Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 152 The Identity of the Fourth Person

Min Zangzhi waited for a long time, but no one said anything to stop him from staying.

He glared angrily at Zhou Zhao and stormed out.

Zhou Zhao is no pushover. Now that he knows Zhou Zhao is in love with Chu You, he has seized control of Zhou Zhao's life and is even less likely to take him seriously.

Of course, he had never kept it in the corner of his eye before.

Manmoji was a two-story wooden building located in the West Market next to Huaide Lane. From a distance, you could see the pots of orchids placed in front of the shop, emitting a faint fragrance. Min Cangzhi was obviously a regular customer.

As soon as we arrived at the door, the shopkeeper greeted us with a smile. His face was so wrinkled that it looked like a steamed bun, and his eyes were squinted into slits.

He was short and stout, wearing a green robe, and from a distance he looked like a green caterpillar.

"Young Master Min, what brings you here today? Do you have any new incense? Our shop has just received a new inkstone, the only one of its kind in the world..."

As he spoke, he glanced behind Min Zangzhi and saw Zhou Zhaotong and Su Changying standing on his left and right. His voice stopped abruptly, and his expression suddenly became serious.

He looked around, then lowered his voice and said to the three men, “Gentlemen, has something happened? Could you please do me a favor and keep this quiet? Please come upstairs with me, and I will tell you everything I know.”

Open your door to do business, and harmony brings wealth.

If they get involved in legal trouble, the losses will be huge. Manmoji is currently enjoying great success, and countless eyes are watching them.

Min Cangzhi looked at Zhou Zhao, and the shopkeeper immediately understood that among the three, the young lady Zhou Zhao was the one in charge. "Young Master Zhou, could you please make an exception?"

Zhou Zhao nodded.

The innkeeper breathed a sigh of relief, led the three of them directly upstairs, found a private room, looked around, and then closed the door.

This wasn't the first time Min Zangzhi had come here. He walked to the table, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake, and began to eat it in small bites.

"Why do you not think there's a case when I come, but you think it's official business when Zhou Zhao comes? Do I look like a leisurely person to you?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, secretly pondering the matter.

Min Zangzhi came here to deliver wealth, while Zhou Zhaotong and Su Changying, with their murderous aura, came to deliver firewood—the firewood of a coffin.

"Enough with the nonsense. Take a look at this half of ink. It came from Manmoji. Can you find out who the buyer was?"

Zhou Zhao, unwilling to listen to Min Cangzhi's nonsense, took the initiative and pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve. Inside the handkerchief was half of the ink stick that the fourth victim had been carrying. As soon as the handkerchief was opened, a delicate fragrance of orchids wafted out.

The shopkeeper's expression turned serious, and he immediately became tense, realizing that there really was a case!

"Young Master Zhou, could it be that the two pigs that were carried to the Court of Judicial Review today were poisoned by our ink? Although this ink is inedible, it certainly won't kill a person, much less a pig!"

As he spoke, he picked up the ink, brought it close to his nose, and smelled it. Then he carefully examined it in his palm.

"This is indeed from our Manmoji, and the fragrance was blended by Master Min. The master ink maker in the shop only made ten gold-thread blue inks, twenty silver-thread blue inks, and one hundred copper-thread blue inks. Including our owner's private collection of one of each, there are a total of one hundred and thirty-three inks, not one more and not one less."

The shopkeeper spoke knowledgeably about the items in his shop.

He placed the gold-threaded ink on the table, walked to the east wall where there was a wooden shelf piled high with silk fabrics.

Each scroll was neatly stacked, tied at the top with a red rope, and a small wooden tag hung on it. The shopkeeper rummaged through them, pulled out a scroll of silk, and spread it out on the table. He looked at it, then rolled up the contents on both sides, revealing only the contents about the Golden Thread Orchid Ink.

"Ten ink sticks. Each one is different, and there are eight customers in total," the shopkeeper said, picking up the remaining gold thread on the ink stick and comparing it with the silk one by one until he reached the ninth one before pausing.

Zhou Zhao leaned over to take a look and couldn't help but admire how well Manmoji knew how to make money.

Even though the gold lines on each ink stick are slightly different, those suckers will surely spend a lot of money for such uniqueness.

She glanced down and was surprised to find that the first three lines all contained a familiar name: Han Ze, the Prefect of the Imperial Household.

Zhou Zhao's eyes flickered. "Han Ze bought three pieces?"

The shopkeeper nodded. "That's right. Young Master Han's father is the Minister of the Imperial Household Department. He often collects rare items to present as tribute. Lady Cen in the palace is very fond of orchid fragrance, so this was probably prepared for her."

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then continued reading.

Of the remaining seven, four were renowned scholars in Chang'an, while the other three were unknown to the public.

The shopkeeper was clearly a shrewd person. He saw through Zhou Zhao's thoughts at a glance and immediately explained, "The first seven are for distinguished guests, and the last three are for wealthy people."

Zhou Zhao was speechless, surprised by the shopkeeper's bluntness.

So the last three were just inflated prices and sold to suckers!
"This inkstone must have been bought by a wealthy man named Sun Yang. Sun Yang is a regular customer of our shop. He is very skilled at growing orchids, and many flower growers in the capital know him."

This must be the person.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then looked at the shopkeeper and asked, "What does Sun Yang look like? Has he been seen recently? What did he buy from your shop?"

The shopkeeper thought for a moment, "I also bought a sachet, which is also orchid scented. Sun Yang is over sixty years old and has a son who went to serve as an official in a prefecture, not in the capital. His wife passed away some years ago. He is very generous; last time I came to buy ink, he even gave me a few gold beans as a reward. But he hasn't come back recently."

The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment before asking, "Young Master Zhou, is Sun Yang dead, or did Sun Yang kill someone?"

Zhou Zhao gave the shopkeeper a deep look. "Sun Yang is dead. He was murdered."

The shopkeeper gasped, covering his mouth and nose, "This...this...so this ink is his keepsake?"

As the shopkeeper spoke, his eyes darted around.

Zhou Zhao swore that this person must have come up with a new money-making idea in his mind after just one thought! They confirmed the deceased's identity with this ink, and the shopkeeper would definitely spread the word throughout the city, which would take Manmoji to the next level.

"Wait until the case is closed before you speak out, otherwise the murderer might be scared away..."

The shopkeeper squinted his eyes, smiled, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture. "Young Master Zhou, I understand!"

He thought for a moment, then added with a flicker of his eye, "Speaking of which, I find one thing about Sun Yang quite suspicious: he wears a wooden carving around his neck. It's carved with a human head. Once, when he was testing ink in the shop, he accidentally stained his robe."

We had prepared robes for our guest, and I saw them by chance while I was helping him change.

The shopkeeper said with a strange expression, "It really is a human head, strung around his neck with a red rope."

Happy Lunar New Year's Eve, everyone! Wishing you all a prosperous and lucky new year! Good health and all the best. Don't wait for Chapter Two, there might only be one chapter today. Happy New Year! (To be continued later) Hope you understand, sending you love!