Chapter 173: Lost Flowers Await New Flowers
In a ruthless act, he shot himself in the foot. In order to make it easier to talk to Xie Huailing and for the sake of privacy, he emphasized in the letter that as long as the two of them were there, Xie Huailing would have the maid wait on the shore. Wuqing could only have the servants disembark and leave the boatman on the deck of the boat.
He didn't explain why he was late, and Xie Huailing didn't ask. She sat by the window, and seemed to doze off in no time. She drowsily lowered her head, and when she saw him come in, she raised her head again.
Wuqing didn't ask Xie Huailing why she was late; he already knew the answer as she passed by him. A faint, wisp of blood emanated from her, which might soon dissipate completely, but it was enough to prove that something had happened on her way here. The Seven Saints of the Bewitching Heaven Alliance—there was no other possibility.
He also noticed a hint of weariness. Having lost the person she used to talk to, the weariness hanging in the corners of her eyes seemed to drain away her energy. Thankfully, she wasn't injured; there was no pain in her weariness, she was simply leaning against the window.
He sat opposite her again, and ruthlessly picked up the ebony box. The songs outside the boat were unfamiliar, and gradually, other kinds of music came through. The music could also be the waves of the Bian River, the calm surface of the river should have undulations, or lingering, or whispering, half-containing laughter, in the most beautiful and passionate season, running freely without restraint.
He heard the sound of a pipa, the strings breaking as raindrops pattered like pearls on a plate. Xie Huailing heard it too, her gaze drifting towards the river. The translucent gauze curtain was enough to vaguely make out the outline ahead. She squinted, then opened her eyes again: "They've invited people over; it's not much different from tonight."
After saying that, she looked over and, before the pipa could play the next section, asked with some interest, "Is there any wine today?"
Wuqing hadn't prepared any wine. It wasn't that he was reluctant, but he knew it wasn't suitable. Unlike Zhuiming, he had never been a particularly unrestrained person, and he always felt he had to be very sober when playing with Xie Huailing. He replied, "There isn't any on the ship."
Xie Huailing was disappointed and started thinking about Lu Xiaofeng again. Wuqing really was someone who could get along with Su Mengzhen. No, it shouldn't be "get along": "This is really boring. We're on a boat on the river, and the weather is so nice. Are we just going to drink tea without wine?"
She seemed to have really come here to have fun. She sighed, then suddenly remembered something, and lifted the gauze curtain in front of the window to look outside. But there were people coming and going on the shore, and she didn't see any wine for sale. So she gestured to the maid who was guarding the carriage and asked the maid to buy some and bring it over.
The maid returned shortly after, carrying a jar of wine. She couldn't refuse Xie Huailing, but her attitude remained proper. As she delivered the wine, she muttered to her, "Miss, after all, the master forbids it, so drink less."
"He forbids me from doing many things, so this is nothing new when he's going to yell at me," Xie Huailing said dismissively, before taking the wine.
Hearing Su Mengzhen's address in a daze, Wuqing glanced to the side slightly. After the maid left, he did not choose to follow up with Su Mengzhen's words and chat with Xie Huailing, nor did he skip the topic of wine. Instead, he went to call the boatman and set the boat on track.
The swaying was slight, like a breeze across a meadow, serving only to let people know the boat was moving. The bustling, noisy riverbank, teeming with people, gradually receded with the gentle rocking. There were quite a few boats on Bianjing, yet they didn't drift side by side; each boat flowed independently, its own waves crashing. Each boat was like a scattered pearl on the Bian River, unconnected. The people inside remained within their own boats, sharing a single space, engaging in long conversations—a perfect fit indeed.
The sounds of laughter and music were so loud and disruptive that one couldn't help but notice where they were. Wuqing had never forgotten why she had come. Her hand remained on the ebony box. Once the boat had reached the center of the river, and only the sounds of the zither and pipa continued, she relaxed a little and placed the ebony box on the wooden table inside the boat.
Xie Huailing was pouring wine. How to pour wine from the jar without her hand trembling or dropping it was still a skill for her; she had to concentrate. It was only when she caught Wuqing approaching out of the corner of her eye that she asked, "Would the Chief Constable like a drink?"
"Thank you, but no need." Ruthless declined her offer, opened the ebony box, and decided to get down to business first.
