GAO YI HAD had a bad feeling since early morning.
It was his habit to perform a divination right after waking, but today he'd forgotten. He suspected this was an ill omen and had sent someone to fetch his tortoiseshell and copper coins.
Gao Yi had a strange fixation with divination. When anyone came to see him, he insisted on checking his fortune before admitting them. Even his wife was at the end of her rope. He might as well use divination to decide whether to lead with his right or left foot when walking, she'd jeered. Gao Yi had given her suggestion serious thought, but ultimately felt it too time-consuming.
He'd just sent someone for the copper coins when the constables he'd dispatched returned with four people.
Qiao Xian had wanted to answer the summons alone, but the constables had refused. They insisted on bringing the whole group, by force if necessary.
After Qiao Xian had crushed a cup to powder, however, the constables realized these people were no simple merchants. Qiemo was home to all kinds—good and evil, powerful and powerless—and there was no shortage of strange happenings and stranger people. Gao Yi was court-appointed, but he had little influence. His subordinates were wary of indiscriminately offending anyone and had thus courteously invited all four suspects to come with them. Forget shackles or ropes: they dared not even walk too close. At first glance, Cui Buqu's group looked like invited guests.
Gao Yi was addicted to his copper coins, but he was no fool. When he saw his subordinates' respectful attitude, he understood this must be a troublesome group.
Qiao Xian stepped forward. "Magistrate Gao, can you explain why we've been called here?"
She didn't bow or cup her hands, much to Gao Yi's displeasure. Looking behind her, he saw her companions' expressions were calm, confident, and entirely without fear. Indeed, these were no ordinary people.
He looked to the deputy magistrate beside him, who coughed belatedly. "This is our city's honorable magistrate. Why don't you bow?"
"We have our reasons, of course," Qiao Xian said evenly. "But first, let us discuss the death of Cheng Cheng."
The deputy magistrate glanced at Gao Yi. Seeing his superior wasn't about to upbraid them for their lack of manners, he had no choice but to do as she said. "Last night there was a fire in the city. Two people died. The first was Li Fei, the assistant broker of Rongxing Pawnshop, and the other was Cheng Cheng, who took odd jobs within the city. Someone claimed to have seen you arguing with Cheng Cheng yesterday and suggested you killed him because of a grudge. It is the magistrate's duty to call you in so we may ask for clarification."
In addition to Gao Yi and his deputy, another man sat silently at the side of the room. He was in his thirties or forties, with an arrogant demeanor and sumptuous dress to match. Presumably this was the witness who'd reported the argument.
"Cheng Cheng tried to con us yesterday," said Qiao Xian, "We taught him a lesson. When he realized his mistake, he begged for mercy. The matter was resolved, and payment for his service in guiding us here rendered and received. There are no grudges between us. Not to mention, we never left the inn last night; we had no opportunity to commit either arson or murder. I ask the magistrate to judge fairly."
Before Gao Yi could speak, the splendidly attired man snorted. "Of course you absolve yourselves of responsibility in just a few words. But whether they're true or not must be determined after our lord magistrate's questioning!"
Jinlian may have been Apa Khagan's lesser khatun, but her status was by no means low. She had never suffered such contempt before and now scoffed. "If we say we didn't kill him, what is there to question? What do you plan to do? Torture us into confessing to a crime we didn't commit?"
Though her Chinese was excellent, her words were slightly accented. Gao Yi noticed at once. "Where do you hail from?"
The other man raised his voice over him. "It doesn't matter where they're from—a murderer must pay with their life! This is the law of heaven!"
Gao Yi frowned. "Am I the one presiding over this case, or are you? If you can't restrain yourself, you may return to your master and tell him to seek a promotion. Then he can conduct the interrogation himself!"
The man lowered his voice but insisted, "My lord trusts the magistrate. That's why we reported the incident to you!"
"If that's the case, let us detain them," Gao Yi said expressionlessly. "We will interrogate them when Duan Qihu's men arrive."
Within this short exchange, the two seemed to have decided their fate. Qiao Xian looked about to explode, but Feng Xiao was a step ahead.
"The nerve of you! Don't you know who my lord is?!"
His tone was haughty, no less so than that of the lavishly dressed man. But he'd taken the words right out of Cui Buqu's mouth, and Cui Buqu looked at him askance.
Feng Xiao raised his chin high. "My lord is the nephew of the king of Kucha, ordered by our liege to travel to the Central Plains on important business. Now that our business has concluded, we are returning to Kucha. Yet you've accused him unjustly and detained him without reason! If you can't offer a suitable explanation, you can be sure we'll take this to the king himself!"
Gao Yi's head had begun to throb. If only he'd remembered to do his divination this morning, he'd have refused to see Xing Mao's man, never mind Qiao Xian's group. He softened his expression, ready to placate them, but the other man refused to let it go. "What proof do you have of your identity?"
The group was composed of both men and women, and four was suspiciously few for a royal envoy. Though Kucha was a small country, it wasn't a poor one. This man had seen all sorts of people; he refused to believe them so easily.
Yet to his surprise, Cui Buqu produced a golden seal. Carved upon it, in both Kuchean and Han characters, was a clear statement of the identity of its holder: Kucha's Left Marquis of Wu, Shang Jing.
