Chapter 11
Chapter 11
The case of Impersonation and Cross-Region Examination Fraud was solved, sparking endless discussion among the common folk.
After a ten-year hiatus, the Hanlin Academy had once again inducted a female official, and she had cracked such a major case immediately upon taking office.
By the time the Hanlin Academy received the seventy-ninth pot of orchids sent as a thank-you gift to me, the way everyone addressed me had shifted from “Miss Jiang” to “Compiler Jiang.”
My desk was moved closer to the main hall.
The Chancellor handed me the keys to the Library Pavilion and repeatedly assigned me to draft the lecture notes for the “Classics Colloquium Lecturer.”
There was not a single empty seat in the hall, and the aisles were packed tight.
After a lecture ended, as I was tidying up my books, a colleague brought over an old volume.
“Lu Zhi asked me to return this to you. He has some matters at home recently and needs to take a leave of absence for a while.”
Lu Zhi was that kind-hearted peer of mine from the same examination year.
He was usually cheerful every day on duty, entering the Hanlin Academy as if he were walking into a tavern-relaxed and happy.
To think this man would actually take a leave of absence.
While I was wondering about it, that colleague leaned in and whispered.
“Word is, his younger sister has been targeted by the Folding Fan Gentleman, who’s been terrorizing the capital lately.”
I was startled.
The Folding Fan Gentleman?
Wasn’t that the notorious serial predator who had the whole capital living in fear?
Cunning and lecherous, he specialized in targeting beautiful, unmarried women, regardless of whether they were commoners or nobles.
He had already committed four crimes, yet due to his cautious hiding spots and methods, he had yet to be captured.
The government’s bounty had already reached a thousand taels.
Supposedly, this degenerate was so confident in his skills that whenever he took a fancy to a woman, he would leave a folding fan behind in advance as a token.
Truly arrogant.
With a female family member being stalked by that criminal, it was no wonder Lu Zhi had taken leave.
I had met Lu Zhi’s sister before; she was truly as ethereal as frost and snow, a peerless beauty.
Whenever she brought meals to Lu Zhi while he was on duty, she would always bring a portion for me as well.
I thought for a moment, then went to the Dali Temple to borrow the case files. I skimmed through them at lightning speed, hoping to find some trace of this villain.
In the midst of my deep concentration, a chestnut shell suddenly dropped onto my head.
“Who dares to trespass in the archives of the Dali Temple? Do you find your life too long?”
I heard the voice before I saw the person.
The voice was haughty and cold, carrying a hint of indolence and gloom.
I hurriedly pulled out my credentials and presented them. “I am Jiang Rui of the Hanlin Academy. I have already requested permission from the Vice Minister to consult the files on the Folding Fan Gentleman case.”
“Bring them here.”
Just as I was about to stand up and walk over, the person spoke again.
“Stay there. Bow your head. You are but a mere Seventh-rank Official; how dare you show such a lack of reverence before this Prince?”
I had no choice but to lower my head and offer the files up with both hands.
But in the end, I couldn’t resist. As I approached him, I stole a glance.
The man was wearing a dark cyan brocade robe with gold-leafed hems today. He leaned lazily against the railing, his face full of wicked mischief.
In his hands, he was casually peeling several chestnuts.
“Jiang Rui, Compiler Jiang, we meet again.”
The Seventh Prince, Yan Yunzheng.
Dammit.
I forced a smile. “Your Highness, you must be bored to be making sport of this humble official again.”
He gave a cold snort and stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the files in my hand.
“Jiang Rui, This Prince said that if you could meet This Prince again, This Prince would grant you one request.”
“You’ve been sitting here staring blankly at these two pages for the duration of two incense sticks without any results…”
His long fingers flipped a page of the file, letting it fall back down lightly.
“You could beg This Prince to help you investigate.”
I thought for a long while, then hugged the files and took a step back.
A smile spread across my face.
“It is Your Highness who is inviting this official to help you, surely.”
Yan Yunzheng’s gaze chilled by several degrees, his narrow eyes squinting like a snake about to strike.
“What?”
I wasn’t afraid. I cupped my hands in a salute.
“I have long heard that when Your Highness was living outside the palace, you were cared for by the current Lu family. Lord Lu and his wife would rather let their own two nursing infants go hungry just to leave the only dry rations and milk for Your Highness. This has even become a famous tale of loyal subjects protecting their master among the people.”
“Your Highness is busy with the affairs of the Ink Scale Guard, yet you appear in the Dali Temple archives at this time.”
“It seems I am not the only one who has been sitting here for a long time without finding a lead.”
Having been exposed by me, Yan Yunzheng’s lips curled into a smile. He sat down grandly in a lounging chair and stared at me.
“Truly, exceptionally clever.”
“Then guess again-what does This Prince want to do now?”
He swirled the celadon cup in his hand. The rim was thin, reflecting a hint of the sharp edge hidden in his sleeve.
Bastard. No wonder he’s considered even more difficult to deal with than a ‘mad dog.’
I gritted my teeth, but my hands were quick to flatteringly spread the files out before him.
“Your Highness, look here. The files have meticulously drawn the patterns of the four folding fans gifted by the predator.”
Yan Yunzheng looked for a moment. “You mean the plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum?”
“Not just any ordinary plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.”
I curled my lips, my eyes shimmering with excitement.
***
Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Yan Yunzheng sat in a private booth, watching as I skillfully sent the madam away.
His expression was strange. “Do you… come here often?”
I waved my hand dismissively. “Just occasionally.”
It was just that back when I couldn’t afford to eat, I often went to the Changling Brothel to do odd jobs for the ladies.
I simply had extensive work experience.
Seeing that he was about to dwell on it, I quickly redirected his attention to the matter at hand.
“Your Highness, please look closely at the screen in the main hall downstairs.”
Several beauties were depicted in graceful poses, each holding a flower vase with branches inside. The scenery surrounding the beauties was complex, so the flower branches were not prominent.
Plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum-one of each.
“Your Highness, look at the tips of those branches. Are they not all embroidered with dew drops using glittering gold thread? Because the madam loves money, she gave these four girls the names Golden Plum, Golden Orchid, Golden Bamboo, and Golden Chrysanthemum.”
“Vulgar things, lacking any real form,” Yan Yunzheng said after taking a sip of tea.
I neither agreed nor disagreed.
“They are vulgar, but they are also unique. They are identical to the paintings on that criminal’s fans.”
“That little thief is someone from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.”
“Furthermore, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion has many treasures, yet he only used the imagery from these four screens. It suggests his status isn’t high; he can only move around the first and second floors.”