Chapter 82: Qi Da is not an odd match
The usual warm expression on his face had not faded, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her. His right hand unconsciously raised and touched the wound on his left shoulder that was still throbbing slightly.
I don’t know if it was Qiandeng’s illusion, but this man who was as radiant as the rising sun suddenly showed a trace of hastily concealed sadness.
Aunt Xuanji deeply regretted her words, but at this moment she could only feign ignorance and stepped forward to greet him, "Master Cui, are you up and about? Tomorrow is Cold Food Festival, and the county lady is here to bring gifts to the gentlemen."
"Thank you, County Lady and Auntie." Cui Fufeng said in a low voice, inviting them into the bamboo hall. "The doctor told me to move around more, saying it would help with recovery."
After passing through the rustling bamboo grove in the courtyard and entering the Bamboo Hall, I saw the maid from the Cui family cleaning the house, taking out various exquisite flower cakes from the food box and putting them into the cupboard.
Hearing the voice, she turned around and said, "Tomorrow is Cold Food Festival. Since my husband is not going home, I will go back and report that the doctor has told him not to move around. In addition, my wife has prepared pine flower and poria cocos cakes and transparent flower rice cakes..."
Her eyes fell on Qiandeng behind Cui Fufeng, and she also saw the food box in her hand. She swallowed the rest of the words and bowed to Qiandeng.
Cui Fufeng slowly sat down in the chair and asked, "Mammy, how could you forget? I don't like eating red bean paste, and I'm afraid that Poria cocos will conflict with the medicine I'm taking now."
The nanny glanced at the food box in Aunt Xuanji's hand and took back the things she had brought with her expressionless face. "I am overthinking it. I think the county lord is considerate. The cakes in the palace will definitely suit your taste better."
As she left, she pointed to the medicine on the table and said, "My dear, drink the medicine while it's hot. I'll be back soon."
As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and asked Aunt Xuanji, "Aunt, can you please speak with me for a moment? I have something to ask you about my husband's injury."
Aunt Xuanji quickly agreed and followed her out, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Because of what happened just now, Qian Deng and Cui Fufeng sat in silence for a moment, one unwilling to speak and the other finding it difficult to speak.
After a moment of silence, Qiandeng took out the sachet she had chosen for him and handed it to him, saying, "Thank you for your care before, Mr. Cui. This is a small gift in return. I hope you will not refuse it."
Cui Fufeng took it and looked at the Qilin pattern hidden in the mist and clouds. He then looked up at Qiandeng and said, "This pattern is ancient and elegant, and the Qilin's aura is vivid. It is a rare treasure."
Qian Deng nodded and said, "Yes, I think it's rare to find someone in this world who can match such a noble and extraordinary Qilin - but as it happens, I have a Cui Shaoqing in my mansion."
These words were soothing to the ears and heart. Cui Fufeng finally revealed a faint smile at the corner of his lips: "Since the county lady is so kind, I would be disrespectful to refuse. I will accept it."
Qian Deng felt a little relieved, and with a smile, he watched him tie the silver sachet to his belt. He then said, "I'll help you make a string in a few days. Would you like to match the gilded sachet with the silver-green color?"
"The one the county lady matches with is naturally the best." Cui Fufeng brushed his lake blue robe and said after a moment's thought, "The other gentlemen have also suffered a lot recently. The county lady should comfort them a little."
Qian Deng pointed to the box he had brought with him and said, "Of course, everyone has one, the same silver sachet."
The spring breeze blowing in from the window was still warm, but the smile on Cui Fufeng's face seemed to be frozen. He paused before turning away and said, "As I should, the county lady is very considerate."
Qian Deng thought about the things he had said a while ago, which he felt were inappropriate. In his annoyance, he turned around and saw the medicine on the table. He hurriedly stood up to take it and handed it to Cui Fufeng: "Master Cui, take the medicine. Nanny told you to drink it while it's hot."
He propped himself up to pick up the medicine bowl, but just as he touched it, his left shoulder trembled and his hand dropped.
"Be careful." Qian Deng hurriedly picked up the bowl, hesitated for a moment, and sat down opposite him. He picked up the medicine bowl and scooped a spoonful to test whether it was hot or cold. At the same time, he mentioned the things that felt wrong in his heart, hoping to skip the unpleasantness just now.
"Just now, while I was packing my clothes, I remembered something—I found the Chinese characters 'Gaoguo' (Gao State) written in gold thread in Zheng Raoan's incense burner."
"Well, speaking of which, the case is now closed, but we still can't figure out the clues about the green feather fur coat from Qujiang Pond and the duck cheek fur coat from Zheng's house."
"I remember Aunt Su Wan said that when Mingjiu sneaked into the princess's mansion that day, the mansion was also robbed. The duck-cheek feather cloak disappeared along with a batch of Princess Gao's favorite gold and silver jewelry..."
If Princess Gao really decided to commit suicide, her favorite jewelry would have been buried with her.
Just like Qiandeng's mother's funeral, it was carried out according to the standard etiquette, treating her death as if she were alive, and she left with all her beloved things in her life.
But now, the case of Princess Gao has been concluded, but the lost property has never been found. Just like the disappearance of Shangluo, it has become another unresolved point in the case.
"This case is not over yet... I have sent people to Shangluo to investigate, but I don't know if Ji Linyou really took Shangluo back."
The medicine soup was just warm. Qiandeng scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and handed it to his lips.
The spring sunshine filtered through the sparse bamboo leaves outside the window, and the scattered light dots enveloped them, swaying slightly, and seemed to sway in their hearts.
Cui Fufeng slowly opened his lips and drank the medicine she fed him.
Because she bent her head and blew gently on her lips where the hot medicine was, and lowered her eyelashes to look at the medicine bowl, the bitter medicine seemed to become sweet.
They were so close that even the spring breeze outside the window seemed unable to penetrate the distance between them.
Cui Fufeng lowered his eyes, afraid to look directly at her face, because of the throbbing in his heart. He could only change the subject: "I heard that the county lady publicly concluded the case of Princess Gao in the court this morning. It was so clean and efficient that the whole capital is now in awe. It's a pity that I couldn't attend the court due to my illness and didn't witness it with my own eyes."
"I simply shared what we've learned so far. Shaoqing Cui has made significant contributions to this case." Qian Deng fed him the medicine in the bowl spoonful by spoonful, saying softly, "It's just that the court has raided Princess Gao's residence, but Shangluo's whereabouts are still unknown. I even suspect Princess Changyi admitted Shangluo's presence in the residence only to seize the opportunity to destroy the evidence in the study."
"I'm afraid Yan Penglai is still hiding something we don't know... But it doesn't matter. He's currently under the control of the county lord." Cui Fufeng pondered as he slowly drank the medicine. "Shangluo's disappearance must be because Yan Penglai realized he might have leaked secrets. But now that his crime has been exposed, what's the point of taking him away with the Changyi County Lord when she escapes?"
"For some reason, even though this case has all the evidence and witnesses, and the clues are clear, I still feel a little unsure. I always feel that there is something in it that we haven't been able to explore. I don't know what it is, but..." Qian Deng hesitated, but didn't know how to express it.
Just like after she finished her mother's case in Zhuangzi, although she knew that according to the logical direction and reasoning of the case, the murderer and the process of committing the crime were clear, the truth seemed to be separated by a layer of gauze, making her dare not confirm it completely in her heart.
To this day, she still doesn't know who her mother had chosen as her husband; she doesn't know who killed her; she doesn't know why Shi Jingning died, and she doesn't know what the "rabbit" and "well curb" he left behind are...
Cui Fufeng looked at her, and she looked out the window, and both of them fell into silence.
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