Chapter 63 Night Talk

When everyone was about to go to bed, the eldest son of the Jiang family suddenly felt bored and wanted to add another room. The madam naturally agreed and immediately cleaned up the flower garden and respectfully invited the maid of the eldest son of the Jiang family to live there.

Ming Huazhang's request was reasonable, just and righteous. No one dared to delay the progress of the case. Ming Huashang obediently packed up her things and followed the brothel owner eastward.

The madam helped Ming Huashang to open the door despite her sleepiness and said earnestly, "Look, we clean the box every day, and it's very clean. I just asked someone to replace the bed with a new one, and I've prepared hot water for you. Sir, take a look, is there anything else you are not satisfied with?"

The madam also knew that someone had died in the next room, and she was afraid that Ming Huashang would find fault with her, so she was extremely flattering. Ming Huashang looked at it with a critical look, and said condescendingly: "Then let's leave it this way for now. I have a light sleep and hate being woken up the most. If I don't go out tomorrow, you are not allowed to bother me in front of my door."

The madam naturally responded to her request. She settled the little ancestor down, yawned, and left, hurried back to catch up on her sleep.

After the madam left, Ming Huashang immediately leaned on the wall like a thief, knocking and banging, checking for any loopholes. She checked inside and outside, making sure no one was spying, and then she finally felt relieved and went to take a bath behind the screen.

She didn't know when Ming Huazhang would come, so she didn't dare to wash for too long. She just washed it roughly and came out wiping her hair.

She sat in front of the dressing table, wiping her hair, and saw the rouge-colored bed behind her in the bronze mirror. Her hands gradually slowed down and she looked around, finding it difficult to comprehend the current situation.

Why did she have a horrible feeling of sitting in the new house waiting for Ming Huazhang?

Ming Huashang was shocked by her own thoughts. She quickly drove away these dirty thoughts and forced herself to think about the dead person next door.

Ming Huazhang only treated her as a younger sister, and was worried about her living with a man from another family, and was also worried that her sister was afraid of the dark and dead people, so he came to accompany her. She actually had such thoughts about her brother, which was really despicable.

Ming Huashang was distracted when she suddenly heard movement near the window and a cool breeze blew against her neck. Ming Huashang shivered and stood up in a hurry.

Someone landed on the ground swiftly and turned to close the window. Ming Huashang saw the tall figure and breathed a sigh of relief: "Second brother, it's you."

Ming Huazhang bolted the windows and carefully checked all the window locks before saying, "It's getting late, you..."

He turned around and was stunned when he saw Ming Huashang's current appearance. He turned his eyes away unnaturally: "You...you just took a shower?"

Ming Huachang held the wet towel in her hands and nodded obediently. Ming Huazhang looked even more uncomfortable. He clenched his fist and coughed, tightening his fingers: "This is a brothel. You don't know if there are people outside. How dare you bathe in such a place?"

Ming Huashang explained earnestly, "I checked before taking a shower, and there was no small hole in the room. And when I took a shower, I put a screen around the outside of the bathtub and hung my clothes and sheets on it. I tried it myself, and it was completely invisible before I took off my clothes."

Ming Huashang seriously proved to Ming Huazhang that she had thought carefully before taking a bath, but Ming Huazhang felt even more embarrassed after hearing that.

There was no need to describe such details as taking off clothes in such detail. Ming Huazhang suddenly realized that he had been staring at the screen. He seemed to have a clear picture of her bathing behind the screen.

Ming Huachang had not opened the window, and the room was filled with steam, with a gentle fragrance floating in the air. Ming Huazhang looked away stiffly, noticing a pile of clothes on the round stool, a wooden comb with a few strands of hair caught in the teeth on the dressing table, and a slight crease on the quilt on the bed. The room was not small, but her traces were everywhere.

Ming Huazhang once again reminded himself that they were brother and sister. After hearing his unreasonable request, she went with him without saying a word and trusted her brother wholeheartedly. He must not let her down.

Ming Huazhang silently recited it three times, and then he felt calm. He said, "You have been toiling all day, and your body must be exhausted. Go to sleep."

Ming Huachang had a very fulfilling day. In the morning, she was jogging and shooting arrows in the hinterland of Zhongnan Mountain. At noon, she rode out of the mountain. In the afternoon, she met with the secret agents in Chang'an City. After that, she went to Tianxianglou to order the courtesan, interrogate her, and investigate the case. After all the hard work, she was indeed tired.

But Ming Huashang hesitated: "Second brother, aren't we going to wait and see tonight?"

"I'll just keep an eye on it, you can just sleep peacefully."

"How can that be possible?" Ming Huashang flatly rejected it. "I'll accompany you."

