silver
A few snowflakes fell outside the window, and the cold wind rustled the window paper.
While observing Zhou Yanzhi's reaction, and seeing that he didn't make any big moves, Jie Xiangsi continued, "Logically speaking, since the Xiao family case has not yet been decided, such evidence should be handed over to the Dali Temple for safekeeping. How did you manage to produce it, cousin?"
As Jie Xiangsi finished speaking, Zhou Yanzhi's eyes flickered slightly, and he looked at the person opposite him with an inscrutable expression.
When he got out of bed just now, he had already taken the silver ingot away as quickly as possible. How did she find out?
Also, is she saying this because she cares about the Xiao family's case? Why would she care?
Why would a woman who grew up in Danzhou be curious about the Xiao family's case in the capital?
Zhou Yanzhi glanced at the woman in front of him almost imperceptibly, then leaned back a few inches against the low table. Instead of answering, he asked, "Since my cousin knows that I am the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, what's wrong with taking a piece of evidence?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi met Zhou Yanzhi's probing gaze without flinching and said seriously, "Evidence is the key basis for the trial of a case and cannot be taken without permission. As the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, is my cousin knowingly breaking the law?"
Zhou Yanzhi chuckled softly.
Was she threatening him?
Zhou Yanzhi patted her twice lightly and said casually with a smile, "My cousin really knows a lot about the official duties in the capital. Actually, it wouldn't hurt to tell you, but I hope my cousin can answer one question for me first."
Jie Xiangsi frowned: "My cousin hasn't answered my question yet."
Zhou Yanzhi raised an eyebrow: "Since this involves a case, cousin, you should answer my question first, otherwise..." At this point, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he bluntly said: "If you interfere with the Dali Temple's judgment without authorization, cousin, you'll probably have to make a trip to the Dali Temple."
Jie Xiangsi: "..."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Jie Xiangsi suddenly looked up at Zhou Yanzhi and saw that his expression did not seem fake. She gritted her teeth and felt indignant.
That Zhou Yanzhi is still as rigid and irritating as ever!
Did she interfere with his judgment?!
Clenching her fists to suppress the urge to punch him in the face, Jie Xiangsi forced out tears and feigned grievance: "Xiangsi was just curious, why is cousin being so aggressive?"
Zhou Yanzhi's expression remained unchanged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Seeing that he wasn't buying it, Jie Xiangsi decisively stopped crying, lowered her eyes and whispered, "Then what does cousin want to ask?"
Seeing that the other woman had yielded, Zhou Yanzhi finally dropped his coldness and leaned forward until Xie Xiangsi's eyes kept darting away. Only then was he satisfied and said meaningfully, "You've been living far away in Danzhou since you were a child, confined to your chambers. How could you be so familiar with the procedures for handling cases in the capital?"
Jie Xiangsi: "!"
I almost forgot, the person standing in front of Zhou Yanzhi now is not Xiao Yan, but Jie Xiangsi.
What Xiao Yan in the capital knows, Jie Xiangsi in Danzhou may not know.
After thinking for a moment, Xie Xiangsi secretly pinched her thigh hard. The sharp pain caused a slight ripple to appear in her dark eyes. She sniffed and slowly raised her head, her tone more dejected than ever before: "People often say that 'women are not as good as men.' What do you think, cousin?"
Zhou Yanzhi frowned: "Nonsense."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xiangsi smiled and said slowly.
"Many people in the world believe that women are inferior to men, so they confine them to their boudoirs and force them to conform to etiquette and law. Unfortunately, Xiangsi has a rebellious heart and does not want to be a wife in a wealthy household. Therefore, she has been interested in criminal investigation since childhood and longs to be a high-flying eagle."
At this point, noticing a slight softening in Zhou Yanzhi's expression, Jie Xiangsi changed to an admiring look and continued, "And the Dali Temple is the most important judicial organ in the country. Therefore, even though Xiangsi is in her boudoir in Danzhou, she is quite knowledgeable about the handling of cases in the capital. Now, seeing the evidence in my cousin's hands, she got carried away and forgot the rules."
Zhou Yanzhi's eyes flickered slightly.
