Identity exposed

During the brief yet long eye contact, Cheng Yayin's face slowly turned the same red as Pei Songsheng's.

Cheng Yayin suddenly loosened her hands, sat up in shock, and said incoherently: "I didn't mean it, I thought you... I didn't, I didn't mean to..."

Pei Songsheng put his hand on his lips, and seemed stunned. After a long while, he said, "I understand."

Seeing that he hadn't misunderstood, Cheng Yayin felt relieved. But this kiss brought out all the previous romance, and the two of them tacitly looked away, blushing as they calmed down.

Cheng Yayin put her hands on her burning cheeks, feeling the scorching temperature gradually cool down, and broke the silence with a voice: "Why are you back so soon? In the past, you would be busy until sunset at the earliest."

Pei Songsheng: "I have finished dealing with the affairs that were squeezed in recently. There is nothing important at the yamen for the time being, so I will go home to take a look."

"oh."

The two fell silent again. Although they both pretended to be calm, there was still a lingering awkwardness in the atmosphere.

Cheng Yayin thought, why not just hide back in the room.

It was Pei Songsheng who broke the deadlock with one sentence: "There has been progress in that case."

Cheng Yayin was cheered up when she heard this and asked hurriedly, "What happened?"

After asking, she realized that she had been so embarrassed that she hadn't noticed Pei Songsheng squatting on the ground, holding her round fan. No wonder she vaguely felt the breeze relieve the heat in her sleep; it turned out that this person had been fanning her.

At that moment, she felt something strange inside, as if being scratched by a furry little claw. Cheng Yayin moved to the edge of the bamboo couch and pulled Pei Songsheng up with her, "You sit down too."

The bamboo couch was more than enough for Cheng Yayin to sit on, but it would be a bit crowded if Pei Songsheng sat on it. Even though he tried his best to sit to the side so as not to squeeze her, their arms were still inevitably pressed tightly together, and their body temperature was transmitted to each other through the thin and soft clothes.

Pei Songsheng adjusted to the intimate distance before continuing, "Xue Zhi reviewed the files submitted to the Dali Temple in recent years and discovered that the killer that night resembled the portraits of several fugitives recorded in Ganchuan. If we follow this line of thought, the first person to disappear was a female painter from Ganchuan. So, even if the murderer isn't from Ganchuan, he must have lived there regularly."

"Ganchuan..." Cheng Yayin pondered, her eyes filled with thought.

Ganchuan and Shengjing are adjacent, less than a hundred miles apart, and well-connected by land and water. This makes it a strategic location for gathering information about Shengjing. It makes sense that the man, stationed in Ganchuan, had spies lurking in the capital while he himself gathered intelligence.

After investigating for so long, they finally got some clues. Cheng Yayin became excited and asked Pei Songsheng what he planned to do next.

"That man is fully aware of Shengjing's movements and can even manipulate fugitives into his own hands. He must be a very well-connected person in Ganchuan," Pei Songsheng pondered. "If I rashly send an official document asking Ganchuan officials to assist in the investigation, it will probably be useless and will only alert the enemy. So now we can only try our best to gather more evidence and make sure that man can't turn the tables."

That made sense. Cheng Yayin held her chin and said worriedly, "I really hope the murderer can be caught soon, otherwise more women will be harmed."

The two of them didn't chat for long. Jian Zhu stood outside the courtyard and said that the Censorate had sent someone to look for Pei Songsheng, saying that there was something going on in the yamen and he needed to go over.

After Pei Songsheng was called away, Cheng Yayin no longer had the leisure to read, so she simply changed into simple men's clothes and took Yixing to Zhijin Bookstore to hand in the manuscript.

When she arrived at Zhijin Bookstore, she was still received by Xia Changan.

Since meeting Xia Changhuan, she had witnessed her business grow bigger and bigger. She often had to travel out of town, but she had never seen her business delayed for such a long time. Cheng Yayin asked curiously, "Is the business that Boss Xia is going to do big this time? If she keeps up this pace, she will become the richest person in Shengjing in no time."

Xia Changan smiled subtly, pursing his lips. "It's not entirely for business."

"What's the meaning?"

"I'm just guessing." Xia Changan said, "Sister seems to be in love lately."

Cheng Yayin was surprised. Xia Changhuan's parents died young, leaving her to raise her younger brother alone while also managing the business. Even at the right age for marriage, she still hadn't found a husband. Xia Changan, on the other hand, married young, but Xia Changhuan had been so absorbed in her business over the years that she'd barely paid attention to her own lifelong prospects. She'd never considered choosing a husband, and Cheng Yayin had assumed she was determined to remain single.

Not knowing what kind of man would attract her heart, Cheng Yayin asked excitedly, "Did your sister tell you that personally?"

"That's not the case. It's just that my sister finished her business a long time ago and lingered away for a long time. The tone of her letter was also different from before. As a younger brother, I still have some concerns." Thinking of his sister who has been supporting the Xia family alone for so many years and now is finally willing to find a home for herself, Xia Changan was delighted from the bottom of his heart. "But I don't know anything more. When my sister comes back, Madam will ask her personally."

