Chapter 44
Xiaomei was too reckless. The matter was not clear, but she dared to recognize Old Monster Li as her master. When she came up later, Lin Xing would definitely scold her.
"It's so cold, and you're sweating from exhaustion. Drink some water."
The moment Lin Xing saw Xiaomei, she changed her mind. Now was not the time to quarrel, business was more important.
"Thank you, Xiao Xing."
Lin Xing pulled Xiao Mei to sit at the table, and the other two also sat down at the table, waiting for her to explain what was going on.
"I went to West Street this morning to inquire about something, but I got lost and walked to a remote place. When I passed by a dilapidated house, a man suddenly rushed out and tried to pull me into the house."
Even after so long, Xiaomei's voice still trembled a little when she mentioned this matter. Lin Xing held her hand and continued for her: "Was it Old Monster Li who saved you?"
"Yes, he heard the noise and came to check, and scared the man away." Xiaomei's voice calmed down.
The three of them nodded in understanding, and then Shen Ling frowned, "Why did he appear in West Street?"
"I asked the master the same question. He said that they came here to treat the poor people. Most of the people living in West Street have no money to see a doctor, and some of them came here from places where plague had occurred."
"Is he so kind?"
Lin Xing glared at Yu Hang and told him to speak properly. Xiao Mei didn't care. "I had my doubts at first, but later I followed him to treat patients, and he didn't ask for any reward."
“And everyone respected him.”
"How did Xiao Xing know? Did you guys go to West Street too?"
Lin Xing smiled pretentiously and said nothing.
'Pure speculation'
“Shen Ling!!!”
Lin Xing's smile could no longer be maintained. She looked at Shen Ling angrily, as if she was going to beat him up in the next second, but her hand was held by Xiao Mei, so she couldn't do anything.
"Everyone, stop making a fuss. This is indeed the case, so I don't think he is a bad person."
"Then why do you recognize him as your master?"
"He was the one who brought this up. We've already suffered a loss at Hongci Station, so it's always good to learn some medical skills. So I agreed."
"Then you have to be careful. Old Monster Li's background is unknown and his identity is unclear. What if..."
"No, you still don't believe me?"
Under Xiaomei's gaze, Lin Xing could only nod. She withdrew her hand and walked to the window. Old Monster Li had already entered the clinic. The door was locked tightly. If she didn't know, she would have thought there was no one there.
"Do you have any plans for the investigation?"
The three of them explained the whole story one by one, and then laid out the plan they had made.
Finally, Lin Xing told Xiao Mei: "You have already accepted Li Laoguai as your master, see if you can get some breakthroughs from him."
"Don't worry, when will you go to Li's house?"
"Now."
Lin Xing and Shen Ling went to Li's house without even changing their clothes. This image just fits the roles they have assigned to themselves.
"Are you Miss Zhao's distant cousins?"
The two of them saluted the narrow-eyed man in front of them. After confirming their identities, the man immediately put on a flattering smile, "I am the housekeeper of the Li Mansion. My surname is Zheng. You can just call me Uncle Zheng. The two of you quickly follow me. Madam Zhao is waiting for you two."
"Uncle Zheng, please lead the way."
The Li Mansion is even more prosperous than the Shen Mansion. Mr. Li is very powerful. He is only in his early thirties but he has become a wealthy man, and he started from scratch.
Soon, the three of them entered the backyard. It was said that Master Li had prepared a separate yard for each concubine, and it seemed to be true.
They passed through more than a dozen courtyards and finally stopped in front of the Zhaixing Pavilion. From outside the courtyard, it seemed that Mr. Li doted on Zhao Qi extremely, and the specifications of his courtyard were more than twice as large as those of others. But there were no servants in the courtyard, only Xun Zhu guarding outside.
Xun Zhu had been waiting for the two of them, and he immediately came forward when he saw them. "Uncle Zheng, you've worked so hard."
"It's not hard. Madam Zhao has been in a bad mood recently. It would be great if this could cheer her up."
After a round of greetings, there were only three people left in the yard. Xun Zhuqiang's smile immediately fell, replaced by a sad face.
“Miss Lin, Mr. Shen, my young lady is waiting inside the house, please follow me.”
Lin Xing pointed to the room in front and asked, "Is your young lady in this room?"
"Yes." Xun Zhu didn't understand what Lin Xing meant, so he answered obediently.
"I'm going to go in and talk to Miss Zhao for a while. You two just wait here."
"OK."
Now the two were completely confused. Lin Xing's serious expression showed that she was not joking. They watched Lin Xing push the door and enter the house.
A woman in white sat at the table, staring straight ahead with lifeless eyes. She was not wearing any makeup, and although her face was haggard, it couldn't hide her cold and elegant temperament.
She said she was waiting for Lin Xing and the other person, but when the door was opened she didn't look away, as if she had become a puppet without a soul. Lin Xing walked closer and realized that her complexion was extremely bad, as pale as if she was seriously ill.
Lin Xing apologized in her heart, and then whispered: "Miss Zhao is newly married, why are you wearing white clothes?"
His empty eyes finally showed some emotion, tears welling up in his eyes, and a self-deprecating smile hung on the corners of his mouth, "Newlywed? To me, it's no different than a funeral."
Lin Xing gritted her teeth and continued, "I think Master Li even dotes on you, so why do you have to be so depressed and try to commit suicide several times?"
She stepped forward and grabbed Zhao Qi's arm, his sleeve slipped down, revealing several ugly scars. At such a close distance, Lin Xing could even see the marks on her neck.
