Chapter 11: The Choice of Life 1
The Hexi Restaurant in Chang'an City has always been a very mysterious place, because this restaurant only entertains children of aristocratic families, and one must be led by a familiar customer. Ordinary people cannot step into the threshold of Hexi Restaurant even if they spend thousands of gold.
For people like Du Rufeng, going to Hexi Tower is a common occurrence, and it is also normal to bring two friends who have never been there.
That night, a carriage slowly drove into an unknown alley in the west of the city, and went straight forward along the alley. Both sides were pitch black, and it looked no different from any other place. After about a quarter of an hour, the carriage stopped in front of a small courtyard. Du Rufeng and two other people got out of the carriage, raised their hands and knocked on the door three times, and someone immediately opened the door.
"Oh, it's Master Du." The servant looked at the person behind him and his smile faltered. "Master Du brought his friends here today. I haven't seen these two before."
Most of the servants who frequented the Hexi Restaurant were familiar with each other. Du Rufeng pointed at Cheng Jue behind him and said, "This is the son of Princess Feng Jue. He has been busy since he returned to Chang'an. It took me a lot of effort to invite him out this time. This..."
Although Zhou Zhenzhen was wearing men's clothes today, she was slender and had delicate features, which could not be hidden from these experienced people. Cheng Jue held Zhou Zhenzhen's hand and continued Du Rufeng's words, "This is my wife. We came here because of your reputation. Please help me."
The word "wife" made Zhou Zhenzhen blush. Her pretty appearance was very eye-catching. Her love could not be hidden.
The servant smiled and bowed: "Very well, please come in, three of you."
The servant led the way in front, and the three followed behind. The courtyard looked nothing special from the outside, but after entering the house, there was a secret passage inside. After passing through the secret passage, the whole view suddenly became clear, as if it was a paradise. It was called a "building", but it was better to say it was a house. There was only one lobby on the whole flat ground, but the place was very large. There were tables, chairs and benches scattered around inside, and a low platform in the middle that I didn't know what it was used for. At first glance, it seemed that there was no end in sight. After a closer look, I found that it was just a painting on the wall at the end of the lobby, and then it was spliced with bamboo pieces as fine as hair, making the whole landscape painting three-dimensional, and connected with the building next to it, which had such an effect.
In the distance is the exquisite Jiangnan landscape, and nearby are delicious foods. It is indeed a rare place of enjoyment.
Cheng Jue and the other two asked for a secluded table to sit at. Soon, princes and young masters came over in groups of three or five, and the whole Hexi Tower suddenly became lively.
"You were sitting here that night?"
Du Rufeng nodded and said, "That night was the birthday of Huang Yingquan, the son of Huang He, the former governor-general of Liangjiang. Huang Yingquan and I grew up together. His father was transferred back to Beijing in July, so I held a birthday party for him here and also welcomed him."
Zhou Zhenzhen had been looking around since she came in. After hearing what Du Rufeng said, she asked, "Mr. Du, do you recognize all the people here?"
"There are only so many children from noble families in Chang'an City. I know them all even if I don't tell them. I have definitely met them before. Sometimes they might bring two friends from outside Chang'an over, but they have to be people who know them well and have good family backgrounds."
"The owner of this restaurant is really amazing, he can create such a place for rich and powerful young men to come and support him." Zhou Zhenzhen muttered in a low voice, and the table across from him suddenly cheered and made a noise. A young man with a long face stood up, unbuttoned the collar of his coat, raised a jar of wine and drank it straight down with great ambition.
"good!!"
"Our Master Ji is amazing. He can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk!"
…
After drinking most of the wine, the young man surnamed Ji took off the sword hanging on the wall, jumped onto the platform in the middle, and swung his sword. Even after drinking so much wine, his skills . This set of sword skills won the applause of the whole audience.
Zhou Zhenzhen pondered, "The surname is Ji... Could it be the son of the Minister of Revenue Ji?"
Cheng Jue said, "It's definitely him."
"Lord Ji is so kind, why would Master Ji get drunk in a place like this?"
The dishes came up one after another. Cheng Jue picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of drunken chicken for her. He said calmly, "Not all children from noble families are playboys. Some of them have real talents and knowledge. Ji Ling has real talents and knowledge, but he is also a bit stubborn. He doesn't like everyone to give him convenience just for his father's sake, but he can't just do it if he wants to. In the end, he just did nothing. Whether he is a real playboy or a fake playboy, as a human being, living with too heavy a title is often not very happy."
Du Rufeng felt sad and drank a bowl of wine in a depressed mood.
