Chapter 6: Wishes

The bailiff saw the procuress acting this way and knew she was inextricably linked to the matter. He was no longer polite, kicking her aside and barking a reprimand.

"Look closely—is she a person or a ghost?"

The procuress collapsed to the ground, trembling. She remembered clearly that when she was dressing the young lady, her body had been ice-cold.

How could she be a person?

Hardening her heart, the procuress raised her hand and slapped herself across the face.

She immediately winced in pain.

*Ouch*, it was all real. Looking at the fierce, menacing expressions of the bailiffs around her, the old woman rubbed her eyes and then carefully scrutinized Xie Yuyan from head to toe.

"Do you see clearly now?" Chen Ju stepped forward and said in a deep voice.

The procuress’s lips trembled as she hurriedly said, "I see clearly, I see clearly, it is... it is a person..."

No one knew how hollow those last words felt to the procuress. Could it be that she was truly getting old, and had failed to distinguish between the living and the dead at the time?

"Then tell us, how did the Xie family instruct you to harm her?"

He should have taken her to the interrogation room, but the timing was perfect. Chen Ju seized the opportunity; since they hadn't managed to extract anything from the Xie family, he was anxious. He decided to keep this woman away from the Xie family and trick her into telling the truth.

"Harm someone?" The woman waved her hands frantically. "Even if I had the courage of a giant, I wouldn't dare do such a thing."

Chen Ju let out a cold snort. "The Xie family has already confessed. Do you still dare to quibble?"

"Men," Chen Ju waved his hand, "take this woman away and help her clear her head."

The bailiffs responded and moved to drag the procuress away.

Terrified out of her wits, the procuress shrieked, "My lord, I am truly wronged! When this young lady came into my hands, she had already breathed her last..."

The procuress stopped there, swallowing hard.

*Breathed her last, my foot.* Wasn't she standing right there, safe and sound?

She could stand, she could walk, and she could even smile...

That smile made the procuress’s heart tremble.

She slapped herself again. If she had known, she never would have been greedy for those twenty strings of cash to take on such a job.

"This young lady was kidnapped and sold. She died of illness on the road, and that is why... that is why I sold her corpse. I saw that the young lady was beautiful, and since the Xie family happened to be looking to buy a female corpse, I grew greedy. I spent five strings of cash to buy her and sold her to the Xie family."

Chen Ju sneered, "And you didn't see the marks on her neck?"

How could she not have seen them? It was just that the corpse she had originally found was suddenly no longer for sale, and she couldn't exactly go digging in a graveyard. The Xie family cared about their reputation and wouldn't accept a body that had already been buried. Moreover, they were in a rush, and she feared the Yang family might change their minds. After weighing her options, she decided to just go through with it.

She had thought that by burying her alongside the Yang family’s sixth son and claiming she was the Xie family’s tenth daughter, everything would be taken care of. What could possibly go wrong?

Who would have thought the most impossible thing would happen?

The procuress blurted it all out in one breath.

"Where is the kidnapper?"

The procuress gathered her spirits; if she helped the authorities catch the kidnapper, her own sentence might be lighter.

"It’s Jiao Da, who often travels around Daming Prefecture. He lives in Hejia Village outside the city and usually does some petty trading."

Without needing Chen Ju to give the order, the bailiffs immediately went to make the arrest. A quick trip in and out of the city would be enough to bring him back in no time.

Chen Ju breathed a sigh of relief. Once Jiao Da was caught, the case should be clear. He turned his head and saw Zhang-shi comforting the young lady.

What Chen Ju didn't see was Xie Yuyan’s gaze passing over Zhang-shi’s shoulder, looking straight at the procuress.

The procuress felt a chill run through her entire body under that gaze. Even though she knew the young lady wasn't dead, for some reason, in her heart, she felt... that the person before her was a specter.

"Have you never helped kidnap anyone else?"

The young lady’s voice drifted into her ears like a ghost. Cold sweat immediately broke out on the procuress’s forehead. She hadn't kidnapped anyone herself, but she had acted as a go-between a few times, and it wasn't as if she hadn't noticed the signs.

She could easily brush off such guilty matters when asked by others—she had the talent to say what people wanted to hear—but as for ghosts... she had never learned how to speak "ghost-talk" in her life.