Of course I have to interrogate her thoroughly. In the past, I was always teased and made fun of by her, but now I finally have a chance to turn the tables.

I wonder what kind of man would catch Xia Changhuan's eye. But she's a shrewd and capable businessman, so the men she chooses must be exceptional. The more Cheng Yayin thought about it, the more itched she became. She couldn't wait to meet Xia Changhuan and ask her about this.

Cheng Yayin walked out of Zhijin Bookstore with something on her mind and walked on the street, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.

Why does the direction of this matter seem so familiar?

Suddenly, a flash of light flashed in Cheng Yayin's mind, and she immediately turned back. Yixing chased after her and asked, "Did you forget anything, sir?"

Cheng Yayin rushed back to Zhijin Bookstore and quickly climbed up to the second floor. She happened to meet Xia Changan, who had just come out of the quiet room. She hurriedly asked the surprised Xia Changan, "Where is your sister doing business?"

"Ganchuan." Xia Changan said blankly, "Is there something wrong?"

Ganchuan!

Cheng Yayin didn't give any explanation to Xia Changan and ran downstairs again.

Pei Songsheng must be told about this immediately.

With such an urgent thought in mind, Cheng Yayin's feet were like the wind. Just as she rushed out of the door of Zhijin Bookstore, a strong force attacked from behind, grabbing her collar and pulling her back. At the same time, she was slapped in the face and fell heavily to the ground, with stars in her eyes.

Someone angrily shouted at her, "How dare you seduce my husband, you little bitch!"

After the man finished speaking, he came up and kicked and beat Cheng Yayin again, spewing obscenities. Yixing, who arrived a step late, was horrified and rushed over to pull the woman away, but the woman was extremely strong and pushed her to the ground.

Cheng Yayin was dizzy from the slap and felt pain all over her body. She had no idea what was going on and instinctively raised her arms to block the woman's fists and kicks.

During the scuffling, the hairpin that tied her hair was pulled off by the woman, and her black hair flowed down. The woman grabbed her and forced her to raise her head. She was hit on the face several times, causing a burning pain.

A crowd of onlookers gathered around. Xia Changan pushed through the crowd with difficulty to see this scene. He was immediately terrified. He stepped forward and grabbed the woman's raised hand, saying in shock and anger, "Stupid woman, what are you doing?!"

His frail body couldn't hold back the fierce woman. Instead, she grabbed his collar and slapped him hard several times, cursing, "I've been watching here for quite a while. You little bitch keeps coming here every other day, and the moment she shows up, you bring your men upstairs. How dare you do this in broad daylight? Do you think I'm dead?!"

As soon as these words came out, the onlookers showed contempt and started pointing fingers at the few people. Xia Changan shouted in shame and anger: "What nonsense are you talking about, you stupid woman? She is a guest of the bookstore!"

Yixing also said angrily: "Don't say such nonsense to tarnish my young lady's innocence!"

"What kind of young lady? You're from a good family, and yet you're capable of seducing a married man! I'll rip your face off!" The fierce woman refused to budge, releasing Xia Chang'an and attempting to assault Cheng Yayin again. Yixing, eager to protect his master, lunged at her and engaged her in a fight, but was overwhelmed and thrown to the ground.

Seeing that the rain of fists was about to fall on Cheng Yayin again, Xia Changan was terrified and hugged the woman's waist and dragged her back, saying in panic: "Stop it now, you are going to die if you hurt our guest, she has no private relationship with me, she is the famous Song Lingjun, she came here today to hand in the manuscript of "Red Tassel"! " Xia Changan was still holding a stack of manuscripts that Cheng Yayin had just handed over. He was drawn out by the noise outside before he had time to sort them out. He raised them tremblingly in front of the woman and said, "Here is the evidence, see for yourself!"

The woman didn't even look at him and waved him away, "What are you talking about, Jun this Jun and Jun that Jun? Stop lying to me!"

These words caused a commotion among the onlookers. The manuscript paper fell out of his hands and scattered all over the floor. Many customers of Zhijin Bookstore in the crowd picked it up and examined it carefully, their faces changed.

"It really is The Story of the Red Tassel."

"Is this woman really Lord Song Ling?"

"Mr. Song Ling is actually a woman!"

"I think the girl next to her looks familiar. She seems to be from Pei Zhongcheng's residence?"

"Why is the maid from the Pei Mansion here? Could she be..."

Every word and every sound entered Cheng Yayin's chaotic brain.

Cheng Yayin raised her head. Through her messy hair, she saw the eyes around her falling on her: confusion, surprise, and contempt. She felt as if she had stepped on empty air and fallen into a quagmire. The dirty water filled her mouth and nose, and she gradually couldn't breathe.

The woman ignored all this nonsense and raised her hand to fight again. Yixing rushed over and pulled Cheng Yayin into his arms. But a group of soldiers came in from outside, pushed aside the crowd of onlookers, and shouted, "Who is causing trouble here?"