Gold Silk

Early the next morning, Liang Yue checked in at his post, then immediately rushed to the Ministry of Justice.

Once again, he traveled from the south of the city to the north, watching the streets on both sides of Sky Street in Dragon Abyss City transform from shabby to prosperous, then from prosperous to solemn. Every time he took this road, he felt something anew.

The southern city was truly poor.

If the Heaven-Piercing Tower could make the southern city prosper, that would indeed be a good thing.

But people like the Dragon Tooth Gang and Zhen Changzhi were using the power in their hands, trying to swallow all those benefits into their own pockets.

Nothing but greed could describe them.

Zhen Changzhi's death might truly be an opportunity.

Come to think of it, he had pinched pennies for most of his life and had not spent a single tael of the money he had greedily amassed. It had all returned to the National Treasury. If his death could also be used to uproot the web of interests behind him—

Then his life had truly benefited the nation.

Only in a rather passive way.

"Captain Ling, I found what's wrong with the Zhen family's account book!" The moment he arrived at the Ministry of Justice, he found Ling Yuanbao.

"Huh?" Ling Yuanbao's eyes immediately lit up. "You figured it out?"

Yesterday, she had thought Liang Yue had failed. The Imperial Capital Guard who had left such a deep impression on her no longer seemed so miraculous, and Ling Yuanbao had nearly despaired. Who would have thought that when he said he would go back and think about it, he could actually come up with an answer?

"I'll show you." Liang Yue had her bring out the Zhen family's account book again.

"Zhen Changzhi claimed to be incorruptible, and the Zhen family's food and clothing expenses were extremely frugal. Only one thing is rather strange." He opened the account book to a certain page.

It recorded an expense for the Zhen family's purchase of fabric: five hundred coins for one bolt of printed cloth, and two taels of silver for ten feet of Gold Silk, to make clothing.

"Oh... here!" Ling Yuanbao wore an expression of sudden realization.

But after a while, she tilted her head and looked at Liang Yue. "How is this strange?"

Liang Yue explained, "You may not understand the lives of poor people. Given the Zhen family's ordinary food and clothing expenses, spending several taels of silver on such costly silk is completely out of line with their other expenditures."

Last night, when he saw the fabric he had accidentally chopped apart, he had felt a pang of heartache. That was when he suddenly remembered: the Zhen family was similarly poor, so why could they buy such expensive silk?

It completely contradicted the persona Zhen Changzhi had cultivated.

When something is abnormal, there must be a reason.

"But..." Ling Yuanbao thought for a moment and said, "As an Imperial Court official, perhaps there were occasions when he needed to dress more respectably... Or perhaps he made his children a nice set of clothes during festivals and holidays. Isn't that normal? And even if it doesn't fit, it's only two taels of silver."

"Not just that." Liang Yue flipped through several more pages, arriving at the next entry from the following year.

There was another record concerning fabric: six taels of silver for thirty feet of Gold Silk, to make clothing.

As he kept turning pages, every account involving fabric purchases and clothing production contained an added expense for Gold Silk.

"When you searched the Zhen residence, did you find any expensive clothing made from this so-called Gold Silk?" Liang Yue asked.

"Indeed, we didn't." Ling Yuanbao carefully recalled, then shook her head. Suddenly, she said, "Ah! When Zhen Changzhi's body was found, the rope used to hang him was a length of silk embedded with gold threads. It was strange for it to appear in the Zhen residence, so we thought the murderer had brought it."

"And most importantly..." Liang Yue opened that case file again.

"This?" Ling Yuanbao gradually revealed a look of astonishment. "Every time the Zhen residence bought Gold Silk, it was one month after he had handled a certain construction project!"

After noticing the slight discordance of the Gold Silk, Liang Yue had compared the timeline in the case file with the timeline of the Gold Silk purchases in his mind. Sure enough, he discovered this clue that did not seem like a coincidence.

"If my guess is correct, then Gold Silk is very likely a code in the accounts, something used in place of money." As Ling Yuanbao's mouth fell open, Liang Yue continued, "Or perhaps this was the bribe Zhen Changzhi accepted!"

Ling Yuanbao rummaged through the evidence and pulled out the silk strip that had suspended Zhen Changzhi.

It was a red silk ribbon with gold threads woven inside, several feet long. Its craftsmanship was dense and exquisite to the touch, and its texture was first-rate. One look showed it was exceedingly expensive fabric. Such a thin strip had supported a living man of that size, proving its quality was absolutely solid.

Liang Yue said, "I've never seen this kind of fabric before. Its craftsmanship looks very distinctive."

"Neither have I." Ling Yuanbao promptly nodded.

"Our only lead now may be finding out where this Gold Silk came from," Liang Yue said.

Amid everything Zhen Changzhi had managed to make seem perfect, this was the only thing that felt wrong. They had to keep digging.

"But where do we look?" Ling Yuanbao asked. "Zhen Changzhi is already dead, and his account book doesn't say."

