Chapter 66 Tea Master 2 Have you ever met Mr. Zeng’s junior sister? ...
Zeng Yidao sat upright on the tiger bench, his hands and feet were tied, and even a rope was wrapped around his neck, but he looked calm and composed, still as polite as before.
It was as if he was not sitting on a torture device, but just an ordinary official hat chair.
His tone was unhurried: "How could your Excellency Shaoqing think that Zeng still had the taste to listen to stories?"
There was a hint of cruelty in Xie Wuhen's eyes: "Given Mr. Zeng's current situation, many things are probably beyond his control." As he spoke, he moved a chair and sat down opposite Zeng Yidao.
The two of them were half a meter apart, looking at each other.
Xie Wuhen spoke slowly, "I heard that all the men in Tea Master Zeng Wusheng's clan suffer from migraines, a condition they're born with and incurable. This coincides with Mr. Zeng's situation."
Zeng Yidao's expression remained unchanged: "It's just a coincidence, there's nothing much to say."
Xie Wuhen forced a forced smile as he continued, "I heard Zeng Wusheng once had two apprentices, a boy and a girl. Later, the girl, due to her advanced tea-making skills, was sent to the palace to serve the emperor, while the boy remained with Zeng Wusheng. Unfortunately, many years later, the girl sent a letter from the palace, claiming she had been murdered by a traitor and wanted to escape and return to her master. Zeng Wusheng, however, was too timid to accept the girl. The boy, however, was filled with passion, perhaps even deep affection, and wanted to save his sister from danger. So, a dispute ensued, and in a rage, the boy killed his master with a tea knife, and in doing so, his own uncle. This story should be familiar to you, Mr. Zeng?"
There was still no emotion on Zeng Yidao's face, but his eyes turned cold.
"This is the first time Zeng has heard of such a story, so how could it be familiar to me?" He feigned disdain. "It's just a murder case. The Dali Temple is not short of murder cases, right?"
Xie Wuhen answered irrelevantly: "I have also found out that Zeng Wusheng's nephew is named Zeng Chengqi. He disappeared after Zeng Wusheng's death. And Mr. Zeng also changed his name before coming to the capital. Although there is no way to verify his previous name, all the existing signs indicate that Mr. Zeng is Zeng Wusheng's biological nephew!"
Zeng Yidao was silent for a moment.
Then he met Xie Wuhen's gaze calmly: "Is this how you misidentify people when you can't catch the real culprit, Master Shaoqing?"
Xie Wuhen was furious, but he didn't show it on his face: "It seems that Mr. Zeng still doesn't intend to tell the truth."
Zeng Yi replied, "Everything I said is true, but Master Shaoqing just doesn't believe it."
Xie Wuhen looked at him silently, then stood up, picked up a long nail from the table next to him, and stabbed it into Zeng Yidao's right palm with lightning speed.
Everything happened so fast that Zeng Yidao was stunned.
Severe pain instantly shot through his arm, causing his entire body to tremble and shrink on the tiger bench.
Xie Wuhen still held the other end of the long nail tightly, with a cruel smile on his lips: "If Mr. Zeng refuses to admit it, then I will destroy Mr. Zeng's hands for making tea." As he spoke, he began to stir the long nail little by little.
Every stirring of the long nail pierced Zeng Yidao's flesh.
He was sweating profusely in pain, his face turned blood red, and he gritted his teeth.
After a moment, he spoke in a hoarse voice: "My Lord, you just want to catch the murderer... Why not kill Zeng as the murderer now..."
Xie Wuhen pulled out the long nail from his palm with a "whoosh", causing his body to tremble again.
Xie Wuhen's expression was indifferent: "Not only do I want to catch the murderer, I also want to find the whereabouts of that female disciple from back then."
He took two steps back, looked at Zeng Yi with disdain and said, "Tell me, where did you place that female disciple back then?"
Zeng Yidao paused when he heard this, as if he didn't expect that the person he was investigating was his own junior sister.
After a moment, Zeng Yidao smiled awkwardly, with a hint of provocation in his smile: "I really don't understand what the Shaoqing is saying."
Xie Wuhen stared at him with a cold face.
This old man seems humble, polite and gentle, but in fact he is a tough nut to crack.
He said, "It seems that Mr. Zeng has absolutely no intention of cooperating with the investigation, so just bear with it." After that, he stabbed the long nail into Zeng Yidao's left palm again with lightning speed.
Zeng Yidao gasped in pain, but gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.
He stared at Xie Wuhen so hard that his eyes turned red.
After a few breaths, he fainted.
On the tiger bench, the pair of hands that were once white, thin, and skilled in tea making now looked like a bloodstained corpse.
A faint smell of blood wafted from the room.
Xie Wuhen glanced at the old man who looked unhurried, pulled out the long nail, and called out, "Someone come here."
Wu Sheng came in, took a look at the situation in the room, and asked, "Boss, should we splash him with cold water to wake him up?"
Xie Wuhen wiped the blood off his hands with a towel and replied, "No need. Take him back to the cell first and we'll try him another day."
Wu Sheng lowered his head and replied "yes", then asked someone to drag Zeng Yidao away.
Xie Wuhen then ordered, "Send Zeng Yidao's confidant here."
Wu Sheng was confused: "Zeng Yidao's...what confidant?"
Xie Wuhen glanced at him unhappily: "The shopkeeper named Anzi in Wuyou Teahouse."
Wu Sheng suddenly realized: "I will go right away."
"Wait." Xie Wuhen stopped him, "Send the Du family's Liu over here as well."
Wu Sheng was confused again: "Du Yuting has been dead for quite some time, and the case has been closed. Why did the boss summon Liu here now...?"
Xie Wuhen frowned slightly: "Liu is the only disciple Zeng Yidao has ever accepted."
