I now present to you, the winners!

FIRST PLACE: elena Curius

SECOND PLACE: Jen Zi Bahktiari

THIRD PLACE: Tobius Tullius

The following intrepid sleuths may claim the title of Honorable Investigator for correctly solving the mystery (in order of finish):

Rachana Khan
Senex Caecilius
Uzume Ashikaga
MerytMaihes Osorkon
Bacchus Isocrates
Heraklia Aelius
UbAmA Khan
Calpurnia Caesar

The following sleuths finished the game with the correct trivia answers:

Paneb Imhotep
Helena Curius
Feiyan Zhou
Michiyo Shikibu

What? *cocks her head to the side* What's that you're saying? You want to know the identity of the killer. Well, as Rachana put it when she sent in her answer: It was THE MERCHANT, Shi Kai Ru, in the garden by the pool with a silk handherchief -- he smothered the poor Magistrate with that bundle of silk he'd brought with him (he was a silk merchant, remember?). He got the idea after he heard Ran arguing with the Magistrate. He was all set to raise the alarm and blame it on the boy, when suddenly, he heard the sound of someone coming! So, he hid the murder weapon AND himself, in the only place he could...in the garden pool, upsetting some of the fish and causing them to be ejected. I did tell you it was deep, didn't I? *winks* Imagine his surprise when, hiding beneath the water plants in the pool, he saw Hai Lin and Bei Mu Xun carry the body off.

His plans were ruined, so he had to wait it out until the two of them left. Then he climbed out of the water, leaving his bundle of silk behind. He snuck out of the house, and was forced to return the next day, in order to see if he had left anything incriminating behind.

Thank you to everyone who participated! It was fun scheming up all of those clues. You guys were so good and tracked every one of them down, and in record time too! I hope you enjoyed your tour through Ancient China, with some side trips along the way.