DWGL _ Chapter - 20

A Private Account: How about a night visit together?

The missing man, Sun Man, was a ruffian in the city with no family or friends, so no one knew when he had disappeared. It was only when his neighbours saw a notice posted by the government saying that they should pay attention to all the recent abnormalities that they hesitated to report the case to the government office to avoid being implicated.

The emperor was in Dayan City, so Xu Zhiqiu did not dare to be lax. When Chu Yuan went to the official residence, the magistrate had already brought back a young widow, who looked pretty and shivering as she knelt in front of the hall. When she saw the emperor, she was even more frightened and would not say anything else, but only kowtowed and cried out.

Everyone in town saw that Sun Man was having an affair with the flirtatious widow who sold bean curd, but no one wanted to mind their own business, and at most they joked about it after tea and dinner. When they heard that he had disappeared, their first reaction was that she was involved.

In the middle of the trial, another onlooker remembered that he had seen Sun Man in the afternoon before, picking and choosing from the stall of the merchant to buy head flowers and saying that he wanted to give them to his lover, but he had never seen him again. The widow, who was trembling like a sieve, also said that she had an appointment with Sun Man the night before, but she had waited all night without seeing anyone come, and when she heard that the hall was on fire, she thought he was there to see the commotion, and as this had happened before, she did not care about it.

"Does Sun Man have any physical characteristics?" Chu Yuan asked.

"Your Majesty, this man is a rascal in the city. He had his right leg broken a year ago for molesting a virtuous woman, and after he recovered, he walked with a high and low leg." Xu Zhiqiu said.

Chu Yuan nodded, whispered a few words in Si Xi's ear, and then led the man to the Goodwill Hall.

The 26 corpses were still neatly laid out in the courtyard, and a few moments later, Duan Bai Yue arrived.

"Which one of the corpses was different from the others?" Chu Yuan asked.

"The leftmost one." Duan Bai Yue said, "Just now, Si Xi said that a punk had disappeared from the city, was it him?"

"Nine out of ten." Chu Yuan reached out to lift the white cloth, but his wrist was gripped.

Duan Bai Yue said, "If you want to find out anything, just leave it to me."

"The missing person's name is Sun Man, he is tall, in his thirties, and has a bone injury on his right leg." Chu Yuan withdrew his hand and did not insist on seeing it for himself.

Duan Bai Yue squatted down and examined the corpse carefully again.

"Then there is no mistake." Chu Yuan frowned, "But there is only one person missing in the city, apart from Sun Man, who are the other 25 corpses? And where did the old men in this hall go?"

"You and I are both new to Dayan City, and there are some things that the people in the governor's office know best." Duan Bai Yue said, "Why don't we go to the government office's study first? There are many hidden compartments there, so we might find something."

"How can I open the secret compartment?" Chu Yuan asked.

Duan Bai Yue smiled, "There is a way, why don't you try it?"

In the afternoon, a young man was brought to the courier house, looking quite formal, with a tiger's head and a tiger's face, and with calluses on his hands. The best carpenter in the city, Tian Yu, was making coffins for the elderly in Goodwill Hall, but he didn't know why he was brought here, and he didn't expect to see the emperor in person, so he was anxious.

Chu Yuan gestured to him to calm down and asked Si Xi to give him a seat and serve tea.

Tian Yu was so flattered that his whole body became more and more nervous.

At the same time, Duan Bai Yue was scattering a bottle of tiny spider-like woodworm worms into the cracks of the secret compartment in the study of the government office. In less than three days, these tiny insects will have eaten up most of the wooden drawer, and outsiders will only think that they are termites, not that someone is doing it deliberately.

Xu Zhiqiu was still disturbed, but it had nothing to do with Sun Man's strange disappearance, as he was just a small-time gangster who had died. What he was really worried about was not knowing what the Tian Sha Sect would do next and what they would force themselves to do with it.

Duan Bai Yue kept an eye on the situation until it was dark, and when he saw that everything was going on as usual, he left the building and went back to the courier house.

Chu Yuan was wearing a robe and was taking medicine.

Duan Bai Yue frowned and sat forward by the bed: "Uncomfortable?”

"Back to Xinan Wang, Your Majesty is fine." Eunuch Si Xi hurriedly said, "It's just that Your Majesty  doesn't sleep well at night, so Lord Ye prescribed a few pills and instructed him to take them every ten days."

"If your body is fine, how can you not sleep well?" Duan Bai Yue took the empty bowl from his hand.

"How are things at the government office?" Chu Yuan asked.

Si Xi knew wisely and withdrew.

"In three days at most, Xu Zhiqiu will be looking for craftsmen to repair the study." Duan Bai Yue said, "Since Tian Yu is the best carpenter in town, there's no reason why he won't be invited into the house."

