63. Hairpin
"……Can't."
Lou Zhi's voice was light and hoarse, but his eyes looked at Meng Xiaojiao stubbornly.
Meng Xiaojiao paused, her raised eyes looking a little dull.
He wanted to say something, but he stammered and couldn't say anything.
Finally, he lowered his head in silence, then said something in a hoarse voice, emphasizing the ending tone.
"...I will marry her."
Probably because they saw the tension between the two, the uncles quickly stepped forward to help, and smiled as they pulled the stairs apart.
"Xiaolou, come here, uncle will introduce you to another one..."
"How do you embroider this stitch? Teach me..."
Uncle Liu looked up and winked at Yun Zhihe and Meng Xiaojiao, asking them to leave first.
They also understand Lou Zhi.
How could she marry such a beautiful cousin of hers, who was still wet behind the ears and whom she had only known for a few days, and who depended on each other for survival during the chaos in Longcheng?
But if you want to marry him, you have to please your brother-in-law.
The uncles could only try their best to avoid embarrassment for the two.
Meng Xiaojiao's eyes were a little red, and she raised them arrogantly, showing the tips of her fangs, and said to Lou Zhi's back.
"I'm going to marry her!"
The voice fell and the room was filled with silence.
Lou Zhi paused, then suddenly pursed his lips and clenched his fingers into fists.
Perhaps frightened by Meng Xiaojiao's bold declaration, Yun Zhihe hurriedly pulled him away and walked out to avoid more people knowing and ruining his reputation.
…
Over the past two days, Yun Zhihe has been investigating the situation in the village. Many people have gone out of the village recently, and it would take time to eliminate them one by one. He can only inquire openly and secretly whether there is a huge sum of money flying in or whether someone is missing.
Unfortunately, I haven't gained much in the past two days.
Yun Zhihe was certain that Heitu Village was being wrongly accused.
But those corpses can't be faked...
Yun Zhihe sent a pigeon to tell Azhi about his doubts and the progress of the investigation. Azhi was busy searching for information in the government office. At this moment, he pondered for a moment and wrote a sentence.
"Perhaps Meng Le may appear kind on the outside, but he is actually a vicious and evil person."
Yun Zhihe looked at the letter and sighed softly.
She doesn't think so.
She has been getting along very well with Meng Le these days. She is a bold and unrestrained elder sister. When they were drinking and chatting that day, Yun Zhihe also got a lot of information out of her.
When Meng Le was young, he was a chivalrous hero. He traveled around the world and met Meng Xiaojiao's father. The two fell in love and got to know each other, and Meng Xiaojiao became pregnant.
However, the situation was extremely turbulent at the time and the people were displaced. Meng Xiaojiao's father could not bear the suffering of being displaced and died in childbirth due to shock.
The man looked thin and fragile due to days of fleeing and wandering. He gave Meng Le his last sip of milk before dying in his arms.
At that time, Meng Le was holding the newly born Meng Xiaojiao, sitting in the dilapidated temple on the top of the mountain. He reached out to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, then breathed a sigh of relief and comforted the sobbing child in his arms.
Meng Xiaojiao's father died in a dilapidated temple on the top of the mountain, so Meng Le established the Heitu Village here.
She didn't want to be a vicious bandit entrenched in the mountains, she just wanted to give those displaced people a makeshift home, just as her husband was unable to settle down with her in the end, to be an ordinary wife and husband, raise children, and have a small home in troubled times.
Over the years, Heitu Village gradually grew stronger.
Meng Le always drank alone, raising his eyebrows and smiling as he watched Meng Xiaojiao throwing a tantrum and making unreasonable demands.
This son is the apple of her eye.
He exhaled a breath of alcohol, and his face, which had just been drunk, suddenly became solemn. He raised his eyes and looked at Yun Zhihe.
"Zihe, I only have this one son, and I can see that he loves you..." She sneered, as if she was melancholy, "After all, even my little tiger cubs have never expressed their happiness to me like this."
"But..." Her expression froze, "But the feelings of a young man, capricious and unbridled, can't be considered lasting or genuine. If you're not interested in him, then make him give up the idea as soon as possible."
"I see you have good character and bearing, but it's only been a few days. After all, we can only judge a person by their appearance and not by their heart." Meng Le took a sip of the liquor and exhaled. "If we want to be together, I'll have to train you."
Yun Zhihe paused and spoke.
"The young master is lively and active, unrestrained and uninhibited, but Zihe only treats him as a younger brother."
She politely declined.
Meng Le nodded, knowing that she had no intention, then he smiled and clinked his glasses with Yun Zhihe.
Her route home happened to pass by Bai Yu's house.
Yun Zhihe was a little hesitant. The man's miserable condition had been lingering in her mind and conflicted with the peaceful and prosperous times.
Even if it was just an afterthought...she still wanted to compensate him.
At least we know who that high-ranking official is. We don't ask for hypocritical justice, we just hope... that the evildoer will not die a good death.
Unfortunately, she inquired for several days but still couldn't find out who the evil man was.
She thought about it and walked towards Bai Yu's house. As soon as she stepped into the yard, she heard the man sighing faintly. From a distance, she saw that he looked sad and then lowered his eyes to hide his expression.
Bai Yu reached out, closed a box, and placed it on the table.
Yun Zhihe knew that he was afraid of strange women, so he just leaned against the door and spoke to him from a distance.
"Mr. Bai, I'm Yun Zihe, the one who came that day. May I come in?"
