Chapter 11: A New Ending
While lounging next to the Prince of Pingnan, she used up all fifteen mandarin duck handkerchiefs and also gained four exquisite new outfits.
He showed off his amazing adventure and left satisfied.
"This NPC is so generous, it's almost scary."
"I'm really afraid that one day I'll wake up and the game will update and say that the NPC's act of giving me cosmetic items was a bug and roll back my game."
With a touch of worry, Xiu Qiyu flew around the city while searching for Lu Xiaofeng's whereabouts.
As expected, Lu Xiaofeng lived up to his reputation as a romantic rogue, showing off his extraordinary adventures by flying around the city three times before finally finding him at the entrance of Yiqing Garden.
He was accompanied by another NPC named Hua Manlou. Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he didn't pay attention, landed directly on the ground, and loudly called out to Lu Xiaofeng.
"Lu Xiaofeng!"
Lu Xiaofeng turned around. A sharp-eyed observer noticed a terrified expression appear above his head.
Lu Xiaofeng: "What are you doing here?"
After looking around, he quickly pulled Xiu Chuqiyu to a corner and hid her.
Lu Xiaofeng: "You didn't escape from prison, did you? Didn't I tell you to stay in your cell and wait for me?"
"I didn't escape from prison; they released me voluntarily."
Fearing a rollback and the loss of four new outfits, Show Off Your Adventure just wanted to finish the game as soon as possible. Too lazy to explain the cause and effect, you asked directly.
"Did you read the strategy guide I gave you? Did you find the stolen goods?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "Found it. Hua Manlou and I also found out some of Jin Jiuling's expenses, and we're about to find out the other part."
"What did you find out?" Lu Xiaofeng asked curiously, surprised that he had acted so quickly.
Lu Xiaofeng: "I found out that he spends about 20,000 taels a year on horses. I'm planning to go to Yiqing Garden to find out about his other expenses."
“Oh, this,” Xiu Chuqi said happily, “you don’t need to look it up.”
She took out the account book the madam had given her from her backpack, showing off her extraordinary encounter with a smug smile: "Jin Jiuling spends 140,000 taels of silver every year at Yiqing Garden. It's all recorded clearly in the account book."
"According to the madam, the purchase of other clothing and social expenses amounted to about 140,000 taels. Adding the 20,000 taels you estimated, the annual expenditure was at least 300,000 taels of silver."
Lu Xiaofeng: "Hiss."
Lu Xiaofeng: "There are so many, no wonder he was willing to take the risk."
Now that they had obtained the ledger, Xiuchu and Lu Xiaofeng discussed it and decided to take the items directly to confront Jin Jiuling.
Lu Xiaofeng: "However, before that, I need to find a few people. You and Hua Manlou go first, I'll be there shortly."
They followed Hua Manlou to Jin Jiuling's residence. Before they could even knock, an NPC dressed in luxurious clothes came out.
Jin Jiuling: "Hua Manlou, why did you bring her here?"
Before Hua Manlou could answer, a figure darted out from the side.
Lu Xiaofeng: "I sent them."
Lu Xiaofeng: "Won't you let us come in and sit down?"
Jin Jiuling: "Of course, it was my oversight. Please come in."
"Wait!" Feeling that they might be entering the story's ending, Showing off the adventure, he hadn't forgotten his original purpose for playing this mode; "Wait for me a moment."
Open the Fragrance Box, select "Auspicious Encounter*What a Night*", and click Use.
*********
A unique fragrance wafted over, and before Lu Xiaofeng could discern it clearly, he heard the voice of someone revealing their extraordinary encounter.
"That's good, let's go in."
"So, she made me wait just to change the incense?"
Unable to comprehend Jin Jiuling's thought process, Lu Xiaofeng followed him into the house. Only then did he realize that Jin Jiuling's home was indeed excessively luxurious.
"How could we have overlooked this issue before?"
"I have a feeling you've come with ill intentions today," Jin Jiuling said with a smile as he poured tea. "Lu Xiaofeng, have you found evidence to prove this young lady's innocence?"
Having experienced so much in just a few days, and even personally burying a good friend, Lu Xiaofeng no longer had the energy to feign politeness with Jin Jiuling.
"Whether she is innocent or not, I think you should know best."
"Let's not beat around the bush, aren't you the real master embroidery thief?"
"You took advantage of Jiang Chongwei's trust in you, ambushed him in the treasury of the Prince of Pingnan's mansion, and blinded him. You also learned about the Zhenyuan Escort Agency's transport route through the government and robbed the escort silver. Other cases were similar; you all used other people's trust to commit crimes."
"Just for some material possessions, can you live with your conscience?"
"That's just your guess." True to his reputation as a seasoned veteran, Jin Jiuling's breathing remained perfectly steady. "Where's the evidence?"
"So many soldiers saw with their own eyes that the girl next to you took out the exquisite luminous pearl stolen by the Embroidery Thief. Now you're telling the world that I'm the Embroidery Thief? Do you think anyone will believe you?"
Showing off her extraordinary experience, she retorted, "I exchanged the luminous pearl from a pawnshop."
