Chapter 73 The Immortal in the Nunnery (Sixteen) Chen Jia, Second Master Chen.
Jiuli and Madam Gu entered later. The innkeeper led the three of them to a table at the very back facing the street. The sun had just disappeared behind the window, and the dark table was still quite hot to the touch. Jiuli first ordered a pot of jasmine tea, and then looked around at the menu.
To their surprise, the waiter brought over a note saying that the restaurant's signboard had become illegible over time and they were currently having new ones made. He asked them to order from the new signboard. The three of them had no choice but to look down at the note, each ordering two dishes before sending the waiter away.
This table was two tables away from Grandma Chen's table. Du Zhong glanced at Grandma Chen's back, then leaned closer to the table and whispered to the two women that she had ordered the food very skillfully earlier. Jiu Li and Madam Gu exchanged a look, puzzled. "That's not right. We've seen her eating in the temple's dining hall every time these past few days. Didn't you see her looking at the menu?"
"She came in just two steps before us. How could I not see the menu? There was none. She didn't even hear the waiter announce the dishes before she just ordered them herself. She even said that the restaurant's signature dish is Lotus Fragrance Six Treasures, and she even knows that they usually use dried lotus leaves."
Madam Gu was also surprised. "I sit at home every day and have never heard her come out to eat at a restaurant. Is this restaurant very famous, and she has heard others mention it?"
Du Zhong scoffed, "He's only known on this street. Otherwise, when Brother Zhang and I passed by here yesterday, he had never even heard of him. Brother Zhang is a local, isn't he?"
Jiuli thought to herself that there were many strange things about this Third Granny Chen. She looked at Third Granny Chen's back and went to tell Madam Gu to ask her maid to try to get more information from the Chen family's maids in private.
Coincidentally, Granny Chen also turned her head and glanced at them, her eyes filled with a contemptuous smile. She loudly complained to the two maids that the food at Qinglian Temple was too bad, not as good as the abalone, sea cucumber and shark fin at home every day. She said that only people who have never enjoyed great fortune would not complain. Wasn't she just mocking the three of them for being unsophisticated?
Du Zhong, in a fit of anger, put one foot on the long bench and deliberately laughed loudly. Grandma Chen was puzzled and turned to ask if he was making fun of her. Du Zhong replied, "Only ridiculous people would think that when others laugh, they are laughing at them."
Granny Chen had long disliked Jiu Li and Madam Gu. Enraged, she slammed her hand on the table, wanting to get up and argue with them, but fearing she couldn't win against their three mouths and would lose face. Just then, the waiter brought in the dishes, and she seized the opportunity to vent her anger on him, picking up a bowl and arrogantly asking, "What is this? Is this what I ordered?"
The waiter hurriedly said with a smile, "This is a bowl of bitter melon and fish balls specially delivered by our shop. In this hot weather, bitter melon is the best way to cool down and relieve heat."
Unexpectedly, she showed no appreciation, laughing as she let go of the bowl, which shattered with a crash, spilling soup all over the floor. "Do I need you to bring me this? Don't worry about it, I can afford to pay for it."
As he spoke, he instructed the maid to take two taels of silver and place them on the table. He then stood up, supporting himself on the table. “I didn’t expect this either. How could I sit in this open and exposed place to eat? It would be beneath my dignity. Let’s go and go to a restaurant with private rooms.”
After saying this, he led the two maids away. The shopkeeper happened to come out from the backyard by lifting the curtain. When he saw the mess on the ground, he asked the waiter and hurriedly told him to clean it up. He then took the money and went to Jiuli and the others' table to bow and apologize, "Gentlemen, please don't be offended. It's ridiculous. This is the first time I've met someone like this. Giving her a free bowl of food only angered her. If I hadn't thought she looked familiar and assumed she was a long-lost customer, I wouldn't have bothered to be so attentive."
Soon the dishes were served, and the innkeeper greeted the guests by arranging the bowls and plates. Jiu Li asked with a smile, "This restaurant must have been open for quite a while?"
