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  • My Husband is a Flower

    Chapter 70

    After Qin Yan gave the order, for the next two days, the agents of the Eastern Bureau focused on investigating Shen Ting’s affairs.

    Shen Ting was born in You County, Qingzhou. His family was poor, and although his ancestors were scholars for three generations, they had never held significant official positions. His current position as the deputy of the local salt transport office was the highest rank he had achieved.

    Many years ago, Shen Ting had the opportunity for promotion, but due to a lack of money to bribe officials, he was intercepted by someone from another province. That person was later anonymously reported, and he lost his official position due to corruption.

    Speaking of which, Shen Ting had always stayed at the salt transport office as a deputy, neither rising nor falling in rank. He could be considered an “old timer.”

    In the study, Qin Yan finished reading the reports brought by Ling’an and asked, “What is his relationship with Liu Zhisong?”

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    “Reporting to the master, Shen Ting and Liu Zhisong are acquaintances. Based on the current investigation, they have no other connections.”

    “How many times did Liu Zhisong visit that tavern?”

    “I have inquired, and he hadn’t been there before, but he has been going there frequently in the past few months, and each time he had a heated argument with Jiang Youcai.”

    The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

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    “Yypvla, usw xlyd Kkydt Zswnyk yde Fbld Mkdt?” Nkdt’yd ypjle dyvwayzzu, yp vblu olal kdhlpvktyvkdt vbl pyzv vaydprsav sqqknl, ps kv oyp zstknyz vs qsnwp sd vblpl vos kdekhkewyzp.

    “Fbld Mkdt yde Nkw Hbkpsdt.”

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    Lsv jdsokdt obld bl oswze nsxl cynj, Fw Yk oyp ydmkswp qsa plhlayz eyup, cwv pbl eked’v eyal nyzz qsa vbl xydpksd rbupknkyd.

    Ekvb y blyhu blyav, bla yrrlvkvl ekxkdkpble, yde kd fwpv y qlo eyup, pbl bye zspv olktbv.

    Chun Mei held a steaming bowl of walnut soup in her left hand and lifted the door curtain with her right hand to see Su Mi hunched over the table. She sighed, not knowing what was bothering her. Clearly, she had recovered from the cold, but why did she become even thinner? She didn’t even bother to check the account books sent by the old bookstore.

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    Approaching the table, Chun Mei helplessly said, “Miss, what’s been bothering you these past few days?”

    “It’s nothing. Has Feng Bao received any news about his return?” Despite knowing Qin Yan’s temperament, Su Mi couldn’t help but ask.

    “No, the steward has been busy preparing for the New Year these days and hasn’t mentioned any news of the Lord’s return.”

    “Okay.” Su Mi waved away the walnut soup offered by Chun Mei. “Chun Mei, I can’t eat.”

    With worry in her heart, how could she eat?

    Observing Su Mi’s condition, Chun Mei couldn’t help but suggest, “Miss, while the Lord is still away, why don’t we go to the capital city for a change of scenery and some fresh air? Besides, you haven’t been to the old bookstore yet. It has been tidied up beautifully.”

    Chun Mei mentioned these things with an eager expression on her face. In the past, when they were in Jiangling City, although they rarely went out, occasionally Miss would take her outside. But ever since they arrived in the capital city, Miss became lazy and spent her days waiting for the Lord to return. Chun Mei could go out when collecting debts, but it’s not as enjoyable as going out with someone else.

    “Old Bookstore…” Su Mi silently repeated it once and had a sudden realization. She faced Chun Mei and asked, “Are there physician shops near Xi Shui Street?”

    “Of course there are. There are several large physicians on Yong’an Street. But, Miss, why are you asking this? If you’re feeling unwell, I can call the mansion physician.”

    “No, no,” Su Mi quickly responded. “Chun Mei, tell the gatekeeper to prepare the carriage. We’ll go to Xi Shui street right now.”

    “Huh? Miss, go now?”

    “Yes!”

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    In early winter, there were not many pedestrians on the road. A simple single-horse carriage, modestly decorated, came to a quiet stop at the junction of Yong’an Street and Xi Shui Street. Two young women got off the carriage.

    One of the women wore a crescent-shaped white embroidered satin cloak, and her exquisite figure was concealed within, making it difficult to see clearly. Her face was veiled, but just by looking at the beautiful maid beside her, one could guess that this woman’s appearance was outstanding.

