Chapter 28 Missing "Oh no, this crucian carp soup is warm and nourishing,...
"Bu Yu, this crucian carp soup is warm and nourishing. I've removed all the bones from the fish. You should eat more fish; it'll be very beneficial for healing your wounds."
As Zhao Hui spoke, she slowly stirred the fish soup with a spoon, waiting for it to cool to a palatable level.
In recent days, Zhao Hui has been making various nourishing soups for Fang Buyu. First it was pigeon soup, then black chicken soup, and today it was crucian carp soup.
"Mother, you really don't have to work so hard. Just let the servants in the mansion do it."
Fang Buyu persuaded.
Zhao Hui shook her head slightly and brought the fish soup, which had cooled to the perfect temperature, to Fang Buyu's lips.
"That won't do. Your injuries are so serious. If you don't take good care of yourself, I'm afraid there will be hidden dangers."
Fang Buyu drank it obediently.
The crucian carp soup was rich and mellow, and a warm current instantly flowed through my body.
He was grateful, but also a little reluctant.
"But mother, you just returned from the capital. You must be exhausted from the journey. You should rest well. Besides, you still have to take care of the silk shop and worry about me. I am really worried."
"Silly child, it's natural for a mother to take care of her son. I've already arranged for someone to help take care of the silk shop, so you don't have to worry."
Zhao Hui responded with a smile and scooped up another spoonful of fish meat and put it into Fang Buyu's mouth.
Watching him chewing his food slowly, Zhao Hui's eyes were filled with love.
“How does it taste? Is it delicious?”
Fang Buyu nodded in praise.
"The fish is tender and smooth, melting in your mouth. My mother's crucian carp soup is truly the best in the world!"
Hearing this, Zhao Hui's face broke into a smile.
For a mother, hearing her children praise the food she made is undoubtedly the happiest thing in the world.
"Then eat more, there's more in the pot."
Just as the bowl of soup was about to be finished, there was a light knock on the door.
Zhao Hui and Fang Buyu looked in the direction of the voice and saw Tang Suzi standing quietly at the door holding a tray of medicine.
She seemed to have not expected that Zhao Hui was also here. After seeing Zhao Hui, she nodded and saluted hurriedly.
"Madam Zhao, it's time for Pavilion Master to change the medicine."
As she spoke, she looked at Fang Buyu, then at Zhao Hui, feeling that she had disturbed their mother-son time, and quickly added,
"Then I'll come back later."
"No, no,"
Zhao Hui gently placed the soup bowl on the table, then quickly walked towards Tang Suzi, enthusiastically took her hand, and walked towards Fang Buyu together.
"This morning, I made crucian carp soup specially for Buyu, and he just finished it. Now, I'd like to trouble you to change his medicine."
Tang Suzi used his eyes to seek Fang Buyu's opinion.
"Well, then..."
Fang Buyu responded with a polite smile, nodded slightly towards Tang Suzi, and took over her words.
"Then it's Miss Lao Tang's turn."
After getting Fang Buyu's tacit consent, Tang Suzi walked closer to the bed.
Fang Buyu used his uninjured left arm to unbutton his shirt, and Tang Suzi leaned over to untie the gauze bandaged around his wound.
Her movements were skillful and gentle, but her expression was still slightly unnatural.
Fang Buyu also seemed a little uncomfortable. He turned his head to the side, and both of them deliberately avoided eye contact.
Zhao Hui, who was observing silently from the side, secretly lowered her head and chuckled with her hands covering her mouth.
Although the two of them didn't say much, the subtle unnaturalness in their body language and expressions did not escape Zhao Hui's eyes.
She thought to herself:
My son has always been serious and reserved. When have I ever seen him pretending to be so calm?
And the more you look at Miss Tang, the more you like her.
My son has really good taste!
"Ah, it suddenly occurred to me that there's something unfinished in the kitchen. I have to go check it out."
Zhao Hui said this seriously, and hurriedly left the room without waiting for Fang Buyu and Tang Suzi to respond.
Watching Zhao Hui's hurried figure disappear at the door, Tang Suzi looked at Fang Buyu in confusion.
Looking at his mother's poor acting skills, Fang Buyu smiled helplessly.
"It's okay, go on."
After Zhao Hui left, they were the only two people left in the room again. They were speechless for a moment. In the huge room, the only sounds they could hear were each other's breathing and the sound of Tang Suzi tearing the gauze.
Although they had changed the medicine several times, the two still could not face this slightly intimate scene calmly.
When the dressing change was almost over, both of their ears were flushed.
Just as Tang Suzi was carefully tying the final knot of gauze on Fang Buyu's wound, a burst of hurried footsteps was heard.
Then, Guo Yan rushed into the door like a gust of wind, and shouted nervously,
“If I don’t meet you, that’s bad!”
The sudden shout startled Tang Suzi, and his hands moved faster involuntarily, and he tied a tight knot without warning.
The sudden tight pressure of the shoulder strap made Fang Buyu gasp in pain and couldn't help but let out a hiss.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Tang Suzi realized his mistake, quickly untied the knot, and looked at Fang Buyu with an apologetic look.
"It's okay, it's okay."
Fang Buyu comforted him gently, then turned to look at Guo Yan, who looked flustered.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"No, something happened."
Guo Yan looked solemn.
After taking a look at Tang Suzi, he did not immediately report the details to Fang Buyu.
Tang Suzi also realized that they had business to discuss, so after changing the medicine, he picked up the medicine tray and said to Fang Buyu,
"Then I'll go down first."
After Tang Suzi left, Guo Yan told Fang Buyu the news.
"No, Lin Bowen is dead."
