Ma femme escalade le mur

Chapitre 18

Xiao Duan took a sip of tea, looked up at Li Qinglan and Tao Hanzhi, then at Zhao Ting across from him and Zhan Yun sitting next to him. After a moment of silence, he said softly, "This is not something that too many people should know."

Li Qinglan waved her hand, and the boy standing to the side, along with the other two servants, left. Xiao Duan took another sip of tea, his eyes half-closed, and after a long while, he said softly, "I promised those two that after their execution, they can be buried together."

Zhan Yun let out a soft "Ah," much to the surprise of Li Qinglan and Tao Hanzhi. Zhao Ting didn't react at first, but after figuring it out, he raised an eyebrow and parted his thin lips slightly: "How did you find out?"

Xiao Duan's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she looked up to meet Zhao Ting's gaze. "Many things aren't hard to notice, but it's easy to be trapped by preconceived notions." Tao Hanzhi nodded. Indeed, while it was rare to hear of feelings between women that went beyond friendship, it wasn't entirely impossible. It's just that most people wouldn't think that way, and even if they felt the two were too intimate, they'd always find an excuse to brush it off. It's unclear whether these excuses were for others or for themselves.

"When did you start to suspect Miss Lan?" This time it was Zhan Yun who asked the question. He and Zhao Ting only began to suspect Lan Lan after Zhu Qiaolian accused her of possessing the jade hairpin. But judging from the silk handkerchief that Xiao Duan took out last night, which was embroidered by Qian Dieyou before her death, he must have suspected Lan Lan long ago.

Xiao Duan glanced at Zhan Yun and said calmly, "The day I first met her."

The people present were all somewhat surprised, and Zhan Yun couldn't help but look astonished: "Why?"

Xiao Duan put down his teacup and looked at Zhao Ting across from him: "Judging from her first reaction when she saw me and Zhao Ting, she must be extremely shy and timid. But when I asked her to stay and asked her to inquire about the murder of Qian Dieyou and the others, she wasn't in a hurry to run away. She didn't even ask who we were from, and just sat down to answer our questions." Zhao Ting nodded slightly, and upon closer reflection, he realized that it was indeed a bit strange.

Xiao Duan continued, "She brought up the matter of embroidering a handkerchief for Qian Dieyou, intending to use the opportunity to show her sisterly affection for her. However, as the relationships among the people in the elegant residence were gradually revealed, it was obvious to everyone that she and Qian Dieyou were not close. Even Zhu Qiaolian, who had always been on good terms with Qian Dieyou, only folded some white lotus flowers for her, yet she insisted on embroidering something in different colors on both sides for her. It was because of this that I turned my attention to that handkerchief and used the time difference to prove my conjecture."

"But that's all later. What really made me suspicious of her that day was her saying, 'Her spirit has returned to take revenge on us all.'" Xiao Duan glanced at Zhan Yun: "That day you talked with Zhu Qiaolian for a long time and heard a lot about the elegant house from her, but did you hear her say anything similar?"

Zhan Yun thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head firmly: "No."

Xiao Duan then turned to Zhao Ting and asked, "Afterwards, we had more contact with the ladies of the elegant residence. Did we hear this statement again?"

Zhao Ting seemed to understand what Xiao Duan was trying to say. He raised his thick, dark eyebrows, his expression quite inscrutable: "You mean, she intentionally shifted the focus of our investigation that day?"

Xiao Duan curled his lips: "That's right. Logically speaking, everyone should know about this kind of rumor, especially those who came to the elegant residence before her, who should be even more frightened than her. But neither Zhu Qiaolian that day nor Li Weier later mentioned a single thought like that. She said that to distract us and make us turn our attention to the people and things related to Han Jinglian."

Zhan Yun couldn't help but smile bitterly, lightly tapping his palm with his jade-bone folding fan: "This girl is truly cunning!" Even though she confessed to participating in the murders in front of everyone last night and slashed the faces of the three victims with a hairpin, many people still felt great sympathy for Lan Lan. After all, Wang Sulei's account of her ordeal had earned Lan Lan many tears, and her large, innocent, doe-like eyes and pitiful expression made people feel that this so-called murderer was, in the end, a pitiful person.

