Chapter 33: The Case of the Mysterious Death

  Liu Ziqiu did not expect Hong Fu Nü to suddenly ask about this matter, and hesitated: "Xiu Er is still young, I think I'll wait another two years. Sister-in-law can rest assured that even if we are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, I will send someone to invite Brother and sister-in-law."

  In the future, he will assist Li Tang or conquer the world by himself. Liu Ziqiu has not made a final decision yet, and there are still some things that need to be clarified. However, no matter what, he will start building his own strength. In the past, he had neither people nor money, but now money is no longer a problem, as Xu Tingfu's mansion is filled with gold, silver, and jewels. With money, is it still possible to have no one? Liu Ziqiu appears very confident.

  Gao Xiuer was somewhat disappointed. In this era, girls were married at the age of 12 or 13, and in history, Princess Changle was married to Emperor Taizong of Tang at the age of 13. After the New Year, Gao Xiuer had already turned 15, which was considered a late marriage at that time. Liu Ziqiu's reason sounded like an excuse for delay to her, but the girl's family had some reservations and didn't want to show it.

  Hong Fu Nu was somewhat dissatisfied, but Li Jing stopped her with a glance and said: "The Xiongnu have not been destroyed, what is the point of being at home? My younger brother's ambition is to travel thousands of miles, it is indeed not urgent for the time being."

  "Wait for me!" exclaimed Gao Xiuer suddenly, lifting her bright red face.

  These words were spoken by a girl herself, and it's really embarrassing. However, Hong Niangzi had once eloped herself, and she immediately proposed to become sworn sisters with Gao Xiu'er, taking her as her confidante.

  These days, Liu Ziqiu and Gao Xiuer temporarily lived in Li Jing's home. Gao Xiuer still needed to take medicine, but they were all ordinary medicinal materials that could be bought at the pharmacy in the city, she also knew the prescription herself, so there was no need to go back to the thatched cottage at the foot of the mountain again.

  Liu Ziqiu secretly went to Xu Tingfu's home twice, sweeping away the wealth that Xu Tingfu had accumulated over many years, leaving behind only 300 taels of silver in the hall as evidence.

  Li Jing got the money and first went to the market to buy two good horses. He practiced horseback riding skills with Liu Ziqiu, which was quite enjoyable. However, since Liu Ziqiu had to take the water route when heading south, he couldn't bring the horses along. Otherwise, Liu Ziqiu would have also wanted to buy a few horses.

  Meanwhile, in order to complete the task entrusted by Sun Simiao, Liu Ziqiu also went to the thatched cottage twice, took away the manuscript of Qianjin Fang, copied it and sent it back.

  It's been over ten days, and Gao Xiuer's body has fully recovered, with a rosy complexion returning to her face. Liu Ziqiu bid farewell to Li Jing, but then heard Li Jing ask: "Younger brother, how will you bring these goods back?"

  Liu Ziqiu said without hesitation: "Of course, we'll take the water route. I plan to hire a larger boat, and there will be enough space for more goods."

  Li Jing shook his head and said: "The dock is crowded with people...".

  Liu Ziqiu burst out laughing and said: "If some hairy thief doesn't watch where he's going and comes crashing in, my fists aren't just for show!"

  "My younger brother's martial arts skills are naturally reassuring to me," Li Jing said with a worried expression, "but it's not suitable for my younger brother to carry so many valuable items and attract the attention of the public."

  Although there is no evidence that these properties were stolen or robbed, as long as the public investigates their background, they will inevitably be exposed. Liu Ziqiu was posing as a fisherman from Changshan Village, where did he get so much money? Hei Xiuer was even more of an unregistered resident.

  Hong Fu Nu smiled and said: "I have an idea, why don't we disguise ourselves as merchants from the south?"

  ……

  At this time, the weather was already quite cold, but more than ten days later, a foul odor gradually emanated from Xu Tingfu's house, alarming the neighbors who reported it to the authorities. The government sent runners to investigate the scene and found four habitual troublemakers at the yamen lying dead in the hall.

  Lai San stabbed Hei Pi's heart with a dagger, and Hei Pi smashed the leg of the table onto Lan Mao's head. However, Lan Mao's hands were still tightly grasping Mu Hou's neck from behind, while Mu Hou was biting Lai San's throat. The four rascals were entangled together in a very peculiar death pose. There were also many scattered silver ingots on the floor of the hall, totaling over 300 taels.

  These rascals have been causing trouble in Luoyang for a long time, and the people had long since detested them. Now that they are all gone at once, it can be said to be a great joy to the public. However, this is a major case of loss of life, and four people died suddenly, so the government cannot hastily conclude the matter and still needs to continue investigating.

  It didn't matter if they didn't investigate, but once they did, it turned out that the owner of this house was actually Xu Tingfu, a close attendant to the Emperor. Xu Tingfu had been missing for over ten days and people were searching for him in Luoyang County, with the palace sending people to urge them on every three or two days.

  The government officials became tense, mobilizing a large number of yamen runners, constables and local militiamen to surround the Xu residence, sealing off all exits. They searched every nook and cranny, as if they wanted to dig three feet underground. Finally, in the backyard, they discovered a secret room. Inside the secret room, Xu Tingfu was found bound hand and foot, thrown on the ground with his neck broken, having been dead for some time.

  Thus, a case was finally settled. Xu Tingfu secretly bought a private house outside the palace and hid his wealth, which was discovered by Lai San and several others. Lai San and others broke in to rob him, killed Xu Tingfu, but due to uneven distribution of spoils, they fought each other to death.

