Da Li Temple - Chapter 11.2

Chapter 11.2
Courtesan

“Four silver taels.” Su Moyi lowered his head and blew a mouthful of hot air on the tea while blandly saying, “Deducted from your monthly salary.”
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Lin Wanqing’s hands shook, nearly doubting her life. Her monthly salary was only 1,500 Wen! So, in just a breath of time, she would have to work for Su Moyi for three more months for nothing!
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Lin Wanqing suddenly felt she wouldn’t find any new clues today if nothing unexpected happened. Because this dog official next to her will find all the clues by himself and then find a chance to squeeze her to work for nothing.
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How long would it take for her to get into that file room?
But she was not a woman who was willing to admit defeat.
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Lin Wanqing suppressed the anger in her heart, picked up an empty cup on her side, and proposed with a smile, “Let’s play Flying Flower Order (*)! The loser will have to answer a question and must tell the truth. Otherwise, you must drink a cup of wine or pay money. How about it?”

T/N: an ancient poetry game.
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Hearing that there was silver at stake, the girls were eager to try. However, some were also worried, “Then how would the gentleman know if the person answering the question is telling the truth?”
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Lin Wanqing blinked and smiled wryly at her, “Of course I’ll know.” As an officer of the criminal affairs, if she couldn’t even recognize lies, her ten years of study would have been in vain.
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The game soon began. Lin Wanqing rolled a dice into an empty cup, then said, “Since it’s the Flying Flower Order, let’s start with ‘flower.'”

The crowd agreed, and with tinkling sounds rang out, several rhymed sentences surfaced.
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The first person starts, “The flowers look at each other wordlessly while the spring in the green window and the sky are all gone.”
The second person followed, “The wood flowers are in a rush to bloom in the spring.”
The third person said, “Advise you not to be the only one awake because there should be several drunken flowers.”

The rule of this round was that everyone must not only use ‘flower’ in the sentence but also put the word in the corresponding position.
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Lin Wanqing had been to Su Moyi’s study room before and saw that his bookshelf was full of laws and scrolls from various dynasties. So he wouldn’t be reading poems in his spare time.
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Money and the clues to the rape and murder case, she had to get them on her own!
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Finally, it was Su Moyi’s turn, and the crowd stared at the money in his hands. The scene was silent for a moment.
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Su Moyi still had a cloudy and calm appearance, sipping his tea. Dense hot air left a faint mist on his handsome eyebrows. Knocking his long, slender index finger on the desk, he lightly opened his thin lips: “The meat is pale without blood.”
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Crowd: “????”
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Lin Wanqing froze. She was the only one who understood among these people.
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Which poem was Su Moyi talking about? That was a line from the famous book about forensics, ‘Records of Washed Grievances’ written by a renowned minister of the previous dynasty!

T/N: This is an actual book. ( ????) Record of Washed Grievances (1247) by Song Ci ?? said to be the world’s first legal forensic text.

Is this dog official exploiting the loopholes shamelessly?
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She was annoyed because she didn’t make the rules clear. When she was about to add something, she saw Su Moyi staring at her with dark eyes. She felt if she said one more word, she would live on the streets tonight.
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Lin Wanqing’s heart was irritated, but hindered by the Da Li Temple’s lustful authority, she did not dare to refute. At once, she became worried about this long road ahead. To what extent will Su Moyi exploit her?
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But she had to say, his status was higher than hers, wealthier than her, merciless than her, more inhuman than her —
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So annoying!
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People said people tend to have a flash of insight when angry. Lin Wanqing suddenly remembered that she had only seen him drinking tea since their first meeting. Even now, he had been sipping tea with his head down without touching the wine. This scene was too different from those lustful men.
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Lin Wanqing’s eyes turned, and a plan came to her. While smiling and praising Su Moyi for being knowledgeable, she pretended to reach for the teapot. Just when her hand was about to touch the teapot, she paused to grab a pot of fruit wine instead, pinched his high nose, and lifted her hand.
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Su Moyi, cut off from breathing suddenly, subconsciously opened his mouth.
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Lin Wanqing took advantage of this opening and poured the pot of fruit wine into his mouth.
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Regarding the clues, she had her way. The most important thing was that this person doesn’t make trouble again. Success or failure was at stake, so her movements were fast.
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Su Moyi, surprised by this woman’s sudden action, felt the hot, sweet, and refreshing liquid down his belly. After almost choking and vomiting out his dinner, a burst of white light appeared in front of his eyes, and his chest gradually burned —
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Then, the crowd saw this arrogant, handsome gentleman’s aura had a few points of tenderness. His eyes flooded with watery light, and his jade-white cheeks turned red. Stunning as a drunken immortal, he made the women present all yearn for something other than money.
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But Lin Wanqing has never been intoxicated with men’s beauty. She clapped her hands in relief, turned her head to the crowd, and said, “It’s okay, let’s continue.”
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——
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Lin Wanqing: If I continue to investigate this case with him, I probably have to sell my body —
Lord Su’s Bad Reputation x2