"Is he trustworthy?" Chu Yuan asked.

Duan Bai Yue said, "Of course."

Chu Yuan nodded his head, "Hmm."

Duan Bai Yue laughed: "Just one 'Hmm', you don't want to ask why he is trustworthy?"

"I don't want to." Chu Yuan leaned back lazily on the bed.

"That's right, there are too many things weighing on your mind, one less thing is one less thing." Duan Bai Yue covered him with the blanket, "Go to sleep, I'll go back later."

Chu Yuan turned his back to him and closed his eyes as he was told, probably because of the medicine he had taken and the warmth of the blanket, he breathed for a long time. In the dream world, there seemed to be a light warmth coming from the corner of his lips, and his eyebrows were involuntarily wrinkled, but it seemed to be an illusion.

When he returned to the inn, Duan Nian was waiting in his room.

"What have you found out?" Duan Bai Yue asked.

"Wang Ye, our men have been at the teahouses all day, talking to the people under the pretext of doing business with tables and chairs." Duan Nian said, "It sounds like Xu Zhiqiu's reputation in the city is not bad, even if he has no great merits, he has no great demerits either. At most, he is a little more romantic and lustful, not like a confused official who is too arrogant."

"Is that all?" Duan Bai Yue sat down at the table.

"There are several families in this city whose men have said they are going away to do big business and have not returned for two or three years." Duan Nian said, "They just keep sending people home with money, and they have indeed made a lot of money. The neighbours were jealous and inquired, but they couldn't ask anything, and there was a lot of gossiping."

"Big business." Duan Bai Yue rubbed his chin, "All the renovations and repairs of Wangcheng's palace are done by artisans from Dayan City, how could there be a bigger and more eye-catching business than this?"

"Should we continue to investigate?" Duan Nian asked.

Duan Bai Yue nodded his head.

Duan Nian received the order and wanted to leave, but he was stopped again: "Go back and tell Master Nan and Yao-er that this King may not be able to return until some time later."

"Master Nan has already sent word to his subordinates." Duan Nian said, "Let Wang Ye stay outside and love the waves for as long as he can, it would be better if you don't go back for three to five years or even ten to eight years."

Duan Bai Yue: "......"

What do you mean by "love the waves for as long as he can"?

In Xinan Wang's Mansion, Nan Mo Xie was feeding insects with Duan Yao.

"Master." Duan Yao squatted and moved in front of him, "Who is brother's sweetheart?"

"Child, why do you ask such grown-up matters?" Nan Mo Xie shook his head, "Let's play with your mud."

Duan Yao asked again, "Are they good-looking?"

"Yes." Nan Mo Xie said casually, "Anyone who dares to say he is not good-looking will have his head chopped off."

Duan Yao's mouth opened wide in shock.

His brother was blind, how could he love such a cruel man?

Two days later, Xu Zhiqiu opened the secret compartment and pulled the drawer, and saw wood chips falling down. After a closer look, many pieces of wood were emptied, so he hurriedly sent someone to find a craftsman.

Duan Bai Yue leaned against a tree outside the courtyard and watched as the butler brought Tian Yu into the study.

"Your Excellency, it's because the wood has not been protected from insects for a long time, and that's why it has attracted termites." Tian Yu inspected the room and said, "Fortunately, only part of the secret compartment was damaged, it will be repaired in half a month at most."

Xu Zhiqiu nodded and watched him finish his drawings before we left the house.

In the night, Xiang Xin secretly sneaked into the courtyard and brought a copy of the drawing from Tian Yu back to the courier station.

"The concealed compartment is really not small." Chu Yuan said.

"There's no harm in having more." Duan Bai Yue took the paper out of his hand, "Two days at most."

Chu Yuan nodded his head.

"Do you want to come along?" Duan Bai Yue suddenly asked before he left the house.

Chu Yuan was puzzled: "Hm?"

"Secret Detective, do you want to go?" Duan Bai Yue rushed him and extended his hand, "It's fun."

Chu Yuan: "......"

Frankly speaking, he had never thought that he could do this kind of thing on his own before.

But perhaps because he hadn't done it before, he thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

So a few moments later, Eunuch Si Xi was called into the room.

"Where are Your Majesty and Xinan Wang going?" Seeing the two men in full dress, Eunuch Si Xi was puzzled.

Duan Bai Yue said frankly, "To enjoy the scenery."

Chu Yuan: "......"

It's good to enjoy the scenery, it's good to enjoy the scenery. Eunuch Si Xi suddenly realized and watched with a smile on his face as the two went out the door.

The night was cool, walking in the silent long street, Duan Bai Yue asked, "Is it cold?"

