Gao Qing glanced at Jinxia and the others. Jinxia had already thought of how Gao Qing would report this to Lu Daren, and she had also thought how to explain the situation to Lu Yi. Trying to look as innocent as she could, she relaxed and smiled.
Perhaps, assuming they were low ranking officers, Gao Qing did not think of approaching them and exchanging greetings. He only observed Xie Xiao for a few moments, then he calmly returned to talk to his group and walked into another private room.
YangYue frowned and was about to speak but Jinxia had already opened her mouth to calm herself down, “It’s okay, I already know how to report back to Lu Daren, I’m sure he will definitely not be able to find any fault.”
Xie Xiao didn’t have a good impression of JinYiWei, hence he rolled his eyes, then urged the servant to hurry up and serve the dishes on the table.
Several famous dishes in Qifen Pavilion had a well-deserved reputation. Among them were the spring shoots with pork that YangYue mentioned before; Jinxia ate them hungrily and did not stop praising the dish. She remembered that once she would be back in the Capital, she would no longer eat such luxurious food. Thinking about it she felt a little disappointed.
It was unusual for YangYue not to have an appetite: he was keeping his head down, he didn’t bother eating the food or drinking the wine but no word was even spoken.
Xie Xiao looked at him and could only shake his head. He went around the table and hit his shoulder with violence, “You are a big man, why are you worried about not having a wife? It’s only a woman, why are you so down?”
“Brother, your words are not pleasant to hear.” Jinxia furrowed her eyebrows and said dissatisfied, “What do you mean ‘it’s just a woman’! What’s wrong with women? Are they not worth your love and sorrow? Think about it, without your mother, you wouldn’t even know where to go for reincarceration, and without Shangguan Jie, would you have been so free to travel for three years? Without me… er… this… who would finish this big table of food?”
Xie Xiao was speechless and stared at her for a moment before saying, “Girl, are you drunk already?”
Jinxia let out a burp of wine, she denied it firmly while still being sober, “How is that possible? This master will never stop drinking until she is drunk.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, this wine feels light but his after effects are remarkable.”
“No problem…Why is Shangguan Jie still not here?” Jinxia stood up and looked out the window, from outside came the sounds of running water and fragrant boats slowly sailing. One of them stopped not far from them, on top of it a man wearing a silk garment was hugging a woman. They were covered by a sheet of wool curtain, so it was hard to see the man’s face, but the woman’s face was faintly visible, she was leaning on his shoulder, on her face was showing a bit of hatred and bitterness. The two snuggled quietly, not moving away from each other, gently swinging while following the movement of the boat.
’In life, it must be foolish to fall in love, there is also hatred that goes beyond the wind and the moon’*. Jinxia turned her head to see YangYue taking a cup of wine and finishing it at once. She took a deep breath and turned her head back.
*[The two lines = YuLou ChunQi a poem by OuYang Tu, TN]
As an experienced constable, she could see that the man holding the woman’s hand was a little awkward, she could not tell if he was injured. She was about to squint her eyes to observe the scene a little clearer when she heard a ‘bang’ behind her. YangYue’s head had fallen down on the table… He had become unconscious.
A crescent-like curved eyebrow was hanging in the sky that night. Xie Xiao, who was forced to accept the fate of carrying YangYue, walked down the cobbled streets, thinking to himself that he wouldn’t let YangYue drink anymore in the future. Jinxia was following from behind, holding two small bags of dried fruit, swaying them back and forth, thinking the master was getting his leg treatment the day after tomorrow, and since he would be spending the next few days drinking medicine, these dried fruit would be some great snacks to enjoy before that happened.
There was always a slight concern in her heart, it seemed like today was another day of incomplete tasks. She frowned and thought about it, but her head was getting dizzy and she couldn’t remember what she had actually forgotten. She went back to the post station, got YangYue to settle down, bid farewell to Xie Xiao, washed herself and went to bed.
Before going to sleep, she thought faintly, “The wine was pretty good, I should secretly prepare two bottles for father…”
She then fell asleep, but was unable to rest soundly. At midnight, through the window, she heard the sound of heavy rain coming down, a cold spring breeze was passing through the window… She turned over, then finally realized, remembering what she had forgotten!
