Chapter 24 Double Mystery (Part 4) She was a beauty from a painting who jumped...

Along with the cold tone, a gust of cold wind swept into the room. Du Zhong saw that although Yu Qi had a smile on his face, it was a smile that made people feel cold. He immediately put down his chopsticks and got off the bed to greet him, while glancing sideways at Jiu Li Xu Bai.

Jiuli also noticed that Yu Qi's expression was not good, so she quickly came over from under the screen, wiping her hands. She glanced back at Xu Bai and said, "Xu Bai came to ask about the case. He heard that Uncle examined Guan Zhan's body last night, so he came straight here. Seeing that Uncle's door was closed, he thought that Uncle had not yet taken his seat, so he waited here."

Yu Qi took it as him defending Xu Bai and became even colder, "I still have to go on my rounds, so Lord Qi will have to wait a little longer. Now that you two have finished eating, go pack your medicine kits and come with me."

Leaving Xu Bai alone was not a good idea, so they had to leave the room together. Outside the cave entrance, they met Zhang Da, who had come looking for them. Xu Bai bowed and said, "I heard that you had returned, sir. I went to your room but didn't see you. So you've come here."

Xu Bai asked, "Where do you come from?"

"I rushed back to the yamen before dawn and reported to Lord Wang that Guan Zhan was dead."

He turned slightly to the side, his tone laced with disdain, "Then what are your orders, Lord Wang?"

"He said that the case would be combined with Lin Mo's case and handed over to the adults for investigation. He would talk to the Guan family about it."

Xu Bai nodded slightly. Just then, Yu Qi led a group of doctors out of the cave. The two men stepped aside, but the doctors still noticed them and rushed over to greet and chat with Xu Bai. Yu Qi didn't bother with their pleasantries and led Jiu Li and Du Zhong away first.

Later, Zhang Da and Xu Bai jokingly remarked, "Mr. Yu is a good person in every way, except that he is too cold-hearted. No wonder he is almost thirty years old and still unmarried. Living with him would be like living next to an ice block. What woman could stand it?"

"You know so much about women?" Xu Bai glanced at him with a smile. "I heard he was the one who examined the body last night?"

"I was just about to report to the lord when, according to his examination, Guan Zhancai was killed by a single stab from behind, and the attack was ruthless and swift."

"He can even tell that?" Xu Bai raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Tell me, a doctor examining these knife and sword wounds with more precision than the coroner in the yamen, isn't that too much knowledge and too wide-ranging?"

Although Zhang Da was somewhat confused, he sensed that there was something more to his words, so he frowned and pondered, "To be honest, he really knows a lot about wounds. He can even say exactly where to apply force and where to withdraw it. To be honest, even I, someone who wields a weapon, don't know as much as he does."

Xu Bai smiled at him, then stopped talking and said, "Let's go check on Guan Zhan first."

By noon, they hadn't found any new clues. Returning to their room, they heard that the constables who had gone to Chunhua Town had brought back Master Li. Xu Bai ordered him to be brought in and instructed Zhang Da, "Go see if Mr. Yu and the others have finished their rounds. If they have, invite them over. Also, I heard there's a woman named Wu in the kitchen. Give her some money and ask her to prepare a good meal; I want Mr. Yu and the others to stay for lunch."

Before long, Yu Qi and the other two were invited over, and the wealthy man Li was also brought over. He was a middle-aged man with a bloated figure, wearing a black soft silk vest, a gray satin robe, and a waist ornament tied around his waist. Presumably to avoid contracting the plague, he also covered his face with a gray cloth.

As soon as he entered, he ripped off the towel from his face, and without caring who was who, he glared at everyone and began slapping their hands as he complained, "What did you call me here for? What did you call me here for?! You said you had something to ask me, and I have something to ask you all! How come, of all things, my garden was lent to you government officials, and now there's a murder case inside?!"

Yu Qi ignored him and went to sit down on the chair next to him.

Seeing that he seemed disrespectful, Zhang Da quickly stepped forward to introduce him, "Master Li, this is our Lord Qi."

Master Li sized up Xu Bai, noting his youth and knowing that although the Qi family was an official family, their influence in the court had long since declined, so he didn't take him seriously.

