Ying Xiaoman was left with only a chicken bone in her hand, while the chicken leg in front of Yan Rongshi remained intact.
He dipped his fingers in tea and traced the outline of a key shape on the table, his eyes fixed on the iron lump. After drawing a few times and erasing, he was pondering modifications when a finger reached over unceremoniously and wiped away the key outline.
"Eat first," said Ying Xiaoman, placing the entire lotus leaf-wrapped chicken in front of him.
"You won't figure out that iron lump better than a locksmith. Finish your meal, then we'll find a locksmith to puzzle it out for you."
Though bluntly put, the logic was sound. Yan Rongshi smiled and stopped his efforts. He placed the untouched chicken leg in front of Ying Xiaoman and took the whole chicken, using a small knife to slice meat along the bones.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, Ying Xiaoman had bought a lotus-shaped lantern for Zhi to play with when she went to do business at the butcher shop that morning. Now, Zhi, having eaten her fill, was running back and forth in the small courtyard with the lotus lantern.
Her adoptive mother watched the little girl play with a smile, though her words betrayed some worry.
With nothing to do in the courtyard these past couple of days, the adoptive mother had been pondering the murder case in Hetou Alley.
"I heard from Xiaoman that it's somehow connected to Prime Minister Zheng from the imperial court?" The adoptive mother fretted, "We're just common folk. As witnesses to a murder case, won't we offend Prime Minister Zheng?"
"Auntie, there's no need to worry," Yan Rongshi reassured her. "The Hetou Alley murder case doesn't implicate Prime Minister Zheng. The victim's testimony is on my desk and hasn't been entered into the official case files."
Ying Xiaoman asked in surprise, "Why not? I heard from Sui Miao that the victim clearly stated he was an advisor under Prime Minister Zheng."
Yan Rongshi calmly tore off two chicken wings, eating as he explained.
"First, the victim only spoke to you on the street. He didn't break any laws."
"Second, he insisted that he approached you out of curiosity, distancing himself from Prime Minister Zheng. As for how much truth was in his words, we couldn't question further before he was murdered."
"Lastly, when the Eleventh Young Master came to the Ministry of Justice a couple of days ago, I showed him the victim's testimony in person. Do you know how he reacted?"
Ying Xiaoman pondered as she gnawed on a chicken leg.
"The Eleventh Young Master is from the royal family. Since it involves someone as important as Prime Minister Zheng, did he think it should be investigated carefully?"
"No, the Eleventh Young Master blurted out: 'Another one of Prime Minister Zheng's advisors? Who's trying to frame Prime Minister Zheng this time? When will this nonsense end?'"
Ying Xiaoman almost choked, coughing a few times.
"What's going on?"
The adoptive mother brought over a plate piled with about ten of the sweet tangerines Sui Miao had delivered that morning, along with a plate of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds, placing them on the stone table.
Ying Xiaoman's curiosity was piqued. Like listening to a storyteller in a teahouse, she cracked pumpkin seeds, her eyes fixed on Yan Rongshi, waiting for him to continue.
After thinking for a moment, Yan Rongshi said:
"Prime Minister Zheng is a rare kind of person in this world."
"During the years my grandfather, Minister Yan, was in office, he made a few minor mistakes due to his love of alcohol. Prime Minister Zheng never makes mistakes."
"He's diligent in his duties, working from dawn to dusk. In his six years in office, he's never been late or left early, rain or shine. He doesn't lust after women or indulge in alcohol, living on simple meals daily. He doesn't form factions at court, and his family has no excess wealth."
"In his six years in office, he's been slandered and framed four times. He never refutes or writes memorials to defend himself. Each time, he calmly goes to prison, and each time he's found innocent and released."
"The most serious incident was when one of his advisors caused a fatal disaster. Upon arrest, the advisor claimed, 'I'm an advisor under Prime Minister Zheng, and everything was done under his orders!' This implicated Prime Minister Zheng, and his home was searched."
"Afterward, Prime Minister Zheng was found to have no connection to the incident. The search of his home unexpectedly revealed that he lived in poverty. As the head of all officials with a monthly salary of 300 guan, he only had two or three old servants at home. His wife had passed away years ago, and he hadn't remarried. His home was cold and empty, and even the house was rented."
A monthly salary of 300 guan, yet living in a rented house?
