Silver Needle
"why are you laughing?"
"Laugh? How could I laugh? You hired a guard without my permission and even gave the jade hairpin away. How could I laugh?"
Being pushed forward by Su Xi in a different direction, Shen Yunqiu coughed lightly twice, feeling a little uneasy.
"What if he runs away with the things..."
"Don't worry, it won't happen!"
"No? Are you so sure? Do you know him? Are you very familiar with him?"
Suxi choked.
Of course she couldn't tell Shen Yunqiu about her past life, so she had to bite the bullet and explain.
"Of course I don't know him, but this guy looks honest and seems like a good person..."
"You really have a big heart."
Shen Yunqiu sneered, feeling inexplicably unhappy in her heart, but when she thought of the young man calling her "Young Madam", she suddenly felt inexplicably happy.
"Actually, I made this decision today after careful consideration," Su Xi muttered as he pushed her. "Look, you're a man and I'm a woman, and there's no such thing as physical contact between men and women. If you need to get up at night, or get injured like yesterday and need to undress, it won't be very convenient for me. Also, if Shen Wenzhao comes to bother you again, it'll be good for him to protect you, right?"
When Shen Yunqiu heard this, he felt that he had gotten himself into trouble, but he couldn't say anything to refute it.
"Well, I agree for now, but if he doesn't come tomorrow..."
"If you don't come, I'll take your last name!"
"No, you are not allowed to take my last name!"
"Why not? Are you the emperor?"
"It just won't work!"
The two of them kept bickering, and unknowingly they were back outside the West Garden. Su Xi opened the corner door with a bunch of keys hanging from his waist, only to see Xi He sitting on a stone bench in the yard sobbing softly, her whole body shaking. When their eyes met, Xi He cried even louder. Su Xi saw that the situation was not right, and hurriedly pushed Shen Yunqiu into the house and pulled Xi He out of the yard. When they reached the deserted stinking ditch, Su Xi finally let go of her hand and asked worriedly: "Xi He, what's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
"Xiaoxi..." Xihe cried breathlessly, "Chunzhi... Chunzhi is dead!"
For a moment, Suxi's body suddenly froze, but Xihe's voice did not stop.
"This morning, the old lady called all the maids and servants to the front yard and said Chunzhi had stolen something. She beat Chunzhi to death in front of everyone! Chunzhi was covered in blood, so much blood..."
Xihe burst into tears, barely able to breathe. Suxi suppressed her shock and hugged Xihe, patting her back gently, just as her mother had done when she was a child. After a while, the girl finally stopped crying, but her eyes were swollen like walnuts.
Feeling better, Xihe broke free from Suxi's arms and spoke again as if she had thought of something: "Oh, by the way, Xiaoxi, do you know that Chunzhi, who was about to die, actually blamed you today, saying that you ordered her to steal things and that you hid the bracelet of the Chen Mansion. Fortunately, you were not here today and the old lady found out, otherwise she would definitely bite you to death! And you know what..."
Xihe suddenly lowered her voice and whispered in Suxi's ear, "I was standing next to the old lady and heard her whispering to her, saying that the Su family's daughter was missing and that she wanted to send Chunzhi's body to the government office to report!"
After he finished speaking, Xihe saw Suxi suddenly take a few steps back, looking dazed and solemn, and muttering something.
"No wonder······"
"No wonder what?"
No wonder the guard mentioned a woman when confronting Lao Liu that day. He was originally trying to replace her identity. Lao Liu didn't find the woman, and today Chunzhi happened to commit a crime and became the corpse that replaced him.
What about her past life? She didn't know about this in her past life, so who was it that replaced her identity? Could it be...
Suxi suddenly looked up at Xihe, and in the puzzled look of the girl in front of him, he pulled her to the side room and closed the door.
"Xiaoxi, what are you doing..."
"Shh..." Su Xi pulled Xi He to sit on the couch and lowered his voice: "Xi He, were you called Dou Xi He before?"
"How do you know? Did you recognize me before?"
Xihe raised her voice, her face showing surprise, but Suxi shook her head.
"I don't know him."
"Then what do you do..."
"Because..." After hesitating for a while, Su Xi looked directly into the clear eyes of the girl in front of him, and finally made up his mind and said, "Because, I am Su Xi, the daughter of Su Bingwen of the Su Trading Company."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xihe gasped, looked around, and hurried forward to cover her mouth.
"Are you crazy? How can you say such a thing? What if someone hears it? Or what if I tell others..."
Xihe was so frightened that her voice was out of tune, but suddenly she heard Suxi chuckle, and a stream of hot air sprayed on the palm of her hand, which made her feel a little itchy.
"Xiaoxi, what are you laughing at?"
"Laughing, you're cute."
Suddenly, Xihe's face turned red for no apparent reason, and she scratched her head in embarrassment.
"Don't worry, Xiaoxi, I will definitely keep the secret for you!" She paused, as if she felt that her sincerity was not enough, and raised four fingers again: "I swear, I, Dou Xihe, will keep the secret for Suxi. If not, God will punish me... Wuwuwu..."
Suxi took away the hand that was covering Xihe's lips.
"You don't need to swear. Of course, I tell you this because I trust you enough. But Xihe, are you willing to join me in clearing the Su family's grievances? If not, I won't force you. After all, your life is already difficult enough..."
