Silver Basin, Golden Boats, Murder Case

The twenty-seventh day of the Twelfth Lunar Month.

At first light, snowflakes began to drift down. By the time Sun Shaozong and Ruan Rong had finished preparing and were ready to head to Rongguo Mansion for their appointment, a layer of snow half an inch thick had already accumulated on the ground.

Yet the snowfall had not thinned the crowds on the road in the least.

Some carried baskets, some bore shoulder poles, some drove carts...

The Bustling Crowd bought and sold in a frenzy, whipping the year's final market before New Year's into a roaring boil.

When they reached Rongguo Mansion, they saw nearly a hundred great red lanterns spread out like goose wings on either side of the magnificent main gate, each lit with candles as thick as a child's arm. It was still daytime, so they did not seem especially striking, but by nightfall, they would surely cast half the street in a festive crimson glow!

The daily expense of that single row of lanterns was likely enough to cover an ordinary family's expenses for an entire year.

Truly, "Wine and meat rot behind vermilion gates, while frozen corpses lie by the roadside."

With that thought, Sun Shaozong first watched Ruan Rong's carriage enter through the west corner gate. Led by an old woman, she headed straight for Lin Daiyu in the back residence. Only then did he urge his horse toward the black-lacquered gate at the far eastern end.

It was something of an oddity: Jia Lian's father, Jia She, was the legitimate eldest son and a first-rank general who had inherited his title, yet because Old Madam did not favor him, he had no choice but to live in the cramped Small Courtyard on the eastern side.

Meanwhile, Second Master Jia Zheng lived in the main room of the Main Room, every inch the master of the household.

Enough idle chatter.

When Sun Shaozong arrived at the black-lacquered gate, Long'er, Jia Lian's trusted Servant Boy, was already waiting on the steps.

Before Sun Shaozong had even dismounted, Long'er eagerly hurried up, his face wreathed in smiles. "Second Master Sun, you've finally come! Our master has asked after you several times already. He was just this close to sending men with an eight-man sedan chair to carry you here!"

"I'm not your Second Madam. How could I possibly be worthy of an eight-man sedan chair?"

Sun Shaozong leapt neatly down from his horse, then poked one of the great red lanterns hanging from the wall with a finger. "In past years, your manor only lit a dozen or so for the occasion. Why are you being so ostentatious this year?"

"Ohhh~"

Long'er pulled a face and let out a strange cry, saying with exaggerated surprise, "So you haven't heard! Our Second Master's eldest daughter was selected as Fengzao Palace Secretary and granted the title of Virtuous Consort. With a Happy event as earth-shaking as this, how could we not celebrate in grand style?"

As he spoke, he pointed toward the main gate on the western side, showing off with a trace of sourness. "You didn't see it the other day—countless firecrackers were set off right in front of that gate. In the end, they swept up two whole cartloads of red paper scraps!"

Tsk.

With Virtuous Consort within the palace and Wang Ziteng without.

With those two powerful pillars to lean on, the Jia Manor's arrogant servants would probably become even more lawless than before.

Thinking such stray thoughts, Sun Shaozong handed his horse to the gatekeeper and followed Long'er across the threshold.

They passed through room after courtyard after courtyard. Along the way, quite a few Servant Boys and old women pointed and whispered about him from the shadows. Presumably, after Jia Lian and the others had returned to the manor, they had told people about the salt smugglers, drawing so many curious onlookers.

Sun Shaozong had expected Long'er to lead him to the reception hall or Jia Lian's own courtyard. Instead, after several twists and turns, they entered an exquisitely compact garden.

Long'er pointed toward the pavilion atop the Artificial Mountain in the center and said with a grin, "When our master saw that it had begun snowing, he had people tidy up that pavilion. He said he wanted to 'boil Green Plum Wine and discuss heroes' with you."

Sun Shaozong did not know whether he himself counted as a hero, but Jia Lian most certainly did not!