Damn it!
She jumped up, put on her outer robe and the black shoes, tying her hair in a hurry, then she headed straight to Zhou Xian’s building. The sky had no moon, and the wind was strong. She climbed the walls and unlocked the door with expert movements, running and crawling up to the upper attic. Seeing that Lu Yi was not in the upper room, and that no changes had been made, she let out a sigh of relief.
Could he have also forgotten?
Hearing the sound of the wooden bell outside, it was already the fifth time [3-5 am], the shadow of the tree was swaying away and the sound of the rain could be heard with clarity, making the building incredibly gloomy. Jinxia tiredly yawned, took the flint from her pocket, and lit the candle.
She recalled Lu Yi’s words by heart, “Light a candle, then open the window…”
She opened the windows on the northwest side, and the wind between the rain drizzles came in. She rubbed her neck, trying to avoid it on the side.
“The weather had to be like this when Zhou Xian committed suicide that night…”
She raised her head, looking at the wooden block: it was difficult, he wouldn’t be able to hang himself up. She turned her head, scanning the room, saw that on the table there was an orchid flower pot, therefore she tied the ends with a cloth, then wrapped the body of the pot and hung it up on the wooden block,
“…After that, you wait inside. After the rooster cocks three times, then blow out the candle and come down.”
Rooster? Were there any roosters around here? If I can’t hear the chicken, does it mean I have to foolishly stay here until New Year? Jinxia was quite worried.
Xie Xiao said that the effect of the wine was pretty strong: it turned out he was right, especially after a very difficult night of suppressing it. She felt the dizziness and a thirsty mouth, not being able to find any water to drink.
“Meow… Meow…”
“I was just thinking about you.” Jinxia lifted the fat cat, hugging it on its body to warm herself, “I want to ask you something, does this area have some chickens or not? There are? Don’t tell me they were eaten by you.”
“Meow, meow…”
The rain hit the leaves of the willow tree, making a loud sound. Jinxia casually glanced at the window and… she was stunned. At that time, houses that still had candle lighting up could be counted using fingers. Looking through the northwest window, there was one building that was brightened by candle lights.
It was also a small building.
In the midst of the flickering light, the map of Yangzhou on Lu Yi’s desk suddenly appeared in her head. The place where Zhai Lanye used to live was just on the northwest side from there…
Could it be that…
Jinxia put down the fat cat, took out a single-cylinder cylindrical copper stick from her pocket, raising it in front of her eyes and adjusted the focus…
Looking at the other side through the lens, the small building window was open and a person with a bright, handsome, tall face was leaning against it, looking impatient.
Jinxia felt a sudden chill.
At such a long distance, Jinxia understood Lu Yi’s gestures, although she was extremely annoyed.
When she’d left in a panic, she hadn’t brought an umbrella. So, she decided to fold the banana leaf to cover her head from the rain. As she just took two steps, Ahu’s voice was meowing in the corridor below.
Jinxia turned to look at him, “I don’t have any food.”
Ahu kept meowing, his tail wagging here and there softly, his eyes filled with hope.
“Okay, okay, you can come with me,” Jinxia’s heart softened, she turned around and picked Ahu up, “I will give you something delicious to eat later.”
Heading to the Zhai’s residence, it was not too far but not too near either. Jinxia walked down the path halfway, then turned in a small alley that was rocky with blue tiles when she saw a green bamboo umbrella coming toward her.
The person under the umbrella was tall, with a straight body and a handsome and elegant face: it was Lu Yi Indeed.
Jinxia was surprised for a moment, then hurried forward to greet him, “Beizhe arrived late, she’s begging for Daren’s forgiveness.”
They stared into each other’s eyes. Lu Yi took a moment before saying, “I heard you had a pleasant dinner in Qifen Pavilion last night and drank a lot of wine.”
