Chapter 157 The truth of drowning
He Danggui covered her mouth, shaking her head like a rattle-drum to refuse his approach, “Those 2 times just now were accidents. Don’t do that to me anymore. I will be 14 years old after the lunar new year. Don’t hold me as I was a child, and don’t treat me well. Emm… I already have an engagement.”
“What did you say?” Meng Xuan forced her hand apart hardly and asked nervously, “Who is he?”
He Danggui shook her head and didn’t want to say anything more. He had been gone for 3 years. There was nothing strange about her engagement. Therefore, she covered her mouth and closed her eyes again, as if she was a clay figure that could not speak or see.
Meng Xuan rocked her several times and said anxiously, “Go to ask Madam Luo to break off the engagement. I’ll ask my father to propose marriage for me. Actually, I… I’ve seen you take a bath and... I’ve wiped your back, so you’re mine, and you can’t marry anyone else.”
He Danggui was surprised, “When?”
Meng Xuan squinted down and pouted, “There are 365 days in a year. You take a bath every day. How can I remember the specific times? Once when I was not satisfied, I disguised myself as a maid to wipe your back. You squinted and let me wipe your back, so you didn’t find out. Therefore, you can only marry me. Look, I’ve seen your little feet two… Eh? Why are your feet still so small? Are you binding them now?”
He Danggui looked at him coldly and asked, “There are 3 little red moles on my body. Are they on my arm, shoulder or back?”
Meng Xuan looked down at the little feet and couldn’t help persuading, “It’s harmful for you to bind your feet. Even if your feet grow bigger than me in the future, I will never mind. Anyway, you are bound to marry me, so don’t bind your feet anymore… Eh? Why your hands and face are yellow, but the skin in other places is as white as snow? Did you apply anything on your face?”
“Where are the moles? On the arm, shoulder, or back?”
“…On the shoulder, well, one of them is on the back. I can’t remember clearly.” Meng Xuan stroked her jade face, and finally couldn’t help covering that pair of dark and sharp eyes with his fingers and said in a soft voice, “I don’t ask about your past, and I’m not angry about that you were merciless to me before. Shall we restart? Would you like to break off the engagement?”
“You said that you ask your father to propose a marriage. Will he agree it?”
“Well,” Meng Xuan stupefied, and then nodded, “I will try to persuade him. Please give me some time, and I will try my best.”
He Danggui raised her eyebrows, “Try your best? That is to say, you are not sure that you can marry me as a wife. But you came to see me take a bath first, so I have to marry you. Meng Xuan, are you planning to marry me as a concubine all the time?” Looking at his expression of remorse, she said, “My red mole is as small as a needle tip, which can’t be seen at all. It can only be seen by leaning on it, and it’s not on any of the 3 places I just said. I just want to know whether you really have seen it. Since it’s a misunderstanding, let’s go down quickly. The things about Qian Mudan haven’t ended.”
Meng Xuan didn’t give up, “When will you go to break off the engagement?”
He Danggui tilted her head and said, “I lied to you about the engagement. There are several men who proposed marriage. However, Madam Luo thought that I would not marry as their wives and they were not from Yangzhou City, so she refused all of them.”
“Why do you marry a native?” As a foreigner, Meng Xuan asked nervously, “Was Madam Luo reluctant to marry you too far?”
“No,” He Danggui said dully, “It’s a kind of jujube. Those jujubes need me, so Luo’s Family needs me.”
“Jujubes?”
“Well, master, let’s go down quickly. They will find us in the grove later.” He Danggui looked at Meng Xuan up and down, and asked doubtfully, “Where are my shoes and socks? Where did you put them?”
Meng Xuan replied confidently, “The socks were stuffed in the embroidered shoes, and the embroidered shoes were thrown down. Didn’t you hear the sound?” He said, pointing down for her to see.
He Danggui’s unidentified anger burst out, “Meng Xuan! Why did you throw my shoes? If you’re unwilling to take them, you can give them to me. Why did you take me to such a high place? Why did you suddenly kiss me? When did I become so intimate with you? I’ve been your disciple for only 4 months. Why did you suddenly say that you want to marry me? I never said I’d like to marry you, and I won’t marry you. You threw my shoes away. What if I don’t have them.”