The shopkeeper nodded, "That's quite a long time, it's been almost twenty years."
"Do you remember all the guests who have visited?"
"How could I remember them all? I only remember some of my old customers."
"You just said that the old lady looked somewhat familiar? Did she used to come here to eat often?"
The shopkeeper frowned and thought for a while, "I don't remember either. If she was a regular customer, she probably hasn't been here for many years, otherwise I wouldn't remember her. You guys recognize her, though?"
Du Zhong smiled and said, "She and we are temporarily staying at Qinglian Temple, so we are neighbors."
The shopkeeper hurriedly asked, "Is it true that someone died at Qinglian Temple?"
Du Zhong nodded, "That's right. The shopkeeper lives so close by, so he must often go to Qinglian Temple to burn incense, right?"
"Of course, I go to pray on the first day of every month. I have been a friend of Abbess Jingzhen for many years. The pilgrims in her temple often ask my shop for food and drinks. If you want to eat, you can send a nun to tell us. We will send our staff to deliver it to the temple after we have prepared it here."
Madam Gu had originally planned to bring back two vegetarian dishes for her son, but upon hearing his words, she asked, "Can wine and meat be sent as well? Aren't you against it?"
The shopkeeper smiled, his hands clasped in front of him. “There’s no such taboo. It’s for the worshippers, not the nuns. Rest assured, Abbess Jingzhen never fusses over such trivial matters. I used to send large amounts of meat and fish to the temple myself.”
Madam Gu then ordered another meat dish and a vegetable dish, asking the waiter to send them to the temple first. Only then did the three of them slowly pick up their bowls to eat. Jiu Li ate absentmindedly, wondering who would eat such lavish meals in a temple? He had heard of wealthy families bringing their own food when they came to offer incense, or ordering food from nearby restaurants. But such families were always very particular; the elders were afraid that meat would offend the Buddha, and even if the younger ones wanted to eat meat and wine, they would leave the temple to eat.
"Look, aren't those people from the yamen? Why are they carrying loads for others?" Madam Gu suddenly said.
Jiuli and Duzhong looked out of the window and saw a yamen runner in official robes carrying two small boxes, panting heavily with sweat on his face. Duzhong happened to recognize him, put down his bowl, walked to the window, and called out to him, "Aliu! Where are you going?"
The yamen runner came carrying a load, and Du Zhong quickly poured him a bowl of tea from the table. After drinking it, he wiped his sweat and said, "Lord Yan asked me to deliver something to Qinglian Temple."
"Master Yan, do you want to worship Buddha?"
"Hey, they really do respect Buddha, but not the Buddha in the temple, but the Buddha in the imperial court. The second young master of the Chen family, the Imperial Uncle's son, is returning to the capital from Wuxi. He passed through Nanjing yesterday and heard from Lord Yan that there was a murder case at Qinglian Temple. Just for fun, he wants to stay at Qinglian Temple to see how the yamen handles the case. Don't you think these rich young masters have nothing better to do than join in this fun? Lord Yan is just being nosy, why did he have to tell him all this?"
Du Zhong smiled at the two trunks and asked, "Is this Master Chen's luggage?"
The constable smiled wryly, "What can I do but run errands? Young Master Chen heard that there wasn't enough room at the temple, so he left his servants in the city and moved there himself. I'll take his luggage there first and tidy up a room. He'll come over with Lord Qi later. I'm leaving now, you guys eat."
Then the yamen runner carried the luggage to Qinglian Temple. When he arrived at the temple, he told Yu Qi and Zhang Da what had happened. Zhang Da was worried that all the rooms in the guest house were occupied, so he had to discuss with Yu Qi that he would move to a room with Xu Bai, Du Zhong would sleep in Yu Qi's room, and the guest room on the north side would be cleaned up for Master Chen to stay in.
