Compendio de hombres apuestos en el mundo de las artes marciales

Capítulo 24

“Qingzi seems to be quite lively.” Unlike Zhao Ting’s increasingly gloomy expression, Zhan Yun kept smiling as he spoke, while secretly observing Xiao Duan’s expression.

Xiao Duan's pink lips parted slightly, and she glanced sideways in surprise, before her expression darkened. Zhan Yun was immediately annoyed by Xiao Duan's look, thinking, "Oh no, oh no, Xiao Duan might be thinking something else." Sure enough, Xiao Duan pursed her lips, remained silent for a moment, then her phoenix eyes filled with seriousness as she said solemnly, "My junior sister is simple-minded and easily takes people and things seriously. If Brother Zhan is truly interested, I naturally won't stop her. But if it's just a passing fancy, and she wants to casually find someone to play with, then I beg Brother Zhan to be merciful and not have any designs on my junior sister."

Xiao Duan's cold admonition left Zhan Yun speechless, both amused and exasperated. She thought to herself, "Is this what they mean by 'the more you say, the more mistakes you make'?" She had only wanted to find a topic to get Xiao Duan talking more, but things had gone awry, resulting in this whole blunder. Zhan Yun quickly closed her fan and waved her hands frantically, "No, Xiao Duan, you've misunderstood. I... I have absolutely no romantic feelings for Miss Qingzi, I... I..." Zhan Yun's cheeks flushed slightly with anxiety, and she stammered "I" for a long time without managing to utter a coherent sentence.

Fortunately, Xiao Duan didn't dwell on the topic. He simply nodded, lifted his robe, ascended the steps, and knocked on the Zhu residence's gate. Zhan Yun was deeply conflicted when she glanced to the side and saw Zhao Ting staring at her with raised eyebrows. Zhan Yun's cheeks flushed even more. She cleared her throat twice, quickly averted her gaze, and straightened her expression, looking straight ahead. Zhao Ting narrowed his eyes. This guy…

The three entered the mansion, exchanged a few pleasantries with Xu Shilan, and then requested to visit the rooms where rouge was made. Manager Zhang led the way as usual, and Xiao Duan carefully observed the flowers and plants in the courtyard. Zhan Yun also followed, looking around; after all, of the three, only he had seen what a poppy looked like.

As Zhan Yun walked, he gradually stopped and walked towards a snow-white rose. Zhan Yun lifted his robe and squatted down, examining it carefully for a while. Then he turned to the side so that the people behind him could see it clearly: "What is this?"

Manager Zhang moved closer and saw a frail plant standing diagonally beneath the rose bush, with feathery, emerald-green leaves and oval, pure white buds, each encased in two green sepals with white edges. "This..." Manager Zhang was momentarily puzzled. "This flower doesn't look like a wildflower!"

Xiao Duan's gaze turned cold. Although the flowers hadn't bloomed yet, it was definitely a poppy. Last night, he had specifically asked Mr. Tao for two books on the subject, one of which even included a drawing of the poppy plant's shape, and the description perfectly matched the one before him. The flower stalk near the base of the plant was slightly bent, as if it had been trampled underfoot. The roots were barely attached to the soil, and the plant, clinging to the stem of the rose bush behind it, had stubbornly managed to bloom. The buds were just beginning to emerge, likely only within the last half hour.

"Does Steward Zhang also not know where these flowers came from?" Zhan Yun stood up and asked.

Steward Zhang shook his head honestly: "The flowers and plants in the backyard have always been taken care of by the Second Miss. Most of these flowers are used to make rouge, so they need to be carefully protected and ordinary people are not allowed to touch them." As he spoke, his slightly gray eyebrows furrowed more and more tightly, "But the flowers in the yard are always planted according to different varieties and colors. This whole area is full of roses, there's no reason for this flower to be planted here..."

"Could you please find us a pot, Manager Zhang? We'd like to take this flower with us," Xiao Duan said softly, exchanging a glance with Zhan Yun.

"Ah? Oh, okay." Manager Zhang turned and left, returning shortly with a small flowerpot filled with soil and sprayed with water. Zhan Yun carefully moved the plant out, replanted it in the pot, and used a few small sticks and a piece of string to secure the stem. Xiao Duan watched from the side, a slight smile playing on his lips. Zhao Ting, seeing Xiao Duan's expression, couldn't help but smile faintly as well: "He usually likes to tend to these flowers and plants. Sometimes he'll be up from morning till night, his white robe stained a yellowish-brown, still holding the flowerpot and grinning like an idiot."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Yun turned to look at him, her smile tinged with helplessness: "It only happened twice, and you were the one who happened to be there. I was only doing this because of those two double-stamened golden orchids; I don't usually go through all that trouble."

