Deaf-mute

Brilliant fireworks rose from the distant river bank into the quiet, dark night sky.

The carriage reflected the light of the distant night sky. Listening to the sound of fireworks that had not been heard for a long time, Jiang Nian did not miss the modern times as much as before. He just felt that it was a thing of the past.

Was it Lan's final goodbye words that stopped her yearning for that place? Or was it because she knew that time and space hadn't been kind to her?

Jiang Nian turned her head and looked up at the fireworks blooming in the darkness. Her fingers on the chair clenched slightly, and the flickering light reflected on her fair face. Listening to the familiar sound of explosion and emptiness, she was distracted for a moment.

She had no recollection of modern times. So why had she felt such strong reluctance to leave modern times?

The carriage gradually drove to the place where Xiao Yingzhu wanted to arrive. After a long neigh, the building outside the window stopped.

Jiang Nian came back to his senses from his dazed mood, turned his head to look at the opened curtain, and caught a glimpse of the familiar sleeves outside the car. He instantly hid the emotions in his eyes, lowered his head and got out of the car.

As soon as the people left the carriage, it drove away. Looking around, Jiang Nian's eyes fell on the huge mansion in front of him.

…She felt that no matter where she went, she had to enter the mansion once.

"Is this where he is?"

"It's where they're being held."

Jiang Nian's gaze stopped at the eaves of the dark building in the distance, its outline being even more distinct in the darkness.

"So soon? I thought he was still in that B&B."

"Well, if we don't send him here, he'll probably run away again."

That’s when the familiar game of cat and mouse begins.

Jiang Nian nodded in agreement: "Then let's go in now?"

"We have to wait for the guide to come."

After Xiao Yingzhu finished her reply, she lowered her eyes to look at Jiang Nian. Her expression was hidden in the darkness, hiding the emotions she didn't want to show in places where she couldn't see the light.

Jiang Nian is a good example of this.

As if she hadn't expected that in such a moonless environment, Xiao Yingzhu could still see her face so accurately, she was stunned for a moment before she put away the complicated thoughts in her heart: "...So are we going to wait here now?"

Xiao Yingzhu responded softly, but did not say anything. His gaze was still on her face, like a butterfly feather, neither light nor heavy, but enough to distract Jiang Nian and make him look over here.

One can always hide one's emotions in the vast darkness of the night, but in some situations where there is no one else around, one can infinitely magnify one's perception of each other.

Guessing what Xiao Yingzhu was thinking, Jiang Nian pursed his lips for a while before answering, "Some things from the past... don't worry about them."

In the dark night, a light laugh came from the front that Jiang Nian could not see clearly.

The silver-white color suddenly shone brightly in the dim light. Jiang Nian was startled to realize that Xiao Yingzhu was approaching. He raised his head hurriedly, and his beautiful and charming face was reflected in his pupils.

Very strange.

He clearly had a dazzling appearance, but he was able to control his aura with ease, masking the aggressiveness of his appearance. Depending on his mood, he could be either pure and gentle, or scattered and distant.

Jiang Nian thought it was probably because the corners of his eyes weren't sharp. With a slight smile, his harshness could transform into warmth. Whenever she touched his teardrop mole, she felt a sense of aloofness and indifference. At most, she felt he was as elegant as a bamboo.

It was as if the edges beneath the skin were sculpted according to his wishes.

It was as if the fear she had felt earlier at the Cang County Lotus Pond had vanished. Unconsciously, they had reached this point.

Jiang Nian curled his eyes, and his guard had dropped. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so oblivious to Xiao Yingzhu's movements that he wouldn't even have noticed him approaching.

"What are you thinking about?"

"...Didn't I just say that I was thinking about the past?"

"Have you thought it through?"

Jiang Nian raised her eyes, smiled, and looked directly into his beautiful features: "Of course."

But even the broken grass floating in the sky will return to the earth and find its home.

She just wanted to recall what had happened, but she didn't expect Xiao Yingzhu to be so alert.