After hearing Xiao Duan's explanation, the group finally felt that the whole case was more coherent, and many of their questions were answered. They talked for over an hour. Li Qinglan asked Xiao Duan to have dinner with them at the government office, but Xiao Duan said he had some urgent business to attend to and would be leaving the city later. Although Li Qinglan was somewhat disappointed, she didn't press him to stay.

Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting were both surprised when they heard Xiao Duan say he wanted to leave the city. Zhao Ting asked directly, "You're leaving?" Xiao Duan nodded slightly.

Prince Zhao's face darkened: "Didn't you say you booked a room for half a month?" The room fee was hard to get refunded, which was why he didn't come to the government office to stay with the two of them.

Xiao Duan paused slightly, his eyes darting around: "I've already spoken to the owner, so I'll stay here again next time I come."

Even Zhan Yun was left speechless, both amused and exasperated; the lie was clearly untenable. Well, everyone understood that Xiao Duan simply didn't want to have much involvement with them.

Xiao Duan cupped his hands in farewell, softly said "Farewell," and turned to leave the backyard of the government office. Li Qinglan stroked his small tuft of white beard, half-closing his eyes as he watched Xiao Duan's retreating figure, and sighed softly: "It's always like this, coming and going in a hurry. Not even a moment longer."

"Alright! You've given us face this time, even sitting down to sort out the case with us and answer our questions. We never received this treatment before!" Old Tao smiled and patted Li Qinglan's shoulder. Suddenly remembering the old man's two calls of "Little Tao" earlier, his face fell, he flicked his sleeve, gave a heavy "humph," and turned to go to his room.

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West suburbs, misty slope.

Xiao Duan searched for a long time and finally found the person under a camphor tree. He walked slowly to a distance of about ten steps behind the person, stopped, and silently watched the person's back.

Song Qiao was still dressed in white, but when she turned around, her face was filled with a smile of satisfaction she had never seen before. Her eyes were as bright as stars at midnight, her thin, pale purple lips were slightly pursed into an elegant curve, and her deep voice carried a hint of lightness: "You've come."

Song Qiao took two steps forward, and the grave that had been hidden behind him was revealed. The tombstone was inscribed with the words "Tomb of Song Qiao's Beloved Wife - Han Jinglian".

Song Qiao smiled slightly and said, "You're quick."

Xiao Duan remained expressionless, her phoenix eyes coldly fixed on the man before her: "Sorry, I've dashed your hopes."

Song Qiao shook her head gently, her brows furrowing deeper: "You can't say that. After all, after this incident, that elegant residence can no longer operate. This is good enough."

Seeing that Xiao Duan remained silent, Song Qiao's eyes flashed, and the smile on her lips deepened: "I went to see it last night. Your deduction was brilliant."

Xiao Duan curled his lips slightly and said in a cold voice, "I haven't told you the most exciting part yet."

"Oh?" Song Qiao smiled slightly, with a hint of feigned ignorance: "Why not say?"

“I have no evidence.” Xiao Duan stared directly at the man in front of him who was smiling leisurely, his eyes growing colder. “I don’t even have any leverage. The methods used to deal with Lan Lan won’t work on you.”

Song Qiao smiled without speaking, seemingly waiting for Xiao Duan to continue. It was nearing noon, but the sky gradually darkened. A cold wind blew in, carrying the scent of grass and earth. It seemed a heavy rain was imminent.

“Let’s start with your name,” Xiao Duan said after a long pause. “Meng Lian, Meng Lian, is actually ‘Meng Lian.’ From the first day you entered the Elegant Abode, you harbored thoughts of revenge. The conflicts among the women in the Elegant Abode were already quite intense, and there were many grudges between them. After you arrived, your intentional or unintentional actions made many women fall in love with you, and they secretly used all sorts of means to undermine each other. The matter of Wang Sulei and Lan Lan was an unexpected gain for you. You had been watching their every move, including when they stole your books, imitated your handwriting to arrange a meeting between three women on the Broken Bridge, buried the bracelets and hairpins taken from the dead in the back mountain that the small door led to, and finally when Wang Sulei took a desperate gamble to try to harm another person to divert the government’s attention from the investigation and clear Lan Lan’s name.”