"Yes, of course!" Xihe hurriedly interrupted Su Xi's words, "Xiaoxi, you know that my father was locked up by Shen Pingchang. If Uncle Su can really redress his wrongdoing, my father can also be released! And this group of evil people in the Shen family, I have been unhappy with them for a long time!"
"Okay, thank you so much, Sister Xihe!" Suxi said as he poured two cups of tea. The two of them clinked their glasses and drank it all. Xihe breathed a sigh of relief, smacking her lips as if savoring the taste. "Then Sister Xiaoxi, is there anything I can do for you?"
"It's nothing, just keep an eye on the old lady and the Su family's movements. As for Shopkeeper Dou, I wonder if you can go see him?"
"Not now," Xi He said, "but in about a month, when the case is closed and the case file is sealed, the family will be able to visit. Then I can take you with me. Maybe my father knows something about the inside story."
"Alright, alright, it's getting late. If I don't go back soon, the old lady will blame me. Sister Xiaoxi, I'm leaving first!"
"Remember to take care of yourself!" Suxi waved his hand and watched Xihe leave, but his mood was a little heavy.
Yes, once the case is closed, the case files will be completely sealed. It will be very difficult to access the case files related to the Su family at that time. I must find a way to sneak into the Qingzhou government office within this month.
-
The next day, just as the sky was getting light, there was a rapid knock on the corner gate of Xiyuan, which immediately drove away the sleepiness that was wandering around in people's heads.
Suxi lazily sat up, took off the book that was blocking the light from his face, dressed casually, and ran to open the door. He saw a thin young man standing at the door, panting, holding a small package and a plain jade hairpin in his hands.
"Madam, I'm so sorry to disturb your rest. It's mainly because I went to the gate of the Shen Mansion this morning to show the token to the guard, but the guard didn't want to take me in and told me to go around and enter from the west corner door. I..."
“Stop, stop, stop—”
Su Xi interrupted the young man's incessant chatter, thinking that the Shen family was really inhumane. Shen Yunqiu was, after all, a legitimate young master of the Shen family. Since she entered the mansion, the West Garden, which had rarely been visited, had not been visited at all. Now, the servants were unwilling to even lead the way.
Suxi felt a little aggrieved, not knowing whether it was for himself or for the young master who was no less miserable than himself.
"Okay, come with me." Su Xi gestured for the young man to come in, closed the iron door, and glared at him warningly: "Also, don't call me Young Madam from now on. I'm not a Young Madam, I'm just a maid. Just call me Xiaoxi."
"Okay, Xiao... Creek."
With his head lowered, the young man followed Su Xi into the side room, somewhat embarrassedly putting his bag away. He then followed her into the main room. Pushing the door open, he saw the person lying on the bed already dressed and sitting up, their arms supporting the edge as they struggled to move to a wheelchair. As they lowered their head, a large expanse of fair skin was exposed beneath the loose front of their clothes. Su Xi couldn't help but swallow and look away. It wasn't until Chen Yunqiu looked over that she nudged the stunned young man. He finally came to his senses and carefully stepped forward to place the jade hairpin on the bedside.
"Master, I... I'm here."
Chen Yunqiu took the jade hairpin and looked at it. Seeing that there was no scratch or damage on it, and it had not been replaced, he looked at Su Xi meaningfully, then turned to look at the reserved young man in front of him.
"Have you thought it through? Do you really want to serve me? If you regret it, it's still not too late to leave. I won't force you to stay."
"Master, I won't leave! I said I'd repay you!"
"Whatever you say." Chen Yunqiu asked calmly, "By the way, what's your name?"
"My name is Tiezhu."
"Iron Pillar?" Shen Yunqiu carefully looked at the boy who was as thin as a monkey, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Change the name." He said, and then looked at Suxi, "You brought him back, you give him a name."
"Me?" Su Xi pointed at himself, and when he met Chen Yunqiu's determined gaze, he couldn't help but feel a little confused. "That...that's called a silver needle?"
As soon as the words came out, it seemed as if something was about to come out. Su Xi stood there in a daze, unable to recover for a long time.
"Okay, from now on your name will be Yinzhen."
"Yes," Yinzhen knelt down suddenly after hearing that. "I, Yinzhen, swear to follow the young master until death. From now on, I will repay the young master with a promise of loyalty! If the young master tells me to go east, I will never go west. If he tells me to chase a dog, I will never chase a chicken. The young master is my second parent. My life..."
"Stop, stop, stop---" Shen Yunqiu had a headache after hearing this and interrupted hurriedly, "I don't need you to beg for mercy, just stay here honestly and don't cause any trouble for me. Also,"
Shen Yunqiu threw a piece of silver to Yin Zhen and said, "Go buy some food. I'm hungry."
"Oh, okay!"
Yinzhen was overjoyed to be given an important position, and immediately trotted out of the house. Shen Yunqiu finally managed to get rid of the people and looked at Suxi, but saw the girl standing aside as if her soul had been taken away, as if petrified.
"Xiaoxi, what are you thinking about?"
"Silver needle, silver needle..."
Su Xi muttered silently, not noticing that Shen Yunqiu's face suddenly darkened.
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