Chapter 56: Seeing Jiang Zhiyao suddenly made me a little scared.
Jiang Zhiyao spent the day playing at Nanzhi's place, then went to the shop for a while, and didn't return to the mansion until it was time for dinner.
She walked naturally to the table and sat down next to Yan Zhenxi: "Have you finished your work for today?"
When she left in the afternoon, Yan Zhenxi was still in the study handling official business.
"Mm." Yan Zhenxi placed a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs into Jiang Zhiyao's bowl. "I've finished all the official business for today."
"Where would you like to go tonight?" Yan Zhenxi asked gently.
Jiang Zhiyao shook her head: "I'm a little tired, I don't want to go out."
After dinner, they took a short walk in the garden before returning to their bedroom.
On the couch, Jiang Zhiyao was held in Yan Zhenxi's arms, reading a book in her hand, while Yan Zhenxi read with her from behind.
"Finished reading?" Jiang Zhiyao asked, pinching the corner of the page.
“Mm,” Yan Zhenxi replied.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Jiang Zhiyao turned the page and continued reading.
The book in her hand was a travelogue. After seeing a new page, Jiang Zhiyao pointed to a place name with some surprise and turned to Yan Zhenxi, saying, "Qingzhou! It's where I lived when I was a child."
"Qinghu Lake is so beautiful, especially at dusk and when the moon comes out at night..." Jiang Zhiyao excitedly introduced it to Yan Zhenxi as she looked at the description in the book.
“And in autumn, the crabs here are so delicious!” Jiang Zhiyao said with sparkling eyes.
She and her mother often made simple nets to catch crabs by the lake.
"However, it also depends on luck. Sometimes you can catch a few if you're lucky, and sometimes you won't see a single crab for several days in a row."
After briefly sharing the joy she had captured with Yan Zhenxi, Jiang Zhiyao continued to tell Yan Zhenxi about other scenery and food in Qingzhou.
For some reason, even though it was something that happened when she was a child and a long time ago, Jiang Zhiyao could still clearly recall many places and remember which shop at the alley entrance had the best sesame cakes.
Looking at Jiang Zhiyao's bright eyes and nostalgic words, Yan Zhenxi's eyes flickered slightly as he listened quietly to her story, only occasionally responding with a few words.
As she spoke, Jiang Zhiyao's voice grew softer and softer, and Yan Zhenxi watched as the book in her hand slowly slipped from her grasp.
Yan Zhenxi chuckled softly, took the book that was about to fall to the ground, and looked at Jiang Zhiyao, who was sleeping in his arms, for a while with a smile on his lips. Then he helped her lie down, extinguished the candle beside him, and lay down next to her.
midnight.
In a daze, Jiang Zhiyao felt as if something was missing beside her. When she opened her eyes, she found herself alone on the bed.
"Zhenxi?" Jiang Zhiyao called softly, but there was no response.
The room was dark and quiet, with only the cold moonlight shining in. It was a little chilly. Jiang Zhiyao wrapped herself tightly in the quilt. Alone in the room, she suddenly felt a little panicked. She sat up and got out of bed to go find Yan Zhenxi.
The early spring night was still cold. It was late at night, and all was quiet. The night patrollers had gone to rest. Jiang Zhiyao walked out of her bedroom by the moonlight.
As soon as she stepped out of the room, a gust of cold wind blew through her, bringing her previously hazy thoughts back to normal.
Yan Zhenxi must be dealing with some urgent official business, so Jiang Zhiyao thought she shouldn't disturb him now.
But standing in the empty courtyard, looking at the faint bamboo shadows on the ground, Jiang Zhiyao still moved and walked towards the study.
The deserted covered bridge at night was particularly frightening. Fear made Jiang Zhiyao's heart race, and she quickened her pace toward the study.
The study was quite a distance from the bedroom, and by the time Jiang Zhiyao arrived, her palms were sweating profusely in the cool night air.
strangeness.
The study was dark, so Yan Zhenxi shouldn't be in there.
Jiang Zhiyao frowned slightly, standing there somewhat stunned. Did she have some urgent business to attend to and leave the manor?
Never mind, I'll just ask again tomorrow morning.
Jiang Zhiyao pinched her slightly cold fingertips, intending to go back to her dormitory now.
Just as she slightly shifted her toes and turned her body slightly to the right, Jiang Zhiyao saw a small, dim light appear in front of her.
She walked there hesitantly.
Yan Zhenxi was somewhat annoyed. He should have been lying on the bed with A Yao, sleeping peacefully, instead of interrogating a troublesome assassin leader in this small side room.
The manor's guards found a defense map and a secret letter written in his handwriting and tone on the assassin. The assassin's master was simply planning for the worst; even if the assassination failed, he could put the documents in the study to frame him.
There have been people who tried to frame him using such dirty methods, but the important thing is that the defense map in the assassin's possession is genuine.
Only a handful of people have the defense map, but they wouldn't be the ones trying to assassinate or frame him, so it's only possible that the defense map was leaked.
Because the matter was of great importance, the manor's secret guards informed Yan Zhenxi as soon as they captured the assassin.
