Old Man Ju thanked Long Er and left with his daughter.
Once the carriage carrying the father and daughter was out of sight, Long Er strolled back to his bedroom. He decided to take a short nap and then send someone to the government office to deliver a visiting card before lunch. In the afternoon, he would visit Qiu Ruoming.
He lay down on the bed and went through everything. Suddenly, he remembered that the marriage arrangements—so many things hadn't been agreed upon. The dowry, betrothal gifts, the money for the formalities of marriage, the matchmaker's expenses, gifts, banquets, supplies, and so on…
He actually agreed to marry her without even considering anything; this is so unlike him. He needs to figure things out quickly; he can't afford to lose out, and he has to find a way to earn this money back.
Long Er only slept for an hour before getting up to take care of various matters. First, he summoned Li Ke and asked him to report on the progress of the spies. Then, he sent a manager to oversee the operations of the various tea shops, as the tea shop business could not be disrupted in Lü's absence. Next, he sent someone to the government office to deliver a visiting card and also found someone to inquire about what had happened to Ju Mu'er recently.
After lunch, he reviewed some official documents and files before ordering a carriage to be prepared so he could go to the Jujiu Wine Shop to pick up Ju Mu'er.
When they arrived, they explained their purpose to Old Man Ju, only to find that Ju Mu'er hadn't gotten up. Old Man Ju grumbled with heartache, "My daughter's health has been poor ever since she went blind two years ago. Last night she was frightened and injured, and she didn't sleep all night. She went to bed as soon as she got home this morning and hasn't woken up since. She won't eat when I call her, she just sleeps. I even warmed up her medicine."
Long Er nodded and asked Old Man Ju to go and check again. Old Man Ju was reluctant, but his daughter had told him on her way back that Second Master would come to pick her up in the afternoon and that he must wake her up, so he couldn't go against his daughter's wishes.
Long Er waited for a while before Old Man Ju brought Ju Mu'er out. She had slept, but her illness seemed to have worsened. Long Er frowned and touched her forehead: "Why are you so hot? Did you take any medicine after you came back?"
"I ate," Ju Mu'er said weakly. Old Man Ju hurriedly brought over the medicine that was warming on the charcoal stove: "You haven't eaten lunch yet."
Ju Mu'er took the bowl, frowned, and drank it down as if she were being tortured. Her bitter expression made Long Er frown.
After taking her medicine, Ju Mu'er weakly said in the direction of her father, "Second Master, let's go."
Long Er was furious. Who was he calling "Second Master" to? He reached out and turned Ju Mu'er's face towards him: "I'm over here."
"Oh, Second Master, let's go." Ju Mu'er said again in a daze. She was so sick that she had lost all her usual shrewdness.
Why are you leaving when you're in this state?
Long Er was very unhappy. He originally wanted to say that he would come to pick her up another day, but then he thought that wouldn't work. This old man Ju seemed to be someone who didn't know how to take care of people. How could he let a patient sleep soundly without waking him up to take his medicine and eat?
Long Er decided that Ju Mu'er would be under his care from now on. He pulled her up and said, "Let's go, I'll take you to see a doctor first, then we can eat and rest for a while. We won't go to the prefect's place for now."
Old Man Ju followed behind, seemingly oblivious. He watched as Long Er carried Ju Mu'er onto the carriage, the driver gave a "Giddy up!" and the carriage slowly started moving. Only then did Old Man Ju seem to realize what was happening. He chased after them, shouting, "Second Master, Mu'er has seen the doctor, and the medicine has been prepared!"
But no one paid him any attention, and the carriage didn't stop; it just kept going.
Old Man Ju scratched his head, unsure if the other person had heard him. He then wondered, if they weren't going to see the Prefect, why did they even bother taking his daughter away?
Moreover, why do Master Long and his daughter seem to be quite close?
Could something have happened that he, as the father, doesn't know about?
