Miao Chu

Chapter 317 Orange Peel
Upon hearing this, Han Li immediately replied, "I have an acquaintance among the censors—but I don't know what clues they have?"

“He is an official in purple robes,” Song Miao said immediately.

She didn't avoid Qi the镖头 (bodyguard), but upon hearing this, the latter immediately stood up and said, "I'll go to the back and see how they've divided the fruit." After saying that, he hurriedly went to the back, not wanting to listen to a word more.

As the saying goes, "A high-ranking official is a nobleman."

In the Great Wei Dynasty, vermilion and purple were considered the most prestigious colors. Officials of the sixth rank and above wore scarlet robes, which were vermilion in color, while those of the fourth rank and above wore purple robes.

With such high quality and a case involving vast sums of money, one can only imagine how extensive the case must be.

—As a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), he already had enough to deal with in his daily life, including dealing with patrol stations, government offices in the capital, and friends in various places. He didn't want to provoke the Censorate, impeachment bodies, or officials in purple robes; they were not worth a finger's attention.

He had intended to hide in the backyard, but as soon as he stepped out of the second gate, Chief Escort Qi couldn't help but look back again.

In the front hall, a young couple sat at separate tables, their expressions and postures completely ordinary, showing no sign of anxiety or tension, as if they were discussing not some high-ranking official or serious case, but rather what to eat for dinner.

Damn!

He inquired about Han Li during the day and already knew a little about him.

A protégé of the emperor, without official censorship, with such eloquence in both pen and tongue, it's perfectly normal for him not to fear those officials.

But why is it that Song Xiaoniangzi, who runs a restaurant, is not afraid at all?
Although as the person in charge, there was no way to avoid it, it made him, who should have been the bravest and most experienced head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), seem quite cowardly.

As soon as he arrived in the backyard, he saw several brothers scattered to one side, eating fruit in twos and threes.

They're all lazy and rough around the edges. They didn't even wash the fresh melons, let alone peel them or cut them up; they just ate them whole.

There were also plums, pears, and other fruits, all of which were eaten with great relish, looking very enjoyable.

Upon seeing Chief Escort Qi, everyone exclaimed in hushed tones.

"Qi Tou!"

"Brother Qi!"

"This pear is incredibly sweet and crisp! Not hard at all! Not a single bit of fiber, each bite is bursting with sweet juice, like drinking honey water—I've never tasted anything like it before! Where did Brother Han get it? Can I ask him? I'd like to buy some for my mother!"

"Have you ever had honey water? Don't talk nonsense here! Dude! This plum is much better. It's a bit sour, but there's a sweetness in the sourness. It's really refreshing, and the plum flavor is so strong!"

Then someone handed him a big melon: "Boss! This melon is so crisp, crunchy, and soft, it's really different from the cheap ones we usually buy. I've learned something new! Eat this!"

Qi, the镖头 (bodyguard), chuckled and said, "You rascal, do you even know how to eat? There's no such thing as something that's crispy, crunchy, and soft all at once!"

He eventually took it, saying, "Be careful, everyone. Miss Song's courtyard is very clean. Don't make the ground sticky with food, or people will look down on us!"

As he was talking, he wiped the melon rind with the hem of his shirt a couple of times and took a bite.

It is truly fluffy and crisp, but not hard at all. When you eat the part near the melon pulp and seeds, the texture is soft and slightly mushy, and it is extremely sweet.

It turns out he was just ignorant!

Someone just said that eating that pear is like eating honey water. When Chief Qi tasted this melon, he couldn't find any other way to describe it and felt that it was just like eating honey.

It's one thing for people to be different, but fruits are also different from each other!
While eating the melon, which was clearly very sweet, once it entered my stomach, my tongue felt a slightly sour and bitter aftertaste.

The sourness and bitterness weren't a taste, but rather a feeling that rose up from the stomach, causing Chief Escort Qi to shake his head inwardly and sigh.

No way.