Ying Xiaoman asked in surprise, "What happened to such a large salary?"
"After the search report was submitted, Your Majesty was also puzzled and summoned Prime Minister Zheng from prison to the palace for questioning."
While Prime Minister Zheng lived in a rented house, he had bought two large mansions in the suburbs. These mansions housed hundreds of talented but impoverished scholars.
Many of these scholars studied hard and passed the imperial examinations to become officials.
Even more scholars who couldn't pass the exams continued to live in Prime Minister Zheng's mansions. Their entire families were supported by him, and they were known outside as "Prime Minister Zheng's houseguests" or "Prime Minister Zheng's advisors."
Prime Minister Zheng allowed them to live and eat as they pleased.
When these "houseguests" and "advisors" caused trouble outside and implicated Prime Minister Zheng, he would take responsibility if the matter wasn't too serious.
In front of Your Majesty, Prime Minister Zheng said: "Money is easy to obtain, but talent is hard to find. I myself was a late bloomer. Even if only one out of a hundred scholars I support eventually becomes talented, I believe it's worth spending my entire fortune."
"Your Majesty was so moved he was speechless, and Prime Minister Zheng was immediately reinstated. This happened two years ago."
By this point, Yan Rongshi had nearly finished the whole chicken, and the bones were reassembled into a complete outline on the table. He got up to wash his hands, concluding today's "storytelling" with a few final sentences:
"Since that house search incident, Prime Minister Zheng has been implicated in two or three more scandals. Some were attacks by political enemies, others were troubles caused by his advisors. But Prime Minister Zheng has earned Your Majesty's trust and remains firmly in his position."
"Your Majesty has a private commendation that's widely circulated in court and among the people."
"Praising Prime Minister Zheng, he says: 'A great sage is close to a saint.'"
The mother and daughter of the Ying family, who had been listening intently, both let out soft sighs of admiration.
The adoptive mother murmured, "Working diligently, not greedy for money or lustful, not even indulging in food – he really does seem like a saint."
"What do you think, Xiaoman?" Yan Rongshi asked as he sat down after washing his hands, peeling a tangerine.
Ying Xiaoman thought for a long time.
"He does sound like a saint. But... he also doesn't sound much like a living person. I don't know why, but as I listened, I felt a chill down my spine. Seventh Brother," she nervously grabbed Yan Rongshi's hand, "Don't become like that after being an official for too long. With a salary of 300 guan, it seems like life has lost its meaning, as if he's trying to become an immortal."
Yan Rongshi glanced at her. Something crossed his mind, and his gaze became meaningful.
"Don't worry, I won't," he said. In front of the adoptive mother, he didn't say much more, just pointed at the chicken skeleton arranged on the table in front of him.
"Not to mention anything else, the Yan family has a tradition of good food. Our daily three meals at home are prepared meticulously, far from simple fare. In the future, Xiaoman won't have to worry about being deprived of good food."
The adoptive mother visibly relaxed at this, smiling with relief. She got up to bring hot tea, inviting the two to drink.
Ying Xiaoman: "..."
"What are you telling me about your family's three meticulous meals for?"
Yan Rongshi just smiled.
He placed the peeled tangerine in front of her.
"The tangerines are sweet after autumn. Eat more."
When his grandfather was ill and had nothing to do, he had casually mentioned to him as a youth two or three times. It left a deep impression on him.
"What makes you you, and what makes me me, is that everyone has their own unique quirks. Likes and dislikes, the seven emotions and six desires, are the way of nature. As long as one's principles remain intact, that's enough."
"Everyone wants to become a sage, but true sages only exist in books. Even the bright moon waxes and wanes, and even the sun has eclipses. How can there be a person without flaws? When you encounter a so-called perfect person in the world, you should be careful to notice where they've hidden their flaws."
In the distance, the night watchman struck the bell for the second watch. Yawning continuously, Zhi was carried inside to be coaxed to sleep.
Yan Rongshi stood up to say goodbye.
Ying Xiaoman took a lantern to see him out, walking along the cobblestone path for about a hundred paces.
When they left, they were proper and formal, but by the time the moon's shadow had dipped into the clouds and reappeared, the two figures under the moon were pressed close together.
At the corner of the walkway, there was a small bamboo grove. As the bamboo shadows swayed, the two walked slowly hand in hand through the shifting patterns of light and shadow.