Jiang Zhiyao was sleeping soundly and was not woken up when the guards arrived. Yan Zhenxi carefully released his arms from her and quietly got out of bed.
Yan Zhenxi usually doesn't conduct interrogations at his residence, but tonight the situation is urgent, so he randomly found a side room some distance from his bedroom.
He sat comfortably in the armchair in front, his long, slender fingers lightly tapping the armrest beside him. He leaned forward slightly, his voice deep and authoritative: "Still not planning to say?"
The person being held up in front of me had his head down and didn't say a word, with blood dripping from between his bound fingers.
-
Jiang Zhiyao followed the faint light and walked for a while before she finally caught sight of the small, lit side room.
It was a very remote place; Jiang Zhiyao didn't even remember there was a side room there.
Unlike the dark and deserted courtyard and other rooms, this side room was brightly lit, with faint shadowy figures visible inside.
Jiang Zhiyao smelled a faint scent of blood, and a sense of danger washed over her. Her steps faltered slightly, but inexplicably, she still walked towards that spot, though her steps unconsciously became much lighter.
Her pace slowed down until she reached a tree a few steps away from the door of the side room, where Jiang Zhiyao stopped.
As she approached, the side room became clearer and clearer in her view.
The door to the side room was half-open, as if someone had rushed in and rushed out without bothering to close it properly.
Through that small gap, Jiang Zhiyao could see the scene inside.
Yan Zhenxi's snow-white robes were splattered with drops of bright red blood, and his once ethereal face was now cold and frightening.
There seemed to be someone opposite him, but Jiang Zhiyao couldn't see clearly. She could only see a corner of the person's clothes dripping blood.
The usually gentle person next to me uttered chilling words.
"Break his hand."
It was an indifferent tone that Jiang Zhiyao had never heard before; he spoke those words as if they were nothing out of the ordinary.
The increasingly strong smell of blood reached her nose, and Jiang Zhiyao couldn't help but gag and run away.
Perhaps the people inside were so focused that no one noticed her arrival and departure.
Jiang Zhiyao suddenly felt a little scared. Her head was spinning from the wind, but she didn't want to stay here any longer.
The scene I just witnessed is still lingering in my mind, and the smell of blood still seems to be lingering in my nose.
Jiang Zhiyao left through the small wooden door behind the kitchen. She had also left the mansion through this door before, and after returning, she placed the key she had obtained under a stone nearby.
I never thought I'd need it again.
Jiang Zhiyao ran to the small courtyard behind her shop, where some of the things she used when she lived there were still there.
With her head spinning, Jiang Zhiyao didn't have time to think about anything and fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
As dawn broke, Yan Zhenxi rubbed his temples. During the interrogation, he had sent the other guards out of the mansion to investigate. Combined with the information he had gleaned from the assassin, they had found the mastermind within an hour or two.
After sending all the news to the palace, he was finally able to rest. Looking at his clothes stained with blood, Yan Zhenxi frowned slightly and went to the bathing area.
After changing his clothes, it was already fully light outside, but Jiang Zhiyao was usually still asleep at this time. Yan Zhenxi walked towards the dormitory.
Afraid of waking Jiang Zhiyao, Yan Zhenxi slowly pushed open the door with light steps.
When he went inside, he found the dormitory room empty. The blankets were lying on the bed, and they were cold to the touch. The person who had been on the bed must have left a long time ago.
Yan Zhenxi immediately panicked, straightened up and began to look around. There were no other traces in the room, so Jiang Zhiyao must have left on her own.
Most of the guards in the manor were sent out in the middle of the night, while the remaining few stayed with him to conduct interrogations.
"...The situation was urgent last night, so I also arranged for the bodyguard beside Madam to leave the manor." The bodyguard beside Yan Zhenxi knelt on the ground, his voice trembling slightly.
There was no point in saying anything more at this point. Yan Zhenxi tried to calm himself down. A Yao had left the room on her own, and she was probably just somewhere else in the mansion now.
He went to all the other places in the mansion where Jiang Zhiyao might be, searching for her.
Finally, they stopped in front of the small wooden door at the back of the kitchen and stood there for a long time.
"We haven't found any trace of Madam anywhere in the manor," the guard reported to Yan Zhenxi, his head bowed, not daring to look at the expression on his face. "The other doors are intact."
Looking at the lock lying on the ground, the guard lowered his head even further, forcing himself to continue speaking.
"...Only this wooden gate showed signs of being opened."
Ayao wouldn't suddenly leave without a reason; last time she at least left a letter of divorce.
Something must have happened this time. Yan Zhenxi couldn't think of any other reason. The only variable compared to the past was the assassin from last night.
Ayao must have woken up in the middle of the night and found him gone, so she went looking for him.
Yan Zhenxi suddenly panicked. Had Ayao seen how he was interrogating her last night?
In front of Jiang Zhiyao, Yan Zhenxi always maintained a gentle and refined image. Even after confessing his love, he only revealed a little bit of possessiveness that Jiang Zhiyao could accept.
But Yan Zhenxi never imagined that Jiang Zhiyao would see him like that.
Ayao must be scared.
It was so cold last night, did she dress properly?
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