Chapter 19: Chang'an Tong Que Ming (Melody of Golden Age)

 FlamingoBees 

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

 Chapter 19: 

Playing with the Grand Chief Guard

“Grand Chief Guard…”

“Husband!”

“What?”

Unexpectedly, Shen Du stood up, placing one hand on the edge of the table beside her. Leaning in slightly, he spoke in a nearly murmured tone, as if completely disregarding the presence of Gao Chengxue nearby. “My wife, what did you call me?”

“Husband.”

Zhu Yan sighed again. Who had ever said that once she married into the family, she could actually become the true Madam Shen?

“Haha, the Grand Chief Guard and his wife truly are a model couple, an inspiration to all of us,” Gao Chengxue wiped the sweat from his brow, took the tea cup with the Ministry of Justice's emblem from Zhu Yan's hand, and smiled. 

“With the Grand Chief Guard personally requesting you, Scribe Zhu, you should hurry along.”

Zhu Yan looked at her now empty hand and frowned, “But I’ve only been on the job for half a month. What about my salary...?”

“It will certainly be counted, of course.”

“You can rest assured and assist the Grand Chief Guard with his affairs. If the matter is not handled properly, you mustn’t think of coming back.”

“In the future, we’ll rely on you to put in a good word for the Ministry of Justice before the Grand Chief Guard.”

So that was the plan all along.

"Looks like there's no getting out of this!"

Shen Du lightly tapped the fish pouch hanging from his waist. The golden fish insignia inside was unique, different from any other official in the court, representing the special authority bestowed upon the Inner Guard by His Majesty.

While Zhu Yan was still hesitating, Gao Chengxue was already sweating profusely. He dared not rush her too harshly in front of Shen Du, cursing in his heart that women were indeed unreliable.

Shen Du smirked, tapping his finger on the table, "Why not wrap up the case, drag that pile of corpses outside Tingxing Gate, and bury them wherever you please?"

"Absolutely not!"

After Zhu Yan and Shen Du exited the room and mounted their horses, Gao Chengxue, watching them leave, finally felt the fear subside and turned back inside.

With Gao Chengxue gone, Zhu Yan almost immediately dismounted, stepping off the stirrup. She had now completely severed any connection between the "White King of Hell" beside her and the memories of her youth. She was unwilling to stay another moment.

Shen Du was not annoyed. He looked at Zhu Yan, who was about to leave, and asked, "Where is my wife off to?"

Zhu Yan's fan-like eyelashes fluttered as she turned around and replied sullenly, "Naturally, I'm going to investigate the case for you, Grand Chief Guard. After all, the sooner this case is solved, the sooner both of us can be free of it."

The skills she learned from her mentor differed vastly from Shen Du's favored methods. Severe torture was a last resort in her view, and directly confronting suspects could easily alert them. Zhu Yan knew that convincing Shen Du to adopt her approach was probably a fool's errand. In that case, it would be better for each of them to investigate in their own way—it might even be more efficient.

However, thinking about Lu Chuichui and the mountain of case files piled up, Zhu Yan worried that it wouldn't be long before the young girl came running to her in tears.

Shen Du didn't seem to have any intention of stopping her. However, he didn't ignore the impatience in Zhu Yan's eyes. With a flick of his cloak behind him, Shen Du glanced at Zhu Yan's face and said, "This case has been fully entrusted to my Office by His Majesty. Technically, the Ministry of Justice has no reason to intervene. So..."

Zhu Yan immediately sensed something was off, and sure enough, she heard Shen Du's deep voice continue, "If it is later discovered that the Ministry of Justice is conducting its own private investigation, it will be treated as collusion and misconduct. Is that clear to everyone?"

The words were directed at everyone present, but his eyes remained fixed on Zhu Yan's face.

Everyone responded with acknowledgment, leaving Zhu Yan standing there, staring in disbelief at the man on the saddle. She then laughed at herself, saying, "I never thought that I, a mere woman, would need the Grand Chief Guard to be so cautious of me. You truly give me too much credit."

Anyone could tell that Zhu Yan's words were filled with sarcasm. Jing Lin, who always defended his master, was particularly displeased, especially since Zhu Yan had previously contradicted Shen Du in front of everyone. With old grudges and new annoyances, he retorted, "If it weren't for the Grand Chief Guard's grace, Miss Zhu wouldn't even have the chance to touch this case."

