Geschichte über einen Ehemanndiebstahl

Kapitel 83

Duan Chen quickly added, "Bring me a plate of pufferfish." The others at the table looked at her in surprise. Duan Chen continued, "I want the pufferfish sashimi you mentioned."

Author's Note: There will be an update tomorrow morning at 9 AM. I will have no updates on Friday, but there will be updates on Saturday and Sunday. Thank you all for following the story! (*^__^*)

Speaking of which, I saw a sentence today that made me burst out laughing; it's basically a reflection of my daily life:

"There are two kinds of people in the world who think about how to kill every day: psychopaths and mystery novelists."

I often see all sorts of people in all sorts of situations, and my mind immediately conjures up images of crime scenes, murder weapons, and the killer's psychology. Okay, you can all criticize me, I know I'm not normal anymore. o(╯□╰)o

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Chapter Ten: Pufferfish Sashimi and Jasmine Tea...

Soon several dishes were served, and the waiter bowed to them, saying, "Gentlemen, please begin. The pufferfish sashimi will be ready shortly."

Seeing Duan Chen sitting there with her eyes downcast, looking preoccupied, Xiao Changqing's dark eyes darted around, wanting to coax her into talking. "Little Duan, I've been busy playing these past two days. How's the case going? Tell me about it." As she spoke, she winked at her, looking curious.

Duan Chen glanced at Zhao Ting, who was slightly taken aback but quickly understood that Duan Chen was asking if he could tell anyone about this. Zhao Ting hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Duan Chen also nodded slightly, knowing that the list was something that absolutely could not be mentioned.

Duan Chen then recounted the clues he had gathered over the past few days to Xiao Changqing and Zuo Xin, thus outlining the entire case. Duan Chen's explanation was concise yet clearly logical, and Xiao Changqing listened with great interest. After listening, Mr. Xiao stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then gave the group a somewhat mysterious look and said with a smile, "If I say I know how those smiles on their faces were created, is there any reward?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ting's heart stirred, and he smiled, saying, "Mr. Xiao, please feel free to tell me what you want."

Xiao Changqing gave him a meaningful look: "That's enough from the young prince."

Taking a bowl of fish tofu from Zuo Xinsheng, Mr. Xiao ate while speaking somewhat indistinctly, "Didn't you have the Imperial Hospital investigate? They said the pill's ingredients are similar to Five-Stone Powder. If you take too much of that Five-Stone Powder, you'll become extremely confused and easily lose your true nature, doing many absurd things that you wouldn't even dare to think of normally. That's fine."

Xiao Changqing handed the empty bowl to Zuo Xin, took a sip of wine, inhaled deeply, and his expression became somewhat serious: "If you add two more things, this person will be completely finished. Not only will their entire body become weak and limp, but they will also indulge in carnal pleasures, feeling as if they are in a paradise. Moreover, it will take three days and three nights for the effects of the drug to be completely eliminated. In this situation, it matches exactly what you said about completely losing the ability to resist while wearing a smile!"

Duan Chen and the others nodded repeatedly. Zhou Yufei was also quite curious: "Then what are those two things you mentioned?"

Xiao Changqing smiled mysteriously, swirling the wine cup in his hand. Everyone understood—it was wine. Then, he gestured with his chin in a certain direction, a glint of light flashing in his dark, jade-like eyes. Following his gaze, everyone saw a handsome young man carrying a plate towards their table: pufferfish sashimi!

Xiao Changqing whispered, "It has to be raw pufferfish; cooked pufferfish won't work."

He spoke quickly and softly, but everyone present heard him clearly, and their expressions subtly changed. The young man had already walked to the table, put down the plate, picked up a pair of clean bamboo chopsticks, took a slice of fish, chewed it twice, and swallowed. He then smiled slightly at everyone and said softly, "After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, you may eat." He then bowed to everyone and prepared to leave.

Zhan Yun smiled slightly at the young man and said gently, "Wait a moment. Young man, if you're not in a hurry, why don't you chat with us for a while?"

The boy's expression changed, and he forced a smile, nodding somewhat stiffly.

Everyone was a little puzzled, but Zhou Yufei seemed to realize something and smiled, saying, "This young man is probably overthinking things. We don't mean anything by it, we just want to ask about some things. If you don't want to, that's fine too."

The young man's expression softened slightly, and he said softly, "Gentlemen, please ask."

Duan Chen had been carefully observing the boy's expression, and now she asked casually, "Is pufferfish meat delicious?" The boy was taken aback by her question, and the others present were also somewhat puzzled.

The boy was pale and thin, and when he smiled, it looked worse than crying: "It should taste good."

Duan Chen looked at him quietly: "When you eat, you only think about swallowing it quickly, so you don't really pay attention, right?"

The boy frowned deeply and nodded with some difficulty: "I have a younger sister to support, and my parents are gone. I have no choice..."

Everyone present felt a pang of sympathy upon hearing this. Duan Chen continued, "How many people like you are there in the shop?"

The boy answered softly, "There were originally five. One died at the beginning of last month."

