Chapter 61
Two hot bodies pressed against each other, the heat was steaming, and in a trance, Lian Yu seemed to hear the clinking sound of chains colliding.
Could it be that the Black and White Impermanence had brought people here? Wasn't Gu Lang still alive?
But soon, Lian Yu had no energy left for wild thoughts. A single lamp on the table glowed a pale yellow, like a bean. Beside the wooden coffin, the spirit banners wept in the wind. Delicate fingers grasped the edge of the coffin, their tips tinged with a vibrant red. Soon, a broad hand covered it, its cyan veins visible, highlighting the strength of the bones.
A drop of sweat hit the coffin, splashing out a clear flower.
The moonlight moved quietly, and two sparrows snuggled on the branches outside the window, affectionately pecking and kissing each other's down feathers wet by the morning dew.
The faint morning light spread, a single ray of it squeezing through the window slit and landing on the young man's deep brow and nose. His long, crow-feather eyelashes trembled, and Lian Yu slowly opened his eyes. The pale golden sunlight reflected the young man's beautiful amber pupils. Lian Yu slowly turned his rusty gaze, his senses slowly revived.
Why is there someone in my arms?
Lian Yu frowned and thought about it.
etc.
He sat up suddenly, and his head hit the edge of the wooden coffin unexpectedly. Lian Yu hissed in pain and covered his forehead, which made the situation worse.
Lian Yu endured the pain as he surveyed the entire funeral hall. It was a complete mess. A row of pink and white handprints lay scattered along the edge of the coffin. The lime-spattered floor was already a horrible mess. Footprints aside, why were there... handprints? Two on top of each other!?
The continuous rain made a sharp and explosive sound.
Amidst the noise, the soft body beside him trembled suddenly, startled awake. Their eyes met unexpectedly. Lian Yu blinked, while Qin Yi's long eyelashes drooped, and he pursed his lips, his ears reddening silently.
Now, no matter how much Lian Yu didn't want to, he had to face the current situation.
He had indeed had sex with his sister-in-law at the funeral hall—the day his elder brother met his end. The question is, why him? Shouldn't this kind of plot be between the main character and the supporting character?
etc.
Lian Yu frowned, clenched his fists and began to think.
Speaking of the main character, where's Gu Lang? Could it be that the random servant who came along didn't do his job well and didn't deliver the note to Gu Lang? Or did Gu Lang take the note but ignore it? Or... was Gu Lang actually here last night?
Lian Yu choked and frowned as if he had eaten a sour apricot.
Suddenly, a chaotic conversation and footsteps could be heard outside the mourning hall. From the noise, one could easily distinguish the old lady's deep sigh: "After all this night, I wonder if the eldest child has returned."
Qin Yi was the first to react. He sat up straight and nervously grabbed Lian Yuyi's sleeve: "They are coming in! Go out through the window first!"
As he spoke, Qin Yi moved swiftly. He flung open his torn outer robe and draped it over Lian Yu, then put the discarded white cloth back on his head. After completing the series of preparations, Lian Yu felt his body tilt before he could react, and when he regained consciousness, he was pushed out the window.
How come you are so skilled?
"etc!"
As the window closed, Lian Yu hurriedly used her thumb to grab it, and with a panicked look, she pointed at the side of Qin Yi's neck. She saw several densely packed kiss marks on the snow-white skin, which became even more conspicuous in the sunlight.
Qin Yi didn't hesitate for a moment: "Don't worry, I can explain."
Bang.
In the aftershocks that kept the wooden windows tightly closed, Lian Yu slowly slid down the wall and sat down exhausted at the base of the wall.
Lian Yu sighed and tugged at his pitifully torn robe. The meager fabric barely covered his chest, leaving most of his arm exposed to the sun, revealing several deep, bright red scratches, all hinting at the intensity of last night's fight.
But soon the sunlight in front of his eyes dimmed, and a figure appeared in front of him.
With a buzzing sound in his head, Lian Yu slowly raised his rusty neck and gave the person in front of him an awkward smile: "Haha, General Gu, what a coincidence."
Gu Lang didn't smile: "Unfortunately, I came to see you."
It's over.
——
Inside the mourning hall.
The old lady and a group of relatives and maids stared at each other.
Logically speaking, at her age, she should have participated in at least five of the ceremonies to exorcise the evil spirit, but this was the first time she described the limestone ground as horrible.