Yu Qi didn't say anything. He went into the house and gathered up Du Zhong's clothes. He continued pacing around the room, pondering the two cases. Zhang Da, having finished tidying up, came in. Seeing Yu Qi's worried expression, he knew Yu Qi was thinking about the cases, so he sat down at the table and poured himself a cup of cold tea.
“I just asked the young nuns to clean the house, and I saw them carrying a coffin to wrap Cilian’s body. Listen, they’re chanting sutras again. At first, the sound is calming, but after a while, it just makes me feel annoyed. I just hope this case will be resolved soon so we can go home. I’m the kind of person who can eat vegetarian food occasionally without any problem, but if I’m not full of oil and fat, I’ll feel weak.”
“I don’t think it’s that easy.” Yu Qi crossed his hands, frowned, and looked down at the Qilin sachet and the colorful crane money bag on the table. “To find out the murderer, we must first investigate all the male worshippers at Qinglian Temple.”
Zhang Da pondered for a while. Ci Lian died after midnight last night, but since Liao Yi's death, no other worshippers had stayed at the temple besides them. The arsenic was put in the bowl; either Jing Yue, who delivered the porridge, poisoned it, or someone went to Ci Lian's room after Jing Yue left last night. Who would go to her room in the middle of the night? And she opened the door without hesitation. Thinking about it, it really might have been some worshipper who had an affair with Ci Lian; perhaps he climbed over the wall at night.
He sipped his tea with one hand and picked up the sachet with the other. “Your concern is reasonable. If there wasn’t a personal relationship, why would Cilian make this sachet for someone? But Qinglian Temple’s gates are wide open, and countless pilgrims come and go every day, including those from other places. If we were to investigate, I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to find out the truth even next year.”
"That's not difficult. Think about it, if Cilian is having an affair with a man, then that man must be a regular customer who comes to the temple to meet with her. Just ask one of the nuns who is a well-dressed and refined regular customer."
"Dressed smartly and politely? You mean a slick-haired, handsome gentleman?"
Yu Qi smiled and said, "If he weren't a handsome and charming man, how could he have won the hearts of two nuns, Cilian and Liaoyi, at the same time?"
Zhang Da choked and spat out a mouthful of tea onto the ground. "What did you say?! You mean these two cases aren't revenge killings, but rather a complex series of crimes of passion?"
Yu Qi slowly told Zhang Dajian about the few scattered footprints he found in the grove yesterday. Zhang Dajian understood and said that the man was dressed neatly and politely, not only because of the sachet, but also because he was wearing a pair of pink-soled boots.
He nodded knowingly. "If that's the case, it won't be difficult to question him. Since this person has affairs with the two nuns in the temple, he is indeed a familiar face."
As they were talking inside, they suddenly heard Xu Bai's voice outside. Zhang Da got up and went to the door. He saw that Abbot Jingzhen was personally leading Xu Bai and a strange man in. The man was about the same age as Xu Bai, and his figure and appearance were also comparable to Xu Bai's. Both of them had an elegant and noble air about them. Zhang Da thought this must be Chen Jia, the second master of the Chen family. Zhang Da hurriedly went out to greet them. After exchanging only a few words in the corridor, Chen Jia eagerly followed the two of them to Yu Qi's room.
Xu Bai stepped through the door and introduced him to Chen Jia, "Second Master Chen, this is Mr. Yu Qiyu. Besides being a renowned physician, he is also currently serving as Lord Yan's advisor."
Chen Jia had his hands tied behind his back, tapping his chin repeatedly. He casually glanced at Yu Qi, gave a slight "hmm" sound through his nose, and then looked away, raising his glasses. Ostensibly, he was surveying the room, but in reality, he was just waiting for Yu Qi to greet him first.
Yu Qi gave a casual bow and chuckled, "Greetings, Second Master Chen."
Chen Jia continued to look around slowly, his eyes still raised. Accustomed to flattery, he expected a barrage of obsequious words to follow, but instead, there was silence. He frowned and looked at Yu Qi again, his eyes glancing at the sachet and money pouch on the table. His expression changed.
-----------------------
Author's note: Thank you for reading.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
