Lan Yamei tried to find some evidence, but the other party did it so meticulously that she couldn't find a single trace.
Unlike today, ancient times saw very strict regulations on medicines. Aside from arsenic, which was subject to rigorous control, the sale of other medicinal materials was unregistered. In ancient times, anyone with pharmaceutical skills earned their money clandestinely, unable to do so openly. Therefore, a wide variety of poisons existed, and the only antidote was the poison maker.
Lan Yamei mobilized the shop's staff, splitting them into several groups to investigate various pharmacies, but they found not a single clue. There was absolutely no record of Hua Manlou purchasing arsenic in the external sales records. Investigating nationwide would be too absurd; that approach was not feasible.
Looking at the unfinished chicken soup in the pot in the kitchen, Lan Yamei felt a chill. Luckily, the assassin was simple-minded and didn't add any poison to the chicken soup as a backup plan. Otherwise, if the authorities found arsenic in the chicken soup, she would be in deep trouble.
Since no evidence could be found at the crime scene or the pharmacy, the only way to break through was to look at Hua Man Lou itself.
Tie Tou, along with a few brothers, tried to bribe and intimidate a few servants and maids who knew anything about the situation, carrying silver. But those people were tight-lipped; after all, their lives and fortunes were in Hua Yuhe's hands, and none of them admitted that the grandfather and grandson had ever been to Hua Man Lou, let alone seen Manager Hua. After a whole day of fussing and chaos, they still hadn't gotten anything.
Hua Yuhe, on the other hand, made no move whatsoever, continuing to operate her business as usual, making money hand over fist, and her business was booming. Knowing that someone had intercepted her subordinates, she merely scoffed, infuriating Lan Yamei. She was now bearing the brunt of the criticism and forced to close her business; she had suffered a huge loss.
The group of people spent the whole day running around, and they were exhausted. They didn't know how to comfort Wang Fengyang.
As evening fell, several dishes were cooked in the kitchen, and a large group of people sat around the table, but none of them had any appetite; the table was eerily quiet. Just when everyone had resigned themselves to losing the case tomorrow, the half-closed shop door was suddenly flung open from the outside. A familiar face staggered, glanced at the crowd, and then collapsed to the ground.
Aunt Guan was startled and shouted, "Butterfly?" She put down her chopsticks and rushed over.
Only then did everyone realize that the person covered in mud and dressed in rags was actually the beautiful butterfly who had been radiant and made flowers bloom with every step.
On the third floor, everyone hurriedly carried the butterfly to Aunt Guan's room, leaving only Aunt Guan and Lan Ya Mei behind, before silently retreating.
After cleaning and changing Butterfly's clothes, and inserting acupuncture needles to unblock her meridians, Butterfly slowly woke up. Her breathing was weak, and her mouth opened and closed as if she wanted to say something. Lan Yamei quickly brought over some fish soup and, with Aunt Guan's help, fed her a few spoonfuls. Butterfly then had some strength and said weakly, "Thank you." As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, her expression full of sorrow.
"Didn't you leave with Murong Bai? Why did you come back alone and in this state? What happened?" Aunt Guan asked anxiously.
When asked about this, Butterfly kept crying, her whole body choked up, and she trembled slightly.
Aunt Guan sighed anxiously, speculating, "Could it be that Murong Bai dumped you? Has his novelty worn off and he's starting to look down on your background?"
After all, she was a girl who had worked at the Flower Pavilion. Let alone the Murong family, even an ordinary family wouldn't accept her. This was the most common fate for all the girls at the Flower Pavilion. They were destined to hear the sweetest words of love and taste the bitterest fruit.
The butterfly shook its head, still weeping.
Lan Ya Mei couldn't stand this indecisive personality anymore and said angrily, "What's the use of crying? Hurry up and tell us what happened so we can help you! By the time you've cried enough, it'll be too late."
Butterfly sobbed, "Murong Bai is dead."
"What?!" Aunt Guan and Lan Ya Mei exclaimed in surprise. How could this be?
First of all, Murong Bai is the eldest son of the Murong family. Who would have the audacity to kill someone from the Murong family? Furthermore, Murong Bai is highly skilled in martial arts; how could he be killed so easily?
"Tell me the location quickly, are we still in time?" Lan Yamei urged anxiously.
"It's too late. He was attacked by several people and stabbed multiple times. He desperately held on to stop them so that I could escape. He's probably, probably already dead, sob sob sob..." Butterfly started crying again as she said this.
"Impossible. As long as you escape successfully, Murong Bai will also find a way to get away. Don't forget, he is also a highly skilled martial artist. Since he could stop the villains and help you escape, he can definitely get away for himself. Fortunately, he is not a heartless and ungrateful person who plays with your feelings. Tell me quickly where he is! We'll go and rescue him; we might be able to get there in time," Aunt Guan analyzed anxiously.
"Really?" Butterfly's eyes sparkled, her eyelashes were wet, and her face was full of tears as she was about to kneel down on the bed and kowtow.
Aunt Guan stopped her, saying, "It's not too late to kowtow after someone has been rescued. Speak quickly, every minute of delay increases the danger."
Butterfly hurriedly said, "Thirty li south of Longyang Town is Quanxing Village. There is a house by a spring on the back mountain of that village. It was bought by Murong Bai without his family's knowledge. We have been staying there for some time now."
"Alright, you rest well at home. If you need anything, ask Uncle Ouyang." After giving these instructions, Aunt Guan and Lan Yamei hurriedly grabbed some wound medicine, took Tie Tou and another person, gave Ouyang a few more instructions, and then rode their horses out of the barbecue restaurant's backyard.
Luckily, I saw that Er Gou's carriage was nice the day before yesterday, and I couldn't resist buying one myself since I had some money. Otherwise, I would have had to borrow a means of transportation right now, which would have been incredibly frustrating.
Aunt Guan was an expert horse rider, but poor Lan Ya Mei had only been learning for a few days. Her buttocks and thighs ached after just a few bounces, and she was grimacing in pain. Seeing this, Aunt Guan said as she rode, "Tie Tou and I will go first to rescue him. You go to the Murong family, find Murong Xingchen, and tell him his brother is in trouble. They'll send someone. Hurry!" With that, the three of them spurred their horses and galloped away.
Lan Ya Mei's bottom was really sore, and she was afraid of falling, so she could only try her best to hurry to the Murong family.
When the horse arrived in Lin'an City as if dancing, Lan Ya Mei jumped off and almost couldn't stand up. She suspected that her leg was bruised. She missed her Mercedes. At least she could have an electric scooter.
Outside the vermilion gate of the Murong family, six young men with swords stood guard and stopped Lan Yamei, asking, "Who are you looking for?"
"Go quickly and inform Murong Xingchen that Lan Yamei is looking for him; it's a matter of life and death." This was Lan Yamei's first time in such a high-walled compound, and she didn't know how to explain it.
Upon hearing this, the six boys burst into laughter and said, "Looking for our young master? And it's a matter of life and death? What life and death?" As they spoke, they looked at Lan Yamei's belly with ill intent.
This infuriated Lan Ya Mei. Did these hooligans suspect something like that? Her face flushed red as she said, "Hurry up and tell them that Murong Bai's life is in danger. It will be too late if we don't go now."
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