"No need." Ming Huazhang sighed when he saw the dripping hair. He took a piece of clean cotton cloth from the side, pressed her to sit in front of the dressing table, and gently wiped her hair: "You are never useful for force, and you are not needed for surveillance. You should sleep well and conserve your energy so that you will have enough energy to find the murderer tomorrow. If the murderer cannot be caught tonight, you will have to find a way to enter the scene tomorrow, and then you will have time to use your brain."

Ming Huashang gradually calmed down and said, "Then I'll keep watch with you for half the night. You've been busy all day, and I can't let everything fall on you."

"No, I'm not tired."

"Brother, you are also a human being, how can you not be tired?" Ming Huashang said, "I am Jiang Ling's maid, and I have a chance to take a nap tomorrow, but you can't. Okay, it's settled."

Ming Huashang made up her mind, while Ming Huazhang gently pressed the ends of her hair, saying neither yes nor no. The room returned to silence, and Ming Huashang could not help but raise her eyes and look at the person behind her in the bronze mirror.

He was tall, so the mirror couldn't capture his entire body. All we could see were his broad, straight shoulders and his neck, which was painted black. But even so, it didn't affect his beauty. For some people, just looking at their posture, frame, and temperament, they were beautiful enough.

He pressed the cotton cloth with his fingers, wrapped her hair and kneaded it slowly. His bony fingers looked beautiful and powerful, with a kind of violent beauty. Ming Huashang asked, "Second brother, are you so tired?"

"Hmm?" Ming Huazhang was stunned for a moment, then realized that she was asking about the fake face on her face, "Not tired."

However, just thinking about it, you know that it is not easy to have something on your face. Ming Huashang said, "Do you want to take it off first, rest for a night, and then put it on tomorrow?"

"No need. If something unexpected happens, I'm afraid it will be too late."

"Jiang Ling is here, let him come forward." Ming Huashang insisted, "Your powder has fallen off here, why not remove it and paint again tomorrow."

Minghua Zhang frowned: "Where?"

Ming Huachang turned around and pointed at the clavicle that was barely visible under his collar. Ming Huazhang looked in the mirror and saw that it was indeed powdered, but it had faded a little from being rubbed by the collar.

Since we have to repaint it, there is no difference between repainting one part and repainting the whole thing. Ming Huazhang sighed and asked, "Is there any water here?"

"Yes." Ming Huashang said immediately, "The madam sent me an extra bucket of bath water. I haven't used it yet. I'll go get it now."

Ming Huazhang was unable to stop for a moment, and Ming Huachang had already jumped and ran away. Ming Huazhang still raised his hand, but his fingertips shrank, and he retracted it as if giving up: "Don't bother."

Ming Huachang's hair was half wet and casually draped behind her. She stumbled over with a basin of water. Ming Huazhang had already taken off the fake skin on his face and soaked it in clean water.

Ming Huashang was stunned and gestured with her hands: "This place is bulging, this place is getting wider, it's not moved much, but it's completely different."

There are thousands of faces, but the key parts are the same when it comes to recognizing a face. Adjusting the bridge of the nose, cheekbones, and chin is enough to change a face. Fortunately, Ming Huazhang's bone structure is smooth, leaving him ample room for adjustment.

As the fake parts on his face were removed one by one, the familiar Dongdu Yushu appeared in front of her. Without Ming Huazhang's instruction, Ming Huashang immediately took out a hot towel and gently wiped off the black powder on his face.

Ming Huazhang originally wanted to do it himself, but then he thought that Ming Huashang could see more details, so he let her go.

This feeling was very wonderful. Ming Huashang held the handkerchief and brushed it over, and wherever it passed, it was like a piece of stone opening jade. The rough and ugly outer shell fell off, revealing the clear and white jade inside. Ming Huashang twisted the handkerchief and wiped away his overly thick and brown eyebrows, revealing his original slender and stretched eyebrows with distinct eyebrows.

The contrast between before and after was too sharp. Ming Huashang had never so intuitively realized how handsome Ming Huazhang was. Ming Huashang looked at the face in front of him, which was still covered with water drops, and said sincerely: "Second brother, you are really good-looking."

Ming Huazhang had originally closed his eyes, half tilted his head and let her torment him. Hearing this, his eyelids opened a crack, and in an instant, it was as if the sky had suddenly broken open, the clouds had parted and the moon was shining, and the lake and water seemed to be reflected in his eyes.

Ming Huazhang glanced at her with amusement and said indifferently: "It's just an appearance outside the body."

Ming Huachang was stunned. Ming Huazhang thought she was tired, so he took the handkerchief from her and wiped his neck himself. Ming Huazhang moved quickly and inevitably soaked his collar. Ming Huachang saw the slender texture on his neck and the swaying

I felt inexplicably embarrassed to look directly at the water droplets and quietly looked away.