The night before, he woke up in the interrogation room of the Dali Temple. Cheng Jue had roughly pieced together the truth through the few words that were not burned on the doll. At first, he wanted to resist, but the young female official named Zhou who was sitting at the table next to him used some method to make him see a silver chain, and he began to feel drowsy.
It was unclear whether it was a dream or reality. As the two overlapped, the moon-like face in front of him and the face of the doll began to overlap and separate, separate and overlap again.
The process was long and terrifying, and he was still feeling palpitations when he woke up.
Cheng Jue took all the confessions he had said "personally" and questioned him point by point, as if Cheng Jue was there at the time. At this point, Du Rufeng had no choice but to admit it.
"I know what you are thinking, but Du Ruyue's death was strange. I suspect this case will not end because of this, but will start because of this. Du Rufeng, you have caused your sister's death because of your carelessness. When you wake up in the middle of the night, you probably can't sleep peacefully. If you can help me solve this case and prevent more innocent people from dying, it can also eliminate some of your sins."
Cheng Jue knew Du Rufeng very well, and Du Rufeng didn't want to lose his reputation and become a laughing stock for people in Chang'an. If the case continued to ferment, the matter would definitely spread. If he remedied it in time, he would be able to get a good reputation of "assisting meritorious service", so Cheng Jue was sure that he would cooperate.
Cheng Jue gave Du Rufeng one night to make the decision, and Du Rufeng agreed early the next morning.
The first place Cheng Jue wanted to check was the Hexi Restaurant.
Hexi Restaurant is so secretive, but the murderer was able to place the doll halfway when Du Rufeng was leaving. This person must be one of the people who came to Hexi Restaurant that night, or a familiar friend they brought with them.
After drinking half of the wine, the young men began to gather in groups of three or five to play swordplay, chess, and cricket fighting. Except for the waiters who came to the Hexi Tower when taking orders and serving dishes, there was no one else in the rest of the time, completely giving this place to those who came to seek a moment of pleasure.
"Hey, isn't that Brother Rufeng? Why are you sitting so far away and so far away? I didn't see you when I first saw you." Ji Ling came over with a wine glass, and several people followed him around. The smell of alcohol hit Zhou Zhenzhen's face, making her a little drunk.
Du Rufeng said, "I came here with two friends today, so I didn't disturb Brother Ji from drinking."
"Friend? Let me see..." Ji Ling narrowed his eyes and was stunned for a moment when he saw Cheng Jue. He thought he was dazzled and rubbed his eyes. He was surprised and said, "Isn't this Mr. Cheng? Why is Mr. Cheng here drinking? Am I drunk?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the noisy Hexi Tower became quiet, and only the chirping of crickets could be heard.
Everyone knows Cheng Jue's temper, cold and indifferent, and unkind. When he appears here, everyone will only think that something has happened to them, and Master Cheng came to arrest him personally.
In the tense atmosphere of the room, only Cheng Jue's expression relaxed. He smiled suddenly, raised his glass and clinked it with Ji Ling's: "I am only the son of Princess Feng Jue today, not the Minister of the Dali Temple. Since we are all children of aristocratic families, you can't exclude me, right?"
"Hahaha, how could that be possible...Come on, come on, let's drink..."
The atmosphere became relaxed now. Someone wanted to toast Zhou Zhenzhen, but Cheng Jue blocked it with one hand: "My wife can't drink, so I'll take her place!"
Ji Ling took a closer look at Zhou Zhenzhen, and only then did he realize that she was indeed a girl. He asked in confusion, "When did Brother Weiqing get married? How come I didn't know?"
Zhou Zhenzhen bit her lower lip and thought: She doesn’t know either!
Cheng Jue was calm and composed: "The wedding has not taken place yet, we have just made an engagement."
"He's so protective of her before they even get married, and so gentle and kind to her. He's almost not like the Master Cheng I know. I remember that the younger sister of Prince Zheng'an has always liked Master Cheng. That night at Huang Yingquan's birthday, Zheng Yan got drunk and told us that his sister had taken an exam to study at the Dali Temple, but in the end, wasn't she scolded out of the Dali Temple by our Master Cheng?"
The small silver spoon in Zhou Zhenzhen's hand fell on the table with a crisp sound. Cheng Jue's face darkened. Seeing this, Ji Ling slapped her forehead and said, "Look at what I'm saying. I'm really drunk. Sister-in-law, don't take it seriously. I'm just talking drunkenly."
Zhou Zhenzhen tried hard to raise the corners of her mouth, smiled and shook her head: "It's nothing."
