Chapter 49: Handwriting She is here!

After returning to the Pei Mansion, Pei Qian sent Shen Lianxiu to the entrance of Feixiang Garden.

The night is lonely, with only the rustling of the wind.

An An fell asleep on the way back. Fortunately, Pei Qian's servant brought a cloak with him, which he used to wrap An An.

After An An fell asleep, it was Pei Qian who held her.

Chen Lianxiu carefully took An An from his hands, thanked him softly, and said, "I'll wash this cloak and have them send it to Pei Langjun."

"Just give it to Aunt Zhang, she'll take care of it," Pei Qian said.

Chen Lianxiu nodded, then listened to Pei Qian continue, "Madam Yu, there's no need to be so distant. I treat you well because you've never given up on Ruoyan. You know, so many doctors have resigned after coming here, but you're the only one who treats her seriously. I don't know how to thank you enough."

Although there were many suspicious points about Pei Qian and the Pei family, his words at this moment were clearly sincere. Shen Lianxiu thought for a moment and said, "It's nothing. We all have relatives. I just remembered my sister. Come to think of it, they look a bit similar."

Pei Qian smiled and raised his hand towards the gate. "It's late, Madam Yu, please go to bed early."

Chen Lianxiu then carried An An in.

Pei Qian frowned as he watched the gate of Feixiang Garden close, and seemed to be thinking about what Shen Lianxiu had just said casually.

Chen Lianxiu didn't know that he had said the wrong thing. Perhaps he was tired after going out for fun, so he slept particularly soundly that night.

But in the next few days, perhaps because Pei Ruoyan almost said something to her that day, Nanny Zhang and the others became more defensive and no longer gave Pei Ruoyan and Shen Lianxiu the opportunity to be alone together. Whether they were seeing patients or giving acupuncture, there were people watching them at all times, and even Nanny Zhang never left their side.

Chen Lianxiu just pretended to be unaware. After all, she and Pei Ruoyan were just casual acquaintances, and she couldn't show excessive concern for her affairs. Moreover, with so many eyes staring at her, she was afraid of getting herself involved.

Only Pei Ruoyan, every time I see her, her eyes seem to have many words hidden in them that she wants to say. Her illness has not improved, and her weak body makes her eyes even more pitiful, not to mention looking at Chen Lianxiu like that.

Later on, Shen Lianxiu simply didn't dare to look into her eyes anymore.

What did she want to say to herself?

What on earth happened to her?

Originally, Shen Lianxiu didn't want to pry into other people's private affairs, but gradually, she also wanted to know about Pei Ruoyan.

Pei Ruoyan is not a bad person, nor does she have a bad temper. They say she has a bad personality, or even that she is crazy, but they are actually hiding something.

There are actually not so many crazy women in this world.

That day, Shen Lianxiu gave Pei Ruoyan acupuncture, then leaned over to tuck the corner of the quilt for her. When she lowered her head, Pei Ruoyan quickly stuffed something into her hand. Because Shen Lianxiu's body was blocking it, Nanny Zhang and others did not notice it.

Chen Lianxiu naturally did not say anything, but held it tightly and calmly. It should be a note.

At this time, Pei Ruoyan had already said to Aunt Zhang, "The weather has been hot these past few days. I don't need so many people staying in my room at night. Just one is enough. I get too restless when there are too many people."

Nanny Zhang agreed.

Chen Lianxiu listened, packed up the medicine box, and returned to his room.

After closing the door, she opened the note in her hand.

Written on it were these words: "Help me get some Ecstasy tomorrow, and enter my room through the east window at midnight three days later."

Chen Lianxiu didn't recognize Pei Ruoyan's handwriting, but the words above showed that the person who wrote them was weak and frivolous, and she handed them to him personally, so who else could it be but her?

Thinking about what Pei Ruoyan said to Nanny Zhang before she left, it seemed that she said it on purpose for her. Pei Ruoyan had sent away many people in her room and there was only one day left. Perhaps Nanny Zhang would be on guard at the beginning, but after two or three nights without any problems, she would probably relax her vigilance. At this time, she would use the incense she took to knock the maid who was on night duty in the room unconscious, and she could go to see Pei Ruoyan.

Chen Lianxiu decided to help Pei Ruoyan almost without thinking. Although she didn't want to be involved in other people's affairs, she couldn't turn a blind eye to Pei Ruoyan's pain. The Pei family was a wealthy family in Chenzhou, but Pei Ruoyan could only trust her, a doctor from outside. She really didn't know what she had encountered.

Chen Lianxiu let out a long breath, not only for Pei Ruoyan, but also for himself.

***

Chenzhou government office.

Zhou Linjin pressed his aching forehead and tried to look calm.

Ever since he came back from the street that night, his headache has been getting better and worse. Maybe he caught a cold, or maybe it was for some other reason. Zhou Linjin didn't treat it, so the pain just persisted.

"Due to health reasons, Hu Jun doesn't have many friends. We've already checked in the capital, and there aren't any suspicious individuals. Based on the identification of the servants in the other courtyards, we've also secretly investigated each of them in Chenzhou. Among them, Pei Qian, the young master of the Pei family, is the closest to Hu Jun and has the closest relationship. Hu Jun even met with Hu Jun before returning to the capital," Ao Xing reported to Zhou Linjin. "Also, according to our investigation, Pei Qian seems to have secret dealings with King Hui."

