Coroner's Diary

Wang Huaiyu led the yamen runners from the prefectural office, striding ahead, while Yan Chi and Qin Guan walked side by side behind them.

As they approached Qin Guan's guest courtyard, Qin Shuang and Qin Yan, hearing the commotion, rushed out from their own courtyards. Qin Yan quickly caught up and, seeing the imposing presence of Wang Huaiyu at the front, asked, "Crown Prince, Ninth Sister, what's going on?"

Qin Guan glanced at Qin Yan for a moment. "Master Pang is dead. We're now going to apprehend the suspect."

Both Qin Yan and Qin Shuang paled instantly. Qin Shuang exclaimed, "How could Master Pang be dead? Wasn't it said that he had escaped?"

Qin Guan frowned. "I'll explain later..."

Realizing this wasn't the time for explanations, Qin Shuang nodded hastily. "Alright, alright."

Unaware of the full situation, Qin Shuang and Qin Yan simply followed Qin Guan westward. Qin Guan had only mentioned apprehending a suspect but hadn't revealed who it was. When Wang Huaiyu stopped in front of Chang Shi's courtyard, Qin Shuang widened her eyes in disbelief. "The... the murderer is here?"

Qin Guan didn't answer. Ahead, the courtyard gate opened, but Wang Huaiyu hesitated at the entrance. After a pause, he turned to look at Yan Chi and Qin Guan. The two exchanged a glance and stepped forward.

It was late, the night as dark as ink. The winter wind howled through the small courtyard, yet it brought no chill to those inside. Two warm lamps glowed in the main room, and laughter could be heard even from the courtyard gate—Pang Jiayan's voice particularly distinct.

Wang Huaiyu asked the yamen runners, "Did Qing Niang go out?"

The runners nodded quickly. "Yes, Qing Niang left about half an hour ago. She was gone for roughly twenty to thirty minutes, saying... she was fetching some small toy for the Third Young Master."

Wang Huaiyu looked at Qin Guan, who considered the timeline. "The timing matches."

There was only one Qing Niang in the residence—Qin Guan couldn't have mistaken her, nor could the yamen runners.

Wang Huaiyu nodded. Just then, the slightly ajar door swung open, revealing Pang Jiayan standing solemnly in the doorway. Seeing the crowd at the courtyard gate, he showed neither surprise nor fear. He quietly observed Wang Huaiyu and the others for a moment before turning back and saying, "Mother, Prefect Wang is here—"

The chatter and laughter inside ceased abruptly.

Soon, light footsteps approached. Chang Shi was the first to reach the door. Standing behind Pang Jiayan, the smile on her face gradually faded. Then, Qing Niang, holding Pang Jiayun's hand, stepped forward. Pang Jiayun clutched a cloth doll, her pink dress lively and adorable. The four of them stood together in the doorway, blocking the narrow frame. Chang Shi and Pang Jiayan appeared calm yet grave, while Qing Niang and Pang Jiayun still wore smiles.

After a silence, neither Chang Shi nor Wang Huaiyu at the courtyard gate spoke.

Finally, Qing Niang smiled and said, "It's late, Madam. Take the young lady and young master to rest. Tonight, you should sleep together with them—"

Her words broke the heavy stillness.

Chang Shi's face flickered with reluctance, but before she could reply, Qing Niang pressed Pang Jiayun's hand into hers.

"Madam, go ahead. The young lady and young master are in your care now."Chang Shi's lips twitched several times as she hesitated, glancing at Qing Niang for a few moments before tightly pressing her lips together. Then, holding Pang Jiayan with one hand and Pang Jiayun with the other, she led them into the Warm Chamber. Qing Niang watched with a smile as Chang Shi entered with her son and daughter, and only after their figures disappeared did the smile on her face fade slightly. After a brief pause, she finally turned around.

Though her face still bore a smile, it was so faint and ethereal that it inexplicably carried a hint of sorrow.

Wang Huaiyu waved to the people behind him before slowly stepping forward.

"You seem to have known we would come looking for you."

Hearing this, Qing Niang's lips curved slightly, but her gaze bypassed Wang Huaiyu and settled on Qin Guan. "With Ninth Miss here, it was only a matter of time."

Qin Guan frowned and took a couple of steps forward. "Should I call you Qinghuan?"

At these words, Qing Niang turned her eyes to Yan Chi. "I suppose this is the Crown Prince's doing."

