Chapter 154 (1/2)
Chapter 154
Thank you to anonymous for the donation for CR. Expect a small ma.s.s release
Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou returned to the carriage. Shao Qingge also had his servants continue to make the journey. The group stayed at a waystation that night before arriving in Jiangzhou the next morning.
Jiangzhou was located on the border of Daqi and Zhao State. Due to the harmonious relations.h.i.+p between Qi and Zhao in recent years, there was a constant flow of businessmen and the streets were bustling. It might not be as busy as the capital but it was very lively and peaceful. There were bright smiles on the faces of the people.
On the surface, this was a treasure-rich land but Yu Hanjiang knew that the situation in Jiangzhou was complicated, just like a calm sea. The undercurrent was surging and if he was slightly careless then as the prefectural magistrate, he might leave his head here.
Shao Qingge decided to settle down in the inn and Yu Hanjiang whispered to him, “You be careful at the inn. In addition, it is best to replace your gorgeous clothes and not expose your wealth. There is no harm in being low-key.”
“I know.” Shao Qingge came to the carriage and joked, “I’m going. Madam, take care.”
He deliberately accentuated the word ‘Madam.’
“…” Xiao Lou wanted to ignore him.
Shao Qingge stayed at the largest inn in Jiangzhou while Yu Hanjiang took Xiao Lou to Jiangzhou’s prefectural magistrate office.
The office had already received notice from the court and was waiting for the new prefectural magistrate to take office.
Yu Hanjiang walked into the office and took out the court’s appointment doc.u.ments, handing them over to the responsible official. The official smiled. “Yu daren, you’ve just arrived here. If you are unfamiliar with anything, you can ask the master. He has lived in Jiangzhou for decades and he helped the previous prefectural magistrate. He knows the situation in Jiangzhou very well. If Daren wants to see him then I can ask him to come over.”
Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Okay, please have the old master come over. I will wait for him in the study.”
The residence of the prefectural magistrate was behind the office and it was a large courtyard. There were guest rooms and study rooms on the east side of the courtyard. The bedroom for the daren and his family members were on the north side. The living quarters for the people of lower status were on the west side and the kitchens were on the south side. The entire courtyard was very delicately laid out with fake rocks, trees and tree-lined paths. It was almost comparable to a small park.
Xiao Lou liked it here. Once he got home, he put his luggage in the bedroom.
Yu Hanjiang was waiting for the old master in the study. This ‘master’ should be the person who could provide key clues. Yu Hanjiang specifically invited the master to meet at home, which was convenient for speaking in private.
Once Xiao Lou organized his luggage, he asked Pingren, Yun Cang and Yao Ba to buy some daily necessities before walking around the yard. He saw a well-educated scholar walking to the study. This should be the master and Xiao Lou followed curiously.
Yu Hanjiang opened the door of the study. After seeing him, the master entered the room and immediately saluted. “Daren!”
Facing these eyes, Yu Hanjiang wondered, “It was you…Master Mo?” Looking around, he lowered his voice. “Don’t worry, the servants have already been settled and there is no one else in this yard.”
Mo Xuemin laughed. “I heard that the new prefectural magistrate was surnamed Yu and I guessed it was Group Leader Yu.” He found Yu Hanjiang was alone and wondered, “Professor Xiao? He isn’t with you?”
Yu Hanjiang handed him a cup of tea. “Old Mo, sit down and talk first.”
Mo Xuemin sat down and picked up the cup, taking a mouthful of tea.
Just then, a gentle voice was heard from behind them. “Husband, has the master come?”
Yu Hanjiang, “…”
Mo Xuemin turned back, saw Xiao Lou dressed in women’s clothing and calling Yu Hanjiang ‘Husband’ and directly sprayed out his tea.
His eyes were about to fall off as he stared at Xiao Lou in disbelief. “This is…”
Yu Hanjiang calmly introduced them. “This is my wife, Xiao Lou.”
Xiao Lou stared into Old Mo’s round eyes and smiled. “h.e.l.lo, Master.”
Mo Xuemin, “………”
Xiao Lou already understood after seeing Chief Shao laughing yesterday. Rather than letting his teammates make random guesses, it was better to take the initiative to admit that he and Yu Hanjiang were playing a ‘couple’. If the two of them acted indifferently then their teammates wouldn’t think too much.
In any case, the role playing was A of Hearts’ arrangement and he couldn’t do anything!
Seeing Xiao Lou smiling calmly, Old Mo quickly wiped his mouth and grinned. “This… cough cough, Professor Xiao’s clothing… cough cough cough, it looks very good.” He really didn’t know what to say.
