Was this the benefit of being a purchaser?

Liu Yuan glanced at Ji Caimai, took a sip of the salty and oily soup in the fried buns, and cursed: “You are pretending to be a public servant for personal gain!”

Ji Caimai raised an eyebrow, wiped away the vinegar and chili oil splattered on the corner of her mouth, and said, “As the purchase officer, I’m not here to save money for the royal kitchen. Do you mean to say we should waste those silver coins for no reason? If you have objections, why don’t the two of us go and reason with Lord Zhao?”

The “Lord Zhao” in Ji Caimai’s mouth naturally meant the current Minister of Justice, Zhao Mengzhuo.

Liu Yuan’s teeth suddenly ached when he heard this: This shrewd old man named Ji has actually moved out of Lord Zhao, so what can he say?

“Besides, don’t you want to try the chāoshǒu made by Master Wen?” Ji Caimai said, putting down the chopsticks in his hands and looking at the empty plate in front of him with a satisfied look on his face, “It’s been so long since I’ve had a satisfying meal!”

Liu Yuan rolled his eyes at him, bared his teeth at Ji Caimai, and remained silent.

Sure enough, he was still young. He needed to be 8 or 10 years older before he could deal with the surname Ji.

After eating the fried buns, when he went to find Lin Shaoqing with the file, he saw Zhao You collecting the plates.

Sure enough…Lin Shaoqing had long known that Master Wen’s breakfast was delicious.

Looking at Lin Fei who was slowly wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, Liu Yuan suddenly asked, “Lin Shaoqing, what kind of sauce do you like to dip these fried dumplings in?”

Before he finished speaking, Liu Yuan, who noticed that he was being talkative, quickly reached out to cover his mouth. Just as he was about to admit his mistake, he heard Lin Fei say, “Dip it in vinegar and spicy oil!”

Liu Yuan’s mouth was much faster than his brain, and he said it again: “It’s the same with Master Wen and Ji Caimai!”

Lin Fei glanced at him. Liu Yuan, who had just snapped back to reality, cursed himself for his impulsive remark. Fortunately, Shangfeng didn’t delve into it deeply. Instead, he flipped through the case files from yesterday and told Liu Yuan, “Go and verify the eyewitnesses from Lu Qing’s side to see if it’s true. If it checks out, we’ll put Lu Qing’s case on hold for now, and you can investigate elsewhere.”

Liu Yuan responded with a “yes”.

Lin Fei lowered his head and looked at the file that he had read countless times. He paused for a moment and suddenly pulled out a note from the corner of the table.

Liu Yuan took a closer look: it was the list of customers who bought the medicated bath package that he extracted from Yan San and others when he went to look up the medicated bath package that day.

Lin Fei pointed to the people on the list except Yan San and others, and said: “Go and check these people…” He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, as if thinking about it, and then said, “These people People like Yan San have private boats on the Weishui River. Where were their private boats on the day of the incident?”

Liu Yuan was startled when he heard that, and at this moment, he felt as if an invisible hand suddenly grabbed those people in his mind. Like a complicated confession, he suddenly came back to his senses: “Shuangxi, Lu Qing, and others all knew that Yan San’s private boat was hit by a private boat nearby…”

Lin Fei nodded and said, “Yesterday, I interrogated Shuangxi again. According to his account, Yan San’s private boat was unmanned at the helm and collided with Li Yuan’s boat. The boat from the Marquis of Pingxi’s residence was lavishly constructed. This collision directly pushed Yan San’s boat to the riverbank. The Wei River is broad, and at the same time, seven or eight private boats are navigating seven or eight private boats are navigating. It’s rare to hear of boats colliding like this. The boat that collided with Yan San’s private boat… I suspect it wasn’t due to steering issues but rather an intentional approach to get close to Yan San’s boat and observe what was happening on board.”

