Chapter 169: The Prime Minister's Jest
If Wuqing agreed to it be within three days, then it will definitely not exceed three days. But it won't be the first day or the second day either.
Arriving too early could easily lead to impatience, especially after Xie Huailing had refused her once. Moreover, the closer she was, the further away she seemed to be. In this respect, her strategy was not wrong. She ruthlessly chose to give herself enough time to deal with this "return gift" more carefully.
During these two carefully considered days, the source of the information seemed to have hit a dead end. Neither Sikong Zhaixing's painstaking efforts nor the investigation by the Divine Marquis's Mansion could yield any further clues. Their original leads had all been exhausted, and the common thread at the end of each line pointed to Xie Huailing's name.
Wuqing knew that if they still couldn't find a way in this regard, then the death of Fu Zongshu would likely fall into a stalemate again, unless the Divine Marquis's Mansion disregarded the timing and devoted several times more effort and energy.
Because he also placed great hopes on this aspect, which was first reflected in his choice of bouquets.
The beautiful and luxurious flowers did not seem to appeal to Xie Huailing. As the saying goes, a person's appearance reflects their character. Judging from her looks alone, she was certainly not made of gold or silver. Furthermore, her demeanor showed that she regarded the mortal world as mere mud and sand. Although her true character was likely quite different from what she described, in any case, Wuqing would not choose this type of flower in terms of compatibility.
Rare and exotic flowers didn't seem particularly suitable to him. Firstly, finding a bouquet within three days would be quite difficult, and the Divine Marquis's Mansion had never really grasped the art of pleasure. Secondly, he didn't think there were any precious flowers that Xie Huailing hadn't seen. He had overheard Xie Huailing's conversation with Su Mengzhen; her room was always filled with flowers, and she always smelled of them.
In the end, Wuqing chose to go to the flower market in Bianjing.
The charm of flowers cannot be measured solely by money. Different people cultivate flowers with different flavors. The common people's lives are reflected in the everyday life of the city, and in their eyes, the flowers that bloom happily are no less beautiful than the imperial flowers.
On the second day, Wuqing spent half a day visiting all the flower markets in Bianjing, carefully asking flower buyers and sellers, and after careful selection, ordered a few of the best-blooming flowers from several flower sellers for the next day. When the next day arrived, he picked up the flowers and put in a lot of effort to arrange them into bouquets himself.
This was the third day. He brought this unique and exquisite bouquet of flowers as a return gift that was almost a year overdue, and met with Xie Huailing once again.
Shaman took a jade vase, poured some water into it, and placed the bouquet inside. The flower branches still bore the dew from the morning, like a beautiful woman fresh from her bath, with a hint of shyness as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. The light and pale colors were different from heavy and bold colors, like delicate skin and fragile bones. The fragrance of the flowers wafted through the air, as if they were lazily stretching. The vase, carrying the flowers, seemed to be afraid that the flowers would fall like snow before they bloomed, offering its exquisite beauty to the whole room.
Upon seeing this, Shaman secretly praised him, never knowing that Wuqing had such good taste. After arranging the flowers, she said to Wuqing, "The maid has gone to invite the young lady. Please wait a moment, Chief Constable."
She poured tea for Wuqing and then left, leaving Wuqing alone in the room to wait.
He scanned the room ruthlessly, and the first thing he noticed was an ebony box on the table, which Shaman had brought with him. It was placed next to the teapot and was about the size of a human head. He wondered what was inside. But he knew Xie Huailing wanted him to see it; otherwise, it would never have been here. After examining it closely, he discovered that the ebony box was unlocked; the original lock had been replaced by a mechanism.
He was considered an expert in mechanical arts, but the design of this mechanism was something Wuqing had never seen before. Just as he was about to ponder it, Xie Huailing arrived.
