In the middle of the night, Butterfly put on a veil, removed her jewelry and hairpins, changed into coarse clothes, and prepared to go to the old house outside the city to meet with Bai Lang.
There wasn't much to give as a gift, so Lan Ya Mei gave Butterfly the ponies and carriage. The shop was very busy, and since Butterfly had so much cash, she could only ask Qiu Zeyu to escort her.
Qiu Zeyu didn't want to go. Was a girl from Hua Manlou really worth his personal escort? But Lan Yatou had said so, so he had no choice but to go. For some reason, he felt compelled to help this girl achieve her wish. This feeling of being out of control was both wonderful and terrifying. He was afraid that one day he would forget how to kill.
The two did not exchange a word on the way, until they were almost at the old house. Suddenly, Butterfly lifted the curtain, knelt on the carriage, and pleaded, "Hero Qiu! Please spare Murong Bai, I'll kowtow to you." She repeated this sincerely.
Qiu Zeyu simply said, "Since you recognized me, aren't you afraid I'll send you both to the underworld?"
Butterfly knelt down and said, "I used to think you were a ruthless killer and I was afraid of you. But after spending these past few days with you, I think the rumors are untrue. You are not that kind of person. You have compassion, otherwise you wouldn't have saved Manager Lan."
"I have no grudge against her, of course I wouldn't kill her." Qiu Zeyu, driving the carriage, cracked his whip to urge the horse to run faster, and said, "Since you recognized me, why didn't you tell her? Why did you make me drive you?"
"I can see that you and Manager Lan like each other. I wish all lovers in the world could be united in marriage, and I shouldn't say anything that's not my place. Besides, love is inherently irrational. Even if the whole world doesn't approve, she's willing to stand by your side and say hello to you, even if it means going against the world. It's not something I can influence with a few words. Manager Lan is an independent woman with her own opinions. As for you and Bai Lang, I don't know what grudges you have, but I want to beg you on Bai Lang's behalf. Bai Lang is different from the Murong family; he's a good person. Please let him go."
"I can let him go, but answer me honestly: did you take Murong's jade pendant?"
"You...you are the mysterious person on the top floor?" Butterfly suddenly slumped into the carriage, her mind blank.
"I'm waiting for you to tell the truth! Your life and Murong Bai's life are entirely in your hands."
Butterfly gritted her teeth and admitted, "That day, Bai Lang did give me a Murong jade pendant and told me to keep it safe. I lost it by accident, which led to the trouble that followed." Her good days with Bai Lang had just begun, and she had to take a gamble. Qiu Zeyu would definitely not harm Manager Lan and Aunt Guan.
"That's the end of this matter. The old house is just ahead, so I won't see you off." After saying that, Qiu Zeyu leaped away.
The carriage had barely arrived in the courtyard when a dark figure stealthily approached and gently knocked three times on the door. Butterfly opened the door and followed the person into the carriage, disappearing into the night.
The Murong residence was deathly silent. Murong Feng was in a fit of rage, urging a thorough search, since the last person to see Murong Bai before his disappearance was his wife's personal maid.
The original plan was to have the Murong family reconsider the theft of the jade pendant out of consideration for Murong Bai's recent loss of his mother. However, this kid fled in fear of punishment, leaving no room for maneuver! Even I can't protect this kid's life.
Although he was furious, he delayed issuing a warrant for the arrest. He could only wait as long as possible, hoping that the kid could really escape without a trace, which would be considered a stroke of good luck.
The second wife, being quite sensible, quietly slipped out of the main hall and returned to her room, where she burst into laughter! "You, Murong Bai, let's see how long you can live!"
While everyone was waiting in the council hall for Murong Feng's decision, the Second Madam changed into night clothes and quietly rode away from the Murong residence.
The second wife rushed to the old house, only to find it deserted. She then tracked down Lan Yamei's new shop, intending to investigate, but saw the handsome scholar Qiu Zeyu busy at the counter. Startled, she retreated back to the Murong residence.
Could it be that Murong Bai has already colluded with Qiu Zeyu? Otherwise, how could Butterfly have escaped unscathed right under Qiu Zeyu's nose? What common goal do they share? This puzzled the Second Madam greatly.
Qiu Zeyu had originally intended to leave without saying goodbye, but now that he knew the whereabouts of the jade pendant, finding it was his top priority. As a result, the shop was incredibly busy, and the moment he showed up, the woman pulled him aside to collect money.
After finally finishing with all the customers in the shop, Qiu Zeyu found a moment to talk to Aunt Guan and asked, "Who did you give the jade pendant to?"
Aunt Guan was so frightened that her legs went weak and she immediately knelt down. She thought to herself, "Isn't this all over? How could this be? Could it be a butterfly? She couldn't have already... Thinking of this, Aunt Guan looked at Qiu Zeyu with eyes full of terror.
"She's fine, I know what you're thinking."
Aunt Guan quickly explained in a low voice, "The jade pendant was sold to a pawnshop, but when we went to redeem it, the owner had already sold it, so we had no choice but to lie to you!"
"Which pawnshop? What's the owner's name?"
“The owner of this shop on our street is named Ouyang Hai. I used to know him.”
"Alright, get back to work." With that, Qiu Zeyu vanished.
After everyone finished their work and closed the shop, they raised their glasses and had a drink together. Er Gou's family drove back, and after seeing off Tie Tou and his brothers, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
On the way, Er Gou's wife said to her mother, "Mom, look how good business is today, we're making so much money our hands are sore. Why don't we open a barbecue stall too? We can earn the money ourselves, why should we help others earn it?"
"Pah! Stop with your frivolous thoughts. Don't think you're a master chef just because you've been on the barbecue grill for a day. There are many tricks to doing business! Can you and Er Gou deal with thugs or gossipy neighbors? Earning a few coins honestly under Lan Ya'er's care is already a hundred times better than everyone else in the village. If you keep having these unrealistic fantasies, I'll have Lan Ya'er fire you." Er Gou's mother cursed, leaning against the carriage. She was afraid her short-sighted daughter-in-law would cause trouble, and she was right.
"Okay, I won't say anything more. I'm just a little envious!" Er Gou's wife muttered.
Qiu Zeyu returned to his room, changed into his night clothes, and quickly climbed onto the roof, scaling walls and rooftops to reach Ouyang Hai's pawnshop.
Ouyang Hai was sleeping soundly with his concubine in his arms when a dagger was pressed tightly against his neck, startling him awake. "Who is it?"
To whom was the jade pendant sold?
"I don't know... I know, I..." But his hand misbehaved, pinching the concubine, trying to alert the servants to catch the thief. As soon as the concubine moved, she was knocked unconscious by a swift chop.
Now Ouyang Hai was completely obedient, and hurriedly said, trembling, "Master, what do you want to know? Don't kill me, I'll tell you everything."
To whom was the jade pendant sold?
"Oh, you mean the Murong jade pendant? I have a list here. The other day, a young girl brought it to me as a pawn, and I immediately recognized it as something that someone had reserved. I bought it at a high price and sent it to the Murong residence..."
Upon hearing that the money had been given to the Murong family, Qiu Zeyu killed Ouyang Hai with a single stroke before the other party could finish speaking, then leaped away from the pawnshop. Back in his room, he couldn't sleep for a long time; it seemed the Murong family was already taking action. It appeared he couldn't stay here any longer and had to go home first.
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