Chapter Eleven: The Death of the Master

Outside the door came the sound of knocking.

“Miss, someone’s here,” Zhu’er’s voice sounded anxious.

Seeing that Wen Yingwan had vanished without a trace, Shen Hua quickly pushed open the window, ready to leave. Before departing, she reminded, “Miss Wen, your elder sister looked unwell just now; she must have eaten something harmful before she died.”

Wen Yingshui showed a puzzled expression, but her thoughts were fixated on the door outside. When she turned back to look out the window again, Shen Hua was nowhere to be seen.

“Master,” Wen Lun questioned, “Why are you standing outside the door instead of staying with the miss inside the room?”

“A maid…” The door opened from within, and Wen Yingshui came out with a smile.

“Father, I told Zhu’er earlier that I wanted to be alone for a while.”

Wen Lun nodded and handed his daughter something. “Since I passed by during the day’s watch, I brought you some sugar cakes.”

Wen Yingshui lowered her head slightly, gazing at the sugar cakes wrapped in oiled paper. Her eyes moistened as she whispered, “Thank you, Father.”

Seeing this, Wen Lun patted his youngest daughter’s shoulder. “Rest early.”

“Father, I miss Susu. Would it be possible to have her stay at the residence for a few days?”

Wen Lun nodded in response. “I’ll have the steward fetch her tomorrow.”

Shen Hua climbed over the wall from the rear courtyard of the Wen estate. As she landed, a figure appeared behind her.

“Who’s there?”

She recognized the voice vaguely, pressed the hood of her cloak lower, and didn’t respond. She was about to leave when suddenly an arm grabbed hers. She turned swiftly and kicked the intruder, sending the lantern in his hand flying. Perhaps due to the darkness, the man lost his source of light, but Shen Hua clearly saw his face—it was Lu Chenzhou, the man the Wen sisters had warned to avoid.

Lu Chenzhou spun away, evading Shen Hua’s attack.

Though Shen Hua’s martial skills at the Underworld Pavilion were not exceptional, her lightness skill was among the best. With a leap, she moved lightly, taking only small steps but in an instant was four or five yards away from Lu Chenzhou. Then she vaulted onto a rooftop and disappeared.

“Such a familiar scent,” Lu Chenzhou muttered, gazing at the scattered lantern on the ground, a furrow forming between his brows.

His attendant, who had been waiting, timidly asked, “Young master, shall we return to the residence or to Tianyun Pavilion?”

Lu Chenzhou rubbed his temples and closed his eyes.

The attendant immediately shouted to the coachman, “To Tianyun Pavilion.”

In a tent at the foot of the imperial mausoleum, Li Rong was stomping angrily. They had agreed to bring the person tonight, but now it was well past midnight, and Lu Chenzhou still had not appeared.

“Lu Chenzhou, you’re playing me for a fool.”

Li Rong’s clenched fist slammed onto the tea table, causing him pain. Then he casually asked a constable, “Have you found any traces in the thief’s tunnel?”

The constable replied, “I’m not sure. About an hour ago, I saw many Xiaoling Guards enter, and Commander Zhou went in with them.”

After pondering briefly, Li Rong left the tent and approached the entrance of the thief’s tunnel at the pit. He pressed his ear close and heard faint, indistinct sounds from deep within.

“Who’s blocking the entrance? Move aside quickly!”

A strong, commanding voice echoed from inside.

Li Rong immediately withdrew his head as two Xiaoling Guards struggled out of the tunnel.

Both looked grim. “Chief Li, you’re just in time. There’s been trouble ahead.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“At the end of the tunnel, there were many white crows—dead ones.”

Li Rong’s face fell instantly upon hearing the mention of white crows.

“Chief Li, do white crows have any significance?”

Li Rong ignored them and entered the tunnel himself.

The two guards exchanged glances and said nothing. Then they hurried to the constables guarding the site. “Quick, fetch your Lu Lord. Commander Zhou has found a clue.”

At the tunnel’s end was a place called Lichizhong Mountain. Nearby lay a bamboo grove, and beyond it, Zhou Zheng found a study room. No one lived around the study, though it was close to the ghost market. Seeing no light within, Zhou was about to leave when the sound of something heavy dropping echoed inside. A shadow flew across the roof, and by the time he entered, the shadow had vanished. On the ground lay a body—a dead man.

By the fourth watch, the constables finally found Lu Chenzhou at Tianyun Pavilion, where he had been listening to music. By the time they reached the tunnel’s end, it was nearly the fifth watch. Lu Chenzhou found Li Rong sitting in a daze on the ground; speaking to him was like addressing the air—he remained silent.

Suddenly, Li Rong spoke: “White crow, white crow, fortune and misfortune are unpredictable.”

Lu Chenzhou asked the Xiaoling Guard beside him since when Li Rong had been like this. The guard replied that since entering the tunnel the night before, Li Rong had been this way.

Usually, by the fifth watch, the sky would begin to brighten, but tonight was still pitch black. Occasionally, the bamboo grove echoed with the sounds of birds and beasts.

“Lord Lu, Commander Zhou found a corpse ahead. He wants you to take a look.”

Lu Chenzhou nodded in reply, casting a concerned glance at Li Rong as he left.