Ironically, when Wuqing was picking and arranging flowers, he relied more on his intuition and didn't intentionally lean towards Xie Huailing. But once Xie Huailing stood in front of the flowers, he suddenly realized that it was difficult to tell whether the flowers resembled her or she resembled the flowers.
Her beauty was unparalleled, her elegance so captivating that everything around her, once near her, seemed to vanish into the mundane and vulgar. Though she herself was born of ordinary people, she appeared as if she had descended from the heavens.
He couldn't help but sigh at this point; the resemblance was simply too astonishing.
Xie Huailing didn't care much about what Wuqing was thinking. She first bent down to look at the flower, and then, after touching the delicate petals, she greeted Wuqing, saying, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Chief Constable. I was really busy the past few days, which is why I've kept you waiting until now."
Then she flicked her finger across a petal, gracefully sat down, and the ebony box stood between them. Wuqing saw her hand rest on the ebony box.
"Being busy with official duties is unavoidable," Wuqing replied, glancing at Xie Huailing's complexion, which didn't seem very healthy; she must have been truly busy for quite some time. "Does Miss Xie like this belated return gift?"
Xie Huailing immediately recognized the flower's origin and said, "The chief constable selected it carefully, so naturally he is pleased with it."
Neither of them mentioned Leng Xue, who was absent. Xie Huailing didn't necessarily want him to come, so there was no need to mention him. She was just a little disappointed, after all, Leng Xue's personality was really interesting.
She added, "I have already conveyed the Chief Constable's words to my cousin. It is truly a blessing for my cousin to have such a good friend as the Chief Constable."
Looking at her expressionless face, he said calmly, "It's just a few words of concern, nothing to brag about. It's truly a blessing that Master Su has a sister like Miss Xie who can still take charge of things when he's seriously ill."
He wasn't one for formalities, so Xie Huailing spoke frankly: "The chief constable's words have a hidden meaning. Besides returning the courtesy today, you must have other matters to attend to."
"You can't hide it from Miss Xie's eyes," Wuqing said.
He hadn't intended to beat around the bush with Xie Huailing when he arrived. When he discussed it with Zhuge Zhengwo and his other junior brothers, they all advised against it. Putting aside the question of whether they could even get through to Xie Huailing, given her intelligence, she would be more likely to see through their schemes. The best way to talk to a smart person is to be direct.
Wuqing continued, "I've heard that Miss Xie, Miss Zhu Qi, and Chief Ren of the Beggars' Sect have a deep friendship, so I have some questions I'd like to ask Miss Xie."
"It is true." Xie Huailing admitted without hesitation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her touch the mechanism on the ebony box, but she quickly raised it again. "However, Qiqi and I are close friends who can talk about anything. As for Chief Ren, I admire him more. To be honest, I have a better relationship with Madam Ren."
She continued, as if recalling something, and started talking about unrelated things that didn't need to be discussed at all: "Madam Ren is gentle and virtuous. Although she has experienced some very unpleasant things, she is still an exceptionally generous and kind person. She also cares about those who share her suffering. It would be a great regret in life if one could not befriend Madam Ren. As for Chief Ren, one cannot help but admire him to the point of prostration. He and Madam Ren are truly an enviable couple."
Wuqing's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but wonder what Xie Huailing's intention was. Why did she bring this up? Just as she was about to speak, Xie Huailing spoke again.
This time, she asked Wuqing, and when he looked at her, he felt that she was smiling but not smiling, as if she were right in front of him. The two red moles were also rippling in his vision, the red ripples were like the waves in her eyes. A person's appearance is too good, sometimes it can give people this kind of illusion: "However, before answering the chief constable's question, I have something I want to say to the chief constable."
The illusion was really bad, but she was really beautiful and really smart: "Before I came to the capital, I had heard people talk about the chief constable. His name, 'He can travel a thousand miles without legs and cannot be defended by a thousand hands,' was known far and wide and was famous in all directions. Any petty person who heard the name 'Ruthless' would be terrified. He was a young talent and deserved to be the 'head of the Four Great Constables.'"
