Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 158 The Great Yellow Cold Light
Gao Yunduo asked, "When you were at the Zhou family's house, why didn't you go and see Zhou Cheng's study yourself?"

Jia Chuan sighed and said:
"With so many things on his mind, it's inevitable that he won't think things through completely. At the time, I thought I'd just have Commander Lu lead some men to investigate. Anything useful would either have been destroyed or taken away by Zhou Cheng. Judging from his family's situation, even knowing he was going to die, he really didn't have much to say to them..."

Jia Chuan paused for a moment and then said:
"Zhou Cheng's death is suspicious. Regardless of the cause of his murder, the killer should have chosen the most convenient method, such as stabbing him with a sharp weapon, strangling him, suffocating him by covering his mouth and nose, drowning him, or even burning him to death. Instead, he was poisoned, and in the herb-gathering bureau no less. Don't you think the herb-gathering bureau should be thoroughly investigated for such a death? Can this herb-gathering bureau still operate?"

Gao Yuntian immediately stood up and said excitedly, "I knew something was wrong. Now you're right, that's exactly what I meant. If it were really about silencing someone or a revenge killing, it should have been done quickly and decisively. Using poison here is like... like..."

"Stop competing and sit down. I thought Zhou Cheng went home knowing something would happen that night, and that he was going back to get something important. He shouldn't have left anything at home, but now it seems that since he took a set of jewelry, it means... he has a date with a beautiful woman."

Gao Yuntian was getting anxious. He nudged Chen Mo and asked, "Did you understand?"

Chen Mo frowned in thought, ignoring Gao Yuntian.

Gao Yunduo asked, "Why did you say he couldn't possibly put anything at home?"

"If he had known that he would be in danger that night, and that his life was uncertain, the most important thing he should have done was to make his life as glamorous as possible, rather than making arrangements for his funeral. If he died, could his family be preserved? He had no foundation, no close friends, no children, no brothers, but he had wealth. Who knows how many people would come to eat his flesh and drink his blood? He would lose everything. He must understand this principle."

"So you think something must have been taken, which is why you didn't go to the study to check it yourself," Gao Yunduo summarized.

"But my previous deduction was flawed. I only inferred from the manner of his death that he might have voluntarily taken poison. His family was wealthy, so how could he have resolved such a major issue by simply returning to his study? The day I saw him, he didn't seem to know that he was going to be in trouble. Now I know that he went back to retrieve his jewelry. The jewelry he had made in advance was actually placed in his study, which means that he originally intended to give it to another concubine. Now it seems that he has someone else in mind. This trip is not very relevant to the case, or rather, it has nothing to do with life or death."

"But what about the headdress?" Gao Yuntian asked.

Shunzi said, "Just ask those three servants. If Zhou Cheng has taken a fancy to someone, the people who follow him every day will definitely know."

Jia Chuan hummed in agreement and asked, "Did Commander Lu go to the government office?"

Gao Yunduo said, "Madam Zou said that some of the concubines had fallen out of favor and disrespected the rules of the household. She only punished them according to the rules. It was because those women were weak and died of illness."

Dong Yuanyuan said angrily, "I said back then, 'If I beat you to death today, I'll tell the government that it's because you're weak!' She said it was different. She said she was the legal wife, and if I beat her to death, I would have to pay with my life. Moreover, her husband would definitely not let me off if he found out. I said, 'If your husband dies, who will support you?' Brother, do you think this woman is crazy? My sister already told her that Zhou Cheng was killed, but she forgot after saying all that."

Gao Yunduo added, "I asked her who she thought was responsible for Zhou Cheng's death. She said it was the old prince. I asked her why. She said that the old prince liked her but didn't like Zhou Cheng. He said that Zhou Cheng was only able to manage the herb-gathering bureau because of her face. When the old prince passed away, he must have known that Zhou Cheng was not good to her, so he took Zhou Cheng away."

After a moment of silence, Jia Chuan raised an eyebrow and said, "Make dinner. I'm going to see those three servants."

After saying that, Jia Chuan stood up, then, remembering something, looked at Old Zheng and said, "Go and move Zhou Cheng's body to the side room, and find someone to clean up the main room. We'll stay here tonight." He then looked at Chen Mo and said, "This courtyard is only for our people. The Embroidered Uniform Guards will be on rotation. Have Zhao Dewen arrange a place for them to rest, but the food must be made by the Embroidered Uniform Guards or our people. Don't trust anyone."

Old Zheng protested, "I'm so old, how am I supposed to move this by myself?"

Jia Chuan pointed at Gao Yuntian: "Let him help you."

Gao Yuntian immediately tensed up, and Gao Yunduo said disdainfully, "You have a mouth under your nose, can't a centurion even order a few people around?"

Gao Yuntian immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

……

Living at the crime scene was a first for Jia Chuan as well.

