Chapter 85 Foot Massage
It rained for three consecutive days in Weinan County, but the murderer was never caught. The people in the county were in a panic and could not live forever.
The people sent by Zhou Zhishan followed Chen Qing and the other two for three days. Except for Li Daoxuan who often went out to bring back the woman's belongings, the two never set foot out of the inn.
The rockery pavilion in the back garden of Zhou Mansion is secluded and quiet.
Zhou Zhishan and a black-robed guest sat opposite each other at a stone table. The only sound around them was the rustling of branches and leaves in the breeze. The tea on the stone table had long since lost its heat, as if silenced by the solemn atmosphere.
The attendant walked slowly and presented the clues he had discovered in recent days to Zhou Zhishan one by one.
Zhou Zhishan casually scanned the letters and said, "There's been no reports of any noblewoman or young man missing in Chang'an. Perhaps, however, the aristocratic families are so concerned about their reputation that they conceal such incidents. It seems to me that what the woman said may be true. Perhaps these two are the couple who eloped here."
"Besides, that man is extremely skilled in martial arts. I'm no match for him. Rather than being aggressive and disturbing them, it would be better to quickly close the case, open the city gates, and let them leave on their own. Why bother trying to silence him at this crucial juncture?"
The man in black robe tapped the stone table with his knuckles in a slow rhythm.
Zhou Zhishan felt an inexplicable pressure coming over him like a tidal wave, cold sweat soaking his back. He couldn't help but clench his sleeves and stared at him quietly.
The black-robed man sneered, "Those two men have been through your house. They must not be allowed to stay. If you want to blame someone, blame your wife for insisting on bringing irrelevant people back home. And you were foolish enough to decorate the house with all sorts of flowers and valuables, which caused this trouble."
Zhou Zhishan retorted, "Gold, silver, and jewelry are meant to be spent. If I had to hide my treasures after I got them, then why did I buy them?" He glanced at the man in the black robe and said, "Wu Niang is kind-hearted. Whatever she does is her freedom. Don't interfere."
"I'll mind my own business? Don't forget how you got all this wealth, huh! You killed the first few people she picked up anyway, so these two won't make a difference. In short, they both must die!"
The man in black robe slammed the stone table hard, and the stone table broke into pieces in an instant, but strangely, it did not scatter all over the floor. Instead, it stood harmoniously on the table legs in a precarious posture.
Zhou Zhishan was irritated by his aggressive attitude. He shouted angrily, "That man's martial arts skills are extremely high. I can't beat him at all! Since your internal strength is so profound, why don't you do it yourself?!"
The black-robed man said coldly, "I don't have that much time. The merchant ship is about to arrive. If the plan is ruined by those two, then your tenure as county magistrate will be over."
He threatened coldly, "I think Mr. Zhou Ming is not afraid of hardship, but your wife may not be able to endure it. What's more, the medicine needed for her illness alone is a considerable expense every month."
Zhou Zhishan's face darkened and he said angrily, "This is too much!"
"Going too far? Ha, that's not what you said when we first came to you. Now we're on the same page. Think about it."
He stood up, holding an umbrella, and walked down the stone steps. His figure melted into the curtain of rain, and his voice was mostly muffled by the rain. "The case of Gao Haizhou's disappearance will be reported to the capital in a week. By then, the capital will send people in less than a day. You only have a week to resolve this matter."
Zhou Zhishan stood up and said, "What should we do with the person who escaped from the clinic? Many people saw him at the ferry. If he dies inexplicably and someone from above is sent down, I won't be able to explain it to them."
The black-robed man said softly, "So what? This is your only choice, isn't it?"
"After this is accomplished, I will ensure that you will be promoted to a high position in the capital."
His figure gradually blurred and finally disappeared in the rain.
Zhou Zhishan slammed the table in anger, and the already precarious stone table shattered into pieces in an instant. At this moment, his face was terribly gloomy.
The personal letter said: "Master, calm down, your leg injury is not healed yet."
Zhou Zhishan laughed strangely, "Calm down? They're planning to get rid of me now, how can I calm down?"
The confidant was stunned and asked doubtfully, "But didn't that person say that he would guarantee you a promotion after the success?"
"But you have to make sure it succeeds! If Gao Haizhou can't be found, the crime of murdering the Yangzhou Chief Clerk alone is enough to cost your entire clan their lives! And that man, he's such a powerful martial artist, how do you expect me to deal with him?"
Now the man in black robe ordered him to deal with Gao Congli in the clinic. If Gao Congli died in unclear circumstances, the people sent by the capital would definitely get to the bottom of it.
To put it bluntly, they had long been prepared to give up this chess piece of theirs, and he was just a scapegoat they were about to push out.
From the beginning to the end, these people had no intention of letting themselves live!
Zhou Zhishan had been forced into a situation where he had no way to advance or retreat. At this moment, his eyes were as bright as fire, bursting with strong hatred, and at the same time, he was quickly thinking of a way to escape.
At the same time, a clear female voice sounded from behind him, "A Lang."
Zhou Zhishan's expression froze for a moment, then the ice in his face melted away in an instant. He forced himself to put on a normal expression, turned around and said, "Wu Niang, it's still raining, why did you come out?"
Song Yuxi's eyes swept over the shattered "corpse" of the stone table. Zhou Zhishan noticed her gaze and suddenly became a little flustered. He took a step forward to block the mess behind him, and his body inevitably fell into the rain.
Seeing this, Song Yuxi took a few steps forward and tilted the green umbrella slightly to cover the two of them, isolating them from the continuous rain.
