Chapter 12: Inquiring about Cheng Pushe in Kyoto

It was almost dusk when Lu Tingwan left the palace. After washing up in Yansheng Hall, her fatigue from the whole day was relieved.

She leaned against the desk, recalling what the Queen Mother had said today, that she must get clues from Cheng Xianzhi's investigation into the property tax.

But she had only been in the mansion for over a month and had never even seen Cheng Xianzhi's shadow. How could she get any information from him? She thought about it over and over again but couldn't find a breakthrough.

The summer breeze blew by, blowing away my thoughts.

Feng Xin presented Zhichunli's account book and said softly, "Second Madam, tomorrow will be the second month of the contract with the farmers. Two loads of flowers were delivered to the city before dark, and the silver and rent have been paid in advance as you requested."

"Business at Zhichunli is good this month, but the amount of flowers we sell each day is limited, so we can only make so much money. Add to that the costs, and the profit is not much. The mysterious gift promised by the Second Madam will expire in less than seven days. How will we deal with all these customers who come to receive the gift with handkerchiefs?"

Lu Tingwan had planned all these things long ago, so she wasn't that worried, but she was still thinking about other things in her heart.

"Yeah." He was absent-minded when replying to Feng Xin.

Feng Xin saw that she was distracted and asked worriedly, "Second Madam, have you encountered any difficulties?"

After a moment of silence, his originally dim eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes, that person is also going to investigate the property tax today. If I can get some information from him when he asks for information, it will solve the urgent problem.

She didn't want to be caught up in the conflict between the Queen Mother and Cheng Xianzhi, but she had no choice. If she wanted to escape quickly, she had to start building up the business in Zhichunli. Her dilemma was that if she wanted to keep the farmers supplying flowers, she had to solve the problem of the merchants.

After thinking about it, his relaxed brows wrinkled into a knot again without him noticing.

His head sank, and his back leaned against the wooden chair. His arms hung down and he let out a long sigh.

"Feng Xin, I want to see Luo Yunchu tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is the beginning of the month, and Master Luo should come to the shop. The 30% interest has not yet been settled."

Hearing the sound, Lu Tingwan picked up the abacus on the desk and opened the account book. The densely written words recorded every expenditure and revenue of Zhichunli.

The sound of abacus could be heard in the quiet Yansheng Hall until the second half of the night, when the candlelight went out and the bed curtains in the inner room fell, and then peace came.

The sounds of sweeping and dusting drifted in from outside the courtyard in the early morning. Lu Tingwan had slept late the previous night and was exhausted, so he stayed up for an extra incense stick. Seeing that the shop was about to open, he quickly lifted the bedding. On the clothes rack were the men's clothes that Feng Xin had prepared the previous night.

She looked at the bronze mirror and covered her full breasts with a cloth. This was the age when she was growing up, especially after coming to Kyoto, she felt that she was growing faster than before.

If that charm was not wrapped in a cloth, it would be inevitable that people would know at a glance that she was a girl. Although Luo Yunchu recognized her female identity, he did not look at her strangely, but instead repeatedly reminded her.

Lu Tingwan had a lot of things to do today, so he got dressed quickly.

When we arrived at Zhichunli, it was just the opening time of the shop, and the two loads of bouquets were sold out before noon.

Luo Yunchu entered Zhichunli according to the time. Lu Tingwan stretched his waist to clear the meridians and bones. Just as he was about to step up the stairs, Luo Yunchu fanned himself and called out to him, "Shopkeeper Jiang, business is booming."

Lu Tingwan paused, then turned around with a smile on his face, "Master Luo? I was just looking for you."

"What do you want to see me for?" Luo Yunchu came here to settle accounts with her.

Last night, Lu Ting calculated his 30% interest, which was exactly enough to cover the 20 taels of rent he had reduced.

Lu Tingwan went to greet him and said, "Of course I'm going to calculate the 30% interest for you. I worked all night long to calculate this."

"Please."

Lu Tingwan led people to the second floor.

Luo Yunchu said nonchalantly: "Then I came at the right time."

Occasionally, voices could be heard from outside Zhichun. The servants and maids in the inn were packing up. Feng Xin wrapped the twenty taels of silver in a red cloth and handed it to Luo Yunchu.

