Geschichte über einen Ehemanndiebstahl

Kapitel 97

Zhao Ting frowned, looking somewhat displeased: "No matter what, arresting and sentencing people is the government's job. By doing this, aren't you giving him permission to use the law for personal gain?"

Xiao Changqing glanced at the two of them and said somewhat irritably, "Listen carefully, both of you. Duan's exact words were, if he 'has the ability' to get ahead. If in the end that the guy surnamed Li really beats him to it, it only proves that you are incompetent!"

Zuo Xin and Xiao Changqing, both members of the martial arts world, not only didn't dislike Duan Chen's actions but actually admired them. They nodded in agreement, saying, "Actually, Duan Chen is doing this for your own good. If the murderer really is from the Seven Sheng Cult, then it's like having two groups waiting to capture him. He won't be able to escape even if he grows wings! Li Lingge is ruthless; anyone who dares to touch his men will suffer the consequences. Isn't this also equivalent to ridding the people of a scourge?"

Originally, the Seven Sheng Cult members weren't easy to deal with. If the government couldn't handle them, there was always a ruthless character like Li Lingke waiting in the wings. No matter how you looked at it, Duan Chen's move was quite shrewd. Actually, Duan Chen did have his own motives. Zhan Yun was using Yu Sheng as bait; if it weren't for the Seven Sheng Cult members, things would be fine. But if they were, this case wouldn't be so simple. In the end, when both sides showed their true strength, having Li Lingke lend a hand would definitely be beneficial to their side.

Zhao Ting still disagreed. It was a government investigation, and if Li Lingke beat them to it, wouldn't that be a blow to the Zhao family's reputation? The Western Xia had been restless, plotting to become an independent state, and the court had been trying to suppress the Tuoba clan's arrogance for years. Li Lingke was even more audacious, daring to infiltrate the imperial army. Zhao Ting hadn't yet gotten over his previous anger, and hearing that Duan Chen had unilaterally agreed to this, he found it hard to accept.

Zhan Yun gently placed Duan Chen's hand under the table, smiled faintly at her, then turned to look at everyone and said softly, "This case has just begun, and we don't have many clues yet. It's too early to say anything now. Let's eat."

Xiao Changqing picked up his chopsticks to eat, then smiled and glanced at Zhan Yun—Little Yunyun, look how much Duan protects you, you're so lucky!

Zhan Yun smiled slightly at him, then leaned close to Duan Chen's ear and whispered, "Let's all just stick to the facts and not take it to heart." Seeing Duan Chen nod slightly, she quickly pecked his earlobe when no one was looking, "Thank you."

Duan Chen's entire ear turned bright red instantly, and her cheeks flushed slightly. She gave him a reproachful look and was about to pull her hand away.

Zhan Yun squeezed her hand slightly tighter, her crescent-shaped eyes smiling as she looked at her. Then she released her hand and helped her serve the soup.

Author's Note: There will be an update tomorrow at 9 AM!

86

Chapter Three: Investigation • Parental Decree...

After the meal, the six people split into three groups and went to the residences of the three victims to find out what had happened. All three were murdered in their own rooms: the young lady of the Lu family was in her boudoir, the scholar surnamed Jiang was in a small inn, and Li Lingge's subordinate was in a small house in the backyard of the winery.

Meanwhile, Duan Chen and Zhan Yun arrived at the small inn and followed the waiter up to a room on the second floor at the corner. When the waiter saw that they were government officials investigating a case, he complained to them with a bitter face, saying that the inn's business had been affected in the past few days, and many of the guests who used to stay here had moved to other places.

The two entered the room and found it to be small, with only one small window, so even at midday, the sun couldn't reach it. Because Lord Cao had given orders, the room remained exactly as it had been on the day of the crime. There was a small patch of dried, dark blood on the bed, and on the table were paper, ink, a kettle, and a cup.

A small stack of books was neatly arranged on the bedside table, and a wooden box sat against the wall near the window. Opening it, wow! Aside from a few slightly worn clothes covering the head, the box was full of books and papers. Zhan Yun picked up a book, flipped through it, and said gently, "Looks like you're preparing for the special imperial examination."

The waiter nodded repeatedly, "This gentleman is very kind. Although he rented the cheapest room here, he has never been late in paying. He is very frugal in his eating and dressing, but he is willing to spend money to buy books!"

"Every day, he gets up before dawn and goes to bed really late at night." The waiter looked at the box of books in the corner and sighed. "Speaking of which, this guy is really unlucky. I heard he caught a cold during his exams last year, and he was delirious with fever, but he still went to take the exams! It seems he did pretty badly, so this year he's putting in all his effort to take them again..."

Duan Chen looked around and then asked the waiter, "Does he have any friends he frequents?"

The waiter frowned and thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "I don't think he has any regular customers. This gentleman seems to be from Chengdu Prefecture, and he doesn't have many friends here. Moreover, he rarely interacts with people and spends his days holed up in his room reading. When he does go out, it's usually to bookstores or similar places."