The two exchanged a few more playful banter. Zhan Yun, carrying a flowerpot, and the three followed Steward Zhang into the first room. "Steward Zhang, if we were to add something during the process of making rouge, at which step would it most likely be?" Xiao Duan reached out and touched the blue stone mortar used for pounding the paste. "Is it possible during the pounding process?"

Steward Zhang shook his head: "It's unlikely. Miss personally handles all the steps of pulping, filtering, and air-drying. Even when Miss Er and Miss Si come, they can only help out. Miss is very careful, afraid that the color or aroma might be ruined by accident, so she is always very cautious."

“These flowers also have a fragrance.” Zhan Yun glanced at Xiao Duan, then turned to Manager Zhang: “So, you mean that if someone added other kinds of petals during this time, Boss Zhu would definitely have noticed?”

"That's for sure." Manager Zhang was very certain. "The most important thing in making perfume is having a keen sense of smell. If there's even the slightest problem in the early stages, the young lady will throw it away and start over. Our 'Drunken Beauty' rouge not only has the right color, but also a pure scent. Some of our products are so good that you don't even need to apply face powder after using them!" Manager Zhang spoke of his own rouge with a proud look on his face, and even straightened his back more.

“But this time… Lord Li has already issued a notice, ordering everyone who bought our rouge within the last three days to hand it over to the yamen for inspection.” Old Zhang said, his eyebrows drooping, the wrinkles around his eyes seeming to deepen. “The shop isn’t allowed to open either. Now, everyone in Hangzhou knows that our rouge poisoned someone. I’m afraid no one will dare to buy rouge from ‘Drunken Beauty’ anymore…”

"Manager Zhang, if I may ask a question," Zhao Ting said in a deep voice, standing by the door, "your boss is dead, and the shop can't operate anymore. In this situation, who benefits the most?"

Old Zhang was taken aback by the question, his brows furrowing deeply. "My lords, it's impossible!" Seeing the three of them staring at him, Old Zhang sweated profusely. "It's true! Although you all sometimes bicker and argue with the young lady, 'Drunken Beauty' is a family business passed down from our ancestors, dating back to the young lady's grandfather. No one dares to joke about the business. If the shop really goes out of business, everyone in the manor will starve. Nobody's a fool; why would anyone do such a thing!"

This was precisely what the three of them couldn't understand. If it was done by an outsider, based on what everyone had said that morning about the Zhu family's process of making rouge, it was clearly extremely difficult to find an opportunity to add poison to the rouge. Moreover, they had just found the poppy in the flower bushes in the backyard of the Zhu residence, so now they could be absolutely certain that someone in the residence had put the poison in.

But if someone in the Zhu household poisoned her, it clearly doesn't make sense. If the intention was to kill Zhu Fanghua, the innocent deaths of the other two were just a smokescreen; the murderer would be far too reckless. Steward Zhang was right; even if someone in the household had ulterior motives, there was no need to risk the shop. If "Drunken Beauty" collapses, the entire Zhu household will starve! There's one more clue, but it still doesn't make sense.

After a long silence, Xiao Duan finally spoke up: "You just said that it's unlikely there would be an opportunity to mix something else into the rouge in this room. So, when would it be most likely?"

Manager Zhang led the three to the room where the last batch of rouge was being packed into boxes. "There are more workers when it's time to grind the rouge and put it into the boxes. But those few are all master craftsmen who have been doing this for over ten or twenty years. There's really no reason for them to do this kind of thing..." Old Zhang also looked puzzled, staring at the table in the room with a gloomy expression and a somewhat dim look in his eyes.

Xiao Duan circled the room twice, then turned his gaze to the long table placed in the shade. He raised an eyebrow and strode towards Zhan Yun: "Give me that celadon box."

Zhan Yun held the flowerpot in one hand and reached into his sleeve with the other to take out the box, handing it to Xiao Duan. "Manager Zhang." Xiao Duan placed the box at one end of the table, arranging it gently, then tapped the empty space on the table next to the box with his finger: "Is this how you usually display rouge?"

