Aunt Murder Case

After two idle days at home, Zeng Anmin spent most of his time in his study, aside from occasionally teasing Huzi.

The study was a room his father had ordered cleared out in his courtyard just a couple of days ago.

The snow in Two Rivers Prefecture had given way to bright sunshine for the past two days.

On the Confucian Path, after opening the Purple Mansion, further advancement required settling down with books, relying on daily accumulation and insights into heaven and earth.

Without a special opportunity, one might never make another inch of progress in a lifetime.

In Zeng Anmin's hand was a copy of "Yi Zi," left to him by Zhang Lun.

"Brother Quanfu, these annotations are my Elder Brother's understanding of the Scholar's Intent. I hope they prove useful to you, so as not to betray the trust our teacher placed in me."

Recognizing the familiar handwriting, Zeng Anmin continued reading carefully.

Almost every obscure passage bore Zhang Lun's tiny script.

He flipped all the way to the last page.

Zeng Anmin's gaze fell on a short poem, also in Zhang Lun's hand.

"May Brother Quanfu not waste the hours."

"To encourage your studies, I offer this poem as exhortation:"

"Time like water never flows back, so seize youth to read and track."

"Palace hall's flowered words break the theme, win the Literary Champion to repay the gleam."

Seeing this poem, Zeng Anmin's mouth twitched.

"Brother Tongyu, oh Brother Tongyu, this exhortation poem of yours really isn't much."

Though he couldn't write poetry himself, Zeng Anmin was still a man of the Confucian Path, and his critical eye was decent enough.

His verdict was that this poem barely qualified as Doggerel Verse.

"Slap."

Zeng Anmin set the book on the table and was about to stretch.

But he heard a knock at the study door, followed by Dachun's simple voice:

"Young Master, it's time to report to the yamen."

"Oh."

Zeng Anmin stood up and headed out.

The day after his unpleasant exchange with his father in the study, he had received his appointment letter from the Xuanjing Division.

He had to admit, his father's stubborn mouth and soft heart was a pretty good flaw to have.

Today was his first day on duty.

"Creak~"

Gently pushing open the door, Zeng Anmin looked at Dachun waiting outside.

Dachun was holding a horse, his expression extremely respectful.

Two days ago, when he followed the Young Master home, Uncle Qi had given him a beating for no reason.

After returning, he'd argued with Uncle Qi and gotten another beating.

So these past few days in the manor, he'd been very well-behaved.

"Let's go."

The two of them left the courtyard one after another and stepped onto the long path inside the manor.

As soon as he exited the courtyard, Zeng Anmin saw his father being led by a servant, preparing to head out.

The two locked eyes, but neither spoke first.

Because of the unpleasantness in the study, Zeng Anmin was currently in a cold war with his father.

"Father! Why aren't you wearing your Official Robes today?"

Zeng Anmin blinked.

Since his father had already helped him get the position, he might as well be the first to soften.

How could a son hold a grudge against his father?

"Today is my Day Off. I'm going for an outing in the countryside."

Hearing his son speak first, Father's tense expression relaxed slightly, and his voice softened a bit.

Zeng Anmin clicked his tongue. "An outing is good. At your age, it's important to take your mind off things."

Father's just-relaxed face darkened again.

He gave a cold snort and walked out, saying as he went:

"Today's your first day. Behave yourself at the yamen. Don't stir up trouble. Listen to your superiors' advice."

"Got it!"

Zeng Anmin straightened his back and strode out of the street with Dachun.

"Hyah!!" He mounted the horse with great flair, gave the reins a light tug, and the fine steed beneath him galloped off like the wind!

Riding came naturally, thanks to his predecessor—he felt no discomfort at all.

Dachun also swung onto another horse and followed the young master, heading toward the gates of the Xuanjing Division.

Zeng Anmin stood holding his horse, gazing up at the imposing entrance before him.

A faint, wistful expression crossed his face.

He remembered the last time he stood before these gates—he had been a man under sentence.

Now, he was an eighth-rank official.

The Xuanjing Division was vast.

Once through the main gate, it took a long while to reach his office.