He turned slowly to the side, his hands clasped behind his back, and with his round belly sticking out, he glanced back sideways. "Lord Qi," he said, "you said I kindly lent this garden to your yamen, but two lives have been lost here. I was reluctant to lend it in the first place; so many sick people made my garden unclean, and I was worried someone would die here. I never expected someone else to die a violent death, even worse than dying of illness! Lord Qi, the first case has been going on for a while now, has there been any progress? Who is the murderer? You have to give me an explanation."

Zhang Da, his anger rising, took a deep breath and spoke up, "Master Li, I heard that you lent out this garden in high spirits? According to your colleagues in the yamen, when you learned that Mr. Yu was coming to treat the patients, you kept saying how good it was, saying that if these people were cured, the rumors that your garden was haunted would be cleared up. Is that true?"

Master Li turned back and glared at me, then put his hands back in front of him, clasped them in his sleeves, and looked down. "Hmph, that's what I thought at the time, but now look what's happened. No one has died of illness, but it's worse than if someone had! It's caused widespread panic. Who would dare to buy my garden now?"

Zhang Da also chuckled and said, "I've heard that there have always been people who want to buy your garden, but you yourself refuse to sell it."

"The little money they offered was blatant bullying! I, Li, may not be shrewd, but I'm not stupid either. I won't let them extort my property at a low price just because of some idle talk. Besides, this is my Li family's ancestral home!"

Xu Bai grew impatient and gave him a perfunctory bow. “Don’t worry, Master Li, this case will definitely be solved. I invited you here because I have some clues to ask you for advice.”

Master Li smiled broadly, "Alright, don't delay. Make sure you pay close attention. Catching the culprit will not only comfort the deceased but also my Li family. Ask me anything you need to know, and I will tell you everything I know."

Jiuli stepped forward and asked, "Have you recently sent anyone back to the garden to pay respects to your young lady?"

“No.” Master Li shook his hand. “The last time we sent someone to pay respects to her was before the New Year, in November, on the anniversary of her death. At that time, no one had entered this garden yet.”

As Yu Qi had predicted, the person who set up that small altar was not sent by the Li family, and their true purpose was not to commemorate the infant spirit, but to create a false sense of mystery.

She glanced back at Yu Qi, then turned back and asked, "In previous years, besides the people in the manor, who else would come to pay their respects to Miss?"

Master Li sighed, "As the saying goes, when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. She was such a little girl, and she was not even three years old when she passed away. Apart from her parents and relatives, who else would think of her?"

Seeing the undisguised bitterness on his face, Jiuli assumed it wasn't a lie and asked no further questions, then retreated to sit down next to Yu Qi. Glancing at him, she saw that Yu Qi was simply drinking tea, seemingly having anticipated Li Yuanwai's answer, so naturally she had no further questions.

Seeing this, Xu Bai had no choice but to order Zhang Da to escort Master Li out. Before leaving, Master Li kept begging for the murder case to be investigated as soon as possible so that Liyuan could be cleared of all charges.

Du Zhong watched him leave, then turned back and clicked his tongue, "Judging from how anxious he is, this garden must be quite expensive."

These words struck Jiu Li's heart like a golden gong. She jumped up and said to Yu Qi, "Yes, Uncle, if this garden is haunted, the price won't go up. Who will get a bargain then?"

Yu Qi smiled slightly, "You've got some business sense now."

Xu Bai listened and immediately understood, but he didn't quite agree. "Is it really necessary to make a big fuss just to lower the price of this garden?"

Yu Qi put down his tea, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Lord Qi is a scholar, so naturally he doesn't quite understand the profit-driven mentality of merchants."

Xu Bai could only smile and say, "If it's just for playing tricks, killing Lin Mo would be enough. Why risk killing Guan Zhan as well?"

"Who says they were killed by the same person?"

Xu Bai was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Zhang Da. "So, these two murder cases are unrelated and cannot be combined?"

"It's not necessarily true that there's no connection whatsoever; at least there's a relationship that's influenced by circumstances." Yu Qi stood up and chuckled lightly. "However, this is just my speculation. It's true that the two cases cannot be investigated together. I shouldn't have gotten involved in this, but Lord Wang said that if the real culprit isn't caught within a month, Yu'er and Zhong'er will be brought to trial, so I had no choice but to intervene. However, I can't help you much, so I'll just choose one case to investigate. I hope you'll understand."