Before Wuqing arrived, she never expected to receive such high praise from Xie Huailing. This couldn't be called flattery at all; Xie Huailing possessed an ability to make everything sound sincere. Even knowing roughly what kind of person Xie Huailing was, hearing her praise someone was unlike hearing anyone else speak. This was called superb acting skills, already at a level unparalleled in the martial arts world. Even Wuqing, wanting to say that it was too much praise, didn't find the opportunity; Xie Huailing's words were far from finished.
"After I entered Bianjing, I heard more and more about the deeds of the chief constable." She spoke slowly, like a babbling brook. "It seemed that there was no case that could be hidden from the chief constable, no murderer that he couldn't catch, and no case that he couldn't solve. The more I heard, the more curious I became, wondering if the chief constable's abilities were really that extraordinary. I even thought about asking my cousin, but then I thought that seeing is believing. And since today was the perfect day, with the right time, place, and people, I decided to play a game with the chief constable."
"A game?" Wuqing asked.
He met Xie Huailing's gaze, and realized that her smile wasn't half-smile; she was genuinely smiling.
But the smile was only in her eyes. The flowers flew away, leaving a fragrant scent on the ground. It wasn't meant for him to see. It was just that in the flow of her gaze, it went straight into his eyes, making him see through her in an instant. Or perhaps, to her, he had always been as transparent as snow.
She said, "I know why the Chief Constable came, and why the Divine Constable's Mansion came. I know all the questions in the Chief Constable's heart, and I can answer them directly for him."
She said, "It was me. All the questions in your heart, the things you're thinking about, the answer is only me."
Ruthless suddenly gripped the armrests of the wheelchair, no longer caring about concealing his feelings. His soul was frozen by the sudden honesty, and his blood almost ran backward because of this unexpected development and the truth he had never imagined.
Seeing his reaction, Xie Huailing simply leaned back leisurely, placing both hands on the ebony box: "But although the answer is here, having the answer doesn't mean you can solve all the mysteries. This is the game I'm going to play with the chief constable. What's sitting in front of you now is the case itself that you're going to solve."
She tapped lightly, not to show off, but more like a pure display of pride, her fingers moving like fish swimming at the bottom of a lake, her posture like pure jade, with pure jade before her.
"In this game, you are the only participant, and only you can uncover the truth of the case. You can rely on the strength of others, but if you bring others into the game, the case will also be unhappy."
"And when this game comes to an end, the reward you will receive is that there will be no more doubts, no more threats, and no more worries."
As she listened to the repeated knocking, it felt as if her plan was being etched into his mind. Seeing her stand up, she said, "But before that, I still want to test the Chief Constable. Once he has proven himself, then you can play with me."
Xie Huailing pushed the ebony box in front of Wuqing and handed it to him, saying softly, "Listen carefully to this first question, Chief Constable—'A thousand households and a hundred families have not spoken of their way, but the fat pigs under one's gate are one's hometown. A lone ox walks under a tree and spring appears, but no one can match the brilliance of Tuomi.'"
Then, Xie Huailing walked around the table, past his side, and leaned down slightly. She was going inside, so she didn't get close to him, much less whisper in his ear. She simply shortened the distance, even maintaining a safe distance, but the presence of her orchid-like fragrance still followed the floral scent past his merciless earlobe.
The illusion of warmth flashed through his mind, and he knew it was her speaking. His name went through her lips, as if it had turned into pearls, hazy in color, pouring out from the flower's heart, still carrying dew, still carrying her voice. Even though her words were clear, it was as if they were still tainted by something.
But she wasn't doing it intentionally; it was just an illusion.
"Don't disappoint me, Sheng Yayu."
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Finally, the route has started. The general plot of this route is very clear: a cute and charming mysterious character who walks on the edge of black and white, a calm and steady but meticulous chief constable who represents the light of justice, and a detective game.
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