After crossing over, I am popular with both men and women

As the saying goes, fireworks are everywhere in Yangzhou in March. Although it is not March now, it is already mid-February.

The flower branches all over the city have budded, and occasionally one or two flowers will bloom to embellish the flowers, which is also very beautiful.

The Qing Garden of Yangzhou salt merchant Zhou Langyuan is located among the green trees and red eaves.

This was also the first garden that Wang Jizhou took them to visit, and it is also the top garden in Yangzhou.

Why is it called Qing Garden? Because the garden is decorated with mostly green lotus.

Not only are the streams and deep pools surrounding the garden planted with green lotus, but even the garden's exterior, eaves, and window frames are mostly decorated with green lotus patterns.

Therefore, as soon as Su Qinchao and Gao Zhili entered the garden, they saw a screen wall with lotus branches entwined around it.

The screen wall was about two meters long, and was carved with various lotus flowers with different expressions, some rolled up and some stretched out, which was extremely exquisite.

After passing the screen wall and entering the garden, you will see lush and green rare and exotic trees in the garden.

A clear stream meanders down from the depths of the flowers and trees, passes through the cracks in the rocks, and pours into the deep pool, not to mention the round lotus flowers and the gurgling fish in the pool.

There was truly a new scene at every step, which was so dazzling and beautiful that they almost forgot to speak.

"My lords, please come this way!" Seeing that they had seen almost everything, the servant who led the way led them to a lotus-shaped arch behind a flower tree that could not be seen without careful observation.

When they passed through the archway, the view suddenly became clear and they found themselves in the inner garden.

On both sides of the inner garden, there are huge rockeries and strange rocks, half hidden among the flowers and trees, and dotted with pavilions, towers, and carved and embroidered windows.

If you stand on a high place and look down, you can see the clear stream pouring down with snow, the stone steps piercing the clouds, the white jade railings surrounding the clear pond, and the stone bridge Sangang extending slowly backwards.

When they walked across the stone bridge and went inside, they saw a winding corridor with steps paved with stones carved into the shape of green lotus, and two or three small houses with red walls and green tiles on top...

"How about this garden?" Wang Jizhou called the two of them and walked towards the pavilion in front that was planted with crabapples and banana trees. He planned to take a rest in the pavilion first.

As soon as the three of them sat down in the pavilion, five or six servants came and brought hot tea and snacks, preparing them one by one for them to enjoy.

"The scenery in Qingyuan is truly amazing. It took so much effort to build it. Who would have believed that there is such a place in the world? It makes one feel refreshed when visiting here!" Gao Zhili picked up the teacup, thought for a moment and blurted out.

Su Qinchao on the side could only scratch his hair in embarrassment. He had long forgotten all the poems and essays he had learned in his youth.

Fortunately, I didn’t speak first, otherwise it would be so embarrassing.

"Brother Gao's talent is still the same as before, unlike me, who has long been contaminated by worldly things. Now I can only say one sentence, 'The fairy flowers in the Green Garden are only sentimental.'" Wang Jizhou sighed and asked Su Qinchao again.

"What about Brother Su? I heard that Brother Su was also a student of Songhe Academy. Do you have any good words?"

"Haha, I forgot it a long time ago, not even a single word, but this garden is indeed very unique, worthy of being the top garden in Yangzhou!" Su Qinchao laughed and praised it a few more times.

...

After that day, Wang Jizhou took the two of them to visit several gardens.

Some are government-built gardens, and some are private residences of wealthy businessmen, all of which are beautiful beyond imagination.

If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would not have believed that there was such a beautiful place in the world. Even Su Qinchao, who had little knowledge of literature, was about to recite a poem.

However, after touring the garden, they felt better. After resting for several days, the two of them finally had the energy to start working.

So, early this morning, the two of them dressed neatly and went out. They planned to go to the port first to check out the situation, and then go to several shipyards to inquire about the situation.

Because Yangzhou's port is located near the river and the sea, Yangzhou plays a very important role in external maritime transportation:

It can sail eastward through the Yangtze River estuary to Japan, and southward through Mingzhou and Guangzhou to the Arab Empire, Persia and other West Asian countries.

This superior geographical location makes Yangzhou an extremely prosperous place.

This also means that its city scale far exceeds that of the surrounding provincial capitals, and its size is second only to the capitals Chang'an and Luoyang.

According to the initial clues they obtained, Yangzhou was highly valued in Chang'an because of its both sea and water transport, and its administration was much more clean.

This makes their task seem much easier than that of Guangzhou Prefecture and Mingzhou Prefecture.

Therefore, in just three days, the two of them searched Yangzhou Prefecture thoroughly, either openly or secretly.

Originally, the two thought that was it and prepared to pack up and go to the next place.

Unexpectedly, on the afternoon they left Yangzhou, something unexpected happened in Yangzhou.

The governor of Yangzhou's transport system was assassinated! When the two heard the news, they immediately thought of Qi Min.

Could he have done it? Why kill him? Did they miss some important clue?

But they soon dispelled their doubts, because Qi Min came over that night and placed a bloody dagger in front of them:

"It wasn't me. When I got there, he had already been stabbed to death. This dagger was the murder weapon. Do you see anything special about the pattern?"

"This pattern looks familiar!" Su Qinchao originally wanted to complain about why the murder weapon was brought over, but when he heard his words, he calmed down and carefully observed the pattern on the dagger.

It didn't matter that he looked at it at first glance. The more he looked at it, the more familiar it looked. That's right, he had seen this pattern before in Nagasaki, Japan! It was the pattern on the Nagasaki grapefruit leaf saddle, exactly the same.

Immediately, Su Qinchao told the two of them about his discovery. When they heard it, their eyes dimmed. If this was the case, then the case would be complicated.

"Could it be that this murder weapon is just an imported product from Japan?" Gao Zhili thought of a new question.

"This should be recorded in the Maritime Customs. As long as Nagasaki, Japan produces ironware, their suspicion can be eliminated." Su Qinchao reacted immediately and turned to look at Qi Min.

"Why are you looking at me? Let me go?" Qi Min widened his eyes.

"If you don't go, who will? You have experience! And your martial arts skills are better than mine." I don't know who it is who comes to laugh at me every time he succeeds.

"Okay..." Qi Min rolled his eyes at him and immediately climbed out the window and left.

Early the next morning, Su Qinchao opened his eyes and saw a person lying beside him. He was so scared that he jumped off the bed.

"What are you doing? It's so noisy!" Qi Min said unhappily, his voice very hoarse. He spent most of the day searching in the Maritime Customs Office yesterday before he found the news. He was so tired that he just fell asleep here in Suchinchao.

"What did you do? Why did you sleep here with me and scare me?"

"What are two grown men afraid of?" Qi Min didn't care.

"Didn't Ahri tell you that?"

"What? Do you like ** things? You can't beat me." Ali did tell himself this, and also asked him not to meet Su Qinchao alone.

"You!" Su Qinchao was speechless. He pouted and asked him what he had found out last night?

"The Japanese country of Nagasaki does export ironware, and the quantity is quite large, but it is mainly sold to the Arabs. Only a small portion is available in Yangzhou, and most of it is in the hands of wealthy people."