Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Cooking Slots. (Second update)...
Oil sizzled on the grill, the edges of the mutton skewers were roasted crispy, and the oozing fat dripped onto the charcoal fire, instantly sending up tongues of fire.
Lin Sen rolled up his sleeves, flipped the skewers, and sprinkled various spices on them from time to time, soon filling the yard with fragrance.
Linzhi stood in the kitchen, transferring spoonfuls of the mutton soup that had been stewing all morning from the pot to the casserole, and then carried the casserole to the yard.
It just so happened that Song Jiaoniang had brought out another small stove from the house. After working together, the mother and daughter successfully got the small stove lit and continued to simmer the mutton soup.
"Look at the skewers I made. Isn't it amazing?"
"It looks very good." Lin Zhi took a closer look and gave a thumbs up.
"It will definitely taste good." Lin Sen stuffed the skewers into his wife and daughter's hands, motioning them to try it quickly.
"It's really good, huh?"
"Dad, your technique has improved!" Lin Zhi took a bite and his eyes lit up. Lin Sen's current level of grilling skewers is such that he can become a barbecue chef in a barbecue restaurant with a monthly salary of 8,000 yuan in the future.
Just as the Linzhi family was happily spending the beginning of winter together, they never expected that Chen Yan was still busy in the Dali Temple next door.
"Is today the beginning of winter? Mr. Shen and Officer Lu actually came to the Dali Temple? Aren't they going home to celebrate the festival?" The young yamen runner on duty saw the figures inside, and even after they walked away, he still couldn't help but feel puzzled, and quietly asked the old yamen runner beside him.
"Brother Lu doesn't know what's going on, but Mr. Shen's parents have passed away many years ago, and he is currently living in Mr. Tao's house." The old yamen runner shook his head and sighed.
"Eh? That legend that he is the son of a yamen official is just nonsense, right?" The young yamen runner couldn't help but raise his voice. Mr. Shen's origins were really a mystery. Some said he was the son of a yamen official, some said he was just a hanger-on, and some said he might be the illegitimate son of the Tao family.
"He is indeed the son of a nobleman." The old yamen runner laughed and whispered, "I once heard Mr. Tao call him cousin. Mr. Tao's background is so great that anyone who can be related to his family by marriage must not be an ordinary citizen."
"As for why he became a minor official..." The old yamen runner thought for a moment and did not express his other guess. Instead, he said cautiously: "I guess Mr. Shen may have failed the examination."
Ordinary people believe that all children of high-ranking officials, regardless of their talent or lack thereof, can enter the government through patronage. This is true, but there are some differences.
After the quotas are reported, these students will have to undergo selection through examinations.
If one passes the examination, he or she will be appointed as an official; if one fails the examination, he or she may only be appointed after three years, and will not be allowed to serve as a judicial officer or a people-friendly official. Most of them will be sent to remote areas to serve as low-level officials.
The examination was a legal examination, mainly testing the ability to judge cases and the righteousness of laws and regulations. The examination content would change according to the requirements of the sages. At one time, candidates had to participate in up to five examinations, covering Confucian classics, legal regulations, and poetry, which required extremely high comprehensive abilities of the candidates.
In addition, those who entered the officialdom through nepotism were not as likely to be promoted as those who entered the officialdom through the imperial examination. Therefore, as the difficulty of the examination became higher, the children of officials who had the ability would try to take the imperial examination.
The old yamen runner knew it clearly, but the young yamen runner only had a general idea. He thought that the old yamen runner meant that if one failed the examination, he would not be able to enter the officialdom through patronage, so he still said a few words of sympathy.
Inside the room, Lu Sanzheng crossed his arms over his chest, looking helplessly at Chen Yan: "Shen Lang, Shen Ge, Grandpa Shen, Ancestor Shen! Do you have to stay in the Dali Temple on your day off?"
He doesn't want to go home, but I want to go home!
Chen Yan didn't even raise his head: "You go back first, I will go back naturally when the time comes."
Lu San stamped his feet, holding his breath but refusing to leave. He had just sent Chen Yan to visit the grave that morning, and he knew that Chen Yan was in the worst mood right now. If he just left... that would be too heartless.
