Murder Case

Fine snow drifted before their eyes like weightless willow fluff. Instructor Tao pointed at people and called on them to compose poems; the more someone hunched their head and tried to hide, the more Tao Wenzhi insisted on making them stand and recite a verse. If they could not compose one, they would have to copy books when they returned.

Shen Tingjue could not understand those overly refined poetic lines. He focused on eating roasted sweet potatoes and meat, looking utterly detached from the world around him.

Director Zhang feared Shen Tingjue might feel slighted and become displeased, so after a student finished a seven-character quatrain, he smiled and said, "Why doesn't the young marquis compose one as well? Let us admire your brilliance."

Shen Tingjue: "..."

Heh.

If you want to watch me make a fool of myself, just say so.

Shen Tingjue took a bite of sweet potato, his cheeks puffed out as he righteously declared, "Can't do it. Don't understand it. Can't compose one."

"..." Director Zhang had assumed that since the prime minister had sent him here, he must have taught him a poem or two so he could show off at the gathering. Director Zhang had even set the mood for him, yet the other party refused so decisively.

Director Zhang immediately felt his good intentions had been wasted. He gave an awkward laugh. "The young marquis is too modest."

Shen Tingjue nodded. "Mm-hm. I can't believe you saw through me."

Everyone: "..."

Could you at least have some shame?

Su Yan had wanted to go over and greet Shen Tingjue, but after struggling with himself for a while, he ultimately gave up.

Sang Wen, who sat beside him, saw that he had kept looking in Shen Tingjue's direction before dejectedly sitting back down. He leaned closer and quietly asked, "Did you want to greet the young marquis?"

Su Yan pressed his lips together and shook his head. "There is a difference in status. Better not. I would hate for someone to mock me for trying to climb too high."

Sang Wen paused, then shook his head with a soft laugh and poured him a cup of tea. "Words may be frightening, but as long as your conscience is clear, why care about others' gossip? You are far too rigid and honest. If you truly become an official and enter the court someday, you will suffer greatly if you do not know how to curry favor with the powerful."

Su Yan glanced at him. "Would Brother Sang?"

"Curry favor with the powerful?" Sang Wen lowered his gaze and smiled. "I would."

Su Yan frowned.

Sang Wen looked up at him and slowly said, "A gentleman's integrity is useless in officialdom. If you wish to preserve something, you must lose something. If you cling blindly to your principles, you may well end up dying under a false accusation."

Su Yan had been about to take a sip of tea, but his hand froze at the rim of the cup. His mouth opened, yet for a moment, he could find no words.

A gentleman's integrity, dying under a false accusation.

It truly was cruel.

Su Yan vaguely felt that Sang Wen's eyes were full of hidden stories. He wanted to ask more, but Sang Wen turned his head away and stared absently at the layered, rising eaves, clearly unwilling to continue the topic.

After the poetry gathering, the students formed small groups and went to stroll through the gardens. Shen Tingjue had initially been surrounded by people eager to curry favor with him, but when they saw him cover his mouth and cough every so often, looking frail enough to collapse at any moment, they immediately scattered in all directions and ran off as fast as they could, terrified he might try to pin something on them.

Not worth provoking. Not worth provoking.

The servant scratched his head. "Young master, didn't the prime minister tell you to make friends?"

Why had he scared everyone away?

"I don't need friends."

Resting his cheek on one hand, Shen Tingjue thought in lonely emptiness that it would have been nice if His Highness the Crown Prince were here. They could admire the snow and eat roasted meat together, and they could flirt too, doing this and that... Hehe.

Dark Seven knelt beside him and served tea. When he suddenly saw Shen Tingjue smiling with amorous delight, he hesitated for a long while before waving a hand before his face, afraid his leader had been possessed.

After finishing everything they had eaten, Shen Tingjue decided to return home. He had just left Qufeng Courtyard and passed through a corridor when he heard noisy commotion in the distance. A crowd had gathered beside the lake.

Shen Tingjue walked over, but the people in front blocked his view. Standing on tiptoe, he asked, "What are you all crowding around for?"

The people ahead parted to make a path, revealing a man lying on the ground face down and completely motionless. It was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.

Seeing that the man was soaked through yet not shivering from the cold, like an insensate corpse, Shen Tingjue asked strangely, "Did he fall into the water?"

Xiao Jinhong stood beside him. "He's dead. They just pulled him out of the lake."

Shen Tingjue asked, "Who?"

Someone covered their mouth and used a foot to turn over the corpse. Shen Tingjue stared for a while and realized the man had been sitting beside Su Yan earlier. Just moments ago, he had been spiritedly composing poetry; now, he had suddenly become a corpse with an ashen face.

Su Yan finally squeezed through the crowd from the outskirts. The instant he saw who lay on the ground, his eyes reddened. He threw himself to his knees, shaking the other man's shoulders. "Brother Sang! Brother Sang!"

Xiao Jinhong said to Shen Tingjue, "His name was Sang Wen. He was a tribute student admitted to the Imperial College two years ago during the court's special one-time grace tribute selection. He was usually quite friendly and cheerful. Logically, he should not have offended anyone."

Someone guessed, "He probably slipped and fell into the water. The paths are slippery in snowy weather, and the lake water is freezing. If he could not swim, he would surely lose his life not long after falling in."

Shen Tingjue stepped forward twice and crouched before the corpse.

Director Zhang feared that looking at it for too long would make him faint, so he hurried over and bent down to help him up. "Corpses are filthy. The young marquis should stay farther away."

"There are fresh red marks on the back of his neck. He was clearly strangled." Shen Tingjue stood and adjusted his fox-fur cloak. "It is possible that someone held his neck and forced him into the water until he suffocated, then pushed him into the lake afterward."

The student who had retrieved the body still had water dripping from his hair. Though wrapped in two thick cloaks, he continued to shiver violently from the cold. Realization dawned on him. "The moment I heard someone fall into the water, I ran over to save him. In such a short time, he could not possibly have drowned so quickly. So this was... deliberate murder."

Everyone shuddered together as fear and unease swiftly crawled into their hearts. Su Yan sat limply on the ground, as if his soul had left his body, and suddenly felt cold all over.

Director Zhang exchanged a glance with Tao Wenzhi, stroked his beard, and sighed. "It seems we can only report this to the Court of Judicial Review."

With a murder having occurred, no one in Spring Garden could leave for the time being. The sound of hoofbeats approached from afar. The Imperial Guard arrived before the Court of Judicial Review and swiftly sealed off Spring Garden completely. Iron armor and long spears filled the air with murderous austerity, suffocating the entire garden.

Wen Jingkong strode up to Shen Tingjue. "Oh? Why are you here too?"

Shen Tingjue had not expected a simple outing to admire the snow to lead to a murder case. Feeling thoroughly unlucky and irritated, he snapped, "Call me Dad."

Seeing that Shen Tingjue still remembered that business of collecting debts at the Ministry of Revenue, Wen Jingkong reached out and slapped his deputy commander on the forehead. "Quick, call him Dad. Louder."

The deputy commander: "..."

Damn your great-aunt!

Why don't you call him yourself?

Just then, the prime minister appeared alongside officials from the Court of Judicial Review. He walked in front, while the two officials at his sides trailed half a step behind, displaying their respect.

The aura of "don't touch me" around Shen Tingjue instantly vanished. He turned into a pitiful figure who looked so badly frightened that he might faint at any time, calling helplessly amid the crowd, "Dad, Dad—"

His voice twisted with endless longing, softening the hearts of all who heard it.

"..."

Everyone from the Imperial College and the Imperial Guard stared at him in dumbfounded awe.

Impressive. There was no denying it.