The Nine Dragon Jade Cup was stolen and the adulterer was caught in the Guanglu Xun Mansion.
The next day, when the sky was still gray, there was a knock on the door. Gu Nanfeng opened the door and saw a man holding a sharp blade and wearing armor. He said breathlessly, "I am Jinwu Wei Lanci. I have an urgent matter to see Master Gu. Please inform me."
Gu Nanfang returned to the room and said through the window, "Sir, the Jinwu Guards have something urgent to discuss with you."
Gu Yanzhou pulled himself out of Pei Linyan's arms and said, "Please invite him to the lobby, I'll be there soon." He got out of bed and dressed, saying, "You're still pretending to be asleep. Hurry up and get up, otherwise I'll hit you." As he spoke, he put his palm towards Pei Linyan, but Pei Linyan grabbed his hand mid-air and pulled hard, causing Gu Yanzhou to fall into Pei Linyan's arms. He leaned forward, covering Gu Yanzhou in his figure, and blew into Gu Yanzhou's ear, saying, "I have an appointment with Shaobai today. I'm going out for a while. Wait for me to come back." Gu Yanzhou's ears were dyed red by the hot and humid air. Thinking of last night, the red spread to his face. He pushed Pei Linyan away and fled the room, leaving Pei Linyan with a look of unsatisfied feeling.
Inside the hall, there was only a man standing. His tall figure made the room seem particularly small. When the man saw Gu Yanzhou, he said, "Excuse me, Lord Gu. I am Jinwu Wei Lanci. I had the honor of meeting Lord Gu at the Taichang Mansion last time. I have always heard that Lord Gu is able to see the big picture from the details and solve cases like a god. Now I have an important matter to ask of you, Lord Gu. I hope you can agree." After that, he knelt down and kowtowed.
Gu Yanzhou helped the man up while looking puzzled and said, "What's the matter? Please tell me in detail."
Lan Ci looked around and whispered, "Guanglu Xun's family has lost the imperially bestowed Nine Dragon Luminous Cup, and his eldest son once gave me a meal, so I would like to ask for your help, Lord Gu. Thank you." After saying that, he bowed again.
Gu Yanzhou thought to himself, "This person is a kind person who will repay a favor. I can't help but be shaken a little. Besides, making friends with good people is a good thing for both myself and Pei Linyan. Although the Nine Dragons Luminous Cup is a serious matter, it is still a matter of theft. In the end, the blame will still fall into my hands. Now it's good. I can buy his face and find out the details of the matter to prepare for the future." "In that case, I will go with you." Gu Yanzhou said, and then went to Guanglu Xun Mansion with Lan Ci.
The Guanglu Xun Mansion was located on Zhuque Street. There was a lot of traffic on both sides of the road. The carriage stopped under the shade of a tree, and the gray plaque of the Guanglu Xun Mansion was visible through the gaps between the leaves.
After knocking on the door, the butler came to greet him personally, saying, "Master Lan, you are finally back. The eldest young master just fainted twice again. Please come in with me."
Lan Ci walked quickly, pulling Gu Yanzhou and leaving the housekeeper behind.
Inside the hall, a man in his thirties sat dejectedly in a chair. He looked up at the sound, his bloodshot eyes filled with despair, and he spoke with dry lips, "Yuanhe, you're finally back. I guess this must be Lord Gu." He excitedly took Gu Yanzhou's hand and said, "The Nine Dragon Luminous Cup was a gift from the late emperor. If its sudden loss were known, the Guanglu Xun Mansion would be in great trouble. Fortunately, my father is not home these days, so we still have some time to save it."
"Where is the Nine Dragon Luminous Cup usually stored and who is guarding it?" Gu Yanzhou asked.
"The Nine Dragons Luminous Cup is usually placed in my father's study, and Xiaohong wipes it every day. However, a few days ago, when I went to the study, I found that the Nine Dragons Luminous Cup was missing." Zhang Dalang sighed.
"Where is Xiaohong now?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"That day, I felt like I was struck by lightning. I lost all my thoughts and suddenly fainted. It was the housekeeper who woke me up and then called Yuanhe and Xiaohong. I haven't seen them for many days." Zhang Dalang said
"Yes, I searched the house inside and outside, but there is no trace of Xiaohong." said the housekeeper.