In the distance, in the mansion shrouded in darkness, faint white lanterns were lit up, swaying slowly towards this side.

Jiang Nian took advantage of a rare moment of leisure to whisper to him, "Your allies won't flee so easily... How can you leave when the war hasn't started yet and the situation hasn't stabilized?"

Xiao Yingzhu glanced at her sideways through the dim light, but said nothing more.

…

She knows.

That wasn't what he wanted to ask.

But since both of them still have a barrier in their hearts about the past, how can they let go of it? How can they completely let go of their guard and be honest with each other?

Emotionally, they clearly don't trust each other.

Since human efforts are no longer sufficient, let time and the future decide.

The two who came walked up to Xiao Yingzhu, bowed, turned around and gestured to the mansion behind them to follow.

Jiang Nian walked behind Xiao Yingzhu, his eyes lightly falling on the two people holding lanterns in front of him. He paused for a moment, then looked away.

Deaf-mute?

Xiao Yingzhu's expression remained unchanged. As she walked with them, she accidentally looked back and saw that Jiang Nian had some doubts. Suddenly, she smiled and casually raised her hand to her lips for a moment.

This meant to silence her.

Jiang Nian blinked and gestured back to him, even following beside him and stepping into this huge yet quiet mansion.

The people in the mansion were in a hurry, but their steps on the pebbles were extremely quiet, as if the dense grass had muffled their sounds.

Walking forward with the guide, Jiang Nian looked around briefly, his eyes landing on the green plants placed by the wall, and his gaze subconsciously moved to the collectibles not far away, and then to the wooden ladder that went up in an orderly manner.

There was silence all around. The servant in front of them had put the lantern somewhere else at some point and led them upstairs, stopping outside a room in between.

The corridor was straight and long, and Jiang Nian could only see the windows at the farthest end when he looked up.

There was a faint sound of struggling coming from the door in front of me, which sounded a bit like the flapping of crabs after being tied up and boiled in a pot.

After the two servants brought Xiao Yingzhu here, they left, leaving only her and Xiao Yingzhu standing in this quiet corridor.

Xiao Yingzhu in front of him had a calm expression. He raised his hand to push the door open and immediately stepped into the room inside.

The light from the lanterns in the corridor expanded through the crack in the door and poured onto the wooden floor of the dark room.

The person thrown on the floor of the room only had his hands tied and his mouth covered, which did not hinder his vision.

Suddenly, he saw the light from the outside world in the darkness. The sound of his struggle paused for a moment, and then it became quiet, as if waiting to see who was pushing the door open.

Xiao Yingzhu stood inside the doorway, lighting the small wall lamps along the wall. The dark room instantly became brighter. His tall, dark shadow was reflected on the wall on the other side of the room.

The shadow reflected from the ceiling and paused above Zhu Wang's head on the wall behind him. It looked like a ghost lurking around him, leaning close to him, and ready to tear him apart in the next moment.

Zhu Wang was blinded by the sudden bright light. He took a moment to adjust before squinting his eyes and looking dazedly at the two people standing at the door.

When he saw Xiao Yingzhu standing in front of him, he was stunned for a moment, as if he was sure if he was seeing things. It was not until the image in his head told him that it was not the case that he was so shocked that he almost jumped up from the ground.

Zhu Wang twisted his bound hands and took a few steps back. He wanted to say something, but because his mouth was covered with cloth, he could only murmur a few words.

Xiao Yingzhu had no intention of defending him. She just stopped not far from him and slowly put a list of his past dirty deeds in front of him, twisting it with two fingers, as if holding Zhu Wang's tense nerves in the air.

The paper swayed gently with the wind coming in from the door, as if it would float away if Xiao Yingzhu let go. It swayed in the air for a moment, and then fell lightly in front of Zhu Wang's terrified eyes.

It landed on the ground very lightly, making a slight sound, but it was like an object falling, hitting Zhu Wang's heart heavily.

Xiao Yingzhu nonchalantly withdrew her hand, and with a hint of indifference, she lowered her eyes and asked him, "Do you admit your guilt?"

