Chapter 55 Mother-of-Pearl Incense (18) I'll have to trouble Guan Youjun again! ...
Before long, Yuqing brought in the medicine and showed it to Yuqi. It was late at night, and Yuqing was too tired to go to sleep because she still had to decoct the medicine. Jiuli felt very bad about this. Just then, Xiuzhi came over after applying the medicine to Du Zhong. She took the medicine pot from Yuqing and told her to go to sleep while she decocted the medicine.
Yu Qingyuan refused, but Xiuzhi laughed and said, "Look at the two of them, they probably won't be able to get up early tomorrow. I don't need to rush to fetch water for them to wash up, so I can sleep in a little longer. You still have to get up to make breakfast tomorrow, so naturally you can go to sleep first."
Yuqing handed the medicine pot to her and tiptoed to the front yard to sleep, while Xiuzhi went to the back yard.
Jiuli then said to Yuqi, "You should go to sleep too. I'll wait until I take my medicine and then go to sleep as well."
As soon as she finished speaking, her stomach growled, reminding her that none of the three of them had eaten dinner that day. She felt guilty, thinking it was all her fault, but her stomach kept growling. She looked up at him, grinning sheepishly.
Yu Qi was completely exasperated by her laughter and said, "I'll go see if there's any food ready in the kitchen. If not, I'll just have to make something cheap." With that, he half-closed the door and went out.
He's in the kitchen? This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime sight! She felt a secret joy, believing this "miracle" was for her sake. The happier she felt, the warmer she became, so she got out of bed and opened the window in front of her desk. A small, bright moon hung in the sky, its silvery light bathing the courtyard and reflecting off the lanterns under the eaves—the night was truly dazzling!
A short while later, Yu Qi walked past the window and saw her lying on the bed, flipping through a book, facing the draft, without a blanket. He went into the room, put down his things, and leaned against the foot of the bed, intending to scold her, but then he heard her giggle, as if she had seen something interesting. The whole bed trembled slightly with her movements, and she swung her legs back and forth like a child, her insteps hitting the soft blankets. He remembered when she was very young, carrying him on his back, she would kick his back like that too.
That little girl has grown up so much with such difficulty, how could he bear to scold her? He had no choice but to change his words on the spot, "Get up and eat."
What was served was white steamed buns with tofu and crab roe soup. The steamed buns were left over from the old lady's dinner. They ate crabs at home for dinner, and the meat and roe from the remaining crabs were put in a bowl. He took the opportunity to cook this soup, and fortunately, Xiuzhi was there to give him some pointers.
Du Zhong had no idea that he had made it. He sat down, took a bite, and said, "This soup is too salty. That's strange. Aunt Qing never puts in so much salt."
Jiuli quickly stepped on his foot under the round table. He was holding a steamed bun when he saw her wink. He then turned to look at Yu Qi and immediately changed his tune with a smile, "Not salty, not salty, just right!"
Yu Qi glanced at him and said, "I haven't settled accounts with you yet."
The two asked at the same time, "What accounts are we talking about?"
"She said she wanted to go to Daliu Village, and you immediately agreed to go with her? You're almost as tall as me now, but your brain hasn't grown with it?"
Du Zhong stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth, not daring to utter a word, and Jiu Li also lowered his head, not daring to make a sound. Fortunately, Yu Qi was not a talkative person, and seeing that the two of them had some remorse, he didn't say anything more. After the meal, Xiu Zhi had just finished decocting the medicine. He watched Jiu Li take the medicine and then went back to his room.
The next day, Jiuli started coughing, so Yuqi ordered her not to run around or jump around for the next two days and to stay home and rest. Jiuli thought it was a punishment and didn't argue. She patiently stayed home for two days, talking with the old lady. Seeing that Yuqi used a lot of handkerchiefs in the summer, she learned some needlework from Xiuzhi and made three handkerchiefs for Yuqi.
That morning, when they didn't hear Jiuli coughing and Du Zhong's forehead wound had scabbed over, both of them were a little restless. Yu Qi gave them permission to go out, but not to go far, only to stroll around the two streets in between.
The two left the shop and turned left. Du Zhong asked Jiu Li to help him choose some jewelry, but after visiting three jewelry shops on Liuli Street, they still hadn't found anything suitable. As Du Zhong came out of the last shop, he muttered, "I thought the second shop we went to had a pretty nice jade bracelet, why didn't we take it?"
