Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 191 A Very Challenging Turncoat
"Pooh!"

Yun Shao spat fiercely into Yan Shifan's face, a sharp glint appearing between her usually gentle brows, and coldly uttered four words: "Daydreaming!"

Yan Shifan wiped his face, feeling both embarrassed and angry: "I'm giving you a chance, how can you be so ungrateful? The Embroidered Uniform Guard is right outside, do you want to go to the imperial prison and be severely tortured? Now confess the secret of the Liyuan Society, and I can plead with the Embroidered Uniform Guard for mercy!"

"Pooh!"

Yun Shao washed his face again for free, gritting her teeth as she said, "What Liyuan Society, what 'Female Bat'? I bet you just spent my money and now you're tired of it and want to get rid of me. You bunch of heartless sons of officials are all the same! Especially you, I've seen plenty of rich kids, but I've never seen anyone as stingy as you, Yan Shifan. You have the nerve to say you have a Grand Secretary father? You brag about it in front of us all day long..."

"Stop! Stop!"

Seeing that her words were becoming increasingly absurd, Yan Shifan couldn't take it anymore and stormed off.

Upon reaching the outer room, they saw a group of Imperial Guards looking up at the sky, as if the clouds had suddenly become strange. Wenfu blushed and stepped forward, saying, "Brother Wenfu, this Yun Shao is unruly. Take him into the imperial prison and interrogate him properly. Do what needs to be done, and don't give me any face!"

"Donglou certainly knows what's important!"

Lu Bingqiang suppressed his laughter, but didn't mock him too harshly.

The idea of ​​turning someone to their side is pure fantasy. These courtesans have seen too many people in brothels and have hardened their hearts. Their previous interactions were just a charade. Do they really think there are genuine feelings between them?
Yan Shifan was heartbroken. He never expected that after all he had done and even tried to point out a righteous path for Yun Shao, the other party would speak so harshly.

For a moment, he lost all interest in trying to persuade Chu Rou to surrender and walked away listlessly.

Haiyue was holding a book and reading it. It contained a summary of the key points of classics and history compiled by the scholars of the Hanlin Academy.

The Imperial Guards enjoyed the show, while Haiyue stood outside to avoid embarrassing someone, and at the same time, she didn't miss a single moment of cramming before the exam.

'Mingwei is working so hard!'

Upon seeing this, Yan Shifan felt ashamed and a sudden surge of ambition arose within him: 'I cannot continue like this. The imperial examination is approaching; how can I allow myself to be at the bottom of the list again?'

Hearing the noise, Haiyue looked up at him and asked, "Donglou, how is it?"

Yan Shifan said with a wry smile, "Don't even mention it. She's useless even when given a chance!"

"Yun Shao?"

Since it was about her, it must have only been about one person. Haiyue knew that he first tried to persuade the beautiful Yun Shao: "Where is the maid Chu Rou?"

Yan Shifan said, "They're locked up in the woodshed... Yun Shao insists she knows nothing, and Chu Rou is probably even more so!"

"Not necessarily."

Haiyue suggested, "Since we've already taken action to arrest them, before they're taken to the imperial prison, Donglou might as well patiently talk to the two of them to see if he can get more clues, especially the maid Churou. She's younger and less experienced than Yunshao, who was once a courtesan, so she could be a breakthrough point."

Yan Shifan was somewhat disheartened, but after thinking for a moment, he invited, "How about Mingwei joins me?"

Haiyue said, "Alright."

The two returned to the outer courtyard and headed towards the woodshed.

Upon opening the door, one would see Chu Rou lying on the ground, her limbs tightly bound, a wad of cloth stuffed in her mouth, her eyes closed, and two Imperial Guards standing guard beside her.

Yan Shifan clasped his hands in a fist salute to the Imperial Guards, and after the two left, he walked up to Chu Rou and helped her up.

Chu Rou opened her eyes and stared at him intently. After the cloth was removed from her mouth, she whispered, "Why did you treat us like this, young master?"

Yan Shifan sighed softly: "Shouldn't I be the one asking this question? Chu Rou, perhaps... perhaps I'm not that good, but I've never hurt you. We have no grudges against each other, so why are you scheming against me like this?"

Chu Rou's eyes darted away for a moment before she turned her head away.

'Yo!'

Yan Shifan was overjoyed. Compared to Yun Shao's unwavering stance, this little maid clearly had a sense of right and wrong and felt ashamed, which meant there was hope. He quickly said, "Chu Rou, I know you don't want to hurt me. Someone forced you to do this, right? You have your reasons, right?"

Chu Rou closed her eyes again: "Young master, I'm sorry for what I did. Please give me a quick death!"

Yan Shifan sighed, "You're so young, don't you want to live anymore? I see you taking care of those flowers and plants in the yard every day, and you even smile when you look at the flowers. Why would you want to die?"

Chu Rou's body trembled visibly: "Young Master, please don't say anymore... please don't say anymore..."

Yan Shifan was overjoyed and was about to press his advantage when Haiyue tugged at him, pointed to the courtyard outside, and mouthed: 'Flowers!'

