Chapter 1: Chang'an Tong Que Ming (Melody of Golden Age)

 FlamingoBees 

Translating Chinese Historical Dramas for your enjoyment... and mine! :)

Home    :    Novels

Chang'an Tong Que Ming (Melody of Golden Age)

VOLUME I: THE BUDDAH SWALLOWS SIN

 Chapter 1: 

Zhu Yan, the Ninth-Rank Clerk of the Ministry of Justice, Investigates a Case.

Chang'an, Ministry of Justice's prison.

The dim corridor was heavily guarded. The grayish-blue brick walls and darkened wooden beams exuded a damp and chilly atmosphere that seemed to permeate everything.

Zhu Yan, a ninth-rank clerk of the Ministry of Justice, stood amidst this suffocating smell, looking at a thin man seated behind a desk in front of her.

The thin man hung his head low, his jaw clenched tightly, and his eyes wandered restlessly around every corner of the interrogation room. Zhu Yan watched him coldly. She reached into the wooden box she held behind her, took out a pair of small children’s shoes, and placed them in front of the thin man.

The man's gaze swept over the shoes, and suddenly his whole body trembled, as if recalling something, and he stared at Zhu Yan in shock.

Zhu Yan smiled coldly. "That's right, it is just as you are thinking—Wang Ruan'er is two months pregnant."

The thin man was immediately horrified. He grabbed the shoes and then repeatedly shook his head, throwing them away. "No, that's impossible! You're trying to trick me! And even if she is truly pregnant, so what? The child... will still bear the surname Wang, and will still, like all of them, look down on me!"

"It’s not like that," Zhu Yan said coldly. "Cheng Xian, you were unwilling to become a live-in son-in-law, and in your anger, you assisted in the plot to murder Wang Ruan'er. But what you didn’t know is that she was deeply in love with you. Not only did she plan for the child to take your surname after birth, but she even intended to entrust the entire Wang family estate to you once the child was born. As for the real culprit, who is on the run, She Huhu, whom you've been trying to hide, she was already aware of her existence and was willing to let bygones be bygones and accept her into the family."

"Cheng Xian, you keep complaining that Wang Ruan'er oppressed you with her wealth and power, but you know better than anyone whether that's true."

"I'll ask you once more, Cheng Xian: Are you really not going to disclose the whereabouts of She Huhu to bring peace to the souls of Wang Ruan'er and her unborn child?"

Cheng Xian covered his face and wept with regret.

After recording the whereabouts of She Huhu, Zhu Yan packed up her box and walked out of the prison. The Chief Constable of the Ministry of Justice, Nan Zhen, was already coming toward her from a distance, clasping his hands in greeting and constantly praising her, "I’ve long heard Brother Chen say that Liuniang (sixth daughter) is remarkable and excels in investigation and interrogation. I didn’t expect you to be even better than your master. If it weren’t for you, who knows how long Cheng Xian would have hidden She Huhu. Fortunately, you participated in the Ministry of Justice's female officer examination, so I only had to come back to the Ministry to find you. Otherwise, if I, this rough man, had to go to the Zhu residence to find a delicate lady like you, it might have ruined your reputation. By the way—where did that box of yours come from? We didn’t see it at the Wang residence that day."

Nan Zhen, in his mid-twenties, had a full beard and was a close younger friend of Zhu Yan’s fifty-year-old master, Chen Wen. Normally, he was quite talkative. Zhu Yan had heard Chen Wen complain about Nan Zhen’s chatter many times, so she wasn't surprised by his rambling.

Lifting the box that was already wrapped in a bundle, Zhu Yan smiled slightly and said, "This isn't something from the Wang family. Those baby shoes were made by my sister-in-law for my unborn nephew."

Nan Zhen was greatly surprised, but after thinking it over, he realized that without using psychological tactics, Cheng Xian might not have revealed the truth.

Recalling how stubbornly tight-lipped Cheng Xian had been, Nan Zhen could only sigh helplessly and said to Zhu Yan, "Someone from the Zhu residence came by just now, asking the Ministry of Justice to inform you that something has happened at home and that you should return as soon as possible. I've prepared a horse for you; it's waiting outside. Also, thank you, Liuniang, for your help this time."

Zhu Yan had taken office just ten days ago and had already encountered several cases. After assisting in handling the matters, she thought she could finally go home, but she was summoned to the prison again. Now, hearing that something had happened at the Zhu residence, she was stunned for a moment and asked, "Could it be that something happened with my Third Sister's marriage to Shen Du?"

Nan Zhen shook his head. "I just met with the chief constable of the patrolmen, and it seems they said that your sister hanged herself."

Hanged herself!

© translations belonging to  flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com. If you read this somewhere else instead of flamingobeestranslations.blogspot.com then the translations has been posted WITHOUT permission of translator.

•••

https://ko-fi.com/flamingobeestranslations

Prev  :  TOC :  Next