Manager Li wiped his sweat and invited Shen Du to sit. Fresh tea was served, but Shen Du merely flicked his robe hem without looking at it.
“Jinglin.”
“Yes,” Jinglin stepped forward, taking out the half-blurred note and spreading it before Manager Li. “Is this a voucher from the Li Family Bank?”
Manager Li’s trembling fingers drew close to examine it, then nodded, “That’s right.” He went to the counter to fetch other vouchers and handed them to Jinglin, who presented them to Shen Du on a handkerchief.
“Indeed. Manager Li, please check whose voucher this is and where they are now.”
With permission, Manager Li took the voucher to the light, squinting to examine it carefully. He then returned to the counter, searched around, and quietly instructed an assistant to go to the back courtyard. Soon after, several wooden boxes were brought out, their surfaces gleaming with tung oil, seemingly well-preserved.
“It’s been a while, please allow me a moment, Grand Commander.”
“No problem.”
Jinglin guarded the door, preventing anyone from entering to conduct business. Manager Li called all the assistants to help search.
Shen Du’s fingers inadvertently tapped the table, glancing towards the inner room with a fleeting look of impatience.
By the time Zhu Yan had changed clothes, dried her ink-black hair, had some tea, and politely declined Madam Li’s overly enthusiastic hospitality to exit the inner room, she heard Manager Li excitedly shout:
“Found it! Found it!”
Zhu Yan’s heart leaped with joy. She rushed over, a step ahead of Shen Du, who stood behind her, looking down at her new clothes.
The goose-yellow bodice and soft skirt accentuated her snow-white skin and graceful figure. Madam Li, being skilled, had styled her hair into a double-swallow bun, revealing her fair, pink neck. A faint, pleasant fragrance wafted to the nose.
A sixteen-year-old girl should indeed be this beautiful.
Shen Du lowered his gaze to the thin booklet in Zhu Yan’s hand, frowning.
“This customer named Liu Fu lived in Luokou Lane, Fengle Ward. Five years ago, he deposited a sum of silver here and asked me to order a batch of gold ornaments from the Bijiang Gold Shop. But he never showed up again. A deposit was paid for those gold ornaments, but I don’t know if he ever collected them.”
Shen Du and Zhu Yan had already seen the information recorded in the thin booklet: On the seventh day of the eighth month in the ninth year of Fei Sheng, Liu Fu came to deposit six thousand taels of silver.
Now it was the second year of Sheng Li. Liu Fu had disappeared after depositing that money, five years ago.
According to the coroner’s estimate, the time of death matched.
“Did this Liu Fu often deposit money here before?”
Manager Li shook his head, not daring to look directly at Shen Du:
“This Liu Fu had some family assets, but he was known for spending without earning. That small fortune was long squandered. He’d come here to borrow money every few days, leaving jade items or furniture as collateral when he couldn’t repay. That’s why I remember him. I don’t know how he suddenly came into such wealth.”
Zhu Yan took out a palm-sized booklet from her bosom, borrowed a writing brush, and carefully recorded all the information about Liu Fu.
Shen Du couldn’t help but glance over. He saw that her booklet had a cowhide cover, filled with dense, tiny characters, already half-used.
After writing the last sentence, Zhu Yan looked up and asked Manager Li: “Do you know who Liu Fu usually associated with, especially women?”
Manager Li was taken aback. He frowned, thinking carefully for a while, then shook his head helplessly: “Madam Shen, your question stumps me. Our bank only deals with money matters; we know nothing of our clients’ social circles. Moreover, our bank is in the capital, with countless wealthy gentry and officials’ families. We naturally wouldn’t pay much attention to a small figure like Liu Fu.”
“However, since he ordered gold ornaments from Bijiang Gold Shop, they might have been gifts. Why don’t the Grand Commander and Madam investigate there?”
Hearing this, Zhu Yan exchanged a glance with Shen Du. She tucked the cowhide booklet back into her bosom: “Husband, it’s still early. Shall we go there now?”
She called him “husband” very naturally, with a faint smile on her lips. Her doe-like eyes sparkled with intelligence as if she were truly just a gentle, harmless young woman.
Shen Du seemed accustomed to it too. He gave a light affirmative and stood to leave.
“This humble one bids farewell to Grand Commander Shen and Madam Shen!”
Finally seeing off these two important figures, Manager Li wiped the sweat from his brow. Watching their retreating figures walking side by side, he remarked curiously: “How strange. I thought someone as cold-blooded and unfeeling as Lord Shen would surely die alone, but I never expected him to be in such a harmonious marriage with Sixth Miss Zhu.”
Madam Li, seeing that the two hadn’t gone far, frightfully covered Manager Li’s mouth and gave him a warning look: “Do you have a death wish, daring to gossip about the Grand Commander? If he hears you, we’ll be in big trouble.”
Manager Li had just spoken without thinking. Now feeling a bit scared, he saw Shen Du and Zhu Yan reaching the door and muttered, “They shouldn’t have heard…”
As they exited the bank’s main door, Zhu Yan couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Those who often investigate cases outside have developed keen senses of hearing and sight. Even she had heard the Li couple’s whispers, let alone Shen Du with his “autumn hair-splitting” perception.
Seeing Shen Du’s face as black as the bottom of a pot, clearly displeased, Zhu Yan joked: “My, Manager Li is quite loose-tongued. He only knows one side of the story. This Grand Commander Shen is still more likely to die alone!”
How could any woman in the world endure such a cold and unpredictable person? Moreover, one misstep could cost you your head. Even becoming a nun in a temple would be better than marrying the White King of Hell!
Fortunately, once the Ximing Temple case was solved, regardless of the outcome, she could distance herself from Shen Du.
Jinglin, who had been guarding the door, came forward when he saw them exit: “Grand Commander, how was it? Any clues?”
Zhu Yan shook her head: “Some clues, but nothing significant.”
“Nothing significant?” Jinglin glanced at Zhu Yan in surprise, seeing her eyes and brows full of mirth. He scoffed, “Seeing you so happy, I thought there was good news.”
“There are many things worth being happy about in life.”
When Zhu Yan smiled, it was like sunlight on snow, a mountain of peach blossoms in full bloom. Realizing her good mood stemmed from the manager’s careless words, Shen Du found it rather irritating.
He mounted his horse, tugging the reins. The steed neighed and turned in place.
“How long are you going to dawdle? If you continue this idle chatter, I’ll dock half a month’s pay!” Shen Du’s long eyebrows furrowed as he spoke coldly, his voice tinged with anger that made others shudder.
Leaving these words behind, he turned and galloped towards Bijiang Gold Shop.
“Grand Commander!”
Jinglin called out from behind, but Shen Du ignored him. Anxious, he hurried to mount his horse and follow, only to remember Zhu Yan beside him.
“It’s all your fault. If it weren’t for you, how could the Grand Commander be angry? Hurry up and mount!” Jinglin irritably led the horse to Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan had just mounted the horse and hadn’t settled when Jinglin led the horse in a wild gallop. She swayed back and forth on horseback, nearly falling off.