Chapter 423 Hanlei Ink Studio, Girl in Red Coat
Early morning had just arrived, and the dew on the leaves had not yet disappeared when the sun was already shining brightly.
After the autumn colors had deepened, a rare sunny day arrived.
Wearing a felt hat and holding Dongmei's hand, Ouyang Rong walked through the bustling morning market in Xingzifang. He stopped and bought two flatbreads, munching on them as he headed towards the west gate.
"silly--!"
Dongmei snorted, exhaling hot breath onto the face of the person eating the pancake.
"Get out of here, still eating? You've gotten so fat."
Ouyang Rong "disdainfully" slapped away the head of the chestnut horse that was approaching, turned his head away, and moved the cake further away from it.
Horses tend to gain weight easily in autumn, especially when they encounter Yuan Huaimin, a horse-loving man who secretly feeds and pets them every day in the stables of the Jiangzhou Hall in order to get closer to them.
Even after being caught by Ouyang Rong, he repeatedly refused to change his ways, which was quite frustrating.
Yuan Huaimin has fattened up his own Akhal-Teke horse so much lately that riding it gives him the feeling of being a tank driver, ruining his image as a refined gentleman...
Arriving at a sizable building near the west city wall, Ouyang Rong stopped and looked up at the building's plaque—Hanlei Mozhai.
Ouyang Rong walked in calmly.
The mountains surrounding Xunyang are full of pine trees, which are excellent raw materials for making ink. Xunyang's pine resin ink is famous in Jiangnan.
This Hanlei Ink Shop specializes in selling Hanlei ink, one of the famous inks of Xunyang.
Its ink is made using a secret recipe, with finely ground cinnabar mixed with glue, resulting in a unique type of cinnabar ink that is highly sought after by scholars in Jiangzhou.
Hanlei Ink Studio adopts a model of a front shop and a back workshop, with the back workshop producing Hanlei ink and the front shop selling it directly, resulting in a thriving business.
Ouyang Rong walked through the front shop and into a courtyard in the back workshop, where he saw a familiar figure in palace attire.
"Has Your Excellency eaten?"
He took off his felt hat, took out a hot flatbread, and handed it to him.
Early in the morning, Rong Zhen still wore a cold expression, not turning around or taking the pancake offered by the overly familiar young man.
I'm not hungry.
"Actually, I was just asking out of politeness." Ouyang Rong smiled sheepishly and began to enjoy his pancake.
He looked around for a while and asked, "What discovery has Your Excellency made? Is the ink used by the Butterfly Lovers Master this Hanlei Ink?"
Rongzhen nodded: "It is undoubtedly this ink."
Ouyang Rong laughed and said, "Indeed, there are no secrets that don't leak. We're one step closer to Lady Historian capturing this fellow."
"By the way," he asked seriously, "do you need the Judicial Bureau's help with the investigation? They did a pretty good job investigating the paper mill last time."
"No need for now. The workload this time is small. There aren't many families in Xunyang who can afford Hanlei ink. I have enough manpower."
Rong Zhen politely declined, but as she spoke, she glanced back at Ouyang Rong.
"That's a pity."
Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged, and his tone was indifferent.
Rong Zhen looked him up and down for a while and asked, "Is Chief Secretary Ouyang not on duty today? Why aren't you wearing your official robes?"
Ouyang Rong glanced down at his casual clothes and smiled: "I'm taking half a day off today for personal reasons. I'll go to the Jiangzhou main hall this afternoon."
"A half-day off?"
Rong Zhen couldn't help but glance at the young man in the white fox fur coat again.
Having known him for so long, Ouyang Lianghan has always been seen as a workaholic in her mind. Unless it's a public holiday, she can always see him in the lobby of Jiangzhou.
Today, I'm taking half a day off, which is unprecedented for me.
Rong Zhen thought for a moment, too lazy to ask him why he needed to take leave, and gave a slight smirk:
“Prefect Ouyang is truly dedicated. He only has a morning off, yet he still came to inspect the place this morning.”
Ouyang Rong waved his hand: "I wouldn't dare call it an inspection, I just come here out of habit to see if there's anything I can do to help."
"Suit yourself. We don't need your help right now."
Rongzhen shook her head and prepared to go to the front desk to check the accounts.
Just then, a young female historian ran over with a serious expression. She glanced at Ouyang Rong, then leaned close to Rong Zhen's ear and whispered a few words.
Ouyang Rong was about to leave when he noticed Rong Zhen's delicate brows furrowing visibly.
After the young lady left, Ouyang Rong asked, "What happened?"
Rong Zhen was silent for a moment, then squinted:
"When the staff checked the accounts, they discovered a discrepancy between the amount of Hanlei ink sold by Hanlei Ink Studio and the actual amount of Hanlei ink produced over the past three months..."
"Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that fifty ingots of Hanlei ink produced in the past three months, which were originally stored in the inner warehouse, had mysteriously disappeared."
"The managers and staff of Hanlei Mozhai were also bewildered and surprised. It was only today, when I and my subordinates were checking the accounts, that they discovered it. Ha, what a bunch of good-for-nothings, so careless in doing business."