“…”

Despite the irrefutable evidence, Zhu Wang shook his head, as if he still had a way out, that a few shakes of his head could shake away the future already covered in ash. His mouth, gagged with cloth, stammered, as if he were still trying to say something.

Xiao Yingzhu didn't mind Zhu Wang's ugly dying struggle. She glanced at him and then looked away lazily.

"If you have anything to say, you might as well go to the underworld and say it. Disturbing the quiet is like the noisy bird, asking for the tongue to be pulled out."

The hair that had fallen on his shoulders fell loose, sweeping down to his waist. Even before he finished his slow and leisurely words, Zhu Wang, who was sitting on the ground, shuddered and sat as stiff as a statue, not moving a muscle.

Jiang Nian rarely saw Xiao Yingzhu say such threatening words. Usually, he only needed to take out the life-threatening fan, and anyone who had any resistance thoughts in front of him would be frightened and unable to move.

They are all greedy for life.

The stagnant air lingered in the room, and the corridor was silent. It seemed as if there were only three of them on this floor.

Jiang Nian moved, walked out from behind Xiao Yingzhu, and met Zhu Wang's frightened eyes. She smiled softly, lowered her eyes to the man lying on the ground, and asked, "It's been a long time since we last met. Are you surprised to see me here?"

"You want to have the best of both worlds...and you're even thinking of selling the recipe back to the Xu family. There's a lot of profit to be made from that, right?"

If you search the place where Zhu Wang fled in a hurry, you can find a lot of good things, including a plan that has been written down but not yet implemented.

——Because Jiang Nian wanted to be prepared for any backup plan, she had already replaced the group of people that Zhu Wang had given her.

But since it is written in black and white, it cannot be forgotten just because it has not happened. If we do not investigate it now, bad things will still grow from the darkness in the future.

Jiang Nian's eyes fell on the paper hanging on the ground and he said quietly:

"These things weren't originally Duke Xiao's responsibility to investigate, yet you wasted his time, thinking you'd slipped away from Pingzhou. Now you're trying to make excuses. Perhaps you're feeling guilty and trying to find a way out for yourself?"

Zhu Wangben was listening quietly, but he started struggling again after hearing the last sentence, as if he was afraid that they would attack him right here and now.

After Xiao Yingzhu confirmed that it was Zhu Wang, she didn't want to bother with any more thoughts: "It's not my job to handle these matters. The honest officials will make the judgment in the future."

Without responding to Zhu Wang, Xiao Yingzhu raised her hand to cover the dim candlelight in the room.

Keeping Zhu Wang in this mansion where only the deaf and dumb are imprisoned, leaving him with ears and sight, is simply to let him sense the endless darkness and silence. As time goes by, all his patience and composure will be worn out, and then it will be the best time to torture him - just like a fish on a chopping board.

—

After coming out of the silent mansion, smelling the fresh air, and seeing the brightly lit streets at the foot of the mountain and the fireworks from the lotus lanterns placed by the river, Jiang Nian finally felt relieved.

She had been stuck in the mansion for so long that she felt a little uncomfortable. She could neither hear nor speak. The winding and complicated mansion was like a huge maze. Every person passing by seemed to have the same face, with lowered brows and submissive eyes, performing the same etiquette, like replicas. From the corridor to the hall, there were the same figures and the same traces.

If Zuihualou was the same as this place, Jiang Nian would probably be in a trance after going in for a few days.

It's too depressing.

So dull and disconcerting.

After leaving the mansion, they caught a glimpse of the vast scenery. The orange-red light shone from the bottom of the mountain, staining their downcast brows from afar.

With just a glance from a distance, you can feel the noisy and cheerful atmosphere at the foot of the mountain, and the delicate sweetness of the frosting seems to be all around you.

Jiang Nian suddenly held his breath and subconsciously looked away towards Xiao Yingzhu.

In the silent darkness, they had a tacit understanding and their eyes met at this moment.