“What do you know? Someone like Aunt Guo shouldn’t wear a jade bracelet.”
Du Zhong glanced at her from the side and said, "What about Sister Guo? If you can wear it, why can't she? Jade is just an object. Does wearing it depend on whether it suits you or not?"
Jiuli glanced at him sideways, "I didn't say that Sister Guo wasn't worthy of wearing jade. I was saying that jade is something that only applies to her since she doesn't have gold."
He scoffed, "Why should others have to be in charge? When your master buys you jewelry, all you care about is whether it looks good or whether you like it?"
“Hey, get this straight. I’m not like Sister Guo. I don’t need money. Sister Guo has a son and a mother-in-law, and she’s the only one supporting them. I imagine they’re having a hard time. Jade is beautiful, but if you need money in an emergency, it’s not as easy to sell as gold. If you’re going to give someone a gift, you should give something appropriate. Why don’t you add a few more taels of silver and buy her a piece of gold jewelry? She can wear it, and it can also be used in an emergency when she needs money.”
Seeing Du Zhong hesitate for a moment, she sneered, "What, are you reluctant to spend the extra money? What are you saving that money for? Do you expect your uncle to pay for your own wedding in the future?"
Du Zhong shook his head, "It's not that I'm unwilling to spend more money, it's just—"
Jiuli glanced at him, rolled her eyes, and nodded with a smile. "Oh, I see. You don't want her to use the things you give her as money, right? Humph, if you only give gifts that look good but are useless, it's better not to give anything at all. If the gift can help someone in an urgent need, then that's what people will appreciate and like."
Du Zhong thought for a moment and nodded, "What you said makes a lot of sense. Alright, let's go get a gold one made."
"I know there's a gold shop up ahead on the street. Let's go take a look."
The street ahead was Tianbei Avenue, and the county government office happened to be on this street. Du Zhongfang realized that she wanted to take the opportunity to inquire at the government office whether Liang Zuyue had confessed or not. The two of them came out of the gold shop and headed towards the government office. After walking a short distance, they happened to see Zhang Da eating wontons at the wonton stall diagonally across the street.
The two men walked over and sat down on the benches to his left and right, looking at Zhang Da with smiles. When Zhang Da saw that it was them, he also smiled and said, "It's you. I was just about to look for you. Yesterday, I led some men to search the Liang family's house and two houses in Daliu Village. We found some jewelry that matches the items you reported as lost. Come with me to the yamen in a bit to identify them. Once the case is closed, if they are yours, you can take them home."
Jiuli wasn't concerned about the jewelry; she was so anxious that she banged on the octagonal table. "Did Liang Zuyue confess? Why did he want to kill Tang Chengguan, and why did he want to kill Lu Yan'er? Last time I heard him say that he killed Lu Yan'er to silence her. Is it the same as what I thought, that Lu Yan'er had evidence that he killed Tang Chengguan?"
Mentioning Zhang Da made him put down his chopsticks and start cursing, "That old scoundrel who deserves to be beheaded! He hasn't uttered a single word since he entered the cell, pretending to be mute!"
Du Zhong said, "As for the use of torture, are all those torture instruments in your yamen just for show?"
“It was used! But the kid just won’t say why! Last night he even tried to bang his head against the wall out of guilt, but the jailer saved him.”
Du Zhong then said, "Since we already have that evidence, what's the point of him confessing?"
Zhang Da chuckled and sighed, "These things must be clearly written in the case file, otherwise the Ministry of Justice will find fault when they come to check. Besides, you don't understand, what's the point of investigating a case if you only find out the murderer? Evidence, motive, until the perpetrator confesses in person, the case won't be handled properly."
Jiuli nodded repeatedly, "I understand. It's like solving a riddle. It's meaningless if there's only an answer but no riddle."
After settling the accounts, Zhang Da led the two into the yamen, where Xu Bai was on duty. Although Jiu Li had been to the yamen several times, he had never been inside the duty room. Upon entering, he couldn't help but look around curiously. He saw a set of tables and chairs at the head of the room, and two sets of tables and chairs on each side. Behind each set of tables and chairs were four desks, piled high with writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, books, and documents. He guessed that all the officials, high and low, were on duty and conducting official business here.