Ouyang Rong raised an eyebrow: "So what do we do now?"
"What else can we do but investigate!" Rong Zhen said unhappily. "I've already sent someone to inform the owner of Hanlei Mozhai. We'll interrogate him properly when he arrives."
Ouyang Rong glanced at Rong Zhen's displeased expression and understood her perfectly.
After all, the investigation involves checking the ink purchase records of the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower shop. If there is no deficit in the treasury of Hanlei Ink Studio, it would be easy to identify the suspect and follow the clues.
But now there is a deficit, and there is an additional source of Hanlei ink that has mysteriously leaked out. Who knows if that Butterfly Loves Flowers is the one who stole the ink and used this batch of ink that disappeared without a trace?
If it were just a discrepancy between the goods and the order, or a few ink sticks missing, that would be fine. But now fifty ink sticks have vanished without a trace. This is no small quantity.
However, Ouyang Rong had experience with such warehouse deficits and fires, and he knew that most of the time it was due to internal thieves, similar to when he checked the accounts in the Longcheng warehouse.
It's possible that among the managers who are now anxiously calling for their employers, some are feeling guilty.
Ouyang Rong suddenly suggested, "The Judicial Officers are better at investigating these kinds of cases. Why don't we call them over to help with the investigation and assist the Lady Historian?"
Rongzhen hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth: "Call the person here first, and I'll take a look."
Ouyang Rong chuckled inwardly, but maintained a serious expression: "Alright."
The disappearance of fifty ingots from the inner treasury of Hanlei Ink Studio is truly timely... Ouyang Rong thought to himself, he even felt a little grateful to the person who stole the ink... After all, it gave him a chance to intervene and delayed Rong Zhen's investigation. He wondered which hero did it, but unfortunately, he was a bit stupid, only knowing how to embezzle but not how to balance the accounts.
Ouyang Rong summoned a female official and asked her to take his warrant back to the main hall of Jiangzhou to call for help.
He stayed behind for a while to observe the investigation with Rong Zhen. When Yan Liulang arrived with his men, Ouyang Rong glanced at the sun gradually rising in the sky. Unable to find out the truth for the time being, Ouyang Rong took his leave and went to spend the morning holiday.
Speaking of which, this was an unequal treaty he was forced to sign after his book-tearing maniac was caught red-handed by the righteous heroine yesterday, and he was forced to confess under torture.
This morning I must spend some quality time with my righteous and chivalrous junior sister. We've arranged to go out of town to admire the autumn leaves...
After Ouyang Rong left, at Hanlei Mozhai.
With a tense expression, Rongzhen walked through the inner chamber where the ink stick had been lost, stopping and starting, her brows furrowed in thought from time to time.
"The air here is filled with the scent of pine resin and ink, with no trace of human presence or other unusual smells. It could not have been the work of an ordinary petty thief..."
"Something is suspicious. Where did the ink go? Could it have been stolen by the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower? He could have stolen the ink without leaving a trace, but he stole it months in advance. Did he expect to be investigated today?"
"You can steal ink, but you stole fifty ingots at once. That's enough for twenty years. Why steal so many? Are you short of money?"
Just as the palace-dressed girl was murmuring to herself, in the courtyard outside the inner treasury, Yan Liulang was holding a knife, listening to the female official recount the case while sending his men to summon the shop's managers, shop assistants, and ink makers.
The latter arrived and stood in two rows.
Yan Liulang held the list and called out names one by one. After a short while, he called out a short boy wearing a tattered and patched bright red coat.
"Huang Xuan".
"Yes," a clear, bell-like voice replied.
Yan Liulang paused in his naming process and couldn't help but glance at the short boy in the red coat. His face was dirty and covered in ink, as were his hands. He must have been a worker helping out at the ink-making workshop.
However, Yan Liulang took another look at the pair of clear, dark eyes on the short boy in the red coat's dark face.
Her name contains the character "萱" (Xuān)? And that voice she uses...
He looked her up and down and asked, "Are you a girl?"
"Hahahaha." The surrounding staff and supervisors burst into laughter.
The short boy in the red coat nodded obediently, his expression unchanged: "Yes."
However, it's clear that she's somewhat ostracized by her peers.
Yan Liulang frowned: "What are you laughing at?"
The people around immediately shut up.
However, a monkey-faced waiter in the crowd quickly glanced at Huang Xuan not far away, lowered his head, and muttered to himself:
"Master, it's possible that this little girl stole it. We need to investigate her thoroughly. She's known for her dishonesty. During the day, she makes ink in the workshop, and in the evening, she likes to go to the outskirts of the city to sell folding fans and red leaves, trying to please the young masters, ladies, and scholars who travel outside the city... Many people in the workshop know that the ink she uses may be stolen from our Hanlei ink."
Upon hearing this, the other men all echoed his sentiments.
The girl in the red jacket, her cheeks smeared with dirty black ink, lowered her head, neither arguing nor uttering a sound.