He has elderly parents to care for and young children to raise, unlike these young people who are single and fearless!
He finished the melon in a few bites, then asked again, "Who's on night duty tonight? Is the paste we were supposed to apply prepared?"

Although he admired them, he couldn't compete with the youth in terms of spirit. All he could do was to do his job well and live up to the trust of his customers!

***
In the backyard, as Chief Qi swallowed the last bite of melon, in the front hall, Song Miao was receiving an orange from Han Li.

In ordinary north-south transportation, branches are often removed to prevent them from damaging the fruit. Otherwise, a place that could normally carry 100 jin (50 kg) might only be able to hold 20 or 30 jin (10-15 kg) at most—and even then, the fruit might not be guaranteed to be intact.

But the oranges Han Li brought this time were still in their stems and leaves, looking especially fresh.

Song Miao held the orange in her hand, not eating it, but just playing with it gently, and then recounted the many things she had found that day.

The year before, Liao was just an ordinary porter, but not long after, he suddenly took over a huge porter business. Not only that, he also bought up porter services in many places in Zhuquemen.

To participate in government-sponsored gambling, there are naturally certain conditions, especially since gambling is a matter of people's livelihood, and the requirements for gambling guilds are even more stringent.

Based on the number of people, size, and methods of handling the gambling den at the time, Liao Dangjia's group did not actually meet the requirements for gambling, but he was able to participate continuously and win every time.

"I checked the records of gambling over the years, and in every gambling session that Manager Liao was in charge of, there was an official named 'Wang Ying'. Upon further investigation, this official had been in charge of gambling at the gambling den for nearly three years. Besides the gambling sessions held by Manager Liao, there were also gambling sessions held at Jinglongmen, Songmen, Chenqiaomen, and many other places, where the gamblers were all unqualified..."

"This person not only manages to buy gambling tickets at the porters' shops, but also at the market stalls in the four gates of the south. Just the amount of money involved in buying gambling tickets at the porters' shops alone is more than ten thousand strings of cash. If you include the money involved in the market stalls, the amount of copper is countless."

"All I can find are the archives from various departments that are open to external review. If any censor hears about them or sees them and finds that there is indeed something wrong, they can investigate further and find more problems."

According to the Wei criminal code, if an official accepts bribes and perverts the law, and the value of the bribe is one string of cash, he shall be punished with one hundred strokes of the cane; if the value of the bribe is fifteen strings of cash, he shall be hanged.

Although officials have countless ways to circumvent the law and accept bribes through other means, everything they do will leave a trace.

The business of bribery sounds sordid, but the profits are actually extremely high. Song Miao said that the amount involved was tens of thousands of coins, but that was a conservative estimate. The real amount would only be much larger. One can imagine how much the officials involved must have received in bribes.

"How could a single official make such a big decision? If we trace it further back, the official in charge of that person, Wang, was surnamed Yang and named Yang Shizhi—he has just been transferred to Dali Ping Shi and is now in charge of the Jinglou Inn... There is another one who is already wearing a purple robe."

It was yet another assignment with immense power, dealing with money and resources every day.

The Censorate, having heard rumors, has the duty of overseeing and impeaching officials. If the matter is indeed true, they will gain a huge reward for nothing, and there may be other consequences later.

If we could finally bring down a high-ranking official like Ma, it would truly be a triumphant moment.

Han Li listened attentively without interrupting until Song Miao finished speaking, at which point he asked, "Did you leave any record of what you just said?"

Song Miao said, "I made some copies earlier—I'll go get them."

As she spoke, she went back to the house in the backyard and took out many documents that she had previously compiled.

After Han Li took the lamp, he immediately put it under the lamp and examined it one by one. Song Ji's oil lamp had a thinner wick, and Song Miao saw that the light was very weak, so she specially lit another one and cut the wick with scissors. Seeing that Han Li was still examining it carefully, she did not distract him. Instead, she took a plate, washed a fresh pear, peeled it carefully, cut it into pieces, and arranged it on bamboo skewers.

After she had cut the pears, she picked up the oranges that had been placed aside and slowly peeled them.

