Lin Fei rubbed his temples, glanced at the vermilion gate again, and left.

After he left, the coachman, who had been listening to the commotion outside the gate, tossed his whip to the gatekeeper and strode off to report to Liyang Jùnzhǔ. Someone who could so casually order around ordinary servants of the Wang’s mansion couldn’t just be a coachman. The gatekeeper picked up the fallen whip with a respectful expression.

This man was a confidant of both the Wang and the Jùnzhǔ; he couldn’t be offended lightly.

They hadn’t caught the “trespasser” on the wall today, and someone else was likely to suffer at the Jùnzhǔ’s hands; it was best to be cautious.

Others envied their kindness and service in the Wang’s mansion, but only they knew what the masters and mistresses of the mansion were like behind closed doors.

When she returned to the Dali Temple with a stack of storybooks, it was just the time for the public kitchen to eat its evening meal.

Wen Mingtang went back to rest for a while, flipped through some storybooks, and went to the public kitchen just as dinner was ending to see the Tangyuan and Ah Bing, who had been busy all day.

The public kitchen was serving Yútóu Dòufu Bāo for dinner today. They had originally planned on one fish head per person, but Zhao Mengzhuo, the Dali Temple Minister, who normally never ate dinner at the yamen, unexpectedly stayed behind for the evening meal. To be honest, he had long been tempted by the public kitchen’s food. Even so, his wife still held a more important place in his heart. No matter how delicious the dishes were, he preferred eating the meals she cooked, so he rarely came to the public kitchen.

Today, Madam Zhao had gone to a banquet and didn’t cook herself as usual, so Zhao Mengzhuo naturally came to the public kitchen.

The spicy and savory flavor of the Yútóu Dòufu Bāo was absolutely to Zhao Mengzhuo’s liking. One fish head wasn’t enough; he ate two! Only then, patting his bulging belly, did he ask Ji Caimai for some hawthorn pills to aid digestion. He refused the coachman Lao Yuan’s offer of a ride and walked home.

With Zhao Daren’s unexpected arrival, two portions of food were gone just like that. Tangyuan and Ah Bing, who had planned to eat dinner only after everyone else had finished, could only make do with whatever ingredients were left in the public kitchen for their own meal.

Just as they were worrying about this, Wen Mingtang arrived.

The three who hadn’t eaten dinner yet immediately agreed and began checking the kitchen’s supplies.

The vegetable dish served for dinner had used eggplants, and there were still some left on the counter. As for the Yútóu Dòufu Bāo, the remaining fish meat had been made into fish balls, which were being saved for tomorrow’s soup. All the pork belly had been used over the past few days to make crispy pork belly, and it was currently marinating in the storeroom. However, because Ji Caimai had purchased such a large quantity of pork belly, the people at the farm had thrown in some minced pork for free. That small packet of minced pork was now sitting on the counter. Since there wasn’t much of it and it had been a complimentary gift, no one had yet decided what to do with it.

Zhao Daren had a good appetite, so the only meat left for the three of them for their evening meal was this minced meat.

Tangyuan looked at the small packet of minced pork, thought for a moment, and said, “How about making ròumò dùndàn?”

With Chef Wen there, ròumò dùndàn would be delicious.

Wen Mingtang picked up a few eggplants from the counter and said to Tangyuan, “Let’s not make ròumò dùndàn. We’re still short a vegetable dish.”

They had a good grasp of the appetites of the people from the Dali Temple; after their evening meal, there was nothing left on the table except some vegetable soup.

Holding up the eggplants in her hand, Wen Mingtang said, “Let’s just make one dish that combines both meat and vegetables!”

…

It was past 7 PM, the time for dinner, and most of the officials in the Dali Temple had left, except for a few who stayed to keep watch at night.

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu, however, hadn’t left yet. They usually paid more attention to the case than their superior, Lin Shaoqing, but since their superior was rarely on leave, they dared not slack off. With their superior absent, they not only couldn’t be negligent, but they had to perform even better; otherwise, wouldn’t they be seen as useless?