He was puzzled. "Zeng Yidao has a quiet and aloof temperament, and shuns worldly affairs. Yet, he only accepted Liu as his disciple. Don't you find it strange?"
Wu Sheng touched the back of his head and said, "What if Liu paid the high tuition?"
Xie Wuhen shook his head: "Zeng Yidao is not a person who will bow down for money. Anyway, you should send these two people to the Dali Temple first."
Wu Sheng took the order and left.
In less than an hour, the two of them entered the Dali Temple one after another.
Xie Wuhen first received Liu in the front hall, and politely offered her a seat and served her tea.
Since Du Yuting's death, the Liu family was depressed for a while. Later, the Du family patriarch led his clansmen to the Du family to fight for the family property. The Liu family cheered up and had a big fight with the Du family. Afterwards, not only did they keep the family property, but they also had no contact with those clansmen until they died.
Now that Liu has money and free time, she lives a happy life.
She was full of confusion. "Master Shaoqing summoned me here, but what's the matter with my master's case?"
"Mrs. Du is worrying too much. Mr. Du's case is closed and there are no changes."
He took out a tea can with the word "Du" clearly engraved on it. "Mrs. Du, do you recognize this can?"
Liu took the teapot and took a look at it. "This is indeed my teapot. I used it often when I went to Mr. Zeng to learn tea making."
She paused, "Isn't this jar in Mr. Zeng's tea room? How did it end up in the hands of the Shaoqing?"
Xie Wuhen answered the question irrelevantly: "When was the last time Madam Du went to the teahouse to learn about tea?"
Liu thought for a moment and said, "Oh, it's been a while since I've been there. After my master got into trouble, I just didn't have the heart to do it anymore." Finally, she sighed deeply, tears welling up in her eyes. "I learned tea because my master loved it. Now that he's gone, what's the point of me learning it?"
Xie Wuhen asked again, "I heard that Mr. Zeng only accepted Madam Du as his disciple."
Liu put away her sorrowful expression, "That's right. Back then, my master was a guest of honor at the Worry-Free Tea House. Mr. Zeng should have given him some face."
"Why did you only accept one person as your disciple?"
"Is it probably because Mr. Zeng is weak and doesn't have much energy? I still remember that Madam Shaoqing also wanted to take Mr. Zeng as her teacher, but he refused."
Xie Wuhen was stunned, as if he had never expected that his wife would have such thoughts.
He continued, "Does Madam Du know anything else about Mr. Zeng, such as his hometown and his junior apprentice sister?"
Liu quickly waved her hands, "I don't know anything about that. Mr. Zeng rarely mentioned his past in front of me, other than making tea and talking about it. He never mentioned his junior sister, let alone his junior sister. I don't know much about him." Then she asked, "Could it be that Mr. Zeng has committed some crime?"
Xie Wuhen said perfunctorily: "It's not a big deal, it's just related to a case."
He added, "If Madam Du can recall anything about Mr. Zeng's past in the future, please tell her the truth."
Liu nodded in agreement, exchanged a few words of greeting, and left the Dali Temple.
Xie Wuhen then received An Zi.
Anzi was just a servant, so he was a little weaker in terms of momentum.
As soon as he saw Xie Wuhen, he knelt down and said, "I... pay my respects to the Shaoqing Lord."
"Get up and sit down to talk." Xie Wuhen was still polite.
An Zi didn't dare to sit down. He bent his waist and asked tentatively, "Master Shaoqing summoned me here today. What happened to my master?"
Xie Wuhen replied casually: "Mr. Zeng is fine, nothing happened."
Then he said, "You and Mr. Zeng have a deep relationship as master and servant. I wonder how you met Mr. Zeng in the first place?"
Anzi answered honestly, "Many years ago, I was sold by a young man at a horse market. A gentleman passed by and took pity on me, so he bought me."
"When did this happen?"
"More than ten years."
He was stunned. "Only ten years?"
However, Empress Duofu escaped from the palace seventeen years ago.
In other words, it took Zeng Yidao another seven years to buy Anzi after he killed his master and settled his junior sister.
"Have you ever seen Mr. Zeng's junior sister in the past ten years?"
An Zi paused and shook his head: "Master, you don't have a junior sister."
Xie Wuhen chuckled: "You are just a servant bought by Mr. Zeng. How can you know everything about Mr. Zeng?"
"Although I am a servant, I have never left your side for many years and I know your interpersonal relationships like the back of my hand."
Xie Wuhen approached him: "You know everything?"
An Zi nodded anxiously: "No...that's right."
"Then tell me, Mr. Zeng, do you have a woman you like?"
"The gentleman has been single for many years and has never planned to marry. He has no romantic interest in any woman."
"Has he ever had any private contact with any woman?"
An Zi still shook his head: "The master has a dull personality. Apart from making and drinking tea, he has never had any private contact with any women in the boudoir."
Xie Wuhen was a little disappointed: "Did he ever tell you about his past?"
"Mr. seldom chats with me, and he has never mentioned his past in front of me. Since he doesn't mention it, I naturally haven't asked."
After all the trouble, I got nothing.
Xie Wuhen suppressed his annoyance and said, "Forget it, let's stop here today. You can go back first."
An Zi was still worried: "Excuse me, sir, when can my master go back?"
Xie Wuhen replied: "We will release him once the case is thoroughly investigated."
An Zi didn't dare to ask any more questions. He bowed and hurried out of the Dali Temple.
He did not return to the teahouse, but went to Xie's house. He waited outside the gate of Xie's house for a full hour before he saw Ah Si coming out lazily.
An Zi hurried forward and said, "Little Brother Ah Si, please send a message to Madam Shao Qing, saying that I need to see her urgently."
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