Compendio de hombres apuestos en el mundo de las artes marciales

Capítulo 79

The two returned to the Prince's residence, and Duan Chen changed back into his usual blue long robe. At noon, Zhan Yun led Duan Chen by carriage to Xixi Reservoir in the south of the city. Zhao Ting and Zhou Yufei had already ordered food and were waiting in a private room on the second floor. Upon seeing the two enter, Zhao Ting jumped up, leaving Duan Chen completely bewildered. Zhou Yufei, standing beside him, sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Calm down, young prince! Those things I taught you aren't meant to be said now; we should wait until midnight when it's just the two of us!"

Zhao Ting also realized that the time and place were inappropriate, and he couldn't just sit down. He gave Duan Chen a deep look with his dark eyes and said in a deep voice, "I'll go and urge the dishes to be cooked."

Zhou Yufei stuffed a drink into his mouth and shook his head repeatedly. "You, Duan Chen, what have you done to our usually cold and domineering young prince!"

A moment later, Zhao Ting returned, followed by a group of people who were looking on with trepidation. In the blink of an eye, more than ten dishes were laid out, filling the table to the brim. The owner took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, took a soup bowl from the person standing behind him, and nervously presented it to Zhao Ting. Just then, the young prince glanced at him, and Zhao Ting abruptly turned halfway around and handed the bowl to Duan Chen instead.

Holding a cloth and lifting the lid, the owner bowed and introduced, "Young master, this is the first dish of our Xixi Reservoir Whole Fish Feast. Crucian carp has little meat and many bones, with a sweet taste, making it best for soup. This soup contains nothing but red dates and green onions; it's only cooked with freshly squeezed milk from the morning, so there's absolutely no fishy or gamey taste. On the contrary, it enhances the richness and flavor of the crucian carp soup. Please enjoy it." As he spoke, he handed over a small white jade spoon with both hands.

Duan Chen reached out and took the bowl, thanking the owner. The innkeeper wiped his sweat and then brought the other three bowls to the three of them. The bowls were small, but the soup was smooth and thick, with a sweet and refreshing taste. After drinking a bowl of soup, they felt soothed and their appetites were greatly stimulated.

The people waiting nearby quickly cleared away the soup bowls. The owner then lifted the lid of a plate in the center of the table, holding a small dish in his hand. He poured rice vinegar, soy sauce, minced ginger, and a small spoonful of light purple sauce into the dish. He then picked up a piece of glistening white meat with ivory chopsticks, dipped it twice, and handed it to Duan Chen along with the dish: "Young master, please enjoy."

Duan Chen did as instructed and put the fish slice in his mouth. He found it cool and slippery with a fresh, raw taste. After chewing a few times, he swallowed it and couldn't help but be a little surprised: "Raw?"

The shopkeeper nodded and smiled slightly, "Young master, don't be afraid. This is grass carp, which has thicker fat and tender flesh, making it perfect for eating raw. The purple sauce is fish and shrimp sauce that was pickled last autumn. It has a salty and sweet flavor. If you're not used to the taste of raw fish, you can dip it in more."

While the restaurant owner served and introduced the dishes one by one, the three other people were in no hurry and quietly ate with him. Zhao Ting saw that Duan Chen was sometimes surprised and sometimes delighted, and was eating very contentedly with a smile on his face. He was in a great mood.

One dish after another followed: stir-fried rice fish with vinegar, deep-fried ribbonfish, steamed grouper, fish head stew with tofu… The four of them ate with great relish, enjoying the sweet rice wine. Until the last dish was served, the owner lifted the lid, smiled at Zhao Ting and the other two, and said, “You three have been waiting patiently.” Then, turning to Duan Chen, he patiently introduced, “Young master, this dish is the grand finale of our annual all-fish banquet, and also our signature dish from Xixi Reservoir every spring: Rouge Xi Shi's Milk.”

The owner continued proudly, "Young master, don't be fooled by the small amount of meat in this dish. Just this small plate uses ten fish roe. First, it's steamed, then stir-fried, broth is added, and finally it's simmered. You see the crimson color on top? That's from the fresh amaranth, then the sauce is reduced and thickened. This dish is all about enjoying its freshness..."

Zhou Yufei was already rubbing his hands together, which made Zhan Yun shake his head helplessly: "He eats it every year, and he's always such a glutton."

Zhao Ting glanced at Zhou Yufei from the side, his face cold and stern: "Don't you dare take it."

