Chapter 30: Breaking the Greed, the Little Prince is Playing Hard to Get
Xiang'er looked up at the older brother who was much taller than him. The latter leaned close to him, his eyes calm, but extremely oppressive. Xiang'er had never seen a nobleman in a brocade robe, so he was naturally scared and dared not breathe.
"Xiang'er, how did you know your mother was here?" Luo Qingling touched Xiang'er's head and asked gently.
"Everyone in the village said that mother ran away with a chef in the capital. Xiang'er followed my aunt to the capital to attend the market, so I came to find mother." Xiang'er calmed down, took the tea handed to her by Luo Qingling, and took a big sip.
"Have you found your mother?"
Xiang'er shook her head and continued, "When Xiang'er arrived outside the building, she ran into the cook who had kidnapped my mother. The cook said he wanted to go look for my mother..."
"When did this happen?" Qin Yanheng interrupted, scaring Xiang'er into shutting her mouth again. Luo Qingling glanced at Qin Yanheng sideways, then silently moved in front of Xiang'er, standing between the two of them and forcibly blocking Qin Yanheng's rather oppressive gaze.
"Xiang'er doesn't remember. Xiang'er only remembers that it was almost nightfall."
Is it almost night?
Luo Qingling turned around and exchanged glances with Qin Yanheng, then smiled soothingly at Xiang'er and asked, "Do you remember your mother's name?"
"Cui Susu."
*
There is no other woman in Hua Manlou with the same pronunciation as Susu. The Cui Susu mentioned by Xiang'er is most likely the Susu who died unexpectedly by the river in the Sun Mansion. Moreover, according to Xiang'er, after Cui Susu's death, the cook of Hua Manlou who was acquainted with her took leave and returned home for no reason. It is really a coincidence and it is hard not to think too much.
In the second-floor wing, Qin Yanheng stood by the railing with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes slightly lowered to look at the officers and soldiers filing in below, a dark color surging in his eyes. Luo Qingling changed back into women's clothes and sat beside him, peeling cakes for Xiang'er.
After hearing Xiang'er's words, Qin Yanheng immediately ordered the blockade of Hua Manlou, not allowing anyone to enter or leave. He also sent someone to summon Song Yutai, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, to come and interrogate everyone in Hua Manlou.
A moment later.
The carriage stopped outside the door, and the guards stepped forward to stop the people who kept looking out and welcomed Song Yutai into Huamanlou.
As soon as Song Yutai stepped over the threshold, he saw Qin Yanheng standing on the second floor with a gloomy face. Seeing this, Song Yutai gave him a bright smile, his teeth were white, just like his brain - without a trace of ink.
"Puff."
Luo Qingling couldn't help it, she turned her face away from Qin Yanheng and coughed lightly, pretending to be choked by water. Qin Yanheng didn't get angry with her, but just looked at Luo Qingling helplessly, and then whispered a few words to Song Yutai who was still grinning foolishly below.
An hour later, Song Yutai came up. He glanced at Luo Qingling and Xiang'er who were sitting beside him. He wanted to say hello to them, but because his cousin Qin Yanheng was present, Song Yutai swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He walked straight to Qin Yanheng and shook his head at him.
"The mother Xiang'er mentioned was indeed Susu, the qin lady from Hua Manlou, who died tragically by the river. As for the others... no one knows about the cook and Cui Susu. Everyone only knows that since Cui Susu entered the Sun Mansion, the formerly impoverished cook has suddenly become wealthy. He even goes to the capital every once in a while to 'enjoy himself'. No one knows where the money comes from."
Suddenly becoming generous? Luo Qingling suddenly felt something was wrong.
According to what everyone in the Sun Mansion said before, Sun Zhenbao doted on the deceased Cui Susu very much. Maybe Sun Zhenbao would give Cui Susu a lot of money on a daily basis. Could it be that Cui Susu used the money from the Sun Mansion to subsidize the cook?
Thinking of this, Luo Qingling raised her eyes slightly to look across at Qin Yanheng. Their eyes met mid-air, and for some reason, she felt a jolt in her heart, and had to quickly look away. In front of outsiders, especially the extremely talkative Song Yutai, she really didn't dare to have too much contact with Qin Yanheng, for fear that the news would spread back to the capital.
