Chapter 42: Double Jade Pendants
Liuli took out the fire-burning medicinal wine from the cabinet and applied it to her several times, but it still had no effect until after dinner.
When it was time to turn off the lights and go to bed, Qiandeng lay on the bed with his eyes closed, feeling the burning pain in the wound like a needle, which became more and more severe.
She was not sleepy at all, so she sat up and blew the air, then waved her hands to seek some coolness.
"Why is this burn medicine ineffective..." she muttered, and suddenly remembered that during the selection in the mansion that day, Meng Lanxi had applied medicine to the burned Jin Tang.
As soon as the green potion touched the wound, Jin Tang felt relieved immediately. It seemed that the medicine was very effective.
Seeing that it was late at night and that Liuli and Zhenzhu, who were on guard duty, were snoring softly in the outer room, she did not disturb them. She said something to the guards guarding the backyard and quietly went to Yilan Pavilion.
During this period, Jintang led people to keep the backyard very tidy. Lanterns were scattered around, either hanging on the corridors, hidden in the rockery, or dotted along the waterside. The backyard was illuminated by lights and added a touch of elegance.
Walking along the lighted steps on the spring, bypassing the lush tea trees, Qiandeng arrived at the door of the cottage.
Changhua Palace was her territory, so she was naturally very familiar with it. Ever since Meng Lanxi's accident, it had been vacant, and it was even less likely that anyone would come here on such a dark night.
She raised her hand, pushed open the unlocked door, stepped into the house, and shone the lantern in her hand around.
To her surprise, the room, which should have been tidy, had several cabinet doors wide open and drawers pulled open. In the corridor leading to the inner hall, the bamboo curtains at the back were transparent, and the shadows of the flowers cast on them swayed slightly.
She immediately realized that someone had sneaked into the room late at night and was secretly looking for something, but because of her sudden appearance, they hid in the inner hall.
She turned back without making a sound, and after leaving the house, she quickened her pace and hurriedly called out towards the Ju Garden where Ji Linyou lived: "Someone, there's—"
Before she could finish her words, a dark shadow came from behind and enveloped her with a suffocatingly powerful force, holding her entire body in his arms.
He covered her mouth and nose with one hand and strangled her waist with the other. His moves were extremely precise and his strength was amazing. In just a moment, she was controlled in his arms, unable to make a sound or move.
In the face of his powerful strength, Qiandeng was like a fish jumping onto the shore. He twisted his waist hard, trying to hit his knees with his heels and escape his control.
He had already leaned close to her ear and whispered, "It's me, Ling Tianshui."
When this low voice sounded in his ears, Qiandeng's tense body relaxed a little.
Unaccustomed to being controlled, she angrily broke free from his grip and growled, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Ling Tianshui loosened his arms and said logically, "I have to be loyal to the person who entrusted me. The county lady asked me to help you investigate the case. I was worried about people being around during the day, so I came to investigate the suspect's residence at night. But you came in the middle of the night and started shouting when you went out, so I had to stop the county lady."
Is this how you stop me by holding me in your arms?
Qiandeng broke free from his confinement in disappointment, picked up the extinguished lantern that had fallen to the ground, and reached for the tinderbox in his purse.
Ling Tianshui pulled her and pushed her to the corner of the courtyard wall at the back.
There were rustling footsteps, and Ji Linyou appeared across from the flowing spring. Apparently startled from his sleep by Qiandeng's cries, he glanced over and called out softly, "County Lady, are you here?"
Qiandeng didn't want to go out to explain, so he just stayed motionless against the wall, deliberately holding his breath.
In the quiet night, the sound of insects chirped, and the two people huddled in the corner did not move. Ji Linyou paused for a moment and muttered, "Strange, am I hallucinating?" The footsteps gradually faded away.
Qian Deng breathed a sigh of relief and turned his attention to Ling Tianshui beside him.
He was so close to her, against the dim light of the sky, and his overly tall body made her look up.
The clear and strong jawline, the outline that she had once admired in the dark night, suddenly made her back sweat slightly and her heart palpitated slightly.
That night by the cold pond, the fear she felt when she looked up at King Linhuai at the moment of life and death was like a huge night falcon flapping its wings and completely enveloping her.
She opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but Ling Tianshui had already turned around and walked into the house.
Qiandeng realized that she was still holding the extinguished lantern tightly. She pinched the sticky sweat on her palms, put all the absurd associations behind her, grabbed the lantern and followed him into the house.
"You just searched here, did you find anything?"
"Not yet." Ling Tianshui flicked the fire stick and lit her lamp, shining it into the hall. "What brings you here so late at night?"
Qian Deng then remembered why he had come. He waved his hand in front of him and said, "My hand was burned. I remember Meng Lanxi is proficient in pharmacology and has a bottle of very effective medicine, so I wanted to look for it."
Ling Tianshui had already checked the room thoroughly, so he naturally knew where Meng Lanxi's things were kept. He then opened the cabinet door and the drawer.
Among the neatly arranged bottles, Qiandeng saw the familiar small porcelain bottle. He picked it up and smelled it. It was cool and fragrant. He shook it under the lamp and found that it was indeed a light green liquid. He applied some on the burned area on the back of his hand. Sure enough, he felt a cool sensation and the red and swollen area felt much more comfortable.
She put the medicine back where it belonged and said with some emotion, "When Meng Lanxi was arrested, he told me that he would not kill people in that way, and I think so too."
Ling Tianshui looked at the densely packed medicine bottles in the drawer, picked up a few and examined them carefully, then agreed, "Yes, if he really wanted to harm someone, he would probably do it before anyone noticed."
Qiandeng nodded and put the bottle back with his hand. Suddenly, he saw something in the gap under the drawer that seemed to light up under the light.
She exclaimed "Huh", moved the light in her hand closer, and shone it towards the gap.
There was a dark gap below, and nothing could be seen.
She turned the light to think for a moment, then squatted down and looked under the drawer.
Sure enough, at the very bottom of the drawer, there was a small, flat object wrapped in oil paper. It was thin and flat, and stuck to the wooden drawer board, so it was impossible to find unless the drawer was turned over.
But because of the gap in the drawer, the light she just shone through was reflected by the oil paper under the gap, which made her notice something unusual.
She put down the lantern, reached under the drawer, and took out the small paper package at the back.
The back of the drawer was rough and had many burrs. Her fingertips scraped against the burrs, causing a slight, barely noticeable pain.
She took off the paper package and opened it. Inside was a piece of mutton-fat white jade pendant, which shone brightly under the lamp and was carved with layers of fairy mountains in the mist.
There are tiny characters as thin as a fly's head on one corner of the jade pendant. Upon closer inspection, one can see that they are engraved with the five characters "There are many fairy mountains in Shu Kingdom".
Ling Tianshui, a military man not familiar with poetry, picked up the jade pendant, flipped it over, and asked, "The size and pattern of this jade pendant suggest it might be a man's ornament. I wonder what the inscription says?"
Qian Deng said, "This is Li Bai's 'Climbing Mount Emei.' The first line is 'Shu is home to many immortal mountains, but Mount Emei is unmatched.' Generally speaking, if someone wants to include poetry in a painting or engraving, they'll choose the latter line, 'The azure sky opens, its colors intertwined, seemingly painted.' Choosing the first line is quite rare."
Ling Tianshui's gaze paused on the jade pendant, and he subconsciously murmured, "Emei is unmatched... Emei..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com