Brewing Green Plum Wine

The chest contained all sorts of things.

There were small purses, handkerchiefs, sachets, wooden hairpins, silver hairpins, and so on.

They were all women's belongings.

Lu Jingsi's eyes darkened. "These should be the personal belongings of the murdered women."

Su Luoqian's gaze paused, then fell on a peach-pink sachet buried at the very bottom.

Her lashes trembled, and her breathing shook uncontrollably. "It's... it's Peilan..."

She instinctively reached for the sachet, but then remembered what Lu Jingsi had told her earlier. She drew back her hand and clutched his sleeve.

"Lu Jingsi, it's Peilan... this belongs to Peilan..."

As soon as the words left her lips, tears rolled down her cheeks.

She had given Peilan that peach-pink sachet, and Zelan had one too. There was no chance she had mistaken it.

Su Luoqian's voice trembled as she wept. Tears dampened the thin veil over her face, and her vision grew hazy.

Lu Jingsi helped her to her feet and let her lean against his chest.

In the first twenty-odd years of his life, the arrogant, aloof Prince Cheng'an had never once comforted anyone.

Now, with his young wife crying against him like a pear blossom wet with rain, he could only knit his brows and let her lean against his upright frame.

At last, he stiffly managed a few words. "Don't cry."

His voice was softer than usual.

Su Luoqian sniffled and looked up at him. "Lu Jingsi, you can make sure he's punished by the law, can't you?"

The case of the murdered women involved many lives. Under the law, even beheading Lin Yonghong would not be excessive.

But he was Prince Jin's eldest son. If he were actually killed, it would be difficult to answer to Prince Jin.

Even the reigning emperor would have to hesitate.

Yet those lives could not be left to have died with their grievances unredressed.

Su Luoqian was still leaning in his arms, tear tracks lingering on her fair face. Tears clung to her lashes and filled her eyes as she gazed at him, full of hope.

Lu Jingsi's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he looked away.

He had made preparations back when the clues in the case had repeatedly pointed to Lin Yonghong, all the more so now that Zhong Younian's daughter was among the dead.

The minister of rites would certainly call for the murderer's execution.

The court was a place of treacherous winds and swirling clouds, and plenty of people wanted to see Prince Jin brought low.

If the evidence was conclusive, beheading or hanging was not impossible.

"When a prince breaks the law, he must be punished just like a commoner."

Su Luoqian naturally understood how Lin Yonghong's status as Prince Jin's eldest son would affect his sentence. Lu Jingsi's assurance was enough for her.

She pressed together lips that had grown a little dry from crying. "Then let's hurry and see if there's any other evidence."

Only by finding more, and more conclusive, evidence could they make the case against Lin Yonghong ironclad.

With that, she let go of the sleeve she had been clutching and turned to continue searching.

Lu Jingsi watched her slender back for a few moments, then lowered his gaze to the sleeve she had crumpled in her grip, his eyes dark and deep.

The secret room was spacious and bright, and nothing seemed amiss at first glance. But Su Luoqian and Lu Jingsi searched carefully, finding half-dried red stains that looked like blood in the corners and beneath the table and chairs.

Two hours later, Lu Jingsi deliberately tugged at his collar before the two of them emerged from the secret room.

Outside, the sun shone brightly, and the courtyard's flowers, plants, pavilions, and terraces were beautiful. Yet this place had been a nightmare for Peilan and those innocent women.

Su Luoqian's nose stung, and tears seemed to well up in her eyes again. Her eyes reddened as she held them back.

Her thoughts were on Peilan, and she did not pay much attention as she descended the steps. She tripped, her legs nearly buckling as she pitched forward. Fortunately, Lu Jingsi caught her around the waist in time and pulled her close.

The man's large hand was warm and strong. Su Luoqian instinctively looked up at him.

He seemed to feel her gaze but did not look down, merely saying in a measured voice, "Be careful."

With that, he kept his arm around her as they went down the steps.

Servants and maids were already waiting outside the side room. Seeing Lu Jingsi's slightly open collar and the beautiful young woman beside him, who could scarcely walk steadily, what was there that they did not understand?

The group bowed to Lu Jingsi, and one of them said respectfully, "Young Master Lin is busy with something and ordered this servant to wait here. Hot water has been prepared in the washing room next door. Would you care to use it, Young Master Lu?"

Lu Jingsi stood with one hand behind his back, the other resting on Su Luoqian's slender shoulder. Before everyone's eyes, he stroked it gently, with a hint of intimacy, the smile in his eyes unreadable. "Since Young Master Lin is busy, I won't disturb him. I'll call again in a few days to thank him."

With that, he took Su Luoqian straight out of the villa.

After that visit to the villa, Lu Jingsi was noticeably busier.

Su Luoqian did not see him for several days in a row. She wanted to ask about the progress of the case but could not find him.

For every day that Lin Yonghong remained at large, her heart could not be at ease.

Seeing her anxious all day, Zelan quietly suggested a visit to Yuanfu Temple.

Yuanfu Temple stood on Mount Yuanfu, east of Yujing City. Though it was not a state temple, prayers there were said to be quite effective in worldly matters, so commoners and wealthy families alike often visited, and its incense offerings flourished.

Many shops had even opened at the foot of the mountain, making it a lively place on fine days.

Before her marriage, Su Luoqian had accompanied Cui Anlan there a few times.

The carriage traveled up the mountain and stopped in a clearing halfway up.

Mount Yuanfu had beautiful scenery, but the road farther up was steep and difficult for carriages to traverse, so the clearing had been made for wealthy families to park their carriages.

When Su Luoqian got out, she saw another canopied carriage in the clearing.

Its outer curtains were made of fine, bright yellow fabric.

Her gaze paused. Had she come across a member of the imperial family on an outing?

But she had not heard that Yuanfu Temple was closed today.

Zelan had evidently realized it too. She asked in a low voice, "Princess Consort, are we still going up?"

In the three months since her marriage, Su Luoqian had avoided those imperial clans and aristocratic families whenever she could, unwilling to have much contact with them.

But Yujing City was neither particularly large nor particularly small, and the man she had married was so renowned. She could avoid them for a while, but not forever.

Su Luoqian smoothed her sleeves. "It's all right. Let's go up."

Since Yuanfu Temple had not closed to receive an honored guest, anyone could go there.

The temple was large, and she might not actually run into them.

Mistress and servants climbed the steps together. The weather was fine today, the trees lush and green, and the streams murmuring, all the mountain scenery spread out before their eyes.

Su Luoqian's mood lifted somewhat. As she walked, her nose twitched; she seemed to catch a faint fragrance.

She glanced around and, sure enough, saw several green plum trees beside the steps.

It was the season when green plums ripened, and crisp little green fruits hung from the branches. As the wind swept through the woods, the branches and leaves swayed with it.

The scent of fruit filled the air.

Delight flickered in Su Luoqian's eyes. "Let's pick some green plums to take back and make wine."

Fruit wine was sweet and tart, unlike the sharp bite of strong liquor.

She had liked it before, and when she married into Prince Cheng'an's Residence, Su Liangzhuo had the servants bring a few small jars.

As soon as she spoke, Zelan ordered several servants to pick the plums.

Su Luoqian stood beside a tree, looking up with care. Her jeweled ornaments and gold hairpins swayed gently with her movements.

As she reminded everyone to be careful, she could not help remarking, "It's a pity there are no grapes here. Wine made from grapes is an exquisite drink too."