Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Commanding the shop assistants to tidy up the books and pack them away, Qin Yaru finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A great fire had left all the merchants on Yujie feeling apprehensive. After much contemplation, Qin Yaru decided to build a brick house and planned to persuade Gao Feng to find a way to procure some blue bricks in a few days.
In the vast Kaifeng City, most buildings were surprisingly made of wood, resembling Japanese houses to some extent. Living in them was quite elegant; the scent of natural wood was far better than the metallic tang of big cities. However, in the event of a fire, it was not impossible for half the city to be easily burned down. Even though land in Kaifeng was expensive, building houses did not cost much silver, but the furnishings inside needed to be cherished.
"Wooden houses are nice, but they lack fireproofing."
Qin Yaru shook her head. Although she had been startled, the Nangyun Study had not suffered severe losses; only half of one wall needed to be torn down and rebuilt. With dust flying around, it was not suitable to open Nangyun Study again.
Fortunately, the imperial examination had already passed, and business at Nangyun Study was relatively slow. The scholars at the Top of the Gold List were busy attending apprenticeship banquets and classmate gatherings, inquiring about their future prospects, leaving them little patience for studying.
However, many students who were accustomed to the snacks at Nangyun Study could not forget the delicacies made by Qin Yaru. The snacks bought outside either lacked flavor or were not delicate enough, leading them to come back frequently for more treats.
The cook from the Qin Family primarily made snacks for Qin Yaru's family; any surplus was sent to Nangyun Study. With only one cook available, he could not make too many snacks. As these scholars competed for them, Qin Yaru felt embarrassed not to provide enough. For several days in a row, Da Lang had gone without snacks.
In truth, it wasn't that Qin Family's snacks were exceptionally good; they were just more exquisite than others. The best ingredients were selected, and various colorful molds were carved with care. Just looking at them brought joy without even needing to eat.
Especially a type of Honey Fruit that Qin Yaru learned from a pastry chef who specialized in traditional Chinese pastries. It required many ingredients: honey, pine nuts, kumquat pulp, and various edible flowers. The result was sweet but not cloying, fragrant and delicious—beloved by people of all ages—and also had beauty and health benefits.
Now that it was made with high-quality ingredients, it had gained even more flavor compared to what was made in the Twenty-First Century. Each time the scholars from Nangyun Study returned home, they inevitably brought back a few to please their mothers, sisters, or daughters.
Since Honey Fruit gained popularity, the cook from Qin Family had no rest at night. He thought that with Nangyun Study closed for a few days, he would have a break; unexpectedly, he still worked non-stop. On ordinary days it was manageable as students would come to study and take a few home; now servants were sent over specifically asking for snacks. The Lady-in-Waiting stood all over the street, making others think this place was a snack shop, causing Qin Yaru no peace.
The cook prepared another plate of Honey Fruit to take inside for his mistress to taste but could no longer hold back and said with a bitter smile: "Wife, I don't have three heads and six arms. These past few days I've been cooking all our meals myself; I'm about to become a snack seller! You should think of something."
Qin Yaru sighed and decided to pack up various molds and recipes for snacks and send the cook to nearby snack shops to see if they wanted to buy any. It would be perfect for selling them off and earning money for repairing the wall.
The snacks from Nangyun Study had long been famous; several nearby snack shops drooled over them. If it weren't for it being Nangyun Study and others thinking Qin Yaru had connections that deterred them from acting rashly out of fear of repercussions, someone might have already attempted to replicate them. Now that Qin Yaru actively offered her recipes, others would surely be happy.
Thus, after some hustle and bustle, the money earned would not only cover wall repairs but also suffice for rebuilding a house.
Initially, Qin Yaru did not take the fire seriously; she thought it was normal for busy inn staff coming and going amidst people mixing together—accidentally bumping into lanterns causing fires was common enough. Even if two people died in such incidents, it felt like reading news reports about cases in the Twenty-First Century—just some casual remarks while continuing with life without concern.
Unexpectedly, on the third day after the fire, officials from Kaifeng Prefecture suddenly arrested Qin Wenyuan.
Qin Yaru received this news at night when Gao Feng personally came to inform her.
"Wen Yuan from Kaifeng Prefecture sent someone to set fire to Shunlai Inn, resulting in two deaths. They have witnesses, and not just one; someone saw Qin Wenyuan in conflict with the two deceased in the inn."
Upon hearing this, she was momentarily stunned.
Gao Feng's expression was equally grim: "I just found out that the two people who died in the inn fire were actually those two workers from the theater troupe back then. One is surnamed Sun, known as Sun Er, and the other is surnamed Qi, with a derogatory nickname of Dogzi. I didn't pay much attention to these two; after questioning Sun Er, I let them go. I never expected they would die and implicate Wen Yuan."
This was likely a scheme by the other party, but it was unclear whether it was orchestrated by Xiangyang Wang or someone else.
