Wufu had been searching for clues outside these past two days, not returning to the inn until nightfall. Even then, she’d lie down without changing her clothes, looking so tired that she seemed to have lost weight.
Seeing this, Liu Jin felt heartache but, using her youth and charm, she managed to coax the chefs into good spirits, sneaking a chance to make chicken soup for Wufu, who was so pleased she showered Liu Jin with praise.
That day, Wufu turned her search to the suburbs, to a small village. The clue she pursued this time was about the last victim of the Flower-Picking Thief to date, the same one she had seen when she left the city.
This woman, Chen Rongniang, was unlucky.
According to the case records, although Chen Rongniang was only eighteen, she had already been married. But due to her childlessness, she was divorced and sent back to her parents’ home. She had just arranged through a matchmaker to remarry a widower; even the date was nearly set, when she was murdered.
The records stated that Chen Rongniang went to take care of her sister’s confinement, and on her way back, she was abducted and killed. The location where her body was found was actually less than a quarter of an hour from her home.
"I—I just didn’t expect Sister Rong to pass away , it’s just too sad," Wufu said while wiping away her tears to a sister-in-law living diagonally across from the Chen family.
Disguised as a young married woman, basket in hand and a face full of sorrow, she said, "I was just thinking of visiting Sister Rong, to talk with her. Like you know, sister, she had such a hard life..."
The sister-in-law also wiped away a tear and cursed, "Wasn’t she just terribly unlucky. The one she first married was a wretch, even boasted about being a scholar, pah! Not only was he picky about everything, but he would also rant over sending a few eggs to her parents’ home. That kind of family, in my opinion, it’s better to leave sooner rather than later."
"Exactly. And he divorced my Sister Rong, not like she committed some unforgivable sin. They said she couldn’t bear children, but she was only married for three years," Wufu continued to lead the conversation, all of this she had seen in the records.
"Pah! Only three years, how many people go five years without having children? It’s all nonsense. In truth, the Butcher’s Family boy looked down on Rongniang and used that as an excuse to divorce her. It’s ridiculous, he said Rongniang was dirty and could not share his bed, for it would disgrace his scholarly reputation. But if they rarely shared a bed all year round, how could a child be conceived? Did he expect one to spring from rocks?"
Wufu hesitated and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you mean by ’dirty’? Could it be that the Butcher’s Family accused Sister Rong of infidelity?"
The sister-in-law snorted loudly, replying, "How could that be? Rongniang was a good girl. It’s just that she tended to sweat a lot and had a stronger body odor, which was unpleasant. Frankly, this is not uncommon in farming families. It was only that Butcher’s Family boy, who studied for a couple of years, and then started calling himself a scholar, using that as an excuse for his propriety. When he was sleeping with a virgin, he didn’t say such things, did he?"
Wufu pursed her lips, nearly laughing, yet a spark seemed to have rapidly flashed through her mind. Her expression changed as she said, "Sister-in-law, are you saying that Sister Rong had a kind of fox-smell?"
Could it really be a coincidence?
"Since you also knew her, you should be aware of it," the sister-in-law nodded and gave Wufu a curious glance.
"It’s just hard to believe," Wufu replied with a wry smile.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Wufu made it seem inappropriate to bother the bereaved Chen family any further and turned to leave.
As she turned, a strange light and a trace of excitement flickered in Wufu’s eyes. She had discovered the common thread in this case.