Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 13: Suspicion
In a room of the silk shop.
A clerk in a silk shop named Jia Liu was telling Xu Zun and others what had happened.
He said that at the time of the incident, You Dalang's behavior was indeed very strange.
The guys were busy in the store when You Dalang suddenly ran over in a hurry and said that the county lieutenant Xu Zun wanted to rape the boss's wife.
Everyone's first reaction was to rescue people first, but You Dalang insisted that everyone go outside to call for help, saying that Xu Zun was the county lieutenant and not someone to be trifled with, and that more people had to be called.
Hearing this, Xu Zun wanted to ask whether they saw him enter the You family residence, but then he thought it was better not to ask this question.
Didn't I know whether I had entered the You family mansion and had an affair with Chunniang?
It’s a pity that no matter how hard Xu Zun tried to recall, he still couldn’t remember what happened at that time!
So he had to change the topic and ask Jia Liu if he knew about You Dalang's background.
"Your Excellency," Jia Liu replied, "I only know that Manager You is from Songzhou, but I don't know where in Songzhou he is from or what his family situation is like!"
"Oh? Has he never mentioned anything about his family to you?" Xu Zun asked, "Has he ever returned to his hometown during the holidays?"
"No, never!" Jia Liu said, "The silk shop has been open for less than a year, and I haven't seen him go back to his hometown yet!"
"What about the money?" Captain Zhao Yu couldn't help but ask the most concerned question, "Where does your shopkeeper You keep his money?"
"In... in the bank, right?" Jia Liu said, "Manager You didn't hire a bookkeeper, he always settled the accounts himself.
"After settling the accounts, he would go to Wude Bank. The money should be there!"
"Jia Liu," Xu Zun said after thinking it over carefully, "Think carefully, during the days you worked at the silk shop, have you ever felt anything suspicious or unreasonable?"
"Yes!" Jia Liu answered almost without thinking, "Shopkeeper You likes to go to Huaxianglou very much on weekdays! He invites several girls to stay up all night at a time, which makes us very envious!"
"You bastard!" Zhao Yu cursed, "My Lord asked you what's suspicious, what kind of suspicious thing is this?"
"No, no, no," Jia Liu added hastily, "Please think about it, sir. Manager You likes girls so much and is so rich, why doesn't he take a concubine? This should be considered suspicious, right?"
"Oh?" Zhao Yu fell into deep thought.
Xu Zun was also feeling melancholy, which coincided with his previous doubts.
"Logically speaking, our boss's wife didn't give birth to any children for him, so he should have taken a concubine!" Jia Liu continued, "But the shopkeeper doesn't have the slightest intention of taking a concubine, which really makes us confused!"
"Then..." Xu Zun asked again, "Anything else?"
"This..." Jia Liu seemed to have thought of something, but he hesitated to speak.
"You little boy," Zhao Yu shouted, "Just say whatever you think of, don't be so fussy!"
"Yes, well..." Jia Liu said in embarrassment, "I feel like our lady boss is a little abnormal!"
"Oh?" Xu Zun's eyes lit up and he urged, "What's wrong?"
"When the store first opened, the boss's wife was busy in the store, helping to sell goods and so on, but not long after, Manager You stopped letting her come out to help!"
"Why?"
"Manager You didn't say it, but we can see that the proprietress...she...her behavior is a little...a little that..." Jia Liu said hesitantly.
"Which one?" Zhao Yu asked.
"A bit frivolous, isn't it?" Xu Zun asked.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Jia Liu nodded. "The boss lady's words can make one's bones go soft. I suspect that Shopkeeper You is afraid that she will be too ambiguous with customers and have a bad influence, so he doesn't allow her to come out to look after the store anymore, right?"
this……
Combined with his memories, Xu Zun believed that Jia Liu's description completely matched Chunniang's characteristics.
"Hey? This is new!" Zhao Yu said to himself, "I've bought clothes from your boss lady before, why didn't I notice anything?"
"It seems to me," Jia Liu continued, "that Shopkeeper You and the lady boss are not on good terms with each other. They are not living a happy life. I often hear them arguing in the backyard!"
"Oh?" Xu Zun asked, "What are you arguing about?"
"It's too far away, I can't hear clearly," Jia Liu replied, "I guess it's because Manager You often goes to Huaxianglou and ignores the boss lady, which makes her complain?"
oh……
Hearing these words, Xu Zun fell into deep thought again .
It seems that his previous speculations were all correct. The two men had a grudge against each other, which led to You Dalang wielding a knife and killing people!