No sooner had he entered the courtyard than a middle-aged scholar in green robes awaited him with a smile.

The scholar wore official robes, his face lean, his eyes small, his nose jutting high, with a wisp of a beard at the corner of his mouth.

Upon seeing Zeng Anmin, the scholar let out a hearty laugh:

"I am Xu Yunfeng, Right Clerk of the Xuanjing Division. The Left Clerk has just arrived, so we'll be colleagues from now on. Allow me to show you the way."

"Much obliged." Zeng Anmin gave the middle-aged scholar a measured bow.

He could tell the man had come prepared and knew exactly who he was.

Whether friend or foe remained unclear.

Xu Yunfeng's smile held steady as he stepped closer to Zeng Anmin and gestured:

"This way, please."

"Thank you."

Zeng Anmin followed Xu Yunfeng into the courtyard and into a room of decent size.

The room was bright and airy, fully furnished with a screen, tables, chairs, porcelain, and the like.

Xu Yunfeng pointed to the room and said:

"This is the Left Clerk's Office. All official business will be conducted here from now on."

Zeng Anmin looked around the room.

It was clear it had been thoroughly cleaned.

"The position of Left Clerk is rather unique, with a wide range of duties."

"The most important one is maintaining public order along the riverside of Two Rivers Prefecture."

Hearing this, Zeng Anmin felt a surge of emotion.

Father has treated me well!

It was obvious this was a post that could rake in serious money.

The riverside area.

It included the docks, the Grain Transport market, and many other places.

As the foremost prefecture along Fengqi Road, Two Rivers Prefecture's docks and Grain Transport were dripping with profit—anyone could imagine how much.

With Xu Yunfeng's introductions, Zeng Anmin quickly familiarized himself with his duties.

"Our Clerk's Office has two teams of Red-robed Guards. With them around, you can leave the daily work to them."

Xu Yunfeng's voice was gentle.

"Mm~"

Zeng Anmin gave Xu Yunfeng a sidelong glance and nodded slowly.

They walked and talked, and as they approached a bookshelf, Xu Yunfeng explained:

"This is the Scroll Rack. All cases from the riverside area are filed here. Many were handled by I, your foolish elder brother. When Brother Quanfu has free time, you may also study them for reference."

Just as Xu Yunfeng finished speaking, a voice rang out from outside the door:

"Clerk Xu, here are the scrolls you requested."

With that, a servant entered, holding something shaped like a scroll in his hands.

"Mm, put it on the table."

Xu Yunfeng's smile didn't waver as he turned to Zeng Anmin, his voice still warm:

"Before this, the Left Clerk position was vacant, so I, your foolish elder brother, handled all the riverside cases. Now that you've arrived, it wouldn't be proper for me to overstep my bounds."

At these words, Zeng Anmin keenly sensed something amiss.

He nodded imperceptibly, then picked up the dossier on the table, his gaze slowly settling upon its pages.

The first page bore seven bold characters: Jin Taiping Ship Merchant Nephew Kills Aunt Case.

Jin Taiping.

The largest ship merchant in Two Rivers Prefecture!

"Congzi" meant nephew.

The date was clearly marked—a case from three months ago.

The date alone revealed the case's thorny nature.

If it were an ordinary case, how could it have been delayed for three months?

"Heh, interesting."

Zeng Anmin looked at the dossier in his hands, a faint, ambiguous smile curling on his face.

This Xu Yunfeng before him... was an enemy, not a friend!

The Xuanjing Division was nominally a court-established body assisting the Governor.

But in truth, it was covertly split into three factions.

The first was the loyalists his father had cultivated over four years since taking office.

The second was the claws and fangs Prince Jiang's Estate had infiltrated over the years.

The third was the neutral faction.

From their exchange just now, it was clear that Xu Yunfeng knew he was the Governor's son.

If he were one of his father's loyalists, he would never have handed him such a case right off the bat.

Likewise, if he were a neutral, wanting to offload a hot potato, he would have given him two days to get familiar with the work first.

So there was only one possibility.

This Xu Yunfeng was likely one of Prince Jiang's people!