"Is this a thief?" The old lady was so frightened that she stuttered, but she quickly shook her head, overturning this guess.
Behind the messy lime floor, her eldest granddaughter-in-law, who had always been dignified and capable, was kneeling obediently, with a white cloth draped meticulously on her head. There was no panic in her expression, only a blush on her snow-white face.
"Little Qin'er, what are you doing..." The old lady's pupils trembled, staring at the glaring red marks on Qin Yi's neck, speechless.
The relatives accompanying her also noticed this. One of them gasped, and then, either out of sheer stupidity or out of sheer excitement, let out an exaggerated cry: "Madam, has someone insulted your innocence?"
The discussion suddenly rose like a tide.
The old lady's face instantly turned ugly, and she shouted sternly, "Stop talking nonsense!"
The huge mourning hall instantly fell into dead silence. The old lady closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she had regained her usual kindness and compassion. She stepped across the limestone floor, squatted down, and placed her hand on Qin Yi's thin shoulder. She asked softly, "Little Qin'er, tell me if you have any grievances. Has anyone bullied you?"
Qin Yi shook his head, his cheeks flushed deeply, as if he had applied rouge. He tilted his head, revealing a hazy look as if he were still in a dream, a smile playing at the corner of his lips: "Last night, he came to see me in my dream."
Everyone reacted for a while, and then the old lady slapped her thigh hard, cried out "Aiya", and her eyes almost overflowed with tears: "The eldest child is really back!"
The relatives and maids were discussing the matter in a lively manner. Someone came up with a handkerchief to wipe the old lady's tears. The old lady pushed the handkerchief away and anxiously grabbed Qin Yi's shoulder: "Did the eldest child say anything to you?"
Qin Yi smiled, and with his backhand, he helped the old lady stand up. "He knew that you must have been tossing and turning all night, so he told me to persuade you to go back home early to catch up on your sleep when I see you today."
The old lady wiped away her tears when she heard this: "It's hard for the older child to be so thoughtful. I'll go back to sleep now."
Just like that, a large group of people retreated in an instant, just as they came. Qin Yi restrained his expression and turned his gaze to the corner behind the wooden coffin.
He bent down and picked up the dark blue belt with silver silk flowing cloud pattern, and pushed open the window directly: "You left your things, little——"
The word "rain" was stuck in my throat.
Two heads leaning against each other beneath the window simultaneously raised their heads. Realizing something, Lian Yu tightened her dark-black, dark-gold-embroidered cloak, which clearly belonged to someone else. Blushing, she tried to snatch the belt from Qin Yi's hand, explaining to Gu Lang as she did so: "That big brother... no, General Gu, listen to my explanation, uh, explanation!"
The corner of Qin Yi's lips twitched, and a vein on his forehead bulged: "Are you trying to poach me again?"
"How did you know?" Lian Yu showed a surprised expression. For a moment, he didn't care about the belt anymore. He just leaned over and pointed at the footprints at the foot of the wall: "The traces at the foot of the wall are indeed worth digging deeper."
Qin Yi: "..."
Lian Yu blinked.
Gu Lang raised his hands to cover his sleeves, with a smile evident in his eyes.
Qin Yi's eyes widened. What did that mean? Was he trying to hold back his laughter? What was so funny?!
"Wait." Realizing something, Lian Yu suddenly narrowed her eyes and asked in confusion, "You just said 'again'? Why did you say 'again'?"
Qin Yi's throat choked.
"Okay, let's talk about the important things first." Gu Lang, probably having laughed enough, came over to lighten the mood. His face turned serious, and he lifted his robe and half-knelt down by the wall, lightly touching the pink and white footprints with his fingertips. "Did anyone come here last night?"
Seeing the atmosphere was stagnant, Gu Lang added: "Except for Mr. Lian Er."
The two people beside him breathed a sigh of relief. Qin nodded. "Someone broke in, but I subdued him. Now let's check the wine jug on the altar. I think we can find the drug he put in there."
"medicine?"
Lian Yu nodded hurriedly, "So, General Gu, it really was just a misunderstanding between me and my sister-in-law! You have to believe us!"
Qin Zhou's already gentle aura suddenly became cold. His hands at his sides clenched tightly, and his long eyelashes drooped, covering the surging emotions in his eyes.
Lian Yu said this to take credit, but when he looked up he was met with such a solemn face, and Lian Yu was stunned.
