Chapter 187 "Why don't you just ask me directly? ...
Song's residence, Guanwu Courtyard.
After everyone had washed and dressed, they all sat down at the table in the outer room. Song Linsheng sat with Yanzi, while Wenyu sat with Zhou Lehui.
"Madam Wen..." Zhou Lehui was extremely nervous. Looking at Wen Yu in front of him, he didn't know what to say.
The last time I sat across from Madam Wen like this was in her Guanshan Study. The tea was fragrant, the bamboo shadows were slanting, and the sun was shining brightly outside.
And now... Zhou Le turned his head and looked at the moonlit night outside the window. The stars were sparse and thick like ink.
It seems that I can no longer chat with Madam Wen like I used to.
In the inner room separated from the two of them by a screen, Yingying was lying on the couch, while Azhu and Abai were busy around her, helping her to wash and dress.
It looked like a rag doll, delicate but lacking in agility. It was not as lively as the oppressive feeling it had just had on the riverbank.
"Hmm?" Wen Yu withdrew his gaze from the inner room and replied, "Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Lehui felt uneasy. Seeing Wen Yu staring at him without blinking, he became even more anxious. "I..."
Wen Yu noticed Zhou Lehui's embarrassment and raised her sleeve to pour hot tea to her. She said soothingly, "Mr. Zhou, now that we know Miss Yingying's identity, could you please tell me about your relationship with her?"
"Miss Yingxing...is it true as Madam Wen said, that you are a demon in disguise?" Zhou Lehui took the teacup and rubbed it in his hands, his eyes repeatedly scanning the Biwu screen, trying to get a glimpse of it.
Miss Nymph...
Wen Yu looked deeply and nodded solemnly as a response.
Song Linsheng, standing by, also nodded slightly and said, "Mr. Zhou, you know that the government office has been tracking down the spring grass at the bottom of the Yuan River for a few days. After several investigations, they can confirm that the young lady Xingxing you mentioned... is the transformed spring grass."
"I..." Zhou Lehui's face was sad, as if he was regretful. "I have known Yingying for a long time, but if I want to talk about this matter, I have to start from another story."
Wen Yu's heart moved. Although she didn't know what Mr. Zhou was going to say next, her intuition told her that she would not feel unfamiliar.
"Actually, although Yingying and I know each other, we don't see each other often."
This was the truth. Yingying had always come and gone without a trace. Even if she wanted to see her, she was nowhere to be found.
"A year ago, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I often came to the Yuanshui River to relax."
One year ago?
Wen Yu's eyes lit up and she turned to look at Song Linsheng beside her.
When their eyes met, they immediately understood each other's meaning.
Wasn’t it the day when Wen Yanli resigned from his official position and returned home a year ago?
Could this be the "some changes" that Mr. Zhou mentioned?
"I often walked by the river... One day, I accidentally fell into the water and nearly died."
As soon as Zhou Le finished replying, Wen Yu suddenly turned around and asked in shock, "He almost died?"
"Yes." Zhou Le paused, looking a little embarrassed, "It was Miss Yingying who saved my life from the water."
"She saved you?" Wen Yu repeated.
"That's right. It was at that time that I met Miss Yingying." Zhou Lehui nodded affirmatively.
Wen Yu's fingertips tapped lightly on the table, making a chaotic sound.
This was within her expectations.
For a giant monster like the water chestnut that lives under the water, it is not difficult to rescue a mortal to shore.
But...it does show her kindness.
It seems that the big demon has no bad intentions, but it is scary that he is so cold to her today.
Wen Yu couldn't help but mutter a few words in his heart.
I don’t know what he was thinking about, but a smile appeared on Zhou Lehui’s face.
"But when I wanted to thank Ying Ying, she disappeared. So I could only go to the Yuan River often to wait for her, hoping to repay her for saving my life."
Wen Yu understood that the reason why Yingying disappeared was probably because she couldn't stay on the shore for long, and Mr. Zhou naturally knew nothing about this.
"Originally, I never saw Yingying again day after day, but then I unexpectedly saw her again one time." Zhou Le looked back with a bright look, as if the surprise of that day came to his mind again.
"We sometimes talk, but she's quiet and doesn't talk much about herself. Most of the time I'm the one talking about my own things."
"That's about it..."
Having said this, Zhou Lehui gradually fell silent.
It was true that she knew Miss Yingying, and she had not concealed anything. As for anything else, she could not explain it clearly.
"Hmm..." Wen Yu pondered for a moment, and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry.
Thinking of what he saw and heard on the riverbank tonight, Wen Yu's heart was always filled with doubts.
She could not forget the "he" that Mr. Zhou mentioned at that time.
Previously, she and Song Linsheng were in the reeds and did not know the identity of the visitor, so naturally they had no idea who that "he" was.
But now, Mr. Zhou was sitting right in front of her.
That "he" also seemed to surface, and a rough outline appeared in Wen Yu's mind.
——Wen Yanli, the eldest son of the Wen family.
Wen Yu hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully, "Mr. Zhou, by 'your matter', is it...the matter between Song Linsheng and me that Mr. Zhou is unwilling to disclose?"
Previously, she and Song Linsheng visited Mr. Zhou because of Wen Yanli's madness, but Mr. Zhou refused to talk about it. Now that she asked again, the result might be the same.
But she had to ask.
"I..." Zhou Lehui paused after hearing this, as if he still had some reservations, "I..."
Wen Yu knew that it was not easy to get someone who had been avoiding her to speak.