……

When Lu Baihu returned from the government office, Jia Chuan had just finished meeting with the three servants. He felt that it hadn't taken long, but it was already dark.

In the courtyard, Dong Yuanyuan was playing with Da Huang again. Gao Yunduo stood at the door of the east wing, watching with a smile. When she saw Jia Chuan come out of the west wing, she called out, "Dinner's ready."

Lu Baihu was participating in a group meal for the first time. He was a little nervous at first, but he found that if these people didn't fight for the food, they would go hungry. So he didn't care about that anymore and quickly relaxed.

Jia Chuan ate quietly, going over the question in his mind. Only after finishing his meal and putting down his chopsticks did he speak:
“Although Zhou Cheng was accompanied by four people when he left home, only the one named Shunzi was qualified to follow Zhou Cheng around the herb-gathering bureau. The other three just waited here. This fake Shunzi is also very strange. None of the three knew where he came from. He inexplicably arrived at the Zhou family a year ago. He doesn’t talk to anyone else. Since he has no home in Kaifeng, he lives in the Zhou residence. They said that the people around Zhou Cheng are always changing. They are all very cautious and careful, afraid that they might be replaced one day… Chen Mo, find a few people to go to the Zhou family and take back everything they can from the fake Shunzi’s room. Let them take a close look and see if there is anything wrong with it.”

Chen Mo put down his chopsticks, got up, and went out to make arrangements.

Jia Chuan paused for a moment and then said:
"Everyone in the Zhou family knows that following Zhou Cheng is a good job. Not only is there little work, but the monthly allowance is also high. Zou Shi and the women in the inner quarters all want to put people around Zhou Cheng, but Zhou Cheng always chooses his own people. The three of them said that Zhou Cheng hates people who inquire about things the most, so although the three of them are very curious about the fake Shunzi, none of them dare to ask. The problem is that before, they could follow Zhou Cheng around the herb-gathering bureau, but after the old prince passed away, only the fake Shunzi followed him. This means that not long after the old prince passed away, Zhou Cheng changed."

Shunzi said, "Then where did Shunzi come from if he has no family in Kaifeng?"

“Yes, where did he come from? Zhou Cheng was the same. He was an apprentice at the Zou family's pharmacy when he was young. At the time, he said he had no relatives or friends, and the Zou family only agreed to help him get into the herb-gathering bureau by paying so much money, treating him like a son-in-law. After that, they spared no effort in helping him. But treating him like a son-in-law is useless. There should be a written agreement. This was all decades ago. It's unlikely that Zhou Cheng had already started doing this back then. It's too hard to say what happened after that.” Jia Chuan shook his head, then suddenly looked up and asked, “What about Cai Lian?”

Gao Yuntian glanced at Gao Yunduo subconsciously and said, "I've asked Zhao Dewen to arrange for us to rest somewhere else."

Jia Chuan, oblivious to the danger, said, "Bring her here, and in a moment, let her accompany me to examine the body while holding a torch."

Old Zheng choked on his food and coughed several times.

Gao Yuntian interrupted Dong Yuanyuan, asking, "How's your practice with the knife Brother Chen gave you?" Dong Yuanyuan, unaware of what had happened, replied with a greasy mouth, "I want to name that knife. My sister said having a knife can save my life, but I don't know when to draw it. So I need to name my knife, a name that sounds powerful. When my sister calls out the knife's name, I'll know it's time to draw it."

Jia Chuan scratched his head and said, "Judging from your posture today, you can't even fight clearly with your bare hands. If you have a knife, won't you hurt yourself first?"

“She can exert force when she has something in her hand, but she can’t remember the moves. I was thinking of having her practice boxing first, and then swordsmanship,” Gao Yunduo pursed her lips and said, “She has superhuman strength, but she doesn’t know how to use it. She always has to risk her life. If she can get used to using a sword… well, we can just stay away from her, so she won’t hurt herself. Actually, it doesn’t matter if she has a name or not. She can just shout ‘Draw your sword,’ right?”

Dong Yuanyuan shook her head and said, "You didn't say who to draw the sword, so I definitely won't be able to react. It's too troublesome to call my name and then tell me to draw the sword. It's better to give the sword a name, so that when the time comes, I'll just call its name and I'll know that it's telling me to draw the sword."

Gao Yunduo nodded in agreement.

When it comes to famous swords, Jia Chuan immediately thinks of Guan Yu's Crescent Blade, followed by the Embroidered Spring Blade of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He can't think of anything else. But when it comes to famous swords, there are many: Xuanyuan, Chixiao, Tai'a, Ganjiang and Moye, and the swords from martial arts novels, such as Xuan Tie, Ningbi, Caiyun, and Duanyu...