"Then take me to the study to check it out first." Gu Yanzhou said
Everyone arrived at the study, where they saw countless valuable calligraphy and paintings, as well as antiques. Gu Yanzhou carefully scanned every corner and saw red powder on the table. He dipped his fingertips in it and sniffed it, "Have you ever cleaned this place?"
"No, the mansion was in chaos that day, how could anyone dare to come in and out? We just entered here today." Zhang Dalang said
"Well, do you know what this red powder is?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"This red thing is probably the last drop of ink." Lan Ci said
"Of course not. Although it's all red, this red powder is a precious rouge. The key raw materials for this rouge are a mixture of silicone resin and cochineal insects from southern Xinjiang. It doesn't fade when exposed to water and appears purple under blue light, hence the name 'smoke enamel.' Go get some more blue floating brocade and cover the entire backyard."
After a while, light shone through the blue floating light brocade and small purple dots began to appear on the ground. Everyone followed and came to the well mouth, only to see that the well mouth was covered, but the purple dots continued to extend...
"Is anyone drawing water from this well?" Gu Yanzhou asked.
"This well has been abandoned for a long time because of the mud and sand that have been overflowing all year round," said the housekeeper.
"Then call the servant who is familiar with water to go down and take a look." Gu Yanzhou said, and saw the servant jump into the well.
"Oh my god, it's that damn thing, wasting money. This floating brocade is worth tens of thousands of gold per foot. The whole backyard is covered with it. How much does it cost?" said a woman.
Under the blue light, two eerie faces slowly emerged from the distance. A short, plump woman, her face thick with flesh, short legs, and thick waist resembled a bucket; the man, with a pointed face and monkey-like physique, looked like a dried corpse. Before anyone could reply, a servant carried out a corpse. Its clothes were disheveled, but there was no blood. Its face had swelled several times from the water, but its features were still vaguely discernible. Purple spots covered its clothes, and it was confirmed to be Xiaohong.
A woman in the distance was still complaining as she walked closer, shouting, "What is this? It's so scary."
Everyone turned around and saw purple spots all over the man's hands and face. The housekeeper asked, "Master, what happened?"
The woman turned around and said, "Help! You are possessed by a ghost. Why are there purple spots on your face and hands?"
The man looked at his hands and said, "You have purple spots on your face, lips, and hands as well. Are we poisoned?"
The two looked at everyone, and only the two of them and Xiaohong's body appeared as purple dots.
Zhang Dalang said with a ferocious look on his face, "You bitch, you actually committed adultery with your cousin. It makes me so angry." Then he hit his legs with his hands.
The woman argued cunningly, "Tell me clearly why you are slandering me and my cousin. We are both innocent and have never done anything wrong." Zhang Dalang lowered his head and said nothing, and the housekeeper was very secretive.
Gu Yanzhou said, "The purple spots on your bodies are evidence. Xiaohong used cigarette smoke, which turned purple under blue light. I guess that my cousin was tempted by Xiaohong and wanted to rape her. Xiaohong resisted, and during that time, my cousin got stained with cigarette smoke, which kept scattering as he ran away, leaving traces. The two of them chased each other and came to the well. Xiaohong resisted and fell into the well and drowned during the pushing and shoving. My cousin was afraid of being discovered, so he covered it up. After he returned, you two had an affair, so you two have purple spots all over your bodies."
I'm asking you now, "Where is the Nine Dragon Luminous Cup?" Zhang Dalang asked. The two were so frightened that they didn't know what to say.
At this time, Guang Luxun returned home and asked, "What happened? Why is there so much noise? Dalang, you sent someone to find me so that I can watch this wonderful show."
"Father, please calm down. When will your son send someone to look for you?" Zhang Dalang said.
"Let's not talk about this for now. Why are my daughter-in-law and nephew kneeling on the ground? Who is the body by the well?" Guanglu Qing said.
