Chapter 24 Broken Gold
The three of them walked down the water pavilion and out of the backyard, all of them were heavy with worry.
Finally, Ling Tianshui spoke up and asked, "Is the man your mother pointed out before her death still safe and sound?"
Cui Fufeng glanced at him silently, and a strange thought suddenly came to his mind, which he knew he shouldn't have -
In any case, neither you nor I are among the people Lady Qi is referring to.
In other words, unless all the men selected that day no longer exist, the opportunity belonging to them or others will arise.
So, what right did he have to ask the county lord this question?
However, what Cui Fufeng considered a presumptuous and even offensive question received a natural response from Qian Deng: "Actually, my mother might not be referring to a specific person... Ultimately, the choice is still mine."
Ling Tianshui pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, with a mindset he himself didn't understand, "Were all the people present at the time like this?"
Qian Deng thought about the contents of the letter, the direction her mother pointed before her death, and all the people standing near and far inside and outside. She nodded, "All of them."
Cui Fufeng remained silent, his gaze lingering on Ling Tianshui, thinking—
So, besides the candidates, those waiting inside and outside the Water Pavilion included the injured him, the Prince of Linhuai who had escorted them back, and even the Crown Prince who was stranded in the manor...
So, Ling Tianshui asked this question, to confirm his position and judge his advantages and disadvantages in this marriage?
It seems that his position is different.
When he first entered the county lord's backyard, he said he just wanted to find a warm place to recuperate.
Now his injuries have long been healed. Even on New Year's Day, he had clearly chosen to leave and could completely disappear from her life, but for some reason, he rushed back to Chang'an on her birthday to give her a gift.
In fact, he has stayed there until now and shows no signs of leaving.
The relationship between him and the county lady made him feel vaguely uneasy, as if there was something different between them.
But... once we think this way, the situation will become completely complicated and chaotic.
Some things cannot be delved into too deeply, and there is no need to delve into them too deeply.
He withdrew his gaze from Ling Tianshui, concealing all his doubts, and calmly asked Qian Deng another important question: "So, do you have any clues about your mother's murderer?"
Qiandeng shook his head and looked back at the marked pillar: "Perhaps, we should start from there and investigate carefully to find out who might have left such traces in the manor."
The three of them talked in low voices all the way and walked very slowly. When they arrived at the front yard, it was already noon.
The carriage that came from the palace to pick up the county lady has arrived. Aunt Xuanji is checking the mattress inside to prevent the county lady from having a bumpy journey back to the palace.
Qiandeng asked her not to rush and to consider whether she should stay here for a while and conduct a thorough investigation around the water pavilion, hoping to find something.
Putting aside other things, the mark on the pillar must be thoroughly investigated.
"County Lady." Daimao came quickly from the courtyard of the young masters, a little hesitant, "Have you seen Young Master Jin?"
When they heard about Jintang, Qiandeng and Aunt Xuanji were both shocked.
Aunt Xuanji asked hurriedly, "Didn't the gentlemen all get up? Why is Mr. Jin missing?"
"I've seen all the other gentlemen, but not him. I just went to the kitchen and heard from the cooks that breakfast for the gentlemen has been delivered. Only Young Master Jin didn't respond when I knocked on the door. Is he going back home hungry? This journey will take at least two hours..."
Qiandeng's heart sank, and he immediately walked quickly towards the house where Jintang lived.
After all, the disputes among all parties yesterday are still fresh in our minds, and Jintang is now in danger.
Aunt Xuanji trotted over to catch up with her and comforted her, "Maybe Mr. Jin was frightened last night, so he slept late. Don't worry, County Lady. It's okay..."
When he arrived at the door of Jintang, Ji Linyou and Xue Xiyang were already standing in front of his door, while Meng Lanxi was leaning against her own door, watching coldly.
Mingjiu was banging on the door of the Jintang room and yelling, "Get up, get up! Stop hiding! This stinky daughter-in-law has to meet her parents-in-law eventually..."
"Prince, what you said is wrong. You made two mistakes." Xue Xiyang corrected him slowly. "See refers to the eyes, so the ugly wife dare not see it. If it is smelly, she will be smelled even if she hides. As for the second mistake, this description should not appear here."
Mingjiu learned it quickly and humbly corrected himself: "Yes, is he worthy of being the county lady's wife?"
Seeing this situation, the two were still arguing about this. Even Cui Fufeng felt helpless for a moment and winked at Ling Tianshui.
Ling Tianshui strode to the door, motioned Mingjiu to move aside, then raised his foot and kicked the door hard.
Unexpectedly, everyone thought that the thin door and bolt would not be able to withstand Ling Tianshui's kick, but unexpectedly, there was only a loud noise and the door was intact.
Ling Tianshui frowned slightly and kicked the door again, listening carefully to the sound behind the door. "The door bolt is stuck. Jintang must have put something on it to prevent anyone from sneaking in."
Once the stick is against the door bolt, even if you have a thousand pounds of force, it will be difficult to break into the door.
Qiandeng frowned: "Go to the back window and see if it can be opened."
To get to the back window, one had to go around the patio, but the patio was under renovation and was muddy. No one cared, even Qian Deng lifted her skirt and stepped through the mud to get to the back window with the others.
The rear window was a heavy wooden plank. Everyone tried it and found that, like the door, it was bolted tightly from the inside.
Obviously, after listening to Qiandeng's reminder last night, Jintang did not dare to be negligent and had properly installed the doors and windows, making it impossible for anyone to sneak in.
But the more this happened, the more uneasy Qian Deng felt.
Ji Linyou was a military commander. He drew his sword, inserted it into the crack of the window, and chopped it several times before he broke the window latch and opened the window.
The doors and windows faced each other. They looked over the table in the room and saw a wooden stick as thick as a bowl leaning against the door opposite.
Behind the side barrier was an ordinary bunk bed. The quilt showed that someone was sleeping on the bed, but he was lying on the bed with his limbs twisted and his posture looked strange.
Qiandeng felt his heart beating rapidly for a moment.
Ji Linyou had pushed the window open and climbed in first. He first opened the wooden stick and bolt behind the door, then quickly walked to the bed to check the situation inside the room.
Qian Deng and the others once again walked around the muddy courtyard and entered the door. They saw Ji Linyou turning over the body on the bed, revealing the deceased's face.
It was Jin Tang who had already died.
His body was stiff, his face was dark purple, and blood was coming out of all his orifices. It was obvious that he had been dead for a long time.
Qiandeng felt as if his chest was hit hard. He stared at him for a long time with his breathing stopped, then he staggered two steps closer to Jintang's body.
I can't believe that Jintang, who listened to her instructions and promised to protect her last night, has become a cold corpse.
Ling Tianshui stopped her and signaled her not to get too close: "He may still have some poison in him, so please don't touch him."
Qian Deng pursed his lower lip silently, took a half step back, turned to Cui Fufeng and signaled him to ask everyone else to leave first.
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