Sizhou Eight
Sizhou has two treasures. One is its abundant production of fireworks. Every time they are set off, the streets are deserted and the sky is filled with lights. The other is Fang Shouren, a famous philanthropist in Jiangnan, whose only pleasure in life is donating money.
Two figures, one tall and one short, avoided the guards in the courtyard and landed silently on the eaves of Fang's house. The shorter figure fell a little weakly, and had to be grabbed by the taller one to prevent any sound.
"Why, does your Qinggong depend on the time of day?"
Feeling ashamed by his mocking gaze, Aruo covered her face with her hands. She shamelessly grabbed the man's sleeve and refused to let go, fearing that she would fall directly on the floor of Fang's house if she was careless. She really didn't expect that Fang's guards were so powerful.
Relying on memory, he turned around and slipped into a remote courtyard. The night breeze was cool, and the whole garden was quiet and depressing. Aruo and Su Zirui exchanged a glance, and he nodded slightly, confirming that there were no guards here.
"There's not a single person here?" Aruo looked puzzled and a little surprised.
"You sneaked into someone else's house in the middle of the night and complained that there was no one guarding the room? Why on earth did you come here?" Su Zirui searched for information related to the Fang family in his mind and was a little puzzled by her familiarity with the place.
"You talk as if you didn't sneak in. Strange, where did that guy go? He didn't move away, did he? He refused to leave even when he was haunted..." Aruo shook his head affirmatively, walked around the corridor and went straight to the dormitory.
"That guy... is Fang Jingsheng, the eldest son of the Fang family." Su Zirui said with certainty.
Aruo glanced at him sideways, without any intention of hiding anything. "Didn't you find out everything? Three years ago, I went to the Fang family to treat his illness for the reward, and by the way, I found out about his stepmother's poisoning. Oh, and Caixin almost married him, and then I disrupted the wedding and spent a hundred taels to steal the bride."
Just thinking about it makes me feel bad about the hundred taels.
Su Zirui did not deny it. He had indeed checked her past in Sizhou. It was so extraordinary that it was shocking. A woman snatched away someone else's bride at a wedding... Su Zirui looked at her coldly with a look of regret on her face. He thought that her careless behavior was extraordinary, but he didn't expect that she had done such a mess.
"You stole his bride, but your relationship sounds pretty good?" Su Zirui looked at the family file and thought that the Fang family was a suspect, but he didn't expect that she would mention this matter without any hesitation.
"It wasn't what you thought back then... We were also trying to help him. Besides, it's better to have more friends than more enemies." More friends mean more paths. Aruo feels that it is more practical to be down-to-earth in life.
These days, anyone in a high position can destroy a family with just a flick of their finger. The smart people who have been trained since childhood are smart and resourceful, so it is better for common people like her to just stick to farming.
Su Zirui didn't comment. Anyway, the girl in front of him always had different ideas from other women he knew, so he wasn't surprised by it.
Suddenly, a dark blue light shot through the air. Aruo was unable to react, staring wide-eyed as the light approached her brow. In the nick of time, her arm tightened, and Aruo was pulled aside. A dart narrowly grazed her hair and buried itself in the pillar behind her.
"What are you staring at?" Su Zirui, holding his arm across his chest, retreated to the rockery at the edge of the courtyard. The two of them, dressed in night clothes, almost blended into the darkness. "See if you still think others are not leaving guards here."
"That bastard Fang Jingsheng actually plotted against me?" The situation was a bit special, and Aruo's face became serious.
"What exactly are you here for?" Su Zirui looked around vigilantly and asked softly.
"Go ask him clearly... Hey, Lord Su, don't you think this rockery is a bit strange?" Protected by him, Aruo found that there was just enough space between the rockery to accommodate one person. The rockery was exquisitely made and covered with green plants. If she hadn't happened to hide in it, she wouldn't have noticed it. She subconsciously touched the two walls, and the fingertips touched concave and convex patterns, but they were different from the roughness of the rocks. "Hey, what is this?" She pressed hard with her index finger, and the position of her index finger was actually concave. Her feet loosened, and Aruo fell down before she could react, "Su——"
Su Zirui was shocked. He turned around and stretched out his hand, but his hand only managed to pass over her fingertips. "Aruo!"
