Chapter 517: The Murderer

"Do not touch anything at the scene!" Song Tian bellowed, his voice commanding the crowd to freeze in their tracks. Should the chamber be disturbed, unmasking the murderer would become an impossible feat.

Tao Yaoye and Lan Ting closely scrutinized the study's arrangement. The chamber was starkly simple, containing but two rows of bookshelves, a pair of paintings hung upon the wall alongside several yellow talismans meant to ward off evil, and otherwise only a desk, a wooden chair, a tea table, and a vase resting upon it... looking no different from any ordinary study.

The door was tightly shut, and according to the butler, the windows had been securely fastened as well, unyielding from the outside.

"What is this...?"

Amidst the battered lattice, Tao Yaoye discovered a small hole poked into the corner of the window.

The butler explained from the side, "Before I broke the window open, I poked a hole to see if something had truly befallen the Master."

"It must be you, Eldest Brother, who murdered Father!" The second son, Song Qing, roared as he seized the collar of the eldest son, Song Tian. His fury ran deep, his eyes bloodshot like those of a rabid hound.

Displeased, Song Tian knit his brows tightly and shoved his younger brother away, snapping, "What nonsense are you spouting!"

"I am not spouting nonsense! Don't think I am blind to the truth. Since you took over Father's business, it has been nothing but a sequence of losses. Not long ago, you suffered a catastrophic investment failure and lost a fortune. You lacked the courage to tell Father, terrified he would fly into a rage and strip you of the family trade!"

"And now, how convenient. With Father dead, you are the primary heir, and the entire family enterprise falls into your hands!"

Song Tian erupted in fury, "Utter rubbish! Talk of motive, and yours is far graver than mine! You failed the imperial examinations multiple times, driving Father to such rage that he broke your leg and swore that if you never earned a scholarly degree, you could forget inheriting a single copper from this house for the rest of your life! I once heard from your companion that while carousing with wine, you vowed you would kill Father!"

"You bribed my friend!"

"Your friend simply opened his eyes wide at the sight of silver."

Song Lian'er pointed with a trembling finger toward Squire Song's corpse and whimpered, "Stop quarreling, all of you. Look, Father's eyes are still open. He died with his eyes unclosed in grievance."

The crowd looked, and indeed it was so; Squire Song's head was tilted, his gaze wide and staring straight at the tea table.

The youngest son, Song Qi, followed Squire Song's line of sight and noticed a blue-and-white porcelain vase sitting upon the table.

"A blue-and-white porcelain vase... Blue-and-white... 'Qing'... Second Brother Song Qing! This is the clue Father left behind at his final breath! Second Brother, it was you who murdered Father!"

The second son, Song Qing, grew frantic, "Preposterous! You claim I am the killer based on nothing more than such a meaningless object?"

"Father's right hand has one finger extended—this is clearly a sign pointing to Eldest Brother!"

"Furthermore, if we speak of motive, who among us here is without one? Third Brother, you resented Father for cutting off your allowance, which made you lose face entirely before your fair-weather friends. By killing Father and inheriting a portion of the estate, you would naturally be swimming in silver again!"

"And Little Sister, Father commanded you to sever ties with that boy surnamed Zhou, yet you willfully refused to listen and kept contacting him in secret. Now that Father is dead, there is no one left to bar you from marrying that Zhou fellow!"

Song Qing exposed their hidden grievances one by one, proving each possessed a motive for murder.

Tao Yaoye suddenly inquired, "What was the latest hour any of you beheld Squire Song?"

"I saw Father in the courtyard during my morning recitations, after which I retired to my chambers to study. That was two and a half double-hours ago."

The third son spoke haltingly, "One double-hour ago, I came to the study to take some money. As I was leaving, I happened to run into Father walking in, and he gave me a severe scolding."

Song Lian'er said, "Half a double-hour ago, I brought a bowl of tea to the study for Father."

The butler chimed in, "I happened to be just outside the door when the Young Mistress delivered the tea. I have not seen the Master since."

Lan Ting nodded, "By this account, Squire Song passed away less than half a double-hour ago."

"Half a double-hour ago, what were you all doing, and who can bear witness?"

The eldest son, Song Tian, was the first to speak, "At that time, I was at the shop auditing the account books. The shop hands can all testify to it."

