Chapter 68: The victim is like a dying person with an obsession hanging on his breath...
Half a rein was hanging from the wooden stake of the thatched hut, with a neat cross section, obviously caused by a knife cut.
Shen Changfeng held the small piece of blood-stained reins, squatted down, and stroked the obviously sunken wet mud in front of him with his fingertips. He replayed the scene in his mind: when the thieves were looting property in front of the hall, Zhaoye Jade Lion shouted a warning and tried to break free from the reins. He usually didn't tie the reins tightly - so those people must have discovered Zhaoye Jade Lion first and pulled its rope, pulling so hard that his horse was injured.
Shen Changfeng's eyes were bloodshot, his chest heaving violently. He quickly glanced at the scattered straw and found a broken porcelain bowl among the overturned pots and pans. There was still undissolved powder on the bottom of the yellowed bowl.
Those people wanted to take the Jade Lion Zhaoye away, but it resisted fiercely and neighed. It kicked the thieves away and tried to break free from the reins again.
He picked up a jujube wood stick from the straw pile, and when he felt a dent and spider-web-like cracks in the middle, his fingertips began to tremble - they saw that it was stubborn and difficult to tame, so they beat it with sticks in anger, and then they forced it to drink a knockout drug, and half-pushed and half-dragged it away on the same road he returned.
There were sounds of laughter coming from behind the earth wall, and Shen Changfeng twisted his body stiffly.
Chang Yuan carried two baskets full of vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat, smacking his lips as he said, "Come to think of it, it's been ages since I've had a proper meal like this. Today is a big day, so I'll make some meat dishes. My dear, you don't like greasy or spicy food, so I'll steam the fish..."
Behind Qingsong, a bamboo basket was filled with bamboo strips, rice paper, and other items. Shen Changfeng had specifically instructed him to buy them, but they had been left unused because he hadn't found a place to live. He held two jars of wine and asked curiously, "How do you know my husband's taste?"
Chang Yuan said "Ah" and laughed, "Well, since Her Royal Highness the Princess is like this, I think my husband should be like this too."
Qingsong nodded and whispered, "Don't mention Your Highness in front of my husband. He doesn't like it."
There was some melancholy in Chang Yuan's eyes, and he sighed softly.
The two walked to the door and were dumbfounded by the mess on the ground. At this time, there was a noise from the straw hut. Chang Yuan ran over in a panic. Seeing that the hem of Shen Changfeng's coat was stained with blood, he couldn't speak straight. "My dear, are you okay? Where are you hurt?"
Shen Changfeng slowly raised his head and suddenly threw a punch. Chang Yuan was thin to begin with, and after being hit by the punch, he flew backwards like a kite with a broken string, and then fell heavily to the ground, with a fishy and sweet taste coming out of his throat.
Shen Changfeng grabbed his collar and pulled him off the ground. The veins on his cheeks bulged from the outside in, as if there were poisonous insects surging in them. "Where is my horse?"
Chang Yuan felt completely dazed, and blood foam oozed out of his mouth as he spoke: "I don't know, what happened to the Jade Lion? My dear..."
Qingsong was shocked to see the empty thatched hut. He wondered why Shen Changfeng was so angry. The Night Jade Lion had been stolen! He was worried that someone might die, so he hurriedly asked, "Uncle Chang was with me the whole time. My dear, could it be revenge..."
Shen Changfeng didn't even think about it, "Impossible!"
If it was his enemy, he would definitely come to end his life, or kill the Zhaoye Jade Lion to vent his anger, instead of trying every possible way to take the horse away.
Shen Changfeng turned Chang Yuan's right hand over and, as expected, saw a crescent-shaped callus on the inside of his thumb and yellowish, even shiny, calluses on the outside of his index finger—these were typical marks often seen on the hands of gamblers addicted to Pai Gow. Shen Changfeng felt a surge of remorse: This gambling addict has ruined me!
Seeing how perceptive he was, Chang Yuan felt awe and guilt, and couldn't help shedding tears. "My dear! That was all in the past. I promised them that I would pay them back as soon as possible. Ever since you decided to stay with me, I've completely changed my ways and retired from all things. I never thought they would be so extreme. I..."
Shen Changfeng was so angry at these words that his blood boiled and his eyes almost went dark! Wasn't that decided today?
He endured it again and again, finally suppressing the urge to crush Chang Yuan's skull on the spot. With bloodshot eyes, he said, "Take me to the gambling house!"