Xu Bai paused for a moment, then glanced at Jiu Li out of the corner of his eye. After a moment of thought, he humbly bowed to him and said, "I dare not lie. I am really limited in my ability to solve cases and catch criminals. Sir, please help me to the end. I think Miss Yu'er is also very meticulous and intelligent. Why don't you choose a case for me and Miss Yu'er choose a case for me to help with?"

That's a great suggestion! Jiu Li was thinking that as she got older, she wanted to do a few impressive things for Yu Qi to see, so that he wouldn't always think that she hadn't grown up, that she was meddling in everything, and that he wouldn't even trust her to go out.

Before he could clap his hands in agreement, Yu Qi interrupted, saying, "I'm afraid I can't comply. Yu'er doesn't understand these things, and besides, she's new to Nanjing and doesn't know anything about the ways of the world. Moreover, she's a girl—"

Upon hearing this, Jiu Li became displeased and her face changed. Seeing this, Xu Bai quickly bowed and said, "I think Miss Yu'er is not delicate, but also brave and quick-witted. Unlike other girls, she is not easily frightened. I heard that Miss Yu'er discovered the body first last night, but she did not panic or lose her composure. She even kept everything in the room as it was. Her calmness and composure are better than many men."

This compliment made Jiuli even more eager to prove herself, so she tugged at Yuqi's sleeve and pleaded repeatedly, "Uncle, please let me try, no matter what. Look how much the government thinks of me. I don't want to just eat and sleep all day and become a good-for-nothing."

He didn't respond for a long time, so she let go of his hand, curled her lip, and tried to provoke him, "What I said to you last night, didn't you say I was right? Why do you think I'm incompetent because I'm a girl? Don't you still look down on me? No wonder you only bring Eucommia ulmoides with you when you go out. Sigh, what can I do? I'm a girl. They say they love me and provide for me well, but in their hearts, they think that in the future I'll belong to someone else's family, and I can't be relied on. I won't get a piece of land or a piece of property. Sigh, is this kind of love still love?"

These words caused Yu Qi's face to change in countless ways. He turned his eyes to Yu Qi and said, "You may not be good at anything else, but you're good at making people angry. Fine, do whatever you want. Whichever you want to do, you choose."

She immediately smiled and said, "Then I'll investigate Lin Mo's case, and you'll investigate Guan Zhan's?" She then turned to Xu Bai and said, "Since you want our help, you have to support us. You have to clear the way for places we can't reach, and you have to give face to people we can't ask."

Xu Bai seized the opportunity and laughed, "That's easy. I'll take care of Miss, and Zhang Da will take care of Mr. Zhang. We'll each do our own thing, which will save us time and effort."

Yu Qi glanced at him coldly, guessing that his arrangement was intended to get closer to Jiu Li. He didn't want to agree, but then he saw Jiu Li's excited expression and remembered that his original intention was simply to help her make some friends of similar age. Even though he was unwilling, he couldn't say anything more. He neither agreed nor refused, and left with a gloomy face.

Xu Bai hurried to the door and invited him to stay, saying, "I specially ordered lunch, please—"

Yu Qi didn't turn his head. Jiu Li could tell he was angry, so she walked to the door and said, "Uncle is unhappy. Thank you for lunch. Let's go back to our room to eat."

"Please stand for a moment, I have something I'd like to ask you." "What is it?"

"Mr. Yu seems to dislike me. What did I do to offend him?"

Jiuli tilted her head and thought, "That's just how my uncle is. He doesn't like socializing, and he especially doesn't like dealing with people in officialdom. Maybe it's because you're an official."

He then laughed and asked, "Why does Mr. Yu have such a strong prejudice against the government?"

“Our Yu family used to be farmers. During a famine, the government did nothing, and my grandfather starved to death.” She finished speaking half-truthfully and hurried to leave. “I have to go now. If I don’t follow you, my uncle might go back on his word about letting me investigate the case. Oh, and we should send someone to find out who wants to buy this lychee orchard. I’ll come back to ask you tomorrow.”

She disappeared like a gust of wind, her white robes billowing across the threshold. Seeing her vanish, he turned and went back inside, a smile lingering on his face as if deep in thought. He sat silently for a while before remembering to instruct Zhang Da to only serve Yu Qi from now on. He also summoned a constable to inquire about the sale of the lychee orchard.