Zhou Yufei rolled her eyes. "No loyalty!" she thought sourly. "I know I have to save the first bite of every dish for your Chen'er. I'm not stupid. I wouldn't dare to provoke him."

The shopkeeper smiled and placed a pale pink fish slice into Duan Chen's bowl. He then pointed to two small dishes in front of him: "Young master, these two dishes contain white sugar and sesame paste, one sweet and one salty. You can try dipping a little in them." As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou Yufei with a smile, "Of course, you can also eat it plain, just to enjoy the original flavor! It seems that Lord Zhou always eats it plain."

Duan Chen nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. He picked up a slice of fish, dipped it in sesame sauce, and put it in his mouth. He found the fish to be rich and sweet, melting in his mouth, extremely delicious. The sesame sauce was slightly salty and very fragrant, offering a unique flavor. Duan Chen slowly chewed the delicious fish, his brows gradually furrowing. He remembered the name of the dish the owner had mentioned earlier, and his expression changed slightly. With some sadness, he swallowed the fish in his mouth, his phoenix eyes widening as he stared intently at the plate of fish slices in front of him, a hint of fear appearing on his face.

Zhou Yufei was halfway through picking up a slice of fish when she inadvertently caught Duan Chen's expression. She quickly put the fish slice in her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and asked, somewhat puzzled, "What's wrong? The taste is normal."

Seeing that Duan Chen's expression was strange, the other two quickly asked, "What's wrong, Chen'er?" "Is it not to your liking?"

Duan Chen stared blankly at the plate of fish slices, then looked up at the group, including the owner who was sweating profusely with anxiety, and slowly said, "This is pufferfish?" Because pufferfish meat is white, with a clear and pure color, and its texture is delicate and tender, it is also known as Xi Shi's breasts.

The boss raised his hand to wipe his forehead and nodded in agreement.

Duan Chen's face paled again, causing Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun great anxiety. After a long while, Duan Chen finally said softly, "Aren't you afraid of being poisoned to death?"

Silence fell over the table. After a moment, Zhou Yufei chuckled softly, propping his elbow on the table. The other two couldn't help but chuckle as well. The owner, who was waiting nearby, looked both amused and exasperated, and hurriedly explained, "How could that be, young master? Every plate of pufferfish is tested for poison before it's served. Besides, our Xixi Reservoir's chefs have superb knife skills and are extremely careful when handling pufferfish. We've been serving this whole fish feast for nearly twenty years, and there has never been a single case of poisoning."

Duan Chen nodded and continued eating the fried ribbonfish from his bowl. For the rest of the meal, no matter how the three tried to persuade him, Duan Chen refused to taste the pufferfish. And every time he saw the three of them casually eating pufferfish while chatting and laughing, his face turned pale, filled with reluctance.

Zhan Yun took a sip of rice wine and had just picked up a slice of fish to put in her bowl when she noticed Duan Chen staring intently at the fish slice on her chopsticks with wide, phoenix eyes, his lips tightly pursed. Zhan Yun paused slightly, then placed the fish slice directly into Zhou Yufei's bowl. She glanced at Duan Chen with a smile, ladled a small bowl of tofu cooked in fish soup, and ate it, never touching the plate of pufferfish again.

On the other side, Zhao Ting felt a tightness in his chest, and the pufferfish meat he put into his mouth lost its fresh and delicious taste. He chewed and swallowed without tasting it, then tilted his head back and drank a cup of rice wine, his tightly pursed lips revealing deep displeasure.

Zhou Yufei was an expert in this area. He squinted at the situation opposite him and thought to himself, "Xingzhi is quick on his feet. He's made quite a bit of progress this morning!" With a glint in his eyes, Zhou Yufei nudged Zhao Ting with his elbow: "Hey, you're so busy eating. Didn't you spend half the morning at the Imperial Hospital? Did you find out anything?"

Zhao Ting was slightly taken aback. He had clearly gone to the Imperial Hospital that morning, and had been discussing matters with His Majesty in the Imperial Study before... He quickly realized Zhou Yufei's meaning, and then noticed Duan Chen looking up at him. Zhao Ting glanced at Zhou Yufei, a smile playing on his lips, and said, "I have made some discoveries. The imperial physician said that the pill's ingredients are quite similar to Five-Stone Powder. It is not toxic in itself, and if taken properly, it has a slight health-preserving effect. However, if taken in excess, one will feel hot, weak in the limbs, confused, and may even experience hallucinations."