Without a doubt, it was Gao Qing… She had already guessed that he would definitely report the situation to Lu Yi but thankfully she had already prepared her answer. Jinxia had thought about it, hence she changed her expression to distress: “Daren, you know, a few years ago the leader of Wu’An Gang was indebted to my master. Yesterday, when we went to find Zhai Lanye’s residence, the young master of their family was very friendly, desperate in wanting to treat us to a meal at Qifen Pavilion; he said otherwise his father would blame him for not having proper manners. He kept serving vegetables and wine, if we hadn’t eaten it, it wouldn’t have been proper either. Da Yang and I thought it would be beneficial to befriend him, later he could be a great help to Daren, investigating things would become easier, and things would finish faster. You didn’t see it, Da Yang came in vertical and came out horizontal. My alcohol tolerance was way better than Da Yang’s, but even my head is hurting.”
“Then you’re saying that you went there for my sake?” Lu Yi listened to her long explanation, patiently, “So I should thank you?”
“Don’t dare, don’t dare, Beizhe wants to share the burden with Daren. This is a must, this is a must.” Jinxia said laughing, “Daren, look, Beizhe is dedicated with all her heart, so the two taels of silver…”
Upon hearing the word ‘silver’, Lu Yi turned around and continued moving forward: “No hurry, this matter will be discussed again in the future… You were in the building, got any clues?”
“Beizhe feels that when Zhou Xian hanged himself, he must have hated Zhai Lanye a lot.”
“Oh?”
The rain hit the oil-coated umbrella, Lu Yi’s hand held the umbrella and walked slowly.
“I was just guessing,” Jinxia was still holding the banana leaf above her head in the rain, the fat cat settled on her shoulder, “If a man really loves a woman, how can he bear to show her his death? He deliberately wanted to show himself hanging. Maybe this situation is like a concubine who was hated, because she wasn’t wealthy or respected by the family, then intentionally committed suicide in the middle of the hall of the house, in order to make the owner angry to the point of obliging him to call a monk to clean up the spirit of the place.”
This comparison was a bit unusual, Lu Yi quietly asked, “Do you think Zhou Xian hanged himself because Zhai Lanye had another lover?”
“The exact reason would be difficult to explain, but based on the experience of the past few years in investigating cases, I think when he died, his heart must have been filled with hatred.” She furrowed her eyebrows, “Letting your loved one see yourself hanging all night, it’s really not kind and honest.”
The rain hit the banana leaves so hard that it made a sound pleasant to hear. Lu Yi tilted his head, looking at the raindrops going through the banana leaves, and falling on the sleeves of Jinxia’s robes.
Jinxia continued to talk with confidence “After that, Zhai Lanye moved out of her house. In her heart, this even must have been traumatizing…” She raised her head and saw Lu Yi hovering the green umbrella over her head. She was a bit touched, this man actually had a humane side.
“This cat is afraid of water, if it gets drenched in the rain, it will make others distressed.”
Lu Yi said the words slowly, the fat cat looked at Lu Yi with a sigh, agreeing with his words.
“…” Jinxia lowered the cat, using the sleeve of her robe to wipe the tip of its tail that was rained on, then carried it on her lap. She couldn’t help but say, “Daren, don’t you think I can also make others distressed?”
He ignored her and walked straight ahead.
The umbrella continued to shade her, while half of Lu Yi’s clothes was being wet by the rain.
After walking for a while, Jinxia suddenly remembered something: “Daren, why did you tell me to stay in the small building room and come down after the rooster cocks three times?” Even if Lu Yi wanted to see what Zhai Lanye had witnessed that night, there was no need to wait like an idiot all night.
“Oh…” Lu Yi tilted his head, thinking for a while, “Look, at that time you said that Zhou Xian’s death was unjust. I was afraid the room upstairs was not clean, hence letting someone with high energy stay there a little longer was in order to suppress the negative energy.
“You…” Jinxia felt like crying but there was no sound, “Daren, are you playing with me?”
“In your eyes, am I someone like that?” Lu Yi frowned a little.
Jinxia choked for a while, saying with confidence, “Of course not, Beizhe can fully understand that through this problem, Daren is willing to train me.”
“If you can think like that, that’s good.”
Lu Yi calmly continued to walk.