Aruo's mind went blank the moment she fell. Fortunately, the passage was not long. When she came to her senses, she had already fallen to the ground, and her ankle was throbbing with pain.
The surroundings were pitch black, with a hint of fragrance, a bit of ink, and a musty smell. Many different smells mixed together, making people feel suffocated. Aruo groped around her feet, the fear of not being able to see made her voice a little unstable, "Master Su?"
There was no response for a long time, as if the only sound she could hear was her own rapid heartbeat. The fear of being swallowed by darkness spread. Aruo clutched the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands, not daring to reach out and touch the darkness beside her, "Su Feng..."
"Don't move!" A cold voice suddenly sounded, with a reassuring breath. A fire starter suddenly appeared. In the dim firelight, Su Zirui's face was vaguely helpless, and his cold black eyes looked into those panicked eyes.
"Su Zirui?" The boundless fear dissipated, and Aruo stared at him blankly, her panicked heartbeat stabilizing. Belatedly realizing it, she lowered her head and saw a cyan object snaking at her feet. She pounced without thinking, "There's a snake!"
She just rushed into his arms and hugged him tightly. Su Zirui quickly took away the fire starter that almost burned her cheek. He frowned and steadied himself, looking behind her. "What are you afraid of? He's already dead."
"Dead, dead?" Aruo turned back timidly. Sure enough, the thing hadn't moved at all, but just looking at it was scary. "Why is there a snake in the secret room? Shouldn't there be bones or something like that?"
"Do you think it would be better to see the bones?" Su Zirui looked at her in surprise.
Aruo nodded. She would rather see bones than these horrible things.
Su Zirui: ...She is indeed different from ordinary women.
His vision was obstructed in the darkness, but his sense of touch was more pronounced, a soft touch filling his chest. Her slightly rapid breath kept blowing against his chest, a faint sweet fragrance lingering around, and his heart inexplicably stirred with the slightest ripple. He closed his eyes slightly, and his eyes instantly calmed down.
"Have you hugged me enough?" Su Zirui glanced at the person who was leaning on his arms speechlessly, "Get out of the way, go see what trouble you've caused."
The teasing tone made Aruo's mind clear up in an instant. He quickly let go of his hand and sat on the ground. His ears began to feel hot, but he did not dare to step back and leave his side.
"Oh... I didn't fall down on purpose." Aruo muttered embarrassedly, touching his slightly hot cheek with the back of his hand.
With such a sweet and beautiful girl in his arms, any normal person would comfort her a few times... No wonder the noble ladies in the capital are so attracted to the other three of the four princes of the capital, but habitually forget about this gentleman.
Cut, destined to be alone.
Aruo coughed lightly, followed his hand to stand up, pulled his sleeve worriedly, and walked unsteadily.
Su Zirui remembered that she was afraid of the dark, and seeing the fear in her eyes had not yet dissipated, he simply pulled back his sleeve and directly grabbed her sleeve and pulled her away, "Don't dawdle, let's go."
Aruo curled her lips and let him pull her away obediently.
After turning a corner along the slightly damp road, we came to a passage of moderate length. The walls of the passage were all made of grey bricks, with candlesticks burning at intervals.
"This... Is there something wrong with the people who built this place? It's obvious that there is a mechanism." With the candlelight, Aruo finally relaxed his tense nerves and spoke smoothly.
"Why do you think so?" Su Zirui let her go and looked at the passage.
Aruo thought for a moment, then picked up a stone and threw it. The next moment, darts shot out from both sides of the passage, and several hidden compartments even launched sharp spears, one after another. "You're really crazy. So many hidden weapons, what a waste."
