We were like bookworms, rummaging through the books everywhere. Fortunately, our luck held out. After some effort, we discovered quite a few books detailing Du Meisha.
No, rather, these books were written by her, all about Lolita designs, and some information about her past.
Du Meisha was a highly talented Lolita fashion designer. At the age of 15, she designed a very popular Lolita silver dress, which she aptly named "Starlight of the Galaxy."
"Starlight of the Galaxy" is reportedly still on display at the Shanhai Town Museum. She was exceptionally beautiful and kind-hearted. However, on April 3, 2019, a girl in a wheelchair went missing. Du Meisha was seen on surveillance footage as the last person to have contact with her. Coupled with evidence of a prior dispute, the locals believed Du Meisha had murdered the girl, constantly denouncing her as the legendary "witch." It's worth noting that "witch" is a term originating from the West. At that time, many foreigners lived in the foreign consulate, and they were all spreading tales of witch hunts in Europe. Under the command of the Western church, an unprecedented large-scale hunt for witches erupted. The whole of Europe cooperated, and even the emperor fully supported the capture of witches. For a time, Europe was in chaos, with soldiers everywhere apprehending women. These women could only hide in corners, and some were even forced to wear men's clothing and dress as males.
Interestingly, the definition of a witch varied throughout history, and each variation refreshed our understanding of human nature. According to the official church's explanation, a "witch" was a woman who did not conform to Christian tenets. These non-conforming standards included her weight as prescribed by the church, her frequency of showing respect to the church, and the number of donations she made.
Later, Du Meisha, unable to bear the pressure, attempted suicide several times, but none were successful.
Du Lage was greatly troubled by this matter and communicated with her many times. Du Meisha was slowly recovering, but on June 1, 2019, Children's Day, she jumped off the mountaintop with her unborn child.
Upon seeing this information, Liu Yuning and I were both shocked. We realized this was the true story behind the death of the "witch" Du Meisha.
However, we decided to confirm with Li Fan and the others in Shanhai Town. When they arrived at the library, I learned that the facts were indeed as recorded in the books. I asked the librarian to photocopy this information, along with the newspapers, and take them with us. Then, I had Gao Mingqiang and the others analyze the information from the newspapers, while Liu Yuning and I went to the museum where "Starlight of the Galaxy" was displayed, intending to gather some information from the staff.
Upon arriving at our destination, when we inquired about "Starlight of the Galaxy," many staff members sighed with emotion, not for the dress itself, but for its designer, Miss Du Meisha.
"You have no idea how much effort Du Meisha put into designing these works. It's unbelievable that such a person would be slandered. If I'm not mistaken, she must have been targeted out of jealousy because she was too outstanding. People are generally like this."
The person speaking to us was the museum director, Mr. Liu. Liu Yuning said, "Can you show us the dress then?"
"Of course, please follow me to the exhibition hall!"
With that, Mr. Liu turned around and led us through a corridor to the exhibition hall. It appeared to be quite spacious, with many glass display cases neatly arranged. There were numerous Lolita dresses and various unknown antiques. However, no matter how artistic or unique these designs were, they couldn't overshadow the brilliance emanating from a silver-white Lolita dress in a rectangular display case in the center.
Liu Yuning and I couldn't tear our eyes away from it, staring directly at the dress that seemed to radiate a kind of magic. We both immediately moved closer, with Mr. Liu leading the way.
Even as he approached the dress, he carried a sense of reverence and respect. His reaction told me that he had deeply admired Du Meisha in the past.
Looking at the dress, Mr. Liu said again, "I was the one who proactively collected this dress back then, but it's the only one."
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"When the accident happened, Du Meisha's other works mysteriously disappeared. We don't know why. This one was already in the museum, so it was safe."
"Didn't she jump off the mountain? How were the clothes taken away?" Liu Yuning asked curiously.
The same question arose in my mind. Mr. Liu's face showed a peculiar expression: "We've never been able to explain this. After she left us that day, someone went to her former residence and found that the place seemed to have been burgled. The door lock showed signs of being pried open, furniture was overturned, and there were signs of ransacking in the vicinity. Du Meisha's remaining designs at home vanished. If I'm not mistaken, that person must have learned of Du Meisha's situation and taken all her clothes to sell."
We found Mr. Liu's speculation plausible, but was Du Meisha's death truly a suicide?
If that person was the murderer, he would have had a motive to take Du Meisha's works after killing her and then escape Shanhai Town.
But why would the murderer do such a thing? Could it be that, as Mr. Liu suggested, someone was jealous of her talent and first used that incident to harm her, then murdered her, and finally took everything she owned?
I could sense that, not to mention the current case, the past incident itself was a mystery. But if I could unravel the mystery of that time, perhaps the current case would naturally find a breakthrough.
Liu Yuning and I carefully examined "Starlight of the Galaxy" before us. The material seemed excellent. The neckline was adorned with silver thread, and the shoulders featured raised, rippling patterns. The chest and abdomen were decorated like a fruit platter, with complex colors that did not appear cluttered but rather complemented each other, creating a pleasing aesthetic.
Du Meisha was indeed a design genius in this field. Ordinary people could not design such a dress. Mr. Liu initially did not allow outsiders to take photographs, but given our identities, he made an exception.
After obtaining the photographs of "Starlight of the Galaxy," we left the museum. Earlier, we had also learned from Mr. Liu about the place where Du Meisha had lived. I planned to find some time to visit that old house alone.