The two walked and talked, and unknowingly arrived at the door of the inn. The light in He Zhizhou's room was still on. When Ning Ning knocked on the door and went in, she saw Lin Xun with big dark circles under his eyes.
Little White Dragon had never stayed up all night before, and the crazy running last night almost consumed all his energy and physical strength. Now he was lying on the table like a dead insect.
When he saw her and Pei Ji enter the room, he finally showed some vitality that belonged to a living creature: "Senior sister and junior brother! How are you investigating?"
Ning Ning sorted out her thoughts in her mind and told him everything about the portrait of Luan Niang and the strange boy, what she got from the night visit to the city lord's mansion, and what the store owner said.
He Zhizhou opened his mouth and stared, and finally slapped his thigh: "I know!"
Ning Ning nodded obediently and waited for his performance.
"I did something practical today."
He Zhizhou took out a small notebook from the table. When he opened it carefully, he could see a lot of notes on the pages: "I passed by the river and met a grandmother. I asked her about the grievances and entanglements between the three people in the City Lord's Mansion, and I made a shocking discovery."
Pei Ji leaned against the wall with a sword in his arms, listening to him calmly: "Four years ago, during the flower show, several big families in Luancheng held a party on a cruise ship on the Longyin River in the depths of Baihua. Song Xianning and Luo Yuanming both attended. Miss Song went home with a rosy face and was very happy. It was a long time before someone discovered that she was in a close relationship with a man, and her parents scolded her severely."
He Zhizhou said, taking a sip of water: "The most crucial point is that not long after this happened, Song Xianning married Luo Yuanming - what does this mean? It means that the man she has been thinking about must be the city lord! The affair between the two was discovered, and the parents of both sides hit it off and directly decided on the marriage. "
Ning Ning continued: "But the relationship between the city lord and his wife is not good."
"This is about Luan Niang."
He Zhizhou said seriously, showing a somewhat sad look: "Why did the city lord fall in love with her at first sight, and why did he suddenly quarrel with Song Xianning and be abnormally indifferent? It must be Luan Niang who replaced his memory. Luo Yuanming thought he loved Luan Niang, but in fact she was his ex-wife who he abandoned like dregs. Poor Miss Song married with hope, But ended up like this - pitiful!"
Ning Ning couldn't help clapping her hands after hearing this: "The thunder is rolling, this is pouring dog blood directly into my mouth. Senior Brother He, I will never read the author of the abuse article in the future if you are not the author."
"Like that shopkeeper, I also think that Luan Niang is Song Xian Ning."
Lin Xun said: "Do you still remember? The reason why Luo Yuanming fell in love with Luan Niang at first sight was because she was exactly the same as the goddess in his dream. As the lord of the city, he naturally couldn't publicize his dream. The only person who knew about this was the person next to him. "
But this reasoning didn't make sense, and it could be overturned by just one object.
- The painting bought by Luan Niang.
If she was not herself, she would definitely not care so much about the painting.
Equally questionable is the reason why Luanniang sealed Song Xianning's bedroom.
No one has set foot in that house for a long time, and Luanniang should not have used it to do anything. Since it was not for herself, and it didn't seem to be for Luo Yuanming, after all the twists and turns, could it be for...
the deceased Song Xianning?
Ningning sat up straight suddenly.
Yes, they have always been obsessed with the love and hate between Luanniang and Luo Yuanming, and never considered her and Song Xianning.
Thoughts in the mind emerged one after another, under such a premise, it seemed that many people's words became traceable.
"Luanniang has never been to school, so it is impossible for her to know how to read, but she often recites poems with the city lord, and writes beautiful calligraphy."
And Song Xianning has been studying since she was a child, and her handwriting is clear and elegant.
"Luan Niang grew up in Nuanyu Pavilion and rarely went out. How did she get the news about my shop?"
Song Xianning knew.
"You would never have thought that Luan Niang's personality changed drastically, I caught her delivering a letter in the middle of the night, and the last city lord's wife suddenly became seriously ill... all at the same time."
"It's like she knew what kind of woman the city lord would like, and she completely turned herself into that type." What
if the person Luan Niang sent the letter to in the middle of the night was Song Xianning? A friend was seriously ill and full of doubts. The truth was not found until Song Xianning died, and Luo Yuanming was undoubtedly the most suspicious one -
"She has always fought hard. Once she makes up her mind, she will never let go."
She really didn't let go, and turned herself into a completely different person and became the city lord's wife.
Finally, there is the storyteller's words.
"The city lord has been born with damaged sea consciousness and weak spiritual power. Fortunately, he traveled around and found an unexpected opportunity in the border city of Shazhang." What
if this opportunity was not Gu Yuelian, but witnessing the scene of evil cultivators using women as sacrifices to refine living souls?
Ning Ning could feel her heart beating faster.
When several big families were on a boat trip in Huajie, Song Xianning met not Luo Yuanming, but Luan Niang, who grew up in Baihuashen.
What was the name of the painting she saw in that store?
"Fiber Ning Po".
The sunlight in the painting penetrated the clouds.
Xianning is the cloud.
"He Zhizhou!"
Ning Ning felt something and asked seriously: "Have you found out, what was Luan Niang's real name before she entered the brothel?"
"Ah? Oh, that grandma seems to have mentioned it once."
He Zhizhou probably understood what she meant by the question and answered honestly: "We were by the river at that time, she looked at the boats and said, few people know that Luan Niang's real name has it - her name is Meng Tingzhou. Although there is also a 'Zhou' sound, it has nothing to do with Zhou Yun."
