Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The wind blew, sending leaves tumbling across the ground. Not far ahead stood a Cellar, its entrance covered by fallen leaves, but a faint candlelight spilled out from the cracks of the cellar door. The sound of a pig being slaughtered echoed from within the Cellar.
A hand suddenly pulled open the cellar door, scattering the leaves aside. The light from the Cellar illuminated the face of its owner—a man with a masked face.
A wooden ladder connected the Cellar to the ground. The masked man descended into the Cellar, and the screams grew louder.
As he entered the Cellar, the masked man began to unwrap his cloth mask. He called out, "Did he agree?"
Inside the Cellar was Guo Zhuanghuai, who was visibly agitated. He glanced at the masked man and replied, "Not yet! It's been a hell of a noise in here!"
The masked man continued deeper inside, where the screams were coming from behind Guo Zhuanghuai—there was a filthy person rolling on the ground, clutching his head in agony.
The masked man crouched beside him and shouted, "Hey! Hey!" After receiving no response, he slapped the man's head and said, "Hey! I've brought you some Fushou ointment!"
The struggling man lifted his head in pain and looked at the masked man. In that moment, we saw his dirt-covered face—it was Zhou Junsheng.
Zhou Junsheng looked at the masked man with desperate eyes.
The masked man was Sun Puyi, holding a black pill-like opium ointment in his hand.
Sun Puyi asked, "Have you made up your mind? If you agree, I'll give it to you!"
Zhou Junsheng trembled all over, his eyes fixed on the opium ointment: "I... I agree..."
Zhou Junsheng collapsed to the ground.
...
On the morning of the third day after Zhou Junsheng was kidnapped, when Ma An, the butler of the Cheng Family, opened the main gate, he was startled to find a dart with a Thorned Rose embedded in a letter stuck to the door. Ma An removed the dart and letter and opened it, his face turning pale with fear. He quickly turned and ran into the courtyard to show the dart and letter to Cheng Shuping.
Dart and the Chicken Feather Letter were placed on the Desk. Beside the Desk, Cheng Shuping frowned deeply after reading the letter.
Ma An, standing nearby, asked in confusion, "Sir, are we supposed to pay a ransom of one hundred thousand to get you back? Who are these kidnappers?"
Cheng Shuping inquired, "Has Han Zhao arrived?"
Ma An replied, "I called him; he is on his way."
"Good, we will wait for him! You call the police station and report this incident."
"I'll take care of it right away."
When Ma An left the living room to call the police and returned, Han Zhao had already hurriedly arrived at the Cheng Family. As soon as Han Zhao entered the Cheng Family hall, Cheng Shuping eagerly asked, "Han Zhao, how are the earnings from the Casino recently?"
Han Zhao responded, "The earnings are decent."
Cheng Shuping continued, "You need to gather fifty thousand Silver Dollars from the Casino today. Ma An, go to all the businesses under the Cheng Family Chamber of Commerce and collect fifty thousand Silver Dollars by tomorrow morning."
Han Zhao was puzzled, "Sir, this..."
Cheng Shuping interrupted him, "I know what you want. You can forget about that; just give me the money tonight!"
"Alright!" Han Zhao reluctantly agreed.
Ma An said, "Sir, one hundred thousand Silver Dollars is not a small amount. If we pay it out, it will undermine the foundation of the Cheng Family Chamber of Commerce. Shouldn't you reconsider?"
Cheng Shuping decisively replied, "No need to reconsider! Just do as I say!"
Ma An shook his head and left. Han Zhao looked up at the flustered Cheng Shuping, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
...
Tao Ziwen was about to go to the police station when he was stopped by Zhang Xin.
Zhang Xin said, "Ziwen Ge, come with me to buy a suit and some jewelry!"
Tao Ziwen replied, "I'm a police officer! I have cases to investigate and no time to accompany you!"
"I've talked to your captain; he’ll give you a day off! Today is my birthday, so just accompany me!"
Zhang Xin then linked her arm with Tao Ziwen's, leaning against him and acting cute, attracting the attention of several passersby, which made Tao Ziwen feel embarrassed.
