Red Bean Lives in the Republic of China - Chapter 54.1

Chapter 54.1

Once Yu Hongdou got to school, she headed straight to the big classroom behind the chapel to look for Gu Yun.

Even from the bottom of the stairs, she could hear Teacher Yan giving a lecture from quite a distance. His tone was sharp, and he had an intimidating presence. She figured a student must have messed up their homework and pissed off the old man.

‘It seems like the class was going to drag on for a bit.’ So Yu Hongdou decided to sit on a bench by the lawn across from the chapel and wait for Gu Yun. About ten minutes later, the bell rang. Just as she thought, the classroom fell silent, and no one dared to step outside. It wasn’t until Teacher Yan hurried away with the handouts in hand that the students rushed out of the classroom.

In the crowd, Yu Hongdou spotted Gu Yun and waved at her. “Gu Yun.”

Gu Yun wore a light moon-coloured jacket with a gold pen attached to her chest, paired with a long black Gehua silk skirt. 

With a stack of books in her arms, she walked at a leisurely pace. When she heard someone call her name, she glanced around and, upon spotting Yu Hongdou, she hurried over. “Hey, aren’t classes starting again tomorrow? What brings you here today?”

“I came to ask about Mr. Xu.” Then she motioned for Gu Yun to sit next to her.

“Did Inspector Wang mention that to you?” Gu Yun asked after pondering for a while. 

Yu Hongdou nodded. “Inspector Wang said that after Xu Yishan’s incident, it was you who called him. He said that you and Mr. Xu were distant relatives.”

Gu Yun nodded and replied, “Mr. Xu’s mother was a cousin of my dad. They were pretty distant relatives. At first, our families barely interacted. Mr. Xu took on the role of manager at Langyuan Bookstore, and for work purposes, he and my father met up often. During their chats, he mentioned a few mutual acquaintances, which led to discussions about strong family ties. Eventually, Mr. Xu started bringing his wife and kids over to our place, and our families grew closer. On the day he was murdered, which coincided with your wedding to He Yunqin, I ran into Mr. Xu. He was enjoying drinks and having a good time with everyone at the table, and he even made plans to head to Xishan the next day to write some old poems. He didn’t seem like someone who would take his own life at all. That night, we got the terrible news about him. No matter how much I thought about it, something felt off. So I reached out to Inspector Wang.”

Yu Hongdou: “Hm…” 

Gu Yun took a breath and continued. “Just the day before yesterday, Inspector Wang informed Mrs. Xu that it’s now confirmed Mr. Xu was hanged from the beam to make it look like a suicide, but there’s still no lead on the killer. It seems he must have acted alone. I’ve been mulling it over for two nights now. Just think about how much strength it would take to hang someone like Mr. Xu from a beam! Did he use any tools? I’ve been digging for information on this lately and plan to go back and study it thoroughly.” As she spoke, she gestured towards the stack of books next to her.

Yu Hongdou glanced at the books and joked. “It seems that Miss Gu’s detective skills have become more and more advanced. Inspector Wang is looking for assistants everywhere. Since you are interested in this area, why don’t you go to Inspector Wang and apply for the position of assistant.”

Gu Yun said seriously, “That’s what I meant, but the assistant that Inspector Wang wants to recruit needs to have an excellent memory. I’m not sure if I can pass the bridge game smoothly. I have been practising my skills at home these days.”

Yu Hongdou just said it casually, but she didn’t expect Gu Yun to take it seriously. She was stunned for a while, and then she remembered the phone call between He Yunqin and Wang Peter yesterday. Wang Peter had been busy investigating the case these days and had no time to be picky. “Don’t worry. It seems Wang Peter needs an assistant as soon as possible. If you apply for the job now, you will definitely be selected. By the way, let me ask you something. Since your family is a distant relative of Xu Yishan, do you know where he lived in the past? I heard that he often went to Keyu Theater to watch operas. I wonder if he has any relatives with any of the actors in the theatre?”

“I heard that this martial artist named Yang Yutian also hanged himself. Why are you asking this? Does Inspector Wang suspect that the two were murdered by the same person?” Gu Yun asked with a doubt in her heart. 

“It’s exactly because Inspector Wang believes that the two cases are linked together. So he’s so keen to dig into the past connection between the two. If we can uncover where their histories intersect, everything will fall into place,” Yu Hongdou shrugged and replied.

Gu Yun recalled what her father said and replied, “I heard from my dad that Xu Yishan’s family was struggling back in the day. Before he got married, he was always shifted to several places with his widowed mom. They lived in Qingqiao, Shipu, and Chunyingli. It wasn’t until he married Mrs. Xu that they settled into an apartment in the French Concession. So, he was kind of a live-in-son-in-law.”

“Chunyingli?” Hearing that, Yu Hongdou was taken aback. “My grandma’s family also lived in Chunyingli.”

After her aunt met a tragic fate, Yu Hongdou’s grandma was so heartbroken that she passed away shortly after. Her uncle thought it was vain to leave the house empty, so he quickly arranged to buy it. 

She recalled that the last time Qin Xuekai visited their home, he mentioned that his grandma lived in Chunyingli too. At the time, she thought it was just a coincidence, but she had no idea that Xu Yishan had also lived there in the past. 

‘Chunyingli was pretty big, and I wonder if Xu Yishan knew my grandma and my family back then.’

“Oh right, the last time I checked out my dad’s newspaper, I vaguely noticed that the Keyu Theater had been putting on shows in Chunyingli for a while. We have an old maid in my family who came from Chunyingli. If Yang Yutian and Mr. Xu have both spent time in Chunyingli, my old maid has lived there for many years and should have some memories of it. Unfortunately, she’s gone back to take care of her son lately. I have no idea when she’ll return. Otherwise, I would head to Chunyingli to ask her after school,” Gu Yun suddenly exclaimed.