Gu Lang was oblivious to the turbulent undercurrent between the two of them and simply nodded: "Okay, I'll have someone investigate the source of the medicine and see if we can find out something. And -"
Gu Lang changed the subject and lifted his finger. There was a subtle dusting on his fingertips, which looked different from lime. He brought the dusting to his nose and sniffed, "This is saltpeter."
"Nitrate powder?" Lian Yu came back to his senses and quickly realized something.
Gu Lang nodded: "That person is probably coming for the Lian family's fireworks business. It's best to go to the warehouse and check if anything is missing."
After saying that, Gu Lang started walking towards the warehouse, but the two people beside him didn't follow. Gu Lang's expression froze for a moment, and the general's expression showed that he was about to break: "You... don't want to go with me?"
Lian Yu smiled awkwardly, pointing at the cloth on her body that looked like it had been robbed, and then at Qin Yi's mourning clothes: "So... are we going?"
Gu Lang then regained his usual serious expression, clenched his fist and coughed lightly: "Ahem, then we'll meet at the warehouse door."
At the warehouse door.
After all, he was so preoccupied with the warehouse that he hurriedly changed his clothes, not paying much attention to his appearance. He was about to return the folded cloak to Gu Lang, but Qin Yi moved aside to block his way.
Qin Yi had clearly arrived earlier than him, but he was dressed neatly and his hair was combed neatly, as if by some magic.
"Is there anything wrong, sister-in-law?" Lian Yu was puzzled.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt his waist suddenly loosen and the belt fell from his side. Qin Yi was holding the dark blue belt with silver cloud pattern that he had kept for who knows how long, and pressed it against his body.
Her fingertips gently adjusted his belt, rising and falling like a dragonfly skimming the water.
Lian Yu's breathing quickened, as if some memories were revived in his body.
When Lian Yu raised his eyes and met Gu Lang's meaningful gaze, his heart was alarmed and he hurriedly tried to explain: "General Gu, this is all a mistake-"
Before Lian Yu could finish saying the word "misunderstanding", Qin Yi glared at her resentfully.
The cloak was snatched from his hand. Lian Yu watched Qin Yi bow gently to Gu Lang and return the cloak to the young general's broad palm.
Lian Yu understood.
Who wants to repeatedly bring up an embarrassing scar in front of someone they care about? Qin Yi's affectionate gesture was probably a way to play up to him and shut him up. So that's how it was. Lian Yu felt like a brilliant idiot. He clenched his fist, slammed it against his palm, and made a zipper-to-your-mouth gesture to Qin Yi.
Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut.
Qin Yi frowned.
"The door indeed shows signs of being pried open." Regardless of what was happening between Lian Yu and Qin Yi, Gu Lang had already entered the situation and started to check carefully.
The heavy warehouse door opened, and the servant dozing in the corner suddenly woke up and hurriedly got up: "General, Second Young Master, Madam."
"Sleeping until this hour?" Gu Lang frowned.
The servant lowered his head with an awkward smile on his lips. The answer was self-evident.
Gu Lang closed his eyes and exhaled with a headache, "Go count and see what's missing."
The servant panicked for a moment: "Little? How could it be less? I've been watching the warehouse for two years and there's never been anything missing—"
"I asked you to check."
The cold words struck the servant, and he shuddered, tumbling and crawling into the depths of the warehouse. After a flurry of hurried footsteps, the servant emerged with a pale face and large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"What's missing?"
The servant's legs softened and he fell to his knees with a thud: "Raw, raw materials."
As soon as these words were spoken, the three people present became serious.
Not to mention Gu Lang and Qin Yi, who were native to the area, even Lian Yu, an outsider, knew the seriousness of the loss of raw materials. The raw materials of fireworks can be used to make fireworks in times of peace and prosperity, but they can also be used as murderous weapons that can destroy a country and a family.
"Who stole the raw materials?" Gu Lang said with a grim expression. "Who could it be?"
Lian Yu suddenly had an idea and looked up and shouted, "Jin Kingdom!"
In the limited plot that Tutu provided him, there was a mention of the Jin Dynasty invading and using gunpowder to attack the city. So could this be how the Jin Dynasty got its gunpowder?
Unfortunately, Lian Yu's excitement from the sudden inspiration had not yet dissipated when she unexpectedly met Gu Lang's gaze:
"So, how did you know that?"
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