"Have you had a big increase in appetite recently?" Song Yuxi asked.
Seeing that she had no time to care about the mess, Zhou Zhishan breathed a sigh of relief and said truthfully, "Maybe it's because of the change of seasons recently, my appetite has been a little poor. Wu Niang, how about you?"
Song Yuxi's originally tense figure relaxed slightly, and she said, "It's okay."
Seeing Song Yuxi's gentle face, Zhou Zhishan suddenly had an idea. He put his arm around his wife's shoulders and said, "Wu Niang, if I ask you to give up your current life of luxury and travel with me, leading a hard life, would you be willing?"
She was silent for a moment, then said, "Ah Lang, I'm actually very satisfied with my life now. As long as you're with me, no matter how difficult or hard life is, I can accept it."
Zhou Zhishan seemed to smile, and he hugged Song Yuxi tightly. "I have treated you badly. I will definitely let you live a better life in the future. One day, no one will be able to decide my fate. I will also invite doctors from the palace to treat you."
Song Yuxi slowly hugged Zhou Zhishan back, feeling sad. She closed her eyes and let the tears slide down.
"Don't you understand? I just want to be with you, nothing else." She said with a sob.
Unfortunately, Zhou Zhishan seemed a little crazy at the moment and could no longer listen to her.
.
Chen Qing leaned barefoot on the couch, reading a storybook while playing with Qiu Ren with the other hand.
On the other side of the couch, a young man in a white robe with his hair half loose was silently rubbing the girl's ankle with a serious expression.
The girl's tender white ankles were covered with green medicine. Her ankles were slightly swollen and the skin on the surface was delicate. Wherever the boy's slender knuckles passed, the skin turned pink, which was extremely attractive.
Li Daoxuan's Adam's apple rolled and his hands' movements gradually slowed down.
This pause immediately aroused Shen Qing's dissatisfaction. She frowned and kicked Li Daoxuan's shin, "Don't stop! My foot still hurts!"
This kick was like a tickle. Li Daoxuan pressed her calf and said, "Chen Youan, if you don't want your foot injury to get worse, be quiet."
Chen Qing put down the book with "The Story of Li Wa" printed on it, looked up at him, and said in a delicate voice: "Don't forget who caused my foot injury. If my foot suffers from sequelae in the future, I will blame you for the rest of my life!"
Li Daoxuan choked, as if he was too angry to speak, and turned his head to continue rubbing her ankle.
Qiu Ren clung even tighter to Chen Qing's arm, and his head couldn't stop rubbing against Chen Qing's jaw. Chen Qing had no choice but to hold Qiu Ren's head with one hand, "Qiu Ren, stop it."
She had just taken a shower in the morning, and it was not yet noon. The woman's faint body fragrance mixed with the smell of medicine rushed into his nose, which was extremely pleasant. Li Daoxuan saw Qiu Ren's actions, lowered his eyes uncomfortably, and quietly calculated in his heart when the next insect attack would occur.
After the medicine was completely absorbed, he immediately let go, stood up and left.
"Stop!" Chen Qing narrowed his eyes, "Where are you going now?"
He rarely stayed in the inn during these three days. Except for the time when he applied medicine to her, Li Daoxuan went out almost day and night, and no one knew what he was doing.
Li Daoxuan paused and said, "Private matter."
Chen Qing said, "I've also brought a compass. If that hungry bug shows up, we won't have trouble finding it. Zhou Zhishan has also sent people to keep an eye on us. What if he suddenly attacks and sends someone to assassinate me, and you're not around?"
"Akihito is here. I'll rush back immediately if there's any danger."
"What if?" Chen Qing refused to give up and was determined to get to the bottom of the matter.
Li Daoxuan took out a handkerchief and wiped the medicine juice from his hands, saying, "There's no such thing as a one-time event."
Chen Qing pursed her lips, slowly leaned back, picked up the booklet and continued reading.
"You only bought three skirts last time, which are not enough for me. When you go out, please buy me a few more skirts. Remember to hire a hairpinner who is very skilled. I have been letting my hair down for three days."
"You can't do a hairpin yourself?"
"Nonsense, have you ever seen a noble lady personally pin her hair?"
Li Daoxuan recalled the state of his sister when she was traveling with the emperor. There were dozens of maids waiting around her. Sometimes she had to change into two or three sets of clothes a day, one for meals, one for walking, and another for playing Cuju or archery. In comparison, Chen Qing was indeed simpler, so he kept silent and climbed out the window.
The room was silent, with only the sound of rain outside the window and the occasional sound of pages turning.
After a long time, Chen Qing stroked Qiu Ren's head, which was intimately wrapped around his arms, put down the book, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
.
Li Daoxuan shuttled through the deep alleys, avoiding the patrolling yamen runners and walked in one direction.
Inside the clinic, several men in plain clothes stood at the door. A woman ran to the door hurriedly with a crying child in her arms, but was stopped by several men.
The woman cried, "What are you doing? My daughter has a high fever and won't go away. I need to take her to see a doctor! Let me in!"
The leading man cursed fiercely, "Get out of here! My young master has already contracted this clinic. No outsiders are allowed to enter. If you want to see a doctor, go find another clinic."
The woman was heartbroken. This clinic was the closest to her home. The other clinic was a few blocks away, more than ten miles away. If she went there now, what if she met the murderer?
So she knelt down with the child in her arms and said, "Please be kind, I will take the child to see the doctor and leave immediately. I will not disturb your family. I beg you all!"
The man stretched out his foot to kick someone, but was stopped by a little medicine boy, "Wait!"
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