Chapter 7: Time reveals a person's true character 2
Cheng Jue smiled softly, and with a clever move, he pulled and tugged. Zhou Zhenzhen felt dizzy. Her back was a little uncomfortable from the carvings on the armchair, and she finally came to her senses. When she saw the scene clearly, her cheeks flushed.
She sat in the chair, Cheng Jue curled up in her arms motionless, absorbing the warmth from her body like a baby.
Her waist and abdomen felt numb and itchy because of his presence. He was such a person, and now he was like this, which made her feel needed. Her heart was softened into mud, and her hands unconsciously rested on his back, gently moving, comforting him.
Cheng Jue's tense nerves relaxed, he took a deep breath, and said sullenly, "I once did something wrong, and it was too late to regret it when I thought about it later. Over the years, I have told myself countless times that even if I had to do it again ten thousand times, the original choice was the best. But now someone has stood up, he doesn't have the scruples I have, he makes me feel that I have not been able to uphold the bottom line that an investigator should uphold from the beginning."
"The world isn't just black and white, there's also gray in between. Solving cases and finding out the truth is all about making black fade into white, and gray fade into white." Zhou Zhenzhen was eager to comfort him and didn't want him to look down on him, so she blurted out the words that she recited several times a day.
When the last word slipped out, Cheng Jue's breath was choked. She realized that she had said something wrong, and hurriedly added: "I heard an old gentleman say this to me before, and I have always kept it in mind, so sir..."
She stopped talking halfway as Cheng Jue had already raised his head, staring at her face with burning eyes.
"Have you seen me before?"
Zhou Zhenzhen's lips trembled, and she didn't know how to start. She didn't expect that a corner of the past would be suddenly revealed, and she hesitated whether she should tell him the truth. If she told him, he would be in trouble now, wouldn't it cause trouble for him? If she didn't tell him, she didn't know how she could hide it from him without any preparation.
"I……"
Cheng Jue sat up, without taking his eyes off her, and waited quietly for her answer.
Zhou Zhenzhen was stared at by Cheng Jue until her whole body was numb and she almost collapsed. She made up her mind and said, "Actually, I have had a crush on Master Cheng for a long time, so I remember every word Master Cheng said to others. I also want to come into the Dali Temple when Master Cheng is here. Master, having a crush on you doesn't violate the rules of the Dali Temple, right?"
Decision: ...
Huo Chi, who just opened the door: ...
Meng Fan, who squeezed in right after him, said: …
It was only because of the situation that she expressed her feelings to Cheng Jue in private, but now they are laid out in front of everyone.
Zhou Zhenzhen covered her face and wanted to bite herself to death. She really didn't want to live anymore.
In the Detective Department, Cheng Jue was sitting and flipping through a booklet summarizing news from Qingzhou. Meng Fan, who was standing next to him, glanced at Cheng Jue from time to time, then at Zhou Zhenzhen, his eyes moving so hard that they were about to cramp.
Huo Chi stood in front of the door, thinking about the letter he would write . He was not good at the wording, so he might as well ask Lin Yuxiao for help.
As if sensing his needs, Lin Yuxiao, who was standing against the wall, moved lazily, moved to another position and continued to lean against it.
The scene was quiet and eerie for a moment.
Zhou Zhenzhen was so restless that she wanted to rush out of the house. But then she saw the other person involved was looking at things carefully and calmly, as if what had just happened had nothing to do with him.
She couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that he didn't take her words seriously. But while she was relieved, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
Although she said it in a hurry to make excuses, every sentence and every word was true.
Everyone in the room sat or stood for a while, each with their own thoughts in mind. Cheng Jue spoke up, "Meng Fan, tell me what's going on."
Meng Fan's eyes stopped moving, he cleared his throat and said, "This time, Huo Chi and I went to Qingzhou City and found Zhaojia Village, where Zhao Ji's family used to be. The situation is roughly the same as what we found before. Zhao Ji's family is poor, and they rely on Zhao's mother to make cinnabar from flowers collected from Hongye Mountain to make a living. Zhao Ji also has a younger sister. After Zhao Ji went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and Zhao's mother died of illness, she was abducted and sold into a brothel. In the end, she couldn't bear the humiliation and committed suicide."