"Dote? He treats every new woman in the mansion like this. Otherwise, the Star Picking Pavilion will have a new owner in a few days, and I will be forgotten by him."
"If I say he will love you forever and is willing to send away all the other women for you, will you be moved by him?"
Zhao Qi laughed out loud with an expressionless face as if he heard a joke, but he was too weak and ended up coughing non-stop, and his laughter sounded different.
Lin Xing squatted down and looked at Zhao Qi, who was bending over, and continued to ask, "Mrs. Zhao, will you change your mind?"
I don’t know which word irritated her, but Zhao Qi smashed all the tea sets on the table to the ground, her eyes were red and tears kept falling.
"I want to kill him, so how can I change my mind? No matter how good he is to me, it's just to make up for it. I will be better off without him!"
Zhao Qi almost roared at the end of his words. Lin Xing stopped talking and picked up the Pisces jade pendant from the debris on the ground. It had been swept to the ground just now and had a crack on it.
Seeing the jade pendant in Lin Xing's hand, Zhao Qi turned into a walking corpse again, staring at it without blinking and crying.
"I'm sorry, Miss Zhao, what I just said was not my true intention. You should have read the letter. Our entry into the mansion also means that you have agreed to my plan. In order to ensure the implementation of the plan, I need to confirm your position."
Lin Xing held the jade pendant tightly and saluted Zhao Qi. She held it too tightly and the broken part pierced her palm. A drop of blood and tears fell on the back of Zhao Qi's hand.
This drop of blood awakened Zhao Qi. She wiped her tears, stood up and helped Lin Xing up. "I understand Miss Lin's difficulties. I am very grateful that you came here to save me. You don't need to feel sorry."
The jade pendant was returned to its owner. Zhao Qi examined it carefully, breathed a sigh of relief, and said to himself: "Fortunately, my jade pendant is not the one that Feng Dai had."
She saw the mess on the ground and thought of her previous loss of composure. She felt a little embarrassed and in panic she squatted down to pick up the porcelain pieces on the ground.
Lin Xing hurriedly grabbed her hand and said, "Miss Zhao, be careful. I'll go call Xun Zhu to clean up the mess. You just sit down and take it easy."
As soon as the door was opened, Xun Zhu and Shen Ling rushed into the house. She was holding a broom in her hand, and the noise was so loud that it would be strange if no one could hear it. Lin Xing secretly thanked herself for leaving Shen Ling outside the house, otherwise Xun Zhu would have barged in and interrupted them.
Xun Zhu was quick and efficient and finished cleaning up in no time, but she stood by the door, hesitant to move, as if she wanted to say something.
"Just go out and wait, it's okay."
Only after she saw her master giving the order did she close the door and go out, keeping her eyes on Zhao Qi as she left the house.
Looking at Zhao Qi's red eyes, Lin Xing didn't know how to start. After thinking about it, Zhao Qi spoke before her, "Miss Lin, Master Chen, you can do whatever you want to investigate in the mansion. I will also help keep an eye on the things you ask me to do. Thank you for your hard work."
"Compared to Miss Zhao, this is nothing. Please rest assured, we will definitely bring Miss Zhao back to Nanru."
Zhao Qi smiled from the bottom of her heart, and her beauty became even more beautiful. Perhaps the familiar place name reminded her of the good times she had there, and of her lover who was waiting for her.
Lin Xing couldn't bear to disturb her memories, so she took Shen Ling out. Xun Zhu was no longer in the yard, so they went to the pavilion and sat down.
"What did you say to her just now? The room was so noisy. If I hadn't stopped him, Xun Zhu would have gone in to help."
"It's nothing. Our plan is too risky. We may not be able to find definite evidence in two days. If Zhao Qi doesn't stand on our side by then, it will be very difficult to deal with."
This aroused Shen Ling's concerns, "What should we do if the plan fails?"
"We will go to the Emperor and plead guilty. Let him punish us. The four of us will be imprisoned together."
"Don't say such things. How could the emperor have the heart to punish us?"
"Yes, we will be fine, but Zhao Qi and Boss Li will definitely lose their lives." Lin Xing took a deep breath, "So if we don't succeed, we will die."
It is now late autumn and there are only a few leaves left on the trees, but when Lin Xing said this, the wind made the leaves rustle, as if responding to her words.
"Let's go and meet the legendary Master Li."
Everyone in the mansion had been given instructions, and when Lin Xing and Shen Ling asked for directions, all the servants were respectful and no one was curious about their identities. Master Li really went to great lengths to win Zhao Qi's favor.
"Mr. Li is thoughtful enough to love the house and the whole house so much."
"If he really wanted to, he wouldn't force Zhao Qi, nor would he marry her regardless of her wishes."
Speaking of Zhao Qi, Lin Xing's mind recalled her smile. She always felt something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Mr. Li’s study was right in front of her, and Lin Xing couldn’t care less.
It's really strange. It's understandable that there are no servants in Zhao Qi's courtyard, but why are there no servants here? Is the Li family too poor to afford servants?
There was no servant and no way to inform, so the two of them could only knock on the door directly. Before they even raised their hands, they heard voices coming from inside the house.
"Master Li, your superiors have told you to be careful. The emperor's men will be passing through Dingzhou soon. You must not let them become suspicious."
"The Emperor's people? Who are they?"
"I don't know. There is no explanation from above."
"I think you are just worrying too much. Isn't the county magistrate also the emperor's man? He has been here for several years and still knows nothing."
The noise in the house died down, but these few words were enough to shock the two of them. Before they could recover, even more shocking news came out.
"But since the Prime Minister has instructed me, I will definitely keep it in mind."
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