Since it was inconvenient to talk here, Xu Bai invited the two to the small reception hall, ordered two cups of tea, and instructed Zhang Da to retrieve the jewelry found in the lotus pond house so that Jiu Li could identify it.
Once things quieted down, Xu Bai changed his previously solemn expression and said to Jiu Li with a soft smile, "I thought that once Liang Zuyue was captured, you would come to the yamen for trial, but I didn't expect you to not come. I suppose something at home has kept you here?"
Before Jiuli could speak, Du Zhong interrupted, "Wasn't it all to help you catch the murderer? She was sick for two days, and I even injured my head!"
Xu Bai looked closely and indeed saw a scab on his forehead, hidden in his hair. He asked what happened, and Du Zhong slowly told him about the day he captured the murderer. Xu Bai was terrified after hearing it and quickly examined Jiu Li's body carefully. "Are you injured?"
His urgent voice was so earnest that even he couldn't tell if it was genuine or feigned, and his concern didn't seem entirely fake. Perhaps the pretense had become real, and he had even fooled himself.
Jiuli smiled and shook her head, her gaze seeming to linger on something. "Fortunately, my uncle arrived in time; I only choked on a little water."
It was Yu Qi again; he's always there in time.
Things are different now. Xu Bai knew that Jiu Li was indeed not related to the Yu family by blood. Thinking of her usual trust and reliance on Yu Qi, and Yu Qi's indulgence and pampering of her, he felt a lump in his throat. Logically speaking, if it weren't for Miss Tang coming to carry the body that day, he should have gone to Da Liu Village with them. He should have been the one to save Jiu Li. Perhaps Jiu Li's attachment to him would be deeper now?
Thinking to myself, I couldn't help but smile sadly, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright—"
Just then, Zhang Da brought in the jewelry, carrying it on a large wooden tray. Jiu Li picked through the jewelry on the tray; it was indeed all the jewelry she had been stolen, even the coral bracelet that Lu Yan'er had bought was there, and the red agate bracelet in the mother-of-pearl box was untouched. She closed the box lid, thinking that the two murders were most likely caused by this wooden box. She wasn't afraid that Liang Zuyue wouldn't say a word; perhaps investigating this box could reveal his motive for the murders.
He took out the bracelet from the box, patted the wooden box, and said, "Brother Zhang, take this box with me first. I'll check who it was in and maybe I can find out the inside story of Liang Zuyue's murder."
Xu Bai asked, "Although this box is exquisitely made, it is not a rare treasure. What special history could it have had?"
Jiuli picked up the box and waved it around. "Why don't we just go ask around and find out?"
After saying this, the group instructed the yamen runners to prepare a carriage and immediately headed to the Guan family's residence. It happened that Youjun was at home when a servant came in to announce their arrival. When Youjun heard that it was Jiuli and the others, she asked who was with them. The servant told her about everyone, but he did not mention Yu Qi.
Youjun smiled and put down the account book in her hand, instructing Niangzhuang, "Go out with him and say that I'm not home. If there's anything you can do, agree to do it. Whether you do it well or not, you've done your best, and Lord Qi won't blame you."
Niangzhuang carefully considered the meaning of her words, understood, nodded, and walked to the door with the servant. She curtsied to everyone and said, "The people at the door don't know, but our young lady just went out on business and went through the side gate. Lord Qi, if you have anything to say, just tell me. I will do what I can to make decisions, and I will tell our young lady when she returns if I can't."
This maidservant not only served Guan Youjun closely but was also her right-hand woman, so Guan Youjun took her with her wherever she went. Why wasn't she with her today? Jiu Li thought this must be Guan Youjun's excuse. Did she find them troublesome? Oh well, it was just asking for their help anyway, it didn't matter who helped.
She showed the box to her mother, saying, "Sister-in-law, do you remember this box that Auntie gave me last time? Auntie said it was found in your family's pawnshop. Could you take us to the pawnshop to check who pawned it?"
Niangzhuang readily agreed and immediately ordered her servant to prepare a carriage for them to take to the pawnshop.