“They are not lost. Look, right there.” Meng Xuan only answered her last question. But when he looked down, he shouted in a low voice, which led He Danggui to see. They found that a small gray animal took an embroidered shoe off the ground, swayed its tail proudly and ran quickly out of the bamboo grove.
Looking at Meng Xuan who was indifferent, He Danggui was angry and said, “Go and help me get back. If it’s taken out and seen by others, they will think I’ve been eaten by the wolf!” Then she pushed Meng Xuan down from the top of the bamboo, while using arts of lightness and standing on the top of the bamboo with her toes to wait for her shoe.
After a while, Meng Xuan came up with a shoe in one hand and a gray wolf in the other. He stood on the top of the bamboo beside hers and said with a smile, “Look, I’ve found a companion for your little white wolf. Your arts of lightness are poor. Let me help you to wear shoes and socks, OK?”
He Danggui was not convinced, “Poor? I’ve been able to walk in the snow without trace. Can you find the second female expert who is comparable to me all around the world? Give my shoes back quickly. Please don’t get close to me within 7 chi without my permission. Master!”
For a while, they went out of the bamboo grove at a distance of 7 chi. Other people were still waiting at the same place and looking at each other in puzzlement, and the so-called officials didn’t appear. Liao Qing’er ran out of the crowd, took a look at He Danggui and asked quietly, “Are you OK? What did that guy do after taking you away?” He Danggui said in a low voice, “Let’s talk about it after going back. Haven’t the officials come yet?” Liao Qing’er shook her head, then turned to see Meng Xuan and asked him suspiciously, “Why are you wearing the veil?”
Meng Xuan replied, “I had a cold and I’m afraid of infecting others.” The veil on his face was put on by He Danggui. During the quarrel, He Danggui left several scratches on his handsome face. His face was white, so the scratches could not be covered. He Danggui was worried about other people’s thoughts when he went out like this, so she covered his face with a piece of veil.
Mr. Bao also came up, looked anxiously at the masked Meng Xuan, and asked closely, “Childe Meng, didn’t you let the manservant notify the local yamen? Why haven’t the officials arrived yet? Just now you said that the cause of Qian Mudan’s death was suspicious, but she was obviously drowned. Is there any doubt about that?”
Meng Xuan apologized, “I’m sorry. The manservant is lame. I’ll hurry him up. Please take a moment. Oh, this wolf is my prey. It is very fierce. Please don’t get close to it.” He put the bound wolf on the side. And then he moved his body, and flew away like a white roc.
But Liao Qing’er couldn’t help saying, “Mr. Bao, in my opinion, Qian Mudan didn’t fall into the water at all. She drowned herself in the water. Her sister was her accomplice, so the academy didn’t have to apologize and compensate for her death!”
As soon as these words came out, there was uproar immediately. Mr. Bao asked incredulously, “Liao Qing’er, did you say that Qian Mudan committed suicide? Do you have evidence?” If Qian Mudan was a suicide, the responsibility of the academy would be much smaller. Mr. Bao and Zheng Lian had been ready to take the blame and resign from teaching. It was a piece of good news.
Liao Qing’er took a look at He Danggui and saw her nodding slightly. Therefore, she drew a line on the ground with her feet, turned around and pulled up He Danggui’s hands. “Now I’ll show you the scene before Qian Mudan fell into the water. Now I’m playing Qian Mudan and Danggui is playing Qian Shuixian. This line is the bank. At that time, they stood on the bank hand in hand until the call attracted everyone’s attention. Their arms are really straight like this, so that Qian Shuixian supported the whole body of Qian Mudan. At that time, Qian Mudan pretended to be panic on her face, and then she nodded at Qian Shuixian. They pretended to slide their hands, and then Qian Mudan fell into the water.” At this time, Liao Qing’er in the performance also lost her hand with He Danggui, and then stumbled to the other side of the line. “Then, Qian Shuixian shouted to the other side, saying that her sister couldn’t swim and inviting the handsome boys to save her. Any open secret which involves a plot.”
Qian Shuixian angrily rushed up, pointed to the nose of Liao Qing’er and shouted, “You’re slandering her. My sister has died. What do you mean! Why does my sister commit suicide? Why do I help her to commit suicide? How can you falsely accuse people without evidence?”