Song Qiao maintained a leisurely smile, her eyes gazing at the horizon, seemingly listening intently, yet also seemingly oblivious to everything. "That jade hairpin—you took it from where they buried their bundle, placing it by the flowerbed in front of the elegant pavilion. You knew that whoever found it would inevitably cause a huge uproar. Once the officials questioned them, the conflicts within the elegant pavilion would escalate to their peak. In short, more people would die. But man proposes, God disposes. Whoever found the hairpin would have had a better outcome than you expected. But the real culprit found it, and we set a trap to catch Wang Sulei red-handed. Now, Wang Sulei and Lan Lan await execution in the autumn, and the case at the elegant pavilion is finally solved. Many of those who knew the truth back then are still alive. I'm sorry, but your revenge plan is probably doomed."

Upon hearing this, Song Qiao's smile deepened, but his expression remained serene. He slowly shifted his gaze from the horizon back to the person before him and said softly, "But they've all learned their lesson, haven't they? Those three who caused the most trouble back then..."

Chapter Fourteen: The Truth Comes Out • Parting Sorrow...

They all received their due punishment. The others also learned a lesson from this incident. Murderers pay with their lives, and those who injure others suffer the consequences. Everything is now complete..." As he spoke, he slowly exhaled, a look of relief on his face.

Xiao Duan sneered: "Although I don't agree with what Han Jinglian did back then, at least she died cleanly. But everything you've done has stained her grave with blood again. Her death has become your excuse for revenge, a driving force for Wang Sulei and Lan Lan to indulge their murderous desires, and the rumors of ghosts at the Broken Bridge have spread throughout Hangzhou. Do you really think you did nothing wrong? Do you really think Han Jinglian would be grateful for everything you did for her?"

Song Qiao's fists clenched at her sides, and the smile on her lips became somewhat forced. Her bright, star-like eyes became slightly watery as she stared intently at Xiao Duan. Gradually, her eyes reddened, and her handsome, otherworldly face revealed three parts madness and seven parts despair.

After a long pause, he suddenly laughed and said in a hoarse voice, "At least, I did everything I could, right or wrong, I did it all. If Lian'er knows in the afterlife, and blames me, I will apologize to her when I pass away..."

As he spoke, Song Qiao's eyes gradually lowered, his teeth grinding together, his voice breaking with sobs: "I just... wanted to do something for her. To do something for her..." His once upright body slumped, like a pine tree gradually bent under the weight of snow, collapsing to his knees. His words were muffled by low sobs: "If I do nothing, she'll just go... I'm not willing to accept it, I want her to be happy... I want her... to be happy..."

The man's indistinct words occasionally reached his ears. Xiao Duan turned his gaze to the tombstone under the tree not far away, stood quietly for a while, raised his chin slightly, and looked up at the chaotic sky with his phoenix eyes half-closed. He couldn't help but sigh softly.

A light drizzle began to fall. Xiao Duan turned around and saw two figures, one in black and one in white, standing not far away. Judging from their expressions, they had clearly been standing there for a long time, listening intently. They must have heard every single word. Xiao Duan's lips curled slightly, and he secretly shook his head. These two were quite cunning!

The author has something to say: Basically, all the foreshadowing laid in the previous chapters has been explained in these two chapters.

There's one point that wasn't mentioned in the text, but I'm sure you've all guessed it. It's that so-called memorial ceremony.

It was also used by Song Qiao to commemorate Han Jinglian, because "lotus" is the same as "pity".

If you're interested in case reasoning or similar topics, I suggest going through it again from the beginning; you'll find it much more interesting.

Dear readers, writing is a very lonely thing. Even just a couple of words of advice from you can make me happy all day.

Also, my dears, please stop criticizing me. I haven't even made the list yet, and not many people have seen this post; it's just a tiny bit of clicks.

Please have pity on me. If the writing is alright, just click the "favorite" button. I'm so pathetic, I just want to bang my head against the wall! ORZ~