"This...this...is terrible. Father, I can't speak of this." Zhang Dalang lowered his head and said
"Butler, then you say." Guanglu Xun said
After the housekeeper finished describing what had happened in detail, he saw Guanglu Xun's face turn from gray-brown to liver-red, his eyes about to spurt blood, and he trembled as he said, "What misfortune for our family, what misfortune for our family."
Before one crisis subsided, another arose. A drunk man stumbled into the courtyard, shouting, "I have money, find the courtesan for me, dance for me, sing for me, don't stop, don't stop, hahahahahaha."
Guanglu Xun was furious and cursed, "You rebellious son, you don't study hard, you don't use your brain when doing things, and you are irresponsible. What's the point of keeping you?"
Zhang Erlang said, "Who are you? How dare you shout at me, Master Zhang Er, and speak wildly? You, you are courting death. I am the son of Guanglu Xun. Tomorrow I will kill your entire family. Kneel down and beg me. Hahahahaha."
The servant pulled, "Second Young Master, wake up."
Guanglu Xun was so angry that his hands were shaking. He swung his stick at Zhang Erlang. Zhang Erlang was almost sober. He looked around and saw the situation and knelt down and said, "Dad, Dad, please, I'm begging you. I was drunk just now and was talking nonsense."
"You rebellious son, aren't you going to chop off my head? Come on, chop it hard. You are ignorant, stealing, and doing evil all day long. If I had known this would happen, I should have sold you and your shameless mother together." Guanglu Xun said
Zhang Erlang seemed to have been triggered. He stood up and said, "I am uneducated and unskilled. My elder brother is nearly thirty years old and has no official position. Even the small clerk position I asked for before could not do well. Why didn't you tell me? It's just that I was born to a concubine. No matter how well I did, you turned a blind eye. I stole things and my elder sister-in-law and cousin got pregnant, which is against human ethics, but you turned a blind eye. I did evil and you killed more than one person for power. If you want to say this family is clean, I am cleaner than any of you. You still dare to talk about my mother? You have no right to mention her. You handed over your pregnant concubine to your superiors, and then framed her for infidelity and sold her out. Lord Guanglu Xun, you are really an honest and upright official. By the way, I also took the Nine Dragon Nightlight Cup. It should be on the ship to Borneo now. Let's die together. Come on, hahahahahahaha." Zhang Erlang was already crazy.
"Rebellious son...rebellious son..." Guanglu Xun was overstimulated, causing his blood to surge up, foaming at the mouth, his mouth and eyes to become crooked, and he fainted as if he had suffered a stroke. The mansion was in chaos at that moment.
Gu Yanzhou returned home and pushed the door open. He was surprised to see a green plum tree in the yard. The person under the tree was the person he was thinking about. Pei Linyan stretched out his hand and Gu Yanzhou held it tightly. He then slipped into his arms and felt the warmth flowing from his skin to his bones, from his flesh to his blood, and into every inch of his body.
"Lin Yan, I always feel that recent events are too coincidental. Today, when I went to Guanglu Xun's mansion, I felt strange. First, Xiaohong is obviously a maid, but she can afford to buy cigarettes; second, Guanglu Xun was deliberately led back to the mansion; third, Guanglu Xun's mansion has gold, silver, jewelry, cultural relics, calligraphy and paintings, everything, why did Zhang Erlang only steal the Nine Dragon Luminous Cup?" Gu Yanzhou said
"You, remember not to worry too much. If the sky falls, I will hold it up for you. Don't worry." Pei Linyan said
Gu Nanfang came over and said, "Sir, someone left this bundle in front of our door. Take a look at what it is."
"It's okay, just give it to me and I'll open it and take a look." Pei Linyan said
As the layers opened, a crystal-clear, flawless Nine Dragon Luminous Cup appeared before his eyes. "It turns out that even if Lan Ci didn't come looking for me, the person behind the scenes would still lead me there," Gu Yanzhou said.
"I want to see who is behind this." Pei Linyan said
"Didn't you say that we shouldn't worry too much? If that's the case, then we'll just fight it out with our own strength and block it with our own earth. By the way, why is it Green Plum?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"There are thirty million worries in the world. I hope you can look at the plum blossoms to relieve your longing." Pei Linyan replied
The two smiled at each other, and mist bloomed in the air, blurring each other's faces...
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