"Madam Luo, do you have something to say to me?" Qin Yanheng pursed his lips, and no one knew what he meant.
Song Yutai, who was sitting by the railing, glanced up and down at the two of them, raised his voice and said "Oh". He nodded repeatedly and walked quickly towards the door, saying as he walked: "You guys chat, and then we'll get down to business! No rush, no rush." Anyway, he was not the one in a hurry.
Song Yutai felt that he was very considerate, so he turned around and pulled out Xiang'er, who was sitting next to them. When he went downstairs, he did not forget to close the door for them.
His cousin was good in every way except emotional ability. He was obviously old enough to be a magistrate, but he still stubbornly rejected the noble lady that the Queen had arranged for him. He really didn't know what his cousin was thinking. Could it be that... Song Yutai stopped and looked back at the closed wooden door, unable to suppress a smile.
Could it be that my cousin is playing hard to get? What an old-fashioned tactic. And look at how my cousin treats that Miss Luo. He's also treating her in a special way. When has he ever seen a young lady stay with my cousin all the time? My cousin has always been eccentric and rebellious. If someone didn't bring it up, he wouldn't ask. But just now...
Madam Luo, do you have something to say to me?
Song Yutai pondered this sentence in his mind for a long time, and felt more and more that the relationship between his cousin and Madam Luo was not as distant as it seemed on the surface. Otherwise, why could his cousin guess what Madam Luo meant with just a glance?
"Tsk tsk tsk, it looks like there will be a Miss Luo at the family dinner soon." Song Yutai muttered to himself.
"What lady?" Xiang'er looked up at the older brother who showed a weird smile from time to time and asked in confusion.
Noticing someone around him, Song Yutai pulled his thoughts back to reality. He lowered his head to glance at Xiang'er, who had just reached his waist, raised his chin towards the wing room on the second floor, and replied meaningfully, "He's going to have his own little lady."
Qin Yanheng didn't know what he was thinking, so how could Song Yutai, who had been following him around for years, not see it?
In the room.
Luo Qingling placed her hands on her knees and tilted her head slightly upwards to look at Qin Yanheng, who was leaning against the railing, staring at her with an unclear expression in his eyes. She felt a little flustered and blinked to change the subject.
"Young Prince, could it be that the cook really went to find Cui Susu?" Luo Qingling was at a loss as he stared at her.
"That's possible." Qin Yanheng looked away, nodded, and then stood aside without saying a word. The room fell into silence, making Luo Qingling feel more and more redundant.
After a while, just when Luo Qingling couldn't help but continue talking, Qin Yanheng seemed to have thought of something. He pushed open the door and asked someone to bring up Mother Zhao from Hua Manlou and interrogate her personally.
"Were there any women going out of Hua Manlou last night?" Qin Yanheng sat beside Luo Qingling, holding the teacup in one hand and turning it slowly.
He was asking about the dancer who was brought back to the Sun Mansion by Sun Zhenbao's wet nurse last night, and Luo Qingling understood it.
But Mother Zhao didn't know if she was pretending to be stupid or if she really didn't know. She knelt on the ground and shook her head. After a moment, she uttered two words: "No."
"No dancers either?" Qin Yanheng looked at Mother Zhao with cold eyes.
"The women in our Hua Man Lou need to get approval from the mother in charge before going out. I am in charge of all the dancers in the building," said Mother Zhao, and then she took out a name book from her sleeve. She handed it to Qin Yanheng and continued, "Your Highness, please read it yourself. Not only yesterday, no dancers have left Hua Man Lou in the past few days."
Qin Yanheng took the name book and flipped through it casually. It was recorded that the last dancer who went out of the building was half a month ago. That is to say, no dancer has gone out since the day Cui Susu died. Then who was the dancer from Hua Manlou that the wet nurse brought back home last night?
"I'm afraid the wet nurse is lying." Luo Qingling leaned closer and whispered softly.
It seems that Mother Zhao did not lie, and why did the wet nurse say that she brought a dancer from Huamanlou back home to warm Sun Zhenbao's bed, and then the two disappeared in Sun's house overnight? What was the wet nurse's intention?
