Chapter 64 Does the Jin Family Want to Sleep?
Yue Yining left the boy inside, with four personal guards keeping watch. Since they were sneaking out of the manor, the fewer people accompanying them, the better; she only planned to take Fu Yao with her.
She changed out of her light blue official robes and into a dark black long gown, her black hair neatly tied back.
The two headed towards the southwest of the city lord's mansion. Fu Yao asked, "Miss, how do we get out of the mansion?"
Yue Yining gestured for her to lower her voice: "Just follow me, I have a plan."
"—Who's there?"
Suddenly, a clear shout made Yue Yining and Fu Yao stop in their tracks.
They turned around and saw a young girl suddenly appear, dressed in a golden-orange silk satin dress with wide sleeves, her hair adorned with gold hairpins and swaying ornaments, walking towards them step by step. Her face, so full and lovely, round from eyes to nose, was deliberately serious and solemn.
She seemed to have foreseen Yue Yining and the other's actions long ago. As she approached, there was no surprise on her face, and her gaze was calm and sharp.
What are you doing?
The young woman's attire clearly indicated her high status. Yue Yining had no intention of getting entangled with her, so she stopped Fu Yao, who was about to step forward, and bowed, saying, "We are Lord Xie's maids. Lord Xie is not feeling well today, and we have been ordered to come out to buy some medicine."
The girl asked, "What kind of medicine needs to be bought at the clinic so late at night? Isn't it available in the manor?"
Yue Yining: "Lord Xie's gastrointestinal ailment has been accumulating over the years, and he needs several mild medicinal herbs. We have asked the physician in the manor, and some of these herbs are not readily available in the manor."
The girl didn't speak, only saying, "Is that so?"
Her tone was undisguised, clearly indicating that she did not trust what she said.
Yue Yining was a little surprised. She looked up and met the girl's gaze.
“I know who you are.” The elegantly dressed young woman looked at her, her almond-shaped eyes clear and round. “You are an official from Yanjing who came to investigate the Green Ghost case.”
"My father told me that three officials came this time, only one of whom was a woman." The girl's voice was gentle and quiet. She said, "You must be Lady Yue."
Yue Yining never expected that she would be caught red-handed before she even left the manor.
The girl just said...Daddy?
As far as she knew, Jin Yuanxiu only had one legitimate daughter, who was only sixteen years old this year.
Thinking of this, Yue Yining slowly turned around, stood in front of the girl, and a faint smile suddenly appeared on her lips.
“Yes,” she said. “My name is Yue Yining, and I have met Miss Jin.”
Miss Jin looked at Yue Yining and said with certainty, "You just lied."
“You’re not going out of the manor to buy things. You could have just left that to your servants. Besides, you’re not wearing official robes, just ordinary coarse cloth clothes. If you just accidentally got them dirty, there’s no need to change into such plain clothes that only commoners would wear,” Miss Jin said. “There’s only one possibility for deliberately disguising yourself: you want to make yourself inconspicuous so that no one can tell who you are, so you can do things that are inconvenient for others to know.”
Yue Yining narrowed her eyes, thinking that she hadn't investigated Jin Yuanxiu's children beforehand, but Miss Jin's personality still surprised her somewhat.
Miss Jin stared at her, waiting for her reaction. To her surprise, Yue Yining smiled at her and said, "You guessed right."
She was taken aback, not expecting Yue Yining to be so composed. Her initial confidence was tinged with panic and trepidation, but she quickly regained her composure. She said, "Lord Yue, aren't you afraid I'll tell Father?"
Yue Yining smiled and said, "If you really intended to tell others about me, you wouldn't have even spoken to me in the first place, would you?"
The girl in front of him bit her lip, looking annoyed, which made Yue Yining very interested.
Yue Yining: "What does Miss Jin want to say to me?"
“I know you’re there to investigate a case,” the girl said, the gold and jade hairpin on her head swaying with each step she took. “I can keep it from my father and offer you my help.”
"On the condition that you take me with you."
Yue Yining raised an eyebrow; she truly hadn't expected the girl to make such a request. Only then did she truly examine the girl's face closely; her eyes were full and clear, subtly revealing a resolute determination.
Yue Yining suddenly asked, "What's your name?"
Miss Jin was stunned.
"My name is Jin Lingxi, which means 'to have a tacit understanding' or 'to be in sync'."
Yue Yining suddenly smiled and said, "It's a very nice name."
“However, I’ll still call you Miss Jin,” Yue Yining said. “I agree to your conditions.”
"Let's go, I'll take you to investigate the case tonight."
Jin Lingxi was stunned. She hadn't expected Yue Yining to agree to her almost without hesitation, without even asking her why.
Jin Lingxi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but Yue Yining had already led Fu Yao forward.
As she chased after him, she asked in a low voice, "...Aren't you going to ask me why I asked you to take me on this investigation?"
Yue Yining didn't turn around, her voice carrying a hint of a laugh: "Would you say it?"
Jin Lingxi discovered that Yue Yining was a person who was both tactful and direct. Tactful in that, unless she asked, Yue Yining wouldn't offer an explanation, seemingly tight-lipped and secretive. But once she asked directly, Yue Yining wouldn't hide or deceive her; instead, she would reveal her truest thoughts.
Jin Lingxi pursed her lips and said softly, "...I really don't know how."
Yue Yining actually laughed in front of her, no longer the gentle and restrained forced smile from before, but a hearty and bright laugh.
After laughing, those sparkling eyes looked over and said, "Let's go, Miss Jin."
She didn't care about Jin Lingxi's concealment; whether Jin Lingxi confessed or not, Yue Yining would agree.
