The moon was at its zenith, the stars were setting, and under the dark clouds, a carriage was clattering along the stone slabs. The carriage was filled with a faint scent of Suhe, which was very comfortable. Yuan Xi wrapped herself in a large silk robe and gradually felt sleepy.
But she was still worried about something, and she didn't know how to explain it. She just speculated in her mind and kept glancing at Xiao Du secretly, trying to see some clues from his face. Xiao Du's nerves, which had been broken all night, finally relaxed and felt a little tired. But she felt the constant glances from the people around her, and finally couldn't help but smile and said, "What's wrong? Do you think your husband is particularly brave today?"
Yuan Xi chuckled, feeling relieved, and finally mustered up the courage to speak, "I want to say... I didn't..." Her face turned red, but she couldn't continue. Xiao Du seemed to see through her concerns at a glance, gently pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and said, "No need to say it, I believe you."
Yuan Xi leaned in this warm embrace and couldn't help feeling a little sour in her nose. She had never been so grateful for his trust as she was at this moment. Xiao Du reached out and gently covered her eyes, saying, "Don't think about it. Just take a good rest if you are tired." Yuan Xi felt her eyelids a little heavy under the thick big hand, so she simply leaned in his arms and fell asleep.
When she woke up again, the carriage had stopped not far from the mansion. Xiao Du did not let her get off the carriage, but sent a servant to enter the mansion through the side door. After a while, the servant came back with a small package in his hand. Yuan Xi opened it and found that it was her own set of clothes. She immediately understood what he meant, so she looked at Xiao Du with gratitude. She didn't expect him to be so thoughtful, and she felt a lot of warmth in her heart.
After she changed her clothes, the carriage slowly drove to the gate of the mansion. Although it was late at night, the whole mansion was brightly lit, and many servants were waiting in the courtyard. Although the master, the lady and the two concubines were not there in person, they also sent their personal servants to wait for news. Yuan Xi saw that everyone in the mansion was waiting for her news all night, and she felt a little guilty. Xiao Du took her hand and got off the carriage. Seeing that she was safe and sound, everyone was relieved.
At this time, An He and Nanny Li burst into tears, hugged her and asked her all kinds of questions. Yuan Xi comforted them softly, and felt lucky in her heart: Thanks to Xiao Du for carefully arranging everything for her, otherwise so many people would see her returning home in tattered clothes, and who knows what kind of gossip would be spread tomorrow.
Seeing that the Madam had returned safely, the servants who had been waiting all night were all tired. Xiao Du asked An He and Li Madam to take good care of the Madam and let her go back to her room to rest. He then said to the others, "We are all tired today. Let's go back first. There are still many things to do tomorrow."
But just when everyone in the mansion thought that the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared up and they went back to their rooms to sleep, this uneasy night had just begun.
The night wind rolled up the evening clouds, which swirled in the air with a howl. A dead branch fell to the ground with the wind and was suddenly broken by being stepped on with a snap.
A barefoot woman stumbled out of the bushes, her pretty face was covered with blood and tears, and she looked very bad. Her messy black hair was blown by the wind and kept hitting her face, but she didn't care to touch it. She just ran and looked back in fear, as if there was a beast hiding in the darkness that would jump out and tear her apart at any time.
The sound of rapid breathing echoed in the night sky. The woman's eyes were filled with fear and despair. She ran forward with all her might. Not far ahead of her, a faint light flashed. It was like a fire of hope in her eyes, and she ran towards the light with all her strength. But just as she was getting closer and closer to the light, she suddenly stopped. The vitality faded from her eyes bit by bit. The white clothes stained with blood fell to the ground, like a night lily, quietly blooming and disappearing in the dark night.
After a while, in the lighted room, Yunniang suddenly sat up from the bed and looked out the window vigilantly. However, in the dark courtyard, she could only hear the rustling of leaves, but could not see anything.
