Chapter 37 The Thirty-Seventh Kill

In less than half a day, everyone in the palace knew that Xiaoyu was having trouble with Zhou Xunran.

After finishing my shift in the evening, Fengheyuan became lively again.

They are all here to advise Xiaoyu not to be 'ignorant of good and bad'.

Xiaoyu sat by the window by herself, and remained unmoved even though they chattered until their throats became dry.

It was a waste of time. Everyone looked at each other, pushed each other and left Fenghe Courtyard.

Only a boy about ten years old was left.

His eyes were big, bright and round. Although his clothes looked a little worn out and the sleeves were frayed, revealing the stitches inside, they looked clean and even had a light scent of soapberry.

Xiaoyu didn't remember him, and seeing how cute he was, she smiled and said, "Which hospital are you from? You can't be the one trying to persuade me to bow my head and confess my guilt to the prince, can you?"

The little boy shook his head, looked up and said proudly: "My name is Li Tong, and my father works in the stable."

Xiaoyu took the snacks from the table and placed them in front of him, and poured him a glass of water. "Then why did you come to see me?"

Li Tong narrowed his big eyes, glanced at Xiaoyu cautiously, and then stared at the snacks on the table eagerly, as if he wanted to eat but didn't dare to take them.

Xiaoyu put the snack in his palm and pinched his chubby fingers before eating it. "Eat it."

Li Tong held the snacks in both hands, bowed respectfully to her, and ran out again.

Xiaoyu laughed, but then felt a little lonely.

It was late at night, and she was the only one living in Fenghe Courtyard. She never felt quiet in the past, but now she heard the howling night wind, and it seemed that even the closed windows were banging in the wind.

Xiaoyu tossed and turned in bed, feeling dazed all night, seeming to be asleep, yet also seeming to be awake all the time.

At dawn, she got up early as usual and went to the kitchen to prepare medicinal food for Zhou Xunran.

Just when she finished cooking the medicinal food and sent it to Qingwu Courtyard, she saw Zhou Yi, who was exhausted, at the door. Xiaoyu walked over with a smile and said, "Guardian Zhou, when did you come back?"

It was rare that Zhou Yi, who was always smiling, looked a little nervous at this moment. He said, "I entered the city before dawn and just reported the matter of Qizhou to the prince."

Speaking of Qizhou, Xiaoyu lowered her voice and asked, "Does the matter of Qizhou's overbearing officials have anything to do with Wu Jing's family?"

Zhou Yi did not answer.

Silence is the best answer.

Xiaoyu said, "Does it matter? Then what should Sister Qiutang do?"

Zhou Yi sighed: "That's not what I'm worried about."

"What is that?" Xiaoyu thought for a moment, "Could it be that there are many officials involved?"

She heard some of it from Zhou Xunran and Lin Kun's casual chat a few days ago.

Zhou Yi turned around and looked at the closed door of the study. "I can't tell you now. Maybe you will know in two days."

After he said this, Xiaoyu became interested and stopped asking.

I thought I really had to wait another two days, but as soon as I entered the study, I saw Zhou Xunran sitting on a stool with empty eyes and a dazed expression. On the table in front of him, in addition to the memorials he would put in the past and the Buddhist beads he often wore, there was also a red-faced lace gold lock necklace as big as a fingernail.

Seeing the little fish, Zhou Xunran's empty eyes slowly came into focus.

"Little fish."

Xiaoyu put down the food box and asked in a low voice: "My Lord, what happened?"

Zhou Xunran looked at the necklace, his voice a little hoarse, "Zhou Yi said he found my sister."

Xiaoyu was immediately delighted, but when she thought of Zhou Xunran and Zhou Yi's state, she immediately realized something was wrong. "What did Guard Zhou say?"

Zhou Xunran said: "After my sister was kidnapped, she was adopted by a farmer's family. Later, her family suffered a disaster and she was sold to a deserted place. Now she...she was bought by a local official named Wu and became his concubine. The two are very loving."

Qizhou, surnamed Wu, official.

Wu Jing.

Xiaoyu's eyes widened in shock: "That official named Wu is Wu Jing's father?"

No wonder when Mrs. Wu was persuading Wu Jing in the courtyard of Sister Qiutang's house, she said that his father had a concubine who was pregnant and it was said to be a boy.

Zhou Xunran's chest rose and fell violently twice. He suddenly turned his head and started coughing violently towards the open space beside him.

It was as if I wanted to cough out all the air in my chest.

His face turned red, and as he coughed, a fishy-sweet taste climbed up from his throat, eager to rush to his mouth.

Xiaoyu patted his back and calmed him down. "Don't worry, Prince. It might be a misunderstanding. We still need to investigate this matter carefully. Your sister will be fine."

Zhou Xunran shook his head, not knowing what he was denying.

"It must be true," he murmured. "This little necklace is a relic of my mother's. My father made it himself. It is the only one in the world."

The intelligence network of Wangfu and Jieyoumen is so powerful that they can now provide a definite candidate, and it is confirmed by Zhou Yi himself, so it should be true.

Xiaoyu looked at him and said, "My Lord, when will you bring her back?"

Zhou Xunran looked embarrassed.

Xiaoyu said in disbelief: "You don't want to bring her back, do you? How can that be possible? Qizhou is in such a mess, and the Wu family is involved in such a serious matter."

"Neither she nor the Wu family knows about this. Zhou Yi has tested her and found that she has forgotten her life experience and me."