"The Pei family? Is that the Pei family that's a wealthy family in Chenzhou?"

"Yes, that's them."

"After Hu Jun left Chenzhou, Pei Qian has been doing business abroad and only recently returned to Chenzhou."

"Recently?" Zhou Linjin raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he heard something?"

Prince Hui was the emperor's younger brother and had long harbored ulterior motives. That was why Hu Jun's father, Hu Qingshan, had been entangled with him for a long time. The Pei family happened to have a relationship with Prince Hui. If Pei Qian had nothing to do with Hu Jun's death, even a fool would not believe it.

Ao Xing remained silent and continued, "The Pei family employs only house-born children, and for some reason, they're incredibly tight-lipped, making it difficult to find out anything. All I know is that when he returned, he told others that his sister was seriously ill, so he came home to see her."

As Ao Xing spoke, he had someone bring some papers over.

"This is the prescription we found at the Pei family clinic where we went to get medicine. It was used by his sister, and we've already had someone look at it. The prescription wasn't written casually. I'm afraid there's some truth to his sister's serious illness."

Zhou Linjin listened and nodded. Regardless of whether Pei Qian was related to Hu Jun's murder, now that Pei Qian was in their sight, they had to investigate thoroughly.

He picked up the pages and flipped through them casually, but suddenly he was stunned.

Every word on it is elegant and as straight and graceful as a lotus.

When Zhou Linjin was at home, he would read the notebook left by Shen Lianxiu word by word almost every night. He had read it over and over again in the past few years. How could he recognize the familiar handwriting when it suddenly appeared?

Ao Xing watched Zhou Linjin suddenly stand up, clutching the papers tightly in his hands. He thought he had discovered something, and just as he was about to ask, he heard Zhou Linjin's hoarse voice ask, "Are you sure these are really the Pei family's things?"

"Of course, there's no mistake. This was taken by their servant to get the medicine. They didn't ask the doctor from the clinic. The clinic said the prescription was written by the doctor from the Pei family..."

Ao Xing was still talking, but Zhou Linjin could no longer hear him. He felt as if he was stepping on cotton, and his head was splitting with pain, which made his heart churn.

How could her handwriting appear among the Pei family’s belongings?

Is she at Pei's house?

How did she become the Pei family's doctor? Had she... married into the Pei family, or even married Pei Qian? That's why she would treat Pei Qian's sister just like she had treated him?

Zhou Linjin didn't know why he suddenly thought of this possibility. He tried hard to stop himself from thinking about it, but he couldn't stop.

Joy and terror intertwined, binding his entire body tightly until he could hardly breathe.

Two drops of sweat fell on Zhou Linjin's forehead, and his face looked as ugly as when he heard her voice that night.

He hadn't heard it wrong, he knew he hadn't heard it wrong.

She is in Chenzhou, right here!

"Go surround the Pei family," Zhou Linjin said, practically gritting his teeth. "Go now! I want to torture Pei Qian!"

Ao Xing and the others were just doing their routine work. Since they had set up Pei Qian as their target for the time being, they decided to investigate step by step as usual. With Zhou Linjin's ability, if Pei Qian was a suspect, he would be found and brought to justice quickly. They had no idea why Zhou Linjin suddenly became like this, and they were stunned for a moment.

After a long while, someone said, "Sir, the matter has not yet come to a conclusion. How can we surround the entire Pei family mansion? Besides, although the Pei family is just a merchant, they are still a well-known family in the local area. How can we... If the news reaches the capital, they will be impeached!"

Zhou Linjin was not moved at all. He could no longer think so much at this moment. Even if he would be impeached after returning to Beijing, he would accept it willingly.

For so many years, he never felt that Chen Lianxiu was dead. Whenever he thought of her, he became confused, as if he couldn't distinguish between life and death. He only remembered that she was gone, and it was difficult to connect her with death.

Sometimes he would think that she seemed to be dead, but the pain in his heart was not heavier or lighter. No matter whether she was alive or dead, as long as she was no longer by his side, he would feel like he was being pressed down by a huge rock.

He only knew one thing: he felt sorry for her.

It was he who personally forced her to leave.

If his temper had been a little gentler, if he had been a few years older, perhaps the ending would not have been like this.

But he forced her away, or rather, drove her away.

The familiar handwriting on the paper caught Zhou Linjin's eyes, which had already recovered, felt as if they were burned by fire. He was so uncomfortable that he could hardly open his eyes.

She is right here, he can't wait any longer, he must find her and let her come back to him.

Zhou Linjin took a deep breath and said word by word without pausing, "If I am impeached, I will bear the responsibility alone and will not implicate any of you."

The bustling sounds suddenly stopped.

Ao Xing asked tentatively, "So shall we go now?"

"It's too conspicuous during the day. Let's wait until night, when no one comes in or out of the Pei family." Zhou Linjin's voice became hoarse with every word he said. "I'm going out now and will be back when the time comes."

He always wanted to think positively. Chen Lianxiu was not in the Pei family, but somewhere in Chenzhou City. There might be traces of her in those clinics and drugstores. As long as he brought Bi Cha with him, he would still be able to find her. He had to find her quickly.