Xiao Lou told him, “The keeper arranged this so it is convenient for me to work with Group Leader Yu. We are both from the capital and I have the ident.i.ty of a coroner who can do autopsies.”
Mo Xuemin wondered, “Coroner… that’s ancient forensics right? It is quite in line with Professor Xiao’s profession! By the way, I was a.s.signed the ident.i.ty of a master and received a bunch of files.”
Xiao Lou walked over to sit beside Yu Hanjiang and asked Old Mo, “Have you found the location of the others?”
Mo Xuemin still wasn’t accustomed to seeing Xiao Lou’s clothing. He quickly looked away at Yu Hanjiang. “I searched for two days in Jiangzhou and only saw Long Sen at the prince’s manor. I haven’t found Xiao Qu, Xiao Ye, Liu Qiao or Chief Shao.”
Yu Hanjiang told him, “Shao Qingge is a rich businessman from Qing City. We met him yesterday and he also came with us to Jiangzhou. He is currently staying at Fu’an Inn.
Old Mo sighed. “It seems he is still rich even in ancient times!”
Xiao Lou asked curiously, “What are those files?”
Mo Xuemin replied, “It is the record of cases in Jiangzhou in recent years. I carefully scanned through them yesterday. Most of them are short cases among parents. However, since three years ago, three young women have disappeared. The whereabouts of these women are unknown and it has become a pending case. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the case.”
Yu Hanjiang nodded and said, “What about the prince’s manor. How much do you know?”
Mo Xuemin cleared his throat. “The Eighth Prince living in the Zhenjiang prince’s mansion is the eighth uncle of the current emperor. This idle prince ignores the affairs of the court and is very fond of beauty. He married four ladies, all of whom were as beautiful as a flower. He has a son and four daughters. At present, all four daughters live in the prince’s manor and aren’t married.”
He paused before continuing, “The prince will hold a 45th birthday banquet in a few days. Everyone in Jiangzhou knows about this matter. In addition, Long Sen is serving as a guard in the prince’s mansion. My guess is that the case is likely to happen at the prince’s mansion.”
Yu Hanjiang nodded. “You guessed it right. The emperor had me go to meet the Eighth Prince while Chief Shao also received a task to partic.i.p.ate in the Eighth Prince’s banquet. There will certainly be an accident at his birthday banquet and we have to find out the situation of the prince’s mansion ahead of time.”
Four wives, a son and four daughters, such a complex family relations.h.i.+p was likely to cause a family drama. The ancient household fights were also quite complicated.
Yu Hanjiang requested, “Tell me what you know of the four ladies and the four daughters.”
Obviously, Old Mo was arranged as the ‘information guide’ for the team and he could provide a lot of clues about Jiangzhou.
Mo Xuemin was very experienced. After changing to ancient clothes, he quickly adapted to his new ident.i.ty. He spent two days in Jiangzhou and found out the general situation of the prince’s mansion. “Young Master Qi Fenghua and the eldest daughter Qi Yiyao were both born from Mrs Yun. Qi Fenghua is currently in the army, following General Zheng Xi to fight Yan State in the northwest. He hasn’t returned home for three years.”
“The eldest daughter is betrothed to Lin Shaobo, the young master of the richest Lin family. However, it is rumoured that the young master of the Lin family often goes in and out of brothels and has a close relations.h.i.+p with famous prost.i.tutes. The marriage of the two people is set for next month. The Lin family attaches great importance to this marriage and have sent several boxes of gold alone.”
Yu Hanjiang took out a pen and paper and quickly drew the relations.h.i.+p chart.
Mo Xuemin continued, “The second young lady is called Qi Yian and she is the daughter of the genuine princess, the first wife. She was named ‘Princess Sukan’ by the emperor. The princess has pa.s.sed away and Qi Yian is engaged to the second prince of the Zhao state. The Qi State and Zhao State have adopted a peaceful relations policy for many years and the emperor personally appointed Princess Sukan to marry a neighbouring state. Everyone in Jiangzhou knows this and the wedding will be held at the end of the year.”
Xiao Lou touched his chin. “Have you seen this princess?”
“No, but listening to the rumours of the people, Princess Sukan is beautiful and dignified. She has read poems since childhood and is proficient in the four arts (zither, calligraphy, go and painting). She is a talented woman. As a child, she grew up with the emperor and has the best relations.h.i.+p with him. Thus, she is the most favoured by the palace.”