    Chun Mei supported Su Mi and arrived at the entrance of the Tingfang Shop. When the shopkeeper Li saw Chun Mei’s sudden arrival, he was momentarily stunned. When his gaze fell on Su Mi, he immediately made a conjecture. After being a shopkeeper for so many years, he could still recognize the mannerisms of the master.

    “Madam, greetings,” shopkeeper Li said with a smile, his hands behind his back.

    “Yes.” A sweet and melodious voice came from behind the veil, pleasant to the ears.

    “Madam, did you come to see the account books?” Shopkeeper Li asked with some doubt.

    Following Su Mi’s instructions from the carriage, Chun Mei spoke, “Shopkeeper Li, the Miss wants to use the private room in this shop.”

    “Huh? Alright, I’ll tidy it up right away.”

    The private room in the old bookstore was not large and mostly filled with unsorted old books. As he knew the master was coming, he should have tidied up earlier.

    “No need to trouble yourself. I’ll only stay for a while.”

    “Yes, Madam.”

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    Shopkeeper Li walked ahead, leading the way. Although he didn’t know Su Mi’s intentions, it was her bookstore, so naturally, she had the final say.

    Su Mi entered the private room and looked around through the veil. It was a neatly arranged small room with a simple wooden table and several low stools.

    When she had the craftsman renovate the bookstore, she remembered setting aside this separate room specifically for the collected old books. Chun Mei’s reminder made her recall that this space was available. If she stayed here, when the doctor came to diagnose her pulse, only one person, the doctor, would see her. The doctor wouldn’t know her identity either, so it would be a win-win situation.

    “Miss, do you really want Shopkeeper Li to call the doctor?”

    “Yes.”

    After Chun Mei helped Su Mi settle down, she went to give some instructions to Shopkeeper Li. She asked him to go to Deji Hall, not far away, and invite the physician to come out, saying that a relative of the shopkeeper from a distant place had come to the capital city for medical treatment.

    Because the doctor would receive a generous reward for the short distance, he quickly arrived at the study. Shopkeeper Li led him to the room and stood by the door, keeping his distance.

    As an old doctor who had already passed the age of sixty came to the private room to check on the madam, shopkeeper Li naturally had no curiosity about it. The only regret was that Jian Yujue was studying at the Imperial College; otherwise, he could have introduced her to Chun Mei and the others.

    Sitting at a small table, Su Mi glanced at Chun Mei standing at the door and felt a bit embarrassed as she spoke to the elderly physician, “Lately, I’ve been feeling drowsy and… I have a craving for sour foods.”

    The elderly physician, with a downturned mouth corner, looked quite serious. Upon hearing Su Mi’s words, he knew what she wanted to ask. “Young lady, please extend your hand so that this old man can feel your pulse.”

    Su Mi extended her wrist, and the elderly doctor lightly touched her pulse before picking up a brush and paper to write.

    This was a common practice among the people. Illnesses were private matters, and if no one asked, they usually wrote them on paper and showed them to the patient. It was up to the patient to decide whether or not to share it with others.

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    The elderly physician had seen many instances where wealthy young ladies secretly sought physicians to check on them. He knew what they cared about the most, so he kept the prescription extremely simple.

    After Chun Mei escorted the elderly doctor out, she left Su Mi alone. Su Mi’s heart was pounding rapidly, and she slightly trembled as she opened the note.

    It had only one word written on it: “None.”

    Strangely enough, Su Mi had been worried about not being able to sleep well, but when she found out that there was no pregnancy, she didn’t feel as happy as she had expected.

    However, after this incident, Su Mi secretly decided that, in order to protect the Lord’s identity as the chief of the Eastern Bureau, she must restrain her desire to get close to him!

    ***

    The night was dark as ink, but there were two places in Qingzhou with brightly lit lamps. One was the residence of the official, Liu Zhisong, and the other was the residence of the deputy transport officer, Shen Ting.

    The Eastern Bureau had set up a branch in Qingzhou this time, and they divided the guards into two groups. Half of the guards were conducting a thorough search of the entire Shen residence, digging three feet into the ground.

