Chapter 269 - 151 King Han's Attitude
Li Nuo had just entered the Jade Sound Pavilion when he was immediately surrounded by a group of chattering ladies.
"Young Master, please have a seat."
"Young Master, have some tea!"
"I'll go call Phoenix Sister."
Li Nuo was ushered to sit down, with some girls bringing him tea and others massaging his legs and shoulders, surrounded by the fragrance of women.
The key was that each of them had a different sachet, and thus different scents.
The mixture of various scents made Li Nuo choke and cough until thankfully, Phoenix arrived and rescued him.
Second floor of Jade Sound Pavilion.
Upon entering Phoenix's room, Li Nuo still occasionally coughed.
Phoenix supported him and gently patted his back, helplessly saying, "I told them to wear fewer sachets, but they wouldn't listen, sometimes even I can't stand it..."
She brought him a cup of water and said, "Drink some water, it will make you feel better."
Li Nuo took the cup; the water was sweet, apparently with added honey.
When he put the cup down, Li Nuo noticed some faint red marks on the rim and thought it was dirt, so he took a closer look.
Realizing something, Phoenix, blushing, took the glass back and said, "This is my cup, I accidentally got some lipstick on it. If Young Master disdains it, I'll have them bring a new cup..."
Li Nuo glanced at Phoenix's flushed lips, then quickly averted his eyes, waving his hand and saying, "No need, I feel better now."
Insisting on a new cup would seem like he really disdained her, which could hurt her fragile self-esteem.
Li Nuo didn't continue the topic and asked, "Have those people been troubling you these days?"
Phoenix shook her head and said, "Not anymore, the Yingying and Yaoyao they poached wanted to send them back, but we didn't accept them. These two music workshops have extremely deep connections; to even do this much is probably due to your influence..."
Housekeeper Wu had looked into it.
Indeed, the Sky Sound Courtyard and Happy Building had enormous backing.
If it were just ordinary nobles, even a first-class marquis would only be on par with his father.
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But these two, they had the power of royal mansions behind them.
Sky Sound Courtyard was a property of King You's Mansion.
Happy Building had intricate connections with King Han Mansion.
King Han was the eldest son of the current emperor.
King You also had deep-rooted power in the court.
Compared to them, be it in seniority or actual power, King Chun was slightly inferior.
Their willingness to concede had truly surprised Li Nuo.
Nightingale knocked on the door and came in, whispering, "Someone from Happy Building just came by, delivering a silver note for five thousand taels, apologizing for their Shopkeeper's ignorance, and offering this silver as compensation…"
Five thousand taels in compensation, Happy Building's attitude was indeed very humble.
Phoenix tugged at his sleeve and said, "The bigshots behind Happy Building probably don't know about this. Anyway, we haven't suffered much, so Young Master, can we just drop this matter?"
Li Nuo wasn't stubborn enough to fight the prince to the death.
His target was those nobles, but as long as the Redemption was in effect, he couldn't handle those nobles right away.
At that moment, footsteps were heard again at the door.
Li Anning glanced at Phoenix, who was tugging at Li Nuo's sleeve, and said indifferently, "I knew you were here."
Li Nuo asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"
Li Anning replied indifferently, "There has been a murder at Happy Building. If you aren't going, I will..."
After her words trailed off, she glanced at Phoenix and then left on her own.
Li Nuo followed Li Anning and soon arrived at Happy Building.
Even though both were music workshops, Happy Building made Jade Sound Pavilion seem poor in comparison.
Jade Sound Pavilion was just a two-story building with a courtyard.
But Happy Building could be considered a garden, covering a much larger area than both Song Residence and Li Mansion combined.
Inside the garden, there were pavilions, towers, artificial hills, and ponds, with all conceivable amenities.
There was even a small lake at the center with interlaced corridors and several small waterside pavilions scattered across it.
One could imagine that in summer, many guests would enjoy the cool breeze and listen to music across the lake.
In one of the buildings, a body covered with a white cloth lay.
From the uneven curves under the sheet, it was apparent that the deceased was a woman.
Li Anning lifted the cloth, and Li Nuo caught a glimpse, his pupils slightly constricting.
The deceased was the Shopkeeper of Happy Building.
The same middle-aged woman who had threatened Phoenix at the Jade Sound Pavilion.
Her expression was painfully contorted, with clear strangulation marks on her neck.