Liu Yuan immediately grasped the implication and said, “So, if there was an issue with the boat that collided with Yan San’s private boat… then originally, Yan San’s private boat was anchored in the river, and it’s highly likely that the two boats met in the river. Someone boarded Yan San’s private boat, and something happened afterward. Yan San was killed, and the person escaped back to their own boat, fleeing by sailing away. Because they didn’t know about the collision between Li Yuan’s private boat and Yan San’s private boat, when they saw Yan San’s unmanned boat returning to the riverbank by itself, in their panic, they decided to approach to check the situation, resulting in the accidental collision?”

“It is possible.” Lin Fei Said, “Go check these people.”

Liu Yuan responded and left.

This run lasted until dusk, when Liu Yuancai took the people back to Dali Temple, and then went directly to see Lin Fei.

Glancing at Liu Yuan who was sweating profusely, Lin Fei handed over a bowl of sour plum drink and said: “Served by the chef…”

Upon hearing the words “Served by the chef”, Liu Yuan His head felt heavy, and he instinctively said: “That’s not necessary…”

Before he finished speaking, when he saw the sour plum drink placed in front of him, Liu Yuan was stunned: the bowl was still the same as the public chef’s Daqing. Bowl, but the sour plum drink that was charred and black like a decoction from the past few days was gone. Instead, there was a maroon drink, dotted with a few golden osmanthus flowers, and on the top, there was a small piece of floating ice.

This… Liu Yuan was stunned.

“Ji Caimai brought this,” Lin Fei said, glanced at him, and said, “I heard it was made by the new Master Wen.”

Upon hearing that it was made by Master Wen, Liu Yuan quickly stepped forward and picked up the big dish. The green bowl was poured down fiercely.

Thank God! Although Ji Caimai was a bit old and cunning, in this matter, he was really a good person!

After taking several sips of the sour plum drink made by Wen Mingtang and savoring the sweetness in his mouth, Liu Yuan held the file and talked about business with Lin Fei.

“Lin Shaoqing, I’ve found the alibi witnesses that Lu Qing mentioned, and it’s confirmed that he was indeed with them before noon,” Liu Yuan said, “We can temporarily set aside Lu Qing’s case for now.”

Of course, as one of the suspected assailants who boarded the boat, Lu Qing wouldn’t be released until the case was fully resolved.

“Then, armed with that list, we eliminated those without boats, those onshore, and those with alibi witnesses,” Liu Yuan continued, pointing to the two names circled on the note in his hand, “There are only two individuals left. One is a wealthy merchant in the city, Zhang Zeduan. He owns a private boat on the Wei River. At the time of the incident, he was on his boat, and apart from a few personal maids, there are no other alibi witnesses.”

” It is hard to say whether the personal maid is a credible witness or not. Of course, Zhang Zeduan cannot be ruled out as a suspect.

“There’s also one more person, the Marquis of Huai’an…” Liu Yuan paused suddenly and said, “This name on the note is that of the nephew of the Marquis of Huai’an. However, neither Zhang Zeduan nor Yan San personally purchased the medicine package. Furthermore, the Marquis of Huai’an doesn’t have a good reputation. I believe that, rather than his nephew, it’s highly likely that he instructed his nephew to buy the medicine package on his behalf.”

” Zhang Zeduan has been brought here, and he is in the inner hall. As for Marquis Huai’an…” Liu Yuan said this, paused, and said, “I’m keeping quiet for the time being. I’m just looking for someone to keep an eye on Marquis Huai’an.”

The Marquis of Huai’an was not as wealthy as Zhang Zeduan, the merchant. It wouldn’t be easy to bring him directly to the Ministry of Justice. If they questioned him directly at his residence and obtained useful information, that would be fine. However, if they didn’t find anything and alerted him, it could complicate matters.

When Lin Fei heard this, he nodded and said to Liu Yuan, “Well done!” After that, he stood up and said, “Let’s go and see this Zhang Zeduan!”

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T/N Nothing happens if God doesn’t want it. After coming back, since last Monday, I as down with viral fever and I am feeling a little better just today. So sorry for not posting for a week.