Snow falls and the wind blows

Chapter 27

“Aunt…” Zhu Qiaolian frowned slightly, seemingly hesitant. Xu Shilan, who had been sitting at the table without saying a word since earlier, slowly raised her head upon hearing Zhu Fangqing's offer to go to the yamen, her eyes somewhat vacant as she looked at her: “Fangqing…”

"Qiaolian, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, don't worry. Qiaosi is in this state now, I, I just want to stay with her for a few more days..." Zhu Fangqing couldn't continue, covered her mouth and turned to the bedside to pack her things.

Xiao Duan didn't say anything more, stepped over the threshold and left the house. He could faintly hear Zhu Qiaosi and Zhan Yun thanking him softly behind him. Xiao Duan nodded to Zhao Ting, and without stopping, left the Zhu residence.

After walking a few steps, Zhao Ting caught up. Xiao Duan glanced at him sideways, and Zhao Ting curled the corner of his mouth: "That kid can handle it all by himself."

Xiao Duan stopped in his tracks, his phoenix eyes half-closed, not looking at anyone: "I'm not going back to the yamen."

Zhao Ting smiled slightly: "Perfect, I won't reply either."

Xiao Duan frowned slightly. How could this person not tell right from wrong? Raising his eyes to look at the person who was staring down, Xiao Duan said coldly, "I need to go to the east of the city. I have some business to attend to."

"Alright. I've got nothing else to do anyway." Zhao Ting raised his eyebrows. He was determined to go all out with this guy today!

小段除了破案子时候，平时都很少讲话，自然更少和人吵架。从前遇到无赖的，要么揍人，要么走人。可今天这两招显然都不灵了。打人他肯定打不过姓赵的，轻功在这大街上也施展不开，而且自己也犯不着为了这么个人大白天跟个兔子似的满街乱蹿。小段眉蹙的更紧，袖子一甩，快步向前走去。反正自己干的也不是什么见不得人的事，他跟了一会儿觉得无趣，也就不会再缠着不放了。

Xiao Duan had only taken a couple of steps when he felt a cool breeze rush up from behind him. A white figure suddenly stopped beside him. Zhan Yun smiled gently, her crescent-shaped eyes curving into crescents, her smile as warm and gentle as a spring breeze: "Have you been waiting long?"

Xiao Duan clenched his fist hidden in his sleeve, and continued walking forward without saying a word. On the other side, Zhao Ting retorted directly, "Who's waiting for you! Did you finish your business before you came along?"

Zhan Yun wasn't annoyed, still smiling faintly, "It's all taken care of. We found a sedan chair and carried the two of them back to the yamen. Da Fang and the others followed behind, no problem." Then he looked at Xiao Duan and asked somewhat cautiously, "Where are we going?"

Xiao Duan remained indifferent and did not answer. Zhao Ting glanced at Zhan Yun with a half-smile: "You just follow along without knowing where we're going? Aren't you afraid of being sold out?"

Zhan Yun blinked his crescent-shaped eyes and smiled slightly, "Prince Zhao is worth far more than me." The implication was clear: if anyone's going to be sold, it would be you first!

The two exchanged sharp words, completely abandoning their usual cool or gentle demeanor, as if they had returned to their youthful days, when they would fight over a jar of wine and a sword. Unbeknownst to them, the person caught in the middle was already thoroughly annoyed and on the verge of exploding. Xiao Duan walked faster and faster, only one thought in his mind: these two are definitely not normal!

Author's Note: The two kids are clearly getting excited, and Xiao Duan is about to explode!

In the next chapter, I'll run into someone I know~ The mystery part will also be explained in the next day or two.

28

Chapter Nine: Reunion • Breakthrough...

"Have you found everything?" Xiao Duan asked softly.

The two who were locked in fierce combat fell silent at the same time. Zhao Ting raised an eyebrow, and Zhan Yun nodded slightly while waving his fan: "They've all been found. Now the evidence is conclusive, and we'll just wait for Zhu Qiaosi to recover before taking her to court."

Xiao Duan nodded and didn't say anything more.

Reaching a shop, Xiao Duan stopped and looked up at the plaque. It bore three large, sapphire-blue characters: "Huashengfang." This must be the shop Jiang Cheng had mentioned. Xiao Duan went inside first. Zhao Ting, standing beside him, narrowed his deep eyes, then turned to face Zhan Yun. Zhan Yun smiled slightly, tilting his folding fan, gesturing for Zhao Ting to go first.

Just as the two had expected, it was indeed a jewelry shop. Xiao Duan strolled around the shop, stopping occasionally, while a young shop assistant followed beside him, smiling as he asked, "Young master, our 'Huashengfang' is the most famous jewelry shop in the entire city of Hangzhou. Would you like to look at gold and silver or jade? Tell me roughly, and I'll be able to help you take a look."

Xiao Duan hadn't been to a place like this in years, and was momentarily dazzled. After a moment of hesitation, he whispered, "Do you have any jade hairpins?"

The waiter nodded repeatedly: "Of course, this way please."