The oranges weren't very ripe; the peel was stuck tightly to the flesh, so Song Miao peeled them with extra care.

She placed the white pith of the orange into the dish, while the green and yellow orange peel was divided into four segments, preserved as intact as possible. After peeling it all, she tasted a piece first. When she looked up, she saw that Han Li had put down the documents in his hand and was looking at her.

With food still in her mouth, it wasn't easy for her to speak, so Song Miao pointed to the many documents with her finger, tilted her head slightly, and made a questioning gesture.

Han Li glanced at her again before saying, "The investigation is extremely thorough. It's more than just a clue; anyone in the Censorate could dig up something if they followed the trail."

He added, “If it comes to impeachment, I can actually help, but it’s not as legitimate as the censors. They can easily investigate and review the files and records in various places, and also urge follow-ups. If you trust me, Mr. Song, you can entrust these transcripts to me. I will organize them in the next couple of days, draft a document, and then we can go together to find the censors.”

“Why would I be worried about giving it to you, young master?” Song Miao shook her head and said, “I just don’t know who to ask? You’ve been so busy lately. If you can’t get away, you can write a letter. I can…”

As they were talking, Han Li looked at her and slowly said, "I don't like hearing that."

Song Miao paused slightly, remained silent for a moment, and pushed the bowl containing the sliced ​​pears on the table towards him without saying a word. She glanced at him, then lowered her head and began eating her oranges.

The Dongting Red Tangerine is small, but it has a strong flavor, with 80% sweetness and 10% sourness, which is exactly the sweet and sour taste that Song Miao likes the most.

She ate the petals one by one, and after she finished eating and wiped her hands clean, she looked up and said, "Young master has been quite picky lately, he doesn't like to hear this or that—what exactly does he like to hear?"

She made a small sarcastic remark, but then laughed and said, "Alright, let's not talk about it anymore—when will you have time, young master? Where are we going, and which official are we looking for—do you like hearing me rush you like this?"

Han Li immediately smiled with a sense of relief, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upwards. He said, "What are you talking about? Just tell Stall Owner Song that you can urge him as much as you want. It's much nicer than those formal and polite words."

He added, “Although you have never met this person, you are familiar with his family—his uncle is Mr. Cao, who is the one who loves to eat roasted pork and char siu at the restaurant.”

He laughed and said, "I will sort out the manuscript when I get back tonight. If you are free, would it be convenient for you to come to the school after Shenshi (3-5 PM)? We can greet Master Cao first, and then go to the Censorate to see Censor Cao the day after tomorrow."

Upon hearing about Imperial Censor Cao's background, Song Miao was quite surprised and asked, "Should I bring some roasted meat and char siu when I visit?"

This was actually a joke, but when Han Li heard it, he said, "That's not necessarily a bad thing—if there's time, why not bring some steamed buns? I've been hearing my senior brothers complaining lately that they've been dragged into giving them questions and won't be allowed to leave until they've finished. They haven't been able to come here for lunch for many days, and they're all complaining."

As he spoke, he spread out the many manuscripts again, confirming the details with Song Miao one by one. After asking a few questions, he asked for paper and pen again, writing as he asked, until he had written three large pages before setting the manuscript aside to dry.

After tidying up the area, he didn't let Song Miao take over. Instead, he picked up his brush and inkstone and headed to the back to wash them. He then grabbed a small dish of orange peels from the table and asked the peels, "Why don't we put them in here too? I'll take them to the back and throw them away."

Song Miao smiled and said, "Young master, you don't need to worry about it. This Dongting orange is different from other oranges. It's more like a tangerine. I'm just curious about its citrus fragrance and plan to keep it to smell it."

As they were talking, they noticed that most of the peeled pears on the plate next to them had been eaten, leaving only a small piece. Just as they were about to clean it up, Han Li picked up the plate along with the pears.

He said, "Since I've already eaten, my wife shouldn't eat either; it has a really bad connotation."