Jiuli went inside and saw that the pawnshop was quite large, with the storefront alone occupying four rooms. Inside, there was a row of half-height counters with wooden bars erected on them, like prison cells. The clerks sat behind the bars, handling and inspecting items. There was a door in the right corner, leading to a small courtyard. Directly opposite the courtyard was the reception hall. Passing through the hall, there were six storerooms in total, located to the east, west, and north.
The shopkeeper personally came out to greet us, serving tea, fruit, and snacks with great care. However, when it came to looking at the account books, he hesitated. Although he agreed, he said, "The items in the storeroom are all overdue and haven't been redeemed, and they're all more than two years old. The accounts are all old, as the lady knows. I'm afraid we'll have to look through them slowly. We can't find them now. Please go back and wait. I'll report back to the yamen as soon as I find them."
Niangzhuang smiled and reassured him, "Don't worry, Lord Qi. Once we find out, we'll go to the yamen to give you a reply. We can't afford to delay matters at the yamen."
Although the two were respectful and polite, their words sounded like mere perfunctory remarks. Jiu Li didn't understand what was going on with Guan Youjun. Did she want to help or not, or did she have some kind of grudge against Xu Bai?
The group emerged from the pawnshop, bid farewell to Niangzhuang, and headed back to the yamen. On the way, Jiuli lifted the carriage curtain and asked Xubai on horseback, "Have you ever offended Guan Youjun?"
"How could I have offended her? I only know her, but we're not close. We've dealt with each other twice before over taxes, but it was just business as usual. How could I have offended her?"
"She was clearly at home today, so why won't she see us? She says she's helping, but it's all just empty talk."
Xu Bai smiled and frowned. "Guan Youjun is always very considerate and never offends anyone with her words or actions, but she's also not afraid of anyone. Does she think we disturbed her peace today?"
Du Zhong smiled casually across from Jiu Li, "If Master were to ask, he would definitely find out."
"Yes! Yu Qi didn't come today!" Jiu Li finally came to her senses, threw down the curtain, and glared at Du Zhong. Du Zhong felt confused and touched his face. "Do I have words tattooed on my face? Why are you glaring at me?"
Jiuli didn't reply, but just turned her face away angrily.
They rode directly home in the government carriage. Yu Qi had just seen a patient off when he saw the two of them and asked, "Where have you been wandering around? You've been gone for so long, you didn't even come back for lunch."
Du Zhong said cautiously, "We went to the yamen to ask if Liang Zuyue had confessed."
Yu Qi wasn't surprised at all. If it weren't for the fact that Jiu Li had been sick a couple of days ago and he had insisted on keeping her at home, she would have flown away long ago. Since he had expected it, he was too lazy to be angry. He turned around and walked into the courtyard, saying, "I left lunch for you. Why don't you come in and eat?"
The old lady had just lain down to rest, and not wanting to wake her, Yuqing heated up the food and placed it in Jiuli's room. Yuqi was also sitting on the couch, drinking tea and asking Liang Zuyue questions.
Jiuli put down her bowl after eating half of her meal and went to show him the box. "Look, this is the box. The other day, when Liang Zuyue was talking to me, I heard him say that he killed someone for this thing. He was the one who made it, but I don't know why it ended up in the Guan family's pawnshop."
Yu Qi had seen this box before, but had never paid attention to it. Now, holding it up for a closer look, he realized that although the furniture with mother-of-pearl inlay was expensive, it was nothing special. This was a small box, so it couldn't be that expensive. Its only special feature was that it was made with exceptionally fine craftsmanship.
He held it under his nose and smelled it. Jiuli, holding a bowl on the round table, looked at him and said, "Isn't the smell of this agarwood a bit strange? I felt from the beginning that this box smelled different from ordinary agarwood. And ever since I got this box, my room has been haunted. Isn't that strange?"
After a long time of deliberation, Yu Qi finally figured it out and laughed, "This has been adulterated with other spices. In India, there is a spice that is extracted from a hallucinogenic poisonous mushroom. Indians often use it in some sacrifices to make their followers hallucinate and see ghosts and gods, thus making them more devout. This spice is rare in our country. It is possible that the Guan family pawnshop had some in stock. This box was placed with those spices for a long time, and naturally it became tainted with this fragrance."