“I think we should give Dahuang a name too.” Dong Yuanyuan took a sip of meat soup and said seriously, “I like it very much.”

“You’ve been calling it Big Yellow all along, so let’s just call it Big Yellow,” Shunzi said.

Dong Yuanyuan thought about it and agreed. They had been calling it Dahuang for half a day and had gotten used to it.

Jia Chuan thought for a moment and said, "If the name of the sword is too domineering, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it."

Dong Yuanyuan asked curiously, "Does Big Brother have a name now?"

“You’re strong, how about calling me Han Guang?” Jia Chuan asked.

Old Zheng frowned and said, "This name sounds rather cold to me; I don't sense any strength in it."

Shunzi said, "Let's choose something simple and easy to remember. This name is simple, but it sounds a bit too literary..."

Dong Yuanyuan reacted quickly, her eyes shining as she said, "Then it's like this, my knife is called Big Yellow, and Big Yellow is called Cold Light!"

Chen Mo smiled and said, "She really likes Dahuang."

Jia Chuan smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it." Then he looked at Old Zheng and urged him, "Hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, take Cai Lian and then we'll go do the autopsy."

Gao Yuntian quickly gave Jia Chuan a meaningful look, and Jia Chuan immediately became alert upon seeing it.

After the meal, Jia Chuan first reported to Gao Yunduo with a grin: "This herb-gathering girl named Cailian is quite interesting. I suspect she used to work at the Prince of Han's mansion and is acquainted with Yu Yan."

After hearing her brother's report, Gao Yunduo felt uncomfortable for a moment. However, she had learned to analyze things from Jia Chuan during this time. She analyzed it in her mind. If Jia Chuan was thinking about getting promoted and becoming a nobleman in the future, he would definitely not marry a herb-gathering girl. If he was thinking about living in seclusion with her in the countryside in the future, he would not agree to Cailian's request. But if he were to take a concubine... Gao Yunduo analyzed that, given Jia Chuan's personality, even if he wanted to keep a few women in his harem, he would not choose someone of unknown origin. The fact that he was keeping her by his side now probably meant that he had other purposes.

When Gao Yuntian complained to his sister, he only emphasized Cailian's demands, forgetting to mention that Cailian might be from the Prince of Han's residence. Now, upon hearing Jia Chuan's words, Gao Yunduo felt even more relieved. How could Jia Chuan take such a woman as a concubine? If the Emperor found out…

Seeing that Gao Yunduo remained silent, Jia Chuan explained in a low voice, "She does know some poisons. In this case, neither Old Zheng nor I can do anything about it. We can only try to get her to say something herself. We can't do anything else. She's most likely to let something slip when she's near a corpse, and she's not as wary of us then. That's why we took her with us when we did the autopsy."

Gao Yunduo snorted and said, "Why do you have to tell me your business?" With that, she turned and left.

……

Cailian was a little nervous when she was brought back to the courtyard. Although she hoped that Jia Chuan would agree to her request, he hadn't even glanced at her during the autopsy. How could he suddenly change his mind now? But what if? What if Jia Chuan realized her importance during dinner and agreed?
But when she was led to the side room and saw that it was brightly lit, her heart sank.

Just like during the day, Jia Chuan ignored Cai Lian and instead discussed various possibilities with Old Zheng.

Cailian was filled with trepidation. She didn't understand what Jia Chuan meant. He had called her over but ignored her. Even though their conversations were completely irrelevant, they were still able to keep talking back and forth.

Cailian tried to interrupt several times but held back. However, when Jia Chuan said, "...the two of them are probably poisoned by the same kind of poison. The reason they have different symptoms is probably due to their individual physical conditions. Zhou Cheng is old, and although Shunzi is around thirty, he is still younger than Zhou Cheng..."

Cailian couldn't help but interrupt Jia Chuan, saying, "This has little to do with age. The symptoms of poisoning don't differ based on age..."

Picking lotus flowers stopped.

Jia Chuan sighed softly, stood up, and looked at Cai Lian with a stern face, saying, "Although I don't know how Yu Yan introduced me to you, there is one thing she definitely didn't say. It's not that she didn't want to say it, but that she didn't know it. I hate it when people scheme against me. Those who scheme against me never have a good ending."

"I'm not scheming against you. I'm just making a deal with you. I'll help you investigate the case, and you'll marry me. That way, you get the credit, I have a powerful backer, and you won't lose out."

Jia Chuan scrutinized Cai Lian. The woman was quite pretty, with a healthy wheat-colored complexion. Her eyes held a mixture of panic and determination. Jia Chuan smiled and asked, "Who gave you this idea? You're not young anymore, are you? Don't you have a brain? That's not how you do things. Since you think merit is important to me, haven't you considered that merit is related to official rank?"

Cailian retorted, "I told you, you won't lose out by marrying me!"

(End of this chapter)