The wind rose and fell, swaying the vibrant reds and greens. Jiu Li caught up with Yu Qi and the others ahead, but for some reason, she didn't dare to go closer to him.

She herself realized that this had always been too rebellious. Although she was often disobedient when she was a child, she was always confined at home and could only get away from trivial matters such as eating and drinking. This was the first time she had insisted on going out of the house to do something important.

She slowed her pace and walked behind Du Zhong, pondering that although Yu Qi disliked officials, he seemed particularly impolite to Xu Bai.

The reasons behind it all were guessed and guessed, like looking at flowers through a fog. It was just a vague and uncertain shadow, but it was enough for her to put on a slight smile, pluck a flower from the branch, twirl it in her hand a few times, and then throw it away in disappointment.

In truth, she herself was still unable to discern what was going on, and her thoughts were as vague as her childhood memories, so how could she possibly guess what Yu Qi was thinking? Coincidentally, he was also most adept at using silence to defuse any questions he didn't want to answer.

After a while, Du Zhong deliberately slowed down a few steps, walked to her side, and whispered to her, "Master is really strange."

What's strange about it?

"She clearly intends to discuss marriage with the Qi family, but she seems to dislike Lord Qi, which confuses me as well."

Jiuli stared in astonishment, "A marriage proposal with the Qi family? A marriage proposal with whose family?"

"Of course it's yours, why would it be mine? I've never heard of any unmarried young ladies in the Qi family."

"You heard him say it himself?"

"He didn't say it himself, but last time I heard him talking to Old Master Wei about your marriage. He said he had already found a family for you and was still considering it. I think we've just arrived in Nanjing and only know Qi Xubai, a young master from back then. He's a grown man, talented and handsome. Who else could it be but him?"

Amidst the lush greenery, Jiuli casually plucked a branch, glancing at Yu Qi's retreating figure. "My marriage is decided by the old lady; it's none of my uncle's business. Besides, while he may be knowledgeable in other matters, what does he know about marriage? If he did, why hasn't he married all these years?"

Du Zhongyi said in a low voice, "Master and the old lady have always had a grudge. The old lady dares not interfere in his affairs. Since no one mentions it, his marriage has naturally been delayed year after year."

Although the old lady was Yu Qi's biological mother, ever since Yu Qi returned to his hometown with Jiu Li, she felt that their relationship didn't resemble that of mother and son, but rather that of two half-acquainted relatives, polite yet distant. This stemmed from the old lady's decision to sell Yu Qi to that itinerant doctor between her two sons years ago, a fact that remained a thorn in the side of both mother and son. Therefore, the old lady's special favor towards her was partly to make up for what she had done to Yu Qi.

Thinking of this old story, she felt that Yu Qi was also a pitiful person, and couldn't bear to blame him anymore. She threw away the grass root and said, "Anyway, words don't count just because they're spoken. Besides, even you can see that Uncle doesn't like Qi Xubai very much. How could he have promised me to him? Maybe it was just an excuse to appease that old man Wei."

Du Zhong thought it made sense. He had heard that Old Wei had a grandson who was about to be married, and it was probably him who brought up the matter that day.

But then another strange thought came to mind: "Hey, aren't you quite close to Qi Xubai? Why do you sound so reluctant when it comes to marriage? Are you embarrassed or what? If you're shy, I'll go talk to Master."

Jiuli was shocked by what he said. She and Xubai were close? Where did you get that idea?

She herself didn't realize it. She used to love making friends in the village. She could chat with people who brought her firewood and flowers, and she would even go out of her way to deliver bricks and tiles to the bricklayers who built houses.

However, to be honest, interacting with Xu Bai is a bit different from interacting with others. Perhaps it's because he looks somewhat like Yu Qi. Seeing him is like a seventeen-year-old girl meeting a twenty-year-old Yu Qi in the cracks of time, a warm and shy reunion after a long separation.

A faint blush rose to her cheeks, and she pinched Du Zhong's arm. "Why are you so talkative! What's the point of bringing up these trivial matters right now? Solving the case is the most important thing!"

Du Zhong rubbed his arms and laughed, "Why don't you talk to your master and ask him to help you investigate Lin Mo's case? You'll have another helper."

She glanced at him and asked, "What can you do? Do you perform autopsies or detective work?"