"Alright, alright! The case I'm working on is the major kidnapping case of Zhou Junsheng; I need to solve it as soon as possible!" Tao Ziwen pushed Zhang Xin away and headed towards the police station.
Zhang Xin shouted after him, "You can go in, but you'll have to come out eventually!"
With that, Zhang Xin stood at the entrance of the police station, confidently watching Tao Ziwen. He ignored her and walked inside.
Inside the police station, all the officers looked at Tao Ziwen with strange expressions. He was already used to such looks and walked in without understanding what was going on. In the hallway, he bumped into a smug Wang Junpeng.
Wang Junpeng boasted to Tao Ziwen, "Tao Ziwen, I’m in charge of the Thorned Rose case and also Zhou Junsheng's kidnapping case. From now on, you don’t have to come to work; just accompany Zhang Dajie for shopping and leisure!"
Tao Ziwen asked, "Who said that?"
"Of course, it was the captain! The captain told me to take over both your responsibilities—you're being sidelined! Hahaha..."
Seeing Wang Junpeng's smug grin, Tao Ziwen stormed towards the sheriff's office, pushing the door open without knocking, startling the sheriff.
The sheriff asked Tao Ziwen, "Why are you here? Didn't you go shopping with Sister Zhang?"
Tao Ziwen retorted, "Sheriff, did you assign Wang Junpeng to handle the Zhou Junsheng kidnapping case?"
The sheriff inquired further, "What's wrong? Are you unwilling?"
Wang Junpeng's words were confirmed, and Tao Ziwen angrily replied, "Wang Junpeng is all bravado; what can he uncover in this case?"
The sheriff interrupted Tao Ziwen, "Enough! This is from above. General Zhang personally called and instructed me to do this!"
"General Zhang?" Tao Ziwen was somewhat surprised.
The sheriff added, "Today is Zhang Xin's birthday. Your task is to accompany her while shopping and make her happy! He also mentioned that you are his future son-in-law, so he wants you to spend more time with Zhang Xin and reduce my workload for you!"
Tao Ziwen was furious after hearing this. He shouted at the sheriff, "I am a police officer; investigating cases is my job!"
The sheriff was also angry and yelled back at Tao Ziwen, "What good does yelling at me do? This is General Zhang's decision; if you have the ability, go talk to General Zhang!"
Tao Ziwen was speechless. In a fit of rage, he turned around and slammed the door as he left. Just as he exited the sheriff's office, he bumped into Wang Zhiyuan.
Wang Zhiyuan said, "Ziwun, I was just looking for you."
Tao Ziwen asked, "What’s going on?"
"The Cheng Family called the police station today; they received a ransom letter from the kidnappers."
"The kidnapper kidnapped him, indeed for money."
Tao Ziwen walked towards the police station.
Wang Zhiyuan asked, "Hey, where are you going?"
Tao Ziwen simply replied, "To the Cheng Family!"
At the entrance of the police station, Zhang Xin was still standing there with her hands on her hips.
Tao Ziwen angrily walked out of the police station, bypassed Zhang Xin, and directly hailed a taxi. Zhang Xin chased after Tao Ziwen and asked, "Ziwen Ge, Ziwen Ge, why are you in such a hurry?"
Tao Ziwen ignored her. A taxi stopped in front of him, and he opened the door and got in.
Zhang Xin shouted from behind, "Ziwen Ge! Ziwen Ge!"
The taxi slowly drove away. Zhang Xin quickly ran to her own car, jumped in, and ordered Driver Chen Master, "Catch up to that taxi and force it to stop!"
Chen Master looked confused and said, "Sister, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Zhang Xin yelled at Chen Master, "I told you what to do; you have to do it!"
"Okay, okay!" Chen Master quickly drove off in pursuit of the taxi.
Thus, Zhang Xin's car closely followed the taxi ahead.
Inside the taxi, the driver noticed a private car chasing closely behind and said to Tao Ziwen, "Sir, that car behind is tailing us!"
"Tao Ziwen" replied, "You drive your way, let him chase!"
