunt it, do you think he'll tell you?"

Bi Qiuhan was speechless for a moment, then paused, "Then why write it so absurdly? Just say you want to find someone who knows about Xiao Ji's matter."

Shi Shimei looked at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, and with a flourish of her pen, she said, "Look at this notice, which one is more attention-grabbing?" She wrote a notice that read, "If anyone knows of a person who died suddenly vomiting blood nearly thirty years ago, please contact Mei Niang at Bai Tao Tang to collect five taels of silver." Bi Qiuhan was speechless; it was Sheng Xiang's notice that was astonishing and attention-grabbing. From a young age, he had been instilled with a dignified, serious, and steady demeanor by his elders. He possessed solid martial arts skills and a composed personality, making him quite similar to Shi Shimei's husband, Yu Xiu, in some ways. However, Yu Xiu was naturally serious, and Bi Qiuhan was far inferior to Yu Xiu's calmness and wisdom. Therefore, Yu Xiu's seriousness could be attributed to his personality, while Bi Qiuhan... in front of Sheng Xiang and Shi Shimei, could only be described as foolish.

A few days later, people in the capital were starting to talk about a strange notice: the government had recently taken on many unsolved cases involving people who had died years ago and were now just skeletons.

Meanwhile, Shengxiang was fanning himself in his courtyard, leisurely feeding the fat rabbit with garlic pancakes, making it squeal with delight, completely forgetting that he was the one who started it all. Bi Qiuhan, on the other hand, had been busy these past few days, investigating and uncovering secrets, and was nowhere to be seen. Why was he in such a hurry to inquire about Xiaoji, to dredge up a hidden case from thirty years ago? These were the private matters of his predecessors; if they could be buried, they would be best left buried. Why was he suddenly so eager to find Xiaoji? There were some things Bi Qiuhan hadn't said, and Shengxiang knew them well.

"Young Master, Master needs to speak with you."

"Oh—" Shengxiang dropped the fat rabbit. Ever since the death of Privy Councilor Rong Yin, his father had been busy like a spinning top. He had asked many times if there was anything he could help with, but his father always said no.

Zhao Pu's study was located at the deepest part of the Zhao residence, the one without any inscription. As a key minister in the founding of the dynasty, Zhao Pu wasn't intentionally frugal, but this study was always remarkably simple and unpretentious. It was said that this room existed when the Zhao residence was first built, and the Prime Minister not only didn't demolish it but also kept it exactly as it was. Shengxiang had asked her father if this was where he had secret rendezvous in his youth, which nearly infuriated Zhao Pu.

The dilapidated house remained as run-down as ever, with moss covering the walls. Although the servants cleaned it regularly, it still exuded a desolate atmosphere, which Shengxiang disliked the most.

He pushed open the door and came in obediently, "Dad?"

Zhao Pu stood in the room, staring blankly at the wall opposite the door. The room was piled high with official documents. Shengxiang had been in there countless times, but this was the first time he had seen his father like this. "Father?" he called out again.

Zhao Pu seemed to snap out of his daze, turning around to see Shengxiang staring blankly as two lines of tears streamed down his father's cheeks. Zhao Pu wiped away his tears with his sleeve, and Shengxiang's sleeve slid down, revealing the fan in his palm with a "snap." A sense of foreboding washed over him, but Shengxiang smiled. "Father, why are you crying in front of your son?"

Zhao Pu wiped away his tears, his voice still a little hoarse, "Shengxiang, your father has a question for you."

Shengxiang stuck out her tongue. "If you're asking about the death of someone thirty years ago, I'll confess. I wrote that notice."

"So it really was you who wrote it." A somber pain welled up in Zhao Pu's eyes, not from anger, but from a deep desolation. "Is this the person Qiu Han is looking for?"

His father had investigated everything so thoroughly, yet Bi Qiuhan's search for a woman was nearly thirty years ago. Why had it bothered his busy father? Shengxiang snapped open her folding fan, "Hmm..."