Qin Yanheng still couldn't figure out the cause and effect. He glanced at the little shadow that had been hiding by the door and eavesdropping. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Qin Yanheng walked silently to the door, half-bent over to look Xiang'er in the eye, and said, "Xiang'er, do you want to see your mother?"
Hearing this, Luo Qingling was a little confused. Cui Susu was already dead, so how could he see her? What exactly did Qin Yanheng want to do?
At the door, Xiang'er looked up at Qin Yanheng and finally smiled. Perhaps it was because of the mention of Cui Susu, or perhaps it was because they had been together for several hours, but Xiang'er no longer felt as afraid of Qin Yanheng as before. He replied softly, "Xiang'er wants to see mother. Xiang'er misses mother."
*
"Your Highness, Madam Luo," Mother Zhao said as she pushed open a dusty wing room and stood by the door, "This is the wing room where Susu used to live. No one has entered this room since Susu and Li Qingqing left."
Dust covered the tables and chairs in the room, and it was clear at a glance that Mother Zhao was telling the truth. Qin Yanheng didn't despise him, and he moved his feet and shook his sleeves as he entered the wing room. Behind him, Song Yutai glanced at Luo Qingling and took the initiative to step aside, motioning her to go in first. The latter looked puzzled, but still followed Qin Yanheng into the room with small steps.
The wooden door behind him slowly closed, sawdust drifted in the air, and everything looked white under the candlelight.
Luo Qingling suddenly felt a chill in her heart and unconsciously moved closer to Qin Yanheng. The latter lowered his eyes and looked at her silently, but did not stop her action. Instead, he moved the candlestick in his hand to Luo Qingling's side, illuminating the area around them.
In contrast, the other two people in the room—Song Yutai and Xiang'er—huddled together, both looking a little flustered. Song Yutai's teeth chattered as he asked, "Cousin, what's so interesting about this dead man's room?"
"Yes, yes, Brother Qin, didn't you say you would take me to find my mother?"
Ever since Qin Yanheng promised Xiang'er that he would let him meet his mother, Xiang'er had some trust in this cold-faced older brother. He looked up at Qin Yanheng with a sweet voice.
Qin Yanheng chuckled and tied the red rope in his hand around Xiang'er's finger. Then he took out talismans from his sleeve and stuck them on the four walls. He turned to look at Xiang'er and said soothingly, "Don't be afraid, Xiang'er. Sister Luo and I will protect you."
"What about me?" Song Yutai asked suddenly. If he wasn't assigned any work, then why did he come in? Could it be just to hear his cousin say "Sister Luo"?
Hearing this, Qin Yanheng glanced at him and said unhappily, "You are protecting the formation, but are you letting Madam Luo take risks?"
have to.
My cousin will definitely be a protective person from now on.
Song Yutai angrily stepped forward and grabbed the red rope, pouted and walked aside waiting for Qin Yanheng to speak. Before he could stand firm, the red rope in his hand trembled slightly.
Suddenly, Luo Qingling felt a gust of cold wind blowing past. She suddenly looked up at Qin Yanheng in front of her. The latter had his black hair tied up high and his face was facing her sideways. Under the candlelight, the young man's eyebrows and eyes were picturesque. She felt that he was indeed worthy of the title of "handsome young man".
"Five mountains face the sky, calm the universe, invite the gods in, and slay your soul. Dare not obey, reveal your true form, and hurry as ordered—"
Qin Yanheng made a hand gesture with one hand, and a cold wind swirled around his feet, barely blowing up the hem of his clothes.
"Set up the formation—"
Qin Yanheng shouted loudly, and the next moment the red thread connected to Xiang'er's finger suddenly vibrated. He continued in a stern voice, "Cui Susu, why don't you dare show yourself?"
The red line vibrated more vigorously, but there was no sign of Cui Susu in the formation. Qin Yanheng was about to change the formation when the shaking red rope suddenly cut Xiang'er's finger and blood dripped.
broken!
That corpse demon is bloodthirsty!
Qin Yanheng immediately ordered Song Yutai to guard the formation, but a cold wind suddenly blew past everyone, causing goose bumps to appear on their skin. In the blink of an eye, all the lights in Huamanlou went out.
The red candle that had just been lit in the room to set up the formation was also lit, and a wisp of gray smoke floated out of the candlestick.
Something was attracted.
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