Yan Rongshi said, "I ate one and a half of those tangerines just now, and they were all sweet. How many did you eat?"
Ying Xiaoman counted carefully: "I ate two and a half. These big yellow-skinned tangerines are really sweet."
"Let me taste."
"Hmm...?"
The figures walking slowly along the bamboo grove in the moonlight stopped.
The bamboo shadows moved through the grove. Under the bamboo, someone was savoring carefully, the taste mingling the fragrance of clear tea with the sweetness of tangerines.
The moonlight shifted. The figures nestled together began to speak softly.
"The Yan family's daily meals are prepared meticulously, with many ancestral recipes and secret formulas. There are my grandfather's research and my mother's as well. In the future, they will all be passed on to you."
"But I don't love cooking. My mother does."
"You just need to look. If any recipe makes you crave it, just ask the kitchen to make it."
It sounded quite nice. Ying Xiaoman's eyes curved as she was about to say, "Zhi, that little glutton..." It would be hilarious.
But after just a few words, she suddenly realized and pretended to be fierce: "What are you talking about? Nothing's set in stone yet, don't talk nonsense."
Though her words were harsh, her eyes were still curved, like a crescent moon hanging high in a bamboo grove, reflecting the image of the young man before her.
She had a vague premonition. "Are you going to be busy again?"
Yan Rongshi didn't hide it from her. "The iron key hidden in the silver ingot is an important clue. We'll intensify the investigation. I won't be able to come for the next few days."
Ying Xiaoman showed a look of reluctance.
Yan Rongshi was even more unwilling to leave.
With parting imminent, he caressed her soft, alluring lips and coaxed gently:
"Open those sweet tangerine tea-scented lips a bit more. Let me taste them."
The torches blazed as bright as day. Tonight was a private interrogation of an important criminal.
Yan Rongshi sat behind the black lacquered long table in the stone room. Shopkeeper Fang sat cross-legged in a wooden cage in the right corner.
"As soon as you got the silver ingot that was in Ying Xiaoman's possession, you immediately melted it into liquid silver. This is not the behavior of an ordinary person."
"Therefore, when an old acquaintance came to return the fifty taels of silver, what was being returned wasn't the silver ingot, but something hidden inside it. You knew about this and intended to find that object."
Fang Xiang laughed and clapped a few times.
"It's not easy to have figured this out, Young Lord Yan."
"Unfortunately, I myself don't know what was hidden in the silver ingot. There's no need to pursue this further. Not knowing is simply not knowing. Even if you order torture, it would just be a waste of effort."
Yan Rongshi didn't show any disappointment.
Unhurried and composed, he engaged in a back-and-forth, slowly extracting information and carefully looking for loopholes.
"If you, the person in charge of Yuqing Tower, don't know about it, who else would? When someone actually comes to return the silver ingot, how would you verify if it's genuine or fake? Surely you wouldn't accept both real and fake ones and send them back to the Northern Country? If you were so negligent in your duties, wouldn't your superiors in the Northern Country take issue with that?"
Fang Xiang laughed self-mockingly.
"Regarding the silver ingot in Zhuang Jiu's possession, this old man truly doesn't know what exactly was stuffed inside. His master said he would entrust Zhuang Jiu to deliver something to Yuqing Tower for safekeeping. But in the end, the item never arrived, Zhuang Jiu disappeared, and only this old man was left waiting in the capital. Heh, waiting for over twenty years."
Yan Rongshi raised his gaze from behind the desk, observing Fang Xiang for a moment.
"You previously confessed that your relationship with the Sheng family was just ordinary business dealings, without deep friendship. Logically speaking, even if you remembered the Sheng family, you should have forgotten the details of your past interactions with them. Yet you've firmly remembered a request from over twenty years ago until today."
"What incredibly significant reason made you remember so clearly a casual question from an ordinary merchant, to the point that when Ying Xiaoman appeared years later, you immediately showed up, and as soon as she mentioned the surname 'Zhuang', you instantly recalled Zhuang Jiu, and even sent assassins to track Ying Xiaoman afterward? Tell me about that hidden part in between."
Fang Xiang instantly closed his mouth.
The stone room fell into a long silence.
Yan Rongshi unrolled the previously recorded long scroll and placed it in front of Fang Xiang.
