Chapter 17 Chapter 17 (Revised) If Duan Wenpei doesn’t go back home,…
"Why is it so far?" Duan Wenpei frowned slightly as he looked at the winding corridor that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
After coming out of the dark prison last night, he asked Yu Rong to spread out his investigation around Tianxiang Tower.
Zhao Huaijue likes women. If it is really him who comes, he will definitely leave clues.
The people of the Zhao family were like carbuncles on his body, which made him irritable. In addition, he seldom came to Jingyuan often, so his mood was different and everything around him became an eyesore.
The servants following behind him looked at each other in bewilderment, not daring to breathe.
Jingyuan was cleaned up for his wife to live in by orders of his uncle before he got married. His uncle could complain, but they dared not say anything.
Duan Wenpei unknowingly quickened his pace, exited the corridor, and walked around the screen wall. Yu Rong came forward to report.
"As I expected, two days before I was assassinated, a spice merchant from outside the Great Wall moved into a restaurant not far from Tianxiang Tower. My subordinates took Zhao Huaijue's portrait and questioned the restaurant owner and waiters. They all said that one of the merchant's followers bore a 70% to 80% resemblance to the person in the portrait."
Yu Rong took the topographic distribution map near Tianxiang Tower and pointed to a restaurant not far from Tianxiang Tower.
Duan Wenpei had some impression of this place. If he stood on the roof of the restaurant, he would be able to observe the movements of Tianxiang Tower at any time.
"Where are these businessmen now?" Duan Wenpei asked after taking two steps into the study, his face looking very ugly.
Yu Rong didn't dare to hide it, "I heard... he has already left the city."
"I heard?" Duan Wenpei glared at him, the topographic map in his hand crumpled into a ball.
Yu Rong understood his temper and knew that if he didn't reveal some useful information at this time, he would definitely be punished.
"Master, calm down. It's not that our subordinates are incompetent, but this group of people are really cunning. Our people only tracked them to the city gate, and the city guards said they left Kyoto. From then on, they disappeared without a trace as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth."
"But..." He hesitated, unlike his usual straightforward character.
Seeing Duan Wenpei's eyes turn cold, Yu Rong had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "This follower who looks very similar to Zhao Huaijue entered Tianxiang Tower in the past two days."
After the assassination, Tianxianglou had already conducted a thorough investigation. Duan Wenpei was a person who didn't like trouble, so he dealt with all the suspicious people. Why was this matter only discovered now?
Sunlight filtered through the branches, casting tiny golden fragments all over the ground. These specks of gold dappled the dark blue collar of his garment, like gilt dots dotted deep within thick ink, surging and swirling. His tall figure leaned forward, suffocating him. "Tell me, why are you telling me now?"
He knew Yu Rong's abilities, and Tianxiang Tower was right under his nose. If Yu Rong had no other concerns, he would not have reacted like this.
Seeing that the servants around him hadn't come closer, Yu Rongfang stepped forward and whispered, "This attendant wasn't alone when he entered Tianxiang Tower. He was accompanied by a woman disguised as a man, and the two of them were behaving intimately."
Having said this, he paused. Duan Wenpei rubbed his fingertips and looked at him, with some guesses in his mind.
Then he continued, "This woman is none other than the Madam's close friend, Miss Yin Ruizhu of the Yin family."
That's why I ignored this person's identity before.
After all, Madam and Miss Yin were best friends, and the Yin family and the Zhao family had never had any dealings. Who would have expected that Yin Ruizhu, who always dressed like a man, would have anything to do with this man.
The heat was rising and cicadas were chirping faintly among the trees. Duan Wenpei rubbed his eyebrows, but his heart was surprisingly calm.
*
After leaving the attic, Liu Hui took Nan Xu to visit the garden again.
Nan Xu was surprised to find that this corner near Jingyuan was spacious and bright, and the layout was very similar to the one next to her own courtyard in the Marquis' Mansion. She immediately had an idea in her mind.
After lunch, Nan Xu called the garden manager and asked him to set up a few archery targets in the garden.