Duan Chen listened attentively, remaining silent in thought. Zhan Yun nodded beside him: "If the effects are similar to Five-Stone Powder, it is indeed easy to lose one's senses and fall into hallucinations after taking it. In that case, it explains why those four people did not resist or call for help. However, the smiles on those four people's faces... are still a bit strange."

Duan Chen was silent for a moment, then looked up at the three of them: "I want to go to the coroner's office again later."

Zhou Yufei nodded in understanding: "That's true. We've already been to the Nunnery Hotel, the Xiang Mansion, and those two people's homes. Going back to check the bodies might yield some new discoveries."

"There's one more thing." Zhao Ting paused slightly, then said in a deep voice, "Today in the Imperial Study, His Majesty told me something. This case is probably not so simple."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yufei raised one eyebrow, while Zhan Yun and Duan Chen listened quietly.

Zhao Ting put down his wine cup, his expression also somewhat solemn: "Only a few people know about this matter at present. On the day that official of the second rank in the court passed away, His Majesty secretly sent people to his residence to search everywhere, but they could not find that list."

"What list?" Zhou Yufei found it strange. "That Lord Qiao is just a Grand Secretary, he doesn't have any real power, what kind of list could he possibly have?"

Zhao Ting glanced at him and said in a low voice, "That's just the surface. A year ago, Lord Qiao was entrusted by His Majesty to begin a secret investigation of all officials, big and small, in the court. His Majesty assigned a team of people to him at his disposal. The list recorded all the officials in the court who had colluded with the Western Xia and Liao people that he had found in the past year, totaling seventy-three people."

Zhan Yun frowned slightly: "Does Your Majesty believe that this matter is related to the Northwest?"

Zhao Ting nodded: "His Majesty has entrusted me with this matter entirely, giving me ten days to find out who is behind it and give them an explanation."

Zhou Yufei pouted, leaning back in his chair, looking rather listless: "Why do all these people seem to like setting deadlines of a few days lately..."

Zhan Yun glanced at him sideways, somewhat unsure of the meaning behind Zhao Ting's words: "Does Your Majesty mean to determine whether they are Western Xia or Liao people?"

Zhao Ting nodded slightly; that was exactly what he meant.

Duan Chen frowned and softly voiced his doubts: "How could Lord Qiao, who was in charge of investigating such an important matter, only compile one list? And since he was investigating officials in the court and the two sides at the same time, how could the lists from both sides be mixed together?" As a civil official and a high-ranking official of the second rank in the court, how could he be so careless in his work?

A hint of admiration flashed in Zhao Ting's deep eyes, and he explained with a smile, "There is indeed more than one list. Another one has been safely delivered to His Majesty, and the records from both sides are indeed separate. However, those two pages have been removed, which is why it's difficult to determine who did it. In addition, the other side has also obtained the list and will inevitably take action in the near future, destroying much of the related evidence. We don't need to worry about punishing those officials; His Majesty has his own plans. We only need to determine who did this."

Zhan Yun pondered for a while, still somewhat puzzled: "The four men all had smiles on their faces when they died, which proves that these four cases should be related to each other. If the reason for killing Lord Qiao was for that list, then what was the reason for killing the other three? One was a patrol officer, one was a registrar of Kaifeng Prefecture, and one was a vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel. They clearly had nothing to do with this matter."

Zhou Yufei was still troubled by his mother's pressure to get married, and was still feeling rather lazy. He stood up casually, stretched, and said listlessly, "Let's go. Let's go back to Kaifeng Prefecture first. We can take a nap on the way."

Duan Chen stood up, his hand, hidden in his sleeve, touched the wooden box containing the hairpin. He recalled what the man at the foot of Yu Liu Mountain had said, and his expression darkened slightly, his fair brows furrowing.

The four returned to Kaifeng Prefecture and entered the coroner's office. The same coroner who had examined the body earlier was also there, standing respectfully to one side awaiting the young prince's instructions.

Zhao Ting raised his chin and gave the man a wink. The coroner quickly stepped forward and lifted the white sheet covering the corpse, nodding slightly to Duan Chen as he said, "It's alright for me to do it, young master, no need for you to get involved."

Duan Chen nodded, carefully examining the corpse from beginning to end, occasionally asking questions. The coroner was quite old, and seeing that Duan Chen's questions were very professional, he was initially a little reserved because Zhao Ting was present, but he soon relaxed and answered Duan Chen with a smile.

Duan Chen looked at the four corpses one by one, and suddenly noticed a light brown stain on the fourth person's clothes. Because it was just a small dot, and the deceased was wearing a dark green robe, it was not very noticeable.