"Yeah?"
His eyes, though filled with longing, remained resolute.
"yes."
Even so, her hands, hidden under the quilt, were faintly damp. This statement was half true and half false; while Xiao Yan did not believe the saying 'women are inferior to men' was true, her ambitions lay not in criminal investigation.
She said this simply to get closer to Zhou Yanzhi. After spending so many years together, this was one of the few good qualities she recognized in him.
That means never looking down on women.
Secondly, if it were all lies, Zhou Yanzhi, as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, would naturally be able to sense something was wrong. However, if it was a mixture of truth and falsehood, and given her certainty in her words, five parts truth would become seven parts truth.
Moreover, Zhou Yanzhi was the one who offended her first tonight, and now he feels guilty towards her. When he feels guilty, his slight unease naturally won't cause any trouble.
Thinking this way, Jie Xiangsi's already resolute expression seemed even more sincere.
Unexpectedly, she answered like that. Zhou Yanzhi was silent for a moment. After a while, he lowered his eyes and apologized: "My cousin is very thoughtful. I was rude."
Jie Xiangsi shook her head.
"It's alright, but... can you answer my question now, cousin?"
Fearing that Zhou Yanzhi might try something unexpected again, she quickly added, "My cousin promised me."
Seeing the distrust on her face, Zhou Yanzhi was speechless and somewhat at a loss: "I won't, don't worry."
Thinking of the question she had raised earlier, Zhou Yanzhi pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice, "This item is not evidence of the Xiao family's treason case, but rather Yangqu disaster relief funds. It is only similar to the evidence in the Xiao family's treason case."
"What?!" Jie Xiangsi exclaimed in surprise.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Yanzhi asked, puzzled.
"...It's okay...it's okay."
Suppressing her shock, Jie Xiangsi tried to keep her tone even: "Then... is the Xiao family innocent?"
The silver ingots produced by Da Zhao were produced in batches. She had seen it clearly before, and the silver ingot in Zhou Yanzhi's hand was exactly the same as the silver ingots confiscated when the Jin'an Marquis's mansion was sealed!
The origin of those silver ingots is unknown and cannot be traced. Perhaps by investigating these silver, we can exonerate the Xiao family!
Regardless of the turmoil on her side, Zhou Yanzhi remained calm. Since it involved the case, he couldn't say too much. He simply left with the words, "I don't know, but there might be clues about the Xiao family case in Yangqu," and then said nothing more.
Hearing him say this, Jie Xiangsi's long eyelashes trembled slightly.
Now that Yangqu Baiyin has entered the Dali Temple, it proves that the Dali Temple has taken over this case. In addition, since this case is related to the Xiao family case, Zhou Yanzhi, as the Dali Temple Minister, must personally investigate this case.
Jie Xiangsi pursed her lips.
Since there are clues about the Xiao family case in Yangqu, she will definitely investigate it. However, Zhou Yanzhi is aloof by nature, so how can she get involved?
Before she could finish thinking, Zhou Yanzhi sat up, leaving behind the words, "It's getting late, cousin, get some rest," before climbing out the window and leaving. His dark figure touched the plum branches and disappeared into the night, leaving only the red plum blossoms trembling slightly in front of the window.
A cold wind rushed into the room. Jie Xiangsi, wrapped in a quilt, went forward and closed the open window tightly.
"You damned Zhou Yanzhi, you left without even closing the window."
...
The next day, in a private room of the largest restaurant in the capital, three handsome men sat around a stove.
The most handsome of them held a cup of wine but hesitated, his brows furrowed with worry: "Tell me, how should one apologize to someone?"
Upon hearing this, the remaining two paused in their drinking, one of them choking on the spicy liquor and coughing incessantly. After a long while, he blushed and exclaimed in surprise, "You actually apologize to people?"
This person was none other than Su Feng, whom Jie Xiangsi and the others had encountered at the city gate.
The person Su Feng was referring to was none other than Zhou Yanzhi, who had mistakenly entered the woman's boudoir yesterday.
Seeing the exaggerated expression on Su Feng's face, Zhou Yanzhi chuckled lightly: "What do you think? What, in your heart I'm just an unreasonable person?"