  Yang Guang was the most suspicious, especially worried that he would be betrayed by those around him. Therefore, he specially stipulated that without permission, no one in the palace could build a private house. Originally, Xu Tingfu was someone he trusted extremely, but unexpectedly something like this happened. Yang Guang suddenly became furious and ordered that all of Xu Tingfu's relatives be exiled to Lingnan.

  This news spread throughout the palace, and Hou Su-su and many of the concubines who were forced into the palace by Xu Ting-fu all clapped their hands in delight, saying that evil people would get what's coming to them. Only Wang Gui-zhi, the head lady-in-waiting of Jingming Hall, understood in her heart that this was not an accident, but rather that some unknown hero had avenged her.

  At this time, the real murderer of the case appeared at the canal dock on the east side of Luoyang City.

  Liu Ziqiu wore a sable hat on his head, a brocade cloak on his body, and in his hand he held a folding fan with an elegant bearing, the typical image of a newly rich merchant. However, with the opening of the canal, there were many people like Liu Ziqiu dressed up in the eastern part of Luoyang City, which did not attract attention.

  The sky was snowing, and a young servant in a green robe and hat hurriedly opened an oil-paper umbrella. To avoid trouble, these servants were all bought on behalf of Li Jing at the slave market and then registered with Liu Ziqiu. The four servants were not tall, with dark skin, and were all from the Kunlun slaves of Nanyang. Liu Ziqiu had personally tested them and found them to be extremely agile and skilled in martial arts. These four Kunlun slaves also had four common names that were unbearable: A'an, Afu, Afu, and Agui, which were all given by Liu Ziqiu, more suitable for his nouveau riche identity.

  Behind him, a small sedan chair was carried over with a creaking sound, and two Korean maids helped Gao Xiuer out of the sedan. Gao Xiuer appeared as the mistress, although she was dressed in silk and wore gold and silver jewelry, but after disguising herself, her face was pale yellow, not as pretty as those two Korean maids.

  Kunlun slaves, Goryeo maids, Xianbei ladies, all are the favorites of the aristocratic families. These nouveau riche merchants are no exception. People from other ethnic groups have little foundation in the Great Sui Dynasty and are extremely loyal to their masters, which is what Liu Ziqiu values most.

  Dongdu Luoyang was the center of the Great Sui, and goods from all over the country gathered here, with everything available. Liu Ziqiu spent two days making purchases with abandon, buying food, utensils, clothes, and toys, filling twenty large carts to the brim, truly having the air of a great merchant. No one noticed that among these goods, the money and valuables taken from Xu Tingfu's home had been hidden away.

  The boat was hired yesterday, and it is said that the owner of the boat only runs from Luoyang to Jiangdu. These things do not need Liu Ziqiu to ask about, there are several Kunlun slaves running back and forth.

  Ah Kwei came over with the boatmaster, bowed and said: "Master, everything on the boat is ready, the goods can be loaded now."

  The old captain also said: "Don't worry, sir, my ship is guaranteed to be both fast and stable."

  The sound was somewhat familiar, and Liu Ziqiu took a closer look, only to find that it was Zhang San. He still remembered that Zhang San's boat wasn't very large, and he couldn't help but frown and ask: "Can your boat hold this much cargo?"

  Liu Ziqiu did not disguise himself, but now he is surrounded by wealth and luxury, with people calling out to him from all sides. Additionally, living a life of seclusion in Li Jing's household has made his skin much fairer, and he no longer resembles the down-and-out figure he was when he was in Jiangdu.

  Zhang San never thought that the wealthy businessman standing in front of him, full of vigor and spirit, was just a sailor on his ship two months ago. He couldn't recognize Liu Ziqiu, even if he did, he wouldn't dare to believe it, so he hastily said: "It can be loaded, it can be loaded, look at my ship, I can load more."

  The opening of the canal has enriched not only the merchants who travel north and south, but also boatmen like Zhang San and the trackers along the way. Zhang San had long since sold his small boat and borrowed some money to buy this larger one, hiring four sailors and becoming a real shipowner. After completing this trip and paying off his debts, the boat will be completely his own.

  Liu Ziqiu looked up and saw that this boat was indeed four or five times larger than the original one, and he couldn't help but nod his head and say to Ah Gui: "Load the ship."

  "Hurry up, load the goods onto the ship." Ah Kwei responded, turning around to direct, "Be gentle with your movements, don't bump or collide. Put that one at the back of the ship, and this one send it into the hold..."

  This Grand Canal connects the north and south, enriches merchants, prospers water transport, and provides a livelihood for many people.

  These large cargo vehicles all come from the vehicle shops in Luoyang City. In the past, they mainly relied on long-distance business, but now it is enough for them to be busy just transporting goods from the city to the dock. Two new vehicle shops have opened in Luoyang City this month. There are also specialized laborers at the dock who load and unload cargo, with dozens of people forming a group every day, moving up and down, and can make a living.

  No matter whether Yang Guang dug the Grand Canal to admire the beauty of flowers, or to travel and have fun, or simply to find beautiful women in Jiangnan, it cannot hide the prosperity brought by the opening of the canal. Li Shimin's able to achieve the glory of Zhenguan may also be inseparable from the help of this great canal. Unfortunately, Yang Guang was too hasty, overused the people's strength, and his efforts ultimately benefited others.

  "Mr. Lang, it's time to board the ship."

  Gao Xiuer's words brought Liu Ziqiu's thoughts back, and when he looked again, the twenty carts of goods had all been transported away, and the earnings that were afraid of getting wet or sunburned were stored in the ship's hold, and those piled on the deck were also covered with a tarpaulin.

  Liu Ziqiu nodded and said, "Alright, let's go on board."

  Suddenly, I heard the sound of horse hooves behind me, and someone shouted loudly: "Wait a minute!"

  Liu Ziqiu turned his head and was shocked.