14. Talking and joking about the topic.
Long Er has a problem: if something isn't his, he feels it has nothing to do with him and doesn't care whether it lives or dies. But if it is his, whether it's a person, an object, or property, he feels it's his responsibility and that everything should be under his control.
So, yesterday, Ju Mu'er was a stranger to him, but after he said "I'll marry you" today, he found her pleasing to the eye no matter how he looked at her. Not only did he find her pleasing to the eye, but he also felt that it was only natural for him to control her.
So, finding it troublesome for her to climb into the carriage, he simply lifted her up. But once she was on, she found a seat herself, leaned against the carriage wall, and sat down without saying a single kind or comforting word to him.
Long Er was somewhat displeased, inwardly condemning the heartless blind girl. But no matter how intense his inner turmoil, Ju Mu'er remained oblivious, leaning against the carriage wall, feeling extremely sleepy, and closed her eyes to try and fall asleep.
Long Er suppressed his anger and sat upright beside her. After sitting there for a while, seeing that she didn't move at all, and instead her breathing became even, as if she was really about to fall asleep, Long Er felt even more suffocated.
The carriage clattered along, swaying slightly inside. Ju Mu'er's head rested against the carriage wall, gently bumping against it with each movement, producing a soft sound.
Ju Mu'er seemed oblivious, continuing to snore while repeatedly bumping her head. Long Er, however, was annoyed by the barely audible noise. He turned and glared at Ju Mu'er's head, which was still bandaged; her injury hadn't healed yet. And now, with her head being bumped so carelessly, this woman didn't even seem to feel the pain, still sleeping!
Long Er impatiently stretched out his hand and placed it behind her head; his thick, warm hand was clearly more comfortable than the hard car wall. Ju Mu'er mumbled something, snuggled closer to his hand, and fell soundly asleep.
Now the car was indeed silent, and Ju Mu'er's head stopped shaking. But Long Er's own hand was being taken over.
Long Er stared at the woman with her eyes closed and at peace, feeling utterly foolish. He'd stood there with his hand outstretched like a complete idiot, and nobody appreciated his actions. He should have just ignored her and let her continue kneeling there.
In the end, this silly old man walked all the way home with his palms raised.
The carriage entered the Long residence through a side gate. Long Er got out of the carriage first, quietly sent someone to fetch a good doctor, and instructed a maid to prepare a guest room for Ju Mu'er. Then he returned to the carriage, intending to wake Ju Mu'er.
"I'm awake," Ju Mu'er said groggily as he nudged her.
"Why aren't you moving if you're awake?" Long Er gritted his teeth. Luckily, he had been giving instructions to the servants in a low voice outside the carriage, afraid of waking her, and had dawdled for a while before coming up to call her. But the girl had already woken up.
Ju Mu'er rubbed her eyes and said sleepily, "Anyway, no one is calling me, which means I don't have to move. If I don't have to move, I'll just take a nap."
Long Er glared at her, then remembered she couldn't see him, so he told her, "I glared at you."
"Okay, I understand."
"..."
Long Er was speechless, but couldn't help glaring at her again. Ju Mu'er sat for a while and, seeing that he didn't move, asked, "Are you glaring at me again?"
"Yes." He said the word through gritted teeth.
Ju Mu'er frowned, feeling extremely dizzy, and really wanted to keep sleeping. She asked, "Should we get off the bus, or continue staring for a while? If you want to stare a little longer, then I'll just take another nap."
"Get out of the car!" Long Er picked her up by the waist, jumped off the car, and slammed her to the ground. This woman, when she gets confused, she could drive even a Bodhisattva crazy.
All he does is sleep.
As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, the surroundings turned chilly, and Ju Mu'er shivered, snapping her back to reality. She gripped her bamboo cane tighter, hunched her shoulders, and asked, "Second Master, where are we now?"
Long Erqi hadn't recovered yet when he saw that Ju Mu'er had completely woken up and become a different person, speaking in a dignified and polite tone. He snorted inwardly, thinking how quickly she had changed.