When someone like Cui Buqu did something, they did it thoroughly. A disguise was only the first step—he'd also prepared two sets of identities. If their journey went smoothly, they were ordinary civilians visiting their relatives in Kucha. But if they met with the unexpected, as they had now, they'd become nobles of Kucha who were traveling incognito.
Cui Buqu was sure Feng Xiao must have made similar arrangements. But as Feng Xiao had gotten the jump and deployed this scheme first, he had little choice but to go with the flow.
Gao Yi turned the heavy golden seal back and forth but could find no flaw. Audacious fraudsters did exist, but few were capable of creating a fake golden seal. Furthermore, there was little to gain from pretending to be the king of Kucha's nephew. This group had kept a low profile since entering Qiemo. Had they not been summoned here, their identities would have likely remained unknown.
The sumptuously dressed man still had his doubts. He reached out to examine the seal himself, but Qiao Xian grabbed his wrist.
"Who do you think you are? This is the official seal personally bestowed by the king of Kucha. It's not some trinket you can handle however you please! Don't think we'll forget how you slandered us today!"
"I am an assistant official under the king of Shanshan," the man argued. "I'd never make reckless accusations!"
"The nation of Shanshan has long been destroyed!" Qiao Xian scoffed. "What king of Shanshan?"
No ordinary civilian would speak of royalty in such a tone. Gao Yi was becoming convinced of their identities. He held up a hand and said to Cui Buqu, "Li-xiansheng isn't trying to make trouble. The truth is, besides Cheng Cheng, the second victim was a trusted subordinate of Duke Xing."
Rongxing Pawnshop was run by Xing Mao's people. Officially, the head broker was Xing Mao's youngest son, but he'd never managed the business. The real boss was the deputy broker, Li Fei. Under his management, this shop brought in considerable profit for Xing Mao each year. Li Fei had worked for Xing Mao a long time and was an especially trusted subordinate. Xing Mao was certain someone had deliberately assassinated him and had thus sent his people to Gao Yi.
Xing Mao and Duan Qihu's feud was well-known in the city. When anything happened to Xing Mao's people, many would instinctively believe Duan Qihu responsible. Cui Buqu's group was merely an unexpected third party dragged into the mess.
Gao Yi preferred to stay out of disputes between Xing Mao and Duan Qihu. His authority as county magistrate was middling at best, while the other two had operated in the city for decades. Their influence was immense. Every year Gao Yi accepted perks from both factions, which naturally meant he had to return the favor.
"We are in a hurry to return to Kucha," said Qiao Xian. "If our lord hadn't fallen so gravely ill, we would have been on our way yesterday."
Gao Yi examined Cui Buqu's complexion and noted all the signs of fatigue and illness. Now certain this man was indeed who he claimed, he stood and cupped his hands. "Murder is a serious matter, and I must execute my duty. Kucha and Great Sui have always shared a strong relationship; it is my hope that this incident will not change that. I ask Shang-langjun's forgiveness."
Xing Mao's man frowned. "Lord Magistrate, if no resolution is reached on this matter, what can I say to my lord? Please detain these people while I go back and consult with him."
"Why not hunt down Duan Qihu and settle scores with him? Why fixate on us?" Qiao Xian demanded.
The man had his own theories on the matter. "Duan Qihu was always going to be the most likely suspect, and he knows it. Hiring outsiders like you gives him more freedom to act. Once the deed is done, you simply leave the city. Then who would know?"
Qiao Xian laughed in anger. "If we wanted to murder Cheng Cheng, why would we argue with him in public and draw your suspicion?"
At this point, the man Duan Qihu sent finally arrived.
He too was a middle-aged man, but he had a gaunt and scarred face, a stark contrast to the lavish clothes and rotund figure of Xing Mao's subordinate. Together, the pair formed an odd fat-and-skinny duo.
Enemy met enemy, with all the hostility one would expect. The moment the men laid eyes on each other, sarcastic remarks began to fly. Gao Yi's office was quickly transformed into a verbal arena.
Cui Buqu watched Gao Yi's brows knit with impatience but saw that the magistrate couldn't afford to lose his temper. In Qiemo's so-called triad of power, Gao Yi was the weakest. "If we must wait here, why don't we examine the corpses?" he said. "Perhaps we will find some clues that will clear our names."
Gao Yi couldn't bear listening to Xing Mao and Duan Qihu's men argue any longer. He agreed at once.
The fat one was immediately skeptical. "You're telling me the nephew of the king of Kucha knows his way around a coroner's table?"
Cui Buqu's expression didn't change. "You're too kind. My wife's father is indeed a coroner by trade, with generations of expertise behind him. She's learned a thing or two over the years. What better chance for a demonstration of her skills? We'll only know if there's anything to be gleaned after we try."
Feng Xiao choked. He'd set Cui Buqu up minutes ago, and here Cui Buqu was, ready with payback.
An autopsy meant touching the corpse, and that meant…
Feng Xiao turned faintly green. Had he known this was going to happen, he would have humbled himself and played the king of Kucha's niece instead.