Ming Huashang's head was buzzing, and she felt as if her whole body was tangled. She twisted her fingers in panic and asked, "Second brother, how did you get in through the window?"

In fact, this is nonsense. How can Ming Huazhang walk in through the door in disguise as a servant of Tianxianglou? Ming Huachang regretted it the moment she said it. She just felt that the air could not be left quiet any longer, so she could say anything. In the end, she asked such an idiotic question without thinking.

Ming Huachang wanted to bite her tongue. She had no advantages to begin with, but now everything is fine. Could it be that he thought she was stupid?

Ming Huazhang had completely different ideas. He jumped through the window and entered the woman's bedroom late at night, which required an explanation. Ming Huazhang said, "Xie Jichuan was watching outside, and I wanted to see if it would be possible to avoid the eyes on the street by entering through the window, so I tried it. I didn't think it through properly."

Ming Huashang waved her hands quickly: "It doesn't matter, we are just siblings, why bother about this?"

Speaking of brother and sister at this time seemed to be deliberately confirming something. Ming Huashang avoided his eyes guiltily, while Ming Huazhang lowered his eyes and silently washed the handkerchief in the basin.

The only sound in the room was the sound of water, and the atmosphere was even more subtle than before. Ming Huazhang felt that he had to speak at this time, so he said, "I almost forgot that he is still outside. Second Mother, do you still have your whistle?"

Ming Huashang didn't understand, but still pulled out a whistle from his collar: "Here."

"It's a good opportunity to test you," Ming Huazhang said. "Use a secret code and ask him if he saw me just now."

Ming Huashang recalled what length sequences these words represented, and then blew out a stuttering bird language.

Soon, the sound of cuckoos came from outside the window. Ming Huashang tilted her ears, still trying to distinguish the length of the sound inside, when Ming Huazhang chuckled and came out of the water to twist the handkerchief.

Water drops slid on his slender and well-proportioned fingers. Even the simple action of twisting a handkerchief was pleasing to the eyes. Ming Huazhang said, "I knew it wouldn't work. It seems that the key is how the murderer can avoid dozens of eyes and enter the secret room quietly."

Ming Huashang guessed and figured out that Xie Jichuan was talking about "It's not obvious at all, only the blind can't see it." Then, the gentle bird call was heard outside: "You are really amazing. You didn't make a sound for so long, I thought you were dead."

Ming Huazhang unfolded the handkerchief and carefully placed it on the rack. He said to Ming Huachang, "Tell him that no matter how poor I am, I will live longer than him. Let him worry more about himself."

Ming Huashang blew it stutteringly. After a while, the familiar cuckoo's voice sounded again: "Sister, don't worry about him, let him talk. It's his fault that he let such a lovely young lady sleep next to the house of a murderer."

This time Ming Huachang didn't need to do it for him. Ming Huazhang took out his whistle, and the mournful sound of the cuckoo became cold and heartless: "Go away, find a place to watch the window on the second floor, and don't come back if you dare to fall asleep."

There was no response from outside the window for a long time. Ming Huashang leaned over the window and looked. Pingkangfang was still full of lights, wine and women, singing and dancing. No one noticed the sad bird calls. Ming Huashang asked, "Second brother, where is Brother Xie?"

"Don't worry about him. He won't let himself be wronged."

Under the lamplight, he looked stunningly beautiful, a young man as graceful as a jade, but he was very neat in picking up the basin. These mundane things did not damage his temperament, but instead cast a layer of warm and soft light on him.

It is the stars far away in the sky, and also the fireworks of the world close at hand. It is as bright as the moon, and also the pillar that supports everything.

While Ming Huachang was absent-minded, Ming Huazhang put away the basin, wiped the stains on the table, opened the screen in front of the bed, and made the bed smooth. He touched her hair and said, "It's almost done, come to sleep, don't worry about the rest."

Ming Huashang hesitated: "I'll keep watch with you..."

"No need." Ming Huazhang looked back. The light inside was like the galaxy, clear and bright, but also strong and gentle: "Go to sleep. You can help me the most if you stay in the best condition at all times."

Ming Huashang finally gave in and let Ming Huazhang pull the quilt for her. The screen was closed, and the light immediately became blurred. Through the silk face of the four gentlemen, his back was elegant and unrestrained, his shadow was slender, and he was as tall as a cedar, which would never be broken by the cold wind and rain.

With a puff, the candle went out, leaving only a small light in the corner of the wall emitting a faint glow. Ming Huashang buried his face in the quilt and said in a hoarse voice, "Good night, brother."

The room was so quiet that one could almost hear the moonlight passing by. After a moment, a gentle voice came from the darkness: "Good night."

