Cheng Er refused to hand over the account book, so he killed Cheng Erye in a rage and searched him, but did not find the account book. He returned to the temple and searched again, but still could not find the account book.
Just as he was thinking about whether to go down the mountain, Yu Xuanji's men came up and he had to hide in a hurry.
He was annoyed. Perhaps he had made a mistake. The account book was not with Mr. Cheng, but where did Cheng Wenbo hide the account book?
His identity could not be exposed. Yu Xuanji's men had already set their sights on him. The longer he stayed in Yuezhou, the less safe he would be. He wondered if Yu Xuanji's men had taken the account book away, and hurried down the mountain.
After returning to the post station, Ye Zelin told Yu Xuanji about the incident at Wuyuan Temple. Yu Xuanji was quite surprised and sighed, "We are still a step too late."
Old Qiao poured him a glass of water. Yu Xuanji had no time to drink it. He asked, "Did you find anything?"
Ye Zelin took out a silk handkerchief from his bosom and showed Yu Xuanji the small piece of red cloth wrapped inside.
"This was found in the bushes near the temple. The shredded cloth was found less than ten feet away from Mr. Cheng's body. Judging from the traces left at the scene, the owner of the shredded cloth must have left in a hurry, and a branch scratched his clothes, leaving behind this shredded cloth. In addition, there were signs of a struggle in the temple, as well as many footprints. After verification, we found that some of those footprints were from the monks in the temple, some were from Mr. Cheng, and some were probably left by someone who struggled with the monks. In other words, the murderer of Mr. Cheng is very likely the person we are tracking down."
Yu Xuanji listened to Ye Zelin's report, took the scrap of cloth and examined it repeatedly in his palm. He said, "This cloth seems to be Feiyan silk. A few years ago, the lady of the Xia family gave two pieces to Susu for clothes."
He looked at Yu Chisu, "Susu, do you still remember?"
Yu Chisu walked over to Yu Xuanji's side, looked at the scrap of cloth in his palm, and said, "It is indeed Feiyan silk. I remember Aunt Lin from Uncle Xia's family said that Feiyan silk became popular three or four years ago and was first produced in Qinhuai. Feiyan silk is mostly red, and the patterns it is woven into are numerous and beautiful, making it quite popular among young women."
She suddenly understood something, "Uncle, are you saying that the owner of this Feiyan Ling is a girl?"
Ye Zelin then asked, "Could it be that besides the murderer, there was someone else present, a woman?"
Old Qiao continued, "So this woman is in cahoots with the people who killed Master Cheng."
Yu Xuanji remained noncommittal and added, "It could also be a pilgrim."
Yu Chi Su disagreed, "Uncle, Wuyuan Temple is located in a remote area, and there are usually few pilgrims. Which woman would go all the way there to burn incense? If she really went there to burn incense, she would be a fool."
Old Joe echoed: "Or really a fool."
"Go away, you are so frivolous!"
Yu Xuanji waved her hand to drive Lao Qiao away and looked at him with disgust.
Old Qiao shut up in disappointment, and Yu Chi Su stood with him.
Ye Zelin smiled faintly and said to Yu Xuanji, "Master Yu, Mr. Cheng suddenly went to the remote Wuyuan Temple. I think it has something to do with the account book, but our people have searched the temple and found no account book."
Yu Xuanji said, "It's possible that it fell into the hands of someone else."
Old Qiao said in shock, "It's the murderer, isn't that bad?"
Yu Xuanji gave him a look of disdain. Lao Qiao covered his mouth and dared not say anything more.
Yu Chi Su was afraid that her uncle would dislike her, so she simply kept silent.
Ye Zelin also felt that the account book was very likely to fall into the hands of the murderer, but seeing Yu Xuanji calm and composed, and seeing the looks of Lao Qiao and the other man retreating away, his handsome brows couldn't help but frown.
Yu Xuanji ordered Yu Chisu to send Mr. Cheng's body back to the Cheng family. Yu Chisu said yes and went to do it.
Old Qiao also retreated, saying that he was going to the kitchen to ask someone to cook litchi paste.
Hearing this, Ye Zelin couldn't help but laugh, but Yu Xuanji said: "Old Qiao is a careful person."
Ye Zelin nodded, "He is indeed a careful person."
Yu Chi Su asked a few people to carry the body of Mr. Cheng Er to the Cheng family. When Mrs. Cheng, the eldest sister-in-law of the deceased mistress of the Cheng family, saw the body of Mr. Cheng Er, she burst into tears and fainted from excitement.
Cheng Wenbo's son ordered the servants to send his mother back to her room to rest, send Yu Chisu away, and then deal with Mr. Cheng's funeral arrangements.
The next day, Ye Zelin and Yu Chisu went to the Cheng family to express their condolences as instructed by Yu Xuanji, and comforted the Cheng family before leaving.
Seeing that he was still frowning, Yu Chisu asked, "What is Second Brother Ye thinking about?"
Ye Zelin sighed and said, "I was thinking, if we had arrived at Wuyuan Temple earlier, Mr. Cheng might not have died, and the case wouldn't have been shelved and stopped."
Yu Chisu said, "My uncle once told me that everyone has his or her own destiny. Second Master Cheng's destiny is like this, and we can't change it. When you are at the end of your rope, there is always a way out. My uncle didn't lose heart, so Second Brother Ye shouldn't lose heart either."
There was a small stall selling snacks on the roadside. Yu Chisu paid a few coins and bought a bag of candied fruit for Ye Zelin. "When I'm in a bad mood, I like to play with knives. I see that you like reading, and I guess you won't be in the mood to read when you're in a bad mood. Eat some candied fruit to add some sweetness, and your mood will naturally improve."
Ye Zelin accepted the candied fruit and thanked him, then added, "I'm not in a bad mood, I'm just a little sad. I could clearly see the person a few days ago, but now I see his corpse."
Yu Chisu smiled and said, "I can't believe that the young general, at such a young age, would have such sentiments. He is truly mature beyond his years."
Ye Zelin said, "I have an uncle who said the same thing as you."
The two returned to the post station, only to see Lao Qiao approaching them. Lao Qiao pushed aside Yu Chisu and stood next to Ye Zelin, with a mysterious look on his face: "Major General, I have something funny to tell you. A woman just came in, claiming to be your wife, and said she wanted to see you."
Ye Zelin was slightly startled and couldn't help laughing: "Uncle Qiao, please stop joking. My wife is fine in the capital. You haven't seen my wife yet, so how do you know it's her?"
Old Qiao said seriously, "That woman is different. She is a beggar."
Yu Chisu came over and couldn't help laughing: "Uncle Qiao, you are lying, right? How could the Major General's wife be a beggar? If you said that my uncle had a mistress, I wouldn't believe you."
Uncle Qiao was very serious. "Why would I lie to you? I heard it all. That's what the guards said. But of course they didn't believe me. They beat and scolded me before they drove me away. I glanced at the beggar woman from afar. She had pretty features, fair skin, and eyes as bright as water, as if they could speak. The guards also said that she told them her home address, but they didn't remember her name."
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