Chapter 15

Ming Huazhang lowered his head and exchanged glances with Ming Huashang. It was an absurd reason, but when applied to Jiang Ling, it was surprisingly convincing.

It's true that he doesn't seem like the type of person who can come up with any conspiracy.

Ming Huazhang remained silent, which was considered as tacit agreement. Ren Yao still couldn't get over the thought of living in Jiang Ling's dandy courtyard: "But..."

Ming Huashang interrupted Ren Yao in time and said, "Sister Ren, safety is the most important thing."

Ren Yao met Ming Huashang's gaze, and remembering that it was Jiang Ling who pulled her up just now, she finally gave in.

There was a dead body in their bedroom, and Ming Huashang didn't want to use anything in the room, and Ren Yao was the same. They packed only their clothes and moved to Jiangling to be hospitalized with Ming Huazhang and Xie Jichuan at night.

Jiang Ling's treatment was truly luxurious. The yard alone was twice as big as theirs, with three main rooms in the front and two side rooms on each side. All of them were furnished with fine soft curtains and could be used after just a bit of tidying up.

Jiang Ling invited them into the main hall and said, "Please sit down first. I will ask the servants to clean up the empty rooms. The one to the east of the main house is for the baby. You can choose any of the other rooms."

Jiang Ling was particularly domineering in his orders. His father had more power and money, and the treatment of the two princes of Chu Jun might not be comparable to his. It would be no problem for Ming Huazhang and the other three to each live in one room.

Ming Huashang and Ren Yao had already agreed on the way that they would still live together. Ming Huashang said, "Thank you, Prince Jiang. Sister Ren and I can live in the east room. But can I see the baby?"

What's the problem? Jiang Ling immediately ordered someone to bring the baby over.

Cats hide during the day and come out at night, and now is the time when lynxes are in high spirits. A big cat came in with a dignified cat step. After it came in, it recognized Ming Huazhang and Ren Yao as the ones who beat it. It growled, lowered its body, and growled in its throat.

"Baby, don't be nervous, these are all guests." Jiang Ling waved to the baby familiarly. Ming Huashang smiled at the lynx, trying to show her friendliness, but unfortunately it seemed to have little effect.

The lynx faced them and walked towards Jiang Ling cautiously. Jiang Ling was very fond of his baby, patting his head and stroking his chin. If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't hold the baby because of its large size, he would have wanted to hold it in his hands. The lynx narrowed its eyes and let out a comfortable purr in its throat.

Ming Huashang looked at the lynx's long, fluffy fur, and her palms felt a little itchy. She felt that it felt good. Ming Huashang asked expectantly, "I heard that lynxes hunt at night?"

"Yes." Jiang Ling called the leopard slave and asked, "How long did the baby sleep during the day? Has he been fed?"

Bao Nu was a foreigner with high eyebrows and deep eyes, and he was very fluent in Chinese. After Jiang Ling asked, he was reluctantly satisfied: "There is still too little meat on the mountain, so I have to let my baby go. Baby, it's up to you tonight. If a ghost comes in, don't be polite, bite it to death! But don't bite it to death, leave it with a breath for me to see."

Ming Huashang nodded continuously: "That's right. But can it distinguish between its own people and outsiders? Don't hurt the servants we brought with us."

Jiang Ling snorted, looked at Ming Huashang with a haughty look, raised his chin and said, "Don't underestimate our baby. Although our baby can't speak, he is very smart."

Ming Huashang looked at Jiang Ling's not very smart appearance and actually hoped so. She said some flattering words and called Zhaocai and Ruyi in, saying, "Baby, you should recognize them clearly. They are Zhaocai and Ruyi. They are family members. Don't scare them."

Zhaocai and Ruyi's legs couldn't help but go weak when they saw such a big beast, even though they knew it was domesticated. The lynx's gray-green eyes looked over at them disdainfully, looking cold and dangerous, and they didn't know if it understood.

On the contrary, Jiang Ling was stunned when he heard the maids' names, and said to Ming Huashang sincerely: "You gave these two maids good names, festive."

"Isn't it?" Ming Huashang said excitedly, as if she had met a soulmate. "I think so too! Finally someone can understand me."

"Why don't you get together?"

"Yes, they are a couple. Jinbao and Jixiang are at home."