“These hairpins over here are all made of the finest jade, with the hairpin head and body as one piece. They look luxurious and elegant when worn! Look at this one…” Upon seeing that two other elegantly dressed gentlemen had also come over, the shopkeeper became even more enthusiastic. He took out a tray covered with red brocade from the cabinet and carefully picked up a jade hairpin with a peony-shaped head and handed it over.

Xiao Duan shook his head, reached out and picked up a pale blue hairpin from the side of the tray, examining it closely. "This is just made of jade." Before the shopkeeper could speak, Zhan Yun had already said it.

"What is this carved? A lotus seedpod?" Zhao Ting frowned as he looked at the hairpin in Xiao Duan's hand.

“Young master has a good eye, it is a lotus seedpod!” the young waiter replied with a smile.

Zhao Ting glared at the shopkeeper, thinking to himself, "Who can't tell the difference between a broken lotus pod and a broken one? Only a fool wouldn't!" He then looked at Xiao Duan: "Is this for your junior sister?" A green lotus pod—that pod is made up of lotus seeds, which sounds exactly like "green seeds" in Chinese! The more Zhao Ting thought about it, the uglier his expression became. He thought to himself, "You really like that girl that much? This case isn't even over yet, and you're already thinking about buying her a hairpin!"

Xiao Duan didn't answer, but looked up at the waiter and asked, "How much silver?"

On the other side, Zhan Yun smiled faintly, "This hairpin suits Miss Qingzi quite well." Zhao Ting glanced at her and told her to shut up! Zhan Yun blinked her crescent-shaped eyes, a hint of confusion on her face, as if to say, "Young Prince, what's wrong with you?"

"Not expensive! Forty taels of silver exactly." The young shop assistant trembled when Zhao Ting glared at him, but when he heard Duan ask the price, he was overjoyed and quickly answered with a smile.

Xiao Duan calmly bargained, expressionless: "Thirty taels."

The shop assistant choked, his smile instantly stiffening: "Young master, this hairpin is exquisitely crafted and made of the finest jade. Forty taels is already a very cheap price."

"The jade is of average quality, lacks luster, and is not translucent enough. Thirty taels." Xiao Duan's voice remained cold and indifferent.

The young shop assistant opened his mouth, his palms sweating. He thought to himself that the shopkeeper had said this morning that the minimum price for this hairpin was thirty taels, and he wouldn't sell it for even one tael less. This young master's clothes seemed ordinary, but he turned out to be an expert!

"Alright! Thirty taels, this hairpin is yours!" Luckily, there were no other customers in the shop at the moment. The young shop assistant wiped his sweat, carefully placed the tray back in the cabinet, and took out a dark green brocade box from inside. He helped Xiao Duan put the hairpin away, and whispered, "Young master, you can take this hairpin for thirty taels, but don't tell anyone! Otherwise, if every customer is like you, our shop won't be able to do business."

Xiao Duan put down the silver and put the brocade box into his sleeve: "Of course, thank you."

Zhan Yun smiled and followed Xiao Duan out of the shop: "I didn't expect you to be such an expert on jade, Xiao Duan. That bargain you just got was really satisfying!"

On the other side, Zhao Tingze kept a gloomy face, thinking to himself that he had brought the sandalwood hairpin that girl had given him this morning, and now she was in a hurry to buy a jade hairpin in return. Was she busy exchanging tokens of love or something?

The three turned a corner and saw a large crowd gathering in the distance. The sounds of firecrackers mingled with the beating of drums and gongs, and a five-colored lion danced through the throng, accompanied by cheers and applause. None of the three were fond of crowds, but this street was the most convenient route back to the yamen; taking other streets would add half an hour to the journey. Reluctantly, they quickened their pace, wanting to get through the crowd as quickly as possible. Fortunately, Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting walked on either side, shielding Xiao Duan from much of the throng. Just as they were about to emerge, Xiao Duan suddenly stopped, his expression changing, his eyes coldly fixed on a corner. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun followed Xiao Duan's gaze, but only caught a glimpse of white before it quickly disappeared into the crowd. Zhan Yun turned to Xiao Duan: "What's wrong?"

Xiao Duan shook his head: "Let's go outside first." It was very noisy around, and even if they were very close, they couldn't hear each other clearly. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun understood Xiao Duan's lip movements and began to push forward again. After the three of them finally got out of the crowd, Xiao Duan stopped, turned his head to look at the pavilion again, and then looked back at the two of them: "Judging from this, it looks like a shop is opening."

Zhan Yun nodded, brushing his clothes as he did so: "I just glanced at the plaque; it's called 'Youqin Yashe' (幽沁雅舍)."

"Who did you just see?" Zhao Ting asked, frowning, his face turning pale with fright.

After pondering for a while, Xiao Duan slowly said, "I'm not sure either. It seems to be Song Qiao."

The three of them fell silent for a moment. Xiao Duan took out the brocade box from his sleeve, held it in his hand, and said softly, "Perhaps I'm mistaken. Let's go."