Zu An sighed, "Please accept my condolences, young lady."
“Why should I grieve? He’s not my man.” Tao Hong’s voice suddenly rose, as if she was recalling something, and she muttered to herself, “That guy is an idiot. What kind of place is Biyu Fang? People who come here are all looking for fun. But he actually talked to me all night when he first met me.”
“He was very dull. At first, he didn’t know what to say when he saw me. I had to take the initiative to start a conversation.”
"Then he asked me why I did this job, and even tried to persuade me to leave this profession... Trying to persuade a girl to leave this profession in a brothel is the stupidest thing in the world," Tao Hong said, her tone seemingly sarcastic yet also gentle. "I've seen this kind of thing a lot in brothels, and the madams have taught me how to deal with it. So I made up a very tragic backstory, saying that my mother was seriously ill and I had a young brother, and that I had no choice but to do this job."
"That fool actually believed his fabricated backstory, which was full of holes." Recalling that scene, Tao Hong still finds it funny. "He even gave me all the silver he had on him at the time."
“I could get money without having to entertain customers, so of course I wouldn’t refuse. From then on, he would come to me from time to time to help me out with money. Later, he even found me a prescription to cure the illness of my fabricated mother.”
"Later, he even foolishly asked me where I lived so he could help me take care of my mother and younger brother. Of course, I couldn't tell him, but he didn't suspect anything and was actually quite anxious."
"What an idiot..."
As she spoke, her tone gradually became somber.
Zuan and the others exchanged glances but did not disturb her. Although she was sarcastic towards Chen Zhou, everyone could hear the other meaning in her words. Even Gao Ying's gaze towards her was no longer as disdainful as before.
Tao Hong lowered her head and remained silent for a long time. Finally, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes burning with intensity: "Was he murdered?"
Zuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Did you kill him?" Tao Hong's voice trembled slightly, clearly showing her fear.
Zuan shook his head: "We're here to investigate the cause of his death."
As he spoke, he took out the imperial court's waist token and handed it to her.
"I can't tell the difference between real and fake..." Tao Hong said, but she still examined it carefully.
Zu An let her examine him before asking, "We suspect there's something fishy about Shen Zhou's death and want to investigate to see if there are any clues. When was the last time you saw him? Did he say anything strange to you, or give you anything?"
Tao Hong examined his waist tag over and over, then asked about the identities of several people. After learning that they were imperial envoys, she said, "I didn't realize it at the time, but now that I think about it, the last time I saw him, he seemed a little flustered. He even gave me a box to keep safe, saying he would come back to collect it later."
"A box?" Zuan and the others immediately perked up.
"I opened the box and looked inside. It's just a broken key. I thought it was some kind of treasure." As she spoke, Tao Hong rummaged around on the bed for a while, then took out a box and handed it to the three of them.
When Zuan and the others opened the box, they found that there was indeed only one key. Gao Ying even took out the box to check it, and there was nothing unusual about it.
"I don't know where it's locked, so having the key is useless," Tao Hong said dejectedly, as if she had missed out on a treasure.
Zuan and the others asked her a few more questions, and only after confirming that nothing had been missed did they get up to say goodbye.
"Wait." Tao Hong called out to them, and then took out the silver ingot from her chest. "Here, take this back. I don't want it."
“It is only right that you have taken up your time,” Zu An replied.
Tao Hong shook her head: "I owe that fool too much. You are avenging him, so how can I accept your money?"
Without waiting for their refusal, he threw the silver ingot over and slammed the door shut.
Outside, laughter and chatter continued, but the three highly skilled cultivators could faintly hear sobbing coming from inside the room.
The three from Zuan exchanged a glance, their hearts heavy.
Gao Ying sighed: "Everyone says that actors are heartless and prostitutes are ungrateful, but today I realize that there are exceptions in the world."
“I also misunderstood that sunken ship.” Zuan remained silent.
Pei You also remarked with emotion, "Such a kind and righteous woman, I will definitely patronize her business more often in the future."
Zuan: "???"
Gao Ying: "???"
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