"No, no, you're the most reasonable person." Having successfully received the threat from Zhou Yanzhi, Su Feng quickly waved his hand, his tone solemn and sincere: "Who doesn't know that our Chief Justice Zhou's judgments are reasonable and well-founded, and no one can disagree with him? How could he be an unreasonable person?"
That's what they say, but anyone who listens can tell that this person was forced into it.
Not to mention the meticulous Zhou Yanzhi, but with the situation pressing, he couldn't afford to argue with Su Feng any longer, so he sighed helplessly, "Yunyun."
Upon hearing this, Su Feng shuddered: "Oh, alright, alright, I won't make a fuss anymore." He then patted his arm, still shaken, and said, "I'm most afraid of you calling me that. If you don't call me that, all is well, but if you do, it's never a good thing."
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
What nonsense is this?
"Bang--"
Suddenly, a crisp collision sound rang out.
The two looked over at the sound and saw Qi Minghua calmly put down his cup and said indifferently, "Alright, Yunyun, Ce'an is always busy with important matters. He must have summoned us here today for something important. Let's let him finish speaking first."
Having said that, without waiting for Su Feng to refute anything further, he turned to look at Zhou Yanzhi.
"Ce'an, you speak."
Suppressing a laugh, Zhou Yanzhi glanced at the aggrieved Su Feng and coughed twice: "Actually, it's nothing serious. I just wanted to ask what's a good gift to give someone as an apology."
After all, it was indeed his fault yesterday. Although Jie Xiangsi only asked him to answer the question, she did answer it. So, he still felt indebted to her.
But not knowing how to compensate, I decided to ask these two people.
Upon hearing this, Qi Minghua and Su Feng exchanged a glance. After a moment, the former spoke slowly, his tone heavy: "Ce'an, have you encountered any difficulties recently? You can tell us directly without beating around the bush."
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
Seeing that even Qi Minghua, the most composed of the three, didn't believe he genuinely wanted to apologize, Zhou Yanzhi suddenly felt powerless.
Is his image in their eyes really that bad?
Zhou Yanzhi was furious and whispered, "I...didn't!"
Seeing that someone was about to explode, Su Feng quickly spoke up: "Oh, okay, okay, no, no, you just said you wanted to apologize to them, right?"
"Mm." Zhou Yanzhi nodded.
"I see." Su Feng tapped his wine cup thoughtfully, then suddenly exclaimed, "I've got it!"
Zhou Yanzhi and Qi Minghua looked over upon hearing the sound.
Su Feng pulled a gold ingot from his sleeve and flicked his sleeve with unparalleled elegance.
"Then send gold!"
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
Qi Minghua: "..."
Speechless.
Seeing that the two remained silent, Su Feng felt that his idea had been completely rejected, and said somewhat indignantly, "What kind of eyes do you have? How could anyone in this world not love money? Everyone loves this kind of thing!"
"Tacky," Zhou Yanzhi scoffed.
Putting aside how unthoughtful such things are, the key point is that Jie Xiangsi is not short of money. Although Danzhou is not a wealthy place, Jie's father has been an official for many years and has only one daughter, Jie Xiangsi. How could he not prepare something for his only daughter?
Qi Minghua thought for a moment: "What about calligraphy and paintings? Rare masterpieces?"
“Yes, it’s not tacky at all, it’s quite elegant, isn’t it?” Su Feng chimed in.
painting and calligraphy?
Zhou Yanzhi shook his head: "Boring."
Su Feng: "..."
Qi Minghua: "..."
"This won't work, that won't work, Yanzhi, who did you offend?" Su Feng clicked his tongue in amazement. "Minghua and I know your personality; you never hesitate."
Qi Minghua nodded in agreement.
Seeing the two looking at him with concern, Zhou Yanzhi felt inexplicably speechless, half-concealing his feelings.
"I didn't offend anyone, I just... accidentally broke off one of someone's red plum blossoms."
Upon hearing this, the two were astonished.
"Red Plum?"
Why make such a big fuss just for a single red plum tree?
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