Fortunately, she has plenty of patience.
"Perhaps, since, as you say, you and Miss Yingying don't meet often," Wen Yu stared at Zhou Lehui with a burning gaze. "Then why did you choose to meet by the Yuan River today? What's the reason that made you skip the Dragon Boat Festival?"
"Although I haven't met Mr. Zhou very often, I know that he is a smart man." Wen Yu's tone was neither hurried nor slow, leaving people with ample room for imagination.
"If Mr. Zhou hadn't already suspected something, why would he have stayed by the Yuanshui River for a whole day, refusing to leave until midnight?"
I think Mr. Zhou appeared on the bank of the Yuanshui River today not for the Dragon Boat Festival sacrifice, but with the plan to find Miss Xingxing since early morning.
Speaking of this girl Yingxing, Wen Yu tilted her head and glanced towards the inner room. She finally remembered the tone of Yingxing's voice and the temperament around her when she was talking on the riverbank just now. Why did it seem so familiar?
Memories flooded into my mind. Yingying's charming and affectionate yet extremely cold face coincided with the face of another person.
Wen Yanli.
Their facial features don't actually look alike, but their evil spirit is exactly the same.
Wen Yu understood.
That day, when she and Song Linsheng went to Wen's house to check Wen Yanli's pulse, Wen Yanli had been talking nonsense while he was unconscious, saying things like "You're here" and "It's you" to her, which made her confused and unsure.
At that time, she just thought that Wen Yanli couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion, and those words were probably said because he mistook her for the woman in the painting.
But now I think about it, it was probably Xingxing who possessed Wen Yanli and spoke through his mouth.
Previously, I had no idea about Wen Yanli being possessed by an evil spirit, but now that I have met Yingying, if it is her words, everything makes sense.
But why did Xingxing possess Wen Yanli?
The relationship between the two of them...
Wen Yu's eyes slid, changing from dark to bright, and fell on Zhou Lehui who was sitting opposite him.
I guess only Mr. Zhou knows.
"Mr. Zhou?" Wen Yu asked tentatively, but did not dare to press too hard.
The wind in the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and the situation was temporarily deadlocked.
"Yes, I admit it." Zhou Lehui lowered his brows, his eyes fixed on the teacup in front of him. "I have only told Yingying about my acquaintance with Wen...Wen's eldest son."
The words fell with a resounding sound.
Zhou Lehui tightly grasped the edge of the teacup, seemingly unaware of the scalding heat of the tea. Finally, he looked up at Wen Yu and Song Linsheng and made some kind of decision.
"Ever since Madam Wen and Lord Song came to Guanshan Study to look for me, I've felt uneasy every time I think of Dalang Wen's illness."
Wen Yu and Song Linsheng looked at each other. She had told Zhou Lehui about Wen Yanli that day in Guanshan Study, but she didn't show any strange expression and didn't care at all at that time.
"After much thought, I still don't know what to do, so I can only talk to Yingying about it."
"Xingxing's whereabouts are elusive, so I can only try my luck at the Yuanshui River where she often appears. Tonight is the first time I've run into her in recent days."
She...didn't know where Yingying came from, nor did she know where she lived. After all, she had known Yingying for more than a year, but knew very little about her.
Zhou Lehui held his forehead with one hand, feeling extremely powerless.
She had always found it strange. She had only mentioned this matter to Yingying, and Wen Yanli had inexplicably gone mad. In addition, when she heard today that Yingying was transformed from a monster, it made sense.
"I overheard most of your conversation on the riverbank tonight."
Wen Yu said it without hesitation.
"That 'he', isn't it... Young Master Wen Yanli?"
Instead of playing guessing games here, it would be better to ask directly. She believed that Mr. Zhou was a man who dared to act.
After a long silence, Zhou Lehui's eyes changed again and again, and her hesitation was reflected in the difference between the light and the dark.
However, in the end, she still nodded gently and agreed, "Yes..."
This was exactly what Wen Yu had expected. She turned slightly to take a look behind the screen. Azhu and Abai were still busy coming and going, but Yingying showed no sign of waking up.
"As for Miss Yingying..." Wen Yu spoke slowly, his unhurried tone full of convincing power.
"Do you know that the things you are talking about and the people you are worried about are the ones who are leading to the current situation? Perhaps the person behind all this is Miss Yingying."
Zhou Lehui remained silent for a moment, not knowing what to say. Faced with Madam Wen's question, she could not answer immediately.
She...hadn't guessed...
But all this sounded so absurd and strange, so unheard of.
She is a teacher who has always believed in the teachings of sages and does not listen to superstitions.
She regarded those fairies, ghosts, and beautiful legends as just stories from vernacular novels, used to express people's unfulfilled wishes.
I never thought that one day I would be involved in such a story and become a character in it.
It’s really unpredictable…
If Miss Yingying is truly a spirit, then she must be proficient in some magic. In this case, Wen Yanli...
Wen Yu watched Zhou Lehui's expression change, and he seemed to be softening, so he asked cautiously:
"Mr. Zhou, have you guessed that this Miss Yingying might be related to Wen Yanli's madness?"
Song Linsheng and Yan Zi on the side also became nervous. Everyone's eyes were focused on Zhou Lehui, waiting for her answer.
"If you want to know so much, why don't you just ask me directly?"
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The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2024-06-17 22:04:08 and 2024-06-20 19:04:03~
Thanks to the little angel who provided the nutrient solution: 1 bottle of glasses for Brother Wu Yu;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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