Afraid that the servants wouldn't know what to do, she took the opportunity to play with her golden ball in the corridor while digesting her food, and supervised the work at the same time.
The cat toy went up and down, and the furry body of the golden ball followed suit. Yu Ming, Yu Xiang and others clapped their hands and laughed, having a lot of fun.
When he was tired of playing, Jinqiu jumped onto Nanxu's lap and lay there motionless, lazily watching the servants coming and going.
Nan Xu stroked the smooth hair under his hand and asked Yu Ming if any trouble had occurred among the stewards again.
Yu Ming smiled and said no, "They are afraid of Madam, so they dare not act presumptuously. Besides, they have received Madam's reward, so even if they have any complaints in their hearts, they dare not make a fuss at this time."
The target was almost in the ground, and Nan Xu was pointing to a place and asking them to move the location.
She didn't take Yu Ming's words to heart. She knew whether those managers were afraid of her or Duan Wenpei.
Although she and Duan Wenpei had an agreement beforehand that they were only husband and wife in name only, they lived in the mansion after all. If she didn't use some tricks, these people would just think she was easy to bully. Nan Xu was not the type to suffer injustice, so she just went along with the matter of taking over the miscellaneous affairs.
"Tell our people to hurry up. Only after everyone in the mansion has been recorded can we see whether these people are black or white."
Nan Xu handed the golden ball to Yuxiang, picked up the crossbow beside him, aimed at the target, pulled the trigger, and with a "whoosh" sound, the arrow flew out along the edge of the target.
Nan Xu shook his wrist somewhat melancholy, threw down a sentence, "The target is crooked", and left in a leisurely manner.
Only a few servants were left scratching their heads and continuing to repair the makeshift shooting range.
Nan Xu stayed in Jingyuan until sunset and did not go out again. Yuxiang was setting the table for dinner when he noticed Liu Hui at the door looking inside. He hurried over and asked what was wrong.
It turned out that Duan Wenpei had left the house in the afternoon and had not returned yet, so he told Nan Xu to have dinner first and not wait for him.
By the time Yuxiang reported back, Nanxu had already washed his hands and sat down. He naturally picked up some fresh bamboo shoots with his chopsticks and put them into his bowl. Then he pointed to a few Sichuan dishes a little further away and said, "In that case, have them removed."
It’s hot in the summer and it won’t be fresh if you keep it.
The servants did as they were told. Seeing that most of the table was empty, Nan Xu asked for two more refreshing side dishes.
Seeing Nan Xu's leisurely and contented look, Nanny Jiang couldn't help but want to persuade her, "Madam, even if you don't want to wait for Master, you should at least pretend. If you are so happy now, others will think that you don't like Master!"
Nan Xu wiped her mouth and said nonchalantly, "No way. Madam is just too anxious. It's not like I have to act like I miss you so much even when I'm eating when he's not around."
As he spoke, the image of Xizi holding her heart with a worried look on her face emerged in his mind, and his body trembled suddenly and he shivered.
Nanny Jiang was also afraid that if she talked too much, Nan Xu would get annoyed, so she took the fan from the little maid beside her and fanned her.
"Other things are fine, but tomorrow is the day to return home, and I am afraid that you will be busy and forget."
It is an old custom to return to one's parents' home three days after the wedding. Nan Xu thought about how Duan Wenpei held her back on the wedding day and didn't let her pay her respects to her parents, and she felt a little uneasy.
Her cheap husband doesn't look like a man who follows etiquette.
Nan Xu swallowed the food in his mouth in a hurry. He was preoccupied and had no appetite.
After dinner, Nan Xu asked someone to open the storehouse and pack out a few gifts according to the preferences of the family in the Marquis' Mansion, thinking of bringing them back home tomorrow.
He frequently looked outside, waiting for Duan Wenpei to come back.
But the night was as cold as water. The breeze lifted her cloak, and the coolness took advantage of the opportunity to enter. Nan Xu's heart slowly sank to the bottom.