Out of the corner of his eye, Yan Liulang noticed that her expression was calm, as if she hadn't heard anything, and her eyes were somewhat listless and unfocused, as if she were lost in thought.
Yan Liulang remained expressionless, glancing sideways at the complaining shop assistant, Mo Gong, while holding his sword, and gave a slight smirk:
How could such a young girl possibly steal fifty ingots of ink? She couldn't move them out even in one night. Besides, this girl is clearly not sociable. You are all shrewd people; would you really let her steal fifty ingots of ink right under your noses? It's most likely a frame-up.
However, we still need to go through the procedures to check. Yan Liulang stepped forward and brought the person into the room.
Inside the room, the girl in the red coat spoke very little. She would only answer when Yan Liulang asked her a question, and she didn't waste any words.
She explained in detail where the ink she used to sell folding fans and other items came from. Yan Liulang listened carefully, investigated, and found that there was nothing wrong with it. The ink she used was either leftover material from ink making or leftover ink from customers at the front desk, which she had secretly taken back home...
As for whether this small act of petty theft violated the rules set by the owner of Hanlei Ink Studio, Yan Liulang was unsure. He was investigating the shortage of fifty ink sticks and didn't concern himself with such matters.
He shook his head and reminded her, "Alright, go back now. Don't do these kinds of petty things again, or someone will report you to your employer."
Huang Xuan, who was about to leave, paused, raised her small, dark face, looked at Yan Liulang, and felt a hint of gratitude in her eyes.
Yan Liulang didn't care. He waved his hand, and the tomboyish girl in the red coat ran out of the house on her short legs. Seeing that she came out unharmed, many onlookers outside, including the monkey-faced shopkeeper who had complained, looked disappointed.
Before long, after inspecting the group of workers, everyone except the head steward and the treasury guards who were suspected were temporarily released.
During today's investigation, the employer gave the employees who were cleared of suspicion a day off and let them finish their shifts early. Before leaving, Huang Xuan washed her hands with well water, revealing a section of her white arm, which attracted the attention of one or two employees.
However, she didn't wash her face, and as usual, her face remained dirty with ink stains, which didn't attract much attention.
All of this was observed by the female officials in blue robes standing nearby. The leading middle-aged female official nodded slightly, her eyes scrutinizing them...
The short Huang Xuan was unaware that she had slightly attracted the attention of the female officials of the Imperial Observatory. She followed the crowd and left the workshop, finishing her work early.
On the street outside the gate, where the autumn wind rustled through the fallen leaves, Huang Xuan wrapped her tattered red coat tighter around herself. Under the disdainful gazes of some people, she squatted down and picked up a few red leaves that looked quite nice.
A moment later, looking up at the sky, the girl in the little red coat took short strides and ran quickly away, as if it was nearing noon and she was in a hurry to go back and cook.
The surrounding workers were used to it. The girl's mother had run off with a stranger, and she had been raised by her good-for-nothing father, a simpleton who honestly carried goods and did hard labor at the Xunyang Ferry Wharf.
I recently heard that he went to Shuangfengjian to participate in the construction of the Great Buddha, which was overseen by the Chief Secretary.
The father and daughter depended on each other for survival. They rented a leaky wooden house on the edge of Xingzifang, near the outskirts of the city. Xingzifang was a mixed bag with many tenants. The courtyard where the father and daughter lived was crammed with seven or eight families, all of whom lived in poverty.
However, this girl was indeed quick and efficient, but unfortunately, due to her gender and her aloof and independent nature, she did not fit in at Hanlei Ink Studio...
Not long after Huang Xuan left, a fat-faced shopkeeper who had also passed the investigation and been cleared of suspicion walked out of the entrance of the Ink Studio, followed by a monkey-faced shop assistant.
The chubby shopkeeper's tiny, bean-sized eyes were fixed on the short, tomboyish Huang Xuan's back. The monkey-faced waiter followed behind, letting out a cold laugh.
"This little girl is more stubborn than an ox. She won't listen to us. The words and poems on those folding fans and red leaves are not something an ordinary little girl could write. With such talent for reading and writing, and at such a young age, why is she selling folding fans and red leaves? It's a real pity she's not selling them at the brothel next door."
The fat shopkeeper reluctantly withdrew his gaze: "Just train her for two years, and a talented young woman of thirteen or fourteen, a little grooming, auction off her virginity for one night. Tsk tsk, the famous scholars of Xunyang really like this kind of thing. They introduced her to a path to success, but she refused to take it. She deserves to be like her stupid father, living under someone else's roof every day, carrying bricks at the dock."
The monkey-faced waiter suddenly said, "The madam of the brothel next door has privately offered a price: if someone can bring this stubborn girl to the brothel and offer her a loan to sell herself, she will offer fifty taels of silver as a reward."
"Fifty taels... Hey, this skinny guy is damn valuable." The fat shopkeeper lowered his voice: "I have a plan."
"Oh? Tell me quickly."
"Her landlord happens to be my brother-in-law. Taking advantage of the recent loss of ink from the imperial treasury, let's go find the angry landlord later and do as I say..."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