“I know how to find out things!” Du Zhong straightened his back and stroked his beard like an old scholar. “When investigating and catching criminals, what’s the most important thing? Being well-informed is the most important thing! Who told you that Zhao’s wife in our village has taken a liking to Woodcutter Liu, and that Old Man Wang is in love with his sister-in-law? It was me who found out.”

She looked at it with disdain, "It's all just gossip and idle chatter—"

"Don't underestimate rumors; they might just be the key clues!"

The two argued in hushed tones until they returned to their room. Before Jiuli could speak up for Du Zhong, Yu Qi sat down and spoke first, "Since you want to join in the fun and investigate Lin Mo's case, let Zhong'er help you out, so you don't act recklessly."

This "unscrupulous" seemed to have a hidden meaning. Before Jiu Li could figure it out, Yu Qi ordered again, "Go to the kitchen and get lunch."

Du Zhong was about to leave when he said, "Yu'er, are you going because you think you have nothing to do all day? Fine, then you can run errands more."

Jiuli could only puff out her cheeks and say "Oh," then lowered her head and obediently grabbed her skirt and went out.

Yu Qi immediately summoned Du Zhong and ordered in a low voice, "Keep an eye on Yu'er and don't allow her to do anything out of line."

Du Zhong was completely bewildered. "What constitutes an outrageous act?"

Yu Qi turned his eyes to the beam and deeply understood the meaning of the saying "enemies from a past life". He really didn't know what sins he had committed in his past life, and he was being punished in this life by picking up these two debt collectors.

Seeing his weary expression, Du Zhong quickly racked his brains, "Are you afraid that Yu'er's sharp tongue will offend people outside?"

Yu Qi gritted his teeth. "What's there to be afraid of offending people? I mean—" He carefully chose his words, really not wanting to bring up Jiu Li's personal affairs, "Yu'er is seventeen after all. Although she still seems like she'll never grow up, and loves to play and make a fuss, if she's indifferent, can she guarantee that others won't be? Qi Xubai, although from a scholarly family and seems polite and virtuous, is ultimately—"

The thought of the word "man" being associated with Jiu Li filled him with disgust, as if even mentioning it would be an insult to Jiu Li. Too lazy to continue, he simply fixed his impatient eyes on Du Zhong's face, hoping he would understand the rest of his meaning.

Even if Du Zhong was slow-witted, he wasn't exceptionally stupid. He quickly patted his chest and assured him, "Master, don't worry, with me here, I won't let Yu'er suffer at the hands of any man! I understand that even if a man and woman have feelings for each other, they must abide by the rules. Without parental consent and matchmaker's words—"

Before she could finish speaking, Yu Qi interrupted, "They seem to be interested in each other?"

Du Zhong glanced at his expression, unable to discern his meaning for the moment, so he could only feign ignorance and say, "I don't see anything yet. I mean, if, for example..."

Yu Qi disliked the analogy, but he had no grounds or reason to object. So, before he could say anything, he clenched his fist and remained silent, getting up and going into the inner room to examine the prescriptions on the table. He became extremely impatient as he flipped through them, the only sound in the room being the rustling of the papers turning.

Meanwhile, Jiuli came to the kitchen to fetch the food. Since the braised pork hock was still a little late, Aunt Wu asked her to sit and wait in the inner room. She was bored sitting there and remembered the soup stains from the pickled mustard greens and shredded pork noodles that had been spilled on Lin Mozhong's clothes, so she got up and wandered around the kitchen aimlessly.

She glanced at the three cooks bustling around the stove. One was surnamed Liu; she'd overheard them arguing with Rouge last time. She didn't know the surnames of the other two. After a moment's thought, she went to the two women and struck up a conversation, "What are your surnames, ladies?"

One of them, chopping vegetables, chuckled, "What's with all this talk about surnames? You're being too reasonable, young lady. We clumsy folks can't stand it! My surname is Qin, and hers is Lin."

Jiuli turned her head to look at Sister Lin, "What a coincidence, Sister Lin, your surname is also Lin? Did you know that dead Master Lin?"

Lin's wife kneaded the dough and smiled, "Although we both have the surname Lin, what kind of family is he, and what kind of family are we? Only I know him, not the other way around. If we did know each other, that would be great. I could find a job at his house, and then we wouldn't have to worry about anything at home."

"Isn't the job here good? Weren't you hired by the government? The pay must be pretty good."