Zhu Yan almost laughed out loud. Why Shen Du asked the Ministry of Justice for her was unknown to others, but did she not know? And could Jing Lin really be unaware?

"Yes, indeed. Then I must thank the Grand Chief Guard for his generosity. I will certainly do my utmost in the future, put in all my efforts, and solve the case as soon as possible."

She, Zhu Yan, and the Internal Affairs Office were not compatible at all. Solving the case quickly was indeed her wish—so she could return to the Ministry of Justice and resume her work as a humble ninth-rank registrar.

"Good, as long as Madam understands," Shen Du replied.

A gust of wind blew, lifting Shen Du's cloak. Under his cold gaze, she still thought to herself that Shen Du was truly handsome.

"Curse my foolish eyes," she thought.

"Get on the horse!" Shen Du extended his hand to her.

Zhu Yan's gaze shifted from Shen Du to Jing Lin, her face blooming with a radiant smile:

"I was out of line just now. Since I am now a member of the Internal Affairs Office, I should naturally follow its rules. As a mere ninth-rank registrar, how could I share a horse with the Grand Chief Guard?"

Suddenly, she stepped forward to Jing Lin's saddle, cupped her hands in a gesture of respect, and said:

"There aren't any spare horses around, and since Guard Jing is considerate of his subordinates, surely he won't leave me behind. I hope Guard Jing won't mind riding with me today."

After saying this, she cupped her hands in salute and then bowed in Shen Du's direction before moving to climb onto Jing Lin's saddle.

Even for a seasoned warrior like Jing Lin, he hadn't anticipated that Zhu Yan would truly try to mount the horse. Reflexively, he leaned back, but suddenly felt a cold breeze from behind. Turning his head, he saw his master narrowing his eyes slightly, and panic surged through him. "Madam, if you wish to ride, you should naturally ride with the Grand Chief Guard. I—"

"Ah..."

Jing Lin tumbled off the horse, rolling and crawling on the ground. His cloak, embroidered with the Haidongqing pattern, wrapped around him as he rolled over twice, collecting dust until its original color was no longer discernible.

He didn't even dare to glance at what expression Shen Du might have at this moment, nor could he care whether Zhu Yan was deliberately teasing or genuinely intended this. In a leap, he got to his feet and stood at attention:

"M-Madam, please, let me lead the horse for you."

Zhu Yan raised her willow-like brows, showing no fear in the face of Shen Du’s hawk-like and sinister expression. She feigned innocence:

“Well... this feels quite inappropriate. We might as well ride together. When it comes to handling cases, there’s no distinction between men and women. Guard Jing, just treat me like any other man.”

How could Jing Lin dare to? He thought to himself that this Liuniang of the Zhu family isn’t as clever as rumored—can't she tell the atmosphere here is already cold enough to freeze over?

“Madam, please!”

Zhu Yan didn’t actually intend to ride together with Jing Lin. After saying this, she mounted the horse and let Jing Lin lead the reins. She thought to herself that since Shen Du had been making things difficult for her, now she had found a way to return the favor. 

Making his most trusted subordinate walk while leading the horse—how delightful indeed.

They hadn’t gone far when they spotted a man dressed in the unique Haidongqing-patterned robes of the Internal Guards galloping toward them. As he drew closer, he dismounted and knelt before Shen Du’s horse: “Grand Chief Guard, among the bodies excavated earlier at Ximing Temple, we found this in the hand of the fifth male corpse.”

The guard presented a slightly yellowed piece of paper. Jing Lin took it first with a handkerchief for Shen Du, then handed it over to him.

Zhu Yan rode closer and immediately recognized it as a handwritten banknote from the Li Family Bank in the Western Market.

“This is from the Li Family Bank on Yong’an Lane, Western Market,” Zhu Yan said with certainty. After carefully examining the half-obscured stamp on it, muddied by the yellow earth, she became even more sure. “There’s no doubt about it.”

Seeing Shen Du glance sideways at her, Zhu Yan explained, “Previously, the Li Family Bank was involved in a forgery case. While sorting through the records a few days ago, I came across an entry that happened to document the handwriting and stamp marks from there. However…”

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