"Zhang Xin" leaned out of the car window and shouted at the taxi ahead, "Tao Ziwen, stop! Stop!" Then, "Zhang Xin" complained to "Driver Chen," "You're too slow, can't you go faster? Hurry up!"
"Chen Master" said, "Sister, this is too dangerous. If you keep your head out the window, I can't drive fast!"
"Zhang Xin" angrily replied, "I told you to speed up! If you can't catch him today, I'll have Dad fire you when we get back!"
"Hey! Hey!" Seeing how determined "Zhang Xin" was, "Chen Master" disregarded the risks and pressed the accelerator to chase after the taxi on the crowded street.
The taxi driver asked "Tao Ziwen" again, "Boss, should we pull over? With that car chasing us like this, something bad might happen!"
"Tao Ziwen" responded, "We're almost there. Turn right at the next intersection and stop at the second alley."
"Got it!" The taxi driver had no choice but to follow the boss's instructions and turned right at the intersection.
"Zhang Xin's" car followed suit.
The taxi stopped outside the Cheng Family gate. "Tao Ziwen" got out and headed straight into the courtyard. Shortly after, "Zhang Xin's" car also stopped outside the Cheng Family gate. "Zhang Xin" got out and rushed towards the Cheng Family.
The car driver quickly got out and shouted to "Zhang Xin," "Sister, this is the Cheng Family; we better not go in!"
"If Ziwen Ge can go in, then I can go in too!" "Zhang Xin" declared as she strode inside.
While "Tao Ziwen" was carefully examining the "Thorned Rose Dart" and a blackmail letter on the desk, "Zhang Xin" barged into the Cheng Family living room.
Seeing "Tao Ziwen," she shouted, "Ziwen Ge, my dad wants you to accompany me today! Ziwen Ge!"
The butler Ma An rushed over from elsewhere, saying, "Sister, this is the Cheng Family! Inside, my master is discussing matters with Young Master Tao Ziwen. You cannot go in!"
Zhang Xin ignored him and charged inside.
Tao Ziwen calmly said, "Sister Zhang, once I finish this case, I'll take you shopping in the afternoon."
Finally hearing a response from Tao Ziwen, Zhang Xin felt satisfied and sat down on a guest chair, saying, "Then I'll wait for you here!"
Ma An looked awkwardly at Cheng Shuping, who was sitting in the master's position. Cheng Shuping waved his hand at Ma An, signaling him to step back.
Tao Ziwen took out a "Thorned Rose" dart he carried with him and compared it to the one on the desk. The one on the desk was clearly very different from the original dart.
Tao Ziwen said, "The dart I carry is the one used by the kidnappers to kill those two masked men; it is completely different from yours."
Cheng Shuping asked, "So you're saying that the person who sent me this ransom note is not the real kidnapper?"
Tao Ziwen nodded.
Cheng Shuping continued, "Then who could it be?"
Tao Ziwen replied, "I’m not sure either. One hundred thousand silver dollars is no small amount. I suggest that if you haven't seen Zhou Junsheng in person, it's best not to hand over the money easily."
Cheng Shuping expressed his concern, "Thank you for your reminder. I've already arranged for this one hundred thousand silver dollars. If you don't come today, by tomorrow night, this money might be taken from me."
Tao Ziwen said, "Since you've already prepared this one hundred thousand silver dollars, why not pretend to hand over the ransom tomorrow night? At that time, I'll bring people along with you. I'm curious to see what kind of people are trying to profit from this situation!"
After discussing the case with Cheng Shuping, Tao Ziwen kept his promise and accompanied Zhang Xin shopping.
This is a bustling market filled with people. In the market, Zhang Xin was like a lively bird. She ran to a clothing stall, picked up a piece of clothing, held it in front of her, and asked Tao Ziwen, "Ziwen Ge, how about this one?"
Before Tao Ziwen could respond, she dashed over to a Jewelry Stall and held up a pair of Earrings to her ears, saying, "Ziwen Ge, which do you think is better, this one or the original one we had?"
Tao Ziwen replied, "Both are good!"
