Chapter 7: Chang'an Tong Que Ming (Melody of Golden Age)

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

 Chapter 7: 

The Buddha Swallows Sin (4)

After Zhu Yan finished speaking, she pointed to a spot about three feet eight inches away from the nearest bamboo to the pit. “There’s a soil mark there, caused by mud splashing. The bamboo in Ximing Temple is yellow bamboo, which can grow one to two inches after a day of rain. The splash mark is directly aligned with the burial pit, and its pattern is consistent with being made on that day.”

Upon hearing this, Jing Lin and the other Inner Guard members were stunned for a while. Some even stretched their necks to inspect the bamboo with the splash mark.

Shen Du snorted, seemingly amused. “Did Chen Wen teach you these things?”

“Not exactly,” Zhu Yan replied, taking off the flower from her waist. “My mother loves bamboo, and my father enjoys gardening. I’ve helped them a few times.”

Shen Du was not curious about her family’s interests. There was plenty of her father's interests he was sure she didn't know about. What intrigued him was why Zhu Yan would share this with him. “Aren’t you, wife, supposed to dislike me?”

Since the wedding, Shen Du had only called her “wife” in a sarcastic tone for the first time. 

He had forgotten about her.

Zhu Yan, looking at the soil stains on her hands, said wistfully, “I just want to solve the case quickly, capture the murderer, and have them imprisoned. It’s the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.”

“Oh?” Shen Du scoffed. “Wife, You’re just a ninth-rank clerk in the Ministry of Justice. What do you know about responsibilities?”

His tone was dismissive and mocking, clearly meant to provoke her.

Zhu Yan raised her head, feeling the urge to unleash a stream of expletives, though no vulgarity would escape her lips. Shen Du, however, continued calmly, “Do you know why the Inner Guard is involved in this matter?”

Shen Du reached out and twisted a strand of her hair with his fingers, lightly brushing her face with the tassel he held. With a cold smirk, he continued, “Because this case involves the internal affairs of the Liang family. It’s likely that the second branch of the Liang family is responsible for killing the eldest son of the main branch. Unfortunately, His Majesty insists on protecting the second branch of the Liang family.”

“A small fish in a pond may be content to stay in its corner, but once it ventures into the river, it can’t expect to remain hidden. Do you want to leave no trace behind?”

Shen Du’s fingers traced lightly along her neck, dangerously close to her vital artery.

There was a palpable sense of menace.

Zhu Yan took a deep breath and asked slowly, “If the Liang family’s second branch is the murderer, why also kill Kuang Zhanxin?”

Shen Du withdrew his hand and replied flatly, “What does it matter if she’s dead? Why ask so many questions? Don’t you understand? It’s not the Inner Guard that is hiding things; it’s His Majesty who wants to protect the Liang family’s second branch.”

And it’s Her Majesty.

The four words made everything clear.

Chang'an was resplendent with its vibrant copper sparrows and autumn crops against a backdrop of serene clouds. Despite the grandeur of Chang’an, Zhu Yan knew well the dirty political struggles hidden beneath its surface.

Yet she was still deeply unsettled. The idea that lives could be sacrificed and the truth concealed merely to consolidate power was troubling.

And now, Shen Du said, “Death is just death.”

“You didn’t used be like this... you didn't teach me to think like this...” Zhu Yan said, clenching her fists. Her broad wedding gown trembled with her anger. “I know times have changed and you are now the head of the Inner Guard, but I often forget what you’ve become and keep thinking of you as…”

The Shen Du I used to know.

Zhu Yan looked at him solemnly and said, “If it was indeed the work of the Liang family’s second branch, then why would they disfigure Kuang Zhanxin’s face? There are many doubts about this case; it might not be the second branch’s doing after all.”

Disfiguring a corpse, particularly the face, could be driven by two possibilities: first, to obstruct official investigations by making identification difficult; second, to express personal vengeance.

According to Shen Du, if the second branch's intention was to prevent identification, then Kuang Zhanxin’s face should have been covered in flammable oil, not slashed with a knife. Liang Chenzhong’s face would not have escaped either.

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