Chapter 922 - 876: Finale (2) Like Replaces Like
Chapter 922: Chapter 876: Finale (2) Like Replaces Like
The next day, Wen Wan visited the Duke Lu Mansion.
As soon as she reached Old Mrs. Lu’s courtyard, she heard heart-wrenching cries coming from inside.
Wen Wan already guessed who it was.
After the maid announced her, she lifted the curtain and entered, and indeed saw Lu Qiao sobbing uncontrollably in Aunt Wen’s arms.
Old Mrs. Lu’s brows were tightly furrowed as she tried to console her, "The government office is already handling the case. It will be solved soon. You should stay calm and have another child."
Lu Qiao cried even more sorrowfully, "My Hao’er..."
Aunt Wen was also crying uncontrollably and took out a handkerchief to wipe Lu Qiao’s tears.
Mrs. Xiao Liu looked unwell as well. When she saw Wen Wan come in, she relaxed her expression and called out, "Sister Wan."
Wen Wan approached to pay her respects to Old Mrs. Lu.
"Wan girl, you should try to comfort Qiao," Old Mrs. Lu said, her heart aching for the child who had been brutally murdered.
Wen Wan glanced at Lu Qiao, "Let her cry. She’ll feel better after letting it out."
Hearing the voice, Lu Qiao turned to look at Wen Wan.
When Wen Wan was taken back by her family, Lu Qiao had already married into the Marquis Yongding Mansion. It was rare for her to return to her parental home, and Wen Wan was not around during those times, so although they were cousins, they did not have many opportunities to interact.
Seeing Lu Qiao look at her, Wen Wan nodded to her, "The loss of a child is not something that can be easily forgotten. If you want to cry, cry loudly. This is your home; no one will laugh at you."
After hearing this, Lu Qiao felt embarrassed to cry, but when she thought of how her Hao’er was found covered in blood, she couldn’t help but lower her head and dab at her eyes with a handkerchief.
Old Mrs. Lu sighed deeply, "Such a pitiful child!"
A usually composed Aunt Wen became angry, "Who on earth could be so cruel, not afraid of divine retribution!"
Mrs. Xiao Liu looked hopefully at Wen Wan, "Sister Wan, did you come today because there’s some progress in the case?"
Wen Wan shook her head, "I just received permission from Your Majesty to assist with this case."
Initially, she planned to visit the Marquis Yongding Mansion to inquire about the situation. Learning that Lu Qiao had returned to her parental home, she rushed over. However, upon seeing Lu Qiao in such a state, she couldn’t bring herself to discuss the details of the case.
She was hesitant, but Old Mrs. Lu spoke directly to Lu Qiao, "Since your Sister Wan is also one of the people handling the case, you should tell her about it. We must catch the real culprit and bring them to justice for Hao’er’s sake."
Lu Qiao wiped her tears and began speaking in broken sentences.
From Lu Qiao, Wen Wan learned that Gao Hao had gone missing when her mother-in-law, the Marchioness Yongding, took him out to play. The family searched for a long time before going to the Shuntian Prefecture to report the case. By the time they found him, he was already a blood-soaked corpse.
At this point, Lu Qiao broke down crying again, "Hao’er was only three years old and now he’s gone..."
Old Mrs. Lu angrily cursed, "Such an inhumane act, how could anyone do such a vicious thing!"
Wen Wan closed her eyes and took a deep breath before asking, "Does the Marquis Yongding Mansion have any enemies?"
Lu Qiao, wiping her tears, replied, "Between families, disputes over interests are inevitable, but we’ve never had such deep-seated enmity with anyone."
Mrs. Xiao Liu said, "I’ve heard that several of the children were from impoverished backgrounds. Even if the Marquis Yongding Mansion offended someone, how could those commoners be offended by the same group?"
"Yes, Wan girl," Old Mrs. Lu added, "If it were only the Marquis Yongding Mansion being targeted, it would make sense. But now with so many incidents happening, people are getting anxious. I say the person behind all this is specifically targeting children, regardless of which family they belong to." Saying this, she also reminded Mrs. Xiao Liu to keep a close watch on Little Treasure.
Mrs. Xiao Liu responded quickly, reassuring Old Mrs. Lu.
As Wen Wan listened to Old Mrs. Lu’s words, something flashed in her mind, but it happened too quickly to grasp.
...
After comforting Lu Qiao, Wen Wan left the Duke Mansion. Instead of returning to the Changning Marquis Mansion immediately, she went to the Eight Treasures Building to pack a dozen boxes of pastries.
During the late Emperor’s reign, Song Wei had suggested establishing a shelter to take in homeless children, with the court funding their upbringing and providing them with education and skills, so they could serve the court when they grew up.