Xu Zun felt that, judging from Chun Niang's various behaviors, she seemed more like a prostitute, with a strong scent of rouge.
Could it be... that she used to be involved in the world of pleasure?
Later he was redeemed by You Dalang and became a good person?
Or, did You Dalang have some leverage over Chunniang that forced him to marry Chunniang?
Is it because of this that, although he likes beautiful women, he dares not take concubines?
Then...what kind of evidence can bring about a fatal disaster?
Could it be that I really was right?
Is there really some big secret about You Dalang ?
What is hidden behind You Dalang’s murder of his wife?
Next, Xu Zun asked several other waiters and got roughly the same answers.
Subsequently, the comprehensive search of the silk shop came to an end. Apart from some loose silver and gold and silver jewelry, nothing else of value was found.
The strangest thing is that no identification documents were found for You Dalang and his wife, not even a letter from them .
It seems that the You Dalang couple do have a mysterious origin, which is very different from normal businessmen.
Until now, no one can tell clearly where they came from.
Xu Zun paced back and forth in the room, combining his memories with his mind and reviewing the entire case from beginning to end.
Logically speaking, it has been confirmed that You Dalang and his wife did have a secret, so the possibility that this case was directed against him should be ruled out.
But for some reason, Xu Zun still felt uneasy and still felt that someone was manipulating him behind the scenes.
After all, You Dalang's death is quite intriguing.
Before his death, he kept shouting and spreading the scandal of Xu Zun and Chun Niang's affair, and he didn't look like he was going to commit suicide at all.
But he just died by hitting the wall, which made Xu Zun very suspicious.
Before, Xu Zun even really doubted Miss Shen Qian, wondering if she didn’t want to marry him and instructed You Dalang to frame him?
However, from memory, we know that Miss Shen is a simple-minded person and it is unlikely that she could devise such a complicated and vicious plan.
Then, he began to wonder if it was done by one of Miss Shen’s die-hard fans.
For example, there is a guy who admires Shen Qian, and because he is jealous of me, he instructs You Dalang to frame me?
However, based on the principle of vested interests, he quickly ruled out this possibility.
If the murderer is wrongly imprisoned, a large number of people will be eligible to propose marriage, and the murderer will not benefit directly from it.
Besides, he just wanted to squeeze himself out of the competition, so why did he have to kill people?
He only needs to find a few prostitutes to set up a trap and ruin his reputation. Why would he need to kill people?
Finally, Xu Zun thought of an even more terrifying possibility!
You Dalang, could it be that he was instructed by his father-in-law?
The father-in-law regretted agreeing to this marriage, but he felt embarrassed to cancel the engagement himself, so he arranged for You Dalang to frame him?
My father-in-law is extremely cunning, wealthy, and generous. I'm afraid only he can design such a conspiracy, right?
However, through touching his memory, Xu Zun found that this idea was even more nonsense!
Because his father-in-law, Mr. Shen Tiande, has long treated him as his own son.
If Shen Tiande hadn't taken me in, I would have starved to death on the streets now!
It turns out that Xu Zun in this world is not an ordinary person, but comes from a famous family.
His great-grandfather was an important official in the founding of the country, and was granted the title of first-rank duke, a hereditary official position.
His father, Xu Changlin, was even appointed the Minister of Dali Temple, a third-rank official of the Daxuan Kingdom, and was very prominent in the court.
However, misfortune struck the family. In the second year of Xianyuan, Xu Changlin, who was at the peak of his career, suddenly died of illness!
Because Xu Changlin was an upright person and had offended many powerful officials in the court, he was ostracized after his death from illness, which led to the decline of his family and the separation of his relatives, leaving only Xu Zun alone.
Shen Tiande was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice at the time. He was a disciple of Xu Changlin and was promoted by Xu Changlin. The two were both teacher and friend and had a very close relationship.
In order to repay Xu Changlin's kindness, Shen Tiande not only took Xu Zun in, but also arranged for him to become the Xinye County Magistrate, and even betrothed his daughter Shen Qian to him!
Over the past few years, although Xu Zun was weak and dull, Shen Tiande always treated him as his own son and took good care of him.
The previous times that Miss Shen had caused a disturbance in her marriage, they were all forcefully suppressed by Shen Tiande.
Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for such a father-in-law who cares about and loves me to do anything to harm me.
So...it's possible that I was overthinking this matter!
Just as Xu Zun was thinking about this, a constable suddenly came in and reported:
"Sir, County Lieutenant, Captain Zhao, this is bad! We just found out that You Dalang never deposited any money in Wude Bank!"
