Chapter 2
The white snake swam to Xiao Xing's side, but she seemed to be fixed in place, unable to move at all. Before traveling through time, she grew up in the countryside and often saw small flower snakes. Every experience left a deep trauma on her, so although she is fearless, she is afraid of snakes.
But the white snake just swam past her and continued to swim forward. When it saw that she didn't catch up, it returned to her side. After repeating this process over and over again, Xiao Xing finally understood its intention. She looked at Xiao Tao deeply and chose to follow the white snake away.
The journey was very tiring. Xiao Xing covered her eyes with her hands, leaving only a small gap through which she could see the road. And this snake only chose to take the small path, which really made the situation worse.
After encountering who knows how many rocks they had, the man and the snake finally reached their destination. Xiao Xing discovered that this was an empty house in a money house. It was originally built to entertain rich young men, but it became abandoned because it was too remote.
In just a short while, the white snake had arrived at the door and kept hitting it with its tail, signaling Xiao Xing to come in. She had no way to retreat.
Xiao Xing took a deep breath and pushed open the door. There was no light in the room, it was pitch black. She could vaguely see a figure. The person was sitting at the table, and she couldn't even tell whether it was a man or a woman. If Xiao Xing had to say, the person looked like Xiao Hei in Conan.
She couldn't figure out his intentions, so she bravely asked him, "Is your surname Xu?"
I never thought that just this one sentence seemed to open up that person's Ren and Du meridians. The man stood up and said excitedly: "I knew it, I knew it."
Xiao Xing didn't understand what he was saying, she only knew that the man was really a man. Before she could continue thinking, the man continued, "Did you also travel through time? My name is Yu Hang, and I'm a college graduate. One morning, I opened my eyes and came here, and traveled through time into the body of Inspector Yu Hang. His name is the same as mine, but his personality is much worse. I feel suffocated from acting every day."
As Yu Hang spoke, he made a suffocating expression and successfully made Xiao Xing laugh. He heard Xiao Xing's laughter and looked at her. If Xiao Xing could see, she would notice that Yu Hang's face was blushing.
But unfortunately, Yu Hang was standing in the shadow, and the moonlight shone on Lin Xing's face, allowing him to see her expression clearly.
Yu Hang scratched his head and continued, "By the way, I haven't asked you your name yet. What's your name?"
"Lin Xing, I'm also a recent college graduate like you. But I'm curious, how can you be sure that I'm a time traveler?"
"Hehe, when you stepped on my snake and said something relatively modern, I was a little suspicious. What you said when you confronted the steward just now made me more certain." Yu Hang put on a shy smile.
When Lin Xing heard him mention the manager, she remembered his identity as the Inspector General and immediately gave up the joy of meeting her fellow villager and asked him about Xiao Tao's case.
"You were there at the time? Do you also think that Xiao Tao was responsible for the theft?"
"I don't think so. The money house lost a total of 1,500 taels of silver. This amount of theft is not something a maid could have done."
Lin Xing was only worried about Xiao Tao at the time and then she realized that she knew nothing about this matter. Now she realized that something was wrong and she had to prove Xiao Tao's innocence. She looked the man up and down and asked tentatively, "Why did you come to see me today? It can't be to reminisce about the past, right?"
"The emperor sent me to inspect the bank. They must have heard about it. If I come to inspect as planned, they will conceal the matter. The amount of money lost will be false, and the truth they give will also be false." After a pause, Yu Hang added, "The confession is also completely false."
Lin Xing gritted her teeth and said, "Indeed, such a large number of missing people did not happen overnight. I guess they have been in the same nest for a long time."
"They don't know I'm here yet, so I want to seek your help. I think you also hope to prove Xiao Tao's innocence."
This sentence touched Lin Xing's heart. She looked at Yu Hang in the darkness. She couldn't trust him 100%, but in this era, he was her only hope. Otherwise, she might become the next scapegoat before Xiaotao's innocence is proven.
Thinking of this, Lin Xing said firmly: "Okay, how do you need me to help you?"
"The amount of silver lost is what I found out through private investigation, and there is no concrete evidence. I dare not show up, for fear of alerting the enemy." Then he was in a dilemma, and after a long time of trying to decide what to say, he finally said, "There is no clear plan yet. Do you have any ideas?"
Lin Xing saw Yu Hang's embarrassment and laughed, "Really? I was a student at the School of Economics before I traveled through time. I'm not an accountant, but I know a little bit. If I could see the account book, I should be able to find out what's wrong."
"Leave it to me." He patted his chest confidently.
Hearing Yu Hang's guarantee, Lin Xing shook her head, "Have you ever been to the accounting office? Let's put it this way, if I read through the books one by one, I won't be able to finish watching the national football team's victory from now on."
Yu Hang lowered his head silently, like a dejected puppy. Lin Xing thought he was so stupid. Suddenly he raised his head, his eyes shining as if he had seen bones. "I will first secretly investigate the officials and wealthy businessmen who have close ties with the bank. When we find out the problem, we will check the account books. Is that an idea?"
"Very good, let's do it."
Looking at Yu Hang who was leaving happily, Lin Xing silently wished him good luck. It's time for her to go back as she has to go to work tomorrow.
Lin Xing could actually take a shortcut back to her dormitory by relying on her memory. But she still chose the same route she came from, and Xiaotao was still there.
When she walked out of the woodshed, she hesitated for a moment and then climbed in through the window. However, she did not stay for long. She tore off a piece of Xiaotao's clothes and hurried away, not wanting to watch any longer. It was not until she returned to the bedroom that she discovered blood on the corner of her clothes.
Lin Xing sat blankly in front of the bed, holding the corner of her clothes. This was her first close encounter with death and she was not ready yet. She took advantage of the night to pack up Xiaotao's belongings. There weren't many things, only three pieces including this piece of clothing.