Seeing her frown, Long Er took her elbow and led her forward, answering as they walked, "At the Long residence."
How did we end up at the Long residence? Ju Mu'er didn't understand. But Long Er was walking fast, and she didn't have time to ask these questions. She just quickly said, "Second Master, please slow down. I can't keep up."
“You can keep up, so you don’t need to remember the way or run away. I’ve called a doctor to examine you, so you can rest and get some more sleep. I’m going to the government office to see Manager Lü and pay my respects to the prefect. I’ll tell you what happened when I get back. Once you’ve rested and are feeling better, I’ll take you to the government office.”
Hearing this, Ju Mu'er felt a warmth in her heart; this Second Master Long was indeed kind-hearted. She didn't object, but simply followed him to the side room to rest.
The doctor arrived quickly, took her pulse, and asked about her symptoms. Ju Mu'er answered while dozing off, her serious absent-mindedness making Long Er want to grab her shoulders and shake her hard, shouting: Wake up! Wake up!
But he didn't do that. Of course he couldn't do that. Although he was angry, he wasn't driven mad by anger.
So he gritted his teeth and watched the silly girl examine herself, which startled the doctor, who thought he had made a mistake in his diagnosis. He wanted to take the pulse carefully to appear attentive, but he was afraid the second master would think he was unprofessional. He wanted to appear skilled and finish quickly, but he was afraid the second master would think he was careless.
In short, the doctor treated this patient with a variety of reactions: one patient was sleepy and listless, another was angry and had a dark face, and yet another was cautious and trembling. Finally, the treatment was completed, the doctor rewrote the prescription, removed the cloth wrapped around Ju Mu'er's head, carefully examined the wound, and reapplied the medicine.
The pain jolted Ju Mu'er awake. She asked the doctor how long it would take before she could get her head wet, and the doctor replied that it would take at least ten days. Ju Mu'er's face fell immediately.
After the doctor left, Ju Mu'er said to Long Er, "Second Master, this case can't wait. We should handle it quickly and resolve it as soon as possible. I'll go to the government office with you now."
Long Er replied, "You should eat, take your medicine, and sleep first to bring down your fever. I'll go to the government office myself to settle things, and then I'll take you there once you've recovered a bit."
"No, no, I'll go with you right now."
Long Er frowned: "Weren't you just sleepy and dazed a moment ago? Why are you in such a hurry now?"
"Didn't you hear what the doctor said?"
"What did he say?" Long Er couldn't recall the doctor mentioning anything related to the case.
He said I couldn't touch water for the first ten days.
Ryuji's brow furrowed even more: "And then?"
"So, for the past ten days, my head has been covered in stinky medicine, and I can't even wash it. How smelly must it be?" She wrinkled her nose. "Let's hurry up and get things done before we knock out Lord Yin. I'll get everything I can do done as soon as possible, and then I can hide at home and just smell myself."
“…” Long Er was speechless. He thought she must still be sleepy and was talking nonsense.
He ignored her and only instructed the maidservant waiting beside him to take good care of Miss Ju, to serve her meals and medicine, and to watch her sleep for a while.
As he spoke, Ju Mu'er kept pouting. Her smelly body was a very serious matter, wasn't it?
Long Er glanced at her, snorted, and left.
He knew it; women were a real hassle, whether visible or invisible.
Just as Long Er reached the door, Ju Mu'er called out to him, "Second Master, wait a moment."
"You're not allowed to go now," Long Er interrupted her bluntly this time.
"Since I can't go, I'll tell you something first." Ju Mu'er frowned, clearly unwilling, but she still waved in Long Er's direction. "I'll tell you what I know."
Long Er thought this was a good idea; he could take some useful information with him so that he could make arrangements.
He sent a maid to wait at the door, then moved a chair to the bedside, intending to hear what Ju Mu'er had to say.