The two exchanged a glance and, feeling that there was no problem, Zhan Yun gave the waiter a few copper coins and told him to go down first.

Duan Chen walked to the window, intending to open it to take a look, but he couldn't budge it. Upon closer inspection, he saw that all four corners of the window were nailed shut. Duan Chen then went back to the door and checked the latch; it was intact. Moreover, judging from the records about this place and the waiter's previous attitude, the person who came in clearly hadn't forced their way in.

Duan Chen turned around and looked at the items on the table. That night, the man was reading and making notes. The kettle was still full of water, so it must have been boiled not long ago and he hadn't had time to drink it yet.

There was only one cup on the table and only one stool in the entire room, clearly indicating that the deceased had not expected anyone to visit and was focused on doing his own thing.

Adding to what the waiter had just said—that this person rarely interacted with others during his lifetime—Duan Chen frowned. In this way, the clues were extremely scarce, no wonder the constables of Kaifeng Prefecture were at a loss.

Zhan Yun stood by the wall, flipping through some of the scholar's writings. After a while, he shook his head thoughtfully.

Duan Chen leaned closer, somewhat curious: "Did you find something?"

Seeing her bright phoenix eyes looking at him, her brows and eyes full of focus on the case, Zhan Yun couldn't help but sigh. He folded the roll of Xuan paper in his hand and put it into his sleeve, then put his hand on her waist.

Duan Chen was puzzled as to what he was doing. Seeing him put the scroll into his sleeve, she thought there must be some clues on it, so she reached out to grab it. Zhan Yun let out a soft sigh, and with a slight tightening of his hand on Duan Chen's waist, he pulled her into his arms, while his other hand gently stroked her chin: "Don't worry about that for now."

Duan Chen was about half a head shorter than him. The two were looking at each other at such close range that he could only slightly raise his chin to look at him. He was still thinking about the case, and his phoenix eyes showed a hint of confusion: "What's wrong?"

Zhan Yun gently stroked her chin with his fingers, his crescent-shaped eyes fixed on hers: "So much has just happened, and you don't want to tell me anything?"

Duan Chen was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, his eyes subconsciously looking away, and his lips quietly tightening.

Seeing her like this, Zhan Yun knew that her stubbornness had resurfaced. He traced her jawline down to her cheek with his fingers, gently cupped her cheek with one hand, and lowered his head to place a kiss on her lips.

Duan Chen's phoenix eyes widened in shock, and she looked at him helplessly. This was a crime scene! And in broad daylight no less, and he hadn't said a word...

Zhan Yun was amused by her expression, and said in a low voice, "Do you know how worried I was just now? If I hadn't promised you, I would have just rushed in!"

Duan Chen seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly lowered his head to reach into his sleeve.

Seeing her take out her jade-shaped folding fan from her sleeve and hand it to him with a serious expression, Zhan Yun felt both amused and annoyed. He folded the fan into his hand, then placed it against his heart, hugging her even tighter: "I'm going to spend my whole life with you, what's so important about a fan..."

He was so angry at this man that his heart ached. Earlier at the teahouse, he had seen Li Lingke staring at her menacingly, his clothes disheveled, constantly pouring her wine, and always wearing a carefree smile. He knew without a doubt that the man had no good intentions. But this little blockhead, whose mind was only on the case, refused to speak when Li Lingke was mentioned, and then busied herself with fanning herself, completely oblivious to how anxious he was!

Zhan Yun pondered, a bitter smile playing on his lips. He thought to himself, "Oh well, what can I do? I've fallen for such an oblivious girl, and there are so many others who are deeply in love with her. I have to be on guard every day, and I still can't get any sweetness in return..." Taking a deep breath, Young Master Xingzhi couldn't help but feel discouraged. Did this girl even know what was going on between them? He had already written and sent a letter, and his father, elder brother, and sister-in-law had all been informed. He was wholeheartedly waiting for her approval before marrying her into the family!

Duan Chen noticed that his breathing was slightly unsteady and his heart was beating a little fast under his palm, so he couldn't help but look up at him: "Are you not feeling well?"

Zhan Yun smiled wryly and lowered his eyes: "Mm."

Duan Chen's heart skipped a beat, and she struggled to get out of his arms: "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

Zhan Yun tightened his grip on her hand slightly, his crescent-shaped eyes fixed on her, his voice low and slightly hoarse, making one's heart soften: "This."

Duan Chen noticed something was off about his expression, but he never expected that the man, preoccupied with his own thoughts, would furrow his brow and ask, "Does your chest hurt?"

Zhan Yun could tell from her expression that she didn't understand him, and his eyes darkened, while the curve of his lips became somewhat bitter.

Duan Chen wasn't as calculating as most women, but she was still quite perceptive. Although she couldn't understand why Zhan Yun looked like that, she knew he was unhappy. So she asked softly, "What's wrong? Are you angry with me?"

Zhan Yun kept his eyes down, holding the person in his arms, but didn't say anything.