Bai Yu paused, her shoulders began to tremble, but she thought she was here to get the newly made wedding dress, so she only spoke in a low voice.
"Come in, come in."
The suits of ordinary people are not as well-made and meticulously crafted as those of nobles. They are only made as a pattern and the size can be altered.
But Bai Yu is an embroiderer for a noble family, so his skills are beyond doubt. He is afraid of delaying the young master's marriage, so he has been working hard these past two days, and his work looks very beautiful.
Bai Yu picked up the wedding dress, turned the wheelchair with difficulty, and was about to hand it to Yun Zhihe.
Unexpectedly, Yun Zhihe took it and seemed to not know what to say. He stared at the wedding dress in his hand in a daze, opened his mouth, but continued to hold it.
"Mr. Bai... I heard you sigh, but is there something bothering you?"
Afraid of exposing old wounds, Yun Zhihe also wanted to wait until the two of them got to know each other better before speaking, so he was just looking for a topic to talk about when there was nothing else to talk about.
Bai Yu paused, lowered his head and shook it slightly, then suddenly paused, looked up at Yun Zhihe, and nodded slightly.
"My... lady, I, I'm not feeling well enough to go out. Could you please give me a message?"
After all, she is the young master's newlywed wife, so... she shouldn't look like a bad person.
Bai Yu suppressed his fear of the woman.
He stammered, "Sister Yu Shan, she's out running errands and hasn't replied in a while. She should be back soon. Please go to the village at the foot of the mountain and ask for an introduction to Madam Li. When... will they be back safely?"
Yun Zhihe's heart moved. She was particularly sensitive to the word "not returned" and asked directly.
"How long has it been since Madam Yu Shan left? Have you been in touch with her during this time? How many times?"
Bai Yu seemed startled by Yun Zhihe's tone. She shrank her fingertips that were gripping the wheelchair, but still spoke.
"Almost, more than a month..."
He was a delicate person by nature. Although he didn't dare to look at Yun Zhihe, he answered her questions carefully at this time.
"Sister Yu Shan asked Madam Li from the goods shop to send me a hairpin half a month ago. She said she bought it with the money she earned from running errands, but..." He pursed his lips, picked up the box with trembling fingertips, his voice trembling a little.
"But, but... this hairpin is delicate, she probably... can't afford it."
Bai Yu had previously lived in the backyard of a wealthy family. Although he was just an embroiderer, he had developed a good eye and knew what was valuable through what he saw and heard.
He opened the box, revealing an exquisite jade hairpin inside.
Yun Zhihe's heart sank.
This hairpin is a craft from the capital.
There was a hint of crying in his voice, and he looked at Yun Zhihe with tears in his eyes.
"Madam Yun, can you go look for Sister Yu Shan? I'm afraid she's done something bad. It's not worth it for a useless person like me..."
"She said she wanted to give me a good marriage and to make money selling goods... But, but I don't want it."
Bai Yu's heart was fragile to begin with. After being away from Yu Shan for such a long time, she felt sad and missed him. With no one to support her, she could only shed tears.
“…I miss her.”
Yun Zhihe took a deep breath, picked up the hairpin, had a bad feeling in his heart, and nodded in agreement.
"Master Bai, can I take this hairpin to someone to identify it so that we can make a decision? I will go down the mountain immediately to find Madam Li."
Bai Yu nodded, Yun Zhihe left quickly and ran to find Lou Zhi.
Lou Zhi was pestered by Meng Xiaojiao and asked why she couldn't get married. He had a blank expression on his face, but he looked annoyed.
When Meng Xiaojiao saw Yun Zhihe at this time, she was surprised and wanted to hug him, but she saw that Yun Zhihe's expression was a little deep. He called Lou Zhi and left without even looking at Meng Xiaojiao.
Meng Xiaojiao paused and squatted down in anger.
Lou Zhi knew that she must have found some clues, so he suppressed his expression and followed him. The two of them quickly left the village.
Mounting the horse they had come on, Yun Zhihe spoke, "I found some clues from Bai Yu. One is this hairpin, and the other is Madam Li from the store. General Lou will arrest Madam Li, and I will go to the county government office to find Su Zheng and ask him to identify this jade hairpin. He recognizes it."
Lou Zhi nodded, his eyes darkened, and he quickly rode away. The two of them parted ways.
Su Zheng hadn't seen Yun Zhihe for several days. He secretly wiped his tears at night, and curled up in bed sobbing, without any appetite.
Ah Zhi also understood that he was fragile after losing his family, so she just sighed and comforted him, saying that Yun Zhihe would be back in a few days, so he didn't have to worry and should just eat well.
Before Ah Zhi could take two bites of the meal, the door was suddenly opened in a hurry. When Ah Zhi turned around, she saw Yun Zhihe, who was wearing a dirty white robe and looked dusty.
Su Zheng next to him rushed forward as if he had regained all his vitality, leaving behind an afterimage in red.
"Sister Yun——"
The voice is clear and joyful.
Yun Zhihe was a little out of breath. She caught Su Zheng in her arms, took out the hairpin, lowered her head, and asked Su Zheng seriously.
"Zheng Zheng, do you recognize this hairpin?"
Su Zheng paused and looked at the hairpin in her hand with a stunned expression.
Then her eyes turned red and grief suddenly surged into her heart, making it hard for her to breathe.
"This is... given to me by my sister."
The author has something to say:
It's so hard to code that I cried
The previous article was slightly revised. In the previous chapter, no huge amount of money was found in Heitu Village.
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