Yan Chi strode in and stood beside Qin Guan. Qing Niang looked between Qin Guan and Yan Chi, her smile deepening slightly, but she said nothing. Qin Guan then asked, "What exactly happened back then?"

Qing Niang's smile wavered for a moment. "Back then... back then..."

The memories stirred a deep sorrow within her, and for a moment, she couldn't find the right words to describe the chaos of that time. After a pause, she looked at Qin Guan with a composed expression. "Ninth Miss, what is the most malicious woman you have ever seen?"

Qin Guan was momentarily stunned by the question.

A malicious woman? Qin Guan searched her mind but couldn't think of anyone she had encountered who fit that description.

In her past life, she had seen many, but after her rebirth, the most ruthless person she had met was Cai He. Yet, considering Cai He's tragic background, she couldn't bring herself to label her as "malicious." As for those who had treated her unkindly, like Qin Xiang and Qin Shuang, their scheming nature hardly qualified as outright malice.

Qin Guan shook her head. She had no answer to Qing Niang's question.

Seeing this, Qing Niang smiled faintly. "But I have seen one... That woman was fiercely competitive from childhood. Because her senior sister found happiness while she did not, she grew so malicious that she plotted the murder of her senior sister's entire family."

"When people speak of that case, they likely assume the perpetrator was motivated by wealth. But no—the deepest reason behind that massacre, that horrific annihilation of a family, was simply jealousy."

Qing Niang's tone carried a hint of mockery. "Anyone can become cruel, as long as they begin to envy."

Then, she turned to Wang Huaiyu. "Back then, the plan to travel through Mengzhou was foolproof. But she pretended to want to reminisce with our master, feigning affection. Unaware of her true intentions, the master let his guard down, and the plan was exposed. That led to the fire at the relay station."

"Members of the opera troupe could mingle with high officials and nobles above, and with all manner of common folk below. They poisoned everyone's food. If that had been all, it might have been bearable. But that woman... she tortured the master's entire family to death."At this point, Qing Niang's voice began to tremble. "Master's children were barely toddlers who had just learned to walk back then. Yet, to force Master into revealing the location of the key to the armored carriage, that vile woman threatened to drown them right before his eyes. Master fell into her trap and disclosed the key's whereabouts, but—but that wicked bitch! She still threw those two little ones into the pond."

Qing Niang's calm expression suddenly twisted with a hint of madness. She didn't look at Yan Chi or Wang Huaiyu, only at Qin Guan. "Ninth Miss, you are kind-hearted and hold no official position. I ask you this—what defines right and wrong in this world? What is justice and law?"

Her eyes burned like torches, rimmed red, and her question struck like a hammer to Qin Guan's mind. Qin Guan was momentarily stunned by the force of it. What indeed was right and wrong? What was justice and law?

She knew the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty by heart, yet she understood this wasn’t the answer Qing Niang sought.

She also remembered her father’s teachings clearly, but she knew those weren’t what Qing Niang wanted either.

Qing Niang gazed at Qin Guan and suddenly gave a bleak smile. "I once thought of exposing it all—reporting it to the authorities would suffice. But... I knew better. In this world, the law is merely a tool wielded by the powerful to rule over us common folk. In their hands, it’s an unstoppable force, but for people like us, it’s nothing more than a feeble, futile struggle. So, I chose my own way."

Qin Guan felt Qing Niang was wrong, yet under the weight of her resolute gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to argue. Faced with a victim’s kin who had endured the horrors of that time, extolling the virtues of the Great Zhou’s legal system was meaningless. Fifteen years had passed since the crime, and the best years of Qing Niang’s life had been spent bearing this immense burden. In that moment, Qin Guan thought of herself—her father had once risen to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the very embodiment of the Great Zhou’s penal laws. Yet even he had met his end under those same laws.

Qin Guan didn’t know whose hand had pushed her father toward his fate, but she was certain that among them was one named "power." In this light, Qing Niang’s words, though biased, struck painfully true.

"Liu Renli, Qing Yun, Pang Yiwen, and Pang Fuliang—you killed them all, didn’t you?" Wang Huaiyu snapped at Qing Niang, his tone impatient. As the Prefect of Yuzhou, he couldn’t tolerate such rebellious talk.

Qing Niang smiled faintly. "Prefect Wang, without evidence, how can you accuse me of murder?"

The retort left Wang Huaiyu speechless, his breath catching in his chest. Instinctively, he turned to Qin Guan, who frowned slightly. "Earlier, you suddenly vanished from the Red Pavilion, and shortly after, Pang Fuliang was found dead in his study. The fatal strike required martial skill—something you possess, both in timing and ability."

