Chapter 23 Broken Snow

After entering the east courtyard, Qiandeng quickly washed and changed her clothes covered in ash, then went to the front hall to meet them.

"Gentlemen in the backyard, we need to investigate thoroughly, especially to see who was around when the kitchen fire started."

Cui Fufeng nodded gravely and asked, "Does the county lady think that this was still the work of that hidden murderer?"

"I don't know... I just feel that there aren't so many accidents. My mother who was accidentally killed, Uncle Fu who was accidentally killed, Su Yunzhong who committed suicide accidentally, Shi Jingning who was accidentally buried in a sea of ​​fire..." Qiandeng took a deep breath. The cold weather turned her breath into white mist, which filled her cheeks, making everything even more confusing.

"But now, my mother's death is still a mystery, and we still don't understand the meaning of the paper left by Uncle Fu. Just when suspicion was about to emerge, Shi Jingning was suddenly murdered today. It was so sudden that I even have some illusions. Is the murderer behind this always watching me, and after noticing my actions, he will cut off the clues I want to follow, severing all the directions I can follow?"

"Yes, Shi Jingning's death was truly unexpected." Ling Tianshui leaned against a pillar, his arms folded as he stared into the night sky, frowning as he pondered. "I originally thought the murderer would target Meng Lanxi first, hoping to wait for her to come back. But why is it that Shi Jingning is the one who's in trouble now... Did the county lady behave differently towards him?"

Qian Deng slowly shook his head: "Not really. He even sent me food before the accident, but I was resentful at the time and was quite cold to him..."

If she knew that was their final farewell, she would never treat him like that, and would not let his gloomy expression mark the end of their relationship.

"Could it be that the murderer's target wasn't the one most likely to become the county lady's husband? Is there another reason?"

Cui Fufeng asked, "Shi Jingning had always been friendly and harmonious with everyone in the backyard. Why did the murderer choose to kill him?"

He always paid gentle and careful attention to everyone, served them food that suited their taste, and made everyone comfortable and happy.

It was just last night that they noticed Shi Jingning's suspicious side. They thought that even if Shi Jingning was not the murderer, they could always follow the clues and investigate based on the handwriting and the carving knife. However, they did not expect that all possibilities had been completely cut off within a day and a night.

"I'll thoroughly investigate everyone's whereabouts in the backyard and see who was near the kitchen when the fire started." Cui Fufeng held the autopsy file in his hand. Seeing that it was getting late, he said softly, "County Lady, please get some rest first. We'll discuss everything tomorrow."

Qiandeng nodded in agreement and watched them walk out of the front hall, only to see Meng Lanxi waiting quietly at the courtyard gate.

Probably to protect him, Ling Tianshui didn't let him leave too far from him, but kept him at a distance where he couldn't hear any movement from here.

Seeing them disperse, Meng Lanxi came over with the rabbit in her arms and handed the rabbit to her. Qiandeng also subconsciously reached out and touched it.

The white rabbit's fur was soft and warm. The fluffy rabbit hair flowed through her fingertips, making her feel doubly comfortable in such a cold winter. She couldn't help but rub it a few more times.

Her nerves, which had been tense since Shi Jingning's accident, finally relaxed at this moment. She hadn't touched anything warm and soft for too long, and her heartstrings trembled slightly, and she found it difficult to control herself.

As if seeing the attachment in her heart, Meng Lanxi held the rabbit and handed it to her.

She slowly took it, held the white rabbit in her arms, stroked its soft ears, gently stroked from the top of its head to its back, closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

Meng Lanxi lowered her head to examine the wound on the rabbit's leg and whispered, "I thought the county lady had trouble sleeping. So many things happened today, and I'm afraid she might have trouble falling asleep. So I just brought some incense over, maybe it can help."

Because he was checking the rabbit's injuries, he was very close to her, and Qiandeng smelled the clear and slightly bitter tea fragrance on him.

She raised her eyes and saw his lowered face. His thick and long eyelashes covered his eyes as clear as black glass. They trembled slightly, as if stirring the viewer's heart. It was so moving that it was hard not to cause ripples.

For a moment, because of his gentle and clear expression, Qian Deng felt a slight pain in her heart, and she remembered the last time she saw Shi Jingning.

This regret will always linger in her heart, making her feel so sad that she almost cries.

"Thank you very much. Maybe I really need your help tonight..." Qiandeng held the rabbit in his arms, looked at Meng Lanxi taking out the incense box in front of him, lowered his head and put his face on the soft rabbit fur.

A myriad of emotions surged in her, her temples throbbed, and the dull pain in her head almost made her collapse.

Fortunately, a faint fragrance came over her, gradually calming her consciousness. After drinking the gentian and poria soup that Meng Lanxi had prepared for her, she finally felt sleepy and fell asleep on the cloth tiger her mother had sewn for her.

This time, there was snow in her dream.

That was the snow when she was five years old, falling in the vast wilderness of the northwest and also in the Bining camp.

At that time, her grandfather was the governor of Bining, protecting Chang'an in the east and resisting Tubo in the west, guarding the Tang Dynasty fortress and unable to return home during the New Year.

After a great victory, her grandmother and mother took her to Bining. Her father braved the wind and sand for dozens of miles, wrapped her in his arms in the snowy wilderness, and happily rode back to the military camp first.

In the wind and snow outside the military camp, she poked her head out of her father's warm embrace and looked at everything in front of her curiously.

She saw the desolate wasteland and the white snow, and also saw an elderly woman and a little boy of seven or eight years old staggering forward under the flags outside the military camp.

The boy braved the wind and snow, holding an icy urn in his arms. She didn't know it then, but it was his father's urn. To prevent disease, the army wouldn't allow corpses to be kept for long periods of time. They were either buried on the spot or burned to ashes. If a son or nephew came to claim them, they would take them home for burial. If not, they would be scattered on the ground, to decay with the grass and trees.

The boy raised his head, the wind and snow messed up his hair. Through his tearful eyes, he saw Qiandeng being safely held in his father's arms.

But the world was vast, he was cold and hungry, and his father was gone forever.

Qian Deng, still unaware of the world, pointed at him and looked up at his father and asked, "Dad, why is that little brother crying so sadly?"

Her father stroked her head and signaled his guards to go and find out.

The guard dismounted to inquire, then returned with the report: "These are Captain Shi's mother and son. Captain Shi died in the last battle, and fortunately, his son can guide his soul home. Therefore, the old mother and young son have come to retrieve his remains."

Qian Deng asked curiously, "Why can only sons guide souls?"

The guard smiled but didn't answer.

"So you're Captain Shi's family member?" Qiandeng's father remembered him, so he dismounted with Qiandeng, carried her to the grandfather and grandson, and asked the boy, "What's your name?"

The little boy looked up at the tall man with a timid look in his eyes: "My... my name is Shi Jingning."