Snow falls and the wind blows

Chapter 13

15

Chapter Ten: Past Events • Intoxication...

Fortunately, the attic of the elegant residence was quite spacious. Zhan Yun had several constables follow him inside to watch over the seven or eight young ladies. They were allowed to move around and drink water, but were not allowed to talk. They would be called out one by one for questioning later.

The three stood on the lawn outside the pavilion. Xiao Duan took out a jade hairpin from his sleeve, examined it carefully, and then looked up at the two of them, asking, "What do you think?"

Zhan Yun took the hairpin, her brows furrowing slightly. After a moment, she pursed her lips and a faint smile appeared on her face: "The appearance of this hairpin is quite interesting."

Xiao Duan smiled slightly: "The blood on this hairpin is even more interesting."

Zhao Ting scoffed: "Tell me, if the plum blossom silver hairpin was accidentally dropped on the rocks in the lake by the murderer during his first crime, would he have been so careless as to leave it in this elegant abode when he used a hairpin from a woman's hair to slash her face during the next two murders?"

As Xiao Duan carefully put the hairpin away again, he nodded thoughtfully, "I think the first time he used the hairpin to scratch someone's face, it wasn't premeditated. At least he didn't intend to use a hairpin beforehand. The next two times, he was just doing it naturally. Under such circumstances, it's impossible for him to leave something so important outside. Especially in such a sensitive place as Ya She."

"So, someone knows who the murderer is before us?" Zhan Yun unfolded and then folded the fan in his hand, his delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly, and his expression becoming even more unpleasant.

After a moment's thought, Duan slowly shook his head: "That's not necessarily true."

"How so?" Zhao Ting raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s think about it from the other side,” Xiao Duan said slowly, raising his eyes to meet the two of them. “What consequences did this hairpin cause after it appeared?”

“We had suspected before that the murderer was in the elegant house. The appearance of this hairpin undoubtedly confirms this for us,” Zhan Yun continued, following Xiao Duan’s train of thought.

Zhao Tingjian raised an eyebrow: "But even without this hairpin, we would have already located the elegant residence. Investigating these people one by one is only a matter of time."

Xiao Duan curled his lips into a slight smile: "Don't you guys think that after this hairpin appeared, it forced everyone to reveal their true colors?"

Zhao Ting was facing Xiao Duan, listening attentively to his words and sorting out the case, when Xiao Duan suddenly laughed, making Zhao Ting's head spin. If someone laughs often, like Zhan Yun, although he is good-looking and his smile is naturally beautiful, you see it so often that you don't find it special after a while.

But with Xiao Duan, a smile was a rare sight indeed. Zhao Ting thought back carefully, and it seemed he had only seen him smile three times since he met him. The first time was at the "Zhuangyuanlou" in Bianjing, when he was drinking alone. The second time was this morning when he was talking to that guy surnamed Jiang. And this third time was just now.

Well, the rarer and more precious the sight, the more people want to see it. Xiao Duan rarely smiles, but when she does, it's incredibly captivating! Her pink lips are slightly pursed, and the corners of her already slightly upturned mouth curve even higher, making her clear, calm phoenix eyes shimmer with starlight. The slightly upturned corners of her eyes add a touch of cold allure, making anyone who looks at her feel their heart pound like a drum.

Xiao Duan had intended to ask the two men a serious question, but to his surprise, neither of them responded; they both stared blankly at him. Zhan Yun was somewhat alright, but Zhao Ting, while just staring blankly, had such a strange look in his eyes. Xiao Duan muttered to himself, "Why do these two always mess up at crucial moments? We're just getting to the point, why are they both so distracted!"

Zhao Ting's heart was churning with excitement, even more so than when he was about to charge into battle. He thought, "This guy finally smiled at me!" Not at thin air, not at anyone else, but directly at him, a gentle smile! Though it still carried that characteristic aloofness, it was precisely that cool, subtle smile that was so captivating! Zhao Ting was still lost in that smile, unable to calm down, when he heard Zhan Yun cough twice. Zhao Ting instantly snapped back to reality and saw Xiao Duan staring coldly at him with a sullen face. Meanwhile, Zhan Yun lightly waved his folding fan and chuckled softly.

Zhao Ting remained unfazed, raised an eyebrow, glanced at Zhan Yun, and asked matter-of-factly, "Where were we?"

Xiao Duan ignored him and turned to go into the attic to call for help. Meanwhile, Zhan Yun picked up his jade-bone folding fan and gently tapped Zhao Ting's shoulder. Zhao Ting glanced at him and saw a faint smile on Zhan Yun's lips, but his crescent-shaped eyes were full of laughter: "What were you thinking about just now? You were so engrossed, your eyes were practically gleaming, like a wolf cub."

Zhao Ting raised his foot to kick, but Zhan Yun slipped and dodged, gently waving his folding fan and chuckling softly. Just as he was about to say something, Zhao Ting glanced at him, and Zhan Yun turned his head to see Miss Zhu and Xiao Duan walking towards them one after the other.

After sitting quietly inside for a while and drinking some tea, Zhu Qiaolian gradually calmed down. She walked up to the two men, bowed deeply, and greeted them. Zhan Yun returned the greeting, and Zhao Ting nodded, resuming his usual cold and stern expression.

Xiao Duan also stood to one side. The three of them made Zhu Qiaolian recount the situation again. "Later, I dragged her along, saying we had to go see the officials, but several people stopped me, saying it must be a misunderstanding. Wang Sulei took advantage of the chaos and pulled Lanlan into the house. Everyone was quite agitated at the time, and quite a few vases and other things were broken. The house was a mess inside and out. No matter what I said, they wouldn't believe me. Then you came, and I... I was a little flustered and my tone was a bit harsh. Please forgive me, gentlemen." Zhu Qiaolian became more and more embarrassed as she spoke. At the end, she lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed, and bowed to apologize to the group.

