Ju Mu'er then realized that while she was fast asleep, Master Long had summoned the maids and servants and even brought over the files from the library, as if he intended to keep her occupied.
Ju Mu'er sighed, knowing that this matter needed to be resolved as soon as possible.
Long Er was waiting for Ju Mu'er in her room. She dawdled for quite a while before finally returning. As soon as she entered the room, she rummaged through her clothes trunk, and after a while, she found a hat and put it on.
Long Er looked and saw it was the hat she had specifically worn when she said her hair smelled bad. Long Er wanted to laugh; his Mu'er's little obsession with cleanliness was truly amusing. Ju Mu'er put on the hat, straightened her back, and groped her way to sit down in front of Long Er.
Long Er put down the file in his hand, suppressed a laugh, and tugged at the tip of her hat. Ju Mu'er covered herself with both hands and muttered a complaint: "Xiao Zhu won't let me wash my hair and take a bath, saying that the doctor said I can't wash until my fever has completely subsided. But I've slept for so long and sweated a lot, so I smell terrible."
"Even if she smells bad, you can't wash her. You have to listen to the doctor." She seemed to be in better spirits, which made Long Er very happy. He then went to pull her hat to tease her.
Ju Mu'er slapped his hand away and said seriously, "I've thought about what Second Master said."
"how?"
"Has Second Master told General Long and Third Master Long about Mr. Shi's case?"
"I told her." Long Er stared at Ju Mu'er. She was in good spirits and her mind was sharp. She knew to subtly hint at him by mentioning his family right from the start.
"Has Second Master explained the dangers of the matter and the harm it poses to the Long family?"
“They know very well.” Long Er cleared his throat. “I’ve told them everything. There’s nothing to hide between family members. Once I’ve decided to do this, I will never sneak around and keep it from them. They will definitely explain the situation to my sister-in-law and Fengfeng as well. Our Long family will face whatever happens together.”
His words stunned Ju Mu'er, leaving her speechless.
Long Er sneered and continued, "Unlike some people, who are self-righteous and can't understand the principles of being a family."
"Therefore, that person can never be family with Second Master. Second Master, don't pay any attention to her, let her go."
Talking back!
Long Er was displeased. "Let her be? Wouldn't that be letting her off easy?"
Ju Mu'er sighed: "How can Second Master vent his anger?"
"That's simple. I'll make her cry and beg me to let her marry me back. Then, whether or not I divorce her again is up to me."
Ju Mu'er pursed her lips; he really could say that.
"She'll probably beg the Second Master to leave her alone, even if she cries."
Long Er snorted: "Let her try crying!"
Ju Mu'er pouted and remained silent.
Long Er glared at her, angry that she was still struggling to distance herself from him. "You don't need to say anything else. I will never let this go. In short, I will find the murderer and make you admit defeat."
"I have always respected Second Master."
"That's really hard to tell."
"Second Master, if you're going to get involved in this matter, have you figured out a strategy for dealing with the Emperor?"
"No."
"Second Master, do you have any leads on this matter?"
"No."
"Does Second Master have a way to deal with the consequences?"
"not yet."
Ju Mu'er shut her mouth; her meaning was clear. Long Er, however, added, "Aren't you the same? This comparison is fair and just."
Ju Mu'er didn't know what to say. It was precisely because she had no other choice that she resorted to this desperate measure of divorcing him. If she continued to pester him, what would be the point of all the things she had done before?
She couldn't help but sigh again. She knew that Long Er wanted her to know that she had done nothing but wasted effort, and that he wanted her to admit that she was wrong.
"Second Master said I can make a condition?"
“Yes.” Long Er readily agreed: “If we don’t do this, you probably won’t be satisfied. I’m the kind of person who’s easy to talk to. I’ll grant you one request in exchange for you helping me resolve this matter. You see, either way, you’re the one who benefits.”
This kind of bargain is really hard to come by.
"Alright, my condition is that Second Master's involvement in this matter must be kept secret and not known to others. Everything must appear to outsiders as if it has nothing to do with Second Master or the Long family."
Long Er looked at her quietly without replying immediately.
She's as cunning as ever. The conditions sound harmless, but in reality, they completely sever ties between her and him. They make him appear unrelated to the matter, meaning unrelated to her. Therefore, he must maintain distance, avoid public contact, not stay at her place, and not let her go back.
It's like two people who are actually divorced.
Long Er stroked his chin. Did she think that by saying that, he wouldn't be able to pester her anymore? Long Er smiled. He wasn't afraid of her making demands; any conditions were fine. What he feared was her not making any demands at all. If she refused to talk to him even if it meant death, and actually started crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide, he would find it difficult to handle.