The late Emperor was looking to expand the Jinyi Guard and needed people he could fully control, so he adopted Song Wei’s suggestion and built the shelter. Now, it housed hundreds of homeless children.
Wen Wan, thinking of the recent heart-extraction cases, was worried about the children and planned to visit them.
When she arrived, the head of the shelter warmly welcomed her in for tea.
Wen Wan handed the pastries to the head of the shelter, asking him to distribute them to the children, and casually inquired, "Have any of the children gone missing or had any accidents recently?"
The head of the shelter paused, then realized she was referring to the chilling heart-extraction cases, and shook his head, "None, I guess the court’s enhanced security measures around here have kept the children safe."
Wen Wan nodded; indeed, she had seen many guards on both sides when she walked in.
However, was the safety of the shelter’s children truly due to the tight security?
Wen Wan always felt that she overlooked a very important clue.
What exactly was it?
At this moment, she remembered what Old Mrs. Lu had said earlier at the Lu Family: The person behind this is targeting children. He doesn’t care which family they’re from; as long as it’s a child, they can be a target.
No, no, it’s not like that.
The real culprit, able to kill right under the Jinyi Guard’s noses without being detected, must have high capabilities. Why would they fear the guards outside the orphanage?
So why are the children in the orphanage safe?
...
When Wen Wan returned home, she asked Zhao Xunyin, "Mother, what do you think is the difference between the children in the orphanage and the murdered children?"
Zhao Xunyin said, "Isn’t it simple? The children in the orphanage have no parents and no home, while the murdered children all have families."
"All have families..." Wen Wan mulled over this sentence. An answer seemed imminent, but she couldn’t pinpoint the key.
Rubbing her temples, Wen Wan leaned on the small couch, murmuring to herself, "If the children in the orphanage are excluded, then the real culprit isn’t killing indiscriminately, but selectively. Does he need to see if the child has a family before extracting their heart?"
This logic clearly doesn’t make sense.
So, what is the pattern the culprit follows when choosing children?
...
Princess Cheng sent an invitation, intending to invite Wen Wan to the residence to admire the flowers.
Wen Wan thought about how she hadn’t yet thanked Song Qi for the previous incident, so she accepted the invitation and, bringing maids Yun Cai and Linglong along, paid a visit.
The flower-viewing banquet was set in the Waterside Pavilion of the Prince Mansion, and the invited female guests were mostly married noble ladies.
As the banquet was about to end, Prince Cheng came to the pavilion.
The noble ladies all stood up to greet him.
Prince Cheng smiled, waving off the formalities, his gaze settling on Wen Wan. After a long while, he said, "I’ve heard that controlling the plague at the Northern Border is due to the Commandery Princess’s efforts, and that the capture of Yanjing owes much to her too. Truly, women are not inferior to men. I admire that."
Wen Wan managed a smile, "You flatter me, Your Highness. It was merely luck."
Prince Cheng continued to look at her, his smile unchanged, though he said no more, his gaze seemingly deepening.
Wen Wan lowered her head.
...
On the way back, Linglong couldn’t help but say, "I always feel that the way His Royal Highness looked at the Commandery Princess was strange and uncomfortable."
The maids had noticed; naturally, Wen Wan, being the subject, felt it more deeply. She even had the illusion that today’s invitation by Princess Cheng was intended for her to meet Prince Cheng.
However, her dealings with the Prince Cheng Mansion were a one-time affair. After the Song Qi matter, there shouldn’t be any further involvement.
Wen Wan quickly put the matter aside.
...
At the dinner table that night, there was an extra dish of steamed fish, and Lu Yanli clamored to eat the fish eyes.
As he spoke, he used a spoon to scoop out the fish eyes.
Wen Wan watched his clumsy attempt and used chopsticks to pick out the fish eyes for him, expressing disdain, "What’s there to eat in these things?"
Lu Yanli hummed twice, "The wet nurse said you eat things that resemble them to nourish them. Eating fish eyes will make my eyes brighter and make me smarter."
Things that resemble them nourish them.
Those four words struck Wen Wan like lightning.
Zhao Xunyin saw her face stiffen and hurriedly asked, "What’s wrong?"
The color drained from Wen Wan’s face, "Mother, I think I might have guessed the culprit’s motive."
Zhao Xunyin recalled the dinner conversation and also stiffened, "Wanwan, are you saying the culprit suffers from a heart ailment and uses the method of things resembling them to extract children’s hearts for remedy?"
"It’s the only possibility right now, but it still feels like something is missing." Wen Wan returned to the issue of the murdered children and the children in the orphanage.
Since it’s about things resembling them, why insist on children with families?
What exactly is the difference between children with families and those in the orphanage?