Zhao Ting's expression turned slightly cold: "Died from eating pufferfish?" Seeing the young man nod silently, he couldn't help but feel a little angry, "Then why didn't you report it to the authorities?"

Zhou Yufei sighed, "It's no use. They must have signed a deadlock with the shop owner. If something happens, the government can't do anything about it."

Duan Chen looked into the boy's eyes: "The one who died, does he still have any relatives alive?"

The young man curled his lips into a sneer, his dark eyes revealing a hint of sarcasm: "Yes, his brother works in the shop too, and he has a seriously ill mother at home."

As soon as he finished speaking, a young man dressed in plain white clothes walked over quickly. He glanced at everyone nervously and then asked the boy in a low voice, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

The young man returned a smile: "It's nothing." Then, he glanced at the crowd. Duan Chen looked at him questioningly: Is this him? The young man nodded slightly. The two bowed to the crowd and hurriedly left.

No one had much of an appetite as they stared at the plate of snow-white, tender pufferfish sashimi on the table.

As they picked up their bowls to eat, Zuo Xin suddenly whispered, "There's someone watching us at the teahouse across the street."

Everyone present was a seasoned veteran. Upon hearing Zuo Xin's words, they exchanged glances without making a sound, and continued with their previous actions: some ate their food, while others drank their wine.

While Duan Chen was talking to the young man, Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting were focused on the two of them, while Xiao Changqing listened leisurely while eating and drinking. Zuo Xin, sitting by the window, noticed someone across from them and gently nudged Zhou Yufei, signaling him to be careful. Zhou Yufei noticed Zuo Xin's strange expression, picked up his wine cup, and drank, realizing that someone in the teahouse across the street had indeed been watching them. After the young man left, Zuo Xin whispered something while helping Xiao Changqing with his food, and everyone became wary.

Soon, the person opposite disappeared, but no one came out of the door. Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting exchanged a glance; the visitor was up to no good and was probably related to the list.

After lunch, the group whispered among themselves, discussing their next move. They decided that Zhou Yufei would ask the restaurant owner for the missing person, while Zuo Xin would stay and help keep an eye on things. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun went to check the teahouse across the street, while Duan Chen and Xiao Changqing returned to Kaifeng Prefecture. Zhan Yun had just mentioned something: this "Yishao Hui" restaurant was located in the east of the city, and behind it was an alley where the lifeless corpse had apparently been found.

Zhan Yun and his companions had lived in Bianjing for over twenty years and were quite familiar with the city's streets and alleys. They knew the exact locations of many places, even those they had never been inside. Zhan Yun, being observant, noticed something amiss as soon as they stepped off the carriage. Overhearing Duan Chen's conversation with the young man, he suddenly remembered something that had been overlooked by the others. Upon hearing Zhan Yun's remark, Zhao Ting and Zhou Yufei reviewed the records in the dossier and confirmed that it was indeed this place.

Duan Chen frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure in his eyes. He had gone to the coroner's office twice before, but hadn't properly examined the body. If Zhan Yun hadn't reminded him, he would have missed a very important clue. Moreover, it had caused him to take many detours, going around in circles before finally finding this restaurant, Yishaohui. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glance at Zhan Yun.

Zhan Yun had been observing Duan Chen's expression the whole time. When their eyes met, a gentle smile appeared on her face, and her crescent-shaped eyes were filled with tenderness. Duan Chen looked away somewhat flusteredly, picked up his wine cup, and drank, which made Zhan Yun chuckle.

Zhao Ting snorted coldly, "Aren't you leaving yet!" With that, he lifted his robe and was the first to get up and leave the restaurant. Zhan Yun smiled slightly at the group and quickly followed.

Meanwhile, Duan Chen and Xiao Changqing walked back. There happened to be a tea stall by the roadside. Xiao Changqing patted Duan Chen's arm, pouting slightly, "Little Duan, I'm so thirsty. The food at that shop was good, but it was too salty, and there was no soup. Will you come with me to buy a bowl of tea?"

Duan Chen glanced at the tea stall. Fortunately, there weren't too many people, and it wouldn't take much time. "Let's go."

The tea had been brewed early that morning and was served in a small wooden bucket with a lid. There were seven or eight different kinds on the stall, each bucket labeled with a red slip of paper indicating the type of tea. Xiao Changqing stroked his chin, looked around, and then nudged Duan Chen's arm: "Which one do you want?"

Duan Chen pointed to the wooden bucket on the far left: "Excuse me, could you please have a bowl with jasmine flowers?" The meal just now was indeed a bit too heavy in flavor, and the jasmine flowers were refreshing and helped to cut through the richness. Duan Chen saw someone next to him buy some to drink; the soup was clear, fragrant, and piping hot, so it must be pretty good.

The stall owner was an old man. Upon hearing this, he immediately exclaimed "Oh!" and smiled at Duan Chen: "Young master, the lady just bought the last bowl. The next bowl will be made with jasmine flowers, so you'll have to wait a while. If you two are in a hurry, please choose something else."