Chapter 42 Re-investigating the Embroidery Tower

Chapter 42: Investigating the Embroidery Tower Again

“Why hasn’t this Zhaoxiu Embroidery Tower opened for days? My wife’s birthday is coming up, and I wanted to buy her a dress.”

On the bustling street, a middle-aged man sighed while resting his chin on his hand.

A long-faced woman around forty happened to pass by, and upon hearing this, she struck up a conversation with the man:

“Haven’t you heard? This Zhaoxiu Embroidery Tower is a shady den. Rumor has it that it’s connected to the Nan Prefecture murder case. The madam of the tower has been arrested! Who knows, maybe all the clothes in there are stained with blood.”

The middle-aged man looked terrified: “You’re joking, right? The madam is beautiful and kind-hearted. How could she be involved with those heinous murderers?”

The long-faced woman said confidently, “I’m not joking. I saw it with my own eyes. That night, Governor Xiao personally escorted the madam out. There was also a man with her, and it seemed someone was carried out—looked like that person was dead.”

“Yes, yes, I saw it too!” A short man chimed in from the side.

“I heard the man arrested with her was Zhao Yunzhi, the son of the boss of Guest Tea House, and a student at Liming Academy.”

With someone backing her up, the long-faced woman grew more confident in her story.

“Impossible. Unless the official notice is posted, I won’t believe it!” Seeing the middle-aged man still unconvinced, the long-faced woman and the short man dismissed him with a snort, turning instead to chat with each other:

“Sister, I heard that on that night, someone in the embroidery tower came back from the dead! Jumped into the water and then came back to life. Did you know that?”

“I heard a bit from my neighbor, Brother Cao. It seems…”

During the days the embroidery tower was closed, voices of townspeople gossiping could be heard almost every day.

Some of their guesses were close to the truth, while others were pure fantasies. There were even rumors that Li Chengwei was actually a divine dragon incarnate undergoing tribulations—how else could he survive after falling into the water? Others said Xun Xi of the embroidery tower was a peony spirit who loved to drink human blood.

All sorts of bizarre rumors emerged, so absurd that people found them hard to believe.

“What! The unidentified female corpse in the Nan Prefecture morgue has gone missing?” The long-faced woman suddenly gasped.

“Shh, shh, shh, sister, keep your voice down. It’s absolutely true. My uncle’s younger brother works at the Nan Prefecture morgue. He said that night, thick smoke suddenly rose, and when the smoke cleared, the unidentified female corpse was gone. They searched for a long time but never found it.”

The short man leaned close to the long-faced woman and whispered. But little did he know, a dark figure behind them had clearly overheard their entire conversation.

“Missing? So there’s no body left?” the long-faced woman said regretfully.

“Ah, that’s just it. She had already suffered enough—no name, no identity, and now her corpse is gone. Such a pity.”

“So tragic. All because of that murderer! I hope the authorities issue a notice quickly. I want to see what that deranged killer looks like!”

“Right! That murderer will be struck by lightning sooner or later! Evil will be repaid; Heaven will get him!”

……

Red silk fluttered, and blood seemed to hang in the air.

“Evil repaid? Hahaha… Heaven is blind. How could it ever punish the wicked!”

Xun Xi’s eyes were red with hatred. Because of the torture she had endured, she could only lean weakly against a stone table. The chessboard on the table was in disarray, with black and white pieces scattered everywhere, disrupting the layout of the underground chamber’s mechanisms.

This was the backyard of Zhaoxiu Embroidery Tower. Beneath their feet lay the underground chamber where the incident with Qin Jiao had occurred.

Today, Xiao Nianzhang brought Xun Xi to the embroidery tower to point out the crime scene. Qin Jiao also came. Where Qin Jiao went, Cong Shuang naturally followed. He Zhao also planned to come, but when he learned that Xiao Baiyu was coming to “watch the fun,” his face immediately darkened.

So in the end, neither Xiao Baiyu nor He Zhao came. Instead, Xie Nai set aside his military duties and appeared here.

