Chapter 27

In Wuhou Mansion, Jian Xinyi sat in her familiar seat, waiting for trial.

The lights in Wuhou Mansion were still on at night, which slightly dispelled her fear.

"Sir, the person has been brought here."

Jian Xinyi looked outside in the direction of the voice, and what caught her eyes were Qian Yuan's cold and ruthless eyes. Even though the surrounding lights were reflected in his eyes, the coldness remained stubborn.

She wanted to rush out and tell him how horrible what she saw was, and she wanted to hug him and cry out her pain.

But she didn't dare.

Those cold eyes were always scanning her.

She looked away, shrugging in her seat.

Qian Yuan sat down first, and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Are you the first person to see the body?"

She didn't expect Qian Yuan didn't recognize her.

Jian Xinyi slowly raised her head, still huddled in the chair, her face pale.

Qian Yuan only noticed her at this time. His eyes dimmed slightly, and the flickering candlelight was reflected in his eyes, swaying continuously.

She nodded slightly and said nothing.

Qian Yuan didn't ask any more questions. He gently pushed the teacup in his hand towards her and said, "Have some water."

Jian Xinyi quietly stretched out her fingertips. The tea was warm and was most effective in warming her hands.

Her pale fingertips gradually turned red. She took a small sip and secretly glanced at Qian Yuan.

He must have just returned from handling a case, as he had just changed into a green bamboo brocade robe with a cross collar. He was clearly a military officer, but he always liked to wear green clothes.

Qian Yuan leaned forward slightly, looking at her with an almost imperceptible tenderness in his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Jian Xinyi shook her head, still saying nothing, but holding the teacup tighter. The warm feeling spread to her entire palm, slightly alleviating the severe winter cold.

"Embroidered jade."

It was the first time that Jian Xinyi heard Qian Yuan calling her name. She was stunned and raised her head in a daze.

The boy's eyebrows gradually merged with the candlelight, adding a warm glow. His eyes were clear and transparent, reflecting the unique state of mind of a young man.

He slowly stood up and walked towards her.

"Don't be afraid."

Jian Xinyi widened her eyes and looked at the person in front of her at such a close distance.

The candlelight casts a soft silhouette on him, making people unconsciously fall into this warm trap.

Qian Yuan felt relieved when he saw her eyes slowly regain their former lively look. He touched her right shoulder with one hand and gently squatted down.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"A head, in the alley."

When Jian Xinyi thought of the scene at that time, she couldn't help but take a breath and tightly grasped the coarse cloth on her body in her hands. The rough feeling stung her nerves, forcing her to come back to her senses.

"Is this case related to the case in Yudu Lane?"

"Well, over there in Yudu Lane are the remaining bodies."

Qian Yuan gently patted the back of her hand, signaling her not to be afraid. "The previous case in Yongye Lane was also a headless corpse, and this one is also. Now these cases are of great importance, so I called you to understand the situation."

"Yeah, I know."

Jian Xinyi nodded, but her eyes were always looking at the hands that were patting her. She didn't know how to react, so she turned around and drank a large cup of tea.

Qian Yuan saw her pull away and knew that she must have recovered a lot from the shock. He felt relieved and sat down opposite Jian Xinyi.

"The victims of both cases were imperial officials. Therefore, the Jinwu Guards are handling the cases with extreme caution. All details of the cases must be kept confidential."

"I see."

Jian Xinyi looked at Qian Yuan, as if what happened just now was just an illusion.

This person returned to his aloof and distant appearance.

Qian Yuan's brows were sharp as he flipped over the case file on the table. "Why did you run to that alley? As far as I know, it's quite far from North Street."

"I ran in by accident."

Jian Xinyi took a deep breath and recounted this bizarre and tortuous story from the beginning. "At first, someone told me that someone in the bookstore over there had plagiarized my book. I went to take a look but was kicked out. I was comparing the two books on the street, and the Jinwu Guards discovered me and kept chasing me. I ran into the alley and saw it."

Qian Yuan frowned from time to time as he listened to these somewhat bizarre words, but he still managed to restrain himself from interrupting her and took notes seriously for a long time.

"That alley leads to the backyard of Minister Song's house. Do you know it?"

“I don’t know him at all.”

Jian Xinyi shook her head, but she inadvertently saw the dark night outside the window and felt a little worried. "Can I go back now? It seems so late."

The moon was at its zenith, and at this moment the Wuhou Mansion was unusually quiet. Occasionally, there were a few popping sounds of lanterns, and the only sound in the room was the faint breathing of the two people.

"I send you."

Qian Yuan stood up suddenly, startling Jian Xinyi so much that she took a few steps back.

"Why did you stand up suddenly?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to go back?"

The two people stared at each other in the silent room.

In the end, Jian Xinyi gave in and sneaked around Qian Yuan, "I... I can go back by myself."

"Let's go together."

Qian Yuan put his big hand around her arm and pulled her out of Wuhou Mansion.

At this time, the capital was silent. Even though there was no night curfew, there was no one in the capital.

Jian Xinyi looked at the empty street, lowered her head slightly, and unexpectedly saw the reflections of two people.

It seemed as if fear would amplify all of one's senses, and for the first time, she felt the light and shadows rise and fall along the worn bluestone slabs.

At this moment, it seemed as if the two were in sync.