"In Tao's Mansion——"
"They are holding a banquet today. It would be inappropriate for me to go back with a gloomy face." Chen Yan left home early and did not even use the Tao Mansion's carriage, just to avoid participating in the banquet today.
"...I'm not saying anything, Brother Chen, why don't you move out?" Lu San held his breath. Although Tao Lang was nice to them, he still had to tell the truth.
Chen Yan paused and said, "After something happened in my family, my aunt and uncle kindly took me back to take care of them. How could I just leave like that?"
"Besides, there are other reasons today."
"What's the reason?"
Chen Yan was silent for a moment. He couldn't tell Lu San that a certain lady had tried to scam Heng'er but failed and now was setting her sights on him.
Lu San knew it today, Xie Niangzi and Cao Datou would know it tomorrow, and by the day after tomorrow, the whole city of Bianjing would know that he had become a young man who ran away after being forced into marriage, and the storytellers would have to start singing the day after that.
Anyway, it seemed that my aunt was fed up with that old lady and was ready to take the opportunity to send her away. Chen Yan was happy to go out on the pretext of visiting the graves.
Chen Yan twitched his lips at this thought and silently changed the subject: "You have been following Rong Xiaolang for a month, have you discovered anything?"
"...Wait? You really have to talk about work on your day off?" Lu San, instead of digging up any gossip, was instead being pressed into a conversation about business matters, which made him feel uneasy. He complained briefly, then said seriously, "I actually found some clues."
"Rong Xiaolang did get admitted to Mingdao College, but he was asked to drop out after only five months."
As soon as Lu San opened his mouth, he announced the bombshell news, which immediately disrupted all of Chen Yan's previous speculations.
"I followed him for more than ten days and found that he was either copying books in the bookstore or going to the teahouse to ask questions."
"But at night, he would go to the city gate to change clothes and then rush home. We carefully observed and inquired while following him and confirmed that Miss Rong was still unaware that her brother had dropped out of school."
"Teahouse? Are you investigating his father?"
"No, I went to your house to ask, and Rong Xiaolang was investigating two people whom I had never heard of at the time." Lu San reported the names of the two people, and sure enough, Chen Yan had never seen them in the files.
Chen Yan's face was slightly solemn, and he gestured for Lu San to continue. Unexpectedly, Lu San then dropped a bombshell: "I went to Mingdao College to investigate and found out that Rong Xiaolang didn't drop out because his family was short of money. Instead, he was expelled from Mingdao College after being reported for gambling."
Chen Yan's expression suddenly changed: "What?"
At present, the imperial court has repeatedly banned gambling. The ban is only lifted during festivals such as the New Year, and then only for small activities such as selling poker.
Of course, there have always been private casinos and gambling houses, and many of them are backed by wealthy families.
However, most of those who dared to participate were ordinary people or merchants. Officials, scholars, and other high-ranking officials were strictly prohibited from doing so. Once found to have participated in gambling, they would be dismissed from office, charged with theft, and not allowed to pay for redemption or be permanently banned from employment.
Since Rong Xiaolang was arrested for gambling, it means that he will never be able to take the imperial examination and become an official in this life, so there is no need for the Rong siblings to cover up their father's crime.
After all the twists and turns, could it be a false accusation? When Shen Yanguang thought of this, his body leaned back involuntarily, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "This... wait."
Chen Yan suddenly thought of something and squinted his eyes at Lu San: "Any other questions?"
It has been more than a month since Lu San started his investigation.
If the matter was really that simple, why would it take so long to investigate?
Lu San then continued, "I had someone go to the government office to retrieve the files on the gambling case. I found that Rong Xiaolang protested his innocence several times in his confession, saying that he was lured there. However, the person he identified denied it, and someone else testified that he was a regular customer there."
The government therefore determined that he was involved in gambling and sentenced him to 100 strokes of the cane. As for Rong Xiaoniang's ignorance, it was probably because Rong Xiaolang was picked up by a classmate and Mingdao College had accommodations, which was why they kept the matter secret.