Chu Yuan stepped up to the top of a tree and then landed in the courtyard of the government office.

Duan Bai Yue looked calm and withdrew his hand.

The courtyard was quiet and the study was unlocked. Although there was no candlelight, the moonlight could still illuminate most of the room. Following the diagram drawn by Tian Yu, Duan Bai Yue quickly unlocked the lock and pulled out the secret drawers one by one.

The account books inside were dusty and had obviously not been touched for some years.

"The state and county records are more than forty years old, probably left behind by the previous administrators." Chu Yuan looked at a few pages and said, "It should have nothing to do with Xu Zhiqiu."

"Since it's an undercover investigation, we naturally can't be impatient." Duan Bai Yue said, "There are at least seventy to eighty secret compartments here, so we have to look through them one by one before we can conclude."

When Chu Yuan pulled open another drawer, a few large cockroaches came out and almost got into his hands, so he instinctively retreated.

Duan Bai Yue shook his head, reached out and gently closed the drawer in front of him, "It's dirty here, I'll do it."

The two of them were very close, and they seemed to be able to feel each other even breathing. Chu Yuan's neck was hot. Looking at his smiling eyes like a morning star, he felt a little angry with himself for no reason. He simply turned his back to him and checked the drawer on the other side.

Duan Bai Yue raised his eyebrows and said nothing more as he continued to pull out the next drawer.

The room was very quiet, with small dust flying around, and the tip of Chu Yuan's nose started to redden in no time. Duan Bai Yue glanced at him and saw how he was trying to sneeze but was not making a sound, as if he was quite uncomfortable, and was just thinking of taking him back first, when Chu Yuan had already opened a volume of accounts, looking like he had found something.

"What is it?" Duan Bai Yue stepped forward.

Chu Yuan told him to take a closer look. The paper was very new as if it was new in the past two years. There were some strange symbols drawn on it, and it was hard to tell what they meant.

"Leaving aside the words, what do you think this looks like?" Chu Yuan asked in a low voice.

Duan Bai Yue scanned it twice more and guessed, "An account?"

Chu Yuan nodded his head.

“Xu Zhiqiu's private account?" Duan Bai Yue tsked, “It seems that this perfect is really not just a matter of lust and romance."

Chu Yuan hurriedly scanned the page twice and remembered all the pages he had opened. As the sky is beginning to lighten outside, it is not advisable to stay long, Duan Bai Yue said: "Let's go, if you still want to read, come back tomorrow night."

Chu Yuan nodded his head and carefully restored everything to its original state, then went back with him to the courier house.

Eunuch Si Xi was taking a nap in the side room, and when he heard the commotion, he hurriedly passed out hot water and asked if he could prepare some food. After all, the emperor had been out all night, and he didn't know what he had done, so he might be hungry.

Chu Yuan shook his head, not bothering to say anything, and hurriedly fetched a brush and paper and traced out the symbols one by one.

"If it's really written, then there's something to go on." Duan Bai Yue stood behind him, "But if Xu Zhiqiu came up with the ghostly symbols himself, I'm afraid we have to start from somewhere else."

"If there are accounts, there must be a business." Chu Yuan said, "But from what the people said in the daytime, he has not opened a private business. Moreover, even if he really violates the law, the only business he can do in Dayan City is carpentry. He would not have to sell a few tables, chairs and stools in secret."

"It's hard to say when people are evil." Duan Bai Yue handed him a small bottle, "Smell it and your nose will be ventilated."

Chu Yuan: “......”

Looking at his flushed nose, Duan Bai Yue sighed: “If we spy again next time, let's go to a clean place.”

As soon as Chu Yuan pulled out the stopper, there was a smell of skyrocketing seasoning.

"Ah-choo!"

“Ah yo." Eunuch Si Xi hurriedly said outside, “Your Majesty caught a wind chill?"

“It's okay."Chu Yuan was in tears and dizzy, but his nose was really clear.

Duan Bai Yue held back his laughter.

Chu Yuan waved his hand and drove them out.

After a few moments, Eunuch Si Xi brought hot water to serve washing up and said that it was almost dawn, so Xinan Wang did not go back to the inn and stayed in the empty room next door.

Chu Yuan: “......”

Duan Bai Yue lay on the bed with his arms resting on his back, listening to the movement next door leisurely.

There was a small sound of water, the rustle of the bedding being opened, and the sneezing sound of the nose that was not ventilated.

Separated by a thin wooden wall, the distance was so close that it seemed to be lying together.

Duan Bai Yue smiled and closed his eyes with peace of mind.

—— ฅʕ•̫͡•ʔฅ ——ㄚ

Note: ...

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