Gu Shaoyu tugged at his collar, cleared his throat, and said, "Next up is a murder case!"

Murder case?

Wu Youren and his classmate's younger sister, Sui Koubian, had been flirting for two years, and this time they arranged to meet and confess their feelings.

When they were alone, Wu Youren and Sui Koubian rode their horses to the edge of a cliff. Wu Youren turned back to his beloved woman and said, "Will you marry me? If you don't marry me, there's no point in me living. I'll jump off this cliff..."

At this point, Gu Shaoyu asked her, "Guess what?"

Xie Zhaozhao didn't guess. Given that Gu Shaoyu always hinted at the "case" with suspense, she didn't dare to guess directly. Instead, she called out to Nanxing, who was driving outside, "Nanxing?"

Nanxing replied instantly: "Madam? What is it?"

What do you think will happen?

"I suspect they want to discuss this properly, so please don't act rashly!"

Xie Zhaozhao pressed her hand to her chest, suppressing a laugh, and said to Gu Shaoyu, "If it were me, I would definitely say 'marry'!"

Gu Shaoyu nodded: "Indeed, Sui Koubian was very moved and shouted to the man: Marry me!"

Then, Wu Youren's horse neighed and charged off the cliff!

"Ah, this 'marriage,' not that 'driving'!" Xie Zhaozhao said regretfully. "What happened to this person later?"

Nanxing said smugly from the front, "If you had listened to me, you probably wouldn't be dead!"

"You'll switch shifts with Bei Chen tomorrow!" Gu Shaoyu said coldly again.

Nanxing immediately fell silent.

"And then what?" Xie Zhaozhao was still worried about Wu Youren.

Gu Shaoyu said, "The day before yesterday, the drums of the Dali Temple were sounded..."

As he said this, Xie Zhaozhao lowered her eyes.

Okay, it's another case from the Dali Temple.

It really is a case from the Dali Temple!

But did Wu Youren die after falling off the cliff?

Gu Shaoyu continued recounting the case.

Below the cliff is a large river, wide and deep, with a rapid current, and it doesn't freeze over even in winter.

There is a village by the river. During the off-season, the men in the village often go to the river to fish.

Someone fell off the cliff, and the people at the gathering lost their will to continue the festivities. They rushed down the mountain to search for the horse, but only found the horse that had fallen to its death; the person was nowhere to be found.

The group reported the incident to the authorities.

The officials searched along the river for several days and finally found a body. Unfortunately, the body had been submerged for too long, and the clothes had been washed away by the rushing water, making it impossible to recognize the face.

The only way to identify it as a male corpse is from below.

The bailiffs called on the villagers to identify whether the man was from the village.

All the women in the village gathered around, and Woman A said, "He's not my brother-in-law, nor is he my husband!"

The woman said, "He is neither the village head nor the clan chief!"

Woman C said, "He's neither my father-in-law nor my brother-in-law!"

The only young widow in the village stepped forward, stared at the man's body for a long time, sighed, and waved to the other women, saying, "Don't worry, he's not from our village!"

...

At this point, Xie Zhaozhao's face turned red, and she coughed while laughing.

"Gu, Shao, Yu!!"

Nanxing didn't understand and wondered if that man was really Wu Youren. "What is Madam laughing at?"

The two joked around in the car for a while, and when they arrived at the busiest downtown area, Gu Shaoyu put her hat on and they went into the restaurant.

The restaurant is called "Chaoyang Pavilion" and has only been open for a few months.

It is extremely large, in a prime location, and extremely luxurious; it became famous overnight upon its listing.

Five three-story buildings are connected by sky bridges.

Each building has flying bridges and railings, with light and shadow connecting them, and beaded curtains and embroidered lintels, capable of accommodating thousands of people.

The interior was extremely luxurious, with beaded curtains, embroidered screens, and dazzling lights.

The waiter was the first to see Gu Shaoyu arrive with Xie Zhaozhao. One went to greet them, while the other hurriedly went to inform the manager.

The shopkeeper rushed out in a panic and led Gu Shaoyu and Xie Zhaozhao to Room No. 1 on the third floor.

Sitting there, Xie Zhaozhao exclaimed in surprise, "Husband, look—"

This place is even higher than the imperial palace, allowing one to "look down upon the forbidden area"!

Standing here, you can not only take in the entire Imperial Street and Yongfeng Street, but also catch a glimpse of the Imperial Palace.

Xie Zhaozhao felt somewhat uneasy.

The Xie family has prospered for a thousand years, and they have become increasingly low-key in their dealings. Not to mention restaurants that are even more luxurious than the palace, they also try to keep their shops as far away from the palace as possible.

"Don't be afraid, the restaurant owner will take responsibility, what are you afraid of?"

Gu Shaoyu said, "The menu here is extremely comprehensive. Just tell me what you'd like to eat."

"Who owns this restaurant?" Xie Zhaozhao couldn't help but ask.

To be able to open such a large-scale restaurant in such a prime location, and at such a high level, the owner must be quite extraordinary.

Gu Shaoyu whispered in his ear, "On the surface, it's a restaurant founded by Master Huang, the retired chief winemaker of the Guanglu Temple Winery. I suspect the royal family might have a stake in it."

"Could it be the Crown Prince or the Wei family?"

"No, His Majesty also knows about this place."

That's good! Xie Zhaozhao said with a smile, "If we had known it was His Majesty's, we could have invested a little too."

Gu Shaoyu immediately chimed in: "Really? That's what I was thinking too. Let's invest a little, and from now on we'll sell snacks and wine brought back from overseas here."

"And there are also fresh foods grown from those seeds," Xie Zhaozhao continued. "New products are all launched here."

The two became excited as they talked, and Gu Shaoyu said, "I'll talk to His Majesty and Lord Huang about investing."

Call the waiter over, and he rattled off the menu for quite some time. Even though Xie Zhaozhao was used to delicacies, she was still surprised by the menu at Chaoyang Pavilion.

Not only were hundreds of dishes "not one of them missing", but the wines and liquors were all of the finest quality, and even the tableware was all made of silver. A single set of silver wine set, neither too big nor too small, was worth more than a hundred taels of silver.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!