Yue Yining couldn't possibly refuse her.
Jin Lingxi is very clever. It seems that she had her eye on Yue Yining from day one. The chance encounter was a pretense; her real intention was to follow her. Even her words just now were prepared in advance.
Jin Lingxi went to such great lengths to stop her and threaten her, yet claimed she wanted to help her investigate the case.
That leaves only two possibilities.
Or perhaps she was an undercover agent sent by Jin Yuanxiu. But that's highly unlikely. First of all, everyone around her is loyal to the Princess. Secondly, Jin Yuanxiu has plenty of ways to obstruct her investigation; there's no way he would send his own daughter.
Or perhaps Jin Lingxi has ulterior motives. It's clear from her approaching Yue Yining, whom she had only met by chance, that she was already desperate. As the eldest daughter of the Jin family, Jin Lingxi held an extremely high position in Suyang City and possessed almost everything, except for her father, Jin Yuanxiu.
Judging from the current situation, the Green Ghost case is of great importance, and Jin Yuanxiu does not want anyone to continue investigating it, which likely includes his daughter.
Although she didn't know what Jin Lingxi wanted, she clearly also wanted to know the truth about the Green Ghost case.
If so, Jin Lingxi could become a great help to her.
The three of them walked together toward the side gate leading out of the mansion.
Yue Yining originally planned to find a corner with Fu Yao, climb a tree, and scale the wall to get out, but when Jin Lingxi, adorned with pearls and brocade, followed them, the plan fell through.
But Jin Lingxi had another plan. She bribed the guards at the southwest corner gate, saying that she was craving something sweet and wanted to go out for a stroll. Yue Yining and Fu Yao were her personal maids, and the three of them went to the nearby market to buy some glutinous rice balls.
Yue Yining also caught a glimpse of what Jin Lingxi had given to the guard—a heavy bag of copper coins. The guard was overjoyed after just a squeeze of the bag and hurriedly agreed.
The three of them successfully left the mansion.
The pale moonlight cast its glow upon the pear blossoms. A carriage stopped at the alleyway not far away, and a silver-clad guard sat in the driver's seat, his expression as serene as still water. The night tinged the white petals with a hazy, elegant purplish-blue, and a gust of wind blew, scattering pear blossoms like snow, obscuring the moonlight on the ground.
Yue Yining stood still, squinting at the carriage for a long time, then suddenly turned to look at Fu Yao and Jin Lingxi, "You two wait here for me, I'm going to find someone."
As soon as Yue Yining approached the carriage, Yin Yi turned his head to look at her, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. Seeing that it was Yue Yining, he didn't say a word and turned his head back.
The white-hoofed horse, with its reins tied, flicked its long tail and made a low whimpering sound.
She raised an eyebrow, and seeing this, she no longer hesitated and directly lifted the beaded curtain by the car door.
The carriage had a simple and unassuming exterior, but its interior was decorated with exquisite detailing and was even incense.
Xie Qingyu sat on a cushion by the window, reading documents, while Yu Jue tied her long hair up. The paper was thin and white as fresh snow, but it was completely different from the paper on which he held the spine of the book.
The beauty sat with her eyes lowered, bathed in moonlight, exuding a gentle and refined elegance; she truly possessed a jade-like face and celestial beauty.
Yue Yining was taken aback.
Only then did she notice that Xie Qingyu had also changed into official robes, wearing a black cloth robe that was exactly the same as hers.
At first, Yue Yining chose this outfit because its color and style were extremely inconspicuous, making it convenient for her to investigate cases. But after seeing Xie Qingyu wearing the same outfit, she began to doubt whether her initial decision was correct.
This plain black robe may seem ordinary, but it actually suits a person's temperament quite well when worn.
Yue Yining didn't want to admit that it might not be a problem with the clothes, but rather a problem with the people.
Xie Qingyu heard the sound of the beaded curtain being pulled open, looked up, and saw a long black dress flashing before her eyes.
She got into the carriage, the beaded curtain rustling as she lifted it, and sat down directly next to Xie Qingyu: "Weren't you sick and unable to attend the banquet? Why aren't you lying in your room? Why are you sitting here in this carriage perfectly fine?"
Xie Qingyu smiled, her voice gentle as she whispered, "Were you worried about me just now, Miss?"
"No." Yue Yining glanced at him. "Someone who was full of energy while investigating a case would suddenly become dizzy and lightheaded as soon as they got home? Your excuse is too far-fetched. Aren't you afraid Jin Yuanxiu will see through you?"
Xie Qingyu smiled, pursing his lips, but did not answer. He said, "It's just a reason to cover up my departure from the manor."
"How did you manage to get out, Miss?"
Yue Yining thought of Yue Nu waiting in her room and fell silent for a moment.
Although it was just a half-hearted cover-up, it was certainly not very respectable, and she belatedly realized that it was something she couldn't bring herself to talk about.
So she said, "I won't tell you."
Just as Xie Qingyu was about to say something, she felt a chill on her neck, and a flash of silver light appeared before her eyes.
It was a long, round-tipped needle. No one knew where Yue Yining had pulled it from. She held the needle, her eyes sharp and unstoppable.
The long needle moved and traced patterns in front of his collarbone, as if he was considering where to strike, or perhaps it was simply a threat.
Yue Yining said calmly, "I didn't come here specifically to chat with you about everyday things."
"I've come to hijack the carriage. If Lord Xie is willing to part with it and give it to me, I will be very grateful. If Lord Xie is unwilling, I can only let you get a good night's sleep."
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