The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 380 - The Gap

Financial speculation, tulip foam, drumming while the others pass around a spray of blossom (a drinking game)...

Sun Shaozong's head was spinning with these words, leaning against the railing on the third-floor balcony with a puzzled expression on his face.

Even if it was artificially manipulated, it should still fall under the category of ”economic investigation,” which was not the same as the criminal cases he excelled in, and the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty didn’t seem to classify such financial speculation as illegal activities.

The only thing to be grateful for was that, at present, it was still in the stage of combining the rule of man and the rule of law. If the court believed that it was an obstacle to the State, even if it was not prohibited by law, it should still be handled as a special case.

But what Sun Shaozong was most worried about was that there was no one behind the scenes in this matter. It was purely spontaneous speculation by the public. If this were the case, those who gave up their old roots and lost their wealth wouldn’t know who to seek compensation for the losses.

Fortunately, this thing has just emerged, and it shouldn’t be like the 17th-century Dutch ”tulip incident,” which caused thousands of people to go bankrupt and plunged the entire country into crisis.

“Second Brother.”

On the balcony, holding the heart of the Forbidden City, Feng Ziying came over with a glass of wine and said, "Since it was just a misunderstanding, you have personally explained it to Rongguo Mansion. What else is there to worry about?”

After a pause, he said sternly, "Besides, if Second Brother Lian refuses to let go, the Brothers will never stand idly by.”

Feeling that Sun Shaozong had a ”'melancholic” expression on his face, Feng Ziying thought he was worried about the conflict between him and Ning-Rong Mansions, so he spoke to relieve him.

“Jia Lian doesn't represent the entire Rongguo Mansion; why would I be worried about him?" Sun Shaozong rolled his eyes silently and said, "I'm pondering over a public case. The recently popular ”pottery, pearls, gold, and shells” is really... Sigh What's the use of telling you this? Why did you have to come alone when you're not drinking downstairs?”

Feng Ziying heard that it was a public case, so he didn't bother to inquire. He only raised his glass and said, "Jiang Yuhan just finished half of the song and went into the room to propose a toast to the brothers. He specifically asked about you, so I came over.”

Upon hearing this, Sun Shaozong realized that he was in a hurry and almost forgot that he was here today to listen to Jiang Yuhan singing.

So he quickly went downstairs with Feng Ziying and apologized for a few words to Jiang Yuhan.

Jiang Yuhan was also a person with clear eyebrows and eyes, so he naturally wouldn't blame anything. He just tried his best to persuade him not to miss the climax of the afternoon again.

Speaking of the entire script of the "Sun Public Case," only three cases solved by Sun Shaozong were intercepted.

The first half of the plot starts with ”Autumn Wei Falling from a Building Case” and it ended with “Carpenter Splitting the Body Case.”

The second half of the story was about Sun Shaozong's wise resolution of the ”Heavenly Dog Case,” which led to him being summoned by Emperor Guangde and was given a bullfighting uniform by the Emperor.

The drama, conflict, and suspense of the entire script were well arranged, and the plot of the final bestowal of the bullfighting uniform was the most popular grand finale at the moment.

Sun Shaozong's only concern was that Jiang Yuhan had portrayed himself as too girlish; after all, the tone of Kun was already known for its ”gorgeous, graceful, and delicate performance,” coupled with Jiang Yuhan's magnetic voice, which was even more feminine than a woman's.

However, after reading the second half of the story, Sun Shaozong realized that he was too worried. Jiang Yuhan's reputation as a famous entertainer in the Capital was truly not fake!

Originally a passionate lover of pointing his little finger up, he turned out to be handsome and dignified on the stage, with a clear and resonant voice. Apart from his slightly thinner physique, he looked even more heroic than Sun Shaozong himself.

Because this effect was completely beyond Sun Shaozong's imagination when the song came to an end and the people parted ways, Sun Shaozong even took Jiang Yuhan for a few drinks, thanking him for not ”ruining” his image.

As the drunk people scattered away, Sun Shaozong left the Wangjiang Tower and, with a hint of drunkenness, stepped on the afterglow of the sunset and casually returned home.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Zhao Zhongji gathered up and bowed to report, "Second Master, the mother and daughter of the You family have been placed in another courtyard in the outer city according to your instructions. As for Zhang Hua, there are indeed people from the Ningguo Mansion coming to bribe him and falsely accusing you of using power to forcibly rob his wife.”

“The silver and the servants of Ningguo Mansion have already been detained in our Mansion. What do you think should be done?”

It turned out that after the conflict broke out earlier on, Sun Shaozong knew that Jia Zhen and others would never give up. Therefore, he immediately sent someone home to send a message, asking Zhao Zhongji to take everyone together while transferring the You family mother and daughter to a safe place, and setting an ambush in Zhang Hua's house.

Now he heard that the people of Ningguo Mansion had indeed found Zhang Hua's house and Sun Shaozong disdained and said, "It's really an old dog who can't invent a new trick. Let the person of Ningguo Mansion leave a confession, then take it all and send it back.”

“What about Zhang Hua?”

Zhao Zhongji looked around and made a gesture of killing, wiping his neck. He said in a gloomy tone, "If this person stays, it will be a disaster sooner or later; why not…”

“Shut up…”

Sun Shaozong glared at him and said angrily, "I am now in charge of the Criminal Department. Do you want me to break the law?”

