Chapter 24
"Okay, come in and eat together. Huan'er took a lot." Ignoring Yu Hang, Lin Xing walked towards the table.
After waiting for a while, I still couldn't hear Yu Hang's footsteps, so I couldn't help but look back. This guy kept gesturing in front of the window, as if he was going to climb out.
Lin Xing was so angry that she almost vomited blood. She was afraid that he would really climb in through the window, so she hurriedly called him, "I remember there should be a door in my room."
Yu Hang patted his head, but accidentally touched the place where he had just bumped. He gasped in pain and swallowed back what he wanted to say.
The door was opened, but the person who came in was not Yu Hang, but a white figure. She rushed to Lin Xing's feet. Lin Xing was so scared that she quickly stood up and stepped back, accidentally knocking over the stool.
Xiaobai was afraid of being hit by the stool, so he hid behind the table leg. She seemed to realize that Lin Xing was afraid of her, so she stopped moving forward and just poked her head out to look at Lin Xing.
This made Lin Xing feel guilty. She hadn't seen Xiaobai for a long time. She didn't react just now, so she dodged. Lin Xing could see the grievance in Xiaobai's eyes. Her aggrieved look was very similar to someone else.
Lin Xing wanted to go forward to comfort Xiaobai, but her fear of snakes made her unable to move, and she didn't even have the courage to hold on to the stool.
Yu Hang, who entered the room a little later, saw a man and a snake looking at each other. He noticed the overturned stool on the ground, guessed what had happened, walked to Xiaobai and motioned her to go out first.
Xiaobai hesitated, looked at Lin Xing, then looked at Yu Hang, and finally left without looking back. Before disappearing, he looked at Lin Xing deeply. This made Lin Xing feel even more guilty.
Seeing Xiaobai disappear and Yu Hang pick up the stool, Lin Xing returned to the table and sat down calmly.
After taking a few bites of the tasteless food, Lin Xing decided to make an excuse to save her image, "It was too sudden just now. I was not prepared."
"Yeah, it's all Xiaobai's fault for being too enthusiastic. She hasn't seen you for a long time." Yu Hang's agreement left Lin Xing speechless.
"Uh, it's not Xiaobai's fault..."
"Yes, actually it's my fault that I let Xiaobai into the house without informing you in advance."
Lin Xing was shocked by the speed at which Yu Hang slid down to his knees and apologized. So fast? She wanted to say something, but saw Yu Hang buried his head in his food and didn't look up, so Lin Xing could only eat first.
Lin Xing really couldn't eat when she just got up, and she put down her chopsticks after a while. Yu Hang also put them down, looking at Lin Xing with his puppy eyes, indicating that she could continue asking questions.
"You, forget it, what you said is useful. Yesterday I suddenly discovered that the two lists you gave me were highly overlapping."
"Two lists? The list of those who were infected with the plague and the list of those who were left in the fire?"
"right."
The expressions of both men became serious. This was no small matter. The truth about the fire might be hidden in these two lists.
Yu Hang thought for a moment, and suddenly remembered a scene from his life outside the city. He also said, "Could it be that Master Zhao did it? He sent people to set the fire, but failed. Will he come back again?"
"No, Shen Ling has already warned him, and Mr. Zhao is just a good-for-nothing, he doesn't have such evil intentions." Without even a second thought, Lin Xing denied this possibility.
Yu Hang nodded in agreement, and then asked another question, "The two lists are highly overlapping, so how different are they? Perhaps this is the key."
Lin Xing's expression became more and more serious, and Yu Hang described it as if she would eat someone in the next second.
"Only one person is different, seeking pleasure."
Yu Hang's eyes turned into disbelief. "If someone set fire and killed people according to the list of people infected with the plague, then seeking pleasure must be the only variable."
"But how did that person ensure that all those infected with the plague were locked in the shed without any omission?"
Lin Xing had also thought about this question that night, and she already had the answer, "There are too many ways to do it. It can be done easily by taking advantage of your position."
Next, Lin Xing gave twenty possible scenarios, and Yu Hang had to admit that each one of them could do it.
The matter has reached a stalemate, and so far there has been no clue to point out the mastermind behind the incident.
"The most urgent task now is to find Xun Huan's whereabouts. There is a high possibility that she is not dead."
The two people's thoughts crossed, and they came to the same conclusion, and they expressed their understanding of the case in unison.
Lin Xing racked her brains to think of where Xunhuan would go. Her voice rang in her mind, and every word Xunhuan had said seemed to be still in her ears. Suddenly, she thought of it.
“Have you been back to the Shen Mansion before coming to the restaurant?”
Yu Hang didn’t understand why Lin Xing asked this question, but he still answered obediently: “No, I came directly to the restaurant to find you when I came back from outside the city, but Shen Ling went back to the Shen Mansion these two nights.”
"Let's go to the Shen Mansion."
These words inspired Lin Xing. She stood up and ran out of the house, grabbed a servant and asked him to prepare the horse. Yu Hang was really confused and even when he got on the carriage, he still didn't understand what was going on.
The shaking of the carriage made Yu Hang dizzy, and his already unclear thoughts became even more confused. Finally, he decided to ask directly, "Why do you want to go to the Shen Mansion? Do you think Xun Huan will be in the Shen Mansion?"
"It's just my guess. Xun Huan is interested in Chen Ling. Do you know?"
"have no idea."
"You don't know, but I do." Lin Xing felt a little proud. She knew Xun Huan better than anyone else, but she wasn't going to keep it a secret. "If Xun Huan survived, she would definitely go to the city to look for us. Among the three of us, Chen Ling is the most famous."
Yu Hang seemed to understand, "But isn't your restaurant also very famous?"
"You've forgotten what Shen Ling is like in the eyes of outsiders. No one would be surprised if a woman came to ask about Shen Ling."