"Perhaps one person knows..." Liang Yue smiled faintly.

After Zhen Changzhi died, the investigation into the Ministry of Works had not ended because the origin of the illicit silver in his home had never been clarified. Thus, the Zhen family members were all detained in the Ministry of Justice Prison, kept under constant pressure in hopes that one day they might reveal something valuable—though in truth, there were only Zhen Xiaohao and the old gatekeeper.

Ling Yuanbao led Liang Yue down into the dark prison. The damp, foul-smelling surroundings made him frown as soon as he caught the scent. Screams occasionally echoed from deeper within, and the torture implements scattered everywhere were stained with mottled blood.

After being frightened and intimidated for days in such an environment, even without severe torture, it was difficult for anyone to remain mentally normal.

When Liang Yue saw Zhen Xiaohao, this arrogant official's son who had bullied his classmates was crouching on the ground, digging in the dirt for fun.

The moment he saw Liang Yue approach, Zhen Xiaohao sprang up and pointed at him, screaming wildly, "They killed my father! They definitely killed my father! Let me go, let me go! Aahhh!"

The two could not even be bothered to acknowledge him and walked straight past.

To prevent them from coordinating their stories, the old gatekeeper was imprisoned far from Zhen Xiaohao's cell.

The old man looked much steadier. He sat there blankly staring at the cell door, perhaps out of professional habit.

He was the person Liang Yue had come to find.

"Sir!" Outside the cell door, Liang Yue waved that piece of Gold Silk at him. "Do you know where this Gold Silk was bought?"

"Huh?" The old man froze. "What silk?"

"This Gold Silk!" Liang Yue shouted.

"Golden monkeys?" the old man answered loudly.

"Oh, forget it..." Ling Yuanbao covered her forehead. "It was the same when we interrogated this old man. He's deaf, and he's muddle-headed too. There's no way to communicate with him."

"I see..." Liang Yue turned his back and lowered his voice to her. "It's fine if he doesn't know anything else, but if he can't even tell us where this Gold Silk came from, there's no point keeping him. I say you might as well pin the charge of murdering his master's family on him and close the case directly..."

"Yes, that may be the only way." Ling Yuanbao whispered. "We originally planned to release him if he talked, but it would work to push everything onto him instead. He's old and befuddled anyway. Even if he stood in court, he probably wouldn't know what he was doing."

"Longsheng Cloth Shop!" Although the two were speaking as softly as mosquitoes, the old gatekeeper stretched out his neck and listened twice before immediately shrieking, "This Gold Silk was delivered by Longsheng Cloth Shop!"

"Heh." Ling Yuanbao sneered. "He really was pretending."

"See? I told you this old man's memory might not be worse than mine," Liang Yue said.

It turned out Liang Yue had guessed before coming here that the old man might pretend to be foolish, so he had discussed this little tactic with Ling Yuanbao in advance.

The old gatekeeper rubbed his head. "Ah, these ears of mine, they come and go."

"At this point, let's stop pretending, sir." Liang Yue smiled. "Tell us exactly what happened."

"Hehe." The old gatekeeper gave an awkward laugh and said, "I don't know the details either. I only remember that on the twelfth day of the ninth month eight years ago, the third day of the fourth month six years ago, the sixth day of the seventh month five years ago, the second day of the fourth month three years ago, and the third day of the eighth month last year... someone came specially to the residence and delivered a piece of fabric to Master. It was this Gold Silk. Master didn't care for jewelry or antiques, but he cherished this fabric beyond measure and often held it in his hands to play with it. This piece in the study was the one he always kept by his side."

Liang Yue asked again, "Then do you know where Longsheng Cloth Shop is?"

"That, I truly don't know. I've never gone there." The old gatekeeper shook his head. "I'm old, muddle-headed. That's all I remember."

Liang Yue said sincerely, "Sir, you're far too modest."

Some young people he knew, such as certain Fengs and certain Chens, might not have memories as good as a capable old man's. Compared to the man before him, they were not even worth mentioning.

All that could be said was that this was what the man did for a living.

After leaving the prison, Ling Yuanbao was brimming with energy. The ponytail tied behind her head bounced with every step. It seemed this was the first time she had felt the joy of solving a case.

"Longsheng Cloth Shop!" She waved her fist. "I'll find out where it is right away!"

As the two walked out of the Ministry of Justice Prison, they suddenly heard the sound of a bronze gong. Ahead, a mounted rider was clearing the street.

Behind him, two lines of lightly armored cavalry escorted a carriage drawn by four tall horses abreast. The procession was imposing as it slowly made its way toward the Ministry of Justice.

When the rider in front reached the government office gates, he dismounted and called out loudly, "The Left Prime Minister has arrived—"

This was Left Prime Minister Liang Fuguo's carriage?

No wonder...

Liang Yue smiled lightly. "What a grand display."

"Huh?" Ling Yuanbao murmured in surprise. "The Left Prime Minister is back?"

Good morning.