Qin Yaru took a deep breath: "What should we do?"
To be honest, Qin Yaru felt somewhat lost. Currently, Pang Chunzhi was in charge of Kaifeng Prefecture, and with the situation so murky, she was genuinely worried that the Pang Family might pose a threat to her elder brother.
Gao Feng frowned: "Qin Wenyuan is my person; the Pang Family wouldn't dare to torture him. I will find a way to push for a Three Departments' Joint Trial, making this matter public so that Pang Chunzhi won't dare to act recklessly. You take your things and come with me; let's go see the bodies first."
Qin Yaru nodded, grabbed her medical kit, quickly gathered some tools, and left with Gao Feng.
The night was not too dark; the moonlight was hazy, and there was no curfew in Northern Song. The night market was bustling, but at this moment, Qin Yaru had no desire for amusement and furrowed her brow tightly.
Although Gao Feng was not a constable of Kaifeng Prefecture, merely an outsider who shouldn't be near the bodies, given his status, if he wanted to do something, even those stubborn individuals would likely refrain from obstructing him, lest they provoke his displeasure.
However, even though the Yamen Runner from Kaifeng Prefecture led them directly to the mortuary with a lantern, he couldn't help but mutter under his breath: "This General Gao is quite strange; coming to see a corpse while bringing along a beauty. Could it be he has some peculiar fetish?"
Thinking this, the Yamen Runner shivered involuntarily and suddenly recalled street rumors that General Gao had extraordinary abilities and craved human blood. Such a fierce person might indeed enjoy the eerie atmosphere of a mortuary.
The Yamen Runner opened the door for them and stood at the entrance, shaking his head vigorously and refusing to step inside. His gaze towards Gao Feng was both strange and somewhat fearful.
Gao Feng shot him a glare but had matters at hand and didn't want to argue with him. He took Qin Yaru's hand and entered together.
Conducting an autopsy was something Qin Yaru was accustomed to; she didn't ask for an examiner's assistance but stepped forward to examine carefully.
Inside the mortuary, there was only one dim lamp.
Outside, the guiding Yamen Runner stole glances inside, feeling that the beauty was stunning like a flower; however, in such an environment, even the most beautiful woman would send chills down one's spine.
Despite his fear, such beauty as Qin Yaru was rare. He didn't want to look but couldn't help stealing glances. Just as he caught sight of her delicate hand holding a cold steel knife gently slicing open the deceased's chest, he gasped in shock: "This... this..."
Turning around sharply, Gao Feng shot him a cold glare that made the Yamen Runner stop abruptly but still couldn't help murmuring: "How can one damage a corpse like this?"
Qin Yaru ignored him, exhaled, and glanced at Gao Feng, saying, "It's a matter of cremation after death, but how exactly he died will need to be investigated carefully."
Initially, the two wanted to investigate further, but it was already late. With only a dim light, they couldn't see anything clearly. Gao Feng had no choice but to instruct that the body be preserved properly and not to be buried yet. After giving these instructions, he took Qin Yaru to see Qin Wenyuan.
The prison in Kaifeng Prefecture was different from what they had imagined; it was not particularly dirty. Moreover, Qin Wenyuan was clearly receiving special treatment. Not only did he have a cell to himself, but it was also relatively clean. Although it was still somewhat dark and damp, there couldn't be higher expectations for a prison.
When Qin Yaru entered, Gao Feng was lying on the bed pretending to sleep, covered only with a straw mat. No matter how good his treatment was, no one would bring bedding for a prisoner. Fortunately, the weather was warming up; although there was still a bit of spring chill, it wasn't too cold.
Gao Feng leaned over and knocked on the iron bars. Qin Wenyuan immediately turned over and sat up, reaching out to take the drink that General Gao handed him. He took a sip and then looked at Qin Yaru with a frown, saying, "What are you doing here? This is no place for a girl! General Gao, why did you bring Aman along?"
Qin Yaru rolled her eyes. If her brother knew she had just come from the mortuary to arrange the body, she wondered if he would be so angry that he would spit blood.
Qin Wenyuan paused for a moment, turned his head, and gently comforted her, "Aman, don't worry. If one is upright, one need not fear shadows. I didn't do this; they wouldn't dare pin this on me. However, the other party must have sensed something is off. General, you need to act quickly; otherwise, if they eliminate our key witnesses, all our years of planning will come to nothing."
"Don't worry." Regardless of what he thought inside, Gao Feng appeared very relaxed on the surface. He exchanged a few words with the jailer and slipped a large silver ingot into the hands of the obsequious jailer and Yamen Runner.
These men assured him repeatedly that they would treat Qin Wenyuan like an ancestor—ensuring he wouldn't go hungry or thirsty. If he felt lonely and wanted some entertainment, they would arrange that for him as well.
Comment 0 Comment Count