Today, after Hu Siming was in prison and Liu Sanqing, who dealt in gambling stones, they went to visit Zhang Wulin, who sold the Four Treasures of the Study.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, he had left a red moon-shaped Chengni inkstone on a pleasure boat.

When they visited Zhang Wulin, he was arranging the Four Treasures of the Study on his shelves in his shop.

Although it was just a shop selling the Four Treasures of the Study, it was different from most shops in the city that only had one or two simple storefronts. Zhang Wulin’s shop was more like a three-story building; it was the only shop in the city selling the Four Treasures of the Study with such a large floor.

However, the stationery sold in Zhang Wulin’s shop was no ordinary item; each piece was a renowned masterpiece. His clientele consisted of prominent figures and powerful individuals, and the price of a single inkstone was comparable to that of gold and silver jewelry. Given the size of the shop, this was understandable.

Such a shop didn’t rely on volume for its business. When Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu entered, only Zhang Wulin was there; there wasn’t even a shop assistant.

“The shop assistant has been busy with family matters these past few days,” Zhang Wulin explained with a smile after exchanging greetings with the two men. “There’s no one here right now, so please ask whatever you need, sir!”

The lost Chengni inkstone was placed on the table. Bai Zhu picked it up, glanced at the vermilion moon on its surface, and then stood up and walked to the display shelf to look at the stationery.

Zhang Wulin instinctively looked up, his gaze following Bai Zhu’s direction, when he heard two knocks. Turning his head, he saw Liu Yuan tapping on the table, gesturing for him to look at him.

The tap drew Zhang Wulin’s attention, and Liu Yuancai then asked, “The Chengni Inkstone isn’t a big item; it’s easy to carry around. How could it have been lost?”

This kind of external object, unlike the soft armor Liu Sanqing had left behind, was easily explained.

Zhang Wulin smiled and calmly explained, “On the Mid-Autumn Festival, with the full moon, I brought the Chengni Inkstone to try and close a few more deals. The atmosphere at the banquet was good, and I drank a few too many cups, forgetting about it when I disembarked. When I remembered it the next day, I immediately went to retrieve it.”

Liu Yuan hummed in agreement, neither confirming nor denying his explanation, and continued to press, “What time did you board the ship, and what time did you disembark?”

Zhang Wulin smiled and said, “I boarded the ship at dusk, on a sightseeing boat chartered by the Chamber of Commerce. There were many merchants on board; business people inevitably have social obligations, and many can serve as witnesses. I disembarked around midnight.”

These witnesses were the same as Liu Sanqing’s, offering no further evidence. As for the pleasure boats, after inquiring with Liu Sanqing, someone from the boat rental shop on the Wei River came to the yamen to confirm that there were indeed several merchant guild boats among the pleasure boats. Anyone registered in a merchant guild could board the boats without being bothered.

The witnesses Liu Sanqing gave when boarding were also from these boats, as were Zhang Wulin’s witnesses when boarding and disembarking.

Like Liu Sanqing, who seemed quite “frank” at first glance, Liu Yuan didn’t even lift an eyelid and asked Zhang Wulin, “Were there witnesses for the entire time? Did you leave at any point?”

Zhang Wulin’s smile froze for a moment, and he paused, looking at Liu Yuan: “For several hours without going to the toilet or going out to enjoy the moon and fireworks? Do you think that’s possible, sir?”

Liu Yuan shook his head: “Impossible.”

Therefore, it was unclear whether Zhang Wulin and Liu Sanqing had disembarked midway to conduct private business on their rented pleasure boats.

Giving witnesses is no different than not giving them at all. Zhang Wulin thought for a moment, about to say something, when Bai Zhu, who was looking at the writing implements in front of the display shelf, suddenly spoke up: “Zhang Wulin, we inquired before we came here and heard that every Chengni inkstone in your shop is a ‘one-of-a-kind,’ with a unique design. So… why is this one on your shelf the same as the one on your desk, except for the color?”

(End of Chapter)

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