The piece of paper with the character "甲" written on it lay unharmed in the box, carrying with it all her arrogance and provocation. Besides that, there was something else. The lock, which had scattered into a pile of parts after being unlocked, had been mercilessly reassembled, returning to its original mysterious state, placed right next to the paper, with the side engraved with "Golden Cicada" and "Shedding its Shell" facing the sky, and also towards those who came to see it.
Xie Huailing glanced at it first, then looked back, not surprised at all: "It seems that it really can't stump the chief constable. All the rumors I've heard are true."
Without changing his expression, Wuqing pushed the ebony box back to her, as if she had pushed it to him: "Since that's the case, Miss Xie, you can tell me what game you want to play with me, right?"
"How impatient you are." Xie Huailing took a sip of wine, savoring the moment, and casually teased him, as if she had a blade of grass to hold between her fingers. "Don't you even want the reward for passing the test before the game even starts?"
This was an even more arrogant statement. She held up a finger to Wuqing: "I can answer one question for you, a question related to the content of the test. I will not lie."
With a flick of her wrist, she transformed the light tapping gesture into a light flick, demonstrating the difference between the two rewards: "I can also promise you something, something that isn't too difficult for me to do. I will do it for you. You choose."
The choice wasn't difficult. Some questions had already been rummaged through in his mind a thousand times, yet he couldn't find any clues, let alone make a move. Now that he had this opportunity and a reward, he might as well ask. He decisively asked, "I choose the first option—is 'Yunmeng Fairy' Wang Yunmeng still alive?"
As soon as he spoke, he saw Xie Huailing's strange gaze, which swept over him before turning into a sentence: "She used to be alive, but now she's dead."
Upon receiving this answer, Wuqing understood the reason for Xie Huailing's strange expression. He had wasted a question; since Chai Yuguan had faked his death, he should now be truly dead, and the chances of Wang Yunmeng being alive weren't much higher. He should have been more cautious.
Seeing the subtle change in his expression, Xie Huailing shook his head slightly, as if he had softened and would let him off the hook. He said to him, "Chief Constable, I'll help you out of kindness. Say it again, what do you want to ask?"
This patient and persuasive explanation perfectly embodies understanding and compassion, but Wuqing knows that she has little to do with that word and only appears to be so.
But it was too similar, so she patiently waited for him to think it over before saying, "I want to ask about the whereabouts of 'Fairy Yunmeng'."
This time Xie Huailing was satisfied. He took a few more sips of wine, his voice and breath mingling with the smell of alcohol: "Well, it's a long story. The chief constable knows that Wang Yunmeng didn't die nine years ago. She and Chai Yuguan conspired to cause the disaster at Hengshan, plotting to obtain the martial arts manuals together. Her whereabouts must begin here."
"The chief constable may have noticed that although Wang Yunmeng and Chai Yuguan are similar in temperament, given Wang Yunmeng's personality and domineering nature, how could she possibly be willing to share with Chai Yuguan? The answer to this question is quite simple: she has long been in love with Chai Yuguan. She is already Chai Yuguan's wife and has given birth to his son, who is now around ten or twenty years old. This woman, immersed in love, believed Chai Yuguan's words and conspired with him."
"Then, she was betrayed. Chai Yuguan tried to kill her, but she faked her death to survive. From then on, hatred fueled her, and she hid in that city under an assumed name to seek revenge. Persistence pays off, and nine years later, she finally met Chai Yuguan, but what she found was more than just Chai Yuguan."
"In terms of revenge alone, she achieved her goal; Chai Yuguan died, though not at her hands. But in terms of her more ambitious desires, she failed."
As if sensing something, Wuqing looked into Xie Huailing's eyes. Her eyes were shrouded in mist, and only when the dim light flashed could he see a moment of brightness, just as no matter how many mysteries unfolded, they would eventually circle back to her. She stood in the center of the mist, her veil hanging down quietly: "I killed her."
The sleeve slid down, revealing Xie Huailing's wrist and the bracelet on it, which shone brightly and dazzlingly: "This is, 'Tianyun Five-Flower Cotton'."
