Chapter 30: Garlic White Meat (Part 5)
The place to buy turtles.
Jing Yi recognized him, and she had seen him before too.
"It's that..." Leng Yue stared in astonishment at the person in the coffin. No wonder, at first glance, this figure felt somewhat familiar. "That newly appointed official at the Dali Temple?"
Jing Yi nodded. "He's also the youngest son of Suzhou tea merchant Cheng Ru—Cheng Xun."
Leng Yue had heard the name Cheng Ru before. He was the most famous tea merchant in the dynasty, a native of Suzhou. His business, Cheng Family Tea House, was based in Suzhou, and he never left the city. Yet, a few years ago, he quietly expanded his business right to the Emperor's doorstep. It was said that in recent years, the Emperor had forsaken all the fine tribute teas from various regions, preferring only the Cheng family's tea instead.
Leng Yue had tasted the Cheng family's tea at Prince An's residence and found it no different from the cheap tea sold under roadside sheds. In fact, even the Taiping Houkui tea that Jing Yi often drank—which cost nearly as much as gold—she also treated as nothing more than common brew.
Nevertheless, Prince An loved the Cheng family's tea, as did the most pampered Prince Rui, Xiao Jinli, in the court. Even the notoriously picky Master Jing was particularly fond of the Cheng family's tea. Thus, in the capital these days, drinking the Cheng family's tea had become a way to flaunt one's status.
Prestige aside, a merchant was still a merchant.
How could a merchant's son be qualified to serve as an official in the Dali Temple?
Leng Yue frowned. "Are you familiar with him?"
"I'm more familiar with his family's tea leaves."
"Do you know where his family lives?"
Jing Yi nodded. "I've been to his house for a meal once. It's quite close to the main estate—just a few rooftops away."
Leng Yue fell silent for a moment. She reached down but did not turn Cheng Xun's body over. Instead, she adjusted him into a position that would preserve the corpse's original condition as much as possible, then closed the coffin lid. Lifting her eyes, she glanced at the rain outside the stable.
Outside, the rain continued to pour as if someone were emptying bathtubs from the sky—a relentless, roaring downpour with no sign of stopping.
Leng Yue let out a soft sigh. "With the rain like this, if we go to the main estate later, do you think the Old Master will blame us?"
Jing Yi hesitated.
Truthfully, the Old Master would not only blame them but might also resort to methods beyond ordinary comprehension to express his displeasure.
But the way Leng Yue asked made it clear she was reluctant to venture out in the storm.
He had no desire to pressure her into anything she didn't want to do. Otherwise, she would have become a daughter-in-law of the Jing family several years earlier.
Jing Yi smiled lightly and downplayed it. "It won't kill anyone."
"Then let's go to Cheng Xun's house first."
"..."
Cheng Xun's house was separated from the Jing family's main estate by two streets—the two busiest streets in the capital. On this family reunion holiday, with dark clouds looming and heavy rain pouring down, the usually bustling streets were eerily quiet, save for the sound of rain pattering against the tiles.
Each holding a paper umbrella, the two of them traversed the rainwater-streaming rooftops as effortlessly as walking on level ground.
Following Leng Yue's request, Jing Yi landed about three zhang away from Cheng Xun's front door and stood obediently in place, not moving a muscle.
"That ahead is Cheng Xun's main gate."
Leng Yue frowned. "Are you sure?"
Jing Yi nodded confidently.
Leng Yue raised her hand and pointed at the plaque above the gate. "You can read these two characters, right?"Behind the curtain of rain, beneath an exquisitely carved eaves, a large black lacquered plaque bore two neatly written characters: "Feng Residence."
Jing Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing with interest at the two characters. "Last time I came here was at night, too dark to notice... but I remember this locust tree at their gate."
Leng Yue indeed saw a locust tree rustling under the heavy rain at the entrance, but looking further, every household along this street had a locust tree at their gate.
These had been uniformly planted by the Jing Zhaoyin office during the former Jing Zhaoyin's tenure. Over the years, the street became fragrant with blossoms in late spring, shaded by lush greenery in midsummer, and adorned with falling leaves in clear autumn—it had become a scenic spot in the capital.
The locust tree at Cheng Xun's gate seemed no different from those at other households.
"What about the locust tree at his gate?"
"See the beehive up there?"
Leng Yue carefully examined every branch and shook her head. "No."
"That's exactly right," Jing Yi said with deep resentment, staring at a particular branch. "The night I had dinner here, I lost a round of finger-guessing and ran out of wine. They made me climb the tree to collect honey..."
"..."
Even so, Leng Yue still found it highly unlikely that someone named Cheng would hang a plaque with the surname Feng under his own eaves.
"How many locust trees on this street even have beehives? Are you sure you remembered the right tree?"
Jing Yi said gloomily, "When I climbed down from this tree holding the beehive, the entire bee family came out to see me off. Do you think I could ever forget this tree in my lifetime?"
"..."
With Jing Yi's words, Leng Yue finally gave up doubting whether this was truly Cheng Xun's residence. After giving Jing Yi some instructions, she bent down and carefully examined the ground, which was being washed increasingly clean by the heavy rain, as she approached Cheng Xun's gate.
Following Leng Yue's instructions, Jing Yi stepped precisely in her footprints as he trailed behind her. While following, he asked, "Madam, do you think the killer left traces at the gate?"
Leng Yue responded absently without looking up.
Jing Yi was silent for a moment before asking another question. "Madam, why do you think the killer would leave traces at the gate?"
"Because the victim was discovered at his doorstep."