Xiao Duan said softly from the side, "Miss Zhu, please call out the lady in the pink dress when you go inside." Zhu Qiaolian nodded, turned gracefully, and walked back to the pavilion with an elegant figure.

The woman in the pink dress was surnamed Li and named Li Weier. She immediately tried to explain what had just happened, but Xiao Duan waved his hand, his gaze coldly fixed on Li Weier: "Miss Li, do you still remember Han Jinglian?"

The woman was taken aback, her thin lips parted and closed several times, her eyes flickered with panic, and she nodded and shook her head: "I remember, I remember. But... I'm not familiar with her."

"Not familiar?" Xiao Duan's lips curled slightly. "Even if you're not familiar, you should know how that girl died, right?"

Li Weier frowned, her hands clutching the veil covering her skirt tightly. "I know," Li Weier said softly, "She drowned herself in the lake."

“Within a month, three young ladies from the elegant residence have been murdered, all near the Broken Bridge where Han Jinglian drowned herself years ago.” Xiao Duan paused slightly, then saw Li Weier’s mouth widen as she stared at him in horror. Xiao Duan then slowly continued, “Miss Li, do you think this is a coincidence?”

Li Wei'er shook her head repeatedly: "No, it's impossible! It can't be..."

“Of course it will!” Zhao Ting said coldly, his thin lips slightly pursed, a dangerous smile playing on them. “Miss Li, who knows, you might be the next one to suffer…”

In the bright sunshine of late spring, Li Weier shivered violently. Her legs went weak, and she swayed precariously, but Xiao Duan grabbed her arm and supported her. Li Weier gripped Xiao Duan's hand tightly, her eyes gradually welling up with tears: "Young Master, I... I really didn't..."

Xiao Duan nodded, his phoenix eyes still cold and aloof: "Tell me. What exactly happened three years ago?"

Li Wei'er nodded gently, her hands still tightly gripping Xiao Duan's, as if a drowning person had grasped the last piece of driftwood. Panic, confusion, and despair rippled through her misty eyes as she narrated. "Three years ago, in the spring, I had only been in the 'Elegant Abode' for a few months. I didn't understand many of the rules. Many people felt that being able to enter this 'Elegant Abode' was the greatest honor imaginable. Because it meant that whether it was playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, or needlework, you had to excel in something to get through the door and become a member of 'Elegant Abode.' And every girl who left here married into a good family, either a wealthy merchant or an official. Because it was said that the girls in the 'Elegant Abode' were not only outstanding in appearance and talent, but also gentle, generous, and understanding—each one a perfect wife."

“But after I came in, I realized that it wasn’t like that at all.” Li Wei’er said, her smile turning bitter, and tiny tears slid down her cheeks. “To put it bluntly, this elegant abode is a place where people bully each other. Either you are talented, or your family is rich, otherwise you will be laughed at and bullied to death, and you can’t even tell your family.”

"Why is that?" Zhan Yun frowned slightly. "If you don't like it here, you simply won't come. Why is this elegant residence so strict about entry and exit?"

Li Wei'er smiled and shook her head: "No, not at all. But since the day this elegant residence was established, no young lady has ever said she would only come for a few days and then not come back. Married girls naturally don't need to come, and their husbands' families might not allow it anyway. But once they've entered the elegant residence, if they suddenly stop coming without any reason, people will definitely gossip. They'll definitely say, 'Such a nice place, such a group of outstanding girls, does this person lack real skills or is she just difficult to get along with? How come she's the only one who can't stand it!'"

Zhao Ting snorted coldly, his thin lips pursed: "Trying to save face at all costs!"

Xiao Duan rolled her eyes at him. Could this guy please stop interrupting? Zhao Ting raised an eyebrow. What did I say wrong?

Li Weier smiled bitterly, her grip on Xiao Duan's hand loosening slightly. "This young master is right. It's all about saving face at the cost of suffering. But this face isn't just for me; it's for my family—my parents, siblings, and relatives. Actually, only a handful of people truly thrive in this academy. Everyone else is just an accessory. If you're not pretty enough, you'll be laughed at. If you don't play the zither well or your needlework isn't skillful, you'll be laughed at too. But these are secondary. The worst thing you can do in this academy is to be poor. When I first came here, I heard the other ladies mention Miss Han. They said her family lost money in business, and her father passed away less than half a month later. Now she's penniless and can't marry into a good family. At that time, I felt sorry for her, since she was the only one left in her family and only two years older than me, so I invited her to my house for dinner. The next day, someone pulled me aside and said I couldn't do that again."

"What kind of person is Miss Han?" Xiao Duan suddenly asked.

"She's very beautiful, very gentle, has beautiful handwriting, and is skilled at needlework. Compared to Qian Dieyou's so-called 'double-sided embroidery,' it's nothing." Li Weier chuckled, then sighed softly, "She's just too weak-willed, even more timid than Lan Lan. When others bully her, she doesn't say a word in retaliation; she just sits there wiping away her tears. But who would have thought that someone so timid would end up drowning herself in the lake..."

"Who are the people who were in the elegant residence three years ago? Who are they now?" Zhan Yun frowned slightly, his face devoid of any smile.

Li Weier sighed and said slowly, "The three who died were me, Wang Sulei, Zhu Qiaolian, and Lu Ting."

"Miss Li, after you go inside, please ask Miss Wang to come out. We'll contact you if there's anything else," Xiao Duan said softly.

Author's Note: Well, these two chapters today mainly focus on the case.