"Why is it not related?"
Ning Ning smiled as if relieved: "The grandma who sells paintings said that she saw two teenagers in men's clothes often walking side by side. Since one of them was a woman dressed as a man, why couldn't the other one be?"
He Zhizhou and Lin Xun were both stunned.
"Do you remember? When grandma recalled the boy's name, she said -"
Ningning's heart pounded against her chest, and her tone rose a little unconsciously: "They were a boy and a girl. Sometimes the girl called the boy 'Zhou', but sometimes it became 'Yun'. What if this is not a complete name, but the name of two people?"
"Two people?"
Not only Pei Ji, but Cheng Ying was also fascinated by what he heard. He was stunned at first, then quickly realized the crux of the problem and let out a long breath: "I understand! I will always love Ning Ning! You are worthy of you!"
Pei Ji listened quietly, his eyes never leaving her star-like eyes, automatically blocking out Cheng Ying's passionate shouts in his heart.
"'Zhou' is not 'Zhou', but the 'Zhou' in Luan Niang's name; as for 'Yun' - 'Xian Ning' is another name for Yun."
Ning Ning suddenly understood, and her tone became much lighter: "Song Xian Ning is a daughter of an official family. Her family will definitely not allow her to go to the red-light district; Luan Niang is very famous in that street, and if her name is called out in public, it will cause unnecessary trouble - so the two of them will dress up as men and call each other by names that others don't know. In this way, it will be much more convenient for them to come into contact with each other."
The painting-selling grandmother had always just watched them from a distance and had never had actual contact. Once the two of them were wearing men's clothes, she could only hear their voices when they were talking.
She was sure that it was a man and a woman, and automatically attributed the girl's voice she heard to the same person, so she mixed up the names, sometimes "Zhou" and sometimes "Yun".
And these two words have never appeared in the mouth of the same person at the same time. So when Song Xianning was seriously ill, Luan Niang was seen communicating with people frequently. It was not a conspiracy, but she couldn't sleep at night because of her friend's illness.
So after Song Xianning died, Luan Niang would seal off her former residence and not let Luo Yuanming set foot in it. The people in the city all thought that she was narrow-minded and could not tolerate any sand in her eyes, but in fact the reason was completely the opposite -
she knew that Song Xianning's death was related to Luo Yuanming, and she didn't want that man to hypocritically tarnish the corner where her friend once lived.
Ningning's heartbeat was getting faster and faster.
That's why Luan Niang asked for the painting of the two of them sitting side by side by the river.
First, because she and Song Xian Ning first met by the Longyin River, and second, because...
they were both women, and the painting of looking back clearly separated the two of them, becoming a man and a woman walking side by side. Only when one of them was wearing men's clothes did they look the same.
This was not a love drama that could not be cut off from the beginning to the end. Hidden under the layers of curtains was just a trivial matter that was very common and only known to the two girls.
One was a sickly lady from a wealthy family who was destined to be used as a bargaining chip for marriage, and the other was a prostitute who made a living by selling smiles and had no idea where her future would lead.
They were not cared by others, and were trapped in a certain place for their whole lives, but they also yearned for freedom and longed to break free from the shackles like a phoenix. Until one day, the two met and became each other's best and only friends.
Maybe Song Xianning had taught Luanniang calligraphy, poetry, and Taoism. Maybe they had gone out several times in men's clothing and talked about the future and hope by the Longyin River. Later, they were discovered by the Song family, who hastily married Song Xianning to Luo Yuanming. They could only separate and use flying pigeons to send messages.
However, Song Xianning died inexplicably in the city lord's mansion.
So the girl, who had always been vulgar and heartless, changed her appearance and turned herself into another person completely, approaching Luo Yuanming step by step, and also found out the truth bit by bit.
All the doubts became clear.
The reason why Song Xianning's relationship with Luo Yuanming deteriorated was that she noticed that he had done something shameful in secret; and the reason why she died of a sudden illness was probably related to the city lord.
But she didn't tell anyone.
Ning Ning couldn't help but frown. Now Luan Niang must know everything, but why would she not make the truth public like Song Xianning did back then?
The shopkeeper once said that evil magic is mostly related to curses, prohibitions and souls. It just so happens that Luo Yuanming is the so-called "genius talisman cultivator"...
Could it be that some kind of prohibition was used on them to prohibit them from
mentioning the matter of soul refining to outsiders? If this is true, the current situation is tantamount to a torture worse than death for Luan Niang.
She came to investigate the truth, but was trapped in the truth. Although she knew all the dirty and bloody facts and could avenge Song Xianning, she could not say a word to anyone else. She could only stand aside and watch, allowing the murderer to do whatever he wanted.
Ning Ning is the same now.
All the inferences are based on assumptions. There is no useful evidence or clues. Even if she reports to the elders or the Criminal Court for investigation, she may not get any results. Instead, she will make trouble and put the missing girls in danger.
But maybe... in addition to Luo Yuanming, Luan Niang is also secretly laying out a plan.
Everything that happened today was too coincidental, such as Jiuzhou returning in spring after being drugged, Meng Ju happened to fall in front of the grandmother selling paintings, and the passerby He Zhizhou met by the river "accidentally" mentioned Luan Niang's real name.
If she was deliberately guiding them to discover the truth,
what was Luan Niang's next plan?