SGEIRS -Chapter 390 Taught by A-Yao

Gu Jingxi saw the hatred on the faces of the couple—it was real, deep-rooted hatred toward their adopted son, wishing they could crush him to pieces. In the end, they hadn’t even collected his body; the local authorities had simply thrown him onto the communal burial mound.

He didn’t answer Mr. Shen’s question, instead asking calmly, “I’ve heard he was usually very filial to you both and kind to the neighbors, not the type to commit such an act. Besides his romantic feelings for Miss Shen, is there any other reason you are certain the culprit was him?”

Mr. Shen sighed heavily, grief and anger mingling in his voice. “Sir, we initially believed in him ourselves and thought it was Young Master Li who harmed Qinghe. But eventually, Qingshan confessed and sealed it with his signature. Prefect Wei sentenced him to behead in public. Afraid of dying dishonorably, he ran his head against the court table and died. Even before dying, he apologized to us. We never expected he would actually do such a thing… No wonder they say the human heart is inscrutable; you may know a person’s face, but not their mind.”

Gu Jingxi studied the couple in front of him, realizing he couldn’t get any valuable leads from them. The investigation would have to focus on the Li family.

Mr. Shen was puzzled. He couldn’t understand why officials from the court would investigate his daughter’s death. They were simple commoners—if the whole family died, it wouldn’t even stir the capital.

After a moment, hesitating, Mr. Shen asked, “Sir, the case has been closed for a long time, yet you’ve come to look into it again. Could it be that the real culprit isn’t the one who harmed Qinghe? But Qingshan already confessed…”

“Sir!”

Mrs. Shen, silent until now, suddenly raised her voice, a hint of excitement in her tone: “Earlier, you asked if Qinghe had feelings for Yingjie. I suddenly remembered that when the news of Yingjie’s death came, Qinghe seemed to lose her soul entirely. Now, thinking carefully, perhaps she really did have feelings for that boy.”

“But at that time, we were busy helping the Yang family and couldn’t pay attention to Qinghe. We didn’t know when she sneaked out. Later, when Qingshan went to find her, could it have been then? Seeing Qinghe lost in thought, he took advantage of her, trying to ruin her purity so she would have to marry him. But Qinghe resisted. Afraid the truth would come out, he killed Qinghe and framed Young Master Li.”

Without other complications, Gu Jingxi might have made the same deduction. But considering other factors, he leaned toward believing Shen Qingshan was innocent, and so he asked in return, “What if it wasn’t Shen Qingshan?”

The Shens froze. Not Qingshan?

After a moment, Mrs. Shen exclaimed in disbelief, “Then… it would be Young Master Li? Sir, that scoundrel already confessed. How could it be Young Master Li? You must not know—Young Master Li had considered taking Qinghe as a concubine, but before he could, she was murdered.”

Gu Jingxi asked, “Had Miss Shen ever indicated she had feelings for the Li family’s son?”

Mrs. Shen shook her head: “No, but she did say Young Master Li is gentle and a good person. If the Li family sent a matchmaker, she would have no reason to refuse the marriage.”

The Shens were wealthy merchants from Deqing County, with plenty of money. If their daughter married into the Li family, she would be well-provided for and able to live comfortably. What parent would refuse such a marriage? Only if the daughter refused would they object—after all, the adopted son wasn’t their biological child, but their daughter was.

Gu Jingxi asked again, “Has Miss Shen ever privately expressed feelings for Young Master Li?”

Mrs. Shen shook her head again: “No, she hasn’t. But she always said he is gentle and a good man. If he sent a matchmaker, she wouldn’t refuse the marriage.”

Mr. Shen recalled all the things the adopted son had done over the years. Combined with the words of this official, he began to feel there might really be doubts about the case. Nervously, he asked, “Sir, could it truly not have been Qingshan?” With that, he fell to his knees. “Sir, please do justice for us and our daughter. If it wasn’t Qingshan, please find the real culprit.”

Gu Jingxi said calmly, “Whether it was him or not, I will find out. You will stay here for now. If you remember any clues, tell Fang Xuan and the others. Until the case is resolved, you must not leave, nor appear in public. Now, what did your daughter look like? Describe her to me, and I will draw a portrait.”

The Shens were confused. Their daughter was already dead; what use was knowing her appearance? Yet they described her height, her nose and eyes, even how she liked her hair styled.

Using their descriptions, Gu Jingxi sketched a preliminary portrait, then revised it twice based on their input. The final portrait resembled Shen Qinghe by about ninety percent. He then dismissed the couple.

Fang Ce stepped forward and asked, “Lord Marquis, why are you so determined about this case?”

Gu Jingxi narrowed his eyes slightly, speaking slowly and deliberately: “So far, no other anomalies have appeared. Only this case seems unusual, so it cannot be ignored. Zhou Yun and Yu Chuan have investigated. Prefect Wei has a record of accepting bribes to facilitate matters. Although we haven’t found his private accounts yet, he has done favors for others. The Li family is wealthy; there might have been bribery involved.”

His tone turned serious. “Even if this case is unrelated to the deaths of the previous two Deqing County magistrates, it must still be investigated. Accepting small favors is forgivable, but maliciously creating false cases and causing wrongful deaths is a grave matter. If not investigated, more innocent people could suffer unjust deaths.”

Fang Ce nodded, then asked, “Lord Marquis, if this case is connected to the deaths of the previous magistrates, how should we investigate that?”

Gu Jingxi replied, “I will look into the county office in Deqing County to see if any clues remain. If the first court-appointed official died in the office, it must have been because he found something. Whether any clues remain is uncertain. Until Shen Qinghe’s case is fully resolved, you must watch the couple closely. Do not let them leave, so as not to alert anyone.”

Fang Ce responded promptly, “Lord Marquis, rest assured. I understand.”

Next, Gu Jingxi instructed Fang Xuan to go to Huzhou City and secretly check Prefect Wei’s private accounts. Once found, it would be clear whether action was necessary. Even if no private accounts are found, evidence of collusion between officials and merchants would suffice.

After arranging these matters, Gu Jingxi looked at Shen Qinghe’s portrait and rubbed his forehead, feeling troubled. If this case was unrelated to the deaths of the two previous magistrates, and the county office yielded no clues, and no other leads appeared, and the mastermind remained hidden, this case might truly become a cold case.

When he returned, he brought the portrait with him.

By the time he reached his room, A-Yao was already asleep, but a lamp had been left burning—left for him.

The next morning, Gu Jingxi handed the portrait to Chan’er and explained Shen Qinghe’s case in full. He instructed her to disguise herself as Shen Qinghe and, that evening, speak with Young Master Li to extract information.

Last year, under Meng Jinyao’s instructions, Chan’er had extensive experience pretending to be a ghost to frighten people. She knew how to speak to others in the guise of a “ghost,” so this was not difficult for her. She immediately replied, “Lord Marquis, rest assured. I will not fail you.”

Meng Jinyao smiled and asked, “Husband, why are you also doing this pretending-and-ghosting trick?”

Gu Jingxi smiled gently and replied softly, “I hadn’t thought of using this method before. It’s A-Yao who taught me. People with guilty consciences fear ghosts the most. They’re easily frightened, making it easier to get them to talk.”

Meng Jinyao looked up at him and scolded playfully. She was doing this herself only because her abilities were limited; this kind of tactic was all she could manage.