Chapter 176: Empty Pockets
Similar to the steady progress of events, Su Mengzhen's condition also gradually stabilized.
Although his condition was truly terrible, so terrible that it goes without saying—on the day Xie Huailing received his medical report from the system, she checked the status bar two or three times to see if it read "seriously ill" or "deceased." Finally, she thought that in this martial arts world, there must be some fantasy involved, so she stopped trying to explain it scientifically—but fortunately, the system was surprisingly useful.
Its health and wellness services truly pulled Su Mengzhen back from the brink of death. After a while, once he completes the final course of treatment, the lesions will be removed, restoring his health. This is an extremely important step in the plan, and also incredibly good news for the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion.
But for Xie Huailing… well, she was a little dizzy. For no other reason than her points were almost empty, more so than her face.
Back when she was dealing with Happy King, she had 10,000 points, and after buying items, she still had over 9,000 left. Adding in the points from plotting to kill Fu Zongshu, betraying Wang Yunmeng, obtaining the late emperor's edict, and causing trouble at Six and a Half Hall, she was close to 20,000 points.
Now it's all gone, almost all gone. Xie Huailing's points bag is emptier than her face. If she still has a single point left when Su Mengzhen is fully recovered, it's because the system's arithmetic is bad.
This is why she is so busy; she has to work constantly to fill the gaps in her points and make preparations for the next step. This is also the main reason why she decided to take action against the Seven Holy Alliances of the Lost Heaven: they are poor, really too poor.
So she would do anything that could earn her points, spinning around like a top until she was dizzy, and then after a hard day's work, she would watch over Su Mengzhen as he slept, spending all the newly earned points on him.
Su Mengzhen, oh Su Mengzhen, what a spendthrift man!
...Wait a minute, why do I have this eerie feeling of déjà vu when I think about this?
Su Mengzhen, who was sitting next to Xie Huailing, suddenly felt a chill for no reason.
He turned his head and saw Xie Huailing looking at him. She held the document in her hand, using the front page to half-cover her face, revealing only her eyes. Despite her dark circles, she forced them to open wide, which appeared even darker and more vacant in the sunlight, her eyes clear and bright.
Sometimes Su Mengzhen understood that some of his feelings for Xie Huailing were irrational; beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Su Mengzhen was well aware of this. But as he gazed at Xie Huailing and saw her tilt her head slightly, even knowing she was thinking of something and coming to cause him trouble, he still felt for a moment that, at least until she spoke, she was still quite obedient.
If she hadn't immediately lowered her eyelids and reverted to a deadpan expression, this feeling would have lasted longer.
She looked at him, but remained silent for a few seconds before turning her head away. Seeing this, Su Mengzhen asked first, "What is it?"
"It's nothing," Xie Huailing said slowly, speaking in words he couldn't understand. "I just had a strange feeling of déjà vu. Sigh, I'm still too busy."
She shifted her legs, settling more comfortably in the chair, and said, "But there's one thing too. The last course of treatment is in a few days, and you'll need to sleep for a while. Just a heads up, it'll probably be a bit uncomfortable, but you'll have to tough it out. Is it a minor issue, OP?"
Of course it's a minor problem. No matter how uncomfortable he is, Su Mengzhen has endured all his illnesses to this day. Why would he worry at the last moment? He said without changing his expression, "Since it's a hurdle that needs to be overcome, then let's overcome it."
Xie Huailing had already anticipated this answer and said, "Then I'll make the arrangements for you. That's great. The Lord can relax for a few more days and then sleep for a long time. He might even sleep through my share of the time. But I have a lot of things to do: handle the affairs of the tower, deal with the Seven Saints Alliance of Mitian, arrange the Six and a Half Hall, and I also have to manage the affairs of the Divine Marquis's Mansion. I also have to see the Ruthless Constable several times."
At this moment, something more intimate would have been appropriate. After she finished speaking, she slumped back in her chair, burying her head in her hands. There would have been no better way to comfort her than to do so. However, their positions were still inappropriate. She probably wouldn't mind him doing things whose intentions she knew perfectly well, but he would never do so.
Su Mengzhen could only listen to her talk and hand her a cup of hot tea. He had said everything he could in the past ten days, and any more promises would only backfire. It was better to just keep her company and chat about other things.
Such a life was still too rare for him. He tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the chair, thought for a very short while, and then changed the subject: "Speaking of the Divine Marquis's Mansion, how was your conversation with Wuqing?"
“Your friend is quite interesting,” Xie Huailing replied. “Actually, when we were on the ship, I thought you two were quite similar. It’s a pity that it’s not very suitable to tease him. You even have a collection of poems, it’s such a shame you can’t read them.”
As she spoke, she reached her hand to the pile of documents and, as if by magic, pulled out a book of poems from the left side of the mountain of documents, tossing it into Su Mengzhen's arms: "Please look, this is something from your friend's ship."