At this moment, on the other side of Tianxiang Tower, Jiang Ling's ears were pressed against the door frame, and his entire face was squeezed out of shape. He listened for a while and was very confused: "What are they doing, flirting?"

"Tsk!" Ren Yao glared at Jiang Ling. She waited for a long time, but when there was no more bird noise, she said doubtfully, "Maybe they are passing on important intelligence?"

Jiang Ling's lips moved, hesitating to speak. He didn't learn the code very well, but at least he could understand the word "roll". This kind of words, can it be considered important intelligence?

Jiang Ling glanced at Ren Yao's expression as he was taking notes, and gave up the topic of "more truth". Silence spread in the room, and Jiang Ling scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

The three of them didn't feel it, but after Ming Huashang left, Jiang Ling felt how awkward it was for a man and a woman to live in the same room. Ren Yao was still remembering the code words just now. Jiang Ling was so embarrassed that he coughed and said, "Why don't we discuss how to keep watch?"

Ren Yao didn't really have much to remember. Ming Huazhang and Xie Jichuan whistled very quickly, and she missed many places before she could hear them clearly. Jiang Ling took the initiative to break the awkwardness, and Ren Yao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay. You watch the first half of the night, and I'll watch the second half."

Jiang Ling raised his eyebrows and said slowly, "I won't let a woman take the lead even if I don't make any progress. I'll keep watch for the rest of the night."

Guarding the second half of the night is much harder than the first half. Ren Yao sneered and said, "No need. I am stronger than men, and even stronger than you. It is natural for the strong to take on more tasks."

Jiang Ling was silent for a moment, and was not in a hurry to sleep. He sat on the ground with his legs crossed, and looked at Ren Yao with interest: "Why are you always so tense, and you always have to compete with others in everything?"

Ren Yao sarcastically said, "How about, like you?"

Compared to Ren Yao, Jiang Ling was too relaxed. Jiang Ling shook his legs and said, "You are right. But at least I am living happily. I am very curious, are you really happy like this?"

Happiness? Ren Yao was in a trance, and when he came back to his senses, he laughed at himself: "Master Jiang, apart from young masters like you who are ignorant of the sufferings of the world, how many people in the world live for happiness? It's good enough to be alive. Happiness is just a game for the rich and idle."

Jiang Ling propped his chin up and said, "I don't agree with what you said. You can't change your origin, your parents, or the people around you. If you hold on to these things, you will live in the shadow for the rest of your life. But if you change your attitude towards life, you will find that these things are not the culprits that make you unhappy. No one in the world has an easy life. Since the world is already so hard, why not make yourself happier?"

Ren Yao sneered, "You can say that because you have never experienced the hardships of life. Do you understand how it feels to work hard for ten years but still not be able to compare to a single word from someone else? Do you understand how it feels to be in your own home but be treated like an outsider and not even be allowed to enter the ancestral hall on your father's death anniversary? You don't understand anything, so why are you talking about the hardships of life?"

The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Ren Yao naturally crossed his arms, turned around, closed his eyes and prepared to go to sleep. After a while, a voice suddenly came from behind him: "I understand."

Ren Yao closed his eyes, not wanting to bother with this young master who was complaining for no reason. However, Jiang Ling leaned on the couch with his legs bent, looking at the shadows on the floor, and said, "I feel like an outsider in my own home. Of course I understand. Every time I celebrate New Year's Eve, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Winter Solstice, and every day that can be named or not, I see my father, stepmother, and younger brother having fun, and I always feel like an outsider. You look down on me for being a playboy, I admit that, but apart from eating, drinking and having fun, I don't know what else I can do."

Ren Yao opened his eyes unconsciously and looked at him in surprise. Jiang Ling leaned back on the couch, his Adam's apple protruding like a mountain in the darkness, cold and lonely. He stared at the beams and said, "I don't know why I should work hard, and what's the point of working hard. In fact, sometimes I envy you guys, at least you have a direction you want to go."

Ren Yao was stunned. In her impression, Jiang Ling was just a lazy, careless young man. She had no idea that he could be so delicate and sensitive.

He actually understands everything, he just doesn't say it, and every time the sun rises, he still chooses to spend his days laughing.

It was rare for Jiang Ling to think for such a long time, and it was so disgusting and profound that it was unlike himself. He yawned, turned around out of boredom, and found Ren Yao half-lying on the bed, looking at him with hesitation.

Jiang Ling raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why did you get up? Are you reluctant to leave me and want to switch shifts with me?"

Ren Yao's unspeakable sadness was instantly gone. She glared at Jiang Ling and turned away with a cold face: "I just think you are too noisy. Be quiet, I want to sleep."

Jiang Ling smiled silently and said in a sly voice, "As you wish, Young Marquis Ren."