Chapter 28: His Enemy

Little Die’s face was full of panic and unease as she said, “This morning, Master Fan sent someone with a message, saying he would be coming by soon, that he had something very important to discuss with my lady… Since returning to Shanyang County, Master Fan hadn’t come to see her yet, so when the message arrived, my lady was overjoyed and immediately had me fetch water for her bath… Who would have thought, before she’d even finished bathing, Master Fan arrived… My lady had me leave at once and specifically instructed me not to let anyone disturb her and Master Fan during that time… I thought it was the perfect opportunity to fetch the jewelry my lady had ordered at the silver shop a few days ago… But as soon as I returned to the inn, I overheard guests in the main hall saying something had happened on the third floor…”

As she spoke, Yunshuang glanced toward Fan Youliang, who stood not far off. His face was dark, but he did not refute Little Die’s account; thus, Yunshuang knew the maid was telling the truth.

She continued, “Your lady sent you out, and you just left directly? You weren’t worried she might call for you to come attend her at any moment?”

In many wealthy households, even when the master and mistress shared a room, there would be servants waiting outside, ready to serve at any time.

“No, Master Fan never allows me to wait by the door,” Little Die shook her head quickly. “He says… says it draws too much attention. So whenever Master Fan comes to see my lady, I simply find a place to wait nearby and return at the appointed time…”

This Fan Youliang was quite cautious indeed.

Yunshuang shot him another glance and asked, “From what you said, your lady isn’t from Shanyang County?”

“No, my lady is from Huiluo County in Yongzhou. Five years ago, Master Fan redeemed her from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Since then, she’s been with him… When Master Fan and Master Luo’s household moved to Shanyang County, my lady followed him to Xiazhou, but she didn’t live in Shanyang County, rather in the neighboring Xinping County. Master Fan would sometimes… sometimes go to see her there, but more often, he would ask her to come to him instead…”

Before Little Die could finish, the faces of everyone from the county yamen and the Luo family changed drastically.

Chen Hao, who had been silently enduring, could no longer restrain himself. He shouted in anger, “Fan Youliang! You scoundrel! So you betrayed Xueqing back in Yongzhou! And after all that… after all that, you still had the gall to marry her!”

Fan Youliang, seeing the situation was beyond salvaging, abandoned all pretense. His face was cold as he said, “If you didn’t have the ability to win Xueqing’s heart, how is that my concern?”

“Fan Youliang!” Chen Hao roared again, like a wounded beast, but in the end could only utter a pained howl.

Yunshuang’s expression also cooled slightly as she pressed on, “When did your lady arrive in Shanyang County this time?”

“She arrived six days ago… Who would have guessed, that very day, Lady Luo… went missing. Because of that, Master Fan didn’t dare come see her, and kept urging her to return to Xinping County, but she was unwilling and insisted on staying.”

The expressions on everyone’s faces became subtly strained. Such a coincidence? The day she arrived, Lady Luo disappeared?

Yunshuang’s face remained composed. “Your lady keeps a civet, doesn’t she? Do you know where it is now?”

Little Die shook her head, biting her lip. “I don’t know. When I entered the room earlier, I couldn’t see Gold-Silver anywhere. That’s… its name…”

“I saw it knock over all the powders on your lady’s dressing table. Is it always so mischievous?”

“Gold-Silver is still young, at its most lively and playful age. It has knocked things over before, but it never runs off. For it to run away this time, it must have been frightened by something…”

Yunshuang nodded in understanding.

Yang Yuan couldn’t help but interject, “Miss Yun, you seem quite concerned about that civet. Does it have anything to do with the case?”

“I don’t know,” Yunshuang replied calmly. “But since it appeared at the scene, it’s necessary to find out for sure.”

The county magistrate, who’d had no chance to speak, gave a cold snort, about to seize the opportunity to slight this woman, but Yang Yuan hurriedly nodded, “Miss Yun is quite right. We must find out the truth.”

The magistrate was left speechless. This lad is truly hopeless!

Yunshuang then turned to Fan Youliang. “Master Fan, the people at the inn say that after you arrived, they heard you and the deceased arguing. What was the argument about?”

Fan Youliang’s brows drew together, but seeing both the magistrate and General Jiang allowing Yunshuang to question him, he had no choice but to answer in a low voice, “What else could it be? I’ve told her countless times not to reveal her presence to anyone. If I could redeem her from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, I could just as easily send her back! Yet that fool let herself be discovered, and even allowed someone to take one of her personal kerchiefs to use against me! If she’d just listened to me and returned to Xinping County, none of this would have happened! A fool is a fool!”

Yunshuang’s lips curled slightly. “So you’re saying that the handkerchief found yesterday in Lady Luo’s room was planted there to frame you?”

“What else?” Fan Youliang’s neck bulged with veins in his agitation. “I’ve always been careful. For years, I’ve never left any trace before that father and daughter! Do you think I’d be stupid enough to bring that woman’s kerchief home and toss it onto my bed with Xueqing?”

“Oh?” Yunshuang’s tone was lightly mocking. “Careful as you are, yesterday you went to the coffin shop to inquire about making a coffin?”

Fan Youliang was stung into silence, almost choking, his teeth grinding. “I told you, that was a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding!”

Yunshuang nodded agreeably. “You simply thought Lady Luo was never coming back, and you couldn’t suppress your joy, so you asked. It wasn’t intentional, was it?”

Fan Youliang was speechless with rage. If it weren’t for the county magistrate and General Jiang watching, he would have lashed out.

Seeing she’d nearly driven Fan Youliang to the brink of collapse, Yunshuang finally relented and returned to her point. “Since you believe the kerchief was planted to frame you, you must have your suspicions about who did it?”

“Of course!” Fan Youliang clenched his fist, each word spat out as if he meant to crush the names between his teeth. “If it wasn’t Chen Hao, then it was Lianxin! No one else in this world wishes me in hell as much as those two!”

Yunshuang suddenly let out a low laugh. “Master Fan, it seems you’ve forgotten someone.”

Fan Youliang was taken aback. The others looked at Yunshuang in confusion.

Who his enemies were—surely no one would know better than Fan Youliang himself. Could she know more about his foes than he did?