Luo Yunchu accepted it, feeling a little worried about her future profits. "Actually, if Manager Jiang needs this money urgently, you can pay me back next month. After all, I'm not afraid that you'll run away."

"Mr. Luo has helped a lot since Zhichunli opened. How can I take advantage of you?" Lu Tingwan raised his hand to signal Feng Xin to go out.

When they were the only two left in the room, she personally poured a cup of tea for Luo Yunchu and said indirectly, "I've been in Fenglin Lane for a month now. I'm grateful to Mr. Luo for taking care of me. You warned me to be careful before, but over the past month, my shop has been going smoothly. I just wonder if Mr. Luo has intervened on Jiang's behalf that I'm unaware of, or if they don't dare to offend you, Mr. Luo?"

Luo Yunchu heard her beating around the bush and asked, "What do you want to know?"

Lu Tingwan smiled awkwardly and sat down casually. "Well, it's because I think Mr. Luo's dental business is doing well, so I was thinking if there's any soup or liquid that you don't want, would it be possible for me, Jiang, to have a sip as well?"

Her dress and fawning smile made people feel that she was a seasoned businessman.

Luo Yunchu looked at her, wondering where she learned all these tricks at such a young age.

"Why, I gave you 30% of the profits, but you are reluctant to give them up? Do you still want to share a piece with me, Luo?" He looked at her with interest.

"Then the dental business has been doing better in recent years, right? Young Master Luo is well-known, so naturally I can learn more skills from you."

Luo Yunchu didn't want her to join, but the man in front of her looked inquiring, so she was not easy to dismiss. She threatened, "I advise you to take care of your current business first. The court has sent people to thoroughly investigate the houses you have built in the past few years. It's okay if the buildings are legal, but if you accidentally rent out a house that violates the law, you will be whipped by the Minister of the Court."

"Master Pushe?" Lu Tingwan asked, "Which Master Pushe?"

"Lord Cheng, the Cheng Pushe who is in charge of the Imperial Guards and the six ministries in Kyoto." Luo Yunchu put away his fan. "You just arrived in Kyoto. Have you never heard of this man?"

Sure enough, Luo Yunchu also received the news. It must have been passed on by his acquaintances in the Ministry of Revenue.

"Is it Cheng Xianzhi, the man known as the Living King of Hell?" Lu Tingwan responded appropriately. "Such a large-scale mobilization, and even Cheng Pushe personally investigating."

"Then you are not afraid, Mr. Luo?"

“Only those who have done something wrong will be afraid.”

Is that so? Lu Tingwan disagreed. In front of the King of Hell, that's not necessarily the case.

"Then according to Young Master Luo, many people in Kyoto have rented this illegally built house. If they are sent to the Ministry of Justice, at least something will be found out during the interrogation." Lu Tingwan seemed to be thinking about something. Luo Yunchu should know a lot. It would not be easy to get the secret out of him by himself, but if that adult were to ask, that might not be the case.

Luo Yunchu had helped him before, so they could be considered an ally. And the person who appeared in Jingzhao Prefecture that day was most likely under the command of Cheng Xianzhi.

If she sends him to the hands of the living devil, he will be skinned alive if he doesn't die. She will be struck by lightning for repaying kindness with enmity. She shuddered as she thought to herself.

Luo Yunchu looked at her lost in thought and asked with concern, "Manager Jiang? Are you cold?"

Lu Tingwan came to his senses, his clear eyes blurred and stared straight at Luo Yunchu's face.

This was the third time Luo Yunchu had been stared at like this. Feeling a little uncomfortable, he coughed twice and asked, "Manager Jiang?"

Lu Tingwan finally came back to his senses and saw the outline in front of him clearly. "Then Mr. Luo, please take care of yourself."

Luo Yunchu put away his discomfort and looked calm and composed again. He could get by in Fenglin Lane and Changqing Street, so how could he easily let the wind and waves wet his clothes and socks?

No matter whether he is Lu Pushe or Cheng Pushe, even if it is the real Yama, he can handle it.

"Listen to me, managing your Zhichunli well is the real business. Don't ask too much about house sales."