Manager Zhang nodded: "Yes. This table was specially made by the eldest young master when he was alive. It is one foot wide and three meters long, just right for displaying rouge. Three small boxes can be placed in a row, and twenty in a row, so we usually make fifty or sixty at a time, which is just right."

Zhao Ting smiled slightly and said in a low voice, "I see."

Zhan Yun nodded in agreement: "Manager Zhang, whenever your boss Zhu develops a new rouge, does he always try it out himself first?"

"That's right! Miss always takes one to try out the color and scent." Manager Zhang said with a matter-of-fact expression.

"So the remaining two boxes of rouge were just to be on the safe side. That person knew Zhu Fanghua would definitely take one of the rouges from this end of the case, but wasn't sure which one she would choose, so they poisoned all three boxes." Zhan Yun slowly stated his conclusion, and Xiao Duan nodded, agreeing that this must be correct.

"But what if she suddenly decides to pick one from one of the other dozens of boxes instead of these three?" Zhao Ting raised an eyebrow at Xiao Duan.

"That's why we were able to see this flower." Xiao Duan pointed to the flower in Zhan Yun's hand. "If Boss Zhu had the non-poisonous one, that person would have ground the petals again to extract the juice and try to add poison to the box."

"Manager Zhang, please lead the way. We need to see your second young lady." Zhan Yun said, stepping aside slightly to make way for the doorway.

=============================================================================

"So, Madam doesn't recognize this flower?" Zhan Yun smiled slightly, extending the arm holding the flowerpot forward a little.

Zhu Fangqing reached out to touch the stem of the poppy, but Zhan Yun quickly withdrew his hand, glancing sideways at Zhao Ting. Zhu Fangqing paused slightly, then somewhat embarrassedly withdrew her right hand: "I... I just think it looks familiar. Could you hold it closer so I can take another look?"

Zhan Yun did as she was told, moving the flowerpot forward a little further while saying gently, "Madam, please be careful. The flower stems are badly damaged and cannot withstand being touched."

Zhu Fangqing carefully examined the flower for a while, then slowly raised her eyes and looked at Zhan Yun: "I'm sorry, I don't recognize this flower. May I ask where you found it, young master?"

“It’s right there in that ‘Jade Hall Rose’ flowerbed,” Zhan Yun said with a slight smile.

Zhu Fangqing's hand trembled slightly: "What you mean is, this flower..."

“Since Madam doesn’t know, we can ask someone else. Excuse me.” Zhan Yun ignored Zhu Fangqing’s words and did not reply. The three of them then met Xu Shilan and Zhu Qiaosi and her daughter in turn, learned some general information, and then took their leave.

By the time they left the Zhu residence, the moon was already high in the sky. Back at the government office, Da Fang recounted the day's inspection of the "Drunken Beauty" rouge. Excluding the three poisonous boxes and the thirty-two unsold boxes, the remaining twenty-five boxes were inspected on the spot, confirmed to be non-toxic, and then taken away. Other types of rouge and face powder were also checked one by one, and no problems were found. Although this was expected, a comprehensive inspection was still essential; after all, this matter could be serious or minor, and any further mistakes would not only ruin "Drunken Beauty's" reputation, but also bring charges of "incompetence" to the Hangzhou government office. Da Fang also mentioned that the constables who investigated several rouge shops in the afternoon reported essentially no new leads.

After reporting the situation to the three, Da Fang hurriedly went home. The other constables at the yamen had already left, and Li Qinglan and Tao Hanzhi had also rested. Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting exchanged a glance, about to urge Xiao Duan to go out for a nice meal, when that light orange figure rushed over again at just the right moment, grabbed Xiao Duan's arm, and pulled him towards the kitchen: "Xiao Chen, haven't eaten yet? I made your favorite pork bone noodle soup! I simmered those pork bones all afternoon; the soup is milky white and the flavor is so rich. I also added dates and goji berries. You're too thin; you need to eat more..."

The two people behind them followed along without any backbone. When they heard the phrase "make good use of your strength," their lips twitched simultaneously. Why did that phrase sound so awkward?

Author's Note: I want to say to all the readers, you don't have to say anything. I've been getting used to being alone lately. I won't urge you to speak anymore, really.

But could you please just take a moment to click the "Bookmark this article" button below the article title on the table of contents?

Even without leaving a comment, seeing the data at least gives me some comfort and a little encouragement.

Look at my lonely, desolate back view~~~~~

Hey little i, have you been absent for the past couple of days, or have you gone back to lurking? *cough cough* I really miss your little skits...

26