“Nonsense Study Room. To think such an elegant place exists in Nanjing.”

Lu Chenzhou did not inspect the corpse upon arrival but instead walked through the study. He eventually stopped in the scholar’s study room, gazing at the neatly arranged objects and several bookcases, shaking his head with a sigh.

“Lord Lu, why aren’t you checking the deceased? What are you doing here?”

His thoughts were interrupted by Zhou Zheng’s sudden entrance. Lu Chenzhou replied casually, “Leave the dead to the Yingtian Prefecture authorities. The Ministry of Justice cannot intervene directly.”

Zhou waved him off. “I’m afraid it won’t be that simple. The deceased is connected to the imperial mausoleum case.”

Lu Chenzhou’s expression froze momentarily but quickly returned to normal.

“The deceased should be the tutor here. He was the only person in the entire study. Strangely, there’s no cause of death found—no fatal wounds, not even minor injuries.”

The constable briefly reported the victim’s situation to Lu Chenzhou.

“Then how is he linked to the mausoleum case?” Lu Chenzhou asked Zhou Zheng, puzzled.

“We found some tools in the wood shed—used for digging tunnels. And look at the calluses on his hands. A tutor wouldn’t have so many calluses.”

Lu Chenzhou recalled glancing at the body; the calluses clearly suggested long-term handling of weapons or tools.

“Commander Zhou, evidence is crucial in investigations. Those tools only prove he dug somewhere but don’t show he’s the one who placed the dozen corpses under the mausoleum. Besides, it couldn’t have been done by him alone.”

Zhou looked at Lu Chenzhou and thought, so this Lu Chenzhou isn’t just a playboy after all; he has some brains. He then told Lu Chenzhou about the shadow he saw at night. “Perhaps the tutor was just an accomplice, and the shadow was there to silence him.”

“Shadow…”

Lu Chenzhou suddenly recalled the man he encountered last night.

“There’s been a death here. You children should go home immediately.”

Outside the study, several children of similar age gathered, peering inside.

Lu Chenzhou recognized them and asked, “Are you here to study?”

The children nodded eagerly.

“The tutor died suddenly last night. Can you tell me whom he usually associated with or anyone he saw these past few days?”

“Yesterday, Shen…”

The child stopped mid-sentence. Lu Chenzhou guessed the name unspoken and smiled, saying, “You’d better go home now and don’t come here again.”

The seven or eight children ran off quickly. After a few yards, one shouted, “Let’s go find Sister Shen.”

“Shen Hua.”

A trace of curiosity flickered in Lu Chenzhou’s eyes.

* * *

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Shen Hua was roused from sleep after less than three hours by the knocking and children’s voices. She quickly dressed and opened the main door.

The children grabbed her skirt, their voices trembling with tears. “Sister Shen, the tutor died, and there were many well-dressed constables inside the study.”

Shen Hua was stunned but quickly regained composure. “You should go home first. I’ll go take a look later.”

She closed the door, washed up, and sat at her dressing table, recalling what the children said about the constables. She guessed these constables were probably Xiaoling Guards, but why were they at Nonsense Study? If the Xiaoling Guards were there, then Lu Chenzhou should be as well. After their encounter last night, she was more certain he was not as he seemed. And why did the tutor die suddenly? What connection did it have to the mausoleum case?

“Senior sister.”

She had been lost in thought and hadn’t noticed Jiang Huaiyu enter.

“What brings you here?”

“To see if you need any help.”

“Did you kill the tutor?”

“If I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn’t leave the body intact.”

Shen Hua knew Jiang Huaiyu was not responsible, so she asked again, “Then why are you here?”

“My master asked me to tell you that Lu Chenzhou has set his sights on you. Be extra cautious. Also, he wants you to wear this hairpin every day.”

Jiang Huaiyu opened the wooden box on the dressing table and placed the hairpin her master had given two days ago into Shen Hua’s hair.

“Such a beautiful jade hairpin must be expensive. Master is still too partial,” Jiang Huaiyu pouted, her tone tinged with jealousy.

Shen Hua said nothing. After adjusting the hairpin, she looked at herself in the mirror.

When Shen Hua arrived at Nonsense Study, the Xiaoling Guards had already withdrawn, leaving only officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Yingtian Prefecture.

“Who are you?”

Shen Hua was stopped outside the door.

“I am…”

“She’s here to examine the body.”

As Shen Hua was about to explain to the officials, Lu Chenzhou and Li Rong, who were talking nearby, noticed and ordered the guards to let her in.

The moment Li Rong’s eyes met Shen Hua’s, he seemed possessed, frozen in place with his pupils dilated several times over. His whole body trembled as he murmured, “White crow, white crow.”

Interestingly, Shen Hua was dressed entirely in white that day.

“What’s wrong with this lord?”

Shen Hua’s expression was indifferent.

Lu Chenzhou explained, “He’s the official astronomer. Perhaps seeing you unsettled him.”

Li Rong suddenly returned to normal, but the smile on his face was strange. He stared into Shen Hua’s eyes and said, “Interesting, your eyes are quite something.” Then, looking down at her shadow, he added, “You carry the shadows of many people within you.”