Collusion between officials and businessmen
Outside the Chang residence, there were several large trees with glass lanterns hanging from them, and a person was squatting under one of the trees.
Sun Fang, holding a veiled hat, squatted under a tree waiting for Chang Ying. For some reason, he felt a chill down his spine, as if someone was watching him.
He subconsciously turned his head to look at another tree, but did not see anyone on the other side.
Suddenly, someone patted him on the shoulder.
Sun Fang turned around, and a fluttering hair ribbon came into view. He saw a beautiful girl with flowers in her hair smiling and waving at him.
He swore to himself that he did not know this extremely beautiful girl. Just as he was about to take a step back to prove his innocence, he lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
Sun Fang lay on the ground looking almost as if he were dead, except for foaming at the mouth.
Seeing this, Wu Qi asked worriedly, "Did I put too much incense?"
She remembered that she was indeed disoriented at the time, but she could still walk. How did Sun Fang suddenly collapse? Could it be that she had put too much of the incense in him?
Could someone die from using the incense for the first time?
“It’s alright, he’s still alive,” Yi Shen said.
"That's fine then."
As long as he's not dead.
Since it was their first time kidnapping someone, the two had little experience and stood there helplessly watching Sun Fang fall to the ground. In the end, Yi Shen carried Sun Fang on his back, and the two returned to the pastry shop.
The women waiting outside the pastry shop stared in disbelief as the two men brazenly brought the young master of the Sun family back, and the two men were even chatting and laughing.
Wu Qi stood next to Yi Shen and said something, and Yi Shen smiled slightly.
Seeing the two people's relaxed demeanor, Li Pingyue's expression was as if he had been struck by lightning, and he muttered, "Are those two really good people?"
Under the moonlight, the two walked unhurriedly along the infamous "Ghost Street." Wu Qi was pleasantly surprised to see them waiting outside. He stood a short distance away, waved to them, and called out, "Don't worry, he's not dead, he just fainted!"
If someone actually heard this, they would probably be so terrified that they would wet themselves and beg the "woman in human skin" not to knock them out.
Sun Qi said helplessly in a low voice, "Why can she say that so openly?"
Li Xingge looked at Wu Qi waving from not far away and couldn't help but smile for no reason.
Since her sister's death and her parents' imprisonment, she has been like a useless corpse who only knows how to complain. She hates everything in this world, hates everyone, and hates the sun and the moon in the sky.
But for some reason, seeing Yuexia Wuqi smiling and waving at them, she really wanted to smile too.
Li Xingge jokingly asked, "Why can't we be open and honest? Are you afraid she'll ruin the reputation of the 'human skin woman'?"
The other women suddenly turned to look at Li Xingge.
It's been too long.
They had waited too long, far too long for Li Xingge to say a joke, a joke as if all the evil and misfortune had not yet occurred.
Zhou Liuhu had been following Wu Qi for several days and thought she had figured out her personality, but now she realized that she hadn't. She had only touched the surface of Wu Qi and could never replace the complete and vivid Wu Qi.
Her disguise attempt failed for the first time, but she said, "I can never impersonate Wu Qi."
"Why are you impersonating me?" Wu Qi had obviously heard this question.
She stood in front of Zhou Liuhu, her eyes full of smiles, seemingly genuinely puzzled, and said, "If you're playing Wu Qi, then who am I supposed to play? Everyone should just be themselves, why pretend to be someone else?"
After playing different roles for so long, you eventually lose sight of who you really are.
Wu Qi's biggest fear is that he is not Wu Qi.
Wu Qi pointed to Sun Fang on Yi Shen's back and said seriously, "I think I used too much incense just now. He fainted. Why don't we tie him up first? It's tiring to carry him all the way."
Upon hearing this, the women looked at Chang Ying again.
This time, Wu Qi also looked at Chang Ying.
Chang Ying shook her head and sighed with a smile, "Whatever, don't worry about me."
Chen Pingle found the rope in the pastry shop. Wu Qi took the rope and tied Sun Fang up tightly. Chen Pingle asked again, "Are you really a good person? Why are you so skilled at tying people up?"
"Are you skilled enough?" Wu Qi glanced at Sun Fang and said honestly, "I just messed around with it."
It was indeed a blunder; Sun Fang was practically tied up like a dumpling! But Wu Qi's expression was so relaxed that it gave everyone the illusion that she really knew how to tie him up.
Li Xingge laughed again, and even found a rag somewhere and joked, "Why don't we stuff this rag into his mouth, so he won't shout and cause trouble when he wakes up?"
Sun Fang is the young master of the Sun family and is very close to Zhao Lang, so they have to be careful.
Everyone looked at Chang Ying again, and Chang Ying smiled almost helplessly: "You really don't need to care about me. He and I just grew up together since we were little, so we can barely be considered childhood sweethearts."
People always give too much meaning to "childhood sweethearts", as if the two people are bound together for life. But that's not the case. They just came from similar backgrounds, went to school together, and played around occasionally. They could barely be considered childhood sweethearts. So their families arranged a marriage for them without their consent, and Chang Ying couldn't break the engagement even if she wanted to.
“Childhood sweethearts are not all the same. Sun Fang and I are not like the gentle lady and the young master Yi.” Chang Ying looked at Sun Fang, who was tied up on the ground, and there was not a trace of heartache in her expression. Instead, she was indifferent. “I don’t want to marry him, and I don’t want to stay here. I just want to get out, but they won’t let me. So, it’s even more impossible for me to marry Sun Fang.”