Jiang Ling and Ming Huashang looked like they had met too late and were in a relationship. Ming Huazhang coughed softly and interrupted their conversation: "It's getting more and more uneasy in Feihong Garden. Everyone should be alert tonight. No matter whether you are a man or a woman, don't go out alone."

Jiang Ling became interested when talking about this and asked, "How did that female ghost appear in your room?"

"First, it was a corpse, not a female ghost." Ming Huazhang said slowly, "Second, someone was eavesdropping outside the house in the evening. Now that I think about it, it is not ruled out that they deliberately moved us away so that they could do something inside the house."

In the evening, Ming Huazhang and Ren Yao went to arrest people, followed by Ming Huashang and Xie Jichuan, and the servants and maids they brought with them also went out to watch the excitement. Afterwards, they went to meet Princess Taiping, and the confrontation wasted a lot of time, and no one paid attention to the courtyard. Therefore, the person behind the scenes took advantage of the opportunity and brought the body to their room, and even deliberately hid it on the bed.

Jiang Ling didn't care whether it was a female ghost or a female corpse. He asked with great interest, "The two female ghosts were hung in the most conspicuous places before, but this time they were moved to your room. Even if they wanted to scare people, there are so many guests in Feihong Garden, why did they choose you? What did you do to make the powerful ghost favor you so much?"

Xie Jichuan frowned silently. The murderer put the body in their yard, which was a blatant provocation. Whether the four of them were willing or not, they were now in the same boat. Finding the murderer was both a way to solve the mystery and to protect themselves. But Jiang Ling was a pure outsider. Would it be safe to tell him the details of the case?

Ming Huazhang shook his head quietly to Xie Jichuan, and then said to Jiang Ling frankly, "I have also been thinking about this question. The one who died was the maid we questioned during the day. If it was an accident, it would be too coincidental. I think the murderer behind the scenes would not just randomly choose a target. There must be a pattern behind this."

Ming Huazhang looked at the lynx on Jiang Ling's knees. He felt that a person who could get close to an animal must be a sincere person. Now the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. It is always a good idea to get one more helper. Moreover, Jiang Ling's father is the arm of Princess Taiping and has close contacts with the Princess's Mansion. Next, they will track down the murderer and may need Jiang Ling's help.

Since Ming Huazhang said so, Xie Jichuan didn't want to hide it anymore, so he continued, "Whatever the purpose, the fact that he was able to carry the body into the room shows that he is very familiar with the villa, and even a familiar face to most people. I checked the house, and there were no signs of forced damage to the doors and windows. Everyone was attracted to Princess Taiping at the hour of You, and there were fewer people in the villa. It is very likely that the other party acted during this time. But even so, dragging a body through the streets is too conspicuous. I think it is very likely that Lian Xin was first tricked into the vicinity and then killed."

Jiang Ling thought about it and felt that it made sense. He stroked his chin and groaned, not knowing what his mentality was: "So, the one who killed people was not a ghost?"

Obviously not, Ming Huazhang said: "I think so too. But there are many people in the villa who can call the maid out, and we can't be sure who the murderer is. He has already placed the body in the house, which shows how arrogant he is. If we don't catch him, who knows what he will do next."

After much discussion, there seemed to be some clues, but it was all blurry. Ren Yao was furious and said, "We've said so much, but we still don't know who the other party is. Are we just going to let that little thief play with us?"

Xie Jichuan seemed quite relaxed, not at all anxious: "Without solid evidence, who would dare to offend Princess Taiping's servants?"

Ren Yao was stunned for a moment and asked, "What about sneaking into their house and checking secretly? I don't believe that those thieves will leave no trace at all."

Xie Jichuan sighed: "It's not difficult to search secretly, but there are so many people in Feihong Garden, do we have to search them one by one?"

After talking for a long time, everything went back to the beginning. Ming Huazhang saw Ming Huachang was dazed and seemed to be exhausted, so he said, "It's late today, go to bed first. It won't be too late to think about the rest tomorrow."

Jiang Ling was somewhat disappointed to learn that it was not a ghost that killed people, but a murderer who killed three women in a row sounded very exciting. He was even ready to see the murderer come to their courtyard tonight.

Fortunately, Ming Huashang and Ren Yao didn't know what Jiang Ling was thinking. When they returned to their room, the maids had already cleaned the utensils in the guest room. Ren Yao saw the neatly laid bedding on the bed, but he still felt uneasy: "Aren't you going to sleep?"