"Fang Xiang, you said before that you were willing to cooperate with our questioning, only asking for a quick death. Since you've already confessed so much, why are you now concealing information, leading to torture and preventing a swift death?"
Fang Xiang sighed.
"To tell you the truth, Young Lord Yan. Since this old man has fallen into your hands, cooperating and confessing so much is indeed only to seek a quick death. But this old man still has family, wife, and children in the Northern Country. If you keep questioning, this old man's family, wife, and children cannot be protected."
Yan Rongshi pressed further: "Are you saying that being captured and sentenced to death, the exposure of Yuqing Tower's outpost, confessing to the spy network hidden in the capital - none of these would implicate your family, wife, and children in the Northern Country. But if I inquire about your connection to the long-vanished Sheng family, it would endanger your family, wife, and children in the North?"
Fang Xiang closed his eyes and didn't answer.
Yan Rongshi waited patiently.
After the air had stagnated for an entire hour, Fang Xiang finally spoke, with a hint of bitterness: "Having escaped the hands of your grandfather, Minister Yan, over twenty years ago, only to fall into your hands now - there must be some divine will at work. There's no need to ask further. This old man has already confessed so much, enough for you to gain merit and promotion. Why must you push to the bitter end? Please have some pity on this old man's family and little ones in the Northern Country. Let's conclude the case, Young Lord Yan."
Yan Rongshi put down his brush.
During the entire hour of their battle of wills, he had turned the white paper into a tangled mess with his drawings.
He added a few new relationship lines.
Shopkeeper Fang — Sheng family (unusually close relationship)
Sheng family (master) — Zhuang Jiu (sent silver ingot, containing copper key) — Shopkeeper Fang (waited bitterly for 20 years)
Yan Rongshi lifted his brush and heavily circled the words "copper key", then continued his questioning.
"An ordinary fifty taels of silver surely wouldn't make you remember it to this day."
"For example, if the Sheng family agreed to gift you their vast family fortune of millions, that would be significant enough for you, Shopkeeper Fang, to remember for twenty years."
Fang Xiang scoffed coldly: "The Sheng family gifting me their vast fortune of millions? The Sheng family was confiscated long ago, where would they get millions from?"
"It was just an example," Yan Rongshi continued unhurriedly.
"Indeed, the Sheng family was implicated in the old case of selling weapons from the national arsenal, their property was confiscated, and they met with misfortune. Therefore, the item the Sheng family had agreed to send you didn't arrive, and the promised Zhuang Jiu didn't appear. You couldn't pursue it and could only wait bitterly in the capital because you also didn't know where Zhuang Jiu had gone. If the Sheng family was still fine and the promised Zhuang Jiu hadn't shown up, you surely would have gone to the Sheng family to inquire long ago. Is that correct?"
Saying this, he dipped his brush in ink and recorded it.
"So, the time when the Sheng family's master arranged with you for Zhuang Jiu to deliver fifty taels of silver to Yuqing Tower was at the critical moment when the Sheng family was already implicated in a major case and about to have their property confiscated."
Fang Xiang closed his mouth in frustration.
Yan Rongshi continued his deduction: "Think about it in reverse. At the crucial moment when the Sheng family was about to lose everything, the item they sent out must have been extremely important. The person sending it must have been extremely trustworthy. Therefore, the Sheng family's master dispatched Zhuang Jiu, whom he trusted, to deliver an extremely important item to Yuqing Tower..."
He flipped back a few pages in the confession record: "Yuqing Tower had just opened recently back then, right? Shopkeeper Fang, you had just arrived in the capital, and your business dealings with the Sheng family were just a few wine transactions. How did a long-established merchant dealing in precious rose water business and a newly arrived, ordinary small tavern keeper form a relationship of 'entrusting a critical mission in times of danger'?"
Fang Xiang gritted his teeth in silence, the veins on his forehead pulsing, his eyes revealing a fierce light.
Yan Rongshi looked down at the relationship diagram again.
Shopkeeper Fang — Sheng family (unusually close relationship)
He added with his brush: Shopkeeper Fang (Northern spy)
"It doesn't make sense by normal logic. But if both sides were spies, knowing each other's backgrounds... then it would make sense," he said leisurely.
He got up and walked to another desk, flipping through the yellowed old case files one by one.
