Chapter 65: The Green Ghost Joins the Investigation.
The needle tip was extremely close to his neck; he could have easily pierced it with a flick of his finger.
Yue Yining stared at Xie Qingyu. She moved quickly, launching a sudden attack to catch Xie Qingyu off guard. Now that things had come to this, even if her guards were highly skilled in martial arts, it would be difficult for them to rescue Xie Qingyu from her.
The fact that Xie Qingyu was here meant that his illness was feigned, and his real purpose was to sneak out of the mansion at night to investigate the case. But if she were to insert this needle, Xie Qingyu's plans for tonight would be ruined.
In front of the carriage, Yin Yi, who was only separated by a beaded curtain, was unexpectedly quiet and did not make a sound.
Yue Yining narrowed her eyes, moving closer to him, the silver needle in her hand just a hair's breadth away from that snow-white skin. "Answer?"
Xie Qingyu lowered his eyes to meet her gaze. Although Yue Yining looked at him at eye level, she practically trapped him in the corner of the carriage, her posture extremely oppressive. He looked at Yue Yining, who was already pressed against him yet seemed completely unaware, and his lips moved slightly, "Where is Miss going?"
"Investigating a case at night, and going to a place that can only be reached by carriage," Xie Qingyu said slowly, a faint smile seemingly appearing in her eyes, "it must be the mint."
Yue Yining did not give a direct answer: "You want to go to the mint to investigate the case, right?"
Xie Qingyu smiled and said, "Since Miss didn't refute me, then that's it?"
“Since you also need a carriage, why don’t we go together?” Xie Qingyu said softly. “Isn’t the situation special? Even if we’re on opposing sides, we can still cooperate temporarily. At least tonight, we can finish the case together and come back.”
Yue Yining raised an eyebrow but didn't reply immediately. She stared at Xie Qingyu's expression, pondering carefully. Just as she was about to speak, the carriage below suddenly began to shake violently.
She was practically leaning on Xie Qingyu, and with that sudden sway, she lost her balance and fell headfirst.
Xie Qingyu, who had been calm and composed, suddenly changed her expression.
"careful!"
When Yue Yining saw him leaning towards her, she subconsciously raised the hand holding the silver needle.
The next moment, he grabbed her waist with one arm, and Yue Yining, who was about to lean back, was pulled back sharply.
The carriage beneath me suddenly jolted, then suddenly returned to calm.
A sudden, deep voice came from above Yue Yining's head: "Yinyi, what's going on?"
Yin Yi said in a low voice, "I was negligent and a branch fell onto the horse's back, startling it. It has been calmed down now."
The astringent, dark pine scent lingered in the air, while at the same time, there was a hint of blood in the air.
Yue Yining noticed the blood on the tip of the silver needle and suddenly looked up at him: "You...."
He was still holding her wrist, and because they were so close, her long hair slipped down and intertwined with hers.
Seeing her surprise, Xie Qingyu also felt a warmth on her neck. He reached out and pressed it, leaving a thin layer of red on his fingertip.
He smiled nonchalantly, then looked at her again: "Did you scare the young lady just now?"
"Did you bump into anything? Is there any part of your body that hurts?"
Yue Yining stared at him blankly, then opened her mouth and said, "...I'm fine."
The person who was pricked by her and was still bleeding ignored his own wound and instead asked her, who was completely unharmed, if he was injured. It was absurd.
Yue Yining found himself speechless. If Xie Qingyu hadn't leaned forward and had instead let her fall backward, he wouldn't have been injured by the silver needles. With the needle tips so close to him, his body would have instinctively recoiled. He knew he would be pricked, yet he still reached out to catch her.
She seemed to be struggling to understand him again.
Xie Qingyu understood her gaze, and his expression softened. He said softly, "It was because the carriage suddenly jolted. I know Miss didn't really mean to hurt me. The needle was very thin, so it didn't hurt much."
Yue Yining: "...Even if the needle is very thin, in such a chaotic situation, aren't you afraid I might accidentally pierce your neck?"
Xie Qingyu chuckled: "This needle isn't that long, is it?"
Even if it doesn't pierce your neck, if the entire needle goes in, you'll still die. Yue Yining wanted to say that, but she pursed her lips and simply said, "Come closer and let me see."
Xie Qingyu lowered his eyes, a faint light shimmering in them. He obediently moved closer, letting Yue Yining brush aside his long hair and carefully examine the wound on the side of his neck.
It wasn't serious. Realizing she might have pricked him, she withdrew the needle and deliberately moved away, so it only pierced the skin. In just a short while, the blood had almost clotted.
But Yue Yining still felt a lingering fear. What if she hadn't pulled her hand away in time?
Xie Qingyu frowned involuntarily, and seeing this, she couldn't help but smile.
Yue Yining glared at him: "What are you laughing at?"
“Miss didn’t apply any medicine to the needles.” His eyes, as black as jade beads, sparkled with a brilliant light, and his smile was captivating. “So I’m still awake.”
Yue Yining: "......."
She felt a rare sense of shame at being exposed, so she didn't say anything, put the needle away, and stubbornly said, "So what? I can apply it now if I want to."
"I understand." Xie Qingyu smiled, pursing her lips. "What did you think of my suggestion earlier, Miss?"
This unexpected little incident made Yue Yining change her mind.