Zhou Zhenzhen's mind was moved, and she murmured, "The flower on Hongye Mountain that can be made into Koudan is not the Lingqi flower that appeared when Ruan Wenqing's family was killed? And it happened to be the flower that Zhao Ji, who killed Ruan Wenqing, recognized. How could it be such a coincidence?"
"What's more coincidental is that after Huo Chi and I learned that the Zhaoji family was related to Red Leaf Mountain, we rushed over without stopping. Unexpectedly, a fire broke out in Red Leaf Mountain a few months ago, and all the lacquer flowers were burned. Not a single one was left."
Ten months ago, the Ruan family case had not yet occurred in Chang'an City.
It turned out that someone had planned everything at that time and destroyed the body in advance.
Cheng Jue raised his eyes, which had been lowered all the time, and stroked the lines on the paper with his long fingers, saying lightly: "What is written here are just trivial clues. Don't waste time, just tell me directly."
Meng Fan wanted to give a surprise, but he didn't expect that they must have found important clues when they returned from Qingzhou City early. Meng Fan touched his nose and laughed dryly, "There is one thing that is very suspicious. According to the old people in Zhaojia Village, after Zhao's mother and Zhao's younger sister passed away, Zhao Ji would return to his hometown to worship every Qingming Festival. But Zhao Ji has never returned to Qingzhou City since he entered Chang'an. Even after he became rich, he had to pay someone to redeem his younger sister. So the person that the people in Zhaojia Village saw must not be Zhao Ji, but someone else. I have thought about this person for a long time, and with some evidence, it should be..."
"Ruan Wenqing."
"Ruan Wenqing."
Cheng Jue and Zhou Zhenzhen spoke at the same time, and Meng Fan closed his wide-open mouth angrily. Lin Yuxiao finally became a little interested, and raised his eyebrows as he watched the young man from the Meng family want to jump up but was hesitant to be suppressed by Cheng Jue. He found it interesting no matter how he looked at it.
There was a mischievous smile in Cheng Jue's eyes. Zhou Zhenzhen was too embarrassed to look at him any longer. She looked away and said in panic, "Every spring, Ruan Wenqing would leave Chang'an and go to Qingzhou to get the stones for painting. Qingming is in spring, which coincides with Ruan Wenqing's schedule. However, Zhao Ji's mother and younger sister both passed away three years ago, which was the 29th year of Yuanqing. But Ruan Wenqing's paintings have been popular in Chang'an for a long time, so he should have been in Qingzhou for more than three years, so the years don't match."
"Although Ruan Wenqing and Zhao Ji are in competition, they have a good relationship. It makes sense that Ruan Wenqing would stop by Zhaojia Village to pay respects to his friend's family on his way to Qingzhou City for work."
Lin Yuxiao chuckled: "Good relationship? So good that you're fighting to the death? Then we have a good relationship too, how about giving me your life?"
Meng Fan immediately jumped and turned around, his face flushed with anger. He gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Who has a good relationship with you? I don't!"
"I was just saying it casually, why are you so anxious to explain yourself, Lord Meng? You are really trying to cover up your mistake!"
"you!"
"Shut up!" Cheng Jue scolded in a deep voice, and Meng Fan immediately dared not jump up and down anymore.
The tense atmosphere in the room was relaxed by the bickering between Meng Fan and Lin Yuxiao. Cheng Jue glanced around with a cold gaze and smiled helplessly: "Meng Fan and Huo Chi, go back. Zhou Zhenzhen, Lin Yuxiao, come with me to the yamen."
Lin Yuxiao came over leisurely, hooked his arm around Meng Fan's neck, and said like brothers, "Then we'll have to welcome Master Meng later."
Meng Fan shook off Lin Yuxiao's hand and almost ran away.
"Look, when he heard that I wanted to treat him to a drink, he was so surprised that he went home to catch up on his sleep so that he could attend the banquet earlier! You have to say, the environment of the Dali Temple is much more cozy than that of the Hanlin Academy. You will know a person's true character over time!"
Zhou Zhenzhen: …
Huo Chi, who arrived a step late: ...
Cheng Jue walked out expressionlessly and stepped precisely on the instep of Lin Yuxiao.
