confused
The child pinched his fingers, listened to Xizhen's words, and walked forward, looking back at him from time to time, fearing that he would lose his way.
They quickly left the road they had just taken and went through a road behind.
Xizhen followed the child slowly, looking around.
It has rained frequently in recent days, and the corners of the stone brick walls are covered with moss. Occasionally, drops of water fall from the eaves and gently hit the stone road.
Weeds grow in the corners of the walls, the only bright spot in the gray.
It all seems quite normal.
Xizhen withdrew his gaze and continued to follow the child deeper into the place, seemingly defenseless.
As the sun sets, the light stretches the shadows out.
The roads in the alley are winding, and the layout of each corner is almost the same.
The child was obviously very familiar with this alley. He turned several corners with the pillow in his hand and did not stop to check the direction.
Xizhen looked ahead and then spoke to the child.
"Have you and your family always lived here?"
The child was startled by Xizhen's initiative to talk to him, and nodded hesitantly after a while.
"Um."
Xizhen continued to ask casually, "Are you and grandma the only ones at home?"
The child didn't notice the angle of his question and just replied, "Yeah."
"What about your parents?"
“…”
The child glanced at Xizhen, but couldn't find any clues on his face. After thinking it over, he felt that answering him wouldn't be a problem, so he continued:
"They... don't live here."
Xizhen nodded slightly to show that he understood, and then continued to follow the child quietly.
The child was obviously relieved that he didn't ask any more questions, and his expression became much more relaxed.
The road ahead had no turns and led straight to a house.
In stark contrast to the children's clothing, the room was tidy and clean, without any trace of shabby features.
It seems like someone comes to take care of it regularly.
Recalling the person he had just met at the street corner, Xizhen curled his lips slightly and stroked the hilt of the knife with his fingertips.
"Is this the place?"
The child was standing in front of the door. When he heard his voice, he subconsciously turned around to look.
The man's smiling expression was extremely cold under the blood-red setting sun, like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, revealing deadly malice.
The expression flashed by in an instant, and the child thought he was dazzled. He blinked again, and seeing Xizhen's smile was brighter than the sunset in the sky, he pushed open the door and walked in.
"——Brother, my grandma is in the house, go and see her."
As he took a step into the house, the door, which should have closed with a sound, was blocked by a cold and sharp object.
The sharp blade scraped off some wood chips from the door, and a few pieces of fine debris fell at the child's feet.
The sudden strangeness made the child tremble and step back.
Xizhen turned his head indifferently and calmly raised his eyes to look at the "uninvited guest" outside.
Qin Lan raised his eyebrows and smiled at them, then raised his hand and said "Hi".
"Xiaozhen, why don't you take me with you when you do good things?"
—
As the hour of Xu approached, Jiang Nian, with the help of the lamplight, raised his hand to close the wooden box and held the powder bag in his hand.
Estimating the time, based on my previous understanding of Xiao Yingzhu's habits, apart from work matters, Xiao Yingzhu would usually have returned to the room at this time.
She stood behind the door and listened quietly to the movements in the corridor.
At night, the biting wind blew in through the crack in the door. Jiang Nian raised his hand to straighten the long-sleeved shirt he had changed into, and reached out to open the locked door.
Diagonally opposite the room is a viewing area where you can stop. Because the temperature in Cang County is low at night, the wind you experience when you go out from here is stronger than other places.
Jiang Nian looked around and saw that there was no one else. His heart relaxed a little and he turned around to close the door.
She still remembered the two uninvited guests she had never seen last night, and was worried that they would return to the same place tonight. She did not stay at the door for long, but went straight to Xiao Yingzhu's room after confirming that everything was clear.
There was a little light coming from his door, as if he was working.
The corridor was cold and empty. Jiang Nian always felt that it would be dangerous if she stayed there for too long. Without much hesitation, she knocked on the door.
The lights on the ground swayed for a moment, then returned to normal.
Not long after, the door in Jiang Nian's sight was opened from the inside.
Warm air came from inside, warming the fingertips that had just knocked on the door and were closest to it.
Jiang Nian retracted his fingers, looking a little confused.
"......Hello?"
The young man tilted his head to look at her, thought of something, and then opened the door a little wider.
"Are you Miss Jiang?"
Without waiting for Jiang Nian's answer, he took a few steps back, pretending to know what was going on. He left the door open to her and turned to walk towards where Xiao Yingzhu was.
"Master, Miss Jiang is here."
The young man smiled with interest and shook the pendant on his hand.
Seeing that Xiao Yingzhu had no reaction and was calm, the young man took another step forward and asked fearlessly:
"Master, did you give her the pendant?"
Meeting that cold gaze, the boy chuckled, waved his hand and explained, "Nothing, I just think it looks good."
As if he was afraid that Xiao Yingzhu would make things difficult for him, he added another sentence for himself with a smile.
"Well, it's true, Master, please don't disbelieve it."
"......"
