TGCFNM -Chapter 409 Investigating at the Lu Residence

Chu Ling looked at the relationship chart in front of her and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: some of these connections were really well hidden.

“The Si family seems to be the wealthiest among the prominent families,” Wan Sanjin said. “After all, they have connections with so many officials.”

“For a family this rich, a single gift shouldn’t lead to such a falling out…” Chu Ling murmured, then looked at Wan Sanjin. “We’ll go to the Lu residence tomorrow.”

Wan Sanjin nodded. “Alright.”

The next morning, bright and early,

Zhang Dong drove the carriage, taking Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin to the back gate of the Lu residence.

The one who opened the door was the Lu family’s steward, whose surname was Pan.

Steward Pan smiled and bowed. “The master said that if Lord Chu comes, you may be sent directly to the case archive room. All cases handled by Lord Lu are recorded in detail.”

Chu Ling thanked him and asked Pan to lead the way.

Steward Pan led them to a room in the back courtyard, unlocked it, and invited them inside. “Lord Chu, Master Wan, the servants will bring tea and snacks shortly. Master Lu has instructed that no one will disturb you.”

Wan Sanjin expressed his thanks and followed Chu Ling inside.

“This seems to be organized by year,” Wan Sanjin said, looking at the wooden tags on the shelves. He unrolled a scroll, checked the dates, and then found the relevant shelf. At the end of the fourth row, he finally located some of Lord Lu’s records.

Although the case files were already very detailed, certain minor details from the investigations—small side notes, interviews, and questions—weren’t included in the files. But Lord Lu had recorded all of these separately and kept them in one place.

“Let’s move everything outside to read—it’s brighter out there,” Chu Ling said.

Wan Sanjin nodded, rolled up the scroll, and started carrying the materials out.

Chu Ling also moved some out, but as she reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped and looked back.

“What are you looking at, my lord?” Wan Sanjin asked from the courtyard.

Chu Ling returned to her senses and replied, “Nothing.” She glanced at Ghost Scholar, who had just approached her, then carried the materials into the courtyard.

Before Chu Ling could ask, Ghost Scholar spoke first: “I was just reminded of the large study I used to have, and I felt a bit nostalgic. Nothing to worry about.”

Chu Ling acknowledged with a nod and continued cooperating with Wan Sanjin to move the materials.

Once all the relevant documents were gathered, the two of them sat on the stone benches in the courtyard and began carefully reviewing the minute details from Lord Lu’s investigation back then.

It had to be said, Lord Lu was extremely meticulous. He even went to gambling houses, questioning the sweepers, the servants serving tea, people who won or lost money at Wu Ting’s house—everyone was carefully interviewed.

When they brought money in, when they won, what they said upon winning, what they cursed when losing, when they intended to stop, when the constables intervened—it was all documented in great detail.

So as Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin read, it felt almost like being there in person. They could quickly follow Lord Lu’s line of thought, clarify the relationships, and start deducing the case.

Ghost Scholar quietly watched from the side. After a while, he furrowed his brows and stepped back, waiting for Chu Ling to finish reviewing.

By the time Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin finished going through everything, it was already noon. Steward Pan had even arranged for a table and chairs to be brought in along with lunch, so they could eat before continuing.

After thanking him, Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin went off to have their meal.

“The cook in Lord Lu’s mansion is really good,” Chu Ling said, his eyes lighting up. After finishing the soup in his bowl, he got up to serve himself another.

Wan Sanjin looked a bit surprised. “Even Lord Lu knows how to enjoy himself, huh? I thought he wouldn’t care about food at all.”

“I wonder if we could poach the cook,” Chu Ling said, feeling tempted—the soup was just too delicious.

Wan Sanjin also considered it. “I wonder what would be a fair wage to offer.”

“Cough, cough!” A loud cough interrupted them. Lu Shi entered the room, frowning. “Poach who?”

Chu Ling laughed awkwardly. “Lord Lu, you must have misheard… misheard.”

“Hmph!” Lu Shi snorted coldly. “You two come to my mansion just to look at a few things, and now you’re thinking like this? My wife saw how hard you’ve been working and made you a meal, and you still want to steal someone?”

Chu Ling was startled and nervously smiled. “Lord Lu, don’t worry. We would never poach Lady Lu. We wouldn’t dare.”

“Heh, you wouldn’t dare? And what else wouldn’t you dare?” Lu Shi frowned at the two of them. At that moment, Steward Pan also brought in chairs and tableware.

Wan Sanjin quickly stood and gestured. “Come, come, Lord Lu, eat a little with us.”

“Of course, this is my home and my wife made the food,” Lu Shi said as he sat down, giving them a stern look.

Chu Ling hurriedly got up to serve Lu Shi some soup and passed it over.

Once Lu Shi received it, he gestured for the two to sit and eat properly.

Chu Ling held his bowl and asked, “Lord Lu, we’ve finished looking through the documents. Where exactly did the judgment go wrong?”

“Eat without talking, speak without eating! Lunch!” Lu Shi said, staring at them. The two obediently began their meal.

After finishing lunch, Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin, under Lu Shi’s silently disapproving gaze, carefully returned the documents to their original places.

Once everything was put back, Steward Pan had tea brought out again.

“Sit,” Lu Shi said.

Chu Ling smiled and sat down. “Lord Lu, may we ask now? Why did you want us to review this case?”

Wan Sanjin nodded vigorously beside him. “We’ve gone through all the materials. We think there’s nothing wrong with your judgment, Lord Lu. Besides, Wu Tíng himself confessed, didn’t he?”

Lu Shi stroked his beard and looked at them. “Then, why do you think I had you review this case?”

“There must be an injustice,” Chu Ling said.

Lu Shi nodded. “Correct, there is an injustice. But the items were indeed stolen by Wu Tíng, and he did take them to the gambling house after that.”

Chu Ling and Wan Sanjin exchanged glances. Wan Sanjin hesitated before speaking. “Actually, we also thought about this carefully. We feel that the Si family, being a great household, wouldn’t make a huge public fuss over a mere gift. It wouldn’t become common knowledge, and they certainly wouldn’t publicly feud with the Wu family, who still had a title at that time.”

Lu Shi nodded.

Chu Ling continued, “Since it was a gift intended for the palace, it must have been well hidden. How could a mere sixteen-year-old Wu Tíng get past all the obstacles, evade the mansion guards, and take the gift? Something doesn’t add up.”

“The Si family wouldn’t be unable to hire guards, right? Losing the item like this is very unusual,” Wan Sanjin said, suspiciously.

Lu Shi nodded. “You’re both correct. That’s exactly what makes this case strange. Back then, no matter how I investigated, I couldn’t find anything. Everything seemed prearranged—witnesses, evidence… and as long as you seriously examined the case, it naturally pointed to Wu Tíng as the thief.”

From there, handling the case would proceed smoothly.