As someone skilled in concealed weapons, Wuqing couldn't possibly have been unaware of the 'Heavenly Cloud Five-Flower Cotton'. He had also seen the bracelet peeking out from under Xie Huailing's sleeve several times. Only when she brought it up this time did he realize that it was also a concealed weapon. From then on, he was certain of its identity: the number one concealed weapon in the world, its reputation was well-deserved.
"Alright, it's game time now." After Wuqing had seen clearly, Xie Huailing withdrew his hand. "Let me briefly explain the rules first. I'll give you clues, and you'll investigate the truth of the case. That should be something you're good at, so I can't say I'm making things difficult for you."
He was clearly on high alert, and asked ruthlessly, "You'll need me to find out the specifics of the case myself, based on the clues, won't you?"
“Yes, otherwise how could he be called ‘Chief Constable’? But don’t worry, I will make a lot of arrangements along the way,” Xie Huailing said.
The more she talked about how ruthless the arrangements were, the more uneasy she felt, but she still listened.
Xie Huailing added, "There should be three games, um... it should be three games. After each game, you can ask me a question without any restrictions. I won't lie. You can ask me directly how Fu Zongshu died, or why he went to that city, whatever you want."
Wuqing's eyelids twitched, and he couldn't figure out her plans even more. It was like a cloud that had been blown away, making it difficult to see through, but it was better to be closer than to have the clouds drifting over the mountain.
Ignoring the horrifying shock, Xie Huailing focused only on himself and started calculating: "Let me think about what to play in the first round. Oh, I remember now, does the Chief Constable like listening to opera?"
She didn't need to give a cold answer; she simply clasped her hands together and said, "I'll ask the chief constable to listen."
Wuqing naturally couldn't refuse and wanted to hear her say something more, but she didn't mention it. She had only given him so many clues and had already said everything. It was clear that the rest was in that play, waiting for him to see for himself.
Asking was useless; there was no emotion or words. Those outside the boat seemed to know they had finished their business, as a longer, more drawn-out melody drifted in, then abruptly stopped, followed by bursts of laughter. This laughter was intentional; men and women were teasing each other about something. Xie Huailing had heard Hua Manlou mention it before; something must have happened, hence the commotion. Lu Xiaofeng was a frequent visitor to such scenes, so Hua Manlou had heard it many times.
Thinking of this, Xie Huailing recalled their nighttime boat trip, which was somewhat similar. She then asked Wuqing, "Will it be like this next time you invite me?"
In all honesty, she didn't mean to be heartless, but Wuqing truly thought so. Xie Huailing was talking about excitement, but Wuqing thought of something he didn't really want to think about in detail. He opened his mouth to say something, but first said "I," without getting to the point, and could only explain, "No, it won't happen."
He paused, then continued, "I didn't know at first that there were so many... young men and women here."
"I guessed it." Xie Huailing shifted his position, wanting to find a different place to sit.
It would have been better if she hadn't changed it. But as soon as she did, she seemed to bump into something, and then something fell to the ground. It sounded like a book, and the rustling of pages reached her ears. Wuqing froze, immediately realizing what was happening. She felt like she was stuck, even though she had just explained, she was now at a loss for what to do.
He could only watch as Xie Huailing picked up the book. She meticulously dusted it off, glanced at the book, then at Wuqing, and without saying a word, placed it on the wooden table and turned a couple of pages.
Left with no other choice, he continued, "...This is a gift of thanks from a young master. When I came, I saw that the old woman selling flowers was pitiful, so I bought some flowers. Then I saw that the young master was in a hurry to use flowers, so I simply gave them to him."
“No wonder.” Xie Huailing looked at the book filled with impoverished love poems and understood why the little girl said that. “No wonder the girl told me before she left that you bought flowers and then gave them away, and didn’t buy more, which was not good to me, and told me not to go out with you anymore. Although it was a misunderstanding, and you didn’t need to give me flowers, the girl’s thoughts are quite interesting.”
Wuqing was speechless, not knowing how to respond at all. Even though Xie Huailing had explained that it was a misunderstanding, the ants still returned to him.
Xie Huailing was still reading, engrossed in it. After all, she was the number one connoisseur of cheesy novels, and this level of mediocrity couldn't defeat her. As she read, she asked Wuqing, "What do you want to eat later?"
I was unexpectedly bitten by an ant. I looked away without a second thought, but then I felt a burning sensation somewhere, and I struggled to get rid of it.
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