The procuress’s strange behavior caught Chen Ju’s attention. The young lady’s question had reminded him of something.

"Take her away for interrogation," Chen Ju said. "Don't let her walk out of here until she has spilled everything."

Interrogating the procuress and bringing in Jiao Da would take some time. Xie Yuyan and Zhang-shi returned to their room to rest, and before long, Yang Qin was brought over as well.

"The clerks at the office were quite kind; they only asked me a few questions," Yang Qin said. "They didn't mention the fire."

That Inspector He had not revealed what he had said.

Because of this, Yang Qin admired Xie Yuyan even more; she was the smartest person he had ever met.

Xie Yuyan looked at Yang Qin. "If Inspector He asks you what you want later, what will you say?"

Yang Qin thought carefully. "Should I say that when I grow up, I want to join the army like my brother? I heard that Inspector He also led troops on the frontier. If I say that, perhaps he will be pleased?"

Xie Yuyan shook her head.

Yang Qin opened his mouth, his face full of surprise. "That's wrong?"

Xie Yuyan said, "How old are you this year? It will be at least ten years before you can join the army. By then, who knows if Inspector He will even remember you, let alone where he might be. Your bones haven't even finished growing yet, so he can't teach you martial arts. Even if you wait two or three years and manage to beg that Commander Chen to teach you, wouldn't those two or three years be wasted?"

Yang Qin had never heard such things before. Realizing that Xie Yuyan was teaching him, his eyes lit up. "Then what should I do?"

"Do you like to read?" Xie Yuyan reached out and pinched the corner of Yang Qin’s sleeve, where there was still an unwashed ink stain. "If you want to pursue an official career in the future, you can mention that to Inspector He."

"That inspector doesn't look like a pure brute; perhaps he can find a teacher for you."

Yang Qin instinctively looked at Zhang-shi. When Zhang-shi heard the words "official career," she thought of Yang Mingsheng, and her eyes turned red. She had thought she would never hear those words again; the hopes and wishes of her late husband could never be realized.

Now, this young lady had said it.

Zhang-shi said, slightly choked with emotion, "We are a merchant family. It is incredibly difficult for us to take the imperial examinations."

Xie Yuyan said calmly, "Since it is only 'difficult' and not impossible, why give up?"

Zhang-shi was even more astonished, barely able to suppress her emotions. She covered her face with a handkerchief, finally stifling the sobs that threatened to burst out. Her husband had once said the exact same thing. Now, Zhang-shi believed that this young lady had come to their home because her late husband and her sixth son were watching over them.

Once Zhang-shi and her son had calmed down, Xie Yuyan continued to Yang Qin, "Benefits are only real when you can grasp them immediately. If you want to get on Inspector He’s boat, you must use his favor; that way, you will have his protection."

"Is it that simple?" Yang Qin had always thought he would have to give up a lot to get such things.

"The simplest way to build a relationship with someone is to ask for their help. Once there is a debt, there is a bond. If you make a request that he cannot help with, you will have missed your best opportunity."

"You have already burned bridges with your clan’s second branch today. Only by letting them know that you have a connection with Inspector He will they dare not act rashly. You are a widow and an orphan with nothing; it is too slow to rely on yourselves to change your situation. It is better to borrow power from others."

Yang Qin was a smart child. Having lived a life of grievance under the clan with Zhang-shi, he had seen enough of the warmth and coldness of human nature to understand everything Xie Yuyan said.

Zhang-shi wiped her eyes. "Our mother and son owe you a great debt, Young Lady."

Xie Yuyan said, "Since I am to stay at the Yang house, if Qin-ge can accomplish these things, I will also benefit from it. It cannot be said that anyone owes anyone anything."

It was the first time the mother and son had heard someone refuse to be repaid.

"You are a good person, Young Lady."

Xie Yuyan smiled silently. She had said so much, laying out her calculations before them, yet they still thought she was a good person? Perhaps there was no one in this world more naive than them.

After a moment of silence, Yang Qin couldn't help but point outside the window again. "Young Lady, why do you keep staring over there?"

Xie Yuyan said, "If someone approaches to eavesdrop, they will block the light."

No sooner had Xie Yuyan finished speaking than the sunlight on the floor vanished, replaced by a shadow. Yang Qin’s eyes widened.