Since she couldn't get any useful information from Luo Yunchu, she could only ask elsewhere.

On the second day, Lu Tingwan came out of Zhichunli and went to Changqing Street. He sat in no less than ten teahouses and changed seven or eight sets of clothes. He asked for information about everything he could, and even found some clues about things he couldn't find out.

At night, the lights in the study on the second floor of Zhichunli were on until late at night. She compiled the information she had learned today into a volume so that if that person came to look for her, she would have something to report to.

She wasn't sure whether the man would really come, or maybe he was afraid of her pestering her, so he made this promise to get rid of her.

A gust of cold wind blew in from outside the window, blowing open the window. Lu Tingwan stood up and closed it. A cold and noble outline came into view under the moonlight. However, no matter how good-looking a face is, it would scare people to death if it appeared out of nowhere in the dark night.

Lu Tingwan was no exception and yelled, "Ghost!"

He used so much force in his hands that the window almost hit the man in the face. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, held the window against him, and jumped neatly into the room from the maple tree beside the window.

"The shopkeeper of Zhichunli."

The sound floated from the dark night. Lu Tingwan covered his head and curled up in the gap of the bookcase. After a long while, he slowly turned around.

I saw the man in night clothes, revealing a handsome face. The oil lamp was dim and I could no longer see clearly, but I could never forget that face from yesterday.

Is it him?

Cheng Xianzhi placed the dagger on the desk, dragged over the chair where Lu Tingwan usually sat, sat on it, and glanced around.

"I'm here to get what I want." His voice sounded again, so cold that it made people feel as if they were in the Hall of Yama.

Lu Tingwan was still in shock. She was not afraid of ghosts or gods, but she was caught off guard and got frightened.

One could smell blood on him. He came from the Ministry of Justice. After the interrogation, the blood on the tip of the knife was wiped dry, but the smell was still there.

"Sir?" She called out in an unsteady voice.

"I thought you had forgotten." Cheng Xianzi tapped the wooden table with his fingertips and casually moved the beads. The crisp sound broke the silence of the dark night.

"How did you know I was in Zhichun?"

Yesterday, in order to negotiate with him about the conditions for rescuing those flower farmers, Cheng Xianzhi sent someone to the Criminal Justice Department to inquire. Following this clue, he learned from the flower farmers where the flowers went after being delivered into the city every day, and then he found out that they were in Zhichunli.

He didn't elaborate, his purpose clear. "Many of the houses in Maple Forest Lane were only built in the past two years. From infrastructure construction to completion, furnishing, and sale, they've all passed through different hands. Finally, the deeds have been resold several times. Is it possible that they ended up in the pockets of officials in the imperial court?"

Lu Tingwan thought to herself, is this a secret that someone of her status can hear?

She only said that she was helping him to understand the public sentiment, but she never intended to get involved in other matters.

"Excuse me, who are you, sir?" Lu Tingwan was cautious.

Cheng Xianzhi raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Have you heard of Han Jinzhang, the Left Chancellor, a subordinate of Cheng Pushe of the Shangshu Province?"

Lu Tingwan shook his head and said, "I'm honored to meet you, Master Han."

Since he is Cheng Xianzhi's subordinate, he is here to investigate on Cheng Xianzhi's orders.

Since he couldn't get close to Cheng Xianzhi, if he could get the information the empress dowager wanted from him, he could just give some insignificant clues and report back to the empress dowager. Besides, Cheng Xianzhi was a cautious person, so it would be even more suspicious if he could find out everything.

Lu Tingwan respectfully handed him the paper he had written tonight. "Master Han, what you said is beyond my reach. However, I have gathered some information from the people and compiled it into a paper. I hope it can be of some help to you, Master."

Cheng Xianzhi took the paper, glanced at it casually, and then put it in his arms. He didn't stay long, and his figure disappeared into the night again.

Lu Tingwan was still standing in the distance, stunned for a long time. This person came and went like the wind and lightning. Cheng Xianzhi's subordinates were all talented people. No wonder the empress dowager and his father were so wary of this person.

After tonight, she wanted even more to escape from the abyss of Kyoto.

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