Jiuli, who was not a big believer in ghosts and gods, understood immediately after hearing his explanation. He then said, "Today we went to the Guan family to investigate the origin of this box, but Aunt Guan wouldn't even give us a chance to explain. She claimed she wasn't home and only sent our maid to the pawnshop to check. It seemed like she did it on purpose. The pawnshop owner then claimed that the account was too old and he didn't know where it was, and that he would have to search through it slowly. Who knows when he'll be able to find it?"
When she said "Aunt Guan," she deliberately emphasized the words and rolled her eyes at Yu Qi twice.
Yu Qi chuckled inwardly but remained silent. Seeing that he didn't respond, she said in a mocking tone, "I think she won't pay attention to anyone else bothering her, but it's different if you go. She'll definitely take it to heart, and she might even personally lead us to investigate."
Yu Qi put down his teacup, tilted his head, and smiled. "So, do you want me to go or not?"
She knew he absolutely had to go, but she couldn't help feeling unhappy. She put down her bowl and said irritably, "Of course I'm going!"
The next morning, Yu Qi went to the Guan family with Jiu Li and Du Zhong. You Jun deliberately stayed home that day, knowing Yu Qi was coming. Sure enough, after breakfast, while she was having tea, she heard a servant announce that Mr. Yu had arrived. She gently scraped the lid of her teacup and unhurriedly ordered someone to invite him into the small hall. She herself was delayed for half a day before going to the small hall to meet him. After Yu Qi explained his purpose, she didn't say a word and ordered two carriages to be prepared so they could go to the pawnshop together.
Sure enough, she came in person. The shopkeeper didn't dare to delay and ordered several employees to bring the accounts from that year to the inner hall, where everyone searched through them together. Even Youjun herself was holding the ledger and flipping through it, staring at it as she searched, and sighing with a smile, "It was my fault. I only gave it to Yu'er as a toy to store things because I saw that she liked the box. I never expected it to cause such trouble."
It's unclear who these words were meant for, but Jiu Li could tell they weren't directed at her, otherwise she wouldn't have used "she" instead of "you." She didn't know how to respond.
Yu Qi had no choice but to chime in, "No matter how strange it is, it can't be blamed on the girl."
She half-closed her eyes, her gaze still fixed on the ledger, and said nothing more.
This search took half a day, gradually making Jiu Li increasingly anxious. However, she couldn't help search it, as it was someone else's shop's ledger. Looking at Yu Qi, who seemed calm and composed, and You Jun, sitting at the head of the table, were equally unhurried. It was as if the two of them had a tacit understanding, deliberately sitting there to prolong the time.
Jiuli couldn't help but grip the armrests of the chair on both sides and softly asked, "Have you found it yet?"
Youjun glanced at her with a smile, "Is Yu'er always this impatient?"
Jiuli didn't seem to be asking her, but she insisted on taking over the conversation, so she chuckled and said, "I've always been like this since I was little."
She smiled and nodded, "Young girls need to be lively to show their youthful energy. If you can't wait, come and flip through it with us."
Jiuli felt embarrassed and said, "These are my aunt's accounts, so I shouldn't look at them casually."
"What's wrong with that? I like you, so naturally I treat you differently from others, like family." She gently beckoned to her, "Come here, with me here, Mr. Yu won't blame you."
Jiuli found these words awkward no matter how she listened to them, but she couldn't find a single wrong word, making it difficult for her to refuse. Besides, she was already in a hurry, so she could only stiffly walk forward to sit down and pick up the ledger to start flipping through it.
After searching for a short while, she exclaimed, "Found it!"
The ledger showed that the pawner was named Sun Kuan, and that he had pawned the box for four taels and two mace of silver. The shopkeeper came over and said, "Oh, it's him. He's a regular customer. He used to be a yamen runner, and now he's in business. Hey, Constable Zhang knows him too. If you want to find him, just ask Constable Zhang."
After searching high and low, it turned out that the box had been pawned by a yamen runner.
Jiuli suddenly remembered that Liang Zuyue had mentioned Lord Wang's situation that day, and he was practically gritting his teeth. Could it be related to Lord Wang?
As she was thinking, she heard Youjun laugh indulgently beside her, "Yu'er is really useful. We've been searching for ages and can't find anything, but Yu'er can find it with just a few flips. No wonder the master dotes on her."
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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