Xie Nai’s presence heightened the tension, with an oppressive silence silently surrounding everyone.

“Xun Xi, stop stalling! You said that if we let you return to the embroidery tower, you would tell us everything you know. Now I will ask, and you will answer. If you hide anything, you will not be spared!” Xiao Nianzhang shouted angrily.

“Fine, I’ll talk. Ask away.”

The military prison was extremely cold, and Xun Xi, having been tortured and wounded, looked very weak.

The wind began to blow, rustling the leaves. Qin Jiao pulled his collar closer and leaned slightly, using Xie Nai’s tall frame to shield himself from the wind.

Xie Nai turned his head to look at him. Qin Jiao raised his face and smiled lightly at him, his warm breath brushing Xie Nai’s ear. “Divine Doctor Xiao said I should avoid the wind as much as possible,” Qin Jiao said.

“Then come closer.”

Xie Nai pulled him in, drawing him fully into his protective range.

“Okay.”

Beside them, Cong Shuang watched the two with keen eyes. The next moment, she saw Xie Nai reach out and press down the brim of Qin Jiao’s cloak, then Qin Jiao smiled again before turning his gaze back to Xiao Nianzhang.

Cong Shuang, thinking of something, lowered her head and chuckled. Luo Bei glanced sideways at her, a little puzzled.

“Xun Xi, I ask you: besides Zhu Qi and Xue Lin, who else has the embroidery tower served? Has anyone else harmed others because of ‘Charming Spring’?”

Xun Xi replied: “Many people come to the embroidery tower to seek pleasure. There is a ledger in the secret compartment of my room, containing the details of these people. Most are wealthy merchants of Nan Prefecture, and some are minor officials in the government office. All are listed in that ledger.

As for ‘Charming Spring,’ no one else had issues with it. Zhu Qi and Xue Lin just happened to use the substituted medicine, which drove them mad and caused them to kill Xu Rujin.”

Xiao Nianzhang nodded and gave Xiao Yue a glance. Xiao Yue immediately took people to search for the ledger.

Xun Xi’s cooperation satisfied Xiao Nianzhang. He continued: “According to my investigation, this embroidery tower has been in operation in Nan Prefecture for nineteen years. Have you been running a woman-trafficking business all these years? Did others in the tower also participate?”

When Xiao Nianzhang finished asking, Xun Xi’s hand trembled slightly, and a hint of bitter mockery flashed in her eyes.

Qin Jiao couldn’t help but recall what he had seen on the fourth floor of the embroidery tower that day.

At that time, Yun Niang was about to hit Li Chengwei, who was disguised as Xu Rujin, but Xun Xi stopped her. Qin Jiao remembered clearly that there was pity and compassion in Xun Xi’s eyes when she looked at “Xu Rujin.”

“Xun Xi! Answer my question!”

Seeing Xun Xi silent for a long time, Xiao Nianzhang thought she was refusing to cooperate again, and his tone grew heavier.

After a long moment, Xun Xi spoke: “To my knowledge, the embroidery tower started as a regular embroidery shop. Later, Yun Niang brought some people from the capital to Nan Prefecture. They took over the tower and turned it into a den.

In the first few years, they trafficked old and young slaves and beautiful women. They even sold human organs. Eventually, they found that selling beautiful women was the most profitable, so they focused solely on that trade.

Only Yun Niang and I were the main participants. There were also some thugs and enforcers kept outside the city who knew the truth. Oh, and there was a Boss Liu before, but I killed him.”

Xun Xi spoke lightly, but Xiao Nianzhang’s brow furrowed deeper. “Why did you kill Boss Liu?”

Xun Xi gave a cold laugh: “Because I wanted to replace him. If he didn’t die, how could I become the madam of Zhaoxiu Embroidery Tower?”

Qin Jiao suddenly realized: “So Miss Xun Xi, you were originally a victim who was trafficked here, weren’t you?”

----------------------------------------