Su Mengzhen was still too inexperienced. Only after opening it did he realize what it contained. The sight of one sentimental poem after another, along with the explicit and erotic words behind them, made his eyelids twitch. However, he was no naive scholar. A leader forged in the crucible of the martial world wouldn't be ashamed of such things. Nor would anyone act like Xie Huailing back then, a young lady reading it aloud in front of him. After reading a couple of lines, his expression remained unchanged, and he put it aside.
He knew Wu Qing's character and wouldn't misunderstand, but that didn't stop Xie Huailing from asking, "How's the writing?"
Su Mengzhen looked at her, his gaze then sweeping over her bookshelf. It used to be his, but now most of the things inside had been replaced by Xie Huailing and couldn't be opened in front of others. He then spoke the truth: "Compared to the books on your bookshelf, it's slightly better, but there's no need to compare them."
To put it bluntly, the poetry collection was still slightly better than Xie Huailing's vast and extensive bookshelf, which was the first to be removed during the anti-pornography and anti-illegal publications campaign. Sometimes he couldn't quite understand where Xie Huailing got all of these. Since he started recuperating, her bookshelf had become visibly fuller, even affecting his own bookshelf. What she couldn't fit on hers was stuffed into his room.
Su Mengzhen didn't want to speculate whether he might mistakenly take hers when he went to get a book someday in the future.
Xie Huailing wasn't upset by this comment. He simply said, "There's both the common and the refined, and the elegant can be appreciated by all. People who don't know how to appreciate it really have no taste at all."
After a few more casual words, the next stack of documents that Shaman handed over completely pushed Xie Huailing back to work. She was immediately overwhelmed, wanting to blow bubbles but not even having time to do so. She stopped chatting with Su Mengzhen, biting her pen as she began to mark the points that needed attention, leaving some markings for Bai Feifei to decipher, her head drooping lower and lower.
Perhaps it was the warm summer sun that made it hard to muster any energy. The initial low spirits gradually faded, like water spilled on the ground flowing through one's body. One became increasingly quiet and drowsy. And drowsiness is something that is hard to grasp. Su Mengzhen suddenly realized that when she turned her head to look, Xie Huailing had already lowered her head and closed her eyes completely.
The treatment had interfered with his senses. Su Mengzhen sighed and went to support her head. Putting aside the unfinished work, if she slept like this, her head would hurt when she woke up. He got up and held her thin shoulders, trying to get her to sit up straight.
After finishing all this, Su Mengzhen looked at the two gray clouds on the red mole under her eyes and hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to call her. A person's capacity to bear things is ultimately limited. It's true that there are people in the building who can share the burden with Xie Huailing, but they can't withstand her seemingly superhuman, non-stop work, as if everything had to be done overnight. Even if he wasn't sick, he couldn't withstand this kind of torment. He even thought that if this was how she acted when she was busy, then he should just continue being lazy.
She really doesn't know how to cherish herself.
Su Mengzhen wanted to sigh again. He released Xie Huailing's shoulder to pick up the documents on the ground for her, but unexpectedly, she fell to the side after he loosened his grip. Not wanting her to hit the shelf, he went to help her up, and she fell headfirst into his arms.
It's still cold. Why do I feel so cold even in the summer?
Holding the person in his arms, he let out a second sigh. "Let him handle the rest," Su Mengzhen thought.
.
Logically speaking, investigating the old case at Wuzheng Manor would be extremely time-consuming. First, Xie Huailing left no clues other than the opera house, and all her interactions with the former Dongyuan were completely undetectable to Wuqing at the time. Second, Xie Huailing's actions were too subtle; even if Wuqing knew her plan, he couldn't find direct evidence, let alone crack her modus operandi.
Fortunately, Xie Huailing was very generous. Her goal was to prevent Wuqing from finding out, not to let him get away with it. Therefore, she provided Wuqing with some information, such as an old servant who had served Yuan Dongyuan until his death, a story told by the old servant that contained innuendo, and the traces of Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou's instigation of the "Bat Prince" rumors.
Only by holding all of these things in our hands could the full story of last autumn be revealed.
The questions kept piling up, and Xie Huailing's honesty was almost unnatural. She was bringing up a case that she had already concealed, and it couldn't possibly be just because of what she had said, "What's sitting in front of you now is the case you're supposed to solve." What was the purpose behind this, and what did it have to do with Fu Zongshu's death? Could it be related to why she killed Fu Zongshu?
It's alright that he doesn't have an answer yet.
Now that the game has begun, it's only a matter of time before he comes to the surface. What he needs to do is go see Xie Huailing.
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Thank you for the nutrient solution and free tickets! I've been incredibly busy these past few days for various reasons, but I'll try my best to make up for the missed updates as soon as possible [kissing emoji]
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