Chapter 54 violates the rules of etiquette.
"Brother Zhang Mo! Is Brother Zhang Mo home?"
The obviously feigned friendly shouts outside the courtyard gate grew closer and closer.
The guards tensed instantly, their hands on the swords at their waists, staring intently at the door.
Who could be arriving at this time?
Xiao Yunzhan's lips slowly curled upwards, his eyes filled with an unconcealable cold light.
He's like a persistent ghost, he's everywhere.
A figure dressed in dark brown casual clothes peeked in, carrying a heavy food box in his hand. Who else could it be but Zhang Chengye?
As soon as he stepped across the threshold, he saw Xiao Yunzhan's eyes, which were so cold they could freeze a person to death. It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his face, chilling him to the bone.
"Your Highness?" Zhang Chengye subconsciously swallowed, the food box wobbling in his hand, almost falling onto the threshold.
"What are you doing here? Could it be... that something happened to Brother Zhang Mo?"
As he asked the question anxiously, he glanced into the room, his gaze sweeping over the mess before finally settling on the corpse covered with a white sheet in the corner.
The food box in Zhang Chengye's hand crashed to the ground with a "thud," and the porcelain bowl inside shattered for a long time.
He staggered over and knelt beside the body, his voice trembling: "Brother Zhang Mo! What... what happened? Who killed you!"
Xiao Yunzhan stood there watching him perform.
"Lord Zhang, I am truly ashamed of my own eyesight. Even with this white cloth covering you so tightly, you can still recognize Zhang Mo at a glance."
I admire you!
Xiao Yunzhan's sarcastic remarks were almost piercing Zhang Chengye's face.
Zhang Chengye slowly turned around, his face full of sorrow, but he couldn't squeeze out a single tear.
"Your Highness, Zhang Mo is a distant relative of mine. Although we don't visit each other often, we are still related by blood..."
"We don't see each other often, so why are you looking for me now?" Xiao Yunzhan interrupted him coolly.
"The other day you asked me to investigate the matter of the minor officials in charge of the canal transport."
Zhang Mo was the gatekeeper of Xumen Water Gate, and he had a lot of records of passing ships.
"I was thinking of coming here to ask if you could provide some information so that we can find out those who colluded with the Taihu Gang as soon as possible..."
Xiao Yunzhan stared into his eyes, "Does Zhang Mo have a wife and children?"
"No, no! He's been a loner since he was a child and has never married."
There used to be an old servant in the house, but he retired and went back to his hometown recently, so now he lives alone!
"Living alone? You have the leisure to set up a private ice cellar." Xiao Yunzhan's tone suddenly turned sharp.
"And the bodies of Jiang Yong's entire family were hidden in the ice cellar!"
"Jiang Yong?" Zhang Chengye was stunned for a moment before he remembered who this person was.
"That's Ding Jin's cousin? How did he and his family end up in Zhang Mo's ice cellar?"
"Your Highness! Your Highness! The coroner has arrived!"
Zhou Wenbin led the coroner, Chen, and they jogged over.
Coroner Chen carried an autopsy kit on his back and a lantern in his hand, his old face stern and somewhat resentful.
As soon as Zhou Wenbin stepped inside, he caught sight of the corpse on the ground and Zhang Chengye's pale face, and his foot suddenly stopped.
"Your Highness, this is... Lord Zhang Mo?"
He looked around cautiously and asked, "Then, what about Jiang Yong's family..."
“In the ice cellar.” Xiao Yunzhan pointed to the backyard and said to the coroner, “Go and examine the bodies of Jiang Yong’s family first, be careful.”
Coroner Chen responded with a "Yes," and followed the guards to the backyard.
Zhou Wenbin stood there muttering to himself, "Jiang Yong's family hid in Guan Ling's ice cellar, and Guan Ling himself died in the courtyard..."
Has Suzhou been bewitched lately?
"Just as one gourd is pressed down, another floats up; each case is more bizarre than the last."
Xiao Yunzhan's gaze returned to Zhang Chengye, but he deliberately raised his voice to ask Zhou Wenbin.
"Lord Zhou, are you aware that according to the laws and regulations of the Great Liang Dynasty, an official of the ninth rank is qualified to set up an ice cellar privately?"
Zhou Wenbin was stunned for a moment, then his expression suddenly changed.
"Ice cellars? Those are things only princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials in the capital have!"
"For a ninth-rank official to illegally set up an ice cellar is a blatant violation of regulations!"
Zhang Chengye's face paled even more. "Your Highness, this is a misunderstanding! Zhang Mo... he was just confused for a moment, he definitely didn't violate the rules on purpose!"
"A moment of confusion?" Xiao Yunzhan was half a head taller than Zhang Chengye, standing in front of him and looking down at him.
"A low-ranking official dared to set up an ice cellar in secret. The Jiang Yong family, whom the government had been searching for for many days, were found dead in his ice cellar."
You call this a moment of confusion?
Or is it that he thinks these rules of etiquette don't apply to him just because he's from a collateral branch of the Zhang family?
Zhang Chengye kept repeating, "No, Your Highness, it's really not true! The Zhang family would never dare to think such a thing!"
"Dare not?" Xiao Yunzhan sneered.
"If Zhang Mo, a mere member of a collateral branch, dares to be so arrogant, then does your main Zhang family think that my Xiao family's position should also be given to you for a while?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengye knelt down with a thud and began kowtowing repeatedly, each thud producing a dull thud.
He cried out loudly, "Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! I never meant that!"
The Zhang family would never dare! The Zhang family truly knew nothing about Zhang Mo's affairs!
"It's all his own fault for being confused; it has nothing to do with the Zhang family!"
Xiao Yunzhan now finds him too dirty to even look at.