She was a person who cared about face. If Duan Wenpei did not go back home, she would really become a laughing stock among the noble ladies in Kyoto.
*
The residence of Liu Chong, the armory keeper, was even more humble than Duan Wenpei had imagined.
There were a few old trees sparsely planted in the double-entrance courtyard. Walking along the moss-covered stone road, the quaint door was ajar. The paint on the old wall had long since fallen off, and a string of splattered blood suddenly caught the eye.
Xie Jin clicked his tongue twice, "How big of a grudge is this?"
The people from the Ministry of Justice had already marked the corner of the wall. The person who died here should be Madam Liu who was about to enter the house to protect the child.
After entering the inner room, the bloodstains were obviously less, and the messy quilt on the bed showed the murderer's evil deeds at that time.
Xie Jin pinched his nose and nudged Duan Wenpei's arm. He said with some regret, "I heard that Master Liu's two children were very good-looking and learned all their martial arts from Master Liu. It's a pity that such promising children died so tragically."
The bloody smell lingered in the room for a long time, which was unbearable for Xie Jin, who came from a clan.
Duan Wenpei was using a handkerchief to pick up a rattle stacked in the corner and taking a closer look. The material didn't seem to be something from Kyoto, so he asked his subordinates to take it for inspection.
"If you feel uncomfortable, go out."
His tone was calm, as usual, but Xie Jin sensed something else. Instead of retreating, he pressed forward, "How could a head of the Ministry of Justice like me go out at this hour? But you, His Majesty granted you three days of wedding leave, so why are you here instead of staying home with your new wife?" His peach-shaped eyes rolled as he jokingly whispered, "Did you have a quarrel with your wife?"
There were no useful clues in the room. Duan Wenpei asked someone to open the windows around to let the air out, then turned around and walked out, ignoring Xie Jin's gossiping thoughts.
Xie Jin wasn't about to let it go. He chased her out of the house with a smile, "A quarrel between husband and wife isn't a big deal, but men should be more open-minded. Your temper doesn't bother us, but if you act like that in front of Miss Nan, who can stand it? Women are made of water, they need to be coaxed. If you coax them, they'll be happy and do whatever you say... Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
The person walking in front suddenly turned around and stared at him coldly, "Are you free?"
Duan Wenpei stood under the eaves, looking at him as if he were a fool. The sunlight scorched his body, and Xie Jin suddenly felt that his playful smile was a bit silly.
The main hall just happened to be open up ahead. He glanced ahead for a moment, then dropped his playful smile and said, "Well, I'll go check it out." He took two steps forward, then turned back and said quickly, "Um, please say hello to my sister-in-law later."
Watching him run away, Duan Wenpeifang shook his head and turned to go to Liu Chong's study.
The search lasted until sunset.
Apart from the rattle made of special material found in the west wing, there was not much to gain.
Duan Wenpei ordered them not to look for it anymore, thinking that if there was something important, the murderer would not leave it to them. As he said this, he wanted to go to the charity cemetery to see the body.
By the time we came out of the charity cemetery, it was already completely dark.
The moon was bright in the sky and the stars were twinkling. Yu Rong led his horse over and asked him whether he wanted to go back to the Bo Mansion or to the Ministry of Justice.
Duan Wenpei jumped on his horse and headed towards the Ministry of Justice.
Half an incense stick later, Yu Rong led his horse back home and saw Liu Hui looking behind him anxiously.
"Where's the master?"
Yu Rong said, "Master said it was getting late and that he would be staying at the Ministry of Justice today and would not be back. He asked me to come back and tell him."
Liu Hui complained bitterly, "Why don't you try to persuade him?" He was already married, not alone. Could it be that the Ministry of Justice was more comfortable than the mansion?
Yu Rong was puzzled. "What's there to persuade him about? It's common for me to stay at the yamen instead of returning home." As he said that, he was about to move the horse to the stable.
This blockhead!
Liu Hui was furious. Thinking of Nan Xu who was still waiting in the study for Duan Wenpei to come back to discuss the matter of returning home tomorrow, he felt overwhelmed.
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