Chương 17: The Tea Shop Owner

The owner of Heavenly Blessing Teahouse was named He Chunhua. In her early forties, she was a smooth operator who controlled ninety percent of the tea trade in White Flower City, making her one of the few major merchants for miles around. Today, Fang Cheng had come calling, so He Chunhua naturally received him personally. Fang Cheng didn't press her immediately. On the way here, Li Sanshui had repeatedly assured him that the teahouse owner couldn't be the killer.

His adamance made Fang Cheng suspect there was something between them. So from the moment he entered the teahouse, he quietly watched their performance. He Chunhua had prepared a private room, seating Fang Cheng and Li Sanshui, and poured them tea. Li Sanshui took a sip. The bitterness spread through his mouth and throat, making him cough repeatedly, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Miss He, this tea..." Li Sanshui frowned at the smiling woman. It hadn't been this bitter when he visited before. He Chunhua quickly explained, "This tea comes from Hehuai Mountain. The previous City God said cultivators love this tea. Since you've brought the new City God, I told the staff to brew it strong. If it doesn't suit you, I'll have them make your usual sweet tea." Hearing it was Hehuai Mountain white tea, Li Sanshui forgot the bitterness and took another sip.

"Now that I taste it properly, it really is quite fragrant. No wonder cultivators love it. It makes you feel like you're ascending." He Chunhua smiled.

"The magistrate has good taste. A simple commoner like me only knows that Hehuai Mountain white tea is expensive, but I never understood what makes it good. Hearing you say this today, I've truly broadened my horizons." Fang Cheng hadn't spoken. He took a sip of tea, then spat it back into the cup. It tasted terrible, like expired horse urine. Li Sanshui saw Fang Cheng's reaction and didn't know whether to put down his cup or keep drinking. His face was a mask of embarrassment. He Chunhua noticed.

"It seems this batch of Hehuai Mountain tea I bought was flawed. Alas, although I have a Great Sheng-approved tea license, I'm not high priority. I can't get genuine Hehuai Mountain white tea. It's my fault for offending the City God." Fang Cheng shrugged.

"I've never had Hehuai Mountain white tea, so I wouldn't know if it's authentic. I heard the Everlasting Emperor ascended there. After that, cultivators swarmed the mountain like mad dogs. They'd tear off leaves to make tea, dig up roots to boil soup, and even eat bird droppings, saying it was a delicacy. Haha, pretty funny." He Chunhua could tell this new City God was different from the cultivators she'd met. She ordered the tea to be replaced with something sweeter.

While waiting for the new tea, she asked with a smile, "My lords, I don't think you came to the teahouse just for tea, did you?" Li Sanshui said, "We need to ask you some questions. Answer honestly, and we won't wrong you." He Chunhua's heart skipped. Could they have found out about the tea smuggling? No, that couldn't be. Li Sanshui was involved too. He wouldn't investigate himself. And the City God didn't handle civilian affairs anyway.

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"May I ask what questions?" she said, shooting Li Sanshui a glance. Li Sanshui nodded slightly, signaling her not to worry. Then he turned to Fang Cheng.

"City God, will you ask, or should I?" Fang Cheng raised his right hand, meaning Li Sanshui should go first. Li Sanshui turned to He Chunhua, his face grim.

"Miss He, I ask you. Is Yuan Min's death connected to you?" He Chunhua breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"My lords, Yuan Min and I did have a disagreement. He claimed I mixed sweet potato leaves into my tea. Ridiculous. Sweet potato leaves taste nothing like tea. Anyone could tell. Why would I do something so stupid? I'm not as foolish as Yuan Min. And I certainly wouldn't kill someone over such a petty grudge. I'm a businesswoman. I wouldn't dare go against the City God's temple keeper."

"Indeed." Li Sanshui nodded, then turned to Fang Cheng.

"City God, it seems we were wrong. I suspect Butcher Zhang is hiding something. Should we go back and interrogate him?" Fang Cheng jumped up and slapped Li Sanshui's head.

"You can't even question someone properly. Who made you the magistrate? Did you buy your position too?" Li Sanshui had a grimace on his face, looking utterly helpless.

"If I had money, would I be stuck as a small magistrate in White Flower City? It's hard enough just to make ends meet here." He Chunhua coughed, signaling Li Sanshui to be careful. Realizing he'd said too much, Li Sanshui quickly corrected himself.

"City God, you're right to scold me." Fang Cheng now understood. They were in cahoots. Official-business collusion. His sword stirred with hunger, but he held back. The murder was more important.

"Tell me everything that happened when Yuan Min came to your teahouse yesterday. Every detail." He said to He Chunhua. She smiled.

"My lord, you should ask my shop assistant Xiao Yang. He served Yuan Min. Your temple keeper looked down on me, and I suspect he looked down on you and Magistrate Li too. Honestly, his death is..."

"Shut up and bring Xiao Yang here." Li Sanshui cut her off. He knew she was implying Fang Cheng had killed Yuan Min. This woman had a death wish. But don't drag me into it. I just want to stay out of this. He Chunhua smirked at Li Sanshui's cowardice, her eyes filled with contempt, then sent someone to bring Xiao Yang. Xiao Yang arrived quickly and began describing what happened yesterday.

"Yesterday, Yuan Min was dressed strangely. He had half a lamb rack on his shoulder, a bag of pig intestines tied to his right waist, and a knife with blood still on it tucked into his left. I was startled. I thought he'd come to cause trouble for the boss." Hearing this, Fang Cheng and Li Sanshui exchanged glances. Butcher Zhang hadn't lied. Xiao Yang continued, "Yuan Min asked for Hehuai Mountain white tea. I weighed it out. When I told him the price, he asked why it was so expensive. I said that's the price.

The City God's wife had never complained when she bought it. He said our teahouse only knew how to cheat women. I didn't argue. Our boss is a woman; why would she target another woman? And that's the City God's wife. Who would dare offend her?" He Chunhua laughed softly at that, clearly pleased with Xiao Yang's response. Li Sanshui asked, "Then what? Did Yuan Min leave?" Xiao Yang nodded.

"Yes. He complained about the price but paid anyway and took the tea. I figured he was buying it as an offering for the deceased City God. Otherwise he wouldn't have paid." He Chunhua sighed.

"Whatever else you say about Yuan Min, he was loyal to his City God. He handled everything after Lord Zhang's death perfectly. If I died, my people would run faster than rabbits." Fang Cheng frowned, thinking. The tea Yuan Min bought was an offering for Zhang Ruilin. The pig intestines from Butcher Zhang were another offering. Everything Yuan Min did yesterday was connected to Zhang Ruilin's burial. Could his death be connected to Zhang Ruilin too? He realized he couldn't just blame this on an ordinary killer.

Yuan Min might have stumbled upon the demon's trail while handling the funeral arrangements. So the demon had killed him and made it look like an ordinary crime.

"That must be it!" Fang Cheng's lips curled slightly. The demon sword inside him stirred. The demon had finally slipped up and was coming to him. Hahaha. He'd been waiting so long.