Sighing and shaking his head, Su Zirui no longer had much expectation for this unpredictable man.
"Of course, no matter how many hidden weapons there are, they are nothing to you, Lord Su." Aruo saw his expression of surprise and thought that he had some objection to the mechanism, so he added in a very servile manner.
With a cold snort, Su Zirui took a deep breath and jumped. After a few gorgeous turns, he landed steadily at the other end of the passage and looked at her with raised eyebrows.
Aruo stroked his chin as he observed the mechanism's sequence. After a while, he couldn't figure it out, but he did spot a flaw. Under his astonished gaze, Aruo calmly lay on the ground, moving slowly like a snail or worm, crawling all the way to his feet.
Standing up and patting the clothes in front of him, Aruo faced his disgusted eyes and said confidently, "Results are the focus, the process is not important."
It’s good enough that you can get through it safely. The designer of the mechanism must be an expert. I didn’t expect that an ordinary person could get through it like this.
"Are you using your Qinggong skills to perform?" Su Zirui scoffed, looking her up and down with cold eyes, and said indifferently, "Thank goodness it's fair."
What do you mean by flat? Aruo looked back at the ground below the passage. It was obviously not flat. The raised bricks hurt her elbow.
After taking two steps, he suddenly realized what was happening. Aruo was so angry that he kicked the small stone at his feet. "Su Feng, tell me clearly, who is equal?!"
It's rare for her to grow up like this in an era without adjustment models!
Not long after passing the passage, there was a secret room, the size of an ordinary yard, filled with boxes. Some of them were opened and filled with pearls, agates, porcelain and jade, and there were also many boxes filled with shining silver.
"Wow, is this the Fang family's treasure trove?" Aruo picked up a necklace of pink pearls, each one as plump and round as a longan, and marveled. "Enameled porcelain, green jade longevity ruyi, red coral with a gold base, white jade rotating lotus seed vase... every one of these things would be priceless. Fang Shouren donated so much, but he still has such a huge fortune. What kind of business does the Fang family do?"
"It seems that the great philanthropist is truly as wealthy as a nation." Su Zirui picked up a scroll. "Gu Kaizhi's 'Admonitions of the Court Instructress', the colors are vibrant and the expressions are perfect."
I'm afraid it's not a copy. If it were an original, how could it be more than priceless?
"Hey, what's this?" Aruo saw a few familiar-looking boxes with seals on them, and curiously walked over to open them. Her collar tightened, and she was grabbed from behind. She was so angry that she screamed, "Su is crazy!"
Su Zirui smiled faintly, not caring about her outrageous words. "As the saying goes, don't touch anything that is not appropriate. This is either a treasure or money. Miss Qi, you don't want to have a piece of it, do you?"
"You're kidding. Money is like floating clouds to me. They are all external things." Aruo rolled his eyes and looked up and said in a noble tone.
However, if she didn't take it, she would have lost everything. Aruo secretly hated that there was an unlucky star blocking her way to wealth tonight. If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have hoped that someone would send the guards to call him!
"Then who was it that argued with me about those few taels of silver before?" Su Zirui mercilessly exposed her false righteousness.
"That's what you owe me. It's my money." Aruo was still very angry when she thought of his attitude. It turned out that she couldn't change her opinion of men.
"Okay, since you are not interested in these treasures, why not go and see what's in the next room." Su Zirui pushed her lightly, his eyes showing amusement as he glanced at the boxes.
Aruo was reluctant, "What's good looking? Are there any more expensive ones than these?"
The upright second-generation official shook his head and resolutely carried the person to the other side, ignoring her big eyes that were fixed on the treasures.
The door to the other secret room was locked with an iron padlock. Aruo took out a piece of wire from her waist and fiddled with it a few times. The door unlocked with a click. Su Zirui looked at her calmly with his arms crossed, feeling guilty. "Is this another self-defense tool of yours?"
"It's better to be prepared." Aruo, who had been so careless that he forgot to sneak out a member of the official family, said weakly and quickly opened the door. "Come in and take a look."