After marriage, there are more shackles; after having children, it's truly impossible to escape.
At least that's what Chang Ying thinks.
"I'd like to ask, how did you know that Yi Shen and I are childhood sweethearts, or rather, how did you know that he and I were coming to Pingwu?" Although Wu Qi asked this question, she already had the answer in her heart, "Sun Fang told you?"
Chang Ying nodded.
Sun Fang is not one to keep secrets. He told Chang Ying all of this: Lord Zhou Lang is dead, and Wu Qi and Yi Shen are coming to Pingwu to thoroughly investigate the case.
Therefore, they decided to follow Wu Qi, whether by intimidation or appeasement, to make Wu Qi truly investigate the case thoroughly.
How did Li Shuying die?
Why did Zhou Lang die?
Is there some connection between them, perhaps?
All of this requires Wu Qi to investigate. Between Wu Qi and Yi Shen, they instinctively choose to believe Wu Qi.
Wu Qi smiled and asked, "Don't you already have the answer in your hearts?"
Li Xingge readily admitted, "Yes, we suspect that the deaths of my sister and Lord Zhou are related to Zhao Lang."
“It might be true,” Wu Qi said. “I don’t know how Sister Shuying died, but Lord Zhou’s death is definitely not just related to Zhao Lang.”
The fact that Zhou Lang died in the peach blossom forest was a secret, and probably very few people in the entire capital knew who the corpse in the peach blossom forest actually was. She and Yi Shen were ordered to assist Lord Li Xi in thoroughly investigating the case. They were hunted down in Qingcui City, and when they arrived in Pingwu City, everyone was still leisurely celebrating the Fire Festival to commemorate Lord Zhou when Sun Fang learned of Zhou Lang's death.
Upon closer reflection, it becomes clear that Zhou Lang's death was inextricably linked to that Lord Zhao.
Perhaps this matter is also related to the young master Sun who fainted.
No, this matter is also related to the capital.
Wu Qi thought to himself, "If Lord Zhao killed Zhou Lang, how did he know that we were coming to Pingwu City to investigate? Unless, some high-ranking official in the capital learned of this and informed him of it."
This matter was like an impenetrable net, suffocating Wu Qi.
Who was chasing them in Qingcui City?
Where is Lord Li Xi? Why hasn't he come to Pingwu yet?
Wu Qi couldn't wait any longer and pointed at Sun Fang, who was still unconscious, and asked Li Xingge, "Is there any way to wake up this young master Sun quickly? I have something to ask him."
“Yes,” Li Xingge said, “splashing cold water and slapping.”
That's...that's pretty cruel.
Wu Qi waved his hand and said, "Good!"
A bucket of cold water was poured over him, and without even a slap, Sun Fang woke up. He was about to struggle, but he calmed down after seeing Chang Ying.
Wu Qi, not wanting to keep Sun Fang in suspense, directly pointed the dagger at his heart. "From now on, you can only answer my questions by shaking your head or nodding. If you lie, you won't live. I will not only kill you, but I will also set fire to your Sun family."
These words were pure intimidation. How could she dare to set fire to the Sun family's house? Let alone a wealthy family like the Sun family, she wouldn't dare to set fire to even a thatched hut.
But when she casually tapped Sun Fang's cheek with the dagger, she really had the air of a desperate criminal.
Sun Fang nodded.
Wu Qi asked, "Do you know who I am?"
Sun Fang nodded.
"Do you know why I'm here?"
Sun Fang remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.
Without hesitation, Wu Qi slashed Sun Fang's arm with his dagger, staining his clothes with blood. Sun Fang gasped in pain.
“I told you, don’t lie,” Wu Qi said.
Sun Fang frowned and nodded; he knew what Wu Qi and Yi Shen had come for.
"Is Zhou Lang's death related to Lord Zhao?"
Sun Fang nodded.
"Is Li Shuying's death related to Lord Zhao?"
After a long pause, Sun Fang nodded.
Li Xingge clenched her fists. She knew that her sister's death was inextricably linked to that corrupt official. What kind of public servant was he? He was nothing but a heartless killer.
Wu Qi seemed completely unsurprised. She slid the dagger across Sun Fang's throat. If she applied just a little more force, Sun Fang would be doomed today.
However, she stopped what she was doing; she kept thinking.
If both of these matters are related to Lord Zhao, how did Sun Fang, a wealthy young master without any official position, know about them? Or, even if Sun Fang and Lord Zhao were very close, would Zhao Lang have told Sun Fang about such a murder?
Why did Zhao Lang trust Sun Fang so much?
Unless these two people are in cahoots and collude with each other as officials and businessmen.
Thinking of this, Wu Qi put away the dagger in his hand, stopped threatening Sun Fang, and calmly asked, "Do you have anything to do with the deaths of Lord Zhou Lang and Li Shuying? Or rather, were you involved?"
Chang Ying never imagined that Sun Fang would kill someone.
Sun Fang was extremely fond of her. People in Pingwu City probably all knew that Sun Fang was determined to marry the Chang family's daughter. However, she always thought that she and Sun Fang had different values and could not possibly be together for life. But she really, really never thought that Sun Fang would kill someone.
Chang Ying looked up at Sun Fang, only to find that Sun Fang was also looking at her.
After their eyes met, she clearly saw Sun Fang nod.
First there was Li Shuying, then Zhou Lang; both of their deaths were related to him. Even if he wasn't the mastermind, even if he had his own unspeakable secrets, he still participated in their deaths; he was an accomplice.
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