Gao Qing glanced at Jinxia and the others. Jinxia had already thought of how Gao Qing would report this to Lu Daren, and she had also thought how to explain the situation to Lu Yi. Trying to look as innocent as she could, she relaxed and smiled.
Perhaps, assuming they were low ranking officers, Gao Qing did not think of approaching them and exchanging greetings. He only observed Xie Xiao for a few moments, then he calmly returned to talk to his group and walked into another private room.
YangYue frowned and was about to speak but Jinxia had already opened her mouth to calm herself down, “It’s okay, I already know how to report back to Lu Daren, I’m sure he will definitely not be able to find any fault.”
Xie Xiao didn’t have a good impression of JinYiWei, hence he rolled his eyes, then urged the servant to hurry up and serve the dishes on the table.
Several famous dishes in Qifen Pavilion had a well-deserved reputation. Among them were the spring shoots with pork that YangYue mentioned before; Jinxia ate them hungrily and did not stop praising the dish. She remembered that once she would be back in the Capital, she would no longer eat such luxurious food. Thinking about it she felt a little disappointed.
It was unusual for YangYue not to have an appetite: he was keeping his head down, he didn’t bother eating the food or drinking the wine but no word was even spoken.
Xie Xiao looked at him and could only shake his head. He went around the table and hit his shoulder with violence, “You are a big man, why are you worried about not having a wife? It’s only a woman, why are you so down?”
“Brother, your words are not pleasant to hear.” Jinxia furrowed her eyebrows and said dissatisfied, “What do you mean ‘it’s just a woman’! What’s wrong with women? Are they not worth your love and sorrow? Think about it, without your mother, you wouldn’t even know where to go for reincarceration, and without Shangguan Jie, would you have been so free to travel for three years? Without me… er… this… who would finish this big table of food?”
Xie Xiao was speechless and stared at her for a moment before saying, “Girl, are you drunk already?”
Jinxia let out a burp of wine, she denied it firmly while still being sober, “How is that possible? This master will never stop drinking until she is drunk.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, this wine feels light but his after effects are remarkable.”
“No problem…Why is Shangguan Jie still not here?” Jinxia stood up and looked out the window, from outside came the sounds of running water and fragrant boats slowly sailing. One of them stopped not far from them, on top of it a man wearing a silk garment was hugging a woman. They were covered by a sheet of wool curtain, so it was hard to see the man’s face, but the woman’s face was faintly visible, she was leaning on his shoulder, on her face was showing a bit of hatred and bitterness. The two snuggled quietly, not moving away from each other, gently swinging while following the movement of the boat.
’In life, it must be foolish to fall in love, there is also hatred that goes beyond the wind and the moon’*. Jinxia turned her head to see YangYue taking a cup of wine and finishing it at once. She took a deep breath and turned her head back.
*[The two lines = YuLou ChunQi a poem by OuYang Tu, TN]
As an experienced constable, she could see that the man holding the woman’s hand was a little awkward, she could not tell if he was injured. She was about to squint her eyes to observe the scene a little clearer when she heard a ‘bang’ behind her. YangYue’s head had fallen down on the table… He had become unconscious.
A crescent-like curved eyebrow was hanging in the sky that night. Xie Xiao, who was forced to accept the fate of carrying YangYue, walked down the cobbled streets, thinking to himself that he wouldn’t let YangYue drink anymore in the future. Jinxia was following from behind, holding two small bags of dried fruit, swaying them back and forth, thinking the master was getting his leg treatment the day after tomorrow, and since he would be spending the next few days drinking medicine, these dried fruit would be some great snacks to enjoy before that happened.
There was always a slight concern in her heart, it seemed like today was another day of incomplete tasks. She frowned and thought about it, but her head was getting dizzy and she couldn’t remember what she had actually forgotten. She went back to the post station, got YangYue to settle down, bid farewell to Xie Xiao, washed herself and went to bed.
Before going to sleep, she thought faintly, “The wine was pretty good, I should secretly prepare two bottles for father…”
She then fell asleep, but was unable to rest soundly. At midnight, through the window, she heard the sound of heavy rain coming down, a cold spring breeze was passing through the window… She turned over, then finally realized, remembering what she had forgotten!
