Chapter 202 The Cousin with Many Suspicious Points
In fact, this morning, before the stars had faded and the crescent moon was still in the sky, Shen Wen had already followed the three words "Young Master Lin" and traced them to two different clues.
As dawn broke, Li Jin had just emerged from the sleeping quarters of Prince Jing's residence when he hurriedly went to greet him.
“This young master Lin’s real name is Lin Qin. He frequents pawnshops. I’ve already brought out the items he’s pawned, and these are roughly all the items.” He held a small box to his chest, which contained hairpins, earrings, jade and jewelry, roughly a dozen pieces. “He often pawns women’s jewelry, so the pawnshop manager and the young master all recognize him.”
Li Jin yawned as he slowly walked forward: "Continue."
Shen Wen took out a gold hairpin from the small box: "These things should be the ones that Miss Su Wanying lost. The hairpin is engraved with the words 'Wanying'."
"He pawned such a valuable item, didn't the pawnshop manager suspect anything?" Li Jin didn't stop, stepping over the threshold of the courtyard and heading towards the mansion gate.
The entire Prince Jing's Mansion is a six-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house). Since Li Jin relinquished his military power, in order to avoid giving anyone any leverage, the number of guards in the entire mansion has been pitifully small.
Therefore, the enormous palace appeared unusually cold and quiet.
Shen Wen followed beside him, closed the box, and said, "He once told the shopkeeper that he was a young master from a prominent family, but his family had fallen on hard times in recent years and he urgently needed money to support dozens of people, which is why he pawned these of his mother's belongings."
He clicked his tongue: "That shopkeeper is only interested in profit. When he saw such a good item, he tried to lower the price and sell it to him. When I caught up with him, he was terrified when he heard it was stolen goods."
Stepping over the threshold, Li Jin stopped and turned to face Shen Wen as Zhou Zheng's carriage was already parked in front of him. "So who exactly is he?"
“He’s just a hoodlum,” Shen Wen said. “He goes to casinos and brothels. He’s known as Master Lin. He doesn’t have any prestigious family background. It’s all made up.”
Shen Wen took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Li Jin: "This man specifically targets women from wealthy families, using emotional manipulation to swindle money. He even boasts at drinking parties that if he just gives a fierce look, girls will line up to give him money."
Among the people lining up to give silver was Tan Qin, the cousin of the Su family, who was stunned by Li Jin's question.
"How many days?" Li Jin asked. "Young Master Lin mentioned to someone that he would come to the Grand Tutor's residence to find you three days ago. On the day you agreed to meet, may I ask where Miss Tan is?"
Li Jin stared intently at Tan Qin's face.
The two were only five meters apart, one in the middle of the courtyard and the other by the door frame, yet they seemed to be on the verge of a confrontation, as if something had been ignited between them.
Tan Qin pursed her lips, covered her mouth with a handkerchief in her hand, and shook her head, saying, "I did arrange to meet with Young Master Lin in the afternoon, but not at the mansion, but at the Yuntian Academy of Painting and Calligraphy in the East Market."
She paused for a moment, then said, "With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, I'd like to buy some gifts for people, so I'd like to ask Mr. Lin for his advice."
Looking at her calm demeanor, Li Jin remained silent for a moment before asking, "Did you manage to buy it?"
“I’ve bought it,” she said. “I’ll go get it right now and let the prince see it, so that he can clear my name.”
After saying that, she raised her hand and coughed lightly, then walked shakily into the house. Her appearance was so pitiful that it made anyone who saw her feel sorry for her.
While she turned to go back into the house, Jin Shu walked to the gate of the yard and picked up the shovel.
She looked at the clean shovel head and frowned slightly.
This thing isn't new; it's a common tool in flower-grown yards. But it's unusual to be so clean that it can even leave an imprint of a human face.
She examined it carefully. Because the smelting process was not sophisticated and the item itself was cheap, it would deform after prolonged use. If this shovel was one of the murder weapons, then even if it was cleaned, it would still leave some distinctive marks.
But after looking for a long time, she found nothing.
It was clean, without any strange traces, but that was precisely the strangest thing about it.
A moment later, Tan Qin, carrying two scrolls of paintings, the unique wrapping paper of Yuntian Painting and Calligraphy Academy, and the bottom label left when she bought the paintings, walked to the stone table on the side of the courtyard: "These are the paintings."
"I chose landscapes and flowers and birds, and it cost fifteen taels of silver when I bought them. If Your Highness were to ask the shopkeeper for verification, he would surely be able to confirm that what I said is true." Tan Qin said, then raised her hand and coughed a few times.
Li Jin looked at the bottom slip in his hand, but his eyes were fixed on her face out of the corner of his eye: "Didn't you say you were sore all over? Why do you look like you have a cold?"
Upon hearing this, Tan Qin laughed awkwardly, rubbing her arms: "There is some soreness..." She spoke so softly that her voice was barely audible, and then she mumbled something else, which no one could hear clearly.
"When did Miss Tan say goodbye to Young Master Lin?" Li Jin was completely unmoved by her shyness and pitiful appearance, and asked coldly as always.
"After buying the painting, we said goodbye," she said.
"According to Miss Tan's recollection, you haven't seen each other since you left the Yuntian Academy of Calligraphy and Painting, right?"
As Li Jin asked the question, he examined the scrolls and said casually, "I advise you to think carefully before you answer."
Tan Qin paused, her shoulders suddenly trembled, and she coughed for a long time before she could stop.
She gave an awkward smile: "It wasn't like we broke up right then. We even went to a teahouse on the street, had a few cups of tea, and played a few rounds of pitch-pot."
"Which street corner?" Li Jin didn't intend to give her any more time to think. "And which teahouse?"
After he asked these questions, Tan Qin's face turned pale. She lowered her eyes and thought for a while, but couldn't answer any of them.
Not only that, she raised her hand to cover her mouth, coughing so hard she could barely breathe and was almost unable to speak.
Seeing this, Su Hang cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, Miss Biao is still ill, and the autumn wind is slightly chilly. Why don't you continue asking tomorrow?"
Li Jin smiled and said, "Alright, that's fine. It'll also be good to verify whether what Miss Tan said is true or false."
He turned around and walked out, saying meaningfully, "It seems Miss Tan lives a very refined life..." After saying that, he glanced at the shovel that Jin Shu had put back, "Even the shovel is so clean."
Originally, these words were meant for Tan Qin, and no one was expected to respond.
But the little maid who had been waiting at the door for some time hurriedly stood at the door and said to Li Jin, "That's because Miss's shovel broke the other day, so our young lady gave her hers."
The little girl chuckled: "Um, her old shovel is still in our yard, she didn't throw it away."
Li Jin glanced at her smile and nodded, saying, "I see."
Then, lifting the hem of his robe, he brushed past her and strode towards the gate of the mansion.
It wasn't until they were outside the gate that Jin Shu finally found an opportunity to ask him, "Why didn't Your Highness just go and take a look at that shovel?"
Li Jin turned around, glanced at her, and skipped the question, getting into the carriage: "Hurry up and go."
This was the first time Jin Shu had ever seen him like this.
It was as if they were deliberately avoiding the second young lady of the Su family.
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