Ten coins
Cheng Lang had recently transferred to the famous Zhushi Academy in Kyoto. He had been busy at the academy these past few days and hadn't seen Zhu Qinghe for quite some time. He was thinking of visiting her when he had some free time in a few days, but unexpectedly, he saw the familiar figure when he stepped out of the corridor during a break between classes.
But—why is that Lord Shen here too?
Zhu Qinghe was quite surprised to see Cheng Lang. It had indeed been quite a while since they last met at Ya Ke Ju. She went over to greet him, "Cousin, what brings you here?"
Cheng Lang explained, "I have to thank my uncle. It is thanks to his help that I was able to come here to study."
Zhu Qinghe had no idea that her adoptive father was actually a kind and generous person. He probably thought that Cheng Lang was talented and would benefit from his kindness in the future.
Since she had already separated from them, Zhu Qinghe wasn't interested in their plans, so she simply dropped the topic.
Cheng Lang was curious about her purpose in coming. "Cousin Qinghe, what brings you to Zhushi Academy today? Is there anything I can do to help?"
As he spoke, his gaze swept over Shen Wumei, who stood with his arms crossed behind Zhu Qinghe. A look of surprise appeared on his handsome face, as if he had just noticed him: "Why is Lord Shen here as well?"
Shen Wumei: "..." He's been standing here for ages, is he blind?
Even if Zhu Qinghe was slow to notice, she could sense that the two of them seemed to be at odds, so she quickly changed the subject: "Lord Shen has official business to attend to."
Cheng Lang had also heard about Xu Yishu's situation, but he hadn't expected Zhu Qinghe to be involved, and almost lose her life. He looked at her with concern and said, "Cousin Qinghe, you've been frightened."
Shen Wumei: "...Heh." This greeting is really eight hundred years too late.
Zhu Qinghe wondered why the atmosphere was so awkward. Shen Wumei was the same; he had been acting sarcastic ever since he saw Cheng Lang. Did he have a grudge against him?
Zhu Qinghe just wanted to get out of this weird situation as soon as possible, so she said with an awkward laugh, "I'm fine, but cousin, now that you're in Zhushi Academy, you have to work hard. I'll definitely come over for a drink when you become the top scholar."
Just then, the bell rang for class, and Cheng Lang had to leave in a hurry.
Zhu Qinghe watched his retreating figure with a sense of emotion. She had only read a few books and had never been to school. Although she was not very knowledgeable, she still envied those well-educated sons of the emperor.
Shen Wumei walked up to her and said coolly, "Still looking? Everyone's already gone."
Is it really that good-looking?
Zhu Qinghe withdrew her gaze, then suddenly remembered something and grabbed Shen Wumei's wrist: "I understand, come with me."
The backyard of Zhushi Academy was the residence of the scholars, and generally only students from poor families or from other places would live here. Those from wealthy families, like Xu Yishu, naturally disdained to live here.
"You came here to look for clues?" Shen Wumei glanced around. This was still the Bamboo Garden. The school's garden was divided into two sections: Bamboo Garden, which was for men, and Orchid Garden, which was for women.
Zhu Qinghe's eyes lit up with excitement: "Think about it, after Fang Xiaoguo's accident, they certainly wouldn't dare to dispose of his personal belongings openly in order to cover up the truth. My cousin moved in a few days ago, so his room is very likely the room Fang Xiaoguo used to live in. Maybe we can find some clues there."
Shen Wumei's face immediately turned ashen: "You wouldn't be thinking of sneaking into your cousin's room, would you?"
"Hey, it's come to this point, Lord Shen, please don't worry about it so much."
Investigating a case is a major matter; how can that be called sneaking away? At most, it's infiltrating.
Zhu Qinghe was right; Cheng Lang's room was indeed the same one Fang Xiaoguo had stayed in before. There wasn't much luggage in the room, and it had a simple and unpretentious feel to it.
Zhu Qinghe squatted down, pulled open the small lacquered wooden cabinet beside the bed, and stared at the mottled and deep scratches on the dark gray wall in silence.
Shen Wumei also squatted down beside her to examine her closely, her fingertips lightly tracing the deep marks: "It seems that Fang Xiaoguo really hates this place."
Zhu Qinghe frowned, squatting down and looking at the scratches on the wall. The depth of the scratches was so intense that it seemed as if she could see the thin young man carving these characters with hatred in his heart.
Go to hell!
What exactly happened? Shouldn't the Zhushi Academy, which is regarded by outsiders as the "second best palace academy", be the school that these poor students flock to and dream of?
Why does Fang Xiaoguo have such strong feelings of hatred? And who is he targeting with his "Go to hell" message?
Zhu Qinghe and Shen Wumei exchanged a glance; it seemed that this Bamboo and Stone Academy was not simple.
-
Chen Shanzhang choked on a mouthful of tea, coughing violently.
After a while, he calmed down and looked up in disbelief, exclaiming in shock, "What? You two want to enroll in school?"
Shen Wumei spoke casually, but the pressure in her eyes remained undiminished: "It's all for the sake of investigating the case. Headmaster Chen also hopes that the Xu family's case will be solved as soon as possible."
"But is there some difficulty?"
He stood there menacingly, and Headmaster Chen naturally dared not cause him any trouble. He was just worried that the King of Hell would find out about the things he had done behind the scenes.
Zhu Qinghe reassured him at just the right moment: "Don't worry, Headmaster Chen, we are only investigating Xu Yishu's case. Other matters are not within our scope of investigation."