The two climbed the spiral stone steps to the mountaintop. In the vermilion-painted red pavilion, four or five braziers of Silver Frost Charcoal had been set out, while Jia Lian cradled a Hand Warmer in his arms. Seeing them, he burst into laughter. "So Erlang has arrived! From up here, I saw a black lump in the distance and thought it was an old bear."

Sun Shaozong wore a black cloak, hence Jia Lian's remark.

Sun Shaozong laughed as well, pointing at Jia Lian's dark-purple robe. "Forget an old bear—if a few real ones did leap out, the moment they saw Your Excellency the Imperial Brother-in-Law draped in this rising purple aura from the east, they'd likely flee three steps back."

"What sort of Imperial Brother-in-Law am I? Baoyu is the true and proper Imperial Brother-in-Law." Jia Lian humbly declared with great self-satisfaction, then ushered Sun Shaozong into the pavilion.

At the center of the Stone Table stood a silver basin filled with a shallow layer of hot water. Several exquisitely carved little golden boats floated inside. They were strikingly elegant, though it was impossible to tell what purpose they served.

Seeing Sun Shaozong studying the silver basin and golden boats, Jia Lian reached out and lifted the cabin roof from one of the golden boats. A rich fragrance of wine immediately rushed forth—it turned out that those little golden boats were actually cups for warming wine.

This truly was a family of the utmost extravagance!

Sun Shaozong clicked his tongue in admiration several times. Just as he and Jia Lian had taken their respective seats, hurried footsteps sounded, drawing nearer and nearer.

The two leaned out to look, only to find that the newcomer was the gatekeeper who had just taken Sun Shaozong's horse.

Seeing the man panting like an ox, with not the slightest trace of a great household's dignity, Jia Lian grew displeased. He slapped his Hand Warmer onto the table and shouted from afar, "You dog slave! Blundering about with that vacant stare—are you rushing off to be reincarnated?!"

After receiving that scolding, the gatekeeper hastily hurried several more steps forward and said urgently, "Second Master, it isn't that this servant was barging about! Several runners from Shuntian Prefecture have come to the gate. They say there has been some murder case in Yunshui Lane, and they ask that the Judicial Assistant Magistrate go investigate!"

A murder case?

Sun Shaozong frowned at once. According to that transfer order, he was not supposed to formally take up his post at Shuntian Prefecture until after the New Year. Why had a murder case before the New Year been brought to his door? And why had they come all the way to Rongguo Mansion to find him?

Just as he was pondering what might be amiss, Jia Lian began cursing again. "Have you gone mad, you dog slave? Our manor does have a Shuntian Vice-Prefect, but where would we get some Assistant Magistrate?"

The gatekeeper did not dare argue, so he could only look eagerly at Sun Shaozong.

"Ah~"

Sun Shaozong sighed and rose to his feet. "Second Master Lian, it seems we won't be discussing 'heroes' today. Only yesterday at noon, I received an Imperial Decree ordering me to serve as Judicial Assistant Magistrate at Shuntian Prefecture after the New Year. Who would have thought that after only one day, trouble would come knocking?"

He deliberately emphasized the words "after the New Year," intending to make Jia Lian suspicious enough to use his newfound status as an Imperial Brother-in-Law to inquire into the matter for him.

But Jia Lian had not caught his real meaning at all. The moment he heard that Sun Shaozong had become Shuntian Prefecture's Judicial Assistant Magistrate and was about to investigate a murder case, his eyes lit up and delight filled his face. "Since it is a major case involving human lives, what are we waiting for? I've lived this long and never once watched anyone investigate a case!"

Then he called out, "Xing'er, go report to your Second Madam. Tell her I'm accompanying Second Master Sun to solve a remarkable murder case, so I won't be eating at home at noon!"

Sun Shaozong was left speechless, but it was not convenient to voice his concerns outright. He could only have someone pass a message to Ruan Rong, telling her to stay in Rongguo Mansion without worry and share her feelings with Lin Daiyu. Once he had visited the crime scene, he would come back to fetch her.