Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 154 Suspicious
Being suddenly proposed to was quite baffling for Jia Chuan, but he was still in a good mood. He shrugged and asked, "Are you preparing for your future?"

"After I help you find out the truth about this case... I won't survive. Only you can protect me." Cailian was quite straightforward.

Jia Chuan rubbed his hands, which were numb with cold, and asked, "How do you know who I am?"

"Don't worry about it!"

"Then let's not talk about it." Jia Chuan missed Cai Lian and continued walking towards the east wing.

"Without me, you wouldn't be able to solve this case!" Cailian said, refusing to give up.

Jia Chuan laughed, pointed at Gao Yuntian and said, "He is a centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Do you know the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Since you speak so confidently, you must know something. They will find a way to make you talk. You only think about how to save your life afterward, but you haven't thought about the fact that right now, you can't escape punishment."

"No, you...you're a kind-hearted person, you won't let them bully me." Cailian said, taking a step back, showing that she wasn't entirely confident either.

Jia Chuan straightened his back and said patiently, "Marriage is not a game. I can't agree to it. If you want to help me, that's fine, but if you don't want to... well, it's not your place to make that decision right now."

Cailian got anxious: "Didn't you say you like women with bad tempers?"

"Huh?" Jia Chuan wrinkled his nose and made that sound.

Gao Yuntian looked at Jia Chuan and said, "Duoduo does have a bad temper."

Jia Chuan sighed, looked Cai Lian up and down, and suddenly asked, "What is your relationship with Yu Yan?"

Old Zheng exclaimed in surprise, "Are you from the Prince of Han's mansion?"

Gao Yuntian had forgotten who Yu Yan was, but after thinking for a while following Old Zheng's prompting, he remembered who Yu Yan was.

This is understandable. When they were in Le'an, Yu Yan always stayed with Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan and rarely left the courtyard. When Jia Chuan was busy outside, Old Zheng and Shunzi would often go to the courtyard to chat with them or make something to eat together.

Cailian became a little anxious and said hastily, "I don't know the person you're talking about. Just tell me whether you agree or not."

"Yu Yan used to live in Beijing with Zhu Zhanqi. After she went to Le'an, she lived in a remote part of the city, leading a hard and cold life. You knew her before. This time I rescued Yu Yan. The Prince of Han didn't have time to look for her. How did you get in touch? With your status, you couldn't possibly know that I would come to Kaifeng."

After Jia Chuan finished speaking, he waved his hand and looked at Cai Lian, then said:
“None of these things are important right now. If you’re worried about how the Prince of Han will treat you, you don’t need to worry. He won’t be able to cause trouble in a few days. If you’re still worried about other things, you’d better tell me the truth so I can decide how to settle things for you. Yu Yan is a good example now. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you. I can still find out the truth about this case without you. Just like I knew how you knew about me after hearing a few words from you. Some things aren’t as difficult as you think.”

"You have nowhere to inquire about what happens in the herb-gathering bureau."

Jia Chuan ignored Cai Lian and only told Gao Yuntian to "keep an eye on her" before heading straight to the east wing.

Zhao Dewen was shivering from the cold inside the room. When he saw Jia Chuan come in, he quickly stood up and said, "I was really just worried that Cailian might speak rashly and offend the Imperial Guards..."

"Are you one of the King of Han's men?" Jia Chuan asked Zhao Dewen, rubbing his hands together.

Zhao Dewen trembled even more violently, and stammered incoherently, "What, what are you talking about! Oh dear, she, I knew she couldn't be kind-hearted, what does this have to do with the Prince of Han?"

"Don't rush, sit down and tell me slowly. As long as it's the truth, I'm willing to listen."

Before Zhao Dewen began to confess, Jia Chuan, considering his own health, asked Zhao Dewen to find someone to get some silver wire charcoal. He also asked Chen Mo to send someone to tell Qu Yang that they would stay there until the case was solved. He instructed Zhou Wang to send someone to keep an eye on Runan Wang and not let him go anywhere. He said that if necessary, his legs could be broken, but he had to live, as he hadn't finished venting his anger yet.

He also instructed someone to go back to the inn to let them know, so they wouldn't worry. In addition, he ordered all the Imperial Guards who could be assembled to be summoned here, and the herb-gathering bureau should be kept under strict surveillance inside and out.

Chen Mo also reported that he had just ordered people to go out and look for the collapsed secret passage, but they had not found it.

This was within Jia Chuan's expectations.

After everything was explained and a charcoal fire was lit inside, Jia Chuan pulled Zhao Dewen to sit down and began questioning him as if they were having a casual chat.