The head of the Sheng family, Sheng Fugui. Mainly engaged in the rose water business, with extensive social connections in the capital. Acted as a broker, introducing various wealthy individuals, and socializing with high officials and nobles in the capital.
One of these wealthy clients was actually the Fifth Prince of the Northern Country, Mo Erdun. Using Sheng's connections, he secretly formed relationships with high officials in the capital, selling off entire warehouses of fine iron weapons, and even large quantities of firearms.
Minister Yan pursued and investigated, managing to recover the sold weapons at the border, while also capturing the Northern prince and uprooting the spy nest in the capital.
"Let me see the verdict on the Sheng family's crimes... Sheng Fugui was unaware of the Northern prince's true identity, was used by the Northerners, implicated in the case, and sentenced to property confiscation and exile."
Yan Rongshi put away the old case files, walked back to the wooden cage, and continued to question Fang Xiang in a gentle voice.
"So, there were still fish that slipped through the net back then?"
"Besides the large nest of spies that your grandfather, Minister Yan, uprooted completely. The Sheng family, who claimed to be 'used by the Northerners and implicated in the case,' was actually a second nest of spies sent by the Northern Country?"
"You were unwilling to speak earlier, deliberately showing weakness by mentioning your family... Was it to protect this secret?"
Fang Xiang closed his eyes, then opened them again.
The veins on his forehead bulging, he said coldly: "Yan Rongshi, conclude the case!"
This was the last sentence Fang Xiang uttered.
Afterward, Fang Xiang didn't speak another word.
At dawn, Yan Rongshi slowly walked out of the stone room and gave orders.
"Investigate the past thirty years, re-examine the Sheng family involved in the case back then."
The fragrance of osmanthus wafted beneath his nose. On the way back from the interrogation room to the duty room, the osmanthus trees planted along the path were in full bloom.
Yan Rongshi's heart stirred, and he stopped in his tracks.
He asked a passing clerk for large pruning shears, carefully selected and cut a few branches in the morning light, instructing Sui Miao to send them to the Ying family's small courtyard in the west. He kept one branch for himself, holding it close as he entered the duty room.
A small basket of tangerines sat on the desk.
He picked one up and examined it. The large, bright orange fruit looked somewhat familiar.
"The young miss from the Ying family brought them early this morning," the Deputy Minister of Justice coughed lightly. "I happened to be entering just then and was about to stop her, saying that it wasn't appropriate to eat tangerines in an official duty room. But Miss Ying said that Magistrate Yan likes these sweet tangerines, left the basket, and departed. What do you think, Magistrate?"
Yan Rongshi smiled wryly. It wasn't the tangerines he liked at all.
He said nothing, but contentedly placed two bright orange tangerines on his desk.
When Ying Xiaoman returned from the butcher's shop across the street in the afternoon, she caught a whiff of a sweet fragrance from afar.
"Where's that osmanthus scent coming from?"
Her Adoptive Mother replied, "The Seventh Young Master brought a small basket with four or five branches this morning. There was also a piece of paper tucked under the basket. Take a look."
Ying Xiaoman retrieved the paper from the empty basket and read aloud, "Last night's lotus, this autumn's osmanthus, gathered in the Ying family's small courtyard."
"What does that mean?"
"I suppose it means he ate our lotus leaf chicken last night, and now he's sending osmanthus flowers as thanks?"
Ying Xiaoman looked around excitedly, "Where are the flowers?"
Her Adoptive Mother said cheerfully, "His timing was perfect. I was just feeling bored, so I made some osmanthus and jujube cakes today. The osmanthus is in the pot now." She opened a small stone pot releasing a cloud of steam. "See?"
Ying Xiaoman was speechless.
That evening, as Yan Rongshi was reviewing case files by lamplight in the duty room, an attendant knocked and entered.
"This is from Miss Ying," the attendant said, placing a small bamboo basket on the desk. "She said not to disturb your work and left immediately. She also instructed that Magistrate Yan should finish everything."
Yan Rongshi lifted the white cloth covering the basket.
A fragrant aroma of osmanthus greeted him. Inside the basket were four neatly arranged osmanthus and jujube cakes.
The paper he had sent with the osmanthus flowers that morning was returned, pressed to the bottom of the basket. Two lines had been added to the reverse side in neat handwriting:
"Last night's lotus, this autumn's osmanthus. All in my mother's pot."
"Enjoy."