Chapter Thirty-Seven: Murder

  Then Zhou Ping went back to the house, put on his outer gown, and accompanied Wen Cheng as they left. Along the way, whenever they passed by a hall, Wen Cheng would point it out and explain its origins in detail. His words were elegant and refined, and Zhou Ping secretly admired him. Although he was not successful in the imperial examination, he indeed had talent and learning. Occasionally, when he responded with one or two sentences, he could also touch on the other person's weak points. As they walked along, both of them felt a sense of mutual understanding. Seeing that it was almost time for lunch, Wen Cheng pointed to the majestic Buddhist pagoda in the distance and smiled: "In each layer of the walls of the Repaying Kindness Pagoda, there are Buddhist scriptures with illustrations, which were made by famous artisans and are extremely beautiful and unparalleled. They are well-known throughout the north. Why don't we visit this pagoda before going to eat?"

  Zhou Ping smiled and said: "Naturally, young master will listen to Lord Wen's instructions!"

  Two men walked to the front of the Buddhist pagoda, only to find that the gate was tightly closed. An iron general guarded the door, and there were no monks in sight who could open it. Wen Cheng shook his head in disappointment: "I had wanted to visit the Jingye Temple thoroughly on my previous trips to Yanjing, but I never had the chance. This time, I finally got to stay here, only to be met with a closed door."

  Zhou Ping glanced at the exterior structure of the pagoda and smiled: "Wen Gong, if you really want to see it, I have a way."

  "Do you have a way?"

  "Not bad!" Zhou Ping smiled meaningfully, walked to the side, and with a quick jump upwards, grabbed onto a protruding part of the tower wall. With a few swift movements, he climbed up to the second floor, then untied his belt and let it hang down, saying to Wen Cheng: "Wen Gong, grab hold of my belt!"

  "This isn't quite right, is it?" Wen Cheng was somewhat at a loss regarding Zhou Ping's actions.

  "We're just coming in to take a look, not thieves. We're just too lazy to find the monk to open the door for us. What's the harm? Master Wen, hurry up and grab him, otherwise if the monks see us like this, it'll be even more misunderstood."

  "Alright, alright!" Wen Cheng had no choice but to grab the belt that was hanging down and with a few strong pulls from Zhou Ping, he was pulled up into the window. Zhou Ping retrieved his belt and they began to admire the murals on the inner wall of the pagoda. Although the murals depicted only Buddhist scriptures, the lines were elegant, the characters lively, and it was clear that the painters who created them were masters of their time. Many of the paintings even had gold leaf applied, making them look rich and majestic, causing Zhou Ping to exclaim in wonder at the wealth of the Liao Dynasty's Buddhist temples.

  Wen Cheng's expression was complex, seemingly both joyful and sorrowful, occasionally sighing softly, which made Zhou Ping quite surprised. In the blink of an eye, the two had already reached the top floor, from where they could see the entire view of Youzhou City. Wen Cheng gazed out at the scenery, sighing softly: "Such a Buddhist pagoda, who knows how much of the people's blood and sweat was spent on it."

  Zhou Ping nodded, just about to respond, but then heard the heavy footsteps coming from downstairs, apparently someone had entered the tower. He looked around and pointed to a statue of an arhat: "Wen Gong, if we let the tower guard see us, it might cause trouble, you and I should quickly hide in the back."

  Wen Cheng and Zhou Ping had just hidden behind the Buddha statue when they saw someone coming up, but it was not the imagined tower guard. Instead, it was a 30- or 40-year-old man with a curly beard, wearing luxurious clothing, likely a noble from the Liao country. This Liao noble came to the top of the tower without worshiping the Buddha statue, his eyes darting back and forth as if searching for something. Zhou and Wen both secretly thought this was not good, fearing they would be caught red-handed and unable to explain themselves. After about half a stick of incense time, another commotion came from below the tower, seemingly someone else was coming up. Just as Zhou Ping was getting anxious, the noble suddenly lifted the curtain on the wooden table in front of the Buddha statue and slipped inside.

  "What is this guy doing, why did he hide? Is he trying to do something fishy?" Zhou Ping thought to himself. He turned his head and glanced at Wen Cheng, who shook his head slightly, apparently also not understanding what was going on.

  At this time, someone else came up the stairs. Zhou Ping carefully turned his body sideways and looked out from the gap in the Buddha statue. The three women who entered were dressed as a noblewoman and two maidservants. The noblewoman wore a high hat with a veil hanging down from the brim that blocked Zhou Ping's curious gaze. The two maidservants placed a woolen blanket in front of the Buddha statue and retreated, leaving only the noblewoman behind.

  The noblewoman stood alone in front of the Buddha statue, gazing at it for a moment before removing her hat and walking over to the rug. She then began to pray to the Buddha, but since she was speaking in Khitan, Zhou Ping couldn't understand what she was saying. Even if she had been speaking Chinese, it wouldn't have made any difference. Zhou Ping was already stunned by the noblewoman's beauty - she appeared to be around 26 or 27 years old, at the peak of her beauty. Her broad forehead was topped with a delicate and straight nose, bright and lively eyes, red lips, and skin as white as fine porcelain. A long robe made of the finest wool enveloped her slender yet full figure, while her thick black hair cascaded down to her rounded shoulders. A golden hairpiece adorned with gems held back her hair near her forehead, and a short sable coat was draped over her robe. In short, every part of the noblewoman's body exuded a deadly charm that left Zhou Ping, hiding behind the Buddha statue, feeling almost suffocated.

