Zhang Zeduan was a big businessman in the silk business in the city, and he looked like he had a big belly. More than half of the ten fingers were covered with large emerald agate rings, not to mention decorative items such as the bead chain around the neck, the pearls on the shoes, and the jade on the hat. He put on these accessories wherever he could wear them, all over his body.

When Liu Yuan saw him for the first time, he felt like his eyes were blinded by the glittering golden light on his body.

Looking at Zhang Zeduan, who had the word “rich businessman” prominently written on his face, Lin Fei asked: “Do you know Yan San?”

Zhang Zeduan’s lips moved and he instinctively said “No…”. Before he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of the faces of Lin Fei and Liu Yuan, and he laughed twice and said, “I know, I know.”

“How?” Lin Fei asked.

Seeing Zhang Zeduan roll his eyes, Liu Yuan did not hesitate and took out the note and waved it in front of him. Then he shrank his shoulders and said, “Same… people of the same way.”

“What kind of people are of the same way?” Lin Fei continued to ask as if he didn’t understand.

Zhang Zeduan’s expression froze, and then he said: “It’s just… uh, a little more romantic.”

“The romantic who robbed a commoner girl?” Liu Yuan couldn’t help but interrupt when he heard this.

Hearing this, Zhang Zeduan quickly looked at Lin Fei, and seeing that his expression was still calm, he said, “No! I paid the money. Their family sold the person to me.”

Liu Yuan glanced at Shang Feng. Seeing that Shangfeng didn’t stop himself, he continued: “You know why they sold her to you! Which of the girls you deliberately selected was not a girl from a poor family?”

Zhang Zeduan secretly glanced at Lin Fei who pursed his lips and said nothing, and couldn’t help but quibble: “We… we didn’t force them to sell their girls!”

This was a tactic in the open, a straightforward tactic. Even though they knew they had done such things, they couldn’t do anything about it, which was truly infuriating!

Watching the evasive Zhang Zeduan, Lin Fei spoke up once again at this moment, saying, “You mean, after Lord Huai’an and Yan San and others who have passed away selected these women, they were entertained on this ship on a regular basis?”

A well-known young minister from Dali Temple suddenly spoke, startling Zhang Zeduan, and nodded instinctively.

When he came to his senses, collected his thoughts, and observed Lin Fei’s expression, he said, “Yes, Lord Huai’an was relatively better off. He had control over his household, but the rest of us… We were in somewhat of a predicament.”

When Zhang Zeduan said it was inconvenient, Liu Yuan understood immediately.

Those few good children who were regarded as honest and well-behaved by their families; the polite and harmonious Yan San; and the Mr. Zhang in front of him who relied on his wife’s family to gain power were indeed such people who usually had a reputation of being a good person.

“It’s…not very convenient at home.” Zhang Zeduan said, “It’s easy to find places like brothels, but it’s most convenient to be on a boat. It’s just that when the family hears the news or something, we take advantage of the two boats meeting in the river. We could then just push the person to someone else’s boat. No matter what, it is always convenient for Duke Huai’an.”

Liu Yuan sneered when he heard this.

Zhang Zeduan flinched. Although it was Liu Yuan who was sneering, he still instinctively looked to Lin Fei aside.

Lin Fei looked at him and asked, “When Yan San’s accident happened, were you having fun on your private boat?”

Zhang Zeduan nodded and said, “My maids can bear witness.”

Lin Fei looked at Liu Yuan, who pointed outside and said, “Those maids have also been brought back.”

When he said this, the expression on his face was somewhat complicated and subtle.

After the maid was brought in, Lin Fei knew where the complexity of Liu Yuan’s face came from.

The maids all looked pretty, and when they saw the two of them, they bowed and knelt down.

Because of the hot weather, several people were wearing summer-made chest-length skirts, and there was nothing special or out-of-the-ordinary about them. It was just that the summer clothes were cool, and a small part below the neck was exposed and visible at a glance. The criss-crossing scars, against the pretty faces of several people, looked inexplicably dazzling.

There were no injuries on the faces of several people, which showed that Zhang Zeduan still wanted to have more dignity, and being exposed in public was not considered a cruel act. One can imagine how the injury hidden in the clothes would be.

Seeing Lin Fei and Liu Yuan looking at the small wound below the maid’s neck, Zhang Zeduan laughed a little guiltily and said: “This… these are just some preferences. I will change them in the future…”

” Change your appearance!” Liu Yuan gave him a blank look and sneered, “You are now the suspected murderer of Yan San. Let’s clear the suspicion first!”

After hearing this, Zhang Zeduan waved his hands and said, “I will kill Yan San and the others. Why?”

One of the maids kneeling on the ground suddenly raised her head, but immediately lowered it.

Although this reaction was so fast that people almost missed it, but for Liu Yuan and Lin Fei, who had been paying attention to the reactions of the maids on the ground, they naturally did not miss it.

After looking at the beautiful maids, Lin Fei asked them: “When Yan San’s accident happened, was Zhang Zeduan with you?”

Several maids responded “Yes” in unison.

Lin Fei asked again: “What were you all doing?”

Several serving maids chorused together, “Helping my lord massage his legs!”

Such a unanimous reaction… Zhang Zeduan smiled brightly and asked the two of them: “Two adults, Does this prove my innocence?”

In response to this, Liu Yuan angrily shouted, “Your mother’s proof? The way these four people respond like they’ve rehearsed it is the proof!” He continued with a sarcastic tone, “I rarely see a group of people respond in unison like this.”

Everyone’s speaking habits were different. Just like they all ate fried dumplings in the morning; but if Lin Shaoqing walked up to them and asked what they had for breakfast, Bai Zhuhui would simply answer with two words “jiānbāo”, Ji Caimai would probably say “jiānbāo made by Master Wen”, and he would say “jiānbāo made with pork meat filled by Master Wen, which can be eaten with sauce. I dipped it in vinegar and sesame oil.”

Although the reaction of the four people in unison cannot prove that Zhang Zeduan was definitely guilty, it certainly cannot be used as a witness statement.

“You are the master of the four of them, and you are threatening the four of them to give false testimony. How dare they not obey?” Liu Yuan said.

Zhang Zeduan’s expression changed. When he was about to speak, Lin Fei suddenly pointed at one of the maids and asked, “Tell me, is there any conflict between Zhang Zeduan, Yan San, and others?”

The serving maid shrank back, and before she could speak, Zhang Zeduan immediately exclaimed, “This is a misunderstanding! We are all of the same kind, cooperating out of necessity. Where is the contradiction in that?”

He really proved his innocence, and even scolded himself!

Liu Yuan sneered and saw the maid shivering and shaking her head. Just as she was about to speak, she heard Lin Fei say: “Perjury for the murderer is considered an accessory. Think well before you answer!”

The maid shrank at the words. It got even worse. Just when Zhang Zeduan couldn’t help but want to speak, the maid suddenly raised her voice: “My Lord …My Lord has had several arguments with Master Yan and others!”

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T/N: Feeling fit after such a long time. Hopefully will post one chapter a day from today.