"What about the evidence?" Jin Jiuling smiled meaningfully. "You may not know, young lady. After your arrest, a pawnshop owner on that street suddenly died."
"You actually killed someone to cover it up?" Xiu's eyes widened suddenly.
"Young lady, please don't wrong an innocent person. The government has already sent a coroner to investigate, and the person died suddenly from a heart attack."
“You’ve served in the government for many years, and all you’re doing is instructing the coroner to give false testimony. It’s not that difficult, is it?” Lu Xiaofeng said coldly.
“I won’t admit to that even if you say it. I’d say it’s you, Lu Xiaofeng, who’s blinded by lust and conspired with the Embroidered Thief to frame me.”
"Then how do you explain this?" Lu Xiaofeng said, taking out the account book that Xiu had recently given him after his extraordinary encounter.
"You've always boasted that you only drink the strongest liquor and only want the most beautiful girls. Everyone thinks that the girls in brothels are fond of you and take the initiative to accompany you. But the ledger doesn't say that."
"This expense alone amounts to 140,000 taels of silver annually. If you're not the Embroidered Thief, where does your silver come from?"
Despite all my careful planning, I never imagined that I would leave such a huge loophole.
Jin Jiuling's face was extremely pale.
It's unclear what he was thinking, but after a short while, his expression returned to normal.
"Lu Xiaofeng, I don't know whether to say you're meticulous or you're daring."
"You are indeed meticulous, able to find evidence from such a tricky angle."
"You are indeed quite bold. Now that you know my secret, how dare you bring people to my territory?"
Lu Xiaofeng was no fool. Upon hearing this, he immediately realized they had fallen into a trap. He hurriedly tried to circulate his internal energy, but found that his internal energy was extremely stagnant in his meridians and could not be circulated at all.
When did you poison him?
"It's tea!"
Hua Manlou's voice rang out at this moment.
"But we clearly didn't drink tea."
"He put the medicine in the tea, but it was the aroma of the tea that really worked."
"As expected of Hua Manlou," Jin Jiuling said approvingly. "I was worried that you would find out, but the young lady beside you used incense before entering. That perfectly covered up the smell of the secret medicine."
He then turned to look at Xiu Chuqiyu and said, "You really are my lucky star."
"Not only will you be able to claim the title of the Embroidered Thief, but you'll also help me get rid of Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou, who know the truth. To thank you for your help, I'll end your suffering first."
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he sighed and said, "Are you really that confident you can kill us?"
"Of course, this is a secret medicine from the Western Regions. Just a little bit can make someone lose their internal energy for three hours."
Despite his boastful words, Jin Jiuling was still afraid of something unexpected happening, so he quickly drew a short sword and thrust it straight at Xiu Chuqi.
*********
Seeing the chaotic buff on the character's status, Show Off the Adventure and gently click on Water Pavilion Flower Pavilion*Enlightenment.
The next second, the negative buff was removed, and the red-named NPC was immobilized for four seconds.
She skillfully activated her martial arts assistant, and within a dozen breaths, Jin Jiuling was defeated before her.
I waited patiently, but the ending results screen still didn't pop up. I was getting a little anxious about the unexpected encounter. Just as I was about to contact customer service, a new chat bubble appeared.
Hua Manlou: "Jin Jiuling is dead, so does that mean we can't get his confession?"
Hua Manlou: "How can we reveal his identity based solely on our word?"
Chang Mantian: "Don't worry, we heard everything. As victims, we will personally testify for you, and everyone will believe us."
Hua Manlou: "Lu Xiaofeng, you went to see them earlier?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "Of course, in order to prevent Jin Jiuling from recanting his testimony later, I specially brought over several victims living in the capital."
Chang Mantian: "He is meticulous and thoughtful. No wonder everyone likes to seek out Lu Xiaofeng when they are in trouble."
Lu Xiaofeng: "That won't be necessary."
Amidst cheers, another conversation bubble popped up.
Jiang Chongwei: "You're the one who killed Red Boots and Jin Jiuling? Why haven't you said anything all this time?"
"Huh? Me?" Before Xiu Chuqi could figure out how to answer, Lu Xiaofeng interrupted her.
Lu Xiaofeng: "Brother Jiang, I've already told you, it was a misunderstanding."
"What misunderstanding?"
Before she could even explain her amazing encounter and figure it out, the results screen she had been waiting for popped up.
The entire screen of the phone was shrouded in thick fog. As a black brush fell, the fog gradually dissipated, leaving only lines of text on the screen.
"Some say the Embroidered Thief is the woman in pink who appears and disappears mysteriously, while others say the Embroidered Thief is Jin Jiuling, who has served in the government for many years. Even the victims have different opinions."
"Who is real and who is fake? With the Embroidered Thief disappearing from the world, the truth will never be known again."
System: "Congratulations to the player for completing the game level 'The Embroidered Thief' and achieving the ending 'When the fake is taken for the real, the real is also fake. When the real is taken for the fake, the fake is also real.'"
System: "The completion reward will be sent to your mailbox one minute after you log out of the game. Please check your mailbox in time."
A note from the author:
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