In the cramped gambling den, a dozen people gathered around a small, shiny square table in the narrow side hall, craning their necks to peer intently into the cups. Once they could see the dice clearly, they all erupted in laughter. The dealer, with one foot on a long bench, took a drag from his pipe, and in the cloud of smoke, gathered all the small silver ingots on the table back in front of him.
The door curtain flickered, blowing away the pungent smoke. The draft, carrying the smell of sweat, bad wine and rotten food, hit his face. The banker squinted and saw two unfamiliar men. Because they had not adapted to the light for a while, he could not see their faces clearly. He only vaguely saw that the man in front of him was of burly build, with a scar on his face, and was talking to the servant who came forward.
The dealer vaguely felt that this was not an ordinary gambler, but seeing that the next round had already begun, he did not take it seriously. He stood on the bench, curled his toes tightly, and shook the dice as if doing a ritual.
"Bang!" There was a loud noise, like something being smashed, and someone outside the crowd suddenly screamed.
The dealer cursed inwardly when he saw the number on the dice. Seeing that the noise outside was getting more and more intense, he was about to ask something when he heard the noise gradually die down and fell into another strange calm.
The banker realized something was wrong and stretched out his pipe to push the people away. The moment the last person dodged, a goose-feather knife flew past his face and pierced the screen behind him with a "clang".
He stupidly reached out his hand and saw blood all over it. Then he was terrified, so frightened that his legs couldn't stand still. He looked at the servant who had just replied. His face was covered in blood, and he was lying on the ground, twitching like a dead fish. Everyone in the gambling house had left, leaving only the people at this table.
In an instant, the gamblers scattered like birds and beasts, overturned tables and crawled under them, running around everywhere. Seeing the scarred man blocking their way, they dared not approach and rushed into the inner courtyard of the gambling house in panic. Men and women screamed and cried together, and the whole place was in chaos.
The banker, clutching his face from a bleeding wound, was about to escape through the window when someone grabbed his clothes by the back and pulled him back. Before he could scream, he heard a series of loud thuds. He felt dizzy and felt a sharp pain in his forehead. His vision was bloodshot; his head had been bruised.
Shen Changfeng grabbed the banker's hair and lifted him up in the air like a dead fish, asking, "Where is my horse?"
The dealer immediately replied, "No, I don't have any horses!"
Shen Changfeng didn't respond, his jaw becoming even colder and harder. He pressed the Zhuangjia's head down and was about to hit him again. The Zhuangjia trembled and begged for mercy: "Sir, please spare my life. I didn't know that the horse belonged to you. I will die miserably!" He began to slap him left and right, "Sir, please forgive me... Please spare me this time..."
When Shen Changfeng heard his reply, his heart grew colder, his breathing became heavy and moist, and he slammed the sandalwood table to the side: "I only want my horse!"
The dealer knelt down, weeping and bowing, "Sir, please forgive me! The horse is no longer with me!"
After a cup of tea, Shen Changfeng walked out of the gambling house. The sunlight was a bit glaring, and when he stepped over the threshold, his figure was a little unsteady. He took a few breaths before rushing out.
Chang Yuan, who was squatting on the curb and sighing, stood up immediately. Just as he was about to ask something, Qingsong behind him looked unhappy and shook his head, signaling him not to say anything more.
The commotion at the gambling house soon attracted officials.
According to the people in the gambling house, the Zhaoye Jade Lion was resold to a tea merchant from Shanxi, who bought the horse and left the city.
Several people searched the official road to Shanxi for two days but found no clues.
For the past two days, Shen Changfeng had been working like crazy, sleepless and restless. Apart from a few quick sips of water, he gulped down the rest of his food and continued on his way. The yamen runners who had been ordered to search with him were miserable. From their initial sympathy, they were now full of complaints: "It's just a horse! In the past, people hadn't been working so hard when they were missing. If this continues, he'll have to work harder!"
Shen Changfeng was the first to arrive at the second inn on the road. When he asked if any caravan was stopping there, the innkeeper gave a firm negative answer.
Shen Changfeng looked at his determined face, a terrible thought popped up in his mind, and his legs went limp and he collapsed.
The caravan had more than 20 people and they were carrying mules and horses. If they didn't replenish supplies here, it would take them another five days to reach the next post station, and there would not be enough fodder and water!
There was only one possibility: those people hadn't taken this route at all. They weren't tea merchants at all. All traces of their identities were fake! Even the few people pointing out the direction at the city gate were deliberately left there to mislead them! Those people knew the Zhaoye Jade Lion was no ordinary item. They knew they would definitely find it, and they also knew that my concern would lead me to panic, so they deliberately left a backup plan.
Shen Changfeng's face turned pale in an instant. He had missed the best time to look for her!