Ming Huashang stared at the night sky thoughtfully. When she heard what Ren Yao said, she hummed and said, "Sister Ren, you go to sleep first. I'll think about it."

Ren Yao had a headache when she thought of that messy case. Seeing Ming Huashang was determined, she shrugged and stopped trying to persuade him. She mustered up the courage to lift the bed. Fortunately, this time it was clean and there was nothing underneath. Ren Yao breathed a sigh of relief and went to sleep after a simple wash.

Ming Huashang sat in front of the window for a long time. The candlelight danced in her eyes, making them more and more brilliant and shining.

She was like an old monk in meditation.

Ming Huashang had been silent while they were discussing the case. In front of her eyes appeared several pairs of dark holes, with women hanging or lying, staring wide-eyed in vain, as if they were saying something.

Ming Huashang couldn't help but think that when they made these expressions, the only spectator was the murderer. If she could understand what Chi Lan, Wei Zi, and Lian Xin were thinking at the time, would she be able to "see" the murderer through their eyes?

The more Ming Huashang thought about it, the more she couldn't sit still. This was not the right place. If she wanted to understand them, she had to think what they thought and see what they saw. However, it was pitch black outside, and Ming Huashang really didn't have the courage to go out. Should she wait until tomorrow?

But when tomorrow morning comes, the world will no longer be the one that Chi Lan and Wei Zi see.

Just when Ming Huashang was in a dilemma, there seemed to be a sound of a door opening outside. The sound was very faint, almost unnoticeable in the wind, but Ming Huashang had been paying attention to the outside world and noticed it immediately.

Ming Huashang quietly opened the door a crack and saw Ming Huazhang coming from the corridor. Ming Huazhang also saw the door open, and the two of them looked at each other and were both stunned.

Ming Huazhang frowned slightly: "Why haven't you slept yet?"

Ming Huashang was a little embarrassed, so he chuckled and asked, "Second brother, where are you going?"

"I'm going to find the place where Lian Xin died." Ming Huazhang said, "He moved Lian Xin to our yard, so the crime scene must be nearby."

When Ming Huashang heard this, he immediately said, "Second brother, I'll go with you!"

"No." Ming Huazhang refused without even thinking, "It's too dangerous outside. You should go to sleep."

"With my second brother here, how can there be any danger?" Seeing that Ming Huazhang was still unmoved, Ming Huashang showed a pitiful face and said coquettishly, "I dare not sleep without my second brother. Besides, I am worried about you going out alone, brother, just let me go with you!"

Ming Huachang grabbed Ming Huazhang's arm and kept pestering him, as if she would not let him go unless he agreed. Ming Huazhang was worried that she would secretly follow him out after he left, so he could only helplessly say, "Okay, but you have to listen to me, don't walk around, and don't act alone."

Ming Huachang's eyes lit up, and she was so excited that she couldn't express it. She jumped up high and hugged Ming Huazhang tightly: "Thank you, second brother, you are the best!"

Ming Huazhang was suddenly hugged by her waist. He was stunned. Before he could say anything, Ming Huashang let him go and jumped back to get the fighting tent.

Only Ming Huazhang was left standing there, his hand half-raised, neither ready to go off nor ready to go off. Ming Huachang put on her clothes while walking out, and soon came out. Ming Huazhang looked at her hesitantly, then silently put his hand down, pretending nothing had happened.

Ming Huashang closed the door, being careful not to disturb Ren Yao inside. She held the tent tightly and asked, "Second brother, where are we going?"

She always acted coquettishly in front of the Duke of Zhenguo to get what she wanted. If that didn't work, she would act coquettishly even more. She didn't take her emotional behavior seriously. Ming Huazhang felt a lump in his chest and could only say calmly, "Let's go back to our previous yard first."

Someone had come to cause trouble before, and he had to get Ming Huashang to a safe place first, so he didn't have time to take a good look around the body. Now it was late at night and no one was disturbing him, so he could observe as much as he wanted.

Ming Huashang nodded and moved her lips, wanting to say something but feeling embarrassed. Ming Huazhang noticed and asked, "What do you want to say? Just say it."

Ming Huashang said embarrassedly: "Second brother, can you accompany me to the place where Chi Lan and Wei Zi had the accident?"

"Did you find anything?"

"No." Ming Huashang shook her head, "But I always feel that the murderer left a lot of psychological traces in these places. If I were in the situation and put myself in his shoes, I might be able to guess what the murderer was thinking."