"Also, I went to Mingdao College and asked those doctoral teachers. They said that Rong Xiaolang initially just took a leave of absence, but later someone reported him for gambling, and the college expelled him after verifying the report."
"At the time, his classmates came to testify on his behalf, but because the evidence provided by the government was clear, it was not recognized by the college."
After a pause, Lu San said, "The two people mentioned earlier are the ones who identified Rong Xiaolang as a frequent customer in the gambling case."
"After the incident, they were also sentenced to 100 strokes of the cane. After the execution, they were taken away and lived a very carefree life for a long time, until last month."
Lu San pulled out a stack of files and said, "I was going to send it up tomorrow. Here, take a look."
Chen Yan took a look and found that the two names in the file were exactly the ones Lu San had just mentioned. Their status was: "... Missing for over a month?"
Lu San nodded. "We found their families, and they said they hadn't seen them since last month. We asked them why they didn't report the crime. They said they were idle all day, beating and scolding the family members, asking for money to go out and play, and it was normal for them to not come back for ten days or half a month. Even their biological parents hoped they wouldn't come back."
"But they also told me one thing, which is that at the beginning of this year and six months ago, they suddenly became very generous and lavish with their money."
"One of the men's mothers told us that before they disappeared, her son had said he would soon become rich again. She was worried he was planning to steal or rob, but she was afraid of getting others into trouble, so she kept the story a secret."
Chen Yan flipped through the files. Actually, this case had already been thoroughly investigated by Lu San and the others. Judging from Rong Xiaolang's actions, the attitudes of his classmates, and some related evidence, it was highly likely that Rong Xiaolang's gambling was a setup.
The question is about the two missing people, the sudden marriage of Rong Xiaoniang, and the murderer behind the scenes. Is he their biological father, or is it someone else?
"But at least there's a reason to intervene." Chen Yan closed the file. "Tomorrow, we'll arrest Rong Xiaolang on suspicion of murder, and then we'll question him about the situation."
It is more like protection than arrest, or it is like handling several cases together.
Lu San responded seriously, then watched Chen Yan study the evidence he had collected so far. He was silent for a moment: "...Do you still plan to stay in the Dali Temple?"
"Um."
"...If you don't want to go back, why don't we go for a walk in the tile house?"
"No, go home."
"How about coming to my house? It's been a while."
"No, go back quickly."
"..." Lu San held his head and screamed. In the end, he gave up trying to drag Chen Yan away and walked out cursing: "I think you'll just have to sleep in the Dali Temple!!!"
"That's a good idea."
"Ahhhhhhhhh, I'm so angry!" Lu San walked out angrily. When he reached the gate of Dali Temple, he saw Song Jiaoniang and Lin Zhi pushing the door open.
"Brother Lu San? Why are you here?" Lin Zhi couldn't help but look surprised when he saw him.
"Ah...some cases, what are you doing?" Lu San's eyes moved down to the baskets held by the mother and daughter. "Is this a dime?"
"Yes, we plan to take some to Madam Yu." Song Jiaoniang said with a smile, "Brother Lu San, will you guys come to the shop tomorrow morning? If so, we will save some and cook a bowl for you to try."
"Cooking jiaozi." Lu San remembered that on the day of the beginning of winter, jiaozi and mutton soup were the only things to eat. He hesitated, thinking of Chen Yan, who was still alone in the Dali Temple. "Well, I have a favor to ask of you two."
Lin Zhi and Song Jiaoniang were both stunned.
Lu San only said that Chen Yan had returned from visiting the grave today, and he was depressed and still in the Dali Temple: "... Please send a bowl of coin soup when the time comes. As for the money -"
Before she could finish her words, Song Jiaoniang became anxious: "Are we still friends? Why are we still talking about money at this time? The same goes for that child. How can he still be wasting time in the government office on the beginning of winter? He is still young after all and doesn't even know how to raise a child!"
"That's right." Lin Zhi also frowned and said, "Don't worry, Brother Lu San! We promise to drag Chen Lang out in a moment, and we'll make sure there's enough mutton soup and coins!"
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