Damn it!
She jumped up, put on her outer robe and the black shoes, tying her hair in a hurry, then she headed straight to Zhou Xian’s building. The sky had no moon, and the wind was strong. She climbed the walls and unlocked the door with expert movements, running and crawling up to the upper attic. Seeing that Lu Yi was not in the upper room, and that no changes had been made, she let out a sigh of relief.
Could he have also forgotten?
Hearing the sound of the wooden bell outside, it was already the fifth time [3-5 am], the shadow of the tree was swaying away and the sound of the rain could be heard with clarity, making the building incredibly gloomy. Jinxia tiredly yawned, took the flint from her pocket, and lit the candle.
She recalled Lu Yi’s words by heart, “Light a candle, then open the window…”
She opened the windows on the northwest side, and the wind between the rain drizzles came in. She rubbed her neck, trying to avoid it on the side.
“The weather had to be like this when Zhou Xian committed suicide that night…”
She raised her head, looking at the wooden block: it was difficult, he wouldn’t be able to hang himself up. She turned her head, scanning the room, saw that on the table there was an orchid flower pot, therefore she tied the ends with a cloth, then wrapped the body of the pot and hung it up on the wooden block,
“…After that, you wait inside. After the rooster cocks three times, then blow out the candle and come down.”
Rooster? Were there any roosters around here? If I can’t hear the chicken, does it mean I have to foolishly stay here until New Year? Jinxia was quite worried.
Xie Xiao said that the effect of the wine was pretty strong: it turned out he was right, especially after a very difficult night of suppressing it. She felt the dizziness and a thirsty mouth, not being able to find any water to drink.
“Meow… Meow…”
“I was just thinking about you.” Jinxia lifted the fat cat, hugging it on its body to warm herself, “I want to ask you something, does this area have some chickens or not? There are? Don’t tell me they were eaten by you.”
“Meow, meow…”
The rain hit the leaves of the willow tree, making a loud sound. Jinxia casually glanced at the window and… she was stunned. At that time, houses that still had candle lighting up could be counted using fingers. Looking through the northwest window, there was one building that was brightened by candle lights.
It was also a small building.
In the midst of the flickering light, the map of Yangzhou on Lu Yi’s desk suddenly appeared in her head. The place where Zhai Lanye used to live was just on the northwest side from there…
Could it be that…
Jinxia put down the fat cat, took out a single-cylinder cylindrical copper stick from her pocket, raising it in front of her eyes and adjusted the focus…
Looking at the other side through the lens, the small building window was open and a person with a bright, handsome, tall face was leaning against it, looking impatient.
Jinxia felt a sudden chill.
At such a long distance, Jinxia understood Lu Yi’s gestures, although she was extremely annoyed.
When she’d left in a panic, she hadn’t brought an umbrella. So, she decided to fold the banana leaf to cover her head from the rain. As she just took two steps, Ahu’s voice was meowing in the corridor below.
Jinxia turned to look at him, “I don’t have any food.”
Ahu kept meowing, his tail wagging here and there softly, his eyes filled with hope.
“Okay, okay, you can come with me,” Jinxia’s heart softened, she turned around and picked Ahu up, “I will give you something delicious to eat later.”
Heading to the Zhai’s residence, it was not too far but not too near either. Jinxia walked down the path halfway, then turned in a small alley that was rocky with blue tiles when she saw a green bamboo umbrella coming toward her.
The person under the umbrella was tall, with a straight body and a handsome and elegant face: it was Lu Yi Indeed.
Jinxia was surprised for a moment, then hurried forward to greet him, “Beizhe arrived late, she’s begging for Daren’s forgiveness.”
They stared into each other’s eyes. Lu Yi took a moment before saying, “I heard you had a pleasant dinner in Qifen Pavilion last night and drank a lot of wine.”
