Amidst Liang Hongjin’s exclamations, the thinly sliced, translucent beef was placed in the pot. The moment it hit the pot, its color visibly changed from red to light, cooking in just a few breaths!

Liang Hongjin couldn’t help but sigh, saying, “You cooks’ knife skills are truly excellent, no less than those of us who are used to wielding knives and spears!”

Wen Mingtang shook her head, transferring the Suān cài niú ròu bāo to a small earthenware pot, garnishing it with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies, and minced garlic, ready for the final spoonful of hot oil before the meal.

…

Wen Mingtang’s lunch preparations were almost complete, but the standoff at the Thousand Lantern Shop had reached a complete stalemate.

The plaque bearing the three characters “Qian Deng Pu” (Thousand Lanterns Shop), bestowed by the late Emperor, hung crookedly in front of the shop. The once lavish and imposing shop, reserved for the wealthy and powerful, was now a mess, much like the crooked plaque. The shop assistants and guards who had initially resisted were pinned to the ground, unable to move. In the main hall, Jiang Chengzhu, the young master of the Jiang family, lay disheveled, his hands bound behind his back, a jade-colored carving knife lying beside him.

Although he wore a craftsman’s grey-black apron and was in a sorry state, his handsome features still stood out among the crowd.

No wonder even the stubborn and selfish Miss Yuan was captivated by his appearance and refused to implicate him.

Liu Yuantong and Bai Zhu looked down at the young master of the Jiang family and said, “Young Master Jiang, speak!”

“What is there to say?” At this moment, the young master of the Jiang family was no longer as composed as when he was summoned to the Dali Temple for questioning. His voice was filled with a hint of irritation. “Even if you gentlemen are from the Dali Temple, you have forcibly entered Qiandeng Shop without any reason. My Jiang family will risk our entire family fortune to appeal to the Emperor and ask what your intentions are!” He truly wouldn’t shed tears until he saw the coffin!

“Don’t worry, Young Master Jiang, Miss Yuan is devoted to you and has never betrayed you,” Bai Zhu said, shaking his head. He then squatted down, picked up the jade-colored carving knife, and examined it for a moment before saying, “Isn’t Qiandeng Shop a lantern shop? How come Young Master Jiang, who inherited the family business, has taken up the trade of tombstone carving?”

Jiang Chengzhu was about to speak when Bai Zhu took out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it for Jiang Chengzhu to see: “The day we invited Young Master Jiang over for questioning, did you still recognize the testimony you wrote yourself?”

The testimony was nothing more than Jiang Chengzhu’s account of where he was and who he was with on the Mid-Autumn Festival. The testimony itself was full of nonsense; Lin Fei asked questions, he answered, and after the clerk wrote down the details of their conversation, Jiang Chengzhu copied it down. Bai Zhu wasn’t referring to the testimony itself, but rather… the handwriting.

“You carved that stone tablet with the three characters ‘Linliu Village’ in front of Linliu Village, didn’t you?” Bai Zhu said.

Jiang Chengzhu’s face stiffened, and he opened his mouth, subconsciously retorting, “Handwriting… so what? Even if I wrote those three characters, many of my Qiandeng Shop’s customers are wealthy, and even the wealthy idler of Linliu Village has bought lanterns from me. What’s wrong with asking me to write those three characters and help make a tablet?”

“You admit you wrote those three characters, that’s correct!” Liu Yuan, standing to the side, couldn’t help but interject, sneering, “Young Master Jiang must have put a lot of effort into the colors and materials used for that three-character stele at Linliu Manor!”

Jiang Chengzhu, who had been arguing just a moment ago, turned pale instantly.

Bai Zhu, looking at Jiang Chengzhu’s pale face, said, “The person behind you believes in this path, indulging in pleasure and evil arts. No wonder he calls himself a ‘rich and idle man,’ even his evil arts materials are more particular than those of ordinary people!”

“The land of Ba Yue is rich in cinnabar mines. In the past, the late Emperor was obsessed with this art and found many wealthy and idle members of the imperial family to help mine the cinnabar mines. One particular mine produced cinnabar of exceptional quality, its color resembling blood, which they called the Blood Mine. The late Emperor himself was most fond of the ore from this Blood Mine, believing it to be divine stones sent from heaven. Due to its scarcity, only those in charge of the mine, besides those in the palace, could access the Blood Mine ore!” Bai Zhu said, looking at Jiang Chengzhu. “How did Young Master Jiang obtain this Blood Mine ore?”

Liu Yuan, who was standing to the side, couldn’t help but sneer, “It’s because he was originally a pawn of those people.”

Cold sweat dripped down Jiang Chengzhu’s forehead. He was about to speak when Bai Zhu continued, “Don’t implicate Li Zhou. Li Zhou contacted those thugs in the martial world, while you contacted Miss Yuan. Li Zhou thought you were under his command, but since you were able to bypass him and obtain this Blood Mine ore, it’s clear that your status is the same in their eyes!”

“Or perhaps not entirely the same. Compared to Li Zhou, Young Master Jiang’s knife pleases them more. Or perhaps you could say they’re all scheming individuals involved in this kind of evil magic!” Bai Zhu said, walking to the table next to Jiang Chengzhu, where carving tools were placed. From the pile of tools, he picked out a piece of jade-white stone inscribed with talismans, saying, “Evil magic has always involved rituals. Those people wouldn’t entrust the task of setting up such rituals to just anyone they don’t trust. Young Master Jiang is just right!”

Jiang Chengzhu’s face paled even more. Just as he was about to continue speaking, Bai Zhu said, “After the Yuan family and the Jiang family fell out, it’s not surprising that they started a waterborne goods business based on the terrain of Jiangling. But suddenly switching from a lantern shop business to the business of selling tombstones and other artifacts seems too abrupt!”

It was not that one couldn’t do the business of selling tombstones and other artifacts! However, the business of funeral and magic was not widely involved, and because its intricacies were quite exclusive, even a charlatan like Abbot Lin Yuan needed a guide to buy a few secret almanacs. The Yuan family was a large clan, and for such a large clan to suddenly switch to this completely unfamiliar business, especially one that was taboo to most people, would likely face considerable opposition if someone wanted to get involved, as they would find it incomprehensible and unlucky.

Therefore, the reaction of the brainless Second Master Yuan from the Yuan family was the typical reaction of someone unfamiliar with this kind of business.

“On the surface, the Yuan family switched to the funeral business, while the Jiang family has always run a lantern shop,” Bai Zhu said, shaking his head. “The truth might be the opposite. The Jiang family, who outwardly insisted on running a lantern shop, is actually the real culprit who led the Yuan family into the funeral business!”

Hearing this, Jiang Chengzhu, whose face was pale, seemed to calm down. He sneered and looked at the two men, saying, “Where’s the evidence?”

“You two gentlemen, words alone are not enough to convict someone!” Jiang Chengzhu said. “Blood ore is indeed rare, but if I bribed the guards at the mine and stole some, wouldn’t I be able to make more money from the Linliu Manor lord?” Jiang Chengzhu raised his eyes, his handsome features appearing particularly sinister in the sunlight. His gaze, like that of a venomous snake, swept over the two men: “Do you gentlemen have any evidence?”

(End of Chapter)

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