Jiang Nian put the powder into her bag, tightened the shoulder strap, and nodded slightly to Xiao Yingzhu, saying, "I'm so humbled to ask for your help... I wonder if this has interfered with your official duties."
Hearing her words, the young man raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Xiao Yingzhu.
Xiao Yingzhu paused while writing, raised his eyelids, and pointed the pen at the door.
The meaning is clear at a glance.
This is the attitude that wants him to get out.
The young man looked a little lonely, as if he had missed a great opportunity, and he saluted a little slower than usual.
"I'll take my leave."
He pursed his lips and glanced at Jiang Nian reluctantly, then turned and walked towards the door.
"Waiting outside."
“——”
Jiang Nian looked at the ridiculous light in the boy's eyes, and the dejection just now disappeared. He said with a bright look, "Yes."
The long black hair followed the figure of its owner and turned into an afterimage in her eyes. The next moment, the door of the room was suddenly closed by him, and the black figure was no longer seen.
“…”
Jiang Nian turned his head hesitantly, his eyes sweeping across the desk.
Xiao Yingzhu indeed has a lot of tasks to do, and she has to review documents during her free time.
The young man just now must have been ordered by him to come and receive the task.
Then she couldn't take up Xiao Yingzhu's time.
Jiang Nian sorted out his thoughts and got straight to the point: "In today's conversation, Young Master Qin wants to find out who was at the State Guest House last night."
In the candlelight, the shadow of the ink pen paused on the paper.
Jiang Nian then continued to express her thoughts: "I know that Duke Xiao has a lot of things to do, so I want to share some of the work."
"I have a packet of white powder here. I can deliver it to Master Qin tomorrow to help him quickly capture the remaining criminals."
Xiao Yingzhu tilted her head, and her dark pupils fell on Jiang Nian's face.
Jiang Nian's expression was calm, as if he didn't realize there was anything wrong with his words.
The crow feather pendant dangled delicately beneath her tied-up black hair, its tassels falling on her shoulders above her snow-pink collar, like a striking hint of dark color amidst the pure mist.
Her position and the people closely related to her are all evident in this pendant.
Xiao Yingzhu's eyes were gloomy. After a moment, he said only two words briefly, "No need."
Unexpectedly, Xiao Yingzhu would reject her. Jiang Nian paused with the powdered book in hand, then put it away, frowning and asking, "Why?"
Now is the time to cooperate with each other. The Flower Festival will be held in a few days. If these people are not found before the Flower Festival, the difficulty of searching will increase dramatically.
After all, by that time, Cang County would be Meng Yao's home ground.
Jiang Nian's thoughts turned around in her mind, but she still couldn't figure out the reason why Xiao Yingzhu rejected her now.
Could it be that everything she said to Ai in the afternoon was all her wishful thinking?
She took a step back and asked softly in surprise, "Xiao Yingzhu...you don't trust me?"
Xiao Yingzhu's eyebrows and eyes were cold and expressionless, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking at the moment.
Just as he did today in his conversation, he lowered his eyes, searching for something.
But unlike his previous reaction, when Jiang Nian took a step back, he quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist.
The cool fingertips instantly touched her fair skin, and as their skin touched, Jiang Nian suddenly felt a numbness.
Her body stiffened slightly, and after she came to her senses, she wanted to pull out the inexplicable shackles, but Xiao Yingzhu held her closer.
Jiang Nian was nervous and didn't quite understand what Xiao Yingzhu meant.
"What do you want to say?"
Before she could finish her words, she saw Xiao Yingzhu raising her eyelids and looking at her meaningfully. The emotion in her eyes was dull and there was nothing that could be identified.
Jiang Nian couldn't understand his mind.
Last night, he put his hand on her neck, as if he was going to kill her in the next second and turn her into an obedient "doll".
But now he looks like... he doesn't want her to leave.
Is it because of his parents?
Jiang Nian tried to turn his wrist, and when he saw that his strength had subsided a little, he wanted to say something to break the delicate atmosphere, but he heard Xiao Yingzhu answering a question that was irrelevant to him.
"I should be asking you."
A faint shadow fell on his beautiful eyebrows and eyes, adding a hint of fragility under the warm candlelight.
Perhaps because of the cold weather, his lips were lighter than usual.
The whole person seemed to be surrounded by obvious uneasiness.
"You don't trust me?"
Jiang Nian stared down at the man in front of him in astonishment.
The question she had just asked was asked back at this moment.
But I don’t find it ridiculous.
Is it because he is in the State Guesthouse and his parents’ belongings are here?
So his emotions are not stable.
Or maybe the original fake appearance could no longer restrain her behavior of wanting to break the status quo, so he changed his appearance to confuse her?
Just like the tsundere she was in the mansion before.
Just like the awkwardness in the library last night.
He seemed to be very good at controlling these emotions and showing them in a measured way to arouse her emotions.
It's like knowing what she likes.
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