No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 423 Hanlei Mozhai, the girl in red coat

Morning has just arrived, and the dew on the leaves has not yet disappeared, and the sun is already shining brightly.

After the autumn colors, it was a rare sunny day.

Ouyang Rong, wearing a felt hat and holding a winter plum in his hand, was walking in the lively morning market in Xingzifang. He stopped and bought two pancakes, which he munched on as he walked towards the west city gate.

"silly--!"

Dongmei snorted, exhaled hot breath, and spit it on the face of the person who was eating the cake.

"While you're at it, you're still eating, and you're so fat."

Ouyang Rong slapped the big maroon horse's head away in disgust, tilted his head, and took the cake away from it.

It is easy for horses to gain weight in autumn, especially when Yuan Huaimin, a horse-loving man, wanted to build a closer relationship with him, so he secretly fed and petted the horses every day in the stable of Jiangzhou Hall.

Even after being caught by Ouyang Rong, he refused to change despite repeated admonitions, which made him speechless.

This horse of ours has been fattened up by Yuan Huaimin. When riding it recently, I always feel like a tank driver, which ruins his elegant and gentlemanly style...

Arriving at a large building near the west city wall, Ouyang Rong stopped and looked up at the building plaque - Hanlei Mo Studio.

Ouyang Rong walked in the door.

There are many pine trees in the mountains around Xunyang, which are excellent tobacco materials for making ink. Xunyang's pine-scented ink is famous in Jiangnan.

And this Hanlei Ink Shop specializes in selling Hanlei Ink, one of the famous ink in Xunyang.

The ink is made from a secret recipe of finely grinding cinnabar and adding glue. It has become a unique kind of cinnabar ink, which is highly sought after by Jiangzhou scholars.

Hanlei Ink Studio adopts the model of front store and back workshop. The rear workshop produces Hanlei ink by itself, and the front store sells directly, and the business is booming.

Ouyang Rong passed through the front store and walked into a courtyard in the rear workshop, where he saw a familiar figure in palace clothes.

"Have you eaten, Ms. Shi?"

He took off his felt hat, took out a hot pancake and handed it over.

It was so early in the morning, but Rong Zhen still had a cold face on his face. He didn't look back, and he didn't pick up the cake from the familiar young man:

"Not hungry."

"Actually, I'm just asking politely." Ouyang Rong smiled sheepishly and ate the cake with relish.

He looked around for a while and asked, "What did you find, Ms. Shi, that the ink used by the owner of Dielianhua is this Hanlei ink?"

Rong Zhen nodded: "It's undoubtedly this ink."

Ouyang Rong said with a smile: "There is indeed no airtight wall in the world. It is one step closer to the female historian catching this official."

"By the way." He asked seriously: "Do you need the help of Judicial Cao's manpower to investigate? Last time they investigated the paper mill, they did a pretty good job."

"No need for now. The workload this time is small. There are not many people in Xunyang who can buy Hanlei Mo. I have enough manpower."

Rong Zhen declined politely. As he spoke, he looked back at Ouyang Rong.

"That's a shame."

Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged and his tone was indifferent.

Rong Zhen looked him up and down for a while and asked: "Ouyang Changshi is not on duty today? Why don't you wear official uniform?"

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and looked at his regular clothes and smiled: "Today is due to personal reasons. I will take half a day off and go to Jiangzhou Hall in the afternoon."

"Half day off?"

Rong Zhen couldn't help but look at the young man with fox white fur.

After knowing each other for so long, Ouyang Lianghan has always been a workaholic in her mind. Unless it is a monthly public holiday, she can see his shadow every time she goes to Jiangzhou lobby.

Today, for the first time, I took a half-day off.

Rong Zhen thought about it for a while and didn't bother to ask him why he was asking for leave. He twitched the corner of his mouth and said:

"Ouyang Changshi is really dedicated to his duties. He only had the morning off and came to inspect in the morning."

Ouyang Rong waved his hand: "I don't dare to do inspections, but I'm just used to coming here to have a look and see if there's anything I can do to help."

"It's up to you. I don't need your help at the moment."

Rong Zhen shook his head and prepared to go to the front desk to check the account book.

At this moment, a young female historian ran over with a serious face, glanced at Ouyang Rong, then leaned into Rong Zhen's ear and whispered a few words.

Ouyang Rong was about to leave, but he saw Rong Zhen's delicate brows frowning quickly.

After the young female Shi left, Ouyang Rong took the initiative to ask: "What happened?"

Rong Zhen was silent for a while, then narrowed his eyes:

"The people below checked the accounts and found that in the past three months, the Hanlei Mozhai sold Hanlei Mozhai, and there was a discrepancy between the Hanlei Mozhai's actual output...

"A closer inspection revealed that all the Hanlemo produced in the past three months had been placed in the inner warehouse, but fifty ingots were missing out of thin air.

