Female General (12)
Two carriages stopped in front of the Huang Mansion's plaque one after another. Huang Zhi got off the carriage first. The two servants who were waiting in front of the door came over in small steps. One wiped his sweat and the other raised a palm-leaf fan.
Gou Su and Xiao Lin got out of the car shortly afterwards. They all looked up at the golden characters at the same time, then walked in unison, following Huang Zhi through the red gate.
It must be said that unlike Gou Su's mansion, wherever Huang Zhi passed by, the servants lined up neatly and bowed their heads in greeting.
"They have so many servants..." Xiao Lin clung close to Gou Su and murmured inexplicably.
Gou Su's ears were sharp, and he immediately smacked his lips to signal her to be silent.
Only then did Xiao Lin bite his lips and hide behind Gou Su.
"Aheng lives in the east wing. The maid will take you there. I have some important matters to attend to, so I won't go with you." With the help of his servants, Huang Zhi took off his jade belt and heavy official robes, and only then did he feel a little cool.
Gou Su nodded in response and broke up with her under the guidance of the old woman.
Passing through the corridor, a few people hid from the sun and stepped into the east wing.
At this moment, three or four rough maids were pouring water on the steps, but the water was evaporated before it could seep through.
There was also a gardener holding a silver scissors, carefully trimming the burnt and curled edges of the banana leaves. The entire east wing was immersed in a strange peace.
Amid the jingle of gilded eaves, the crimson gauze hanging between the columns fluttered in the wind, revealing a moon-shaped door carved from a whole piece of Taihu stone. Faintly, one could hear the splashing sound of carp stirring the lotus pond in the backyard.
The old woman led the others to the cave entrance, turned around and bowed, "The Third Young Master will lie down here. Please do as you please, my dear guests."
To be honest, Xiao Lin was full of doubts.
What is Huang Heng's status in the Huang family?
He is obviously the youngest son, but his biological father doesn't love him, and even the mother-in-law at home ignores him.
Did he do something wrong to become like this?
Can't figure it out.
What happened after his death was indeed a mess.
However, as long as he doesn't have any intentions towards Gou Su, she will treat what Huang Zhi said before as empty talk.
As they were thinking, the four of them arrived at the door of the wing room as promised.
The crisp sound of "knock knock knock" echoed with the sudden wind in the courtyard, and a response came from inside.
Xiao Lin and Gou Su looked at each other, and finally Gou Su pushed the wooden door open.
A beam of bright light suddenly fell on the table through the crack of the door. The breeze brought by the opening and closing of the wooden door kicked up a cloud of dust, which danced under the scorching sun.
Gou Su kicked off his clothes and stepped into the side room.
The moment she turned around, she happened to meet the gaze of the old woman in front of the bed.
"How many people are you?" The old woman moved the rag in her hand slower and moved it away from Huang Heng's forehead.
Gou Su bowed first, and Xiao Lin and others followed suit clumsily.
She habitually grasped the hilt of the sword at her waist and said, "We are friends of Mr. Huang. We heard that he was accidentally injured, so we came to visit him."
Hearing this, the old woman's gaze first passed through her drooping eyelids, then fell on the faces of several people and wandered around. Finally, she stood up doubtfully and said: "The young master is not yet awake. I am afraid that you will not be able to ask anything you want to ask. Why not come back another day?"
"No." The red hairband hanging from Gou Su's bun swayed in the wind. "We don't ask anything else, we just want to see Master Huang."
Fortunately, the old woman did not become suspicious. She propped herself up and moved away from the edge of the bed. She picked up the copper basin filled with cold water, walked around the crowd slowly, and left the room without saying a word.
Following the surprisingly calm servant, Xiao Lin felt a little puzzled again.
It was strange. Why were all the people in the Huang Mansion so cold and indifferent? It was clearly the height of summer, but the hearts of the people in this mansion were strangely cold.
Whether it was Huang Zhi, the old woman who brought them here, or the old woman who took care of Huang Heng, each of them had a look in their eyes that seemed to contain thousands of secrets, and they all had an expression that said "keep away from strangers."
How can it not make people upset?
But before Xiao Lin could express his troubles, Gou Su and Achou took the lead and walked to Huang Heng's bedside.
At that time, Huang Heng was still sleeping.
Gou Su stretched out his finger to feel his breathing - weak, but with normal rhythm.
Only then did she sigh.
"General, Young Master Huang hasn't woken up yet. Do you have any other purpose for coming here?" Ah Chou's voice was hoarse and intermittent amid the birdsong outside the window.
