When it was approaching sunset the next day, Liu Yuan took Manager Song back to the Yamen and then hurried to see Lin Fei with Bai Zhu.

“On Old Lady Zhou’s birthday, Manager Huang and Steward Song walked aside to talk,” Bai Zhu said. “The look on Steward Song’s face was very ugly at that time. Many people saw this scene.”

“According to several old servants of the Huaishan County Prince’s Mansion who were on good terms with Manager Song, after the Changshou Opera Troupe left that day, Manager Song borrowed money from them and paid it back early the next morning. Overnight I don’t know what he did with the money.”

“The dead child of Steward Song was born to the former wife of his. Because of the tragic death of the child, the former wife had a grudge against Steward Song. Not long after he returned to Beijing, they divorced, and then married a butcher named Hu, and changed her surname to her husband’s surname…”

Before he finished speaking, Lin Fei suddenly pulled out a piece of paper from under the file on the table, pointing to the densely packed names on it that were marked with cinnabar pen. He saw one of the circled names and asked: “Was she called Hu Caifeng?”

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu were startled. When they saw the name Lin Fei pointed out clearly, their expressions suddenly changed: “It’s her, could it be…”

“Same name, same surname, and roughly the same age, it can’t be a coincidence,” Lin Fei said. “Tomorrow, we should pay a visit and see if the former wife of Steward Song is indeed one of those who felt guilty and passed away when the incident with Fuko happened that day.”

If this Hu Caifeng was the former wife of Steward Song, then she most likely recognized the dead child on the stage as the child she thought was dead.

In this case, Steward Song… Lin Fei frowned and asked Bai Zhu and Liu Yuan: “Where is he?”

Liu Yuan said: “In prison, we asked Steward Song whether his borrowing money was related to Manager Huang and if he was related to his death or not. He said he was alone in the room that night, and no one could provide him with an alibi. So he was brought back on suspicion of murdering Manager Huang.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Fei immediately said: “Let’s go and see that Steward Song!”

The variety was extensive, with a balance of meat and vegetables, although none seemed to have an abundance of ingredients. Each dish didn’t appear capable of standing alone as a single meal. Liu Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “Master Wen, are you preparing barbecue again tonight, just like last time?”

Barbecue was all about a wide variety of choices, skewering various ingredients, and enjoying whatever you like to eat.

He still remembered about the barbecue last time! However, Master Wen knew so many skills and had never repeated them until now. He didn’t know when it would be the next time to have a barbecue after eating like that.

When Wen Mingtang heard this, she shook his head and said, “The vegetables sent to Zhuangzi today are not too much, so I might as well put them together to make a dish!”

Liu Yuan said “Oh” and asked Wen Mingtang casually. “What’s the name of this dish?”

Wen Mingtang asked: “Spicy stir fry pot.”

Before Liu Yuan could respond, Lin Fei, who was leading the way, turned to look at him and said, “Keep up!”

Liu Yuan, two steps behind, shrugged helplessly at Wen Mingtang and then followed along.

Wen Mingtang smiled, shook her head, and continued to prepare for the evening meal with Ah Bing and Tangyuan.

…

When he followed Lin Fei into the Dali Temple prison and saw Steward Song, he was sitting quietly on the prison bed waiting for their arrival.

Going from an insignificant servant without much recognition to becoming the steward who held a pivotal role in the entire Huai Mountain Prince’s Mansion was undoubtedly a path of “spring breeze and great success” for a servant. However, for some reason, looking at Steward Song in front of him, Liu Yuan couldn’t shake the sudden feeling of weariness in his heart.

It wasn’t that his expression was hysterical or anything like that; on the contrary, Steward Song’s expression was incredibly calm. It was just the perpetual furrowed brow, which seemed to have etched a deep concern on his face, blending with his entire being.

Looking at Lin Fei and others walking in, Steward Song said, “What do you want to ask?”

Liu Yuan glanced at Lin Fei and asked, “Is the death of Manager Huang related to you?”

Steward Song did not admit it. No, he just closed his eyes and asked, “Where’s the evidence?”

Manager Huang’s death was not concealed in any way; he was smothered to death. Whether it was the last-minute money borrowing or the lack of alibis, suspicion about Steward Song was extremely high.

But these are only indirect evidence, there was no direct evidence to prove that Steward Song killed someone.

Although in Liu Yuan’s view, Steward Song’s “Where’s the evidence?” had almost confirmed his suspicion, but a suspicion was a suspicion, and without evidence, the case couldn’t be finalized.

Liu Yuan looked at Lin Fei and saw Shang Feng suddenly say: “Hu Caifeng is dead.”

Steward Song raised his eyelids, and there was a trace of emotion called “sentiment” on his sad face, but this emotion was only a little. After a while, he said: “She is not young anymore, and she has always had heart problems. It’s hard to tell.”

Lin Fei added: “The day Fuzi died, she was in the audience, watching Fuzi die violently. On the spot, she suffered a heart attack and died before night.”

Steward Song said “Oh” again and said lightly: “Hu Caifeng was my first wife. We were divorced for more than 20 years and she has remarried. I haven’t seen her for many years. I know Manager Huang because of the theater troupe, but I don’t know Fuzi or anything like that.”

After hearing this sentence, Bai Zhu and Liu Yuan frowned: It seemed that Steward Song was also someone who wouldn’t shed tears without seeing the coffin. Without direct evidence in front of him, he won’t tell the truth.

But at the moment, they have no direct evidence of Manager Huang’s death.

“Fuzi left a word in the palm of his hand before he died.” Lin Fei continued without commenting on Steward Song’s reaction.

Steward Song raised his head and glanced at him. This sentence obviously concerned him.

Lin Fei added: “There was also a word left on the swaddling clothes when he was abandoned – Niu. We calculated Fuzi’s year of birth. He is as old as the dead child of Manager Song.”

Manager Song said: “Niu”. There are many people born in the year.”

“Indeed, there are quite a few!” Lin Fei nodded and said, “Shìzi was also born in the Year of the Ox.”

Steward Song’s brows subconsciously wrinkled when he heard these words, and he blurted out: “What does this have to do with shìzi¹?”

This Steward Song would only react when encountering matters involving the Huaishan County Prince’s family.

He was truly a loyal servant who was only loyal to the Huaishan County Prince and his family! Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu looked at each other: So, it was most likely that he replaced the heir of the Huaishan County Prince with his own son!

“Twenty-five years ago, the Huaishan County King’s family encountered Salt Lake City bandits and was detained. The bandits were not good people. Knowing that the people detained were the Huaishan County Prince’s family members, they wouldn’t just let them go,” Lin Fei explained. “If I were them, I would surely detain the entire family as a precautionary measure.”

Author’s Note: The drama “The Orphan of Zhao” does exist.

Fuzi was not the Zhao orphan, but the replaced child who was supposed to die.

(End of chapter)

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Footnote

1. Heir to an aristocratic family with hereditary title.