Ji Ling was afraid of saying something wrong, so he made a few more polite remarks, and then they returned to their own tables. Cheng Jue had not expected this to happen. Although Zhou Zhenzhen was still smiling, she looked listless, and she did not look at him secretly from time to time like before.
He had never dealt with a similar incident before, and was thinking about how to remedy the situation when two people walked in from outside. The one on the left was Zheng Yan, and the one on the right was someone Cheng Jue had also seen before. He was the son of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Liu Yan. The two knew each other because of their similar names and because both of their families served in the military.
Liu Yan lowered his head and looked at the thing in his hand: "Where did this come from?"
Zheng Yan didn't care and said casually: "I don't know, maybe some kid threw it into the yard!"
Cheng Jue kept staring at Liu Yan's hand until that thing was completely exposed in front of him. The ice layer in his eyes cracked and three parts of golden light poured out.
Du Rufeng also saw it. He was not as heavy as Cheng Jue. He stood up suddenly, making the chair rub against the ground with a sharp sound.
It was a doll, a smiling little girl, holding a flower in her hand, almost the same as the one he had burned before, and the one that had foreshadowed Ru Yue's death.
As soon as he was distracted, Cheng Jue and Zhou Zhenzhen stood up almost at the same time and caught up with Liu Yan. Cheng Jue clenched Liu Yan's wrist with one hand. Liu Yan felt the pain and looked at Cheng Jue patiently: "What are you doing, brother?"
Cheng Jue didn't say anything, and Zhou Zhenzhen snatched the doll directly. There was indeed a line of words on the back of the doll, just like the one Du Rufeng had picked up before: August 19th, 1st hour of Hai, on the roof of Muer Building, save your sister.
"You have a sister? Where is your sister now?"
Liu Yan was a little stunned. Zheng Yan knew the situation was urgent when he saw Cheng Jue's serious expression. He said to Liu Yan, "This is Mr. Cheng Jue, the Minister of Dali Temple. Is Fangfang at home?"
"Sister Fang went to Guangtan Temple to burn incense this morning. Brother Liu also knows that she will be married next month."
Guangtan Temple is the temple on Cuiwei Mountain.
Cheng Jue asked again: "Is she back now?"
Liu Yan shook his head: "Fang Mei is devoted to Buddhism. Every time she goes to Guangtan Temple, she stays there for three days, eats vegetarian food and meditates, and then comes back. She must not be here now."
Cheng made up his mind and pulled Liu Yan to run outside.
"Where are you taking me, Master Cheng?"
"Don't ask. Your sister is in danger."
The cool moon in the sky is missing a corner, and there is no more reunion in this world.
Muer Building is a hexagonal tower-shaped building, standing opposite the alley where Hexi Restaurant is located, across a few streets. Every night during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the lamp on the top of the attic will be lit, and it will be lit for ten days to achieve perfection. The lamp is made of countless colored glaze surfaces, and a red candle as thick as an arm, folded through the colored glaze surface, looks like a red sun from a distance.
In the past, this lamp illuminated the way for people who lived away from home to return to Chang'an to make a living, but now this lamp will illuminate the road that witnesses death.
There was still a quarter to the time written on the doll, and at midnight, the group arrived at the bottom of the Muer Building. Although Liu Yan's name contained two "fire" characters, his temperament was very gentle, and Zheng Yan often said that he was too moderate. But he was dragged so far without caring about his image, and he was a little angry in his heart, and broke free from Cheng Jue's hand: "In front of everyone, Master Cheng is too much to act like this."
Cheng Jue seemed not to hear anything. He just squinted his eyes and looked up at the roof. The lights of the Muer Building made the surroundings shine brightly, blurring the vision of the dark corners.
If Liu Fang was really on the roof, then the murderer must have had his own purpose in sending the doll to Liu Yan. If we startle the enemy at this moment, it might stimulate the murderer to do something extreme. After all, judging from Du Ruyue's body, the person who did it was undoubtedly a crazy person.
Seeing Cheng Jue in deep thought, Zhou Zhenzhen quietly stood beside Liu Yan. Master Cheng must have brought Liu Yan here for a reason, and she didn't want Liu Yan to distract Master Cheng.
Suddenly, a woman's scream came from the roof. Everyone looked up and saw a girl with her feet tied up, hanging upside down from the roof, her thin body swaying in the wind like a dead leaf in autumn.
Cheng Jue asked loudly: "Are you Liu Fang?"
"Yes... I am... I am Liu Fang... He asked my elder brother to come up and save me. He said if my elder brother didn't come up to save me, I would die... He said that if my elder brother didn't come up alone, I would also die if others followed... Save me, elder brother, save me..."