Yu Hongdou glanced up at the sky, which was a dark grey and looked a bit overcast, hinting at possible rain. 

“It’s already 4:30 after school. If you head to Chunyingli by yourself, it’ll be dark by the time you get back. Don’t go today. Let’s wait until I’m back in class tomorrow, and I’ll go with you.” 

Gu Jun didn’t respond. Suddenly, she gently tugged at Yu Hongdou’s collar, signalling her to look over there. 

Yu Hongdou turned around and saw Qin Xuekai, coming out of the chapel. 

In just a few days, it seemed like Qin Xuekai had lost some weight; his clothes appeared a bit baggier, and there was a trace of sadness in his expression. 

After walking for a bit, he looked up and noticed Yu Hongdou. He was startled, and then his expression turned sombre. He gave a vague nod and walked off to the side.

Seeing that, Gu Yun whispered, “Everyone in the class has been saying that ever since they read about your marriage to Mr. He in the paper, Qin Xuekai has been really down. He hasn’t been around school much this past month and has been too lazy to plan any activities. But it seems like he’s doing better these days.”

Before Yu Hongdou could respond, she noticed Duan Mingyi and a few teachers walking from the other side, crossing the lawn towards the music classroom.

Gu Yun’s gaze landed on Duan Mingyi, and she suddenly thought of something. After a brief hesitation, she asked, “Hongdou, how’s Mr. He treating you?”

“He treats me really well,” Yu Hongdou just said.

Gu Yun studied her friend closely, and noticed that although she looked fine, there was a hint of laziness and lack of energy about her. Compared to the vibrant spirit she had during the wedding, she seemed much more subdued now.

Gu Yun felt sad. She also gazed up at the sky, remaining quiet for a long time.

Realising Gu Yun was silent for a long time, Yu Hongdou felt a stir in her heart and glanced at Gu Yun with suspicion. They had been friends for over a year, and she understood Gu Yun’s character well. Her nicknamed “Dinghai Shenzhen” and rarely displayed her feelings. Though she didn’t say much, she was straightforward and always spoke her mind.

[Note:- “Dinghai Shenzhen” (定海神针) is a picturesque site on Tianchi Lake in Fukang, Xinjiang, China. It refers to a lone, ancient elm tree on the lake’s eastern bank, which is often admired for its view of snow-capped mountains and the lake.]

Gu Yun appeared to be holding back something she wanted to say. 

Yu Hongdou lowered her head, pondering Gu Yun’s strange words, and asked with a hint of anxiety, “Why did you bring that up just now?”

Gu Yun: “…”

“Talk to me,” Yu Hongdou looked at her friend and asked seriously.

Gu Yun decided not to say what she wanted to know. So she just replied with a smile, “I’m your good friend. You’re married, so shouldn’t I check in on how you’ve been lately?”

Yu Hongdou smiled and nodded. “Gu Yun, we’ve always been close friends and know each other’s habits well. I can’t hide my feelings from you, and you can’t hide yours from me. If you know something, it’s better not to keep it bottled up. Share it with me soon, or when I find out on my own, I might end our friendship.”

Gu Yun sighed and looked at the large, fluffy grey clouds above her head. Then she turned to Yu Hongdou and mentioned, “On your wedding day with Mr. He, I spilt champagne on my dress, so I went to the back to clean it. As I passed the storage room, I caught a glimpse of the servant next to Ms. Duan chatting with Mr. He. The servant handed something to Mr. He, and just as he was about to leave, he turned back to grab it for some reason.”

Yu Hongdou felt a shiver in her heart and stared at Gu Yun in silence, not uttering a word.

“At first, I thought it was nothing, but then when I returned to the He Mansion with you, I noticed a certain flower on the dressing table in your new room. I saw that the fresh petals had been altered in colour by some unknown method. I had never heard of anything like it before. After getting home, I wanted to buy a bunch of flowers for my bedroom, so I asked around about where to find this type of flower. Eventually, I discovered that this flower was only available from a French company. It was a recent novelty. Due to its high cost, it has never been widely advertised. Almost no one around here knows about it. If you want to purchase it, you have to place a temporary order and wait one or two months. In the last few months, the foreign supplier only bought one box in total, and it was purchased by a lady named Duan. I have no idea why there was one in your and Mr. He’s room…

Yu Hongdou felt a bit puzzled for a second. Gu Yun wasn’t the type to just talk nonsense. If there hadn’t been any prior news, she wouldn’t have thought much about these two things. But when she put them together, it was hard not to think it was a coincidence.

Thinking back to that night in the bridge room with He Yunqin, she clearly heard that Chen Baidie was the one spreading the rumour. ‘But what if this isn’t just made up? What if He Yunqin and Duan Mingyi actually had an affair?’

Seeing Yu Hongdou’s unpredictable expression made Gu Yun a bit anxious. She couldn’t stand any nonsense. Just thinking about this situation made her feel down. She even dreaded going to Duan Mingyi’s class lately. She wanted to tell Yu Hongdou to be cautious, but seeing how Yu Hongdou was acting, she felt not only angry but also worried that Yu Hongdou might blow up. She regretted saying it and quickly said, “Hongdou, I think there’s a big misunderstanding here. What you’re seeing might not be the whole truth. Plus, I didn’t see anything. It’s all just my own guesswork.”

Just then, the class bell rang. Yu Hongdou stood up, lifted her chin, and forced a smile, saying, “You go ahead to class. I’ll be back in class tomorrow. We can chat later if you need to talk.”

With that, she walked out of the school.

Gu Yun took a couple of steps after her, and shouted, “Hongdou.”

Yu Hongdou waved her hand and hurried away.

Have a nice day!