Liao Qing’er threw up her hands and said, “Do you want evidence? I also learned this from your good friend Qi Mu’er. Based on one look and one facial expression of others, we can infer various subtle psychological activities of others. However, it was finally confirmed that Qi Mu’er didn’t see the scene before Danggui diving, so she lied. But what I said is truth, and there is a special term called ‘thought reading skill’. If you don’t believe it, let the evidence speak! The body is the best evidence. A good evidence is more powerful than ten lying witnesses, because people will lie but things will not, so please believe – there is only one truth!” Liao Qing’er said it with great boldness. Of course, what she said about the reasoning was what He Danggui told her when stopping her from jumping into the water.
Qian Shuixian was so angry that she turned her eyes and stammered, “What’s the evidence? Take it out!”
Liao Qing’er looked down at her in high spirit, then turned and patted He Danggui’s shoulder, whispering, “Xiaoyi, go.”
He Danggui glanced at Liao Qing’er who suddenly ran behind her, and then looked at Mr. Bao who was full of expectation, saying slowly, “Qian Mudan is lively. Two days before, she was wild about mischief. Yesterday, she handed a letter to a classmate in public. It’s hard to imagine that she could commit suicide. Since she is unlikely to commit suicide, and assuming that Miss Qian jumped into the water on her own initiative, as Qing’er said, she probably can swim when she was not sure if anyone would save her in time. At least, she is not afraid of the water and knows how to hold her breath before going into the water. For a person who does not want to die and is afraid of the river, it is a terrible thing to jump into the water. But at the moment of Miss Qian’s falling into the water, I noticed her two expressions. One was that her left corner of her lip was raised when she was screaming, as if falling into the water was a pleasant thing for her, so I guess that she can swim; the other was that she opened her mouth wide, her nostrils were also open at the same time, and her chest was bulging, so I guess she was preparing to inhale before entering the water. She probably can swim.”
Everyone was reflecting on the logic silently. For a while, they couldn’t find any flaws. Some people couldn’t help believing her words. Ms. Zheng asked, “What about the evidence? You are the only one who saw them.”
He Danggui shook her head and said, “Ms. Zheng, what you said is not accurate. Miss Qian shouted before she fell into the water, so everyone was attracted to see that scene. Therefore, I was not the only one who ‘saw’ it, but I was the only one who ‘found’ it. Everyone can recall it carefully. Maybe you can find some impressions of what I said. Of course, these can only be regarded as conjectures, which cannot be used as evidence in the court. But for material evidence, there are three things at present. The first one is the application form for special students filled in by Miss Qian when she was enrolled. I remember one item is about the skill of swimming. Why not take a look? Second, please see. There is a different color under the clothes of Miss Qian’s inner layer, and there is a bulge. I remember that Miss Qian’s waist was thin in the past, so I wonder what that bulge is. I heard that there was a kind of diving suit around waist on the market. Why don’t you open Miss Qian’s clothes and have a look? The third is Miss Qian’s ‘suicide letter’. Yesterday, she delivered a letter to Zong Qiao in public. Today, she drowned herself. It was inappropriate for us to read that letter in the past. But now it has become an important material evidence to investigate the cause of Miss Qian’s death. I hope that Childe Zong can present it for everyone to see.”
“No way!” Qian Shuixian immediately objected, “My sister’s application form is filled out in disorder. You are not allowed to read my sister’s body and love letter, or you will be punished if you disturb her spirit in the sky!”
“The spirit in the sky of Miss Mudan?” He Danggui sneered, “I don’t think so.”
Qian Shuixian said angrily, “You mean that my sister is not worthy of heaven, but can only go to hell? He Danggui! You are so vicious!”
He Danggui’s long and dense eyelashes cast two circles of shadow, so people could not see her eyes clearly at the moment, but could only hear her faint voice, “Miss Qian, you misunderstand me. What I mean is that your sister hasn’t died, so she doesn’t need to go to heaven.” Regardless of all surprised eyes of others, she approached Qian Mudan who was on the ground. She stroked her hair, found a falling hair, caught one end of it and hung it to Qian Mudan’s nostril. Then she asked everyone to look closely. “Look, the hair is moving.”