Just as the chair was placed down, Ju Mu'er said, "Second Master, don't get too close to me."
Long Er retorted irritably, "Because you stink?"
Ju Mu'er nodded, while Long Er glared at her: "I won't be overwhelmed by your stench."
"It still smells bad." Ju Mu'er waved her hand. "It's better to stay away, it's better to stay away."
Long Er moved the chair a little further away and placed it down. Ju Mu'er heard the sound and nodded in satisfaction. Little did she know that Long Er didn't sit on that chair, but instead sat on the edge of the bed.
Ju Mu'er began speaking towards the chair: "Second Master, my eyes cannot see people or objects, but I can see a faint light. For example, if a candle is lit in a pitch-black room, I can see that little bit of light, or rather, I can sense that point is slightly brighter than other places. But if a lamp is lit in a slightly brighter place, I cannot tell the difference."
She paused, shifted her position against the headboard, and said earnestly to the chair, "Second Master, last night, when I walked along the corridor on the second floor of the inn, I didn't feel a single light. When Boss Zhu's door opened, I looked over but saw no light either, so there must have been no light in his room. That means he was asleep. While he was asleep, the murderer broke into his room. If that person didn't enter the wrong room and kill the wrong person, then they must have followed Boss Zhu and knew which room he was staying in. They even extinguished the lanterns in the corridor beforehand to avoid being seen."
Ju Mu'er paused for a moment after saying this, and Long Er, upon hearing this, couldn't help but say, "You're right."
As soon as he spoke, Ju Mu'er turned her head sharply, from the direction of the chair to Long Er. She was a little annoyed: "You're teasing me again!"
"No," Ryuji denied.
He would never tell her how funny it was that she was seriously talking to an empty chair.
15. A blind woman uncovers the details of the case.
Ju Mu'er glared angrily in Long Er's direction. Thinking about how serious she had been just now, she realized how foolish she had been. She pouted and didn't want to say anything more.
Long Er quickly changed the subject to coax her: "What you said makes some sense, but you missed one thing. If they had been fighting inside the house and blew out the light, you still wouldn't be able to see any light when you opened the door."
Ju Mu'er was taken aback for a moment, then nodded after thinking about what he said.
Seeing that her attention had returned to the case, Long Er couldn't help but smile and said, "But you guessed correctly, because Boss Zhu's body was only wearing his undergarments, so he must have been asleep. If someone came to visit, he would have dressed properly to see them. So your guess is probably right, someone broke in while he was asleep."
Ju Mu'er tilted her head and thought about it carefully, then said, "The murderer was wearing cloth clothes. I didn't touch his face. In such cold weather, his clothes weren't thick, and he was quite strong. He covered my mouth and dragged me into the house. My head was touching his chin. He was probably about half a head taller than me. I poked his stomach with a bamboo cane, and he cried out in pain. Maybe there will be bruises there. I touched his hand. The back of his hand wasn't smooth; it seemed to have some small scars. Also, when he threw me to the ground, I grabbed his wrist. Maybe there will be some marks there."
After listening carefully to these words, Long Er mentally reviewed everyone in the hall and said, "It's fortunate that you didn't say these things in the hall."
Ju Mu'er nodded: "I know, words are not enough. If the real culprit is not in court, but his accomplices are or other related people have leaked the news, then not only will it not help Manager Lü clear his name, but it will also let the real culprit get all the information. If he is on guard, it will be difficult for us to find him."
“But you told the magistrate that you might have an important clue, but you can’t remember it right now. If someone really tells the murderer, you might be in danger.”
"But if I don't speak up, what if the Prefect convicts Manager Lü? What should I do then?"
“A case involving a murder is not something that can be solved casually.”
Ju Mu'er pouted: "I'm not an official, how would I know if it's casual or not? Back then, even Master Shi got his head chopped off."
Long Er was stunned. What? Master Shi was beheaded?