Chapter Twenty-Five: Eastern Pearl

  Sell cute and roll over for all kinds of support! Mua mua da!

  In the inner room of the east wing, Lin Shi and her sister-in-law, Little Lin Shi, were chatting and exchanging pleasantries.

  Qing Dai sent the little girl from the parlor downstairs to the kitchen to bring over tea and snacks, and then personally brewed a pot of fragrant tea and had it delivered inside.

  Madam Lin's younger sister, Madam Xiao Lin, was from a wealthy merchant family in the provincial capital, with many businesses. The eldest daughter of Madam Lin, Jin Qiuniang, was married to the second son of the Li family, a prominent clan in the province, through the matchmaking efforts of her aunt, Madam Xiao Lin.

  The daughter was able to marry into a wealthy family, all thanks to her sister's help, and therefore Lin Shi was also very close to this younger sister.

  "Look at your face, it doesn't look too good. Are you still dizzy from the carriage ride?" Lin looked at her sister with a smile, teasing her. She knew that her sister had a delicate body and had said that she got carsick on the way back from the provincial capital last time, so her brother-in-law had to replace the carriage with a new one fully equipped with soft cushions, which cost two thousand taels of silver.

  Kobayashi waved his hand, and a faint mist appeared in his beautiful eyes.

  Lin saw this and couldn't help but feel a little flustered. His sister had married well, every time she came back to visit him, she always brought a big pile of gifts and wore a smiling face. What was wrong this time?

  Was bullied by brother-in-law? Or did the family take in a younger one?

  "It's not like I'm saying you're one of them, but which man doesn't have three wives and four concubines? Your brother-in-law is considered a good man..."

  Before Lin said finish, Xiao Lin suddenly interrupted: "Sister where are you going, it's not this matter!"

  Isn't it? What's going on then?

  "Sister, I arrived in Taoyuan County this morning. The other day, my family asked someone to be a matchmaker for Spring Brother and the daughter of the Qin family. My uncle and the Qin family got along well and agreed on the engagement. Two days ago, my uncle and aunt brought Spring Brother to present the betrothal gifts, but..." Little Lin said this much, then her sad emotions surged up, and tears fell like a faucet that couldn't be turned off."

  "Don't be in a hurry... tell sister what's going on?" Lin hurriedly picked up her handkerchief and gently wiped away the tears from her sister's face.

  Kobayashi took a deep breath and said, "I heard that after the betrothal gifts were given, Chun-ge said he wanted to go see West Lake. My uncle and aunt agreed, as they were about to turn 18 and get married soon, so they couldn't stop him from doing everything. So they let him go. But Chun-ge didn't come back that night, and the servants were sent to West Lake to look for him, but no one found him. My uncle was worried, so he went to the government office to report it. Yesterday evening, someone came from the government office and said that a nameless male corpse had been pulled out of West Lake, and asked my uncle to go identify it. The result... was indeed Chun-ge!"

  This happy event suddenly turned into a sad one, it's really unbearable...

  Lin covered her mouth, and her eyes were also filled with terror.

  "This case..."

  "Now the case is being investigated by my brother-in-law, I heard that at first the coroner said the cause of death was drowning, but later a young official who knew how to perform an autopsy said it wasn't, and finally it was proven that Spring Brother was murdered and then thrown into West Lake... Waaah, what kind of evil deed is this? He was such a good person, I wonder who he offended, and yet he was killed so cruelly..."

  Kobayashi wept again.

  Lin heard it and also shed a few tears, asking: "Has the murderer been found?"

  Kobayashi shook his head and continued, "This case is a family matter of my sister's husband. My uncle and aunt cried all night and early in the morning asked me to come and ask my brother-in-law to solve the case as soon as possible. Ah, I know that investigating the case can't be rushed, so I didn't dare disturb my brother-in-law, but looking at my uncle's red eyes, I couldn't bear it."

  Lin nodded and comforted her sister a few words, advising: "No one could have anticipated this matter, so let's just mourn! As for your brother-in-law, as a woman, I don't dare to interfere with official business, but you know his temperament, he will definitely investigate the case thoroughly, don't worry!"

  "Hmm, I'm well aware of my brother-in-law's character!" Little Lin wiped away her tears and hid the sorrowful expression on her face.

  After all, her sister was a superstitious person, and she came to cry early in the morning, which was already a taboo. Since it was just her own sister, she didn't say much about it.

  "I rushed out this morning and didn't prepare any gifts, I'm so rude!" Kobayashi smiled awkwardly, took off the string of pearls from her neck, and put it on Lin's neck, saying softly: "This string of pearls is for sister, consider it a gift from me to make up for my rudeness!"

  "What's being said?" Lin furrowed her brow and pretended to be angry, scolding: "Don't let people say that I, as an elder sister, am a rustic and unrefined...". After finishing speaking, she made a move to take down the pearl.

  Kobayashi pressed down on Lin's hand and said with a glance, "Sister, have you ever seen me take back something I've given away? I don't need this little bit of money..."

  Lin smiled helplessly and tapped his sister's forehead.

  Qing Dai presented tea and also served some tea snacks.

  Lin raised his eyes and looked at Qing Dai, Qing Dai nodded clearly and went down to arrange lunch.

  Jinzi walked into Yuxiu Villa with Menglian and Xiao Xiao side by side.

  This embroidery shop is indeed very large, with two floors high. The front is the store, and the interior decoration of the store is extremely stylish. The spacious storefront uses the golden ratio cutting method to divide it into four areas: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each area naturally displays embroidered products corresponding to the season, including silk fabrics...

  Jinzi took a glance and knew that this embroidery shop was high-end, just by looking at the style of the embroidered products, they were all in the style of wealthy women...

  Laughing, I was already dazzled by the colorful embroidery and silk fabrics, my mouth agape as if drooling.

  The shopkeeper bustled over to greet the lady who had come in to make a purchase, and after many years of being a shopkeeper, he had developed an extraordinary ability to size people up. From the customer's attire and demeanor, he could tell whether or not this person was a potential client.

  The clothes on Jinzi are not the best, but they're not bad either. Ordinary families can't afford to use these cloud-like fabrics.

  "Has the young lady found a style she likes?" asked the shopkeeper with a smile.

  Jinzi's face was hidden behind the veil, but the shopkeeper, who had often received noble ladies, could still sense that the young woman in front of him had an extraordinary demeanor. He selected a few silks that suited Jinzi's temperament for her to consider.

  Jinzi glanced at the color of the satin and secretly admired the shopkeeper's understanding of customer psychology, as all the colors he had chosen were ones she liked.

  It seems like this is professionally trained.

  "I'll take all three!" Jinzi said calmly.

  The shopkeeper smiled and replied "good", then helped Jinzi wrap up the goods.

  "But I don't have that much money on me!" Jinzi added.

  "It's nothing..." The shopkeeper replied casually, and it wasn't until after he spoke that he came back to his senses.

  What? No money?

  Can't afford to buy things like others?

  The shopkeeper's face changed suddenly.

  "I've brought some drawings over, take a look and see if you can sell them to your esteemed manor, and exchange them for silver?" Jinzi said calmly, as he handed over the drafts that had been rushed out last night.

  The shopkeeper was stunned, "I've seen shameless people before, but not as shameless as you. You think you can sell a few pieces of scrap paper to us? Are you out of your mind? If you want to sell paintings, you've come to the wrong place!"