"Whether she remembers it or not, she is your sister."

Zhou Xunran has adjusted his breathing. There are some things he doesn't want to say to Zhou Yi, but now facing Xiaoyu, he has no intention of hiding anything. "If our relationship is known to the Wu family, no matter what my attitude is, the officials in charge of this case will definitely let the Wu family go, unless I do it myself. But if I do it, my relationship with her will deteriorate before it is harmonious."

This is a dead end.

The only possibility to break the deadlock is that his sister is wise and is willing to kill her own family for the sake of justice after knowing the crimes of the Wu family.

But according to Zhou Yi's investigation, it is obvious that she is not such a person.

Xiaoyu looked at him with some heartache. Things hadn't even started yet, but he was already in such a difficult situation. This showed how much importance the sister he hadn't seen for many years held in Zhou Xunran's heart.

"There will always be a way," she said.

Zhou Xunran looked up at her as if he had found hope.

Xiaoyu said: "Follow your heart. Think about what has kept you going until now. What is your bottom line, what are your principles, and what is justice in your heart?"

Zhou Xunran's eyelids moved slightly, then drooped dejectedly.

"Xiao Yu, you always know what I'm thinking."

It seems that he has already made up his mind.

It was just that this decision was very difficult to make, and he couldn't convince himself. He needed external help to confirm that his decision was not wrong.

Obviously, she was the 'external force' he wanted at the moment.

Xiaoyu took out the medicinal food from the food box and placed it in front of him.

"She has just been taken to the Wu family, and she is pregnant, so the Wu family's affairs should not involve her. But even so, it is better to bring her back as soon as possible. Just in case, the fewer people who know about this, the better, especially the people of the Wu family."

Zhou Xunran nodded.

He acted quickly, and two days later, in the evening, Xiaoyu saw his sister outside Qingwu Courtyard.

Judging from her appearance, she is a cold, thin and charming beauty, Zhou Qingxue.

She was coming out of Qingwu Courtyard with red eyes, followed by Zhou Xunran who was also sad. Xiaoyu understood that Zhou Qingxue already knew about their relationship.

It snowed last night, not heavily, just a thin layer, which melted soon after it hit the ground. However, there were still some traces of snow in the shade.

Nanny Zhao put a dress on Zhou Qingxue, and her words were full of concern: "Miss, go slowly. Be careful of the slippery road."

Zhou Qingxue's belly was already very big, but her cheeks were still pointed, with almost no flesh on them. She half leaned on Madam Zhao's shoulder and nodded timidly, her voice soft and sweet like a nightingale, "Thank you, Madam."

Xiaoyu stepped aside to make room for the two of them.

Zhou Qingxue noticed her, "Mammy, who is this?"

Nanny Zhao introduced her enthusiastically: "Miss, this is Miss Xiaoyu, the prince's accompanying maid, who is very trusted by the prince."

This is actually a sincere compliment to Xiaoyu.

Ever since the misunderstanding between the two was resolved, Nanny Zhao liked Xiaoyu more and more, and sometimes she even wanted to catch up with Minglu.

"Oh," Zhou Qingxue nodded to Xiaoyu, "I've met Miss Xiaoyu."

Xiaoyu didn't dare to accept her gift, "Miss, you're welcome."

Before the smile on her face could even rise, the moment Zhou Qingxue lowered her head, Xiaoyu accurately saw the contempt and arrogance in her eyes.

Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, and when she came to her senses, Zhou Qingxue was talking softly to Nanny Zhao again.

Zhou Xunran walked up to the three of them and stopped: "Qingxue, Xiaoyu, it's good that you guys got to know each other."

This time Xiaoyu was certain that when Zhou Xunran called her name so familiarly, Zhou Qingxue couldn't suppress the hostility in her eyes.

Hostility towards small fish.

After introducing the two, Zhou Xunran asked Madam Zhao to send Zhou Qingxue back. "She is weak now, so please take care of her for the time being. If you need anything, please go to Wang Shunyi."

Nanny Zhao nodded and helped Zhou Qingxue walk out carefully.

Xiaoyu stood there, watching the two figures gradually go away with Zhou Xunran. Xiaoyu asked, "Prince, what does she think about the Wu family?"

Zhou Xunran's eyes were a little empty, but then they became focused again. His tone was slightly mocking, "Do you know how she agreed to leave Qizhou?"

The little fish shook its head.

Zhou Xunran said, "Zhou Yi only said one sentence, the Regent Prince wants to see you."

"And then?"

"She cooperated with Zhou Yi and secretly left Qizhou. On the way, she even wanted to buy medicine to abort the baby in her belly."

Zhou Xunran's voice gradually became weaker. "I thought she would struggle a little, but I didn't expect... She wanted to show off and exposed most of the Wu family's crimes."

Zhou Xunran didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

"Maybe the Wu family didn't treat her well. It was you who gave her hope, allowing her to leave that cage and have a bright future. Naturally, she wanted to hold on to you tightly and find ways to please you."

"Really? Qingxue is not that kind of person?"

He really didn't want to use the word ungrateful to describe his sister whom he had finally found.

Xiaoyu said, "There is still a long time to go, let's talk about it later."

Zhou Xunran took a breath of cold air, the coolness entering his lungs and clearing his mind.

"Yes, we still have a long way to go."

He looked at the little fish, "So are we."

Xiaoyu didn't agree with him, but changed the subject, "It's cold outside, come in quickly."