This was Zhou Zhenzhen's first time at the Ministry of Revenue. The Minister of Revenue, Lord Ji, looked very plump, and his eyes narrowed into slits when he smiled. Not only Lord Ji, but looking around, half of the officials in the Ministry of Revenue were plump. Zhou Zhenzhen complained in her heart: Could it be that the Ministry of Revenue recruits people based on body shape? Those who are not fat are not accepted?
"Lord Cheng, in front is where the files of all officials of rank since Your Majesty ascended the throne are stored." Lord Ji led the three people all the way to the storage room, turned left and right, bypassed rows of bookshelves, went up to the second floor, and stopped at the third row from the east.
"Master Ji, please lead the way in person. I am very grateful to you."
Lord Ji smiled and patted Cheng Jue on the shoulder: "There is no need for us to be so polite. I have something else to do in the government office. I will not accompany you. Please do as you please."
"I didn't expect that Lord Cheng is so popular. Lord Ji is a well-known smiling tiger, but he is rarely sincere to Lord Cheng." Lin Yuxiao sighed, "Today, my respect for Lord Cheng has deepened!"
Zhou Zhenzhen frowned. How could this person snatch her words away?
"My father and Lord Ji were both Jinshi in the same class, and they have a very good personal relationship." Cheng Jue said casually, and ordered, "Find the files of all Qingzhou officials in the 26th year of Yuanqing, including those who were sent abroad or even passed through Qingzhou."
The twenty-sixth year of Yuanqing.
Qingzhou.
Zhou Zhenzhen had studied the files of major and important cases in the Dali Temple over the years, and immediately remembered the Qingzhou corruption and fraud case that occurred in the 26th year of Yuanqing, which she had once asked Cheng Jue for advice on.
If the current cases are related to the Qingzhou case...
Zhou Zhenzhen only felt as if a slender little snake was crawling up along her ankle, spitting out bright red tongue, which frightened her so much that she trembled all over.
As the sun was approaching dusk, the sunset light filtered through the window lattice, casting a red glow on the ground. The files of officials related to Qingzhou were picked out. Cheng Jue picked up the list of military commanders and flipped through it quickly. When he had read about ten pages, the next two pages had been torn off, leaving only jagged pieces of paper.
"Someone destroyed the evidence before us." Zhou Zhenzhen was speechless. Cheng Jue stared in silence for a moment, then straightened up: "Zhou Zhenzhen, come with me. Lin Yuxiao, find the household registration files of all the people in the Ruan family, don't leave anyone out, and bring the files back to the Dali Temple."
Lin Yuxiao nodded: "Master Cheng, don't worry."
Cheng Jue and Zhou Zhenzhen walked very quickly. Looking down from the second-floor window, the two people's backs were hurried and their paces were inconsistent, but one slowed down and the other hurriedly chased, which looked very harmonious.
Lin Yuxiao stood there for a long time, then smiled brightly. Just then a strong wind blew by, carrying countless tiny fragments to the horizon.
Just as night fell, a carriage left from the city gate of Chang'an, with a yellow turban hanging on it, and headed west along the official road.
Thirty miles west of Chang'an City there is a river called Wangsheng.
Legend has it that on the date of the deceased's birth, a drop of blood from a close relative is dropped into the river, and a spectacular sight can be seen. Tonight, the riverside of the deceased's deceased father had been cleaned by the guards early in the morning, and there were no outsiders.
Song Yiyue was dressed in white, with her hair tied up loosely, and was supported by her maid as she walked to the river. In the distance, the sky was gray-blue with a hint of crimson, and a faint crescent moon was hanging in the sky, looming.
As soon as the hour of Hai arrived, Song Yiyue took the silver needle handed to her by the maid, pierced her fingertips, and drops of blood fell into the water, floating and spinning in the blue-green river water before dispersing.
Suddenly, the wind blew on the water. Song Yiyue squinted his eyes, and when he opened them again, he saw something surging up from the bottom of the water.
The thing was rising higher and higher, and it was so dark that it was hard to see clearly. The maid came closer with a lantern, and the black side was pushed back by the waves, revealing the flesh-colored other side.
"ah--"
The maid screamed and stepped back, the light from the lantern illuminating the object clearly.
