Cao Shi, looking at Wang Ren and Li Jiu, pursed his dry lips and stammered, "I… I…"
"Speak!"
"I just don't like him."
Wang Ren was furious at this reason. She pointed at Cao Shi's nose and said, "You're not allowed to eat for three days. If I don't discipline you, you might do something even more heinous in the future."
Li Jiu, listening from the side, didn't say anything good but chuckled ungraciously. Wang Ren glanced at Li Jiu's smile and became even unhappier. Li Jiu, who was usually stoic, was using his rare smile to mock a fellow disciple.
"Li Jiu, you're not allowed to eat either."
Li Jiu looked innocent. "What did I do? What does this have to do with me?"
"Because you're brothers."
Cao Shi, who had been looking glum, grinned when he saw Li Jiu was also implicated. Wang Ren glared, and Cao Shi obediently pursed his lips, remaining silent.
...
Wang Ren stormed out of the east wing. Teacher Wende, sitting in a reclining chair, asked slowly, "How did you punish them?"
"No food for three days."
"That's a bit harsh."
"You can't spoil them. They're here in Beijing to learn martial arts, not to be hoodlums. Why should the Senior Brother bear all the strictness, letting these two run amok? If you don't manage them, I will. As their senior sister, I can't watch them go astray."
Teacher Wende remained silent. When Wang Ren turned her head, he playfully stuck out his tongue. As Wang Ren turned back, Teacher Wende, holding his cane, resumed his stern teacher demeanor.
"Little Shi isn't the kind of child who impulsively resorts to violence. Besides, with his skills and coordination, he couldn't have beaten Wang Zeyí. I don't think Wang Zeyí is someone who just stands there and takes a beating. But the outcome is evident, so you need to investigate."
"Alright, I'll investigate."
"Go see Wang Zeyí. Spend some money. The people don't provoke the officials. Don't let Wang Zeyí harbor any resentment."
"Yes!"
After speaking, Teacher Wende had Senior Brother Zhang Si give Wang Ren the household passbook. Wang Ren knew the password. However, upon opening the passbook and seeing the numerous entries of expenditures, she looked at Teacher Wende in confusion. Teacher Wende smiled kindly. "My disciples won't be short of money in the future. But you, you have no wealth in your hands, so I've made some arrangements. After I'm gone, you'll never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of your life."
"Master, what are you doing?"
"That's enough, don't ask. Go and comfort Wang Zeyí. You don't need to return this passbook. I've had your Senior Brother open a new one, and this one has been changed to your name."
"I…"
"Hurry up, go. Come back and tell me if anything happens."
...
Wang Ren went to the hospital and saw Wang Zeyí. He was indeed badly injured, hit on the back of the head with a bottle. A large, centipede-like gash ran from behind his ear to his head. The doctor said he also had a concussion and would need to stay in the hospital for a few days.
Seeing Wang Ren bring fruit and compensation, Wang Zeyí's wife couldn't say anything harsh.
"Sister, what are you doing? Please take the money back. I can't accept it. You've already helped me so much. Cao Shi's brother is heartbroken from a breakup and had too much to drink. He's not to blame."
Wang Zeyí's wife said, "Is it okay to hit someone when you're drunk? If something happened to you, what would happen to me and our son?"
"Ignorant woman, did you go to Wende Xiaoyuan to make trouble?"
"I…"
"Alright, alright! Cao Shi is responsible for drinking too much, but hitting someone is still wrong. This money is Teacher Wende's idea. If you don't accept it, it will trouble him."
"This…"
Wang Ren took out two apples from a bag of fruit and handed them to Wang Zeyí's wife. "Sister-in-law, please peel a couple of apples for Xiao Wang. The more fruit he eats, the faster he'll recover."
...
After Wang Zeyí's wife left, Wang Ren looked at Wang Zeyí solemnly and asked word by word, "Xiao Wang, what exactly happened? Cao Shi isn't the type to act out when he's drunk."
Wang Zeyí gave a wry smile. "Wasn't I trying to persuade him? The woman he likes is with Li Jiu. He must be upset. I told him that a woman like Gao Xiaojuan, who grew up abroad, has no concept of chastity. Gao Xiaojuan must have dated before and had other boyfriends abroad."
Wang Ren frowned. "How do you know that Gao Xiaojuan isn't a chaste girl?"
"I… I don't know. Didn't she grow up abroad? I just spoke based on experience. I didn't expect to provoke Brother Cao Shi. When I turned around, he hit me with a bottle."
"Did you fight back?"
"No, it wasn't necessary. We're brothers."