Without a doubt, it was Gao Qing… She had already guessed that he would definitely report the situation to Lu Yi but thankfully she had already prepared her answer. Jinxia had thought about it, hence she changed her expression to distress: “Daren, you know, a few years ago the leader of Wu’An Gang was indebted to my master. Yesterday, when we went to find Zhai Lanye’s residence, the young master of their family was very friendly, desperate in wanting to treat us to a meal at Qifen Pavilion; he said otherwise his father would blame him for not having proper manners. He kept serving vegetables and wine, if we hadn’t eaten it, it wouldn’t have been proper either. Da Yang and I thought it would be beneficial to befriend him, later he could be a great help to Daren, investigating things would become easier, and things would finish faster. You didn’t see it, Da Yang came in vertical and came out horizontal. My alcohol tolerance was way better than Da Yang’s, but even my head is hurting.”
“Then you’re saying that you went there for my sake?” Lu Yi listened to her long explanation, patiently, “So I should thank you?”
“Don’t dare, don’t dare, Beizhe wants to share the burden with Daren. This is a must, this is a must.” Jinxia said laughing, “Daren, look, Beizhe is dedicated with all her heart, so the two taels of silver…”
Upon hearing the word ‘silver’, Lu Yi turned around and continued moving forward: “No hurry, this matter will be discussed again in the future… You were in the building, got any clues?”
“Beizhe feels that when Zhou Xian hanged himself, he must have hated Zhai Lanye a lot.”
“Oh?”
The rain hit the oil-coated umbrella, Lu Yi’s hand held the umbrella and walked slowly.
“I was just guessing,” Jinxia was still holding the banana leaf above her head in the rain, the fat cat settled on her shoulder, “If a man really loves a woman, how can he bear to show her his death? He deliberately wanted to show himself hanging. Maybe this situation is like a concubine who was hated, because she wasn’t wealthy or respected by the family, then intentionally committed suicide in the middle of the hall of the house, in order to make the owner angry to the point of obliging him to call a monk to clean up the spirit of the place.”
This comparison was a bit unusual, Lu Yi quietly asked, “Do you think Zhou Xian hanged himself because Zhai Lanye had another lover?”
“The exact reason would be difficult to explain, but based on the experience of the past few years in investigating cases, I think when he died, his heart must have been filled with hatred.” She furrowed her eyebrows, “Letting your loved one see yourself hanging all night, it’s really not kind and honest.”
The rain hit the banana leaves so hard that it made a sound pleasant to hear. Lu Yi tilted his head, looking at the raindrops going through the banana leaves, and falling on the sleeves of Jinxia’s robes.
Jinxia continued to talk with confidence “After that, Zhai Lanye moved out of her house. In her heart, this even must have been traumatizing…” She raised her head and saw Lu Yi hovering the green umbrella over her head. She was a bit touched, this man actually had a humane side.
“This cat is afraid of water, if it gets drenched in the rain, it will make others distressed.”
Lu Yi said the words slowly, the fat cat looked at Lu Yi with a sigh, agreeing with his words.
“…” Jinxia lowered the cat, using the sleeve of her robe to wipe the tip of its tail that was rained on, then carried it on her lap. She couldn’t help but say, “Daren, don’t you think I can also make others distressed?”
He ignored her and walked straight ahead.
The umbrella continued to shade her, while half of Lu Yi’s clothes was being wet by the rain.
After walking for a while, Jinxia suddenly remembered something: “Daren, why did you tell me to stay in the small building room and come down after the rooster cocks three times?” Even if Lu Yi wanted to see what Zhai Lanye had witnessed that night, there was no need to wait like an idiot all night.
“Oh…” Lu Yi tilted his head, thinking for a while, “Look, at that time you said that Zhou Xian’s death was unjust. I was afraid the room upstairs was not clean, hence letting someone with high energy stay there a little longer was in order to suppress the negative energy.
“You…” Jinxia felt like crying but there was no sound, “Daren, are you playing with me?”
“In your eyes, am I someone like that?” Lu Yi frowned a little.
Jinxia choked for a while, saying with confidence, “Of course not, Beizhe can fully understand that through this problem, Daren is willing to train me.”
“If you can think like that, that’s good.”
Lu Yi calmly continued to walk.