On the quiet street, the occasional barking of dogs could be heard from afar. Jian Xinyi carefully grasped Qian Yuan's sleeves and kept looking around.

Seeing her look like a frightened rabbit, Qian Yuan took her hand and held it with one hand. But he said confidently, "Didn't you say you were going back by yourself? Aren't you afraid anymore?"

"That's a human head. Who wouldn't be scared? It's just that it feels better now."

After he finished speaking, Jian Xinyi realized that her hand was held by him, and she felt warmth and moisture on the back of her hand from time to time. She felt extremely embarrassed and didn't dare to look around. She could only lower her head and watch the shadows of the two people rising and falling on the stone slabs.

After a short moment of daze, Qian Yuan coughed lightly a few times and then continued to talk to himself, "This case is of great importance. Unless there are special circumstances, I don't want to spread what happened tonight."

"knew."

Jian Xinyi replied to him unhappily.

Qian Yuan saw that she had recovered a lot and chuckled, "I told Shopkeeper Lin that I rescued you from falling into the water while walking along the Xizi River at night. You don't have to worry about him."

"Why didn't you tell me? What if I can swim?"

"You were so distracted at that time, how could I tell you?"

"A normal person would do that, right?"

The two of them returned to the way they were most familiar with each other.

No one is willing to give in to anyone else.

She is really blind and her heart is blinded by greed. From how can she see Qian Yuan's gentleness, kindness, softness and thoughtfulness?

The two of them were silent for a long time and slowly walked to the door of the bookstore.

The dim lantern swayed in the wind. Under the light, a thin old man held the door frame with a serious expression.

Jian Xinyi looked at the scene in front of her, stopped suddenly, looked at Qian Yuan beside her, and asked him in a low voice, "What should we do?"

She felt like one of those little girls who had secretly spent the night with her boyfriend without telling her parents, and her parents had been caught.

Qian Yuan saw the anxious look on her face and couldn't help but chuckle.

Seeing Qian Yuan gloating and laughing, Jian Xinyi suddenly became angry, "You're still laughing, who can I blame for this?"

"It's not me anyway."

Qian Yuan strode forward with his head held high.

When Old Lin saw Qian Yuan walking out from the shadows, followed by his timid daughter, he became furious and started hitting Qian Yuan.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"Zhuiyu, Daddy won't beat you, it's because Daddy didn't take good care of you, but this brat, Daddy will definitely beat him today."

Jian Xinyi looked at the two people who were in a mess and quickly pulled them apart. "What the hell is going on? Let go of me, Dad."

"I don't believe what that person said. You've been afraid of water since you were a child and never walked to the river on your own. How could you have fallen in?" Old Lin was so moved that he burst into tears and looked at Qian Yuan with an even more serious look. "It's all because of you, brat!"

Thanks to Qian Yuan's excellent martial arts skills, he hid behind Jian Xinyi several times and escaped Lao Lin's palm wind attacks.

But this is not a solution. If we continue to make noise like this, we might wake up the neighbors.

She quickly stepped forward and protected the beaten prince like a hen, "Dad, Qian Yuan and I are really fine. We came back late because... because."

Dead head, think quickly.

"Why?"

Old Lin looked at the two of them angrily, his slightly cloudy eyes rolling back and forth.

"Actually, it's because I..."

"Because I'm doing him a favor."

The two voices appeared at the same time, making Lao Lin look at them even more puzzled.

Jian Xinyi glanced at Qian Yuan, signaling him to stop talking. Then she went to Lao Lin and gently reassured him, "Look, the Jinwu Guards have been dealing with a lot of cases lately. Not only do they have to go out on the field, but they also have to write files. Isn't that really hard on them? It just so happens that Brother Qian knows I can draw a little, so he asked me to help him draw a reconstruction of the crime scene."

"The incident...reconstruction diagram?"

"It's just to reconstruct the crime scene. Just to help the Jinwu Guards write less words in the files." Jian Xinyi leaned against Old Lin's shoulder and smiled sinisterly at Qian Yuan. "Brother Qian also said that he would give me one tael of silver a month as a monthly stipend."

When Qian Yuan heard that Jian Xinyi not only interrupted him but also extorted one or two taels of monthly salary from him, his face instantly turned cold.

When Old Lin heard the phrase "one ounce a month" (one ounce a day), his expression immediately softened. "Oh, you misunderstood. I was saying that the prince would never look down on a family like us."

"That's what I'm saying, hahaha, it's just a misunderstanding."

Jian Xinyi smiled awkwardly. She was a little afraid to look at Qian Yuan's expression.

After all, there is always a chill coming from behind.

"Your Highness, you must be very tired investigating this case late at night. Why don't you go in and have a cup of tea before leaving?"

Old Lin narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile the prince in front of him who had just been beaten by him.

"No need. I'm busy with affairs in the capital. I'll leave now."

Qian Yuan spoke in a cold tone, turned around and left without saying anything more.

"Why does he seem a little angry? Did I hit him too hard? Oh, my broken hands."

After saying that, Lao Lin slapped the back of his hand a few times, but there was no sound at all.

"Maybe the monthly salary is too high and he thinks it's too expensive?"

Jian Xinyi thought, is it necessary to be so angry about one or two taels of silver a month?

Before Jian Xinyi could figure it out, Qian Yuan suddenly turned around and walked back, took Jian Xinyi's hand and walked towards the alley.

"I have something to tell you."