manynovel Chapter 704: Young Master Luodan
Chapter 704: Young Master Luodan
"It is forbidden to kill in Buddhist sacred places. He got it easy, but your method is really useful."
If not a drop of blood is seen, people will neither be able to live nor die.
Suddenly a guard came running over, it was Fang Zhongyi.
"Master Qin, Master Jiang, I just took people to the coffin shop. There was only one clerk in the shop. I asked the clerk in detail, but he didn't know anything. The shopkeeper has disappeared.
After searching the shop, all the gold and silver in the shop were gone, leaving only a few thin coffins and a clerk. "
As the case was being investigated at that time, Fang Zhongyi did not dare to call Jiang Youzhen "brother" and told him everything about the case.
Qin Yandong frowned. Was he going to let the shopkeeper run away again?
"Where is that guy? Has he been caught?" Jiang Youzhen was a little unhappy. This was a good opportunity.
"I've brought it. He's outside." Fang Zhongyi immediately asked someone to bring the guy in.
"When did your shopkeeper leave? Did he say what he was going to do?"
The guy was brought here, already trembling with fear. When he heard Jiang Youzhen's questioning, he naturally didn't dare to hide anything, and he told it all out like a bamboo tube pouring beans.
"Just two hours ago, the shopkeeper said that there were no goods arriving today, so he was going to the ruffian Zhang family at the end of the alley to ask for money. Last month, the old lady of the Zhang family passed away, and the eldest son of the Zhang family said that he had no money and had bought things on credit at the shop. The shopkeeper said early in the morning that he was going to ask for money, so I didn't pay much attention."
It was the first time that Jiang Youzhen heard that coffins had to be bought on credit. Generally, people who were short of money would only have to pay a few taels of silver to buy a thin coffin made of just a piece of wood.
Jiang Youzhen looked at Fang Zhongyi, and Fang Zhongyi said quickly: "I just asked him, so I sent someone to the Zhang family to verify, and he said that he didn't see the shopkeeper today."
"He ran away again! This guy is really smart. He ran away without a trace at the slightest sign of trouble. It's been two hours. Could he have run out of the city?"
Qin Yandong had a bad feeling. The imperial court had been making large-scale arrests in the past two days, and there would definitely be rumors leaking out.
"He's been gone for two hours, and you didn't have any doubts?" Jiang Youzhen looked at the waiter questioningly.
The clerk said with a bitter face, "Sir, the coffin shop has had slow business these past two days. The shopkeeper Ben is often not in the shop, so I don't care!"
"Wait a minute, you said he is often not in the shop, so where is he? Tell me everything you want to know about him, no matter how big or small." Jiang Youzhen suddenly asked.
The waiter wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Our shopkeeper is unmarried and looks to be in his thirties. His accent doesn't sound like someone from the capital, but I don't know much about where he is from, so I can't tell. I asked the shopkeeper before, but he always kept silent, so I didn't ask any more questions."
"The shopkeeper usually lives in the small courtyard behind the shop, but I heard that he has a lover outside, so he always goes there and is not often in the shop."
"Who is his lover? Do you know her? Or has she told you about her?" Qin Yandong asked immediately.
The clerk shook his head and said, "I don't know him. The shopkeeper never mentioned him to me."
"Then how do you know he has a lover?" Qin Yandong said in a cold tone.
"Because every time he came back, he was always wearing powder. One time, I saw a corner of a handkerchief in his arms. It was embroidered with flowers I had never seen before. It was very beautiful. I even looked at it a few more times."
"Is this an embroidery flower you've never seen before?" Suddenly, Jiang Youzhen's heart moved.
"Bring paper and pen!" Jiang Youzhen ordered.
After a while, Jiang Youzhen handed the painting he had just finished to the guy.
"Take a look, is this the kind?"
The guy nodded repeatedly after seeing it, "Yes, yes, that's it."
"Someone, go to Jizhen Embroidery Shop and tell their owner to find the list of customers who bought the Lycoris radiata brocade handkerchief."
"You mean that the handkerchief is only available in Jizhen Embroidery Shop? Why are you so sure? Have you bought it before?" Qin Yandong was very surprised. This flower was indeed unique and had a kind of enchanting beauty.
"Because Jizhenxiuzhuang belongs to my sister! This embroidery pattern is called Manjusaka, and it was drawn by me personally. Because my sister complained some time ago that someone was copying the embroidery patterns of Jizhenxiuzhuang, I drew the embroidery pattern casually.
But my sister said that things are valuable because they are rare, so new products are generally not sold in large quantities, and they are meant to be sold at a high price.”
Jiang Youzhen calculated that it would only take less than ten days, so it shouldn't be difficult to investigate.
I asked the guy what he remembered, and he remembered something else.
“It’s actually quite strange, the shopkeeper doesn’t seem to care about the business in the shop.
Whenever business is slow, I worry about the shopkeeper, but he is not worried. I think he has enough to eat and wear on weekdays, so he doesn’t have to worry about money.
Jiang Youzhen asked more questions, but the waiter couldn't say anything. He asked someone to take the waiter away, and Jiang Youzhen seemed to be thinking about something.
"It seems that opening the coffin shop is just a cover for contacting Jiechen. Jiechen and Zhihui were in cahoots with each other before, and the embezzled money might have been given to this shopkeeper Wan Yaming."
It didn't take long before the account book was delivered from Ji Zhen Embroidery Shop.
"Sir, because the embroidery pattern has not been officially launched, the shopkeeper said that he would give priority to making screens and round fans, so this handkerchief has been postponed. However, some of the material was still used to make a few handkerchiefs, and they have all been registered." said a guard.
Jiang Youzhen had set the rules before. Now there are many shopkeepers and clerks in the shop. In order to prevent them from embezzling money, Jiang Youzhen repeatedly reminded them that the buyer must be clearly stated for any transaction worth more than one or two taels of silver on the same day.
Generally, the more expensive ones, or those who buy a lot at one time, are all wealthy families in Beijing. In order to maintain the business, they will keep records to know the number.
Jiang Youzhen flipped through an account book at a very fast speed. Qin Yandong frowned, looking at the account book so sloppily?
However, Jiang Youzhen quickly circled it, and until the last page was turned, she concluded: "There are five families who bought this kind of handkerchief embroidered with Lycoris radiata. Three of them are wealthy families in Beijing, very familiar with it, and are regular customers. The other two, one is a merchant, but not from Beijing, and the last one..."
Jiang Youzhen's eyes sparkled. "Yes!" It seemed that Ah San would respond.
"Who is the last person? Tell me quickly! Don't play dumb." Qin Yandong waited for a long time, but Jiang Youzhen didn't say anything, so he couldn't help but urge him.
"It's Young Master Luodan." Jiang Youzhen's tone was mixed with ambiguous emotions.
"Master Luodan?" Qin Yandong raised his eyebrows suddenly. A young waiter?
He took the account book and found the page about Luo Dan and started reading, "He bought a lot, including screens, fans, embroidered handkerchiefs, and clothing materials. All in all, it's about 70 or 80 taels.
"Why did you exclude the other three? Just because they are frequent customers of your Jizhen Embroidery Shop, you don't doubt them, right?"