According to Zhao Dewen, Cailian had been working at the herb-gathering bureau for seven or eight years. Cailian's uncle's family worked at the bureau, so it was not a problem for them to introduce a herb-gathering girl. Cailian was willing to learn and soon she didn't need anyone to teach her anymore. She was also hardworking, but she was sharp-tongued, which was why she hadn't gotten married yet.

Jia Chuan looked at Zhao Dewen, who was frequently wiping away sweat, and asked, "How long was the interval between when the servants discovered Zhou Cheng's body and when you sent people to guard the courtyard and prevent anyone from entering?"

Zhao Dewen was taken aback. He hadn't expected Jia Chuan to return to the case so quickly from the previous incident. He thought for a moment before saying, "I really don't know. When I arrived, the servant was trembling with fear and couldn't speak. I was in a hurry to arrange for people to deliver the message, seal off the courtyard, and discuss with the other deputy envoys whether to stop the flow of medicinal herbs. Then I had to wait at the main gate until the government officials arrived before coming to this courtyard with you. But by then, the servant was already dead..."

"That means the courtyard was very messy back then."

Zhao Dewen nodded, as if he were seeing the situation in the courtyard again. He nervously licked his dry lips.

"Go and find at least three people you saw in the courtyard and bring them here."

"I... I was very flustered at the time. I was afraid... afraid I wouldn't remember clearly. When I arrived, there were people outside the courtyard, but it seemed like there was no one inside. Those who dared to come in must have come in and checked before I arrived..."

"You four deputy envoys all have homes in Kaifeng? You don't need to stay at the herb-gathering bureau?"

Zhao Dewen nodded emphatically.

"It's alright, a bit of cold wind will help you remember. If you still can't remember, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has a way."

Zhao Dewen quickly got up and left.

Gao Yuntian entered the room and asked, "What should we do with that woman?"

"Some people just don't think clearly. Maybe they can figure things out if they calm down."

At this moment, Chen Mo also entered the house and said, "That woman doesn't have any family. It's just her uncle's family in Kaifeng. They said they were suddenly found and have been staying for seven or eight years. There are so many people in this herbal medicine bureau. Herbalists like them are at the bottom of the hierarchy. They spend most of their time in the wild collecting herbs or tending to herbs in the herb garden. The drying yard we saw that day was mostly filled with these herbalists. When they don't need to go out, they do these rough jobs in the herbal medicine bureau. There are also doctors, pharmacists, herbal farmers, those who identify and process herbs, as well as illustrators, scribes, accountants, clerks, and general laborers. There are quite a few of them. Zhou Cheng's courtyard is probably in a relatively secluded place for the sake of quiet."

"Take your men and walk around the herb-gathering bureau. Ask everyone you meet about anything related to Zhou Cheng, such as his usual preferences, who he trusts in the bureau, and whether he has shown any unusual behavior recently. Especially last night, did you see anyone who shouldn't be there? Where was Zhou Cheng last night? Who was he with?"

Chen Mo nodded, turned around, and left the room.

Gao Yuntian's mind wasn't on the case at that moment. Seeing Chen Mo leave, he anxiously asked, "You wouldn't..." "I wouldn't! If you were home, you could think about why Zhou Cheng's residence at the herb-gathering bureau would have a secret passage. Chen Mo just said that this courtyard is relatively secluded; how could this secret passage be built..."

"It's because it's so long that it collapsed halfway through, and people can't find their way out for a while. This secret passage must have been used by the old prince to monitor Zhou Cheng when he was alive."

"Zhou Cheng himself doesn't know?" Jia Chuan asked.

Gao Yuntian thought for a moment and said, "Don't say that, maybe he really didn't know. If he did know, he would have had to pretend to be stupid when the old prince was alive and couldn't move it. The old prince has been gone for almost a year now, and he still hasn't moved it? But... maybe he was the one who caused the collapse. He was too lazy to move it, so he blocked the secret passage in this way."

Jia Chuan frowned: "It's like saying nothing at all. Zhou Cheng is practically the boss of the herb-gathering bureau. If he knows, that's fine, but if he doesn't know... Cai Lian was very cautious in her answers inside the house, which made me think there might be a secret passage. She's afraid someone might be eavesdropping and get her into trouble. And just now, when I told Cai Lian to stay, she blurted out that I was trying to harm her..."

At this point, Jia Chuan suddenly stood up and went straight out the door.

Cailian stood pitifully at the door of the main room, holding a brown paper bag in her hand. When she saw Jia Chuan walking quickly towards her, she looked around in a panic.

Gao Yuntian followed behind Jia Chuan, his fierce eyes fixed on Cai Lian.

"I'll only ask you once: do you know if there's a secret passage in the house?"