"Oh, I understand." Lin Xing looked relieved, but the next second she felt that she might as well be thrown out of the carriage.
“But does this have anything to do with whether Xun Huan likes Chen Ling?”
“That’s just human selfishness, and Xun Huan hasn’t shown up at the restaurant these past two days, so there’s only one place left.”
After saying this, Lin Xing closed her eyes and rested. She thought she was not asleep until she suddenly regained consciousness. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was still in the carriage, and Yu Hang was still watching her. He did not move to another place as soon as she woke up.
The carriage stopped and the two got off. It was strange. They clearly hadn't sent anyone to notify them in advance, and it was too early to receive guests, but there were people waiting outside the Shen Mansion.
Lin Xing thought it was just a coincidence, but the housekeeper came forward when he saw the two of them, "The Prime Minister and Master Shen have been waiting for a long time, please follow me."
Prime Minister? How long have you been waiting? Both of them saw doubt in each other's eyes. They followed the butler through most of the Shen Mansion and finally stood in front of the banquet hall where they met for the first time.
Without waiting for the butler to say anything, Yu Hang pushed the door open and walked in. Lin Xing bowed to the butler before entering.
The furnishings in the room had not changed at all, and the person sitting on the high seat was the same. If Yu Hang had not been next to Lin Xing, Lin Xing would have thought she had traveled back to a few days ago.
"Greetings, Prime Minister."
"No need to be polite, please take a seat."
The conversation between the few people was not quiet, but Shen Ling just lowered his head to drink, as if he didn't pay any attention to them at all. There must be something wrong when something is abnormal.
They had just eaten before coming here, and looking at the table full of delicious food, Lin Xing and Yu Hang just wanted to vomit. Lin Xing didn't want the prime minister to think that she was not giving him face, so she hesitated for a long time before picking up the wine next to her. When she was about to drink, she paused again.
Lin Xing calmly pretended to drink, but in fact she didn't drink a drop. On the other hand, Yu Hang didn't have such superb acting skills. The prime minister seemed unaware of the strange atmosphere and just continued drinking and eating.
Suddenly, the music at the banquet changed from the gentle sound of the zither to the passionate sound of drums. Lin Xing lost her grip on the wine in her hand and it spilled. This was the only wine missing from the banquet.
However, no one paid attention to this little episode. Maybe they were just pretending, but they actually cared about it very much. Lin Xing continued to act like she was drinking fake wine, but would she get drunk even if she didn’t drink it? Otherwise, why does this drum sound more and more familiar?
Just like, just like, just like the accompaniment to our dancing for fun.
Lin Xing suddenly looked at the person beating the drum. He didn't look familiar. When she looked away, she accidentally saw someone coming in from the door. It seemed to be a dancer?
Not sure, she took another look. Just this one look made Lin Xing freeze in place, and she didn't even feel the wine glass in her hand slipping out of her hand. How come that person looks exactly like Xun Huan?
The maid beside her replaced the wine glass for her, but Lin Xing was no longer in the mood to perform. She stared at the dancing woman in the center without blinking. Not only her, but also the Prime Minister and Yu Hang stared at him intently, only Shen Ling continued to drink.
As soon as the dance was over, Lin Xing had confirmed that she was just looking for pleasure.
The dance steps were exactly the same as the one they performed outside the city that day, with only one difference: it lacked some freedom and joy.
What happened next further confirmed Lin Xing's guess. The dancer wanted to go downstairs, but was stopped by the prime minister. "I see that Manager Lin and Supervisor Yu both like your dance very much. How about dancing for one more time?"
"I obey your command."
Even the voice is exactly the same, there is absolutely no mistake.
It was said that this dance was performed for the two of them, but Xun Huan danced with great affection and even exchanged glances with the Prime Minister from time to time. Lin Xing got goosebumps all over her body at first, but later she just felt angry.
Lin Xing drank the wine in her hand in one gulp. After drinking it, she realized that all her performance was in vain. She was so angry that she was confused. But today she did not feel dizzy, which made her confirm that the wine she drank that day was indeed problematic.
This dance also ended, but this time it was Lin Xing who stopped her.
"I don't know your name, but I am really shocked by your dancing. I hope to make friends with you." Lin Xing stared at her, hoping to find any flaws on her face.
"Manager Lin, you don't know that this girl is an orphan. I saw that she had no one to rely on and could only dance, so I let her go to the Shen Mansion to make a living."
What surprised Lin Xing was that the Prime Minister would actually speak for Xun Huan, but when she saw the look in the Prime Minister's eyes when he looked at Xun Huan, she understood everything.
"Orphans also have names, I wonder what the girl's name is?"
"My name is Fuchou." This time it was Xunhuan who spoke, but she used a completely different name.
The woman who claimed to be holding the silk immediately left after she finished speaking. The prime minister also left the banquet after toasting, leaving them to do as they pleased.
Shen Ling was already drunk, so Yu Hang and Lin Xing chose to follow the Prime Minister secretly. The Prime Minister drank a lot and was staggering when he walked, but he still didn't let anyone follow him.
The two followed him all the way, leading him to more and more remote places until they entered a house. As soon as the prime minister entered the room, a delicate voice was heard. They were not standing close to each other, and perhaps because it was too quiet around them, they could hear everything in the room clearly.
"Sir, you are finally here. I have been waiting for you for so long."
"I can't bear to leave a beautiful woman lonely, so I'm here to accompany you right away, right?"
"He's good at talking."
There was a sound of clothes rubbing against each other. The two of them must have hugged each other. Then the Prime Minister's voice came: "A moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold."
Then there was no movement. Lin Xing stood there in a daze. She didn't understand why Xun Huan would make such a choice.
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