"Then I'll buy them both!" Zhang Xin pointed at the Jewelry Stall vendor and said, "This one, this one, and this one—wrap them all up!"
Zhang Xin then ran to another stall and spotted a beautifully crafted Ceramic Doll. She picked it up with delight and called out to Tao Ziwen, "Ziwen Ge, look at this! I really like it!"
The vendor quickly flattered her, saying, "Miss, if you like it, shall I wrap it up for you?"
"Wrap it! Wrap it!" After that, Zhang Xin turned around and saw a Silver Hairpin. Her earlier excitement suddenly faded. She walked over and examined the Silver Hairpin closely.
The owner of the Hairpin Stall approached her and said, "Miss, this hairpin is meant for older people. Let me find you a prettier one, how does that sound?"
Zhang Xin replied emotionally, "This hairpin looks exactly like the one my mother has. I want this one!"
Behind Zhang Xin was her driver, Chen Master, who was helping her pay. He hesitated in front of the Jewelry Stall and caught up with Zhang Xin, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Miss, I’m afraid we don’t have enough money!"
Zhang Xin said, "I don't want those clothes or jewelry anymore; just buy this hairpin."
"Okay!" Chen Master replied and went to return the clothes and jewelry.
Tao Ziwen asked Zhang Xin, "Why are you buying it? You can't wear it."
Zhang Xin answered, "I want to give it to my mother."
Zhang Xin's mother had long passed away, and her grave was located in the outskirts, grand and luxurious.
Zhang Xin brought a silver hairpin to her mother's grave, kneeling down to place the hairpin in front of the tombstone, which bore a photo of Zhang Xin and her mother. Zhang Xin resembled her mother very much, and the silver hairpin she bought looked exactly like the one in her mother's hair in the photo.
Kneeling at the grave, Zhang Xin offered incense and bowed to her mother, while Tao Ziwen and the driver, Chen Master, waited at a distance.
Tao Ziwen asked Chen Master, "When did Madam Zhang pass away?"
Chen Master replied, "She died during childbirth. Because of this, Zhang Dashuai has always doted on her sister, allowing her to act according to her whims. Although she can be headstrong, she has a good nature. Several times when I made mistakes, she helped me cover them up from the master."
Listening to this, Tao Ziwen's attitude towards Zhang Xin began to change for the better.
After finishing her bows, Zhang Xin remained kneeling there, speaking to her mother: "Mother, I have grown up! I have fallen for a fool who is particularly annoying. I know he has someone else outside, but I just like him. If only you were still alive, you could help me think of a way to win his heart. By the way, I brought this fool here today; you should take a look at him!"
Zhang Xin turned and called Tao Ziwen over to her mother's grave: "Ziwen Ge, come here!"
Tao Ziwen approached Zhang Xin and asked, "What do you want me for?"
"Kneel before my mother!"
"Why?"
"I said kneel, so kneel!"
After all, the deceased are held in high regard. Not understanding the situation, Tao Ziwen complied with Zhang Xin's request and knelt before Zhang Xin's mother's grave beside her.
Zhang Xin continued speaking to her mother: "Mother, do you see? This is that fool and also your future son-in-law! Father and his family have already discussed it; once we get to know each other better, they will arrange our wedding!"
Hearing Zhang Xin's words, Tao Ziwen stood up in surprise and said seriously, "Zhang Jie, my father never mentioned this to me."
Zhang Xin also stood up, saying, "I overheard my father talking to your dad and that's how I found out."
Tao Ziwen asked, "I don't understand. You are a wealthy young lady, and I am just an ordinary police officer. What do you see in me?"
"I..." Zhang Xin was momentarily at a loss for words.
Tao Ziwen continued, "You don't even know that? Then how can you be so sure that we can become a couple?"
With that, Tao Ziwen walked straight down the hillside.
Zhang Xin shouted at Tao Gongjin, "I like you! I just like you! I liked you the moment I saw your photo from my father!"
Tao Ziwen paused for a moment on the slope but still walked away quickly.
Comment 0 Comment Count