Chapter 5: Chang'an Tong Que Ming (Melody of Golden Age)

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

 Chapter 5: 

 Buddha Swallows the Sin; part 2

Suddenly praised, Zhu Yan blushed and said, “It’s all thanks to them. It’s not like I single-handedly overcame all obstacles to capture the criminals.”

Lu Chuichui teased intentionally, “That’s because they are all men and wouldn’t want to let a woman do it all. Otherwise, they’d have sent you out to catch the criminals themselves.”

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the temple.

Unlike the exterior, which was only guarded by soldiers, the interior of the temple was occupied by many people in Haidongqing-patterned official robes.

Golden silk edging—the Inner Guard.

Zhu Yan’s previously relaxed expression darkened. Their superior, Wu Taiming, came out and glanced at Zhu Yan, then paused and looked at Lu Chuichui. With an expression of understanding but not irritation, he said with slightly pursed lips, “I told you to find her. You’ve been gone for so long, and all you did was fool around in the opera house?”

Lu Chuichui, who was most interested in watching performances, looked confused. Before she could explain, Wu Taiming sneered and continued rapidly, “You’re comfortable, but you don’t know that your mother just sent someone to berate me, saying that you were supposed to return today to help your sister with the school’s minor play, but you were nowhere to be found. She accused me of exploiting you.”

The Ministry of Justice was busy, with case files piling up as high as Zhu Yan. Even though she had only been in office for seven days, she was already exhausted from the workload.

Despite this, Wu Taiming would sometimes hint at Zhu Yan being lazy and having her salary deducted.

Hearing the strict superior subtly indicate that he was being blamed by Lu’s mother and that he was displeased, Lu Chuichui, though bewildered by when she had been playing, had to swallow her grievances and appease him, saying, “Oh! Mother doesn’t understand. You shouldn’t take it to heart. Public matters are more important than a small play. One is official, and the other is trivial. The difference is clear, isn’t it?”

The Lu family was obsessed with the theater to the point where everyone could sing. Lu Chuichui feigned a look of frustration, but Wu Taiming, satisfied with this, turned his attention to Zhu Yan.

“Why so slow?”

Zhu Yan, unfazed, replied, “I went back to the Zhu residence. You know my mother—she has the same temper as your wife. By the way, have you been home to see your wife? That yellow flower on your clothes, did your wife showcase a new design?”

“New design?” Lu Chuichui looked at Wu Taiming’s clothing with surprise, “Did your wife learn embroidery?”

Wu Taiming’s expression darkened suddenly. Without answering Lu Chuichui, he shifted his focus and said, “This is a temple. The body of Liang Chenzhong has been moved to the neighboring courtyard for dissection. For now, only the crime scene is here, and the investigation and collection of evidence are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, but the Inner Guards.”

“Inner Guards?” Lu Chuichui paused, “Doesn’t that mean Shen Du is also here?”

As the words fell, Wu Taiming led them to the back courtyard where the incident occurred. A man standing under the bamboo shadows turned around. His deep, emotionless eyes swept over Lu Chuichui and settled on Zhu Yan.

The gaze was as stern as the embroidered sea-eagle (Haidongqing) pattern on his robes.

Wu Taiming, aware that Lu Chuichui had offended him, bowed and said, “Great Officer Shen, these are the two new officials from the Ministry of Justice. They are women and not very knowledgeable about the rules. I hope you can overlook their mistakes.”

Wu Taiming smiled obsequiously. Shen Du gave him a cold glance but walked over.

In black clothes and robes, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, Shen Du’s unfriendly demeanor focused directly on Lu Chuichui and Zhu Yan. Wu Taiming couldn’t help but shiver, thinking of Shen Du’s reputation for ruthlessness.

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