She was used to turning on the light when sleeping, but tonight she felt something was wrong. After thinking for a while, she got out of bed, lit the light and walked out the door. As soon as she stepped out of the door, she smelled something unusual. Her doubts grew even more. She took a few more steps outside and suddenly kicked something round and sticky. She lowered her head and looked at it in the light. She found that it was a woman's head: a long scarlet tongue slid out of her lips, her eyes bulged out, and her messy hair was blown around her heels by the wind! Even so, she recognized this face. This was the maid in the new lady's room - Rong Xuan!
With a loud "clang", the lamp fell to the ground. She covered her mouth and took a few steps back. After thinking calmly, she finally let out a scream.
The sharp screams slowly spread in the multi-story courtyard. After a while, there were many flickering lights and shadows in this small courtyard that should have been quiet. Xiao Du, who had only slept for less than an hour, stood in the middle of the crowd with a cold face, staring at the hideous head in front of him. Not far away was a headless body, and the flowers and plants around were stained red by the splashing blood. It was obvious that this should be the place where she was killed.
He saw Yunniang sitting on the steps with her head in her hands, shaking with fear. He could not help but shout, "What's going on? Where's Xiqiao?"
Xiqiao, the maid who looked after Yunniang, was standing aside. She was already frightened by the scene she had never seen before. When the marquis asked her by name, she could only stammer, "I... I heard Yunniang screaming, so I ran out to see, and I knew that I saw this... dead person... lying here. But I, I really don't know what happened." The more she spoke, the more frightened she became, and she couldn't help but sobbing.
Xiao Du felt a little impatient and asked again: "Did you hear any strange noises just now? Like screams? Or footsteps?"
Xiqiao hugged her chest and shook her head in fear, saying, "Maybe... maybe I slept too soundly. I seemed to hear some rustling sounds, but they disappeared very quickly. Then... I heard Yunniang shouting, but after I ran out, I didn't see anything except this dead person."
Xiao Du crouched down with frowned brows, and looked at Rong Xuan's head carefully: the cut on the neck was very smooth, and it was obvious that it was a fatal blow. He then pondered over and over in his mind: If Rong Xuan was killed in Yunniang's courtyard, how could there be such a powerful character in the mansion, who could chop off her head in one move without waking up the people in the house, and even leave no trace, and still escape unscathed; if Rong Xuan was not killed in Yunniang's courtyard, how to explain the blood splattered, how did the man move the body here without making any sound, and without leaving any blood on the road. How did he escape?
Xiao Du was having a headache thinking about it, so he ordered the servants around him, "Search the house thoroughly to see if there are any suspicious people, and also to see if there are any bloody clothes buried in the yard. Oh, and don't alarm the master and the mistress."
After a while, the servants reported that they had searched every courtyard but found nothing. Xiao Du's face became more and more ugly. He knew very well in his heart: if the suspect could not be found, as long as the case was reported to the government office, Yunniang would definitely be considered the biggest suspect, and her body would not be able to withstand any torture. He glanced at Yunniang, who had recovered from the shock and was sitting on the steps with her knees hugged, staring blankly in front of her. He hated in his heart: This man not only wanted to kill Rong Xuan, but also wanted Yunniang to be a scapegoat. If he found her, he would definitely not let "him" off easily!
At this moment, Xiao Du felt a pair of soft hands on his shoulders. He turned around and saw Yuan Xi standing behind him with a pale face. He couldn't help but yell to the side: "Didn't I tell you not to disturb the Madam!"
Yuan Xi said quickly: "Don't blame them. I couldn't sleep well. I thought it was strange to see the lights on in the yard, so I got up to see what happened." She slowly walked to Rong Xuan's head and looked at the person who was flirting with her intimately yesterday. Now he had turned into a cold and hard corpse with his head and body separated. She couldn't help but cover her mouth and tears kept pouring out.
Before today, she had never thought that Rong Xuan would betray her. Although Rong Xuan had not been with her since childhood, he had always been very loyal, well-behaved and capable. He could always arrange everything for her and always consider her. She remembered that when she fell, Rong Xuan cried and said sorry to her. She always felt that she must have had some difficulties. And now, no matter what she wanted to tell her, it had been buried forever with her death.
