Chapter 67 Tea Master 3 How about we make a deal? ...
Ah Si naturally recognized An Zi.
When Li Jianye and Zhang Qianer conspired in Wuyou Teahouse, it was him who communicated with Anzi.
"What happened?" he asked.
Anzi wiped the sweat from his forehead and told the truth: "My husband is in trouble."
When Ah Si heard that something had happened to Mr. Zeng, he looked around vigilantly, then led Anzi to a corner gate and brought him into Xie's mansion concealed from view.
Su He was inside the house comparing herbs with a booklet when he saw An Zi enter through the back door. He was startled. "Why is An Zi here? Does the master have something to tell you?"
Anzi knelt deeply in obeisance, then tearfully recounted Zeng Yidao's long absence from the Dali Temple. Finally, he pleaded, "I hope Madam Shaoqing will, for the sake of our past friendship, help you and persuade the Shaoqing to let you go home as soon as possible."
Su He helped him up and asked, "Do you know why you were taken to the Dali Temple?"
An Zi shook his head. "I don't know, but the Shaoqing summoned me today, seemingly wanting to inquire about the Master's past."
"Something about the past?" Su He recalled what he had heard before about Xie Wuhen investigating the tea master in order to find a lady, and asked, "What exactly is your past, sir?"
An Zi still shook his head: "To be honest, I don't know either."
Su He tried to comfort her, "Why don't you go back first, and I'll ask my master for advice."
An Zi knelt again, sobbing and begging, "I'm worried... that you're in great danger and might even lose your life. I beg Madam Shaoqing to have mercy on you and save you, please save you."
Su He hurried to pull him.
Zhang Xiuhua also stepped forward to pull him back, but couldn't help but warn him, "Oh my God, please keep your voice down so no one else hears. Otherwise, it will be difficult for my young lady to save the gentleman."
An Zi quickly shut up, stood up and said, "I'll leave everything to Madam Shaoqing."
Su He nodded: "Don't worry, I will do my best."
Afterwards, Anzi followed Ah Si out of Xie's house again without being noticed.
Xie Wuhen returned home after finishing his shift at dusk.
He has been very busy with official duties these days, so he came home early today.
Su He had already prepared food in the spare room and also prepared a pot of fruit wine.
The last time they drank together was when they had a disagreement over the melon field case.
He couldn't help but ask tentatively: "Could it be that today... my lady has something to say?"
She smiled and poured him some wine while replying, "I see you've been busy these days, so I thought I'd give you some fruit wine to relax you."
He looked at her doubtfully and said, "Thank you, ma'am."
The two drank and chatted as the night grew darker.
Su He seemed to be slightly tipsy, her face flushed, the aroma of wine lingering between her lips and teeth, and her tone was sticky and greasy, "My husband, it has been a long time since you and I have had such a casual chat."
Then she complained, "Every time my husband is busy, he forgets about me."
He felt guilty and gently comforted her: "When I am done with my busy schedule, I will definitely spend some time with you. I hope you will be magnanimous and not hold it against me."
She asked casually, "What on earth have you been busy with lately, my husband?"
He was slightly startled, "When did my wife become interested in my husband's official duties?"
She pretended to be coquettish: "It's just a casual question, why is my husband so vigilant?"
"Why would I be wary of you, my lady?" He smiled meaningfully and said frankly, "I've been busy investigating the Liang tea master lately."
She then asked, "Why do you want to investigate the tea master?"
He replied, "Because a tea master killed his master many years ago and has been on the run."
Wasn't the investigation into the tea master to find a lady? How did it become a search for a murderer? Su He became more and more confused.
Xie Wuhen continued, "Mr. Zeng from Wuyou Teahouse was also 'invited' to the Dali Temple because of this." He stared at her without blinking, not missing any subtle expression on her face.
Su He said calmly, "I have heard about this."
"Who told you that?"
"From what Ah Si said, he's often out and about, so he's sure to get news quickly."
There was something hidden in his words, "Madam, don't you feel sorry for Mr. Zeng?"
But she said: "I believe my husband can clear Mr. Zeng's name."
He looked at her silently. In the intertwined light of moonlight and candlelight, his handsome features carried an indescribable sharp power.
He said in a deep voice: "Madam, do you believe in your husband or Mr. Zeng?"
She said gently: "Of course I believe in my husband."
"What if Mr. Zeng isn't innocent?" He chuckled. "I heard that my wife was planning to take Mr. Zeng as her master. Fortunately, Mr. Zeng refused. Otherwise, my wife would be implicated by him now."
"I just mentioned the matter of becoming your apprentice casually that day, but I didn't expect that my husband would know about it." As she spoke, she picked up the wine cup and wanted to take another sip of wine.
He reached out and grabbed the wine cup: "It's late, my lady, please don't drink too much."
She looked up at him and answered irrelevantly: "Today, I do want to plead for Mr. Zeng."
Her frankness startled him slightly.
"My lady, don't forget, he might be a murderer." He emphasized the word "murderer".
These four words hit her chest like a huge rock. To put it bluntly, she was the real murderer who killed Li Shuli, Du Yuting, and Liu Dazhong.
She said, "Even if Mr. Zeng is really the murderer, what if he has his own reasons for being forced to do so?"
His expression became more solemn: "Madam, are you trying to excuse the murderer?"
He then said firmly: "Killing someone means paying with one's life. This is the law of nature."
She looked at him, speechless for a moment.
She looked at his sharp eyebrows, his high nose, and his tightly pursed lips. Every expression of his concealed his determination and coldness.
His unshakable attitude towards the murderer will also be his attitude towards her in the future.