Xiaotao's purse, her favorite hairpin, and the corner of Lin Xing's clothes.
Even though there were only three pieces, Lin Xing chose to put them in an exquisite box. This box originally contained a pair of earrings that Xiaotao gave her, but one of them was accidentally lost, so it is a perfect place to store her personal belongings.
She thought she could no longer shed tears, but when she closed the box, the tears dripping onto it made her stunned.
Only then did she finally begin to cry loudly.
After a sleepless night, Lin Xing heard footsteps coming to her door, which stayed for a moment before leaving. She knew it was time to go eat, after all, she had promised Xiaotao.
It was another busy day. Lin Xing eavesdropped on their conversation during dinner and noticed that the manager did not arrange for the maid to clean the accounting office today. Her trust in Yu Hang deepened.
Not only that, no one seemed to know about Xiaotao's death. Maybe they know, but it doesn’t matter anymore, everyone could be the next Xiaotao.
On the second night after Xiaotao left, Lin Xing still couldn't fall asleep. After tossing and turning for a long time, she decided to get up.
She remembered that Xiaotao didn't know her last name yet, so she picked up a pen and wrote the word "Lin" on the corner of her clothes. Putting down her pen, she decided to go to the woodshed.
Walking on the path to the woodshed, I unknowingly deviated from my course. In the past, Xiao Xing also had times when she couldn’t sleep, and whenever that happened, Xiao Tao would take her out for a walk. Their routes are covert and fixed, so they are not afraid of being discovered.
At the end of this path, you can see the rockery in the garden, which they carefully selected. Lin Xing stood there for a long time, and when she was about to leave, she vaguely heard voices. She walked towards the direction where the voices came from, and the voices gradually became louder.
"Has the body been dealt with? It's so unlucky that she hanged herself. I wanted to put more charges on her."
"Of course it's been dealt with. Isn't it more convenient to charge someone with a crime if they're dead?"
"This girl is so unlucky. She was cleaning the accounting office that day and she heard our conversation."
"For us, it doesn't matter who died. What matters is whether she pleads guilty or not. Her confession has already been written. We don't need to worry about it. The higher-ups will handle it."
"You are farsighted enough to handle this matter in advance. The Inspector will not be able to find out anything by then. He will only think that the bank has lost 15 taels."
Lin Xing is not stupid. After hearing this, what is there for her not to understand?
Xiaotao died for her.
She immediately returned to her bedroom, slid down the door, and wanted to cry but her tears had run dry.
Who should she hate? Hate Xiaotao's self-assertion? Hate your own powerlessness? No, no, no, she should hate those bastards who take human lives.
Lin Xing vowed to make them pay the price.
When the rooster crowed, she realized that another night had passed and day had arrived.
She is going to eat.
Another day passed as usual. In addition to completing her own tasks, Lin Xing also asked for information everywhere. There is a rumor that Mr. Zhao from the money house is coming here. This Boss Zhao is very mysterious. She has been helping here since she was five years old. Ten years have passed, and she has only seen Boss Zhao a handful of times. She would seize this opportunity.
In order to maintain sufficient energy, Lin Xing lay on the bed and forced herself to fall asleep. The night is getting darker, but I am still not very sleepy.
There was a knock on the door and Lin Xing immediately got up and opened it. As soon as the door opened, Yu Hang flashed in.
Before she could ask, Yu Hang took credit for it: "I found out that the money house has a close relationship with the county magistrate."
"As expected, the success of the bank in Nanru County is definitely inseparable from the county magistrate."
"More than that, their network of relationships is complicated. I have copied down the list of suspects and will give you a copy. I will take you to the accounting office tomorrow night."
After taking the list handed to him by Yu Hang and just about to speak, he heard the sound of Yu Hang pushing the door and leaving. Lin Xing could only put away the list, roll her eyes silently, and secretly complain a few words in her heart.
Thinking about the huge workload tomorrow, Lin Xing lay down on the bed again. No matter what the outcome was, at least she greeted the dawn in bed this time.
The past few days had passed in such a blur that she hadn't even noticed that it was already the mid-month rest day. With nothing to do in the dormitory, Lin Xing decided to take out the list given by Yu Hang and open it.
It’s better not to look at these lists, as they basically include all the prominent figures in Nanru County. It seems that there are a lot of account books to look at today. Fortunately, she has solid knowledge, otherwise this matter would be difficult to handle.
As night fell, Lin Xing was waiting for Yu Hang's arrival in the house. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the house and several people broke into the house, led by the manager. As soon as they entered the room, they rushed straight to Xiaotao's bed. Lin Xing wanted to stop them, but was pushed back onto the bed by the guards.
Lin Xing watched them take Xiao Tao's things away, but she could not stop them. She yelled at the steward, "What on earth are you trying to do? Isn't it enough to kill her?"
The steward walked slowly to Lin Xing, pulled out the knife from the guard next to him, and put the knife on her neck. With a slight force, a string of blood flowed down the sword.
"The bitch Xiaotao secretly hid the bank's treasures. How can her life be worth money?" The manager said with a nonchalant tone, turned around and left, and the guards followed him out of the room. Only the sound of one person's footsteps gradually faded away, and Lin Xing discovered from the corner of her eye that the guards were guarding the door.
After a long sigh, she looked at Xiaotao's messy bed and tidied it up silently.
As the night grew deeper, the guards outside the door showed no intention of leaving. Lin Xing began to worry about their plan. How could they find the account book if they couldn't even get out of the door?
While lying on the bed thinking about countermeasures, a strange sound came from outside the room. Just as she was surprised, the door opened.
It’s Yu Hang.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