Xiao Du gently held her shoulders and said, "You haven't fully recovered yet. Go back to your room and rest. I'll take care of this."
Yuan Xi shook her head, a firm look on her face, and said, "She was a maid in my room, I won't let her die like this!" She squatted down, stared at the head and examined it carefully. After a while, she took a deep breath and said, "There are deep marks of strangulation on her forehead, which should be because she was blindfolded for a long time; her eyes are bulging, and her tongue is stretched out, which means she died from a cut throat; the wound is flat, and the murder weapon is a very sharp weapon; the blood is splashed so far, which means that her throat was cut before she died." Her voice was soft and soft, but the words she used were accurate and detailed, which made the servant beside her stunned. Xiao Du glanced at him and said, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and write it down."
Yuan Xi, however, did not even move her eyes away, and continued to stare at the headless body with a puzzled look, and said, "The falling posture is a bit strange, as if it was suddenly killed while moving." Xiao Du stared at her strangely, not understanding what this meant. Yuan Xi was also a little confused. She frowned and just stood up. Suddenly, she felt pain in her forehead. Her body shook violently and she almost fell to the ground.
At this moment, she was supported by a pair of strong arms. Before she could react, she felt dizzy. When she came to her senses, she found that Xiao Du had lifted her up. His voice that could not be refused came from above, "No matter what happened, you go back and have a good rest first!"
Yuan Xi was suddenly hugged by him in front of so many people, and she felt a little embarrassed, so she buried her face in his shirt and tried to stand up. Xiao Du felt a little itchy from being rubbed by her, and couldn't help but lower his head and whispered, "Don't move." Yuan Xi didn't dare to move anymore, so she had to be carried back to the house by him with her body stiff.
Xiao Du gently placed her on the bed, carefully tucked in the porcelain pillow for her, and made the thin quilt and bed straight before he was about to turn around and leave. Yuan Xi silently watched him do all this for her, and the emotions that had been accumulated all night suddenly burst out in her chest. She actually mustered up the courage to grab his hand.
Xiao Du felt her soft skin caressing his palms, secretly cursing himself for being so distracted at this moment, so he turned around and smiled deliberately: "Go to sleep quickly, you don't need me to change your clothes for you."
Yuan Xi blushed, lowered her head and whispered, "I want to say thank you, it's been a long time since someone has taken care of me like this." Xiao Du looked at her timid eyes, her red face hidden in her clothes, and suddenly he had an impulse to hold her tightly in his arms, even...
At this moment, the door was pushed open with a bang, and Nanny Li came in with a basin of hot water and greeted him warmly: "My Lord, you haven't washed up yet? Don't worry, everything in the room is ready for you. If you need anything, just call me and An He to do it." She looked like she would not stop until she could keep him tonight.
Yuan Xi and Xiao Du looked at each other, and suddenly they were a little embarrassed. Xiao Du coughed lightly and said, "No need, there are still some things to deal with over there, so I won't bother you, Madam Li." Madam Li froze there with the water, unable to hide her disappointment. Xiao Du suddenly laughed a little, turned his head and said to Yuan Xi, "You take a good rest first, I... will come in two days." Yuan Xi saw that Madam Li smiled and enthusiastically sent Xiao Du out the door, and couldn't help but pull the quilt over her head, hiding herself in it and pretending to be asleep.
But although she was sleepy and tired, she did not sleep well that night. In her dream, she saw Rong Xuan talking to her with tears on his face, and then she saw her hanging a bloody head, staring at him with bulging eyes. When she finally made it to dawn, she was just about to open her eyes in a daze, and suddenly heard someone outside the door shouting anxiously: "Is the Madam up? The Marquis asked her to go to the flower hall quickly, saying that there is something important to discuss."
Yuan Xi was startled. Xiao Du had told her to rest yesterday, but now he was in a hurry to find her. Something must have happened. She didn't care about her dizziness and quickly asked Li Ma to come in and help her wash up. Then she hurried to the flower hall...
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