"The stewards of Hanlei Mozhai are also ignorant of accidents. It was only today that I and my subordinates checked the accounts and found out for them. Ha, what a bunch of idlers, they are so sloppy in doing business."

Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows: "What should we do now?"

"What else can we do? Check!" Rong Zhen said in an unhappy tone: "We have already sent someone to notify the owner of Hanlei Mo Studio. Wait for him to come over and then interrogate him properly."

Ouyang Rong looked at Zhen Zhen's dissatisfied face and understood.

After all, we want to check the ink purchase record of the owner of Dielianhua. If there is no such deficit in Hanlei Mo Studio's own treasury, it will be easy to identify the suspect and just follow the picture.

But now that there is a deficit, there is an additional source of inexplicable leakage of Hanlei ink. Who knows if Die Lianhua is the person who stole the ink and used this batch of missing ink?

If it's just that the goods are not accounted for and a few ink sticks are missing, that's it. As a result, fifty ink sticks are missing. This batch of goods is not small.

However, Ouyang Rong has experience with this kind of warehouse shortage and fire dragon burning warehouses. Most of them are domestic thieves who are difficult to prevent, similar to when he checked the accounts in Longcheng warehouse.

It's hard to say that some of the stewards who are looking anxious and calling the boss are guilty.

Ouyang Rong suddenly suggested: "Judiciary Cao is better at this kind of investigation. Why don't we call them to help with the investigation and assist the female historian?"

Rong Zhen hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth and said, "Call the people here first, and I'll take a look later."

Ouyang Rong secretly smiled in his heart and said with a serious face: "Okay." Fifty ingots were missing from Hanlei Mozhai's internal storage. It was really timely... Ouyang Rong thought in his heart that he even wanted to thank the person who stole the ink... After all, it was a gift. It gave him an opportunity to intervene, and also delayed the progress of Rong Zhen's investigation. He didn't know who the hero was. Unfortunately, he was a bit stupid. He only knew how to deal with ink, but he didn't know how to settle accounts through tricks.

Ouyang Rong called a female official and asked her to take her warrant back to Jiangzhou Hall to call for people.

He stayed temporarily and watched and investigated with Rong Zhen for a while. When Yan Liulang and his people arrived, Ouyang Rong glanced at the sun that was gradually rising in the sky. He could not find out the matter for a while. Ouyang Rong said goodbye and went out. Went over the morning holiday.

Speaking of which, this was the unequal treaty signed yesterday after his claws were cut off by the Justice Woman on the spot.

This morning I must accompany my little junior sister, Justice Heroine, and I have made an appointment to go out of the city to enjoy the red leaves...

Hanlei Mozhai, after Ouyang Rong left.

Rong Zhen walked with a sullen face and long sleeves in the inner library where the ink sticks were lost. She stopped and walked, frowning in thought from time to time.

"The smell of this place is full of rosy ink, and there is no odor of human beings. It is definitely not the work of ordinary thieves...

"There is something strange. Where did the ink go? Could it be that the owner of Dielianhua stole the ink? He could leave no trace, but he stole the ink a few months ago. Could it be that he would be investigated today?

"But if you steal ink, you steal ink. If you steal fifty ingots at one time, you won't be able to use them all in twenty years. If you steal so much, is it because you are short of money?"

While the girl in palace clothes was mumbling to herself, in the yard outside the inner treasury, Yan Liulang was holding a knife. While listening to the female officer's statement of the case, he sent his men to summon the shop stewards and ink-making workers.

The latter came together and stood in two rows.

Yan Liulang held the list in his hand and called the names one by one. After a while, he called on a short boy wearing a red coat with shabby patches.

"Huang Xuan."

"Here." A clear voice like a bell responded.

Yan Liulang paused in naming, and couldn't help but glance at the short boy in the red coat. He saw a dirty little face, stained with ink, and his hands were also stained. He should be a worker who helped make ink in the workshop. .

However, the pair of clear eyes on the dark face of the "short boy in the red coat" made Yan Liulang take another look.

Does your name have the character "Xuan"? And the voice of talking...

He looked up and down and asked, "Are you a girl?"

"Hahahaha." The boys and stewards around laughed.

The short red-coated boy's expression remained unchanged and he nodded obediently: "Yes."

However, it can be seen that she is relatively marginalized by her peers.

Yan Liulang frowned: "Why are you laughing?"

Everyone around him immediately shut up.

However, there was a monkey-faced waiter in the crowd. He quickly glanced at Huang Xuan not far away, lowered his head and whispered:

"Master, I can't say it was this little girl who stole it. We need to check her out. Her hands and feet are not known to be clean. She makes ink in the workshop during the day. In the evening, she likes to go to the outskirts of the city to sell folding fans and red leaves to please people who go out to play in the city. Young ladies, celebrities and literati... many people in the shop know that the ink she used may have been stolen from our Han Lei ink."

The other guys heard this and responded one after another.

