Chapter 17: New Official Qingzhu Carved into Ice Sword
It was a secret in the Bai family mansion that fake medicinal herbs were placed in the West Garden. Except for a few servants who helped carry the herbs, no one else knew about it and they just treated them as real and expensive herbs.
Because Song Jin instigated Wen Ya to open a restaurant, two of the family's cooks were transferred away, which made life difficult for the third concubine.
Among the three concubines in Meilin Courtyard, except the second concubine Zhao Yilu who lives like a mute, the other two have long hated Song Jin.
So when they knew that Song Jin had taken the key to look after the West Garden, rooms three and four unexpectedly joined forces, but the person who started the fire unanimously chose Chunyun, the maid in Meilin Courtyard who was closest to Song Jin.
After being beaten with sticks, Chunyun was kicked out in the middle of the night. Song Jin forgot to close the door when he left, so the fire started before Song Jin even started to fight.
Song Jin stood in the shadows, watching Chunyun run away without saying a word, and even helped to keep an eye on him.
As the fire grew bigger, it could no longer be concealed. As flames shot up into the sky, the entire Bai family became noisy.
Some people took buckets, some took basins, and they all rushed in from the back, and a few knowledgeable servants followed them to make trouble. In addition, it was too late at night, and the firefighters didn't even have time to put out the fire, so a fire that could have been saved burned down the West Garden.
Song Jin did some calculations and estimated that the fire burned nearly three thousand taels of silver into Wen Ya's personal pocket.
What a bargain.
No one in the Bai family slept that night. Looking at the West Garden reduced to ashes, Song Jin and Wen Ya both breathed a sigh of satisfaction.
Song Jin was concerned, so he walked closer to take a look when the fire was about to go out. Fortunately, Wen Xin was smart and the firewood he stuffed in were all thin branches, which were burned cleanly. Only a little bit of burnt astragalus remained outside, which barely proved that this place was once a medicine storehouse.
It was normal for a wooden house to catch fire, but the incident still became a big deal because Bai Xiaotian found out about it and sent someone over to inquire about it.
Wen Ya naturally would not hide it, otherwise she could not explain the money lost from the account. So the Bai family made a fuss and reported the matter to the authorities early in the morning, insisting that someone bear the loss.
When the police arrived, Song Jin was accompanying Wen Ya in Zizhuyuan, acting sadly. Suddenly, someone came from outside to report that the government office had sent people to investigate the fire.
Song Jin was listening in the room and shuddered all over. She, the "thief", was finally going to face the authorities.
She supported Wen Ya, and they both rubbed their eyes, then went out to meet people with red eyes.
When passing by the garden, she saw it was full of yamen runners. Wen Ya wiped her face again and started crying.
"What sin have I committed? Not only did I lose my husband, but there was also a fire in the house. This is the hard work of the owner for many years, and it's all destroyed, all destroyed..."
After saying this, Song Jin whimpered a few times and wiped away tears. The two of them walked into the burned-down West Garden while acting out the scene.
After wiping his eyes, Song Jin looked into the yard. In front of the ashes that were still smoking was a man standing upright.
The man was wearing a cloud scarf on his head, a Taoist robe with auspicious cloud patterns on a bright green satin background, a sash of the same color around his waist, and stone blue satin boots. He had broad shoulders and an upright figure, with his hands behind his back, standing there like a green bamboo. Even without looking at his face, one could feel the majestic aura emanating from his body, not to mention that there was a group of slaves surrounding him, standing straight as well.
Song Jin was puzzled. He didn't look like an official from his clothes, but the people around him were so respectful. There must be something fishy going on.
Just as Song Jin was daydreaming, the man suddenly turned around, and as their eyes met, Song Jin involuntarily took a small step back.
It's over.
The green bamboo was carved into an ice sword, and Song Jin's fake skin was in danger of being damaged.
That man was also strange. After his eyes met Song Jin's, he stared at her straightly with such sharp gaze that Song Jin's soul almost flew out, not to mention seeing what the man looked like. Thinking about it afterwards, there were only two words: sharp.
Have you noticed anything? Don't let yourself be caught.
As Song Jin was thinking this, the man had already started asking questions.
"There was a fire in your house last night. Why didn't you report it to the police?" The voice was low and majestic.
Wen Ya sobbed and said, "The fire started late at night and there was a curfew. How can we report it to the police?"
The man asked again: "Why don't you go in the morning?"
Wen Ya replied, "I sent someone to check this morning. They were all medicinal herbs. No one was hurt. Even if I report to the authorities, they won't be able to compensate me for the herbs."
After saying that, he began to cover his face with his hands and burst into tears. Song Jin quickly followed suit.
But she had just snorted twice when the man came towards her.
"Who are you?"
The voice was sharp, like ice. The weather in May gave Song Jin goose bumps.
Song Jin took a quick breath to calm himself, suppressed the urge to bow, and replied with his hands clasped, "My name is Wen Zijin, I came from the countryside to seek refuge with my aunt."
After she finished speaking, she raised her eyelids slightly and saw the man narrowing his eyes and looking at her steadily. She was so frightened that she quickly lowered her eyes to look at the ground.
"Who is looking after the medicinal herbs here?"
Song Jin replied: "I helped to look after it last night."