Wang Ren apologized. "I'm sorry to have troubled you. Rest well. If you need anything in the future, Big Sister will help you."
"Thank you, Sister. Please don't go, take the money back!"
...
After Wang Ren left, she bought a Phoenix automatic camera and learned how to use it from the shop assistant. Then, she went to Shen Xue's clothing store and sat in a restaurant opposite, watching.
Wang Zeyí had mentioned Gao Xiaojuan's lack of chastity, a notion Wang Ren had also heard from Shen Xue. Through her interactions with Wang Zeyí recently, Wang Ren had a general understanding of him. He wasn't the kind of man who would gossip about others unless he believed it to be true.
So the question arose: what was the relationship between Shen Xue and Wang Zeyí?
After waiting for a while and not seeing Shen Xue enter or leave, she put the camera in her bag and walked into Shen Xue's store.
"Welcome."
A young girl greeted her enthusiastically.
"Where is Shen Xue?"
The girl looked confused. "Which Shen Xue are you referring to?"
Wang Ren didn't answer immediately. She walked around and pointed to an artistic photo used as a model. "The girl in the picture."
"Oh, you're asking about the boss's wife. The boss's wife isn't at this store. She's inspecting our other chain stores."
"She's not here?"
"No. Is there something you need? Shall I call her? The branch stores have phones."
"No, my sister is a regular here. She's inconvenient right now, so she asked me to see if there are any new clothes. She and your boss's wife are friends. I remember her calling your boss's wife Shen Xue. I'm sorry, I misremembered. What's your boss's wife's name?"
"Cui Fang."
"Alright, I wish you prosperous business. By the way, could you try on this dress for me? I think you have a similar figure to my sister, and I'd like you to try it on."
The sales assistant agreed and helped Wang Ren try on the dress. Wang Ren raised her camera and smiled, asking the assistant, "Little sister, can I take a picture?"
"Yes!"
Wang Ren held up the camera, adjusted the focus, and took a picture of the girl next to the photo of Cui Fang modeling.
Shen Xue was Cui Fang. Not only was she married, but her name was also fake. Zhu Guang hired such a person to facilitate Li Jiu's relationship. Why didn't Zhu Guang mention that Shen Xue had another name?
Or perhaps, Second Senior Brother Zhu Guang didn't know either?
Wang Ren knew that Zhu Guang knew many beautiful women. However, Zhu Guang wasn't someone who easily trusted others. He wouldn't take risks by using women whose identities were unclear.
Why?
Wang Ren searched her mind for relevant memories. She recalled drinking tea with her Second Senior Brother that day, and her thoughts finally settled on the tea. This was the second time she had drunk Sun Moon Lake black tea this year. The first time was a gift from Wang Zeyí to thank Wang Ren for solving the case of the man-eating right hand demon. Zhu Guang was not at Wende Xiaoyuan that day. Moreover, Teacher Wende didn't drink that Sun Moon Lake black tea afterward, as he wasn't used to it and switched back to jasmine tea.
Why did Second Senior Brother also like Sun Moon Lake black tea? Wang Ren developed Cui Fang's photos and, with a complicated feeling, went to the teahouse. She handed the photos to the attendant. "Has this person bought tea here before?"
"Yes, they have."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, she wanted to link arms with her boyfriend, but her boyfriend, a police officer with thick eyebrows and big eyes, sternly stopped her."
"What's the policeman's name?"
"I don't know, sister. Are you here to buy tea or to solve a case?"
Wang Ren was amused. "Give me two liang of Sun Moon Lake black tea."
...
"Are you implying that Wang Zeyí, Director Wang, is the 'warhead' of 'Zhengqi'?" I asked Teacher Wang Ren seriously.
Wang Ren smiled and shook her head. "I don't know. My story has not a trace of 'Zhengqi'."
"And then?"
"Later, I fell in love with the taste of Sun Moon Lake black tea. I threatened Wang Zeyí, asking him to send me some premium Sun Moon Lake black tea during holidays in exchange for keeping his secret."
"Because Wang Zeyí and Cui Fang were having an affair?"
"Yes!"
"What about Zhu Guang? What was Zhu Guang's motive?"
"Don't you know about Senior Brother Zhu Guang? Of course, everything he did was to control Li Jiu!"
Teacher Wang Ren told me a story. This story was not as long as usual. But in this story, Teacher Wang Ren revealed a secret to me: Wang Zeyí and Cui Fang had a relationship they couldn't reveal.
However, this only proved that Wang Zeyí's behavior was improper. I couldn't designate Wang Zeyí as the leader 'warhead' of 'Zhengqi' based on this relationship.