Inside was a dormitory with simple tables and chairs, like an ordinary living room. An old man was lying on the bamboo bed in the inner room.
"Fang Shouren?" Aruo said in surprise after seeing the old man's face clearly.
"A kind-hearted man from Sizhou?" Su Zirui stepped forward to check. "He's not dead yet. He must have been drugged. There's a black line on his palm. He's probably been poisoned, and it's been quite a while."
"Why is he here? I haven't heard Fang Shouren is sick." Aruo remembered that when she first came to Sizhou to sing opera, Fang Shouren had performed for the Wanxing Troupe, his face rosy and healthy. She had originally planned to find Xiaoman and Fang Jingsheng to reminisce after the troupe's business was over.
"Then we need to see which Fang Shouren it is." Su Zirui, who had just met with Fang Dashanren and Zhu Jiazhen yesterday, while enjoying a drink and flowers, carefully recalled Fang Shouren's words and actions at that time. He was natural and proper, handling even the slightest probing with ease. His speech and preferences were consistent with the records in the file, and there was no sign of any problem.
"You mean there are two Fang Shouren?" Aruo, who had been plagued by all kinds of bizarre ideas, couldn't help but think of different plots of the peach-plum-replacing-the-dead plot. "I remember he had no brothers, and only two sons. Besides Fang Jingsheng, the other one started practicing in the family temple with his hair uncut three years ago."
After it was discovered that the vicious stepmother had poisoned Fang Jingsheng, the boy cried and wanted to become a monk in order to atone for his mother's sins. It was only after Fang Jingsheng asked Cai Xin to persuade him for a long time that he finally changed his mind and practiced Buddhism with his hair uncut.
"There's water in the teapot, and the tea leaves don't have any peculiar smell. This proves someone comes to take care of him every day... or visit him." Su Zirui picked up the hairpin held in Fang Shouren's hand. There was a word "Ling" on it. "Ling?"
"Ah... Ling was the maiden name of the late Madam of the Fang family. Tsk tsk, he favored his concubine over his wife. If I hadn't discovered it by chance, even the son she gave birth to would have been poisoned to death. Why are you pretending to be affectionate now?" Aruo didn't care. Belated affection was worth less than grass. She despised those who abused their wives for a moment's pleasure. "Then the question is, does Fang Jingsheng know that his father has been replaced?"
"The eldest son of the Fang family has been silent for the past three years, and the family business is managed by Fang Shouren himself." Su Zirui thought for a moment and asked, "The inside story must not be like this."
Aruo thought about it and felt that there was nothing to hide from him.
"He doesn't want the Fang family's things; he has his own property. I just don't know why he hasn't left..." Three years ago, Wang was found guilty of poisoning him, and he was sent to the manor to 'recover' but died within a few days. Aruo was probably responsible. If his half-brother hadn't volunteered to become a monk to atone for their mother's sins, it would have been a question whether he could stay.
Fang Jingsheng later cooperated with the Qin family and had many banks under his name, but Aruo was not very clear about the details. She had been busy in recent years and had no time to gossip about the development of her character, which was a common routine.
The Fang family was simple, so could someone have taken advantage of them? Did Fang Jingsheng know about it, or was he kept in the dark?
"It seems that the Fang family is also a fun place." Su Zirui curled his lips slightly. As expected of a great philanthropist, whether it was true or not, the Fang family delivered everything he wanted. His cold eyes swept over the girl who tilted her head in thought. It was really thanks to her restlessness that he was able to do so.
Aruo felt uncomfortable with this strange and gentle look, "Are you in a good mood?"
"Why do you think so?" Su Zirui raised his eyebrows. His face was always cold, but his cold eyes could not hide his joy at this moment.
How do you explain a woman's sixth sense to a straight man? Aruo felt like the words weren't enough. When she looked up, she saw a dark shadow passing behind him. Her face dropped in fear. "Su Feng! Behind..."
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