However, Gou Su's voice was clear. He tucked the corner of Huang Heng's quilt and replied, "He is the biggest clue. If he doesn't wake up, it will be difficult to investigate this case."
"Then we can't just stand there like this, right?" Mu You stepped forward and interjected.
"I'm not here to waste my time. Mr. Huang hasn't woken up yet. We can look for clues in his bedroom. Even the clothes he was wearing when he was killed may hold the truth."
Gou Su said this and did this.
She took the lead, pushed up her sleeves, and began to search for something in Huang Heng's house.
Seeing this, Xiao Lin immediately understood and followed suit, rolling up his sleeves and reaching under the table.
In order to avoid any mistakes, she even bent down and carefully observed every table and chair in the light from outside the door, for fear of missing any words by accident.
Mu You and Achou also heard the news and divided the work neatly after exchanging glances.
However, considering that this was not their private residence, it was not advisable to cause too much noise, so Gou Su specifically instructed them to walk lightly and be careful.
There were four of them, and each of them searched a corner, from the pens and ink on the desk to the dust pressed down by the corner of the stool, not wanting to leave a single thing behind.
At this moment, Gou Su was rummaging through a pile of books placed on the rosewood square table next to Huang Heng's bed. Her fingers and wrist guards passed over the spines of the books, picking them up and smashing them down, making a loud noise.
Even though the sound of the pages shaking and colliding was a bit noisy, it was not loud enough to wake Huang Heng up.
However, amidst the rustling of pages, his cough was mixed in.
Perhaps because the room was too quiet, Gou Su immediately caught his cough getting stronger.
She immediately dropped the pile of books in her hands and took two or three steps to his bed.
Huang Heng clenched his fists against his chest, and the rapid coughing inevitably made him shrink his body.
"Mr. Huang? Mr. Huang?" Gou Su bent down and patted his shoulder tentatively, but the force was very light. "How do you feel?"
Thinking that Huang Heng had finally woken up, Xiao Lin and Mu You rushed over. Even though they stumbled twice unintentionally as their left foot hooked around their right foot, they quickly adjusted their posture and squatted beside Huang Heng's bedside.
Huang Heng let out a whimper from his throat, his eyebrows wrinkled along with the corners of his eyes, his chin swayed, and it seemed that he had spent a lot of effort to barely open his eyes a crack.
His voice was hoarse, like the cracked earth: "General Asu? You... why are you here..."
Now that he was able to open his eyes, Gou Su immediately walked around Xiao Lin Mu You, held his arm, and helped him sit up slowly.
Huang Heng moved his waist with difficulty, supporting his body with the base of his right palm, while pressing his eyebrows with his left hand.
He still said the same thing: "Why are you here..."
"Go slow." Gou Su didn't answer directly, but instead moved the porcelain pillow behind his waist. "We heard you were injured and wanted to come and see you."
Maybe it was Gou Su's suggestion, but when she said the word "injured", Huang Heng reached out and covered his tightly bandaged shoulder.
Then, a "hiss" sound came out from between his teeth, and the corners of his mouth twitched up and down.
Xiao Lin remained at the corner of the bed, blinking his big eyes and staring at Huang Heng's every move.
But Mu You was broad-minded. When Xiao Lin was still deeply in doubt, he "kindly" brought Huang Heng a bowl of water.
Ah Chou stood aside holding the teapot, looking grim.
"I'll feed you," Mu Youcai handed the ceramic bowl forward a few minutes. Gou Su immediately clasped the rim and base of the bowl with his five fingers, half-knelt on the bed, and helped him breathe while tilting the bowl slightly. "Go slowly, don't choke."
Achou's face became increasingly ugly, but soon, the unhappiness disappeared.
After a bowl of cold water went down his throat, Huang Heng coughed twice, wiped the water from his lips with the back of his hand, and faced Gou Su.
"You don't have to hide it from me. I know what you are doing."
Gou Su: “…”
Huang Heng's chest sank a little, then suddenly swelled up again: "On the day of the incident, I was walking on the road with the envoys, and everything was so orderly..."
"But suddenly, while I was sitting in the carriage, I heard cries for help and shouts outside. I hurriedly lifted the curtain, and all I saw was fighting. I was so scared that I ran out of the carriage and ran towards the envoy, but I was still a step too late..."
Huang Heng's story was vivid and colorful, and Gou Su asked questions one after another: "Did you see the faces of those criminals clearly? Or what characteristics did they have? Scars on their faces? What about their legs and feet?"