A white cloth hung from the beam in the room.
A man sighed and said, "We only looked away for a moment, and Manager Sun had killed herself in the room. How could she not bear it..."
Li Anning examined the deceased's neck, then looked at the white cloth, and said, "She didn't commit suicide. She was strangled to death and then hung up."
She had investigated countless cases and was able to clearly distinguish whether the deceased had been strangled, hanged, or committed suicide.
Moreover, the murderer's method of fabricating the scene was extremely crude, so much so that even a novice in investigations could see through it.
The strangulation marks on the victim's neck were very fine, impossible to have been made by that white cloth.
Also, the position where the white cloth was hung was too high.
Given this woman's height, if she were hanging from the beam, she wouldn't be able to reach a stool.
Any normal person would not believe she had committed suicide.
It seemed the murderer was deliberately telling them that the deceased did not die by suicide.
She glanced at Li Nuo.
Li Nuo shook his head, indicating the murderer was not at the scene.
Li Anning was about to inquire if the deceased had any enemies before her death.
At that moment, the man walked up to Li Nuo and said, "Young Master Li, Manager Sun did not know that Phoenix of the Jade Sound Pavilion was your woman and offended her greatly. King Han was very angry when he found out and had already reprimanded her. Perhaps, guilt-ridden, she chose to commit suicide to end it all..."
Li Anning furrowed her brow and said, "I told you, she didn't commit suicide."
The man chuckled, "Princess might have seen it wrong."
Hearing this, Li Anning paused, seemingly understanding something.
The Happy Building was closer to the Ministry of Justice than to the Chang'an County Government.
When reporting the case, they didn't choose the Chang'an County Government but instead chose the Ministry of Justice.
Because they knew that Li Anning and Li Nuo would come for a case handled by the Ministry of Justice.
His words were actually very clear.
This was King Han making a statement.
Manager Sun troubling the Jade Sound Pavilion was not known by King Han.
He didn't want to offend Li Nuo over this matter, or more precisely, he didn't want to provoke Li Xuanjing.
Manager Sun's death was King Han's explanation to the Jade Sound Pavilion and also to Li Nuo.
This case was specifically staged for them to see.
That moment, the man handed over a thin booklet, saying, "King Han appointed her as the manager of the Happy Building, but he never imagined she would betray his expectations by engaging in human trafficking and forcing good women into prostitution. Over the years, she caused the deaths of many virtuous women, which is truly a grievous crime. We only recently discovered these crimes and intended to turn over this evidence to the government. It might also be possible that she committed suicide out of fear of being prosecuted, hoping to preserve her body intact... What do you think, sir?"
Li Nuo also realized by now.
Manager Sun died because someone wanted her dead.
They even prepared an excuse for her death.
He had been in Chang'an long enough to understand the implications.
The deeds done by Manager Sun were solely her own doing.
Now that she was dead, this matter should also come to an end.
If he continued to target the Happy Building, it would be an insult to King Han.
King Han had given him enough respect, and if he didn't reciprocate, he would be the one at fault.
This was an unspoken rule among the nobles.
Although Li Nuo disliked this rule.
But it wasn't something he could easily change.
Much later, at the Ministry of Justice.
Li Anning walked into the government office, sat opposite Li Nuo, and said, "I had people investigate. All the evidence of Manager Sun's crimes is true. According to the law, she would definitely have been sentenced to decapitation. She truly deserved her death..."
The two exchanged glances, both looking rather gloomy.
Manager Sun deserved to die, but from a Legalist's perspective, she shouldn't have died this way.
However, many things in this world were not for them to decide.
At that moment, Li Anning looked at Li Nuo again and said, "You really care about Phoenix. For her sake, everyone at the Chang'an County Government, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Justice have been busily working for days. The manager of the Happy Building has earned countless silver for King Han's Mansion over the years. Just because she offended the Jade Sound Pavilion, King Han so easily abandoned her. From now on, no one in Chang'an should dare to bully Phoenix anymore. You should feel relieved now..."
Li Nuo's purpose had indeed been achieved.
Though the process was not what he had wanted.
Thinking about how he had been busily working for Phoenix, Li Anning felt depressed and said again, "You..."
Li Nuo said, "I've painted a new picture for you, I'll bring it tomorrow."
He looked at Li Anning and asked, "What were you about to say?"
Li Anning shook her head, "It's nothing…"
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