"Oh," the man said meaningfully, and then Song Jin saw the pair of stone blue satin boots walking towards him.
It's over.
She looked at Wen Ya, and they both understood each other. If they couldn't prove that this was a natural disaster, someone would have to take responsibility for it.
Who?
While he was thinking, the pair of satin boots were in front of him, and a deep questioning voice came from above his head: "If you were in charge, when did the fire start? What kind of flammable items were placed here? Why didn't you put out the fire in time?"
Song Jin couldn't help but lick his lips twice, which were dry due to nervousness, and replied, "The starlight was very bright last night. I couldn't sleep that night, so I went out to the garden to enjoy the night view, which delayed the firefighting time."
"So," the voice was cold, "the fire started because of your poor supervision?"
Song Jin glanced at Wen Ya next to him. They both knew that Song Jin could not admit this matter. Otherwise, once Wen Zijin's fake identity was exposed, many things would become unresolvable.
She turned her head and said sternly, "I am indeed responsible for this matter. It was just that I happened to see a figure in the garden at that time, who seemed to be a thief, so I chased after him, which delayed the time to put out the fire."
"Thieves?" The man's expression became even more stern: "Since there are thieves, why don't you report it to the authorities?"
Song Jin replied, "This thief is not a stranger, but a member of our family. I have already recognized him and was just about to discuss with my aunt how to deal with him, so I delayed reporting him to the police."
As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden noise outside. Song Jin turned around and saw Chunyun lying by the gate, secretly looking inside.
When he heard Song Jin talking about seeing thieves before the fire broke out, and that the thieves were from his own house, he thought that he had been discovered. He stepped back in panic and broke a piece of broken wood behind him.
Their eyes met, and Song Jin saw that the pair of eyes were full of fear, and the thin body was shaking uncontrollably.
Song Jin got goosebumps all over his body and knew that he had scared her.
As a slave, she set fire to her master's house and burned expensive medicinal herbs. She was afraid that she could not save her life.
After Song Jin figured it out, he forced a smile at her behind everyone's back, then turned around and said to the person in front of him, "Last night I saw someone leaving the West Garden and running towards the Plum Forest Courtyard. I chased after her and saw that she was a woman, and she entered the gate of the Plum Forest Courtyard."
"Meilin Courtyard?" Wen Ya was a little surprised. Song Jin had never mentioned this to her, but given the current situation, she had no choice but to continue acting.
"Yes," Song Jin confirmed, "My nephew did see someone enter the Plum Forest Courtyard. It was a woman wearing a white silk jacket. Because we knew that was where the concubines lived, we didn't dare to break in and arrest her late at night. But if my nephew took a look, he would definitely recognize her."
Wen Ya suddenly realized that Song Jin could not take the responsibility for his dereliction of duty alone, so he wanted to identify someone.
But who should she identify in Meilin Courtyard?
"Sir, if it is convenient, please allow me to arrange this matter."
Song Jin had many ideas, so Wen Ya followed her first. As for the loss of family property, the government did not punish them, but only asked them to pay compensation. Therefore, if the party who suffered the loss could admit it, there was no need to alarm the government.
For this reason, the green bamboo man finally stopped asking any questions.
Just as the green bamboo man was about to answer, a voice was heard.
"Brother Shu Bai, congratulations, Brother Shu Bai."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man striding in wearing a black gauze hat, a blue cross-collared wide-sleeved robe, a patch with a crane and auspicious cloud pattern on his chest, a leather belt around his waist, and a pair of dark blue black boots on his feet.
Song Jin couldn't tell what rank the patch belonged to, but he did see the seal tied to the leather belt.
This is what an official looks like. As for the one before...
"Lord Lu."
Qingzhuganzi bowed, but unexpectedly, Lord Lu patted his arm and said, "Why bother being so formal with me? I was so happy when I heard you were coming yesterday. I thought I could see you today, but who would have thought that you would be more proactive than me. You have already arrived at the crime scene without changing your official uniform."
Qingzhuganzi said, "I was supposed to come to perform my duties in a few days, but I couldn't sit still. I passed by the government office and happened to meet the official reporting to the government, so I came to see him in advance."
That Lord Lu greeted him warmly: "You haven't been home for many years, have you adapted to the new environment?"
Green Bamboo Pole smiled and replied, "It's no wonder that I am not used to the place where I grew up."
When Song Jin saw Qingzhuganzi smiling, he felt that he looked much more beautiful than before. It was not as scary as before.
Lord Lu looked around and asked, "Is this arson or an accidental fire?"
"It seems that someone set the fire maliciously, and it was a family member."
After saying that, he looked at Song Jin, his eyes instantly turned cold, and Song Jin clenched his hands tightly.
Where did she lie about? She was so scared that she almost blacked out.
"Oh, it was one of our own people who set the fire?" Lord Lu also looked at Song Jin and Wen Ya, and finally stopped his gaze on Wen Ya and said, "My surname is Lu, and I am the Tongpan of Suzhou Prefecture. This is Lord Ji, the newly appointed Tongzhi of Suzhou Prefecture."
After a long period of suspense, Song Jin finally knew who was in front of him.
Suzhou Tongzhi was a fifth-rank official, and that man was very young, only about 25 years old. He was either gifted or...
Humph! There's someone behind me.
Why is he so noble?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