After saying that, he carried the things to the backyard, lifting them up with his left and right hands.

Song Miao was left alone in the hall. After a moment of reflection, she smiled and noticed that the manuscript paper beside her had dried. She then carefully put it away.

She was rolling up the paper when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw a little boy running out.

It was Xiao Lian.

Song Miao was a little surprised and asked softly, "Didn't you just rest? Why are you up again? Couldn't you sleep? Or are you feeling unwell?"

Xiaolian shook her head and said, "Sister, I was just lying down when I remembered what Fifth Senior Sister said during the day—she met those bad guys in Uncle Wang's car the other day, and said that many of them were causing trouble, and one of them, who was very young, had white hair and could even flap his ears..."

She paused, put both hands over her ears, making a flapping motion, and said, "Like pig ears..."

Song Miao paused, put the manuscript down, and asked, "Is it protruding ears?"

“Yes! Yes!” Xiaolian hurriedly said, “My sister once said that if someone in the family has ears that can fan the wind, then there might be someone else in the family who has them, and it’s the same with children having white hair—when I came back today, I saw such a person on the street, and Master Xu was sitting opposite him!”

"He wore a headscarf, but it wasn't properly covering his face. I guess the pimple on the right side of his forehead was too big, too red, and too painful, so he didn't dare to tie it too tightly—Master said it's called spleen deficiency and excessive fire—so his hair was showing, and it looked strangely white!"

Although it was a child's words, Song Miao still took it very seriously. She asked carefully where on the street the child had met her, whether the other person had seen her, and confirmed a few more details before patting the child's head and thanking her. She then urged the child to go to sleep and invited Chief Escort Qi out.

She briefly repeated Xiaolian's words, then explained Master Xu's situation, and finally said, "Although I don't know what they're here for, they're probably not here for anything good—I wonder if we could keep an eye on these two people? Just in case they cause trouble."

Chief镖师 Qi immediately arranged for someone to go out.

But after a short while, the person who went returned and said, "There are many teahouses and taverns in that row, and quite a few customers, but I didn't see anyone with protruding ears or premature gray hair. If we don't find someone who meets the requirements, it will be hard to find another one..."

White-haired, protruding ears are easy to recognize, but if you're just looking for Master Xu and don't have someone familiar with him to guide you, since you've never seen one before, there's no way to find him.

Song Miao thought for a moment and said, "I'll draw a portrait of him."

As she spoke, she hurriedly went to the back to get paper and pen.

Master Xu had been working at the restaurant for quite some time, and Song Miao was very familiar with his appearance. Without needing anyone to describe him, she simply sketched out his facial features with a few strokes from memory, finishing the drawing in about half an hour.

She put down her pen, looked up, and saw two people sitting at the opposite table: one was Chief Escort Qi, and the other was a bodyguard.

Seeing that she had stopped writing, the two quickly called out the other bodyguards to look at the painting together, and then arranged for a few people to quietly take the portrait out the door.

After everyone left, Chief Escort Qi pointed to a piece of paper on the table and said, "Young Master Han said he saw his wife was focused and didn't want to disturb her, so he left first—he left a letter there."

Song Miao wasn't surprised. She picked up the page at random. There was nothing else on it, just a couple of sentences.

"A bamboo tube and a withered tree, I'll just have a branch to spare."

She was taken aback at first, then looked around on the table. She turned her head and saw a bamboo tube on the next table. Sure enough, there was a branch of orange with leaves stuck in it. Besides the leaves, there were seven or eight orange peels tied to the branch with rope, making it look like a flower.

It's awfully rough. Just a close sniff reveals a strong aroma of citrus peel and leaves. Touch it, and it shakes violently, acting all spoiled.

Song Miao greeted Qi Biaotou and the others, then went back to her room, taking the bamboo tube of tangerine "flower" branches with her and placing it on the small wooden stool by her bedside.

The next day at noon, a bodyguard rushed back to the restaurant and said, "That old man who tried to extort money... I think I saw him!"

(End of this chapter)