Fortunately, he understood her.
"Okay, I promise you." Long Er's answer relieved Ju Mu'er. But his quick agreement also made her a little uneasy.
"Everything will be done in secret. I won't publicize it or make it public. Unless I'm absolutely certain, I will never let this matter be exposed, and I won't let anyone know that I'm in charge of this. How about that?"
“Alright.” Ju Mu’er replied, “In order to truly sever ties with this matter, it would be best if Second Master and I had no further contact.”
Long Er smiled; she really couldn't wait to make it clear. He casually corrected her: "It means we shouldn't have public interactions."
Ju Mu'er was slightly taken aback, but finally nodded.
Long Er smiled again and reached out to hold her hand: "That makes things clear."
What did you explain? Ju Mu'er asked worriedly.
Long Er rubbed her temples and said, "To avoid me getting into any trouble during my investigation, you have to tell me all the details you know. And whatever I find out, I'll tell you too, okay?"
Ju Mu'er thought it made sense and nodded. "Second Master, please ask whatever you want to know."
"You said you can't extricate yourself from this case, but you probably didn't mean it was your own choice. What makes you feel like you're trapped?" This is what Long Er cares about most. Being unable to extricate herself and having to divorce him to protect him means that danger is lurking around her.
"My own will was certainly part of it. Also, I was being monitored."
"Surveillance?" Long Er frowned. She married into the Long family and was being monitored? Everyone around her was one of their own. Except for Su Qing.
"It was a very subtle surveillance operation, which I only recently confirmed. This also made me realize that the mastermind behind it all had been suspicious of me. But I can't understand why he didn't kill me."
This has always puzzled her.
"Second Master, you know Hua Yibai, right? He's dead. They say he drowned after drinking, an accident. But the timing of his death was too coincidental. He had just finished the first half of the score and was running around trying to find a clue, just as I was about to finish the second half of the score, when he passed away. After he left, the musicians who had worked with him on the case either scattered or went into hiding. The matter has been forgotten ever since."
Long Er frowned: "Besides Hua Yibai, have any other musicians died mysteriously?"
"I haven't heard of it."
"Then why do you feel the need to kill you?"
“I’ve gone blind.” Ju Mu’er touched her eyes. “I can’t see anymore. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I really feel something is off. Doctor Qi, who treated my eye disease, was highly skilled and praised by everyone. He had been treating my illness all along, but not long after I went blind, he moved away and left the capital, saying he was going back to his hometown to retire. I secretly consulted other doctors, and they all said that my eyes were incurable, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with the previous treatments. But the timing of my going blind and Brother Hua’s death are too coincidental, which is why I’ve always been suspicious.”
At this point, Ju Mu'er bit her lip and continued, "Later, I discovered that I was being watched, and I became even more suspicious. Why didn't that person kill me? After going through all this trouble, killing me wouldn't have been so simple, would it?"
Since Long Er didn't know much about the situation and had no idea what to speculate about, he asked directly, "Is it Su Qing?"
Ju Mu'er was taken aback, then shook her head: "Of course not. Qing'er is the person I trust the most."
Long Er snorted, and Ju Mu'er added, "Besides Second Master, he is the person who makes me feel most at ease."
Well, I guess she's being sensible, at least she knows what's good for her.
Ju Mu'er continued, "Speaking of the murderer, I have another question: why kill Minister Shi's entire family? If he wanted to retrieve the musical score, he could have simply sneaked in and done it. If anyone tried to stop him, he could have just killed them. Why wipe out the whole family?"
Long Er raised an eyebrow: "Why are you so insistent that the murderer committed the crime in order to retrieve the sheet music?"
Ju Mu'er was stunned; she really hadn't considered any other motive.
76. They joined forces and met in secret.
"This is what Master Shi told me with a zither piece before his death. There is a great mystery in that zither piece." Ju Mu'er told Long Er about the speculations she had discussed with Ya Lili. The five mixed pieces in front were not simply a plea for justice, but also an explanation that pointed out the meaning of the complete zither piece that followed.
Long Er thought for a moment and asked, "Mu'er, when you learn to play the zither, can you hear the stories in the music?"
“Some are acceptable, such as swords and horses, mountains and rivers, or gentle love stories…” Ju Mu’er paused, hesitating whether to give Long Er some examples, but would giving him examples be helpful?
At this moment, Long Er said, "But what about the love stories, the expedition and not returning home, and then waiting for the beloved to come back? You can understand all of this just by listening to the music?"
"This naturally requires understanding the composer's intentions and the story behind them, and then interpreting it in conjunction with the music."