Even Liao Qing’er was frightened and shouted, “Ah! It’s really. Qian Mudan hasn’t died!”
Just at this time, someone in the rear called out, “Look, the officials come! They are Guard Zhan and his subordinates!”
Then they looked back together, and saw Meng Xuan, who was masked, his lame manservant, and a large group of officials in uniforms coming from afar. He Danggui seized this fleeting opportunity, raised her hand and passed over the top of Qian Mudan, using a silver needle to prick the Cuanzhu acupoint on her face. When she took the needle and looked at it, she found that the tip of the needle was slightly black. She was really poisoned. How could she be poisoned? As she pondered, she looked up to see Meng Xuan and his manservant Yi Tong. When she saw Yi Tong last time, his legs and feet were very agile. He always ran away in a flash when working for his master. What were they doing?
When Guard Zhan and others approached, Mr. Bao looked at He Danggui and asked, “He Danggui, how do you know that Qian Mudan is not dead? Now she is in a coma. Was she stimulated by water? Let’s ask a doctor for her.”
“It turns out that Miss Qian is still alive?” Meng Xuan came up and said, “I know a little about medicine. It’s better to let me treat her before the doctor comes. Yi Tong, please send for a doctor.” Before the manservant named Yi Tong agreed, Mr. Bao hurriedly stopped him and said, “It needn’t to bother your manservant. There is a clinic outside the academy. I’ll ask a little reading attendant to invite the doctor!” It took the manservant nearly two hours to ask several guards. When he sent for a doctor, the coffin carrying Qian Mudan would arrive.
The masked Meng Xuan smiled and squatted down next to Qian Mudan, whispering to He Danggui. Then he stood up and said to the crowd, “According to my initial diagnose, Miss Qian is poisoned. Since I can’t touch Miss Qian directly, I’ve told Miss He how to treat her. She will give first aid until the doctor arrives.”
With permission of Mr. Bao and Ms. Zheng, He Danggui said nothing. First, she immediately lifted Qian Mudan’s clothes slightly, pulled out a dark blue diving suit from her waist, waved it to the crowd twice and threw it on the ground. Then she turned to Qian Shuixian in the distance and grinned, “I’m sorry. I moved the things on your sister, but Childe Xuan instructed me to press her waist. The ‘belt’ is a hindrance to the treatment on Shenque acupoint and Qihai acupoint.”
Everyone turned to see Qian Shuixian who was standing in the corner of the crowd. Ms. Zheng asked angrily, “Qian Shuixian, what’s the matter? Why is your sister wearing the diving suit? Are He Danggui’s words just now true? Did she dive on her own initiative?” Qian Shuixian looked pale and her lips were quivering. She couldn’t speak anymore.
“Here it is!” A reading attendant in blue came up, holding a piece of paper and saying to Mr. Bao, “Here is Miss Qian Mudan’s application form!” Mr. Bao took a look and handed it to Ms. Zheng. At the same time, he raised his voice and said to the people, “It says that Qian Mudan can swim, and it is her handwriting. The space between words is very large, and her fonts are scattered, so I am very impressed with her handwriting.”
“Here he is!” Another reading attendant in blue, dragging an old man by the corner of his clothes, stumbled over and called out from afar, “Doctor Li comes!” The old man looked at least 60 years old, with his hair white. He ran out of breath, squatted down beside Miss Qian on the ground and began diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, He Danggui ended her “acupressure emergency treatment” and stood up to give way to Doctor Li.
Mr. Bao looked at the girl who was just blooming and asked a question for everybody, “He Danggui, why can you exactly infer that Qian Mudan dived on her own initiative instead of falling into the water only by one expression before she fell into the water? Do you know why she did such an unreasonable thing? Besides, how do you know that Qian Mudan hasn’t died? What’s the matter with Qian Mudan? Is she in danger?”
He Danggui stood among the people like a clean lotus and slowly explained to them, “Mr. Bao and all of you may know that I’m stupid, so I can’t think of such a complex thing. But just during the Feast of Qushui Liushang, I passed by Qian’s sisters and overheard some of their conversations, so I came to the conclusion just now. As for why Miss Qian wanted to jump in the lake, I think we can find the answer just by reading the letter she wrote to Zong Qiao.”
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