The corners of Qing Niang’s lips curled. "I merely went to fetch a few trinkets for the Third Young Master. How could you know I disappeared, Ninth Miss? I left through the main gate. Perhaps you were too preoccupied hiding behind the flower wall to notice."Yan Chi frowned slightly, while Qin Guan remained expressionless as she said, "You were the one who lit the lamp in Master Pang's study, and the lamp oil was mixed with Longmusk from Weizhou Island. Just now, we found traces of spilled oil on the lamp stand. If I’m not mistaken, your sleeves must also be stained with it. Later, we’ll just need to apply another medicine to your sleeves, and the Longmusk will turn red."

As Qin Guan finished speaking, Qing Niang's smile stiffened. At the same time, she instinctively touched her sleeves. This movement did not escape the eyes of those present, making everything self-evident. Qing Niang herself stared deeply at Qin Guan for a moment before finally letting out a cold laugh. "I had wanted to see what skills Ninth Miss possessed to unravel my scheme. Yet, I never expected to be defeated by such minute details. Well, it doesn’t matter. I knew Ninth Miss and these gentlemen would uncover the truth sooner or later. What difference does it make whether it’s early or late?"

Qin Guan’s expression remained unchanged. "Qing Niang has been lurking in the Pang residence for years, with remarkable cunning and methods. It was merely luck that I discovered the trick. There’s one more thing I’d like to ask you."

Qing Niang looked at Qin Guan silently, so Qin Guan continued, "Why did Qing Li die?"

At this question, Qing Niang smiled. "So there are still things Ninth Miss can’t figure out."

With a cold smirk, she added, "Fine, why not tell you? She and her master were cut from the same cloth. Back then, she was also one of the instigators of that chaos." Pausing briefly, Qing Niang continued, "The key to this case lies in the mechanism. I believe Ninth Miss and Prefect Wang have already investigated it."

Wang Huaiyu raised an eyebrow in acknowledgment, and Qing Niang said, "You must have checked the timing device of the mechanism but didn’t inspect the arrows, did you?"

Qin Guan frowned, while Wang Huaiyu asked sternly, "You tampered with those arrows?"

Qing Niang took a deep breath. "Forty-nine arrows—just one extra, and Qing Li died on stage. It seems her skills truly weren’t up to par. She wasn’t fit to be the troupe leader."

Wang Huaiyu glared at Qing Niang, who glanced at the constables standing outside the courtyard and sighed softly. "I had hoped to silently kill a few people and then leave this place, but now that’s impossible. Prefect, let’s go. My vengeance is fulfilled, and my wish is granted. Even in the underworld, I’ll have the face to meet my late master."

With that, Qing Niang lifted her chin and strode toward the door. Just as she stepped over the threshold, heavy footsteps hurried after her. Qing Niang paused but did not turn around. She descended slowly until she stood before Qin Guan.

"Out of so many people, I never expected it would be Ninth Miss who saw through my scheme. All my meticulous planning was in vain."

Qin Guan met Qing Niang’s unshaken gaze, then glanced at her sleeves. "There is no Longmusk that turns red."

Qing Niang was momentarily stunned. She looked at Qin Guan, then at her sleeves, and suddenly laughed.

Her laughter grew louder until she finally exhaled deeply. "Good, good. This time, I am truly convinced."

With a sigh, Qing Niang said admiringly. Qin Guan pressed her lips slightly and replied, "You didn’t plan everything flawlessly. From the moment you stepped out today, you knew I was following you. You seemed to have set a trap, but you left the biggest flaw—you didn’t emerge from the small red building. You disappeared, and the murder occurred. Every minor suspicion from before could now be confirmed."Qing Niang looked at Qin Guan and smiled faintly, "Oh? And why is that?"

Qin Guan gazed into Qing Niang's somewhat clouded eyes, "Good follows reason, evil defies it. Only demons are unreasonable people. You knew you were already under suspicion, so you simply stopped trying to conceal anything. Or perhaps, from the moment you killed Qing Li, you were prepared for this very scene today. If not for past events, you would never have killed anyone."

Qing Niang's smile deepened, "Ninth Miss is truly a kind-hearted person. I only hope that from now on, Ninth Miss can follow her heart and always find peace and happiness."

After saying this, Qing Niang let out a long sigh. A moment later, she suddenly turned and walked outside.

Her steps were light, her expression relaxed, as if she had cast off the heaviest burden, radiating joy and freedom.