Chapter 27: Chang'an Tong Que Ming (Melody of Golden Age)

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

 Chapter 27: 

Bi Jiang Gold Workshop (2)

Shen Du took a sip of tea and chuckled lightly, "Manager Yang, overseeing the most prominent gold workshop in Chang'an, yet being so hands-on and well-versed in the old affairs of a mere Liu Fu—doesn't that command my admiration?"

His words carried blatant suspicion. Manager Yang’s body stiffened, and Zhu Yan, catching on to his tone, also looked at her warily.

Manager Yang forced a dry laugh, "Our gold workshop has always been this way. Any customer who places an order, regardless of their status, must be documented. If I were not so hands-on, wouldn't that betray the princess’s great trust?"

Her eyes suddenly gleamed coldly, and she raised her voice, "Could it be that the Grand Inspector is suspecting Bi Jiang Gold Workshop?"

"Just as you do not wish to betray the princess, I, serving His Majesty, cannot fail the Emperor," Shen Du replied calmly.

"You don't need to use His Majesty as a shield, Grand Chief Guard." Manager Yang hadn't expected Shen Du to be so forthright, openly expressing his suspicion of the gold workshop.

Her face turned an instant shade of iron-gray, and she straightened her back, saying, "Bi Jiang Gold Workshop is the private property of Princess Yong'an. I am entrusted by the princess, and everything in managing this workshop is done under her orders. If the Grand Chief Guard suspects the workshop of being involved in Liu Fu's disappearance, are you not suggesting that the one behind it all is the princess herself?"

"Innocence will prove itself. If you wish to randomly suspect the princess, Grand Chief Guard, why not present your case to His Majesty? Then, on the day at the Golden Hall, I will confront you and clear both the princess and the workshop's name! Someone, see the guests out!" Manager Yang seemed infuriated, tearing away the facade of politeness she had shown earlier.

Shen Du didn't argue further. He set down his teacup, stood up, and headed straight for the door. His steps were brisk, and the embroidered cloud and water patterns on the hem of his robe fluttered lightly with his movements, exuding a sense of noble arrogance.

"This tea is indeed quite good." Zhu Yan drank the remaining tea in her bowl, savoring its fragrance. She smiled at Manager Yang, then followed Jing Lin to catch up with Shen Du.

Watching the group leave, Manager Yang's face was filled with coldness.

"That Manager Yang sure knows how to pin the blame on others," Zhu Yan said as she stepped over the threshold. She glanced back at the gilded signboard hanging from the eaves and shook her head.

Manager Yang accused Shen Du of using a shield, but the one truly hiding behind someone else was her.

Though she managed the gold workshop on behalf of Princess Yong'an, it didn’t mean that everything she said or did could represent the princess. On the surface, she appeared to be defending her mistress, but it was all to silence Shen Du, as if she was certain that no matter what happened, Princess Yong'an would back her up.

Quite audacious for a mere servant.

Zhu Yan wrote the name "Manager Yang" on a blank page in her notebook and circled it to mark her as suspicious. Then she heard Jing Lin sigh, "It seems the lead on the male corpse has gone cold again. How about we go to Ximing Temple tomorrow and see if there are any other clues?"

Zhu Yan closed the notebook and tapped Jinglin’s arm with her charcoal pencil. "Not necessarily. As Manager Yang mentioned, Liu Fu was not a wealthy man. Since he made a living selling fake calligraphy and paintings with limited profits, how could he have saved up so much silver?"

“He suddenly came into a windfall?” Jing Lin stroked his chin. “Could he have won a large sum at some gambling den?”

“If he had a gambling habit, people would’ve heard about it long ago. Yet, neither at Li’s Bank nor just now at the Gold Workshop did anyone mention such a thing,” Zhu Yan said, walking forward while deep in thought. “I think, if he didn’t make money by passing off shoddy goods or counterfeits as the real thing, then he must have had a large supply channel that allowed him to sell in bulk at low prices and accumulate wealth.”

Even Shen Du, who was walking ahead with his hands behind his back, slowed his steps when he heard Zhu Yan’s reasoning, keen to hear more.