He won't be soft on her, she thought.
But Su He still wanted to give it a try: "Husband, do you still remember that day when Li Jianye and Zhang Qian'er teamed up to set up a trap at the Worry-Free Teahouse to frame this poor concubine?"
He didn't expect her to bring this up suddenly. "Of course I remember, but what does it have to do with what we're talking about now?"
"If Mr. Zeng hadn't helped me that day, I would have fallen into their trap. Therefore, Mr. Zeng can be considered my benefactor. I would like to ask my husband, regardless of whether Mr. Zeng has killed anyone or not, could you please... spare his life?"
He lowered his eyes, hiding his emotions.
After a moment, he picked up the wine jug again, poured himself a glass of wine, and drank it in one gulp. He said, "Mr. Zeng has not been sued, so his life is not in danger for the time being."
He seemed to agree, but also seemed not to agree.
She stood up and walked to his side, bent her waist, sat on his lap, and then put her arms around his neck: "Husband, do you agree?"
He looked at her for a few breaths, then held the back of her head and bit her lips hard.
She felt a little pain and couldn't help biting back.
The moonlight is like water, and in the quiet and leisurely room, only the lovers' lingering love remains.
In the end, he was unable to refuse her, and ultimately he was unable to give her the promise she wanted.
This man finally has his own clarity.
This clarity of mind cannot be disturbed or touched by others.
Su He also has his own clarity.
Since Mr. Zeng's life is not in danger for the time being, she can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She must seek revenge as soon as possible - she must kill her last enemy, Zhou Yuanze, before Xie Wuhen becomes more suspicious of her.
These days, Ah Si goes out early and comes back late, sometimes disguised as a beggar, sometimes disguised as a servant, and inquires about Zhou Yuanze's news in teahouses and taverns on the streets and alleys.
Later, through a waiter at Changlong Restaurant and a cousin of this waiter who worked for the Zhou family, I finally got to know Zhou Yuanze's general situation.
"Madam, this Zhou Yuanze is the only son of the Zhou family, and he is deeply doted on by Zhou Ping. Although he is over forty years old and has a wife and children at home, he still behaves arrogantly and recklessly. Even though he holds a position as a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Personnel, he works only for three days and rests for two days. The officials in the Ministry are angry with him but dare not say anything."
Su He asked, "Which places does he frequent?"
Ah Si replied, "The Zhou family has many enemies, and Zhou Ping dotes on his son. Therefore, Zhou Yuanze's whereabouts are usually very secretive, and he is guarded by many experts when he travels. It would be difficult to get close to him, but I have learned another piece of information."
"What's the news?"
"I've heard that Zhou Yuanze is obsessed with women and would sneak into Yichunlou every fifteenth day of the month while his father is at the Buddhist temple. Yichunlou is a haunted place, so it's naturally inconvenient for him to bring too many guards."
Su He knew very well that Zhou Yuanze was greedy for beauty.
Back then, he raped his mother because of her beauty, and even beat his father to death because of it.
Many years have passed, and he is still the same.
As the ancients said, time can change everything.
Little do people know that the thing that time is least likely to change is human nature.
Eight years have passed, and Du Yuting's cruelty has not changed, Liu Dazhong's brutality has not changed, and even Zhou Yuanze's lust has not changed at all.
Su He couldn't believe it: "Zhou Ping goes to the Buddhist temple to meditate on the 15th of every month?"
"Yes, it's in Xinglong Temple."
Su He sneered: "The most absurd thing in the world is that evildoers believe in Buddhism."
Then he added, "Today is the eighth day of the seventh month. In seven days it will be the fifteenth day."
Ah Si was panicked: "Madam, are you going to Yichun Tower?"
Su He secretly clenched his fists: "That's right, I'm going to take Zhou Yuanze's life."
Zhang Xiuhua was a little bewildered when she heard this: "Isn't this a bit too hasty?"
Su He said in a low voice: "Aunt, I have been waiting for eight years, there is no need to rush."
Zhang Xiuhua lowered her head and remained silent.
While Su He was plotting to approach Zhou Yuanze, Xie Wuhen was also interrogating Zeng Yi in the Dali Temple prison, "Tell me, where did your junior sister go?"
Zeng Yidao was tied to a standing cangue in the room, bleeding from his mouth and nose, gasping for breath and unable to speak.
Xie Wuhen nailed the long nail in his hand into his shoulder, and then stirred it again and again.
More blood gushed out of Zeng Yidao's mouth and nose, but he gritted his teeth and refused to say anything.
Xie Wuhen pulled out the spike with a whoosh and wiped his hands. "Mr. Zeng is quite resolute. I have to admire him." He smiled meaningfully. "But I've also heard that tea masters value their reputation above all else. If I spread rumors that the once-renowned tea master Zeng Wusheng wasn't missing but died at the hands of his disciple, and that Zeng Yidao, the owner of the well-attended Wuyou Teahouse in the capital, was the disciple who murdered his master, wouldn't the entire tea art world, and even the entire Liang Kingdom, be horrified?"
Zeng Yidao struggled a few times on the shackle, staring at Xie Wuhen with eyes as if filled with poison.
After a while, he also smiled and murmured, "Zeng admits that Zeng is indeed the disciple who killed his father that you are looking for, Zeng Chengqi."
Xie Wuhen's eyelashes fluttered as he approached him: "Where on earth did your junior sister go?"
Zeng Yidao gasped weakly, a hint of an ambiguous smile still lingering on the corner of his mouth. "Are you truly prepared to face the truth, Shaoqing? How about we make a deal?"
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