"How would I know?! You ordered it smashed, why are you asking me?" Cailian retorted, her eyes wide.

Jia Chuan turned to leave, but Cai Lian chased after him and said, "I can help you..."

"Either shut up, or go with the Embroidered Uniform Guard!" Jia Chuan said without turning his head.

The two returned to the east wing, and Gao Yuntian immediately said:

"She wanted you to marry her, making it seem like she'd risk her life to help you. Since she knew getting involved in this case would be life-threatening, why did she insist on coming in? She was stopped at the gate back then."

"Yes, the secret passage should have nothing to do with her. I was overthinking it. But she said that her life would be in danger after the case was solved. She must know something. But she is just a herb gatherer, living at the bottom of the herb gathering bureau. If even she knows something, can it still be considered a secret?"

"If she really got your information from Yu Yan, she's just thinking of finding a backer and leaving the herb-gathering bureau to live a wealthy life. Don't be fooled."

Jia Chuan frowned and said, "How could Yu Yan know I was coming to Kaifeng? With their status, it would take them a long time to send a message, unless someone has them under control..."

"If you ask me, we should just take her down, Brother Chen and I..."

“She is indeed suspicious and should know something about poisons. Let’s keep her around for now and see. What we get from her might not be the truth. It’s better to wait for her to show her true colors.”

No sooner had Jia Chuan finished speaking than Zhao Dewen's voice came from the doorway.

……

Zhao Dewen brought three people, three people whose legs were trembling with fear even before they entered the house. The three of them together couldn't form a complete sentence, so Jia Chuan could only ask them to answer yes or no.

Just as dawn was breaking, the three men, who were just getting up, heard screams. They were handymen, responsible for looking after miscellaneous items, cleaning the yard, and moving medicinal herbs in and out. They worked in shifts, and the three of them were in the same shift. Their quarters were in a secluded place, not far from Zhou Cheng's courtyard. When they heard the screams, they ran out to check. If the screams had stopped by then, they would have gone back. But the screams continued, so they followed the sound and found the panicked fake Shunzi halfway there. When the fake Shunzi saw the three of them, he turned and ran back, and they followed him.

When they reached the gate of the courtyard, the three of them knew whose courtyard it was and dared not enter. However, Shunzi's screams attracted the attention of the people there. Jia Chuan asked them who they had seen. All three shook their heads, and one of them said in a trembling voice, "I was scared at the time. I only remember... I remember a lot of people. Someone went into the courtyard."

Another person said, "We didn't dare go in. We heard people shouting 'Someone's dead!' from inside. The three of us were so scared that we ran back."

Seeing that the three men were pale and covered in sweat, Jia Chuan let them go.

Zhao Dewen wanted to go with them, but how could Jia Chuan let him go?
"You deliberately brought three terrified servants. Why didn't you bring the real people who actually entered the courtyard?"

Zhao Dewen quickly explained, "It's not that I don't want to look, I don't even know who has been in the yard. Only those three are honest, they answer all my questions, but the others won't say anything. Oh dear, I'll go look again."

"No rush, please have a seat."

Zhao Dewen had no choice but to sit down.

"Is this the only servant serving Zhou Cheng?"

"No, that's not it. Ambassador Zhou usually has at least four people accompanying him when he goes in and out. I'm also wondering why there was only one servant in this courtyard last night?"

"You mean there are usually quite a few people in this courtyard?"

"It depends on how busy he is. Ambassador Zhou's family lives in the city. When he's not busy, he goes home to rest. He only stays here when he's busy, but even when he's busy..."

When does the herb gathering station get busy?

"There are busy times in every season, but the month of Chinese New Year is the least busy time."

Jia Chuan stared at Zhao Dewen and asked, "So, there's no reason for Zhou Cheng to be staying at the herb-gathering bureau at this time?"

"It's hard to say. Since this isn't someone from the capital, perhaps..."

"Even if he lives here, there shouldn't be only one person serving him."

“That’s true,” Zhao Dewen nodded in reply.

"That means Zhou Cheng was supposed to meet someone yesterday, and they arranged to meet in this courtyard. That person didn't allow anyone else to be with Zhou Cheng..."

“In Kaifeng, after the old prince passed away, no one could ask Ambassador Zhou to do anything. If there were any important matters to discuss, Ambassador Zhou would not avoid us, but he would not avoid his servants, especially those who have served him all year round. In this kind of weather, even in the worst weather, there should be a maid to warm the bed.”

Jia Chuan frowned and stared at Zhao Dewen, who felt very uncomfortable under his gaze. Zhao Dewen said, "Every word I said is the truth."

"Yes, I ask you a question and you answer it one by one. Are you hoping that I won't think things through and will miss something?"

(End of this chapter)