Aunt Qin curled her lip and said, "Does the young lady think that the government's money is easy to earn? Look at us, we're busy feeding over a hundred people, and we rarely even have a chance to sit down and have a cup of tea. We're so tired that we can't even straighten our backs!"

Seeing that there were still vegetables in the basket that hadn't been picked, Jiu Li moved to a small stool by the wall and sat down to help pick the vegetables. "Didn't someone ask for extra food? I suppose they're going to give you a tip. How could you do all this for free?"

Aunt Qin turned around and smiled, "To tell you the truth, young lady, it's really for this money. The government only allows two coins a month, and to put it bluntly, it all goes into paying for medicine when I'm sick."

"That's true. You guys really have it tough. With so many people in the park, if they want to eat this or that, we have to pay for it separately and cook it separately. Some people also want late-night snacks, which means we have to start the fire and cook late at night. Hey, are there a lot of people eating late-night snacks?"

"Although there are people eating late-night snacks, there are few. Sigh, they are all sick people. The doctor told them to get enough sleep, so everyone rests as soon as it gets dark. Most of them don't even remember to eat. So after dinner, not counting Aunt Wu who does the purchasing here, there are three people in the kitchen during the day, and another person on night duty."

"Is the night shift rotated, or is there a designated person for it?"

“There’s a designated person who doesn’t need to come during the day; she only comes after dinner.”

Jiuli remembered that the first time she returned to Liyuan, she had dinner with Du Zhong in this kitchen courtyard. At that time, the stove was turned off, and she seemed to see a cook busy in the kitchen, who was probably on night duty.

"I think I've seen that woman before, wasn't she wearing a mask?"

Aunt Qin nodded, "She cherishes her life more than we do. She's afraid of catching a disease, so she always covers her face."

Aunt Wu came in and chimed in, "People have three or four children at home. You can't be too careful. The adults are healthy and have taken the medicine for the disease prevention, so it's not a big deal. The problem is that they might not be clean and could pass the disease on to the children when they get home."

Therefore, it must have been the person on night duty who delivered the midnight snack to Lin Mo that night.

"And what is your sister-in-law's surname?"

"His surname is Zhou, and he is an extremely diligent person. Whenever you want to have a late-night snack, just let him know, and he will definitely agree."

Jiuli smiled and nodded, "Then why does she only work the night shift? Can she withstand that kind of sleep deprivation?"

"Hey, there's nothing we can do about it. Aunt Zhou's youngest child is only three years old. Everyone in the family is busy with their own things during the day, so no one can take care of the children. She stays home with the children during the day, and only has time to come over in the afternoon when her family is free to take care of them."

Then Aunt Wu turned to the stove and whispered, "I heard there's another reason. She's young and decent-looking, so her husband is worried that the garden will be crowded during the day and cause gossip. At night, there are fewer people around, so it's quiet."

Jiuli paused, her hands gripping the ends of the kale. She suddenly remembered Guan Zhan saying that Lin Mo, when lustful, disregarded status and age. Could it be that that night, he was hungry from running around with an upset stomach and wanted a late-night snack? When Aunt Zhou brought him noodles, he took advantage of her and harassed her with his words and actions, leading Aunt Zhou to kill him in a fit of shame and anger?

"Hey!" Aunt Wu turned her head and saw that she had picked most of the basket of kale and lost it. Her heart ached, and she quickly came over with a smile to persuade her, "Young lady, please rest. How can we trouble a young lady like you to do this kind of work? Rest, rest."

Jiuli, lost in thought, pushed her to sit in the inner room, pondering that she should meet with this Aunt Zhou tonight. Even if she hadn't killed anyone, she might be able to get some new clues out of her.

After dark, Jiuli wanted to go to Xubai's room, but fearing that Yuqi would stop her, she knelt on the couch and opened a crack in the window to peek into the main room. Although the outer room was not lit, the inner room in the east was lit. Judging from the time, it was not yet the second watch. Yuqi always went to bed late and got up early, and with Guan Zhan's case keeping him occupied, he didn't know when he would turn off the light and go to sleep.

Waiting any longer was pointless, so she didn't dare to take out the lamp. She gently opened the door and heard a creaking sound in the darkness, which sent a chill down her spine. Fortunately, Yu Qi's hearing wasn't that good. She waited a while until the silhouette on the window made no move before quietly grabbing her skirt and going out.