Chen Shanzhang immediately straightened his back guiltily: "Since that's the case, everything is for the sake of the case, so leave it to me."
This was Zhu Qinghe's first time attending school since childhood, and it was for investigating a case. She couldn't help but lament her pitiful fate. She'd tell Ruyi tonight that she probably wouldn't have time to keep an eye on Sai Banxian for the next few days.
It's really tough on Ruyi. It seems we need to find her a helper, otherwise it's not safe for her as a young girl, and she won't be able to handle everything.
I mentioned this to Shen Wumei, and to my surprise, he was quite generous and immediately told me to let Mo Wu go to the shop to help out.
Zhu Qinghe choked: "No need, doesn't Constable Mo have any official duties to perform?"
“This is also part of my official duties. You’ve come to help me investigate the case, so I can’t treat you unfairly,” Shen Wumei said.
Zhu Qinghe said with emotion, "Lord Shen is indeed a man of great kindness and righteousness."
It was noon, and since they were already preparing to investigate the case at Zhushi Academy, they would inevitably have to stay there from now on, so the two went to the dining hall for a meal.
It was lunchtime, and the canteen was crowded with students wearing white academic uniforms. Both boys and girls had their hair combed up high, looking neat, energetic, and clean.
Zhu Qinghe said obsequiously, "Lord Shen, please have a seat. I'll get the food."
Shen Wumei remained noncommittal and walked towards the corner.
Zhu Qinghe was holding a wooden food tray and queuing up. A group of female students were standing in front of her, chatting and laughing. Suddenly, they looked in one direction and fell silent.
Zhu Qinghe looked towards the end of their gaze and saw a beautiful and graceful girl with the same hairstyle and uniform as them, but with a unique and outstanding temperament that could attract attention at a glance.
Her snow-white robes were cinched at the waist with a silver belt, creating a perfectly proportioned silhouette. She was both aloof and graceful, her phoenix eyes coldly watching them. Her face was somewhat haggard, but this did not diminish her refined and noble air.
What a beautiful girl! Zhu Qinghe's eyes lit up.
Someone said sarcastically in a sharp tone: "Oh, so the murderer has the nerve to show his face in public? Why hasn't the Dali Temple arrested you yet?"
"That's right, that's right."
Cong Yan pursed her lips and remained silent, picking up her food plate and quietly standing behind Zhu Qinghe. But those people didn't let her off the hook, continuing to mock her with increasingly harsh words.
"Although Yi Shu is a bit arrogant, she doesn't deserve to die. You really have a cruel heart."
Zhu Qinghe interrupted, "Young lady, the case of Xu Yishu is not yet closed, and the murderer has not yet been identified. How can you shift the blame onto your fellow disciple?"
Although the girl was dressed in white just like everyone else, the jade hairpin in her hair was obviously very valuable, and she also had an arrogant air about her being superior to others.
Her gaze swept over Zhu Qinghe: "Who are you? Do you have the right to speak here?"
The girl beside him sneered contemptuously, "Probably another low-class student who just transferred in. There have been so many flies in lately. This Bamboo Stone Academy is unbearable to stay in."
Hey, with her fiery temper, Zhu Qinghe instinctively rolled up her sleeves, wanting to give these arrogant noblewomen a good scolding.
A hand tugged at her sleeve, and the girl behind her looked at her intently, gently shaking her head.
Zhu Qinghe's expression was complicated, and she paused for a moment, but the unpleasant words still came: "Sister Cong Yan is really good at this. She can make all these flies flock around her."
"Hahaha, being surrounded by flies, if you put it that way, wouldn't Sister Cong Yan be—"
"Shut up, all of you!" Zhu Qinghe couldn't hold back any longer. "You're all buzzing around, calling others flies. I think you're the flies, the flies that swarm around dung."
Immediately, the expressions on the faces of the group of noble ladies became more and more interesting, especially the one who was surrounded in the center and started the trouble.
"You're protecting her, but do you even know who she is? Wasn't that Fang Xiaoguo before—"
"Enough—!" An angry voice rang out, and Cong Yan slammed the wooden plate in her hand to the ground. With a loud crash, the wooden plate broke into two pieces and lay pitifully on the ground.
"I'm not the murderer—you are the murderers—! You all deserve to die!" After shouting this, she turned and ran away with red eyes.
Seeing that the man had run away, the group of noble ladies also felt bored. They pouted, glared at Zhu Qinghe a few times, and then left.
Zhu Qinghe, holding an empty wooden tray, stared at the old woman serving food through the broken plate.
The old woman's tone was calm and collected: "Ten coins for a plate."
Zhu Qinghe: "..."
What did she do to deserve this?
Shen Wumei sat in her seat and watched Zhu Qinghe walk over with two plates of food, pouting with an unhappy expression on her face.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong? Hungry?"
So Zhu Qinghe told him what had just happened, and ended by saying indignantly, "Those women went too far!"
Shen Wumei waited patiently for her next words, and sure enough, she stretched out her fair palm towards him, her tone pitiful: "My lord, please reimburse me."
Shen Wumei: "How much?"
Seeing that there was a chance, Zhu Qinghe beamed with joy: "Ten coins."
Shen Wumei casually handed over a piece of silver: "This is all the money I have. Be careful with it."
Zhu Qinghe, like a chick pecking at rice, said, "Don't worry, sir, this will definitely be enough until the case is solved."
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