He turned to Zhou Wenbin and said, "After Coroner Chen finishes examining the body and sorts out the autopsy records, you personally deliver them to the Princess's residence for me."
Zhou Wenbin quickly replied, "Yes! This subordinate will certainly take care of it!"
Xiao Yunzhan glanced at Zhang Chengye, who was still kowtowing on the ground, and said coldly, "Go back and tell your patriarch to keep a good eye on the people in the family. If he can't manage them... hmph."
Zhang Chengye hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, yes," and slowly stood up, supporting himself on the door frame. His legs were still trembling, and he dared not say another word. He practically shuffled out of the courtyard.
Xiao Yunzhan watched his figure disappear into the alleyway and instructed his guards, "Send two men to follow him and see who he met and what he said when he went back, but don't let him find out."
The guard replied, "Understood," and disappeared into the shadows at the alley entrance without making a sound.
Xiao Yunzhan turned and went to the ice cellar. As soon as he got close, he saw the coroner Chen squatting next to Jiang Yong's body, holding a silver needle in his hand, his face grim.
"Your Highness," the coroner Chen reported the initial findings upon his arrival.
"Jiang Yong's injuries are a mix of old and new; the old wounds haven't healed yet, and new ones keep piling up."
Judging from his appearance, he suffered a lot before he died, and several of his bones were broken.
His wife and children also had similar injuries.
Especially that child, who had burn marks on his body, the shape of which looked like he'd been splashed with hot water, such a small child…
The coroner, Chen, didn't continue speaking, but simply sighed.
"The time of death was probably three days ago; he was likely tortured to death."
Xiao Yunzhan: "Thank you for your hard work. Complete the autopsy report as soon as possible, and notify me immediately if you find anything."
"Your Highness, rest assured, this humble servant will conduct a thorough investigation."
Xiao Yunzhan didn't linger any longer and turned to leave Zhang Mo's courtyard.
It was already completely dark when he mounted his horse.
Zhang Mo died, and Jiang Yong's whole family died too.
The owner of Liu's Pharmacy was robbed, and his employees were killed to silence him.
Although Ding Jin is still on the run, his whereabouts remain unknown.
Almost all the leads in Suzhou have gone cold.
Upon returning to the princess's residence, Xiao Yunzhan went directly to the courtyard where Pei Zhiwei lived.
He knew that Pei Zhiwei and Pei Lin were definitely still waiting for news.
Especially given Pei Zhiwei's personality, she would never lie still obediently at this moment; she would definitely be restless and anxiously awaiting news.
As soon as they reached the courtyard gate, they heard Yan Jinghong's voice from inside: "Zhiwei, you're already restless as soon as you can sit up. Move slowly, or you'll reopen your wound."
Then came Pei Zhiwei's coquettish voice, "Mother, I'm fine. I've been lying in bed for days, if I don't move around, my bones will rust."
Xiao Yunzhan pushed open the door and saw Pei Zhiwei leaning against the soft couch, covered with a thin blanket, her hair loosely tied up, and holding a small trinket in her hand.
Pei Lin sat on the chair next to her, holding a file in his hand, and was talking to her with his head down.
Yan Jinghong sat on the soft couch, holding a sewing basket in her hand, sewing a light pink dress, which looked like it was made for Pei Zhiwei.
As soon as I entered the room, the hostility and chill outside seemed to be kept out, and the frustration in my heart and the tightness in my stomach eased a little.
"Your Highness is back!" Yan Jinghong saw him first, and quickly put down her needlework and stood up. "Come in and sit down, I just warmed some tea."
Pei Zhiwei's eyes lit up, and she leaned forward, trying to get up from the soft couch, but Pei Lin pressed her down.
"Sit still and don't move. Your wound hasn't fully healed yet."
She had no choice but to give up, but still moved closer to Xiao Yunzhan. "Your Highness, how is it? Is there any clue about Zhang Mo?"
Xiao Yunzhan sat down in the chair and took the hot tea that Yan Jinghong handed him. The warm tea slid down his throat and dispelled the chill in his body.
He paused for a moment before speaking: "When I arrived, Zhang Mo had just been killed by the masked man."
Those people were suicide squad members. If they couldn't win, they would bite down on the poison hidden in their teeth and die on the spot, leaving no clues.
Zhang Mo's house was ransacked. In the backyard ice cellar, they found the bodies of Jiang Yong's family; they had been dead for three days and had been tortured before their deaths.
Pei Zhiwei gasped, her lips pressed tightly together, and after a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, "Are these people even human?"
Jiang Yong's child is only five years old!
How could they do that? They're beasts!
Pei Lin's face was stiff as he lightly tapped the dossier on the table. "It seems they couldn't get the answers they wanted from Jiang Yong, so they resorted to drastic measures."
“Not only.” Xiao Yunzhan took a sip of tea.
"Zhang Chengye later went to Zhang Mo's house, saying he came to ask about the canal transport."
But judging from his demeanor, it seemed like he was there to confirm if we had uncovered anything they didn't want others to know.
Pei Zhiwei sighed: "The Zhang family is a prominent family in Jiangnan with deep roots."
Although they can't compare to the Gu family with their third princess backing them up, without solid evidence, we really can't act rashly against them; it would be too easy to alert them."
Xiao Yunzhan nodded, his tone turning serious: "The leads in Suzhou have basically gone cold now."
He looked at Pei Lin and said, "Young Master Pei, I reckon that further investigation in Suzhou will be difficult to make any progress."
To find new clues, we have to go to Yangzhou.
The main store of Liu's Pharmacy was in Yangzhou, and the abducted women were also transported to Yangzhou via the Grand Canal.
Yangzhou is their core stronghold; going there might allow us to find their base.
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