In response, Huang Heng wrinkled his lower eyelids, clenched his teeth, and smacked his lips at Yu Gou Su's expectant gaze.
He covered the back of his neck and said, "The scene was too chaotic at the time. I was anxious to protect the envoy and didn't pay much attention..."
It seems that it would be extremely difficult to get any information out of Huang Heng.
Xiao Lin still stood aside, saying nothing.
Suddenly, Gou Su's scattered gaze suddenly focused, and he asked Huang Heng the key question: "Then...where is Wang Pu? The guard I sent? Did you see where he went?"
Huang Heng's brows tightened a little more, and his fingertips scratched the roots of his hair, making a rustling sound.
After thinking for a while, his tightly pressed lips suddenly opened and closed, and then he replied: "I did see Brother Wang, but after the riot, I really didn't find him again. It seemed that he disappeared with the bandits..."
Gou Su's face did not look good.
Huang Heng also realized that he might have said something wrong, and hurriedly explained: "I, I, I didn't mean that. Brother Wang just disappeared, that's all..."
The more he explained, the worse it got. He was defeated by these unintentional words and had no choice but to lower his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Gou Su did not blame him, but her heart fell into the deep well along with the wooden barrel outside the house, making a ding-dong sound that lasted for several seconds.
There is no clue about the bandits, and Wang Pu cannot be found. How should she meet the emperor in the remaining days?
As the only survivor, Huang Heng still has some fragmented memories, but his words are fragmented and he cannot piece together the whole story.
Come to think of it, Huang Heng's words just now happened to arouse everyone's suspicion.
If Gou Su had not trusted him wholeheartedly, any outsider, after hearing his description, would have pointed the finger at the missing Wang Pu.
After all, he is the only one who is neither dead nor alive.
"It can't be Wang Pu." Gou Su, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed for a long time, suddenly stood up. "He is my personal guard and has always been loyal to me. There is no way he would do such a thing as collaborating with the enemy and betraying his country."
"Yes, yes, it's my fault just now. I spoke too quickly..."
"You don't need to take the blame. It's not your fault. The most urgent task now is to find some clues about the criminals."
Who would have thought that Gou Su's words were like a wake-up call, and Huang Heng, who was originally leaning weakly on the bed, suddenly became energetic.
He clutched his chest with his hand at the front of his shirt, coughed violently a few times, and reached out to grab the sleeve of Gou Su's arm: "Go back... go back to the place where the incident happened... there must be clues there..."
"Don't worry," Gou Su pursed his lips helplessly, grabbed Huang Heng's wrist and pulled it off his sleeve, "You need to recuperate..."
But before she could finish her words, Huang Heng's voice suddenly became full of energy, which scared Xiao Lin, who was standing a few steps away, and made him stagger.
He cleared his throat and said, "No, I have to go. I have to go! I'm the only one who remembers everything there. I can sort out the cause and effect."
Not knowing whether it was appropriate, Gou Su sat back on the edge of the bed again. Her eyes flickered, and her gaze only wandered between his eyes.
Achou remained silent for a long time, and unconsciously took a step, but it was so small that no one noticed.
He hesitated to speak, and ultimately couldn't utter a word.
Xiao Lin held the barbs on his hands and dared not speak.
"A Su, I have to go, I must go..." Huang Heng begged word by word.
Gou Su's chest suddenly began to rise and fall. As the summer breeze blew, the chirping of cicadas outside the house became much louder.
The chirping sound was more chaotic than the half-wet sand, but it matched Gou Su's mood.
"Okay." She couldn't stand Huang Heng's earnestness after all, and agreed even though she had doubts in her heart.
Xiao Lin and Achou leaned forward at the same time, frowning.
Huang Heng, on the other hand, finally relaxed his frown and suggested with interest, "Then let's set off immediately! There's no time to waste on this matter."
"You just woke up, rest for a while."
"It's an emergency, I don't have time to rest."
"In the afternoon, after you have eaten, we will go look for clues."
"I'm not hungry." Huang Heng said as he put on his clothes, staggered off the bed, and rushed to the door stubbornly.
Even though Gou Su tried to grab his clothes, it was of no use.
"Slow down!" She had no choice but to follow him closely and walked out the door just as he did.
Achou also followed.
Seeing this, Xiao Lin also took a step forward.
However, in an instant, a hand with half a bit of strength grabbed her forearm.
She subconsciously turned her head and happened to meet Mu You's stern eyes.
"I think you think the same as I do."
Xiao Lin bit his lower lip.
"Xiao Lin, don't you want to know something?"
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