"So, Shi Boyin knew who the composer was and even knew their story? Otherwise, how could he have told you all this so clearly?"
Ju Mu'er was taken aback again: "It is said that this zither piece was obtained by Minister Shi, but he could not play it, so he asked Master Shi for help."
"So, if Shi Boyin didn't already know the secret of this zither piece, then Shi Zechun must have known. Shi Zechun told Shi Boyin about the origin of the zither piece, but his whole family was murdered. So Shi Boyin tried every means to reveal the secret of this zither piece. Perhaps he knew that this tragedy was related to the origin of this zither piece?"
“That’s what I think,” Ju Mu’er said. “The melody is similar in style to the music played by Lady Ya Li. I have asked her to investigate this piece in west Min Kingdom.”
“Lord Ya Li?” Long Er snorted: “I should have known there was something fishy about your going to see her. I trusted you too much back then.”
Ju Mu'er lowered her head and remained silent. Now, Long Er would occasionally poke at her sore spots, leaving her feeling helpless yet ashamed.
Seeing her listless appearance, Long Er couldn't help but poke her forehead. "Do you regret treating me like this?"
Ju Mu'er remained silent, not regretting that she could never have said those words to him.
"How heartless!" Long Er glared at her, feeling very dissatisfied.
Ju Mu'er lowered her head and sullenly tried to steer the conversation back to Long Er, hoping to divert his attention. "Master Shi must have had a deeper meaning in going to such lengths to interpret the zither piece before he died. Even if the murderer wasn't after the score, his purpose must have been related to it. I just don't understand why he would go to such lengths as to wipe out the entire family."
"Perhaps it has nothing to do with the sheet music at all. There must be some deep-seated hatred that would lead to such a brutal killing. You musicians are all a bit crazy; once you touch the zither, you like to attribute everything to it. Who would kill an entire family just to steal a tattered sheet music? Only a fool would believe such a reason."
Ju Mu'er didn't like hearing this. She pouted and replied, "Second Master is talking nonsense. He's dragging everyone involved in the case. Wasn't the reason Master Shi was convicted that he did such a ruthless thing to possess this peerless zither score? Besides, Second Master doesn't understand the zither, so naturally he has no interest in it. But just as some people might murder for money, a wonderful zither score is priceless. It's not surprising that he might have wicked thoughts about it. But I didn't conclude this because there's a zither score involved in this case." It's not related to the score itself, but rather that Master Shi specifically played this piece on his deathbed, so there must be a reason. Now there's a rumor that this score is a martial arts manual, isn't there? If the matter had nothing to do with the score, why would such a rumor exist? I've never found out how Minister Shi obtained this score, but if this matter wasn't about stealing the score, it was about destroying it. Perhaps the murderer didn't want the music to circulate, or perhaps they wanted to kill everyone who knew about the score. In any case, even if it wasn't about stealing the score, this matter must be related to it.”
"I say one sentence and you reply with so many, aren't you tired?" Long Er said irritably, pouring her a glass of water and handing it to her. "Do you really think a musical score could be a martial arts manual?"
Ju Mu'er took the water and drank it without hesitation. Her face was slightly flushed, whether from the heated argument or from her lingering illness, it was hard to tell. Long Er, somewhat worried, touched her forehead with the back of his hand and found it still a little hot.
Ju Mu'er replied, "We who study the zither are all obsessed. We only know the sheet music, not the martial arts manuals."
Long Er pinched her cheek, and she started acting mischievously again.
"Anyway, Master Shi is famous for his zither playing, and I have never heard of him studying martial arts. Minister Shi also does not seem to be a martial arts master. Furthermore, to hide martial arts secrets in a zither score, the composer must not only be a master of martial arts, but also have profound zither playing skills. Both are indispensable. I have never heard of any master in the zither world whose martial arts are so exquisite."
Long Er nodded, agreeing with this point. It certainly required considerable skill to memorize martial arts secrets into a musical score that ordinary people couldn't decipher; that was something worth looking into.
At this moment, Ju Mu'er said again, "I discovered the secret of the musical score, so if this case is really related to the musical score, then I have won."
"You're quite the schemer. The scope of this is too broad. Even getting a little bit involved is considered a win. You're really getting a good deal." Long Er poured her another glass of water, watched her drink it, and said, "You can't take shortcuts like this. Only catching the murderer in the end counts."
"If I catch the murderer based on my deductions and the clues I find, then I win."
Long Er walked to the bedside and shook the blankets around her, ignoring her words. Ju Mu'er continued to nag, "Second Master is a man of his word, and I trust him."
Long Er interrupted her, "No need for flattery, I don't fall for that anymore."