"Thank you." Xiao Jin Yu took the stack of papers with varying orientations and gestured for Chu Chu to sit beside him, pushing the cup near him towards her. "Ginger tea, still warm. I haven't touched it."
After speaking, Xiao Jin Yu lowered his head to examine the Corpse Manifest, glancing sideways at Chu Chu from the corner of his eye. He saw her sitting to his left, holding the cup of hot ginger tea motionless. Even after he finished reading the Corpse Manifest word by word, she remained in that posture, staring blankly at the cup.
This cup was the Red Jade Cup presented as tribute from the south two years ago. It had been sent to the capital and immediately given by the Emperor to please this Seventh Imperial Uncle. Its design was indeed exquisite and unique, but it wasn't so extraordinary that one could stare at just the lid for half a day.
Even without Jing Yi's judgment, Xiao Jin Yu knew this expression indicated something weighing on her mind.
Weren't you sleeping quite soundly just now?
"Is... something bothering you?"
"Huh?"
Xiao Jin Yu looked at Chu Chu, who had just snapped out of her daze, and repeated, "What's wrong?"
Chu Chu stared at him blankly, "You're the one who asked me to come."
Xiao Jin Yu was momentarily taken aback. For the first time, he questioned his ability to converse with people. "...Right, I asked you to come. I'm asking if you've encountered some difficulty?"
Chu Chu paused for a moment, clutching the cup while staring at Xiao Jin Yu, "If I had difficulties, would you be willing to help?"
Xiao Jin Yu slightly furrowed his brows. Coroners working on his cases often encountered certain types of troubles - the kind that even veteran coroners who had spent years in the yamen grew weary of dealing with, let alone a young girl with little experience in the world. "I'll do my best."
Hearing this, Chu Chu picked up the cup as if gathering courage, downed the ginger tea in one gulp, placed the cup on the table, straightened her back and stood up. "I'd like to ask Wang Ye to lend me some money... I'll definitely repay it quickly!"
Among those common types of troubles, money-related issues were the most frequent. "How much do you need?"
Chu Chu bit her lip, held up three fingers, and looked carefully at Xiao Jin Yu.
Three hundred taels? Compared to those who got involved in lawsuits worth thousands of taels, three hundred was indeed a small amount, but for her it was quite substantial, no wonder she was so worried.
Xiao Jin Yu didn't ask what she needed the money for. Calmly, he took out a Silver Note from his person. "This Silver Note bears the seal of the Sixth Prince who oversees finances. You can exchange it for cash at any Money Shop."
As soon as Chu Chu glanced at the Silver Note, she was startled by the characters "Five Hundred" on it and immediately waved her hands repeatedly. "That's too much, way too much! I don't need this much!"
"Take it for now. You can return whatever you don't use."
Chu Chu continued shaking her head and waving her hands. "Such valuable paper - if I accidentally lose it, I could never repay it! Better to just give me cash directly!"
Three hundred taels in cash... how could she even think of that? Did he look like someone with nothing better to do than carry hundreds of taels of silver around for fun?
"I don't have that much cash on hand... If you're worried about carrying it, you can leave it here with me. Come get it whenever you want to make the exchange."
Chu Chu nodded repeatedly. "That works! Chu Chu thanks Wang Ye!"
Xiao Jin Yu stopped her before she could actually bow. "No need for thanks yet. If you complete the re-examination of the corpse outside for me, the money you just borrowed will count as your payment."
Chu Chu pouted slightly, hesitating. "We still have to do a Corpse Examination...""I'll double your reward."
"Deal!"
Steward Zhao was right—this prince truly is a good man!
☆、12 Jujube Ginger Soup (Twelve)
Just as Chu Chu stepped out of the carriage compartment, the window suddenly swung open. Jing Yi, clad in white robes, drifted in as lightly and silently as a snowflake.
The window was positioned just left of the desk. Before Xiao Jin Yu could even look up, the sudden chill triggered a coughing fit.
Jing Yi swiftly closed the window and instinctively reached for the Red Jade Cup on the table to hand to him, only to find it empty. He froze in surprise.
Xiao Jin Yu never drank more than three sips from a cup of water—how could the cup beside him be empty?
While Jing Yi stared blankly at the cup, Xiao Jin Yu suppressed his cough and leaned back slowly into his chair. "Speak..."
Noting his faintly pale complexion, Jing Yi frowned slightly. "The manager of As Returning Pavilion wants to invite you for a drink. Will you go?"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded.
"Old Man Ye said you must avoid alcohol for a full month."
Xiao Jin Yu nodded again.
Jing Yi sighed silently and produced a sealed letter from his robes. "From Wu Jiang. He said he saw this while overseeing the trial on your behalf at the Ministry of Justice yesterday. Probably useful."
Xiao Jin Yu took the letter, tore it open, and carefully read every word on the pages inside.
"One more thing. All the intelligence we've gathered so far points to the same conclusion—that girl's background is almost as blank as her brain."
Xiao Jin Yu abruptly looked up from the documents. "Multiple sources?"
He'd only asked for a routine background check on Chu Chu—how did it escalate to multiple intelligence channels?
Jing Yi's lips curved faintly. "It's rare for Wang Ye to show interest in a woman who isn't a suspect. Our brothers across the regions all vowed to move mountains for you. Intelligence keeps flooding in—I couldn't stop it even if I tried."
"Jing Yi, Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. I command you to deliver the Court's complete annual archives to Three Thoughts Pavilion within ten days. Disobey this order and—"
"No, no, no... Let's focus on the case! The investigation comes first, the investigation comes first..."
Before boarding the carriage, Chu Chu had asked the driver where they were headed. He told her they were going to As Returning Pavilion—the most luxurious restaurant in the capital, where you couldn't even get a glass of water without spending hundreds of taels of silver.
With such extravagant prices, Chu Chu expected the restaurant to be built with genuine gold and silver. She never imagined that the capital's most luxurious establishment would be perched on a cliff in desolate mountains. At first glance, it appeared as just a large estate enclosed by high walls, far less imposing than Prince An Manor.
The middle-aged man who came out to greet Xiao Jin Yu matched the unassuming appearance of the estate—utterly ordinary in every way. His attire showed no hint of wealth, and when he bowed to Xiao Jin Yu with standard greetings, his words were equally commonplace: "Xu Ru Gui, manager of As Returning Pavilion, pays respects to the Seventh Prince."
OpenNovel