Jing Yi fell silent again. "Then, if one day you find me dead at our doorstep..."
Before Jing Yi could finish, Leng Yue abruptly stopped, straightened up, and turned to stare in astonishment at Jing Yi, whose expression remained as gentle as ever. "What do you mean?"
Jing Yi seemed startled by her reaction, swallowing his remaining words and forcing a smile. "N-nothing, really. I just felt a bit creeped out and wanted to chat..."
Leng Yue's heart raced violently. Too angry to tolerate even his harmless smiling face, her expression darkened as she shouted at him, "Is that any way to start a conversation?!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Before Jing Yi's apologies faded away, Cheng Xun's gate creaked open. An elderly man with vigorous energy but a clouded expression emerged, his voice filled with irritation. "Who's making all this—" He cut himself short upon spotting Jing Yi obediently holding an umbrella and crouching like a mushroom at Leng Yue's feet. His anger instantly transformed into surprise. "Jing... Lord Jing?"Jing Yi stood up and responded politely, "Steward Lu, do you still recognize me?"
"Of course, of course..." Steward Lu tried hard to ignore the image of a man playing with bees that surfaced in his mind, turning his gaze toward Leng Yue, whose complexion was somewhat pale and whose expression appeared rather stern. "And this is..."
Leng Yue held an umbrella in one hand and a sword in the other, leaving no free hand to retrieve the Ministry of Justice badge from her robe. Just as she was about to announce her official position, Jing Yi cheerfully cut in, "This is my wife."
"Madam Jing, my apologies..." Steward Lu hurriedly performed a bow, forcing a smile as he said, "I heard some commotion outside earlier and came to check. Since you two... have household matters to discuss, I won't disturb you further."
As Steward Lu moved to close the gate, Leng Yue's clear voice stopped him. She said calmly, "Steward, Lord Cheng is currently resting at our residence."
Steward Lu froze, his hand on the gate trembling slightly before slowly reopening it. "You two... have come regarding my master?"
"May we speak inside?"
"My apologies, please come in."
Once inside the courtyard, they noticed servants already busy hanging white cloth decorations everywhere. The soft sobbing of women echoed from various directions, blending with the rain to create an increasingly sorrowful atmosphere.
Steward Lu led them to the main hall and had tea served before clasping his hands respectfully. "May I ask... why is my master at your residence when it was the Capital Prefecture officials who came this morning?"
Leng Yue produced the Ministry of Justice badge from her robe. "By order of Prince An, the Capital Prefecture has transferred this case to me."
Steward Lu stared blankly, his eyes shifting uncertainly between Leng Yue and Jing Yi. Before his gaze could settle, Leng Yue repeated word by word, "Transferred to me."
The word "me" was uttered with particular clarity.
Steward Lu suddenly recalled certain rumors. His face paled noticeably as he hurriedly responded, "Yes, yes... I'm poorly informed and failed to recognize your eminence. I didn't realize Madam Jing was... My apologies, my apologies!"
Jing Yi, holding his teacup, smiled meaningfully. "Steward Lu, there's no need to be nervous. Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and we don't wish to intrude for long. We've just come to see Madam Cheng."
Hearing Jing Yi's polite words, Steward Lu's expression actually relaxed somewhat. He sighed and shook his head. "Please forgive me, but if you've come regarding my mistress, you should return... My mistress has been bedridden with illness for some time. She still doesn't know about my master's situation and cannot receive guests." After speaking, he bowed to Jing Yi. "This illness was previously examined by Second Master Jing."
Jing Yi was slightly taken aback.
Although his second brother Jing Bai possessed exceptional medical skills, he was ultimately a physician of the Imperial Hospital who rarely saw private patients. If he treated someone outside the palace, it would certainly be by imperial order.
No matter how much the Emperor enjoyed the Cheng family's tea, it seemed unlikely he would extend his favor to the point of deploying an imperial physician to treat the wife of a tea merchant's son...
Jing Yi suddenly remembered the plaque at the entrance.
Feng Residence.
"Steward Lu, is Madam Cheng's maiden name Feng Si'er?"
Leng Yue was slightly surprised. If Cheng Xun's wife was surnamed Feng, then the "Feng Residence" plaque instead of "Cheng Residence" likely indicated that one reason men found difficult to mention.
Matrilocal marriage.
If this Feng Si'er was the daughter of a high-ranking court official, it wouldn't be hard to explain how Cheng Xun, as a merchant's son, had qualified to serve as an official in the Supreme Court.Leng Yue was still mentally listing all the Feng officials in the court when Steward Lu’s face paled once again at Jing Yi’s words, returning to its previous ashen state. "Jing... Lord Jing, how... how did you..."
Jing Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and calmly interrupted Steward Lu’s stammering. "I know Feng Si’er. You don’t need to say much. If it’s yes, nod; if it’s no, shake your head."
After a dazed moment, Steward Lu slowly nodded.
Jing Yi lowered his head, took a sip of tea, and said nothing more.
As the hall fell silent, the sound of rain and a woman’s sobbing grew increasingly distinct.
Leng Yue vaguely sensed that this Feng Si’er might not be as simple as she had thought. At the mention of this name, Steward Lu was unwilling to speak, and Jing Yi dared not speak.
There were very few things that Jing Yi dared not do.
While Leng Yue was still lost in thought, Steward Lu, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, clasped his hands and bowed to her. "Madam Jing... no, Constable Leng... if Constable Leng has any questions to ask in order to find the murderer who killed my master, please feel free to ask me. I will hold nothing back."
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