“But where would there be such a demand for so many counterfeit calligraphy and paintings?” Zhu Yan pondered, and as she did, she saw a group of constables in round-collared brown robes riding swiftly toward them from a distance.

Upon seeing someone in official attire here, one of them suddenly pulled his horse to a stop and took a closer look. Realizing it was Shen Du and Zhu Yan, he appeared greatly surprised. He quickly dismounted, rushed over to Shen Du, and knelt on one knee to pay his respects, “Greetings to the Grand Chief Guard!”

Their companions had already ridden a bow's shot distance ahead, but seeing this, they hurriedly turned back.

"Where are you headed?" Seeing their haste, Zhu Yan quickly stepped forward to ask.

The constable furrowed his brows deeply and reported, "A servant from the Liang residence came to report that someone has splashed chicken blood on the front gate of the Liang Mansion. We were just on our way to investigate."

“The Liang Mansion?” Zhu Yan couldn't help but glance at Shen Du. She instinctively felt there was something peculiar about this matter and suggested, “Grand Chief Guard, since that’s the case, why don’t we go over and take a look as well?”

“Who did this? Is there any insider information?” Shen Du asked.

The constable replied, “We haven’t identified the perpetrator yet, but it seems to be someone who has held a grudge against the Liang family for a long time. They came to accuse the Liang family of murder.”

In front of the Liang Mansion, the stains of chicken blood had not yet been cleaned away. On the dark-colored gate, the strikingly vivid marks were shocking to behold. The crooked handwriting, smeared by hand, had already seeped into the wood grain. Even if one scrubbed forcefully, traces were still discernible. Clearly, the characters spelled out were “A life for a life, justice by heaven's decree.”

The steward was busy with a few servants, drawing water to wash the gate. Suddenly hearing the sound of hoofbeats, he looked up and saw Shen Du and Zhu Yan leading the group. He quickly came forward to greet them, “It’s nothing more than some petty troublemakers causing a disturbance. I never expected it would alarm the Grand Chief Guard.”

In the courtyard of the Liang Mansion, the usual orderly atmosphere was nowhere to be seen. Due to the incident of blood being splashed on the gate, servants and maids could be seen carrying buckets of water to the front gate from time to time. Occasionally, a few curious young maids gathered in small groups, wanting to take a peek at the commotion.

The steward led Shen Du and Zhu Yan toward the front hall, occasionally barking out, "What kind of conduct is this chaos? Get back to your work!"

The young maids, scolded, shrank their necks and lowered their heads, but a few bolder ones were drawn by Shen Du's handsome face and commanding presence, sneaking a few glances at him.

“This is truly unlucky. This must have been done by that Rongzhui. She's like a lingering ghost—brazen and reckless! When the people I sent to the Tongming Pavilion return, I will make sure to properly interrogate that old madam,” the steward grumbled.

In the front hall, Madam Zheng was dressed in a bright rouge-colored skirt embroidered with hehuan flowers, covered by a wide-sleeved robe of saffron with auspicious cloud patterns. Her hair was styled in a low cloud bun, with a Yao-yellow peony pinned at an angle. She slapped a round fan on the table with a loud sound, causing the thin pearls dangling from the gold hairpin in her hair to jingle. The maids and servant women around her immediately fell silent, as if they were walking on thin ice.

Ever since Liang Chenzhong had his incident, the first madam had lost interest in managing household affairs, and Second Madam Wei had always been in a delirious state. Therefore, despite the two branches of the family being separate now, all the internal and external matters of the Liang Mansion had been under the oversight and decision-making of Madam Zheng. She sat upright in the central chair, already displaying the demeanor of the head mistress of the house.

“Madam, please calm yourself. I don’t believe this incident was necessarily caused by Rongzhui,” Zhu Yan said as she entered the front hall.

Seeing that it was Shen Du and Zhu Yan who had entered, Madam Zheng was startled. She quickly adjusted her stern demeanor from earlier and softened her expression as she stood up. “I did not realize the Grand Chief and Madam Shen had arrived. Please forgive my lack of hospitality.”

She offered them seats, and Shen Du, without saying much, directly took the main seat.

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