"What?!"
Fang Buyu's eyes suddenly widened, his face full of disbelief.
"When was it discovered? What caused it?"
Guo Yan did not dare to neglect and quickly replied,
"Yesterday morning, I rushed to the capital to interrogate Lin Bowen, but when I arrived at the prison, I found that he had no vital signs. According to the patrolling jailer, there were no unusual noises or signs of a struggle in the prison that night. The coroner's preliminary examination determined that he died of poisoning."
"Poisoned?"
Fang Buyu frowned and asked, "What kind of poison was that? Did the jailer on duty that night ask about it?"
Guo Yan shook his head and replied,
"The cause of the poisoning is still under investigation. However, a prison guard who was on duty that night was also found to have committed suicide by taking poison at home."
Hearing this, Fang Buyu took a deep breath, as if to suppress the shock and chill in his heart.
He closed his eyes, and a series of recent events flashed through his mind:
From Tuoba Xuan's sudden invitation to meet him, to his assassination, to Lin Bowen's sudden death in prison...
This series of events caught him off guard. The opponent's viciousness and ruthlessness far exceeded his imagination, which made him shudder.
After a brief moment of shock, Fang Buyu quickly regained his composure.
He opened his eyes, his gaze regained its composure, and he decisively issued an order.
"Quickly strengthen the prison's defenses, especially keeping a close watch on Wang Gui. No one except the prison chief is allowed to approach him. At the same time, send someone to secretly protect Chen Weiyu and other women involved in the case at Ningxiangju to ensure their safety."
"yes."
*
Two days later, early in the morning.
Ling An and Lin Xiangli sat face to face on either side of the dining table, where the carefully prepared breakfast was emitting tempting heat.
However, in this windy and snowy weather with freezing cold, that little bit of warmth seemed unable to resist the cold outside, appearing particularly small and insignificant.
"Xiang Li, try this steamed pork ribs with shredded ginger. It can drive away the cold."
Ling An picked up a piece of pork ribs with chopsticks and gently placed it into Lin Xiangli's bowl.
He noticed that the angles of Lin Xiangli's face became more and more distinct. It was obvious that she had been under too much pressure these days because of running around to sell the Lin family's property.
Lin Xiangli pursed her lips and smiled slightly.
"Thank you Ling An."
But she did not pick up her chopsticks, but continued to turn her gaze to the heavy snow falling in the hall.
Somehow, she had no appetite today, and a sense of unease inexplicably welled up in her heart.
This uneasiness hung over her like a dark cloud, making her feel extremely depressed.
At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the lobby.
Amid the rustling sound of wind and snow, she ran in panic, staggering like a frightened bird.
It’s the maid Yan’er.
She has always been very polite, why is she so out of control today?
Just as Lin Xiangli was wondering, he saw Yan'er rushing into the lobby breathlessly, bringing in the biting cold air from outside, making the room even colder.
Her face was pale, her eyes were filled with fear.
"Miss, it's bad, the master... the master..."
Before he could finish his words, he collapsed to his knees.
Lin Xiangli dropped the chopsticks in her hand. She stood up suddenly, walked quickly towards Yan'er, and grabbed her shoulders tightly.
"Yan'er, what's wrong? Tell me quickly, what happened to the master?"
Lin Xiangli had already sensed a bad premonition.
Yan'er sobbed and said,
"Miss... I just heard someone at the market say that Master... Master died in prison a few days ago..."
This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, shocking Lin Xiangli completely. She almost couldn't stand and her body leaned back involuntarily.
Ling An was quick-witted and quick-handed. He took a step forward and held her firmly.
"How could that be? This is impossible! You must have heard wrong, right?"
Lin Xiangli shook his head in denial.
She couldn't accept this cruel fact, and once again eagerly grabbed Yan'er's hand, as if this could hold a glimmer of hope.
"Yan'er, tell me again, you heard it wrong, right?"
However, Yan'er just lowered her head and couldn't bear to look at her.
Her silence silently conveyed this fact to Lin Xiangli once again.
Lin Xiangli's heart sank to the bottom. She couldn't accept this sudden bad news. She seemed to have been drained of all her strength. She collapsed on the ground, looking ahead with empty eyes.
"Xiang Li!"
"Miss!"
Ling An and Yan'er quickly supported her.
Ling An turned to Yan'er and confirmed,
"What's going on? How did you know this news?"
Yan'er answered with tears in her eyes,
"The news has spread around the market. When I went shopping this morning, everyone was saying... everyone was saying... that the former prefect had died suddenly in prison in Beijing a few days ago..."
As soon as the words fell, both of them noticed that Lin Xiangli's body stiffened.
Ling An frowned and pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Yan'er.
"Yan'er, go to the market and find out the whole story."
Yan'er nodded and ran out of the lobby.
Lin Xiangli, who was supported by Ling An, had no tears in her eyes and no expression of pain. She just stared at the ground blankly, muttering "Impossible, this is impossible..."
Ling An looked at Lin Xiangli's dazed expression and for a moment he didn't know what to say to comfort her.
"Xiang Li..."
He whispered her name, trying to bring her back to her senses.
This call made Lin Xiangli stop muttering.
She was silent for a while, and two lines of tears silently rolled down her eyes.
After a while, she held Ling An's arm and slowly stood up, looking up at him. Although there was no emotion in her eyes, they were full of tears, as if they would burst out at any time.
She said to Ling An, "I want to be alone for a while," and then walked back to the room alone.
Not long after Lin Xiangli returned to her room, Tang Suzi also hurried over.
"Ling An, I heard..."
However, when she met Ling An's eyes, the words suddenly