Just as she slipped outside the cave entrance, a dark figure suddenly caught up with her, startling her. Upon closer inspection, she recognized him as Du Zhong and flew into a rage, punching him twice. "You reckless fool, when did you follow me here?!"

Du Zhong chuckled and said, "I saw you open the door and come out of the west room, so I followed you out. Were you going to talk to Qi Xubai about the case?"

"Does your uncle know you've come out?"

Du Zhong remembered that Yu Qi had specifically instructed him before he came out not to say that he had ordered him to come along. When asked why, Yu Qi hesitated for a while and said, "Yu'er has been stubborn since she was a child, and she is a girl of this age. I'm afraid that the tighter you control her, the more rebellious she will become."

When he said this, his brows furrowed with worry. Since he had only recently returned to his hometown, her daily life had been taken care of by servants, and her education and supervision were also the responsibility of the old lady. He was just earning money for the family, and when he had free time, he would ask her a few questions about her studies. If he had nothing else to worry about, he would also like to tease her a little.

There's no escaping responsibility; I never imagined that now that she's grown up, it would be his turn to worry about her.

Du Zhong obeyed orders without question, not mentioning a word to Yu Qi, only shaking his head and saying, "I don't know. It seems Master is going to rest soon. If I disturb him when I get back, I'll just say I went to the outhouse."

The two men walked under the moonlight to the other side of the room, where the lights were on and the two sliding doors were open. On the right window, a shadow was swirling around a book. He was still reading at this time, just like Yu Qi in his love of learning.

The shadow faded slowly from the window. Xu Bairen had already come to the outer room, picked up a teacup from the table at the head of the table, took a sip, and turned his head to see Jiuli walking from the courtyard. The soft moonlight softened her dark purple dress, making her seem to lose her distinct features for a moment, just like the charm of a pool of water, a wisp of wind, or a poem—beautiful yet intangible, only to be understood intuitively.

He strode towards the door to greet them, a smile immediately spreading across his face. "What brings you here so late at night?"

Jiuli made a shushing gesture to her lips, pulled her finger away, and with a smile that crinkled her eyes, she grabbed her skirt and stepped over the threshold. "You sneaked in here, didn't you? If Uncle finds out, he'll definitely scold you. Hey, don't let it slip when you see him tomorrow."

For some reason, he felt a secret joy, as if he were having a romantic rendezvous with her. He jokingly bowed to her and said, "Mr. Yu is already annoyed with me enough. How could I go and invite more scolding?"

She tossed aside her skirt, snatched the scroll he was holding, and flipped it open. It was a history book, unlike Yu Qi, who usually consulted medical books and classics.

Disappointed, she returned the book to him. He took it and tossed it aside, then asked the yamen runner outside for tea.

Du Zhong hurriedly said, "No need, Lord Qi, we won't stay long."

Xu Bai turned to look at Jiu Li's retreating figure, already feeling somewhat reluctant to part. He insisted on ordering the yamen runners to prepare tea, and then invited the two of them to sit down. "You two have come so late at night, have you made some important discovery?"

Jiuli turned around and asked in return, "Have you found out who wants to buy this garden?"

"I sent someone out to inquire this afternoon, but I haven't received a reply yet."

Du Zhong hurriedly said, "Your people in the yamen are useless. If it were me, I could find out the truth for you in less than half a day!"

Jiuli settled into her chair and slowly recounted the story of Zhou Sao, who was on night duty in the kitchen. After explaining her suspicions in detail, she leaned forward slightly, resting her slender arms on the table, and said, "Xubai, I think we should also question Zhou Sao. She delivered late-night snacks to Lin Mo that night, so she's quite suspicious. Let's not question her directly yet, but test her to see if what she says is true or false. If she's lying, wouldn't that prove she's guilty?"

The dark purple sleeves were illuminated by a silver lamp, turning into a thin, soft mist, revealing her forearms half-hidden within, as if boneless. Xu Bai glanced at them briefly before quickly looking up, but his heart remained stuck on the greasy table, preoccupied with the ambiguous yellow candlelight and a patch of soft, white flesh.

He had seen many women, but Jiu Li seemed different. She was like a beauty from a painting who had jumped out of his eyes, carrying a charming, ancient aura.

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Author's note: Thank you for reading.