How did I, a mere son-in-law lying down, become a "Fenglang Juxu" (a legendary martial art

Chapter 60 Peony

The next day, Liu Shan spent a leisurely morning at the government office. Finally, at noon, just as he was about to leave work, he was stopped by Li Polu.

Liu Shan pretended to be meeting him for the first time, circling around him a few times and marveling at his appearance.

"Prefect, you're not a man of your word, are you? You did agree to let me work only half a day. But you are a man of your word, aren't you? Why do you always find various reasons to make me stay on every day... You really have made me look at you in a new light."

Li Polu patted Liu Shan's shoulder lightly and said seriously, "Liu the clerk, I have something important to discuss with you."

Liu Shan's expression was exaggerated. "Oh, how strange! In a dignified government office, there are still improper things going on? Magistrate, please tell me about it."

"Uh..." Li Polu was taken aback. He found that his son-in-law was becoming more and more disrespectful, but also more and more pleasing to the eye.

Liu Shan shrugged helplessly: "Prefect, tell me, what's the matter now?"

Li Polu whispered, "Officer Han has returned from Jinhua County and seems to have made some discoveries."

Liu Shan jumped up, complaining as he walked out, "Damn it! Why are you only telling me now about something so important?"

"Is it my fault? Who was speaking so sarcastically just now?" Li Polu quickly caught up with Liu Shan and whispered, "They're in the back room."

The two hurried through the corridor and arrived at the back hall, where Constable Han stood solemnly with a serious expression.

Upon seeing the two men arrive, he cupped his hands in greeting and said in a deep voice, "Greetings, Your Excellencies."

Liu Shan asked eagerly, "Officer Han, what have you found?"

Han, the head constable, said in a deep voice, "After we went to Jinhua County, we searched Chen An's house again, but still found nothing... Later, following the instructions of the clerk, we went to the grave of Chen An's wife, Yang Lian'er, and found this in the mound of earth in front of the grave."

Han, the head constable, took out a piece of yellowish cloth from his pocket, on which bloodstains were faintly visible.

Liu Shan took the piece of cloth, unfolded it, and examined it carefully for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "This piece of cloth contains a blood letter written by Chen An."

Li Polu was stunned for a moment. He suddenly admired Chen An for being able to leave clues in such a hidden place as his wife's grave.

Of course, what impressed him even more was Liu Shan, who was able to guess Chen An's intentions. His wisdom and insight were simply terrifying!

Liu Shan laid the blood-written letter on the table, on which were eight illegible blood characters.

These eight blood-written characters were clearly written by Chen An in a state of extreme panic, and the handwriting was so messy that it was almost illegible.

The crowd stared at the blood-written letter for a long time before they could decipher the eight characters: separated, younger sister, peony, and letter.

Li Polu frowned and said, "The meaning of these eight blood characters should be that Chen An wrote a letter to his long-lost younger sister, Mudan."

Liu Shan gave a thumbs up: "Your Excellency, the Prefect, is extremely discerning; I admire you greatly!"

Regardless of whether Liu Shan's words contained sarcasm, Li Polu took them as a compliment.

At this moment, he stood tall and said confidently, "Liu, clerk, please add some more details following my train of thought."

Liu Shan frowned and asked, "Officer Han, is there anyone named Chen Mudan in Jinhua County? Or anyone whose name contains the characters 'Mudan'?"

Officer Han shook his head and said, "Neither Chen An's old neighbors nor the county government's household register have any information about Chen An's sister. It's as if she never existed."

Liu Shan remained silent for a while, not expecting that Constable Han would check the county government's household registration books, which would undoubtedly alert the enemy.

However, this cannot be blamed on Officer Han; it was his own fault for not explaining things clearly.

Liu Shan thought for a moment and said, "You're going in the wrong direction. If Chen An's younger sister lives in the same county as him, why would they need to write letters? Wouldn't it be better to just meet in person?"

Officer Han scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly; how could he not have thought of that?

Liu Shan instructed, "Focus on Cangzhou first, and gather people to check the household registration books."

At this point, he looked at Li Polu and asked, "Prefect, who is the Registrar of the Prefectural Office? Could you please give them a heads-up and arrange for a search as soon as possible?"

Li Polu nodded in agreement: "The position of chief clerk in the prefectural office is temporarily vacant. Clerk He is currently acting as the clerk. I will go and make arrangements right away."

Liu Shan nodded slightly. He Qiong was an old friend and should be able to help.

He instructed Constable Han: "The matter is urgent. Constable Han, please lead your men to check the household registers overnight. Tomorrow afternoon, I want to see all the women whose names contain the characters 'Peony' here."

After saying that, Liu Shan took out ten taels of silver notes and stuffed them into Han's hand. "Brothers, you've worked hard on this trip to Jinhua County. Although there were some flaws, it was not bad overall. This silver is an extra reward for everyone."

Officer Han took the silver note, his face beaming with joy. He hurriedly assured him, "Don't worry, sir. My brothers will work tirelessly tonight and make sure you see all the women named 'Chen Mudan' by tomorrow afternoon."

Liu Shan paused for a moment, then quickly corrected, "That's not how it works. Chen An's long-lost younger sister may not necessarily have the surname Chen..."

Han, the head constable, slapped his forehead and chuckled, "Right, right, we need to find all the women whose names contain the characters 'peony'."

Liu Shan sighed inwardly. The limit of Han's abilities was that he could only be a constable in the government office...

He patiently explained, "It can't be all of them. My own sister, of course, has to be a woman younger than Chen An."

Han, the head constable, looked embarrassed and scratched his head. "I understand. I'll go and gather the men right away."

This time, Liu Shan didn't mention the reward money. He believed that the true way to manage subordinates was to use both kindness and strictness, while simply rewarding them would only foster dependence and laziness.

After Constable Han left, Li Polu stepped forward and patted Liu Shan on the shoulder, saying, "Liu the Clerk, it seems you understand now. Rewards shouldn't be given too frequently, otherwise they'll develop bad habits."

Liu Shan rolled his eyes; he didn't want to pay any attention to the magistrate right now.

……

The following afternoon, Liu Shan met with all the young women whose names contained the word "peony" at the government office, and questioned them one by one about their backgrounds, hoping to find clues related to Chen An.

However, with each person he asked, Liu Shan felt a growing sense of anticipation, but also a growing sense of disappointment.

Until the very last person, there was still no definite news. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly; the trail seemed to have gone cold again...

As the workday was about to end, Zhang Tienan came looking for him.

Liu Shanqiang roused himself, picked up a cup of strong tea, and asked while taking a sip, "Why did you come here?"

Zhang Tienan said, "It's been a while since we last met. How about we go to my family's newly opened restaurant for a nice meal tonight?"

Liu Shan shook his head; he wasn't very interested.

At this moment, Zhang Tienan came up and said mysteriously, "After dinner, let's go to Lou Wai Lou. There's a new courtesan there named Xiao Kuihua. She's said to be even more beautiful than the previous Peony Fairy."

"Wow!"

The teacup in Liu Shan's hand slammed onto the table, shattering into pieces, and tea spilled all over the floor.

However, he seemed oblivious, staring intently at Zhang Tienan, his voice trembling slightly: "What...what did you just say?"