    Shen Ting stood in the courtyard, startled awake from his sleep, wearing only a light-colored inner garment. There was visible panic on his face. “Chief, why did you come in the middle of the night? I don’t know… I don’t know what offense I have committed to trouble the chief.”

    Qin Yan stood with his hands behind his back. He turned his head and looked at Shen Ting, lightly laughing. “You still want to pretend?”

    Shen Ting straightened his waist imperceptibly upon hearing this, and the hurriedness disappeared from his tone. He no longer stuttered as he spoke.

    “If the chief doesn’t search Mr. Jiang’s place, why did you come to the home of a mere fifth-rank deputy transport officer like me? Could it be that you’re looking for an inconspicuous scapegoat?”

    “The chief is indeed, as people say, clean and efficient.”

    Qin Yan smiled and said, “Deputy Shen seems quite open-minded.”

    Shen Ting remained composed. “Naturally. Even if the chief searches, there isn’t a single silver ingot in my house.”

    However, not long after, Ling An, with a cold expression, came flying over. “Chief, in the backyard field, six feet deep, we found several boxes of gold that haven’t been fully counted yet.”

    “How is that possible?” Shen Ting exclaimed. He clearly…

    “You’ve been to my old residence!”

    “Shen Ting, on what basis do you think that I, the Chief of the Eastern Bureau, am so easily fooled?”

    “When did you figure it out?” Since Qin Yan was able to investigate him, it was only natural that he also discovered Liu Zhisong.

    He had called Liu Zhisong to cause a disturbance at the tavern, intending to make Qin Yan jump to conclusions and overlook Liu Zhisong’s suspicions while he remained hidden, thus ensuring his safety.

    “You went to unnecessary lengths when you had Liu Zhisong perform that act.”

    “It’s because Liu Zhisong was too foolish and couldn’t even perform the act properly.” Otherwise, how could Shen Ting have spoken up and aroused Qin Yan’s suspicion?

    Ignoring the resentment in Shen Ting’s eyes, Qin Yan’s voice carried a cold tone. “If he weren’t foolish, how could you have manipulated him for so many years?”

    Shen Ting laughed heartily, clutching his waist, almost laughing until tears came out. “They’re all fools, yet they can sit in high positions. Isn’t it all due to money and connections? I was poor back then, just lacking a bit of wealth. Otherwise, I would have become the Salt Transport Officer of Qingzhou, and the person who took my place should pay the price.”

    In the early days of his official career, Shen Ting was full of ambition and achieved notable results in his performance evaluations. He was originally nominated for promotion to the position of salt transport officer, but unexpectedly, someone else took that position. Feeling aggrieved, he confronted them, but later he was suppressed and had no chance for promotion.

    He thought his life would be mediocre, but by chance, he discovered solid evidence of collusion between the salt transport officer and the salt inspection officer, Liu Zhisong. Taking advantage of his position, he fabricated additional account records as evidence and anonymously reported the Salt Transport Officer of that time. Although Liu Zhisong was saved by others, Shen Ting had him in his grip and forced him to cooperate from then on.

    This time, Jiang Youcai was the one Shen Ting wanted to let go of—the scapegoat he sought in the end.

    The so-called evidence that Qin Yan obtained when he first arrived in Qingzhou was naturally manipulated by Shen Ting, following the same method. The silver and Jiang Youcai’s embezzlement coincidentally matched. As long as Qin Yan conducted a search, it would be a case of catching the thief with the stolen goods.

    In fact, he never spent any of the embezzled money over the years. That money came too late. What he desired most was just that one year—the hope he saw in the Shen family before his father’s death.

    As Shen Ting was being taken away by the guards, he kept muttering to himself. Some people and things were his lifelong obsessions, both hateful and pitiful.

    Ling An glanced at Shen Ting’s back and walked toward the well in the courtyard where Qin Yan was standing.

    “Reporting to the master, the gold and silver confiscated from Liu Zhisong’s residence have already been sent back to the capital city.”

    “Hmm.”

    “Master, when shall we depart and return?”

    “How long have we been out?”

    Ling An lowered his head and counted, “It’s been one month and five days.”

    Qin Yan remembered the soft fragrance and warmth in his arms that day and chuckled softly. So it had only been a month.

    “Return to the capital city.”

    Ling An looked at the heavy dew in the late night. “master, now?”

    “Hmm.”


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    hana [Translator]

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