  "What person?" A shout awakened Zhou Ping from his trance, and the nobleman of Liao who was hiding under the Buddhist altar crawled out. This unexpected guest seemed to have startled the charming noblewoman, who instinctively retreated towards the staircase exit. However, the nobleman's movements were quicker, and he had already blocked her way, kneeling down and speaking a few words in a low voice to the noblewoman. The look of terror on the noblewoman's face gradually disappeared, replaced by solemnity.

  "Could it be a secret meeting between two people? It doesn't seem like it!" Zhou Ping thought to himself, and at this time the gossip cells in his brain that had been idle for a long time began to stir again. At this moment, the situation on the scene took a sudden turn, the man kneeling on the ground seemed to be begging for something, while the noblewoman kept shaking her head, apparently refusing him. Finally, the noblewoman quickly rushed towards the staircase, seemingly wanting to leave. The man who was kneeling on the ground quickly got up and grabbed the noblewoman's arm, and the two of them started struggling. Suddenly, the noblewoman took out something from her bosom and stabbed it into the man's chest with a fierce thrust. The man immediately covered his chest with his hand, and the noblewoman took advantage of the opportunity to escape. The man struggled to get up, seemingly wanting to chase after her, but he had only taken two steps when he fell to the ground, struggling twice before becoming motionless.

  "Was the paramour seeking pleasure but got rejected? Did the noblewoman kill someone to silence them?" Zhou Ping shook his head, unable to understand. The voices from downstairs grew fainter and fainter, as if the noblewoman had escaped. Zhou Ping emerged from behind the Buddha statue, picked up the hat, and examined it. There were no distinctive decorations on it, only a whiff of feminine fragrance. He put the hat aside and walked over to the man's body, turning him over. A dagger was lodged in his left chest, and he had already stopped breathing.

  "This woman's hand is so ruthless, one knife pierced the heart, and it's not just some noble family!" Zhou Ping smiled slightly, casually pulled out the dagger, wanting to find some clues on the dagger.

  "This woman's surname is Xiao, her name is Pu Xian. She is the wife of Yelü Chún, the King of Qin and Jin, who was the defender of Nanjing in the Great Liao Dynasty." A voice came from behind Zhou Ping, it was Wen Cheng.

  "What? How did you know?" Zhou Ping was taken aback, his eyes scanning the dagger in his hand, and indeed, on the hilt of the dagger were cast three words "Ye Lu Chun". He knew that what the other person said was probably not wrong.

  "I can understand the Khitan language." Wen Cheng pointed to the corpse on the ground and said, "There are people in the Liao Emperor's camp who are dissatisfied with his tyranny and want to collude with Yelü Chong to start a rebellion, making Yelü Chong emperor and negotiating peace with the Jin people to preserve the country. This person was the envoy. Xiao Pu-xian firmly refused, and the two men were at odds, but unexpectedly he accidentally killed this person."

  "Slipped up? How did you know it was an accident and not intentional murder?" Zhou Ping asked with a smile.

  "Look!" Zhou Ping pointed to Xiao Pu Xian and his group hastily leaving under the tower: "She didn't even pick up her dagger, fleeing in such a hurry. If it weren't for us, the body would have been discovered by the monks in no time, and it would be easy to link it to her. What kind of sloppy silencing is this? It's clearly a crime of passion."

  "Governor Wen's words are reasonable!" Zhou Ping was convinced by Wen Cheng's incisive analysis, and he looked at Xiao Pu-xian and his party who were fleeing in a hurry, sighing: "I didn't expect the internal affairs of Liao to be in such disarray. It seems that Great Song should indeed make early preparations."

  "Zhou Chengxin, come over and give me a hand!" Wen Cheng bent down to move the body with great effort. Zhou Ping asked in surprise: "What are you doing?"

  "Help that Xiao Pu Xian with a favor, and get rid of the corpse!" Wen Cheng smiled: "Now our Great Song is not ready yet. If something happens, it will only benefit the Jin people. It's better to throw the corpse outside casually and let them suspect each other. When the Great Song is ready, we can bring up old matters again."

  "Not bad!" Zhou Ping was now deeply impressed with the old official, thinking to himself that the Song Dynasty's method of selecting officials must be flawed. A talent like this had been relegated to a low-ranking position at over 50 years old. If there were several more people in the two governments who were as clear-headed as Wen Cheng, they wouldn't have ended up with the disaster of Kaifeng falling and the Emperor fleeing north.

  The two of them used a great deal of effort to drag the corpse to a remote and desolate place, and then thoroughly cleaned up the blanket, hat, and bloodstains from the top floor of the tower. Zhou Ping also hid the dagger. By the time they had finished dealing with this matter and returned to their residence, it was already dinner time. Before they even entered the courtyard gate, a member of the delegation came out to greet them, saying loudly: "Lord Wen, where have you been? Lord Lang has been looking for you for a long time, hurry up and go see him."

  "What's going on in such a hurry?" Wen Cheng asked as he entered the door.

  "Don't ask anymore, Lang Jun is waiting for you in the hall, just ask and you'll know." The attendant bowed to Wen Cheng and said to Zhou Ping on the side: "Zhou Chengxin, you can go too, Lang Jun said to see him as soon as you come back."