The second son, Song Qing, also stated, "I was studying in my room then. Though no one saw me, I have a habit of reading aloud; the maidservants passing by the house should have heard me."

The third son, Song Qi, said, "I was drinking and watching dancers at the brothel with my companions. The second son of the Wang family, the eldest of the Kong family, and the men of the Sun family were all with me. It is only that I drank too much and drifted off to sleep; when I woke, I was back home, and I know not who brought me back."

Song Lian'er's eyes brimmed with tears, "After delivering the tea to Father, I remained in my bedchamber the entire time, not stepping out until Eldest Brother came to find me."

"Is there anyone who can prove this?"

Song Lian'er's voice grew fainter, "No."

Tao Yaoye keenly sensed an inconsistency, "Hold on. You claim you brought tea to Squire Song, but where is the teacup?"

Upon the tea table rested only the blue-and-white porcelain vase; there was no teacup to be seen.

It was impossible for Song Lian'er to have waited until Squire Song finished his tea to carry the cup away.

Song Lian'er stammered, unable to utter a single word.

"Little Sister, speak up quickly!" The third son, Song Qi, urged in haste, cold sweat breaking out upon his brow from anxiety.

Steeling her resolve at last, Song Lian'er confessed, "The butler told me there are no insurmountable grievances between a father and daughter, and encouraged me to speak with Father regarding Master Zhou. I brought Father tea intending to beg his blessing for my union with Master Zhou, but upon hearing it, he flew into a rage on the spot and shattered the cup upon the floor. It was the butler who cleared away the shards, after which I returned to my room and wept continuously."

Song Tian frowned as he glared at the butler, his expression carrying a veiled interrogation, "If that is the case, why did you fail to mention this, butler? Moreover, you ought to have known Father's temperament—there was no way he would ever agree to Little Sister's wishes!"

Meeting Song Tian's gaze, the butler averted his eyes in panic.

"Look into my eyes! Speak, what exactly are you plotting!" Song Tian barked sternly.

Seeing everyone staring at him with dark, suspicious countenances, the butler knew there was no escape. He let out a helpless sigh, "To tell the truth, the Young Mistress's beloved is my illegitimate son. I wished to bring them together, but I never anticipated the Master's stance would be so unyielding."

Song Lian'er stared blankly at the butler, never imagining such a relation existed between him and her beloved Master Zhou.

So the butler's constant words of encouragement were not meant to embolden her pursuit of true love?

Her gaze went hollow as something collapsed within her heart.

Tao Yaoye murmured under her breath, "Thus, the most plausible scenario is a conspiracy between Song Lian'er and the butler. It must have been the butler who shot a poisonous ice needle through the window to slay Squire Song, subsequently piercing the paper lattice under the pretense of checking on him to conceal the needle hole."

Lan Ting shook her head, offering her own insight, "If that were so, how could the butler guarantee the Eldest Young Master would send him to look for Squire Song? One must remember, the butler could not have known we were coming."

"In my view, the second son, Song Qing, remains suspicious. He claims he was reading in his chamber, but if he had purchased a shadow-recording orb from the merchant guild to play his voice without interruption, he could have completely fabricated an alibi!"

The two argued in hushed tones without reaching a conclusion. Finally, they turned their heads simultaneously toward Lu Yang.

"Senior Brother Lu, who do you believe is the culprit?"

Lu Yang offered no reply. He walked over in silence, knelt beside Squire Song, and drew forth a Soul-Returning Pill.

This was an item he had purchased from the Mission Hall out of fear of unforeseen perils when he journeyed to the Desolate Province, and it had remained unused until now.

The medicinal elixir melted within Squire Song's mouth, and the squire gradually drifted back to consciousness, his expression somewhat dazed.

Lu Yang explained, "Squire Song is not dead; his soul was merely drawn out by someone. I have used a Soul-Returning Pill to tug his spirit back."

Having been subjected to possessions frequently, Lu Yang was far more experienced in matters of the soul than his two junior sisters.

"Squire Song, the three of us hail from an immortal sect. Who was it that extracted your soul?"

Squire Song was initially bewildered, but upon hearing Lu Yang's words, his gaze turned resolute as he spoke the name of his killer:

"It was the scroll painting."

Lu Yang turned to the crowd and said, "Look, the culprit has been found."

The Song siblings: "..."

The butler: "..."