The girl in a red coat, her cheeks smeared with black and dirty ink, lowered her head, making no excuses or making a sound.

Yan Liulang saw from the corner of his eye that her face was calm, as if she hadn't heard anything, and her eyes were a little dull, as if she was wandering in the sky.

Yan Liulang had no expression on his face. He held the knife and glanced sideways at Mo Gong, the complaining clerk, and twitched the corner of his mouth:

How could such a little girl steal fifty ingots of ink? She can't move out in one night, and this girl is obviously not a social person. You are all human beings and let her steal fifty ingots of ink right under your nose? There is a high probability of false accusation.

However, he still had to go through the process to check, and Yan Liulang stepped forward to let people into the house.

In the room, the girl in the red coat spoke very little. When Yan Liulang asked him a question, she would answer without talking nonsense.

She explained in detail where the ink she used to sell folding fans and other items came from. Yan Liulang listened carefully and investigated, and found that there was indeed nothing wrong. The ink she used was either the leftovers from ink making or the guests at the front desk. With the rest, she quietly put some back...

As for whether this small matter of plundering was against the rules set by Hanlei Mozhai's boss, Yan Liulang didn't know. He was checking the deficit of fifty ink sticks and didn't meddle in other people's business.

He shook his head and reminded: "Okay, you can go back. Don't do such cheap things in the future. Be careful of being sued to your employer."

Huang Xuan, who was about to bury her head and leave, paused for a moment, raised her dark face, and looked at Yan Liulang, with a hint of gratitude in her eyes.

Yan Liulang didn't care. He waved his hand and the tomboy-looking red-coated girl trotted out of the house with short legs. Seeing that she came out intact, many onlookers outside, including the monkey-faced clerk who complained, looked disappointed.

Not long after, after checking the group of workers, except for the suspected chief steward and the treasury guard, the others were temporarily let go.

Today's investigation revealed that the boss gave the guys who were cleared of suspicion a holiday and sent them to work in advance. Before Huang Xuan left, she washed her hands with well water, revealing a section of her white arm, which attracted the attention of one or two guys.

However, she didn't wash her face. As usual, she kept the ink stains on her face dirty, but it didn't attract much attention.

All this was seen by the female officials in green clothes on the side. The leading middle-aged female official nodded slightly and looked at her...

The short Huang Xuan did not know that she had slightly attracted the attention of the female officer Si Tianjian. She followed the crowd and left the workshop and finished work early.

On the street where the autumn wind was blowing the fallen leaves at the door, Huang Xuan wrapped her shabby red coat tightly around her body, squatted down under the contemptuous and disgusting eyes of some people, and immersed herself in picking up a few red leaves that were in good condition.

After a while, I looked up at the sky and saw "Wearing a little red coat" running away quickly with short legs. It seemed that it was approaching noon and he was anxious to go back to cook.

The people around her were used to it. This girl's mother ran away with a wild man, and she was raised by a cowardless father. The father was a heartless fool who moved goods and did hard labor at Xunyangdu Wharf.

Recently, I heard that I went to the Twin Peaks to participate in the construction project of the Giant Buddha presided over by Master Changshi.

The father and daughter depended on each other and rented a leaky wooden house on the edge of Xingzifang, near the outskirts of the city.

However, this girl is very diligent with her hands and feet. Unfortunately, due to her gender and her withdrawn behavior, she does not fit in with others in Hanlei Mo Studio...

Not long after Huang Xuan left the house, a fat-faced shopkeeper who had also passed the review and was cleared of suspicion walked out at the door of Ink Studio, followed by a monkey-faced clerk.

The fat shopkeeper's soybean-sized eyes were staring at the short back of tomboy Huang Xuan. The monkey-faced boy followed behind and sneered:

"This little girl is really tougher than a cow. She never obeys us. The words and poems on the folding fans and red leaves are nothing that an ordinary little girl can write. She has such a talent for reading and writing at such a young age. Selling folding fans and red leaves, it’s a pity not to go to the brothel next door to sell them for money.”

The fat shopkeeper reluctantly withdrew his gaze: "It only takes two years to cultivate a thirteen or fourteen-year-old talented courtesan, package it up a little, and auction her virginity on her first night. The celebrity of Xunyang is good at this, and introduces her to the people who will make a difference. If she doesn't take the road, she really deserves to be like her stupid father, living under someone else's roof and carrying bricks at the dock every day."

The monkey-faced waiter suddenly said: "The madam of the brothel next door privately offered a price. As long as someone can get this stubborn girl to go to the building and take the initiative to sell her body, she will take out fifty taels of silver as reward."

"Fifty taels... Hey, this slim body is so damn valuable." The fat shopkeeper lowered his voice: "I have a plan."

"Oh? Say it quickly."

"The landlord of her house happens to be my uncle. Taking advantage of the loss of the ink in the inner storehouse, we will go find the angry landlord later and do as I say..."

(End of this chapter)