After a pause, he ordered, "Tomorrow, take my post and send Zhang Hua to the blind date conference. Tell him that he must get married within three days; otherwise, he will bear the consequences.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhongji secretly said that he was indeed skilled!

The blind date conference has been held for several days, and the women with decent looks and character have already been picked. The rest were mostly crooked melons. In addition, they must be engaged within three days, so Zhang Hua might only have those who were cruel and ugly to choose from.

Once a new marriage was arranged, Zhang Hua couldn’t hold an account after that.

Sun Shaozong was about to go back to the backyard when he remembered the incident of ”pottery, pearls, gold, and shells” and asked Zhao Zhongji to investigate. If a servant had been cheated, he would ask him to liquidate his position and stop the loss while the foam was not broken.

After Zhao Zhongji accepted his request, Sun Shaozong returned to the backyard.

This time, he didn't bother his son first. Instead, he went straight to the room and sat by Ruan Rong's bed, asking with concern, "How's your cold, getting better?”

It was originally arranged to take her and Xiangling to the Wangjiang Tower to watch a play, but unexpectedly, Ruan Rong suddenly had a fever last night, so they had to hire a doctor to take medicine, and they struggled until the second half of the night when her temperature finally dropped. The matter of watching the play naturally ended in confusion.

Ruan Rong was leaning against the bedside at this moment, comparing the newly sewn shoes made by the needle and thread lady. When Sun Shaozong came to inquire, she threw the shoes into the dustpan and shook her head, saying, "I just had a cold feeling. Now that I've taken a few doses of medicine, I'm much better.”

As she spoke, she smiled and said, "I just talked to Shiliu and will go to the Wangjiang Tower tomorrow to see the play.”

Sun Shaozong said without a doubt, "Forget it tomorrow; let's talk about it in two days. Anyway, it will take a total of five days to sing. Jiang Yuhan's rehearsal of this play is really good, and it's very different from the ordinary Kun opera, it's considered a new style.”

“Since you won’t allow me to go, how can you still say it to be so tempting?”

Ruan Rong glanced at Sun Shaozong and suddenly changed the conversation, jokingly saying, "I heard that the Young Master of Ning-Rong Mansiosn had a conflict with you today over the sake of that Second Lady You. However, I wonder what kind of beauty she is, and many people are thinking about it. Why don’t you bring her back, so that I can follow and broaden my horizons?”

Tch!

A few days ago, she kept saying that she didn't care. Upon hearing that the Second Lady You was being sought after, her words began to sour.

Sun Shaozong muttered silently in his heart, but his face was wide open and he said, "It's not easy. I'll bring her here another day, so you can have a look.”

Although Sun Shaozong understood in his heart that he was deliberately teasing himself, Ruan Rong couldn't help but chuckle and cover her mouth, saying, "What a beautiful woman; how can you be like talking about an animal?”

Sun Shaozong said without hesitation, "It's not all up to you whether she's used as a person or as a beast.”

Seeing Ruan Rong laughing happily, the half-covered thin shirt loosened a bit, revealing a dazzling whiteness.

Sun Shaozong couldn't help but become interested and reached out to grab her two white wrists. He chuckled and said, "It's not necessarily a good thing to always take medicine. Why don't I use some other means to help you sweat?”

Ruan Rong looked at Sun Shaozong's face and didn't know if he had the idea of ”treating people with warmth.”

Immediately, a blush appeared on her face, but she pushed Sun Shaozong's paws aside and said coquettishly, "Master, don't act recklessly. If I harm you and catch a cold, how can you welcome that beautiful woman back to the mansion in two days?”

The two of them pushed for a while, but Sun Shaozong ultimately failed. Ruan Rong instructed Shiliu to deliver the food to the study, so he had to go.

When Sun Shaozong arrived at his study, he first filled his stomach alone. Seeing that it was getting late, he locked the courtyard door and the room door, and through the windows and walls, he became familiar with the traffic and sneaked into the middle of the main courtyard.

He crouched on the wall and made a noise twice, and Xiuju heard it and quickly came out to greet him.

Confirming that there were no outsiders inside, Sun Shaozong climbed over the wall and swaggered into the main room. He saw Jia Yingchun coming forward with a greeting and timidly said, "I heard that my Brother made a mistake and collided with you today…”

He had guessed that upon hearing this news, she would feel uneasy, so Sun Shaozong came at night to comfort her with a few words.

“He is him; you are you. Even if he collides with me, you don't have to be so worried.”

Sun Shaozong said, taking advantage of the situation, and chuckled, "Besides, you are the clearest about my body bones, and it's also something he can ”collide” with.”

Although this ”collision” was not that ”collision,” Jia Yingchun secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Sun Shaozong's words. She was willing to explain and let the two families patch up their relationship again so that Sun Shaozong wouldn't hold grudges against her Brother.

But when the words came to her lips, she was afraid that she would offend Sun Shaozong, so a thousand words turned into one sentence, "Second Master, do you want to... Do you want to stay here overnight?”

Sun Shaozong didn’t answer either, but only extended his arms horizontally.

Jia Yingchun quickly stepped forward with joy, took off his coat for him, and then walked arm-in-arm into the room, lighting red candles, scattering tents, and abandoning the charming and naive figure all over him.