Yan Shifan immediately understood, went out, and came back in with the flowerpots that Chu Rou usually took care of, placing them in front of her.

Chu Rou smelled the fragrance, opened her eyes, stared blankly at the flowers she had grown, and tears silently streamed down her face.

Haiyue made a gesture and walked out. Yan Shifan also slowly moved out, but didn't leave completely, standing at the doorway and frequently turning back. When he heard suppressed sobs behind him, he sighed, "Why bother!"

Haiyue said, "The Liyuan Society can bewitch people and cultivate members who are loyal to this mysterious society, but people are still people after all. No matter how carefully designed the methods are, they cannot completely erase human nature."

Yan Shifan nodded and asked in a low voice, "When can I go in?"

"Wait a minute!"

Sure enough, after crying for a long time inside, a voice came out: "Young Master... Young Master?"

Yan Shifan immediately went inside, helped Chu Rou up, and said gently, "I'm here! I've always been here!"

Chu Rou glanced at him, then turned to Hai Yue, who was standing not far away: "Is this young master the Sea Detective from the Imperial Academy?"

Haiyue nodded slightly: "It's me."

Chu Rou sighed, a deep regret on her face: "I've heard that Detective Hai is not afraid of the powerful and can stand up for us common people. If my parents had met such a good person as Detective Hai back then, they wouldn't be in this situation today..."

From this sentence, Haiyue understood a lot, and slowly said, "The past cannot be undone, but the corrupt officials who framed your parents back then deserve their retribution! Can you tell us what happened?"

Chu Rou slowly said, "My surname is Chen. I am from Suning County, Hejian Prefecture. My father was a minor official in the county granary. Nine years ago, Suning suffered a major disaster. The county government colluded with three wealthy local families to divert disaster relief grain into their granaries. My father discovered the anomaly and secretly recorded the evidence, but his superiors found out and framed him. My father and mother died in prison, my elder brother went to the capital to appeal but his whereabouts are unknown, and my younger brother was kidnapped by slave traders. Only I was rescued..."

Yan Shifan understood.

This woman is most likely an agent developed by Zhou Shi'an, known as "Jingmu Han". Through the Ministry of Justice's case files, she discovered that the Chen family had been wronged, rescued the survivors, and made them members of the society.

Such people often harbor deep hatred for the imperial court, which then translates into loyalty to the Liyuan Society. However, individual temperaments differ, and Chu Rou, as she spoke, was already sobbing uncontrollably: "I hate that corrupt official, I hate those heartless wealthy families, but I just want to live, I just want to live..."

Yan Shifan hurriedly said, "You can live if you tell us everything about the Liyuan Society!"

Chu Rou smiled bitterly, "Young master, although you are from an official family, you are not a bad person. I am willing to believe you. You really don't want me to die, but I don't know about the Liyuan Society. I really don't know!"

Yan Shifan frowned: "How could you not know?"

Haiyue then spoke up, "They only saved you and trained you, but they didn't tell you the company's background and structure in detail, did they?"

"Yes!"

Chu Rou nodded: "All I know is that those benefactors are against the imperial court and are seeking revenge against corrupt officials, but we don't know their names or where they come from, and we are not allowed to ask."

Hai Yue said calmly, "It's okay. You can tell me what you know, such as where you lived after you were rescued, who you met, and what those people did."

Chu Rou recalled for a moment, then bit her lip: "There were many of us, all young women, in a large courtyard. There were older women who taught us to read, to do needlework, and even... how to get along with men!"

Yan Shifan was furious: "This is clearly using you, and you still call them your benefactors?"

"They saved my life, so of course they are my benefactors!"

Chu Rou said, "Without them, I would either have died in prison or been kidnapped by brokers and sold into a brothel, where I would have suffered a fate worse than death. The life I have now is hard-won!"

Yan Shifan reacted quickly and immediately said, "But you are trying to harm innocent people like us now that you have such a hard-won life. You have become as evil as the corrupt officials who harmed your family back then. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Chu Rou trembled slightly, lowered her head, and after a moment gave a bitter smile: "I had no other choice!"

No! You have a choice!

Yan Shifan's expression changed immediately, and his tone softened, becoming sickeningly sweet as he said, "I am your choice!"

Chu Rou paused for a moment, glanced at him, and then lowered her head again.

Yan Shifan was somewhat annoyed.

What, am I so unattractive that I can't be your choice?

Fortunately, after a moment, Chu Rou whispered, "What does Young Master want to know? This servant really doesn't know the secrets of the Li Yuan Society..."

"no problem, no problem!"

Yan Shifan's spirits lifted, and he immediately said, "Think carefully and tell me what those older people who trained you and the young women who were trained with you looked like and what their characteristics were! This is also to save them from their suffering! Those people are definitely not your benefactors; they are just using you as tools!"

Chu Rou fell silent again. After a long wait, her gaze fell on the vibrant flowers, and she nodded gently: "Alright!"

(End of this chapter)