She stopped pressuring Xie Qingyu to give in and instead agreed to go with him to investigate the case near the mint.
Beneath the pear blossom tree, a silver-clad guard turned the reins, and the wheels began to roll, leaving behind a series of soft hoofbeats.
The four people sat in the carriage, and the atmosphere seemed somewhat tense.
Jin Lingxi was startled when she saw Xie Qingyu as soon as she got on the bus, but Xie Qingyu didn't seem surprised by her appearance. Instead, she smiled politely at her.
Jin Lingxi did not recognize Xie Qingyu. But ever since the Yanjing officials arrived in Suyang and checked into the city lord's mansion, she had been secretly keeping an eye on the three of them. Jin Yuanxiu forbade her to attend the nightly banquets, so she managed to get some information about the three Yanjing officials from the guards and maids.
There were two men and one woman. The female official's surname was Yue, and the other two male officials' surnames were Xie and Ye. The maid who was close to her said that it was very simple to distinguish Lord Xie and Lord Ye; the one who was more handsome must be Lord Xie.
Jin Lingxi glanced at Xie Qingyu's face and remained silent for a moment.
This must be Lord Xie, right? She really couldn't think of any man more handsome than him.
It turned out that the two officials had already planned to meet here. Jin Lingxi's gaze darted back and forth between them. She had thought that Lord Yue had suddenly decided to leave the manor tonight to investigate the case.
Yue Yining, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up: "Where did you get a carriage from?"
Xie Qingyu smiled: "There are also members of the Xie family's collateral branches in Suyang City."
With just one sentence, without needing any further explanation, Yue Yining understood everything.
Yue Yining snorted lightly, a half-smile on her face: "Lord Xie's investigations are certainly much easier than those of us lowly officials."
Xie Qingyu: "It is not as insightful as the Great Man's keen observation."
A faint smell of gunpowder wafted through the air.
Jin Lingxi was a little confused again. Why did these two seem to not get along?
The carriage gradually arrived on the street outside the mint.
As curfew approached, there were far fewer people around, perhaps due to the recent rampant rumors about the green ghost, as most people no longer walk this road at night.
The mint was not located on the central axis of Suyang City, but was built behind the government offices in the northeast corner. Yue Yining had previously learned that Suyang's mint was not built in the suburbs but in the city, supposedly for the convenience of management and supervision, and was built close to the government offices to form a "government offices in front, mint in the back" layout.
A granite base supports a brick wall over ten feet high, topped with glazed dragon-head ornaments and dripping water, and a black-lacquered gate with copper nails hangs under the eaves. Embedded in the wall facing the street are copper mortise and tenon "coin pattern tablets", engraved with the outline of the current dynasty's coins, for merchants to verify the currency regulations.
Under the moonlight, the three-tiered roofline appeared as if covered with a layer of sand and snow. The chimneys that roared during the day were now as silent as monuments, and the entire building resembled the spine of a crouching beast, with only the long chimneys protruding from the roof piercing the horizon.
Yin Yi stopped the carriage under a locust tree not far from the mint. The tree's shadow, like a giant beast, held the people in the carriage in darkness, its mouth half-open, letting in a sliver of light.
Yue Yining parted the carriage curtain and peered out onto the street, wondering if the Green Ghost would show up today.
Fu Yao was a little scared: "Miss, are there really green ghosts? Didn't you say they were all fake?"
Yue Yining: "Of course it's fake, but I'm afraid that the Green Ghost is a product of manipulation by someone with ulterior motives."
“If I were the one who created the ‘Green Ghost’ to frighten the people of Suyang City, then I would make the Green Ghost hide for the next few days and not come out again. The officials in the capital can’t stay in Suyang forever. Once they outlast us, it can continue to cause trouble, right?” Yue Yining said. “In that case, we would be helpless against it.”
“That’s right, that’s what I think too.” Xie Qingyu looked over with a smile. “In this situation, there’s not much we can do. We can only wait for the other side to make a mistake first before we can find an opportunity to subdue and take them away.”
Yue Yining had sharp ears. The mint had three floors, and each floor had windows that looked like doors. Dim yellow light shone through from inside, faintly emitting a clanging sound.
Her gaze fell on Jin Lingxi: "Miss Jin, why are there still sounds coming from the mint so late? Are the workers working there?"
Jin Lingxi pondered for a while: "The mint has always been guarded by the Suyang City Guard. They would stay at the mint and take turns guarding it every night. Then there are the workers. Some workers would stay at the factory until very late to do the finishing work that others were unwilling to do, in order to earn more money."
"Sometimes when time is tight, the workers will not be able to sleep for two days in a row and will work continuously, starting from quarrying stone, then smelting copper, casting, and carving."
"That must be pretty tough..." Fu Yao listened intently, resting her chin on her hand. She sighed, "Who doesn't want to be snuggled up in bed and sleeping soundly at night... Ah!!!"
Fu Yao suddenly screamed, drawing the attention of the other three to her.
Yue Yining: "What's wrong?"
"Miss! I think I just saw a green ghost! It really was green, I'm sure I wasn't mistaken!" Fu Yao clung to the left car window, looking at Yue Yining with a mixture of fear, anxiety, and excitement. "Miss, come and see too, it might not have gone far!"
Yue Yining immediately got up and went to the car window.
She peeked out, and just then, a shimmering green shadow quietly flashed by under the shade of several locust trees not far away.
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