When Qingsong and others arrived, they saw a group of diners standing at the door of the inn, looking in with strange eyes and whispering to each other. Qingsong's heart tightened, and when he approached, he saw Shen Changfeng leaning against the table, his brows furrowed, his body slightly hunched, as if he was enduring some great pain, his fingertips tightly grasping the hair on top of his head, using too much force, and even his knuckles were trembling.
The yamen runner, however, felt relieved and sat down at the table leisurely. "Brother, I'm sorry to say that, but the family that took away that 'priceless' horse you mentioned is at least well-off, and might even be doing it a good thing. Didn't the dealer also say that the horse was injured and couldn't be restored without paying a high price?"
Shen Changfeng didn't know whether he heard it or not, but his already pale face and lips also lost their color.
Zhaoye Jade Lion is more than just a mount to Shen Changfeng. It has accompanied Shen Changfeng for more than ten years and is also a friend who trusts him unconditionally. It is his closest family member. Lin Meiju once joked that Shen Changfeng was going to raise Zhaoye Jade Lion as his adopted son. At that time, Shen Changfeng just smiled and did not refute.
Qingsong was furious when he heard this. He rushed over in two or three steps and was about to hit the man. The yamen runner also frowned: "I'm kindly helping you find a horse, why are you putting on airs? Who do you think you are? You look so poor that you can't even afford to stay in an inn. Who knows, this horse must have been stolen from somewhere!"
The innkeeper knew that there had always been some rift between the local county government and the garrison, and fearing that he would be implicated, he hurried forward to persuade them, and finally managed to pull the two apart.
Shen Changfeng suddenly asked: "What time is it today?"
Qingsong replied, "It's the fourth day of the first lunar month." He had accumulated a few days of rest in the past two months and would soon have to return to the garrison.
Shen Changfeng's eyes fixed for a moment, as if he suddenly remembered something. He slowly stood up and walked back the way he came.
Qingsong was counting the days to return to the garrison when he suddenly remembered that there was another important event... Lin Meiju's birthday was in two days!
For the next two days, Shen Changfeng felt like he was being torn apart. After calming down, he quickly sorted out the clues. Those people were deliberately luring him out, and he speculated that the Jade Lion of Night was more likely still within the city. He listed the wealthy families in the city one by one, hiding during the day and going out at night. During the day, he repaired the birthday gift for Lin Meizhu, and at night, he secretly visited those families to investigate. Qingsong continued to inquire at the city gate, while Chang Yuan mingled with all kinds of people, trying to find clues.
Before this, Shen Changfeng spent three months preparing several exquisite lanterns for Lin Meizhu, but after they were smashed, only two were left intact.
He was not good at such delicate work, and the first lamp could not even hold up and was discarded.
The second one was crooked and looked like a square chicken coop, so it was discarded.
The third one finally looked like a lantern, but it couldn’t spin, so it was useless.
…
It wasn't until I got to the sixth one that I felt it was just passable.
He was busy like a tireless spinning top. After each search, he felt even deeper loss. He could only vent his endless confusion and self-blame on the two lanterns in front of him.
On the sixth day of the first lunar month, he carried a lantern and walked towards Huisheng Hall.
He had earlier sent a message, hoping to see Lin Meizhu. The doorman was startled upon seeing him. The man before him looked pale and gaunt, his chin covered in green stubble. Though he smiled, his expression was dazed, his movements slow, yet his eyes shone with a captivating brilliance. It wasn't a radiant glow, but rather the brilliance of a dying man clinging to a last vestige of life, grasping at a last straw. If that straw were snatched from him, he would crumble to dust. Fearing he might go mad and cause trouble, the doorman didn't dare refuse him outright, so he simply told him to wait at the door.
Shen Changfeng felt relieved and waited eagerly under the eaves. However, he waited and waited, and when the shopkeeper was about to close the shop, there was still no sign of Lin Meizhu.
Shen Changfeng stepped forward again, his tone impatient and his expression tense. His entire body felt like it was stretched to a taut string, as if possessed by a demon. Even the bloodshot veins in his eyes trembled slightly. The clerk, increasingly frightened, could only perfunctorily reply, "The shopkeeper has gone home!"
Shen Changfeng uttered a soft "ah" and, not daring to delay, stumbled and ran to Lin Meiju's residence carrying the two lanterns.
When he saw the warm yellow candlelight in front of the door, his heart seemed to be warmed by the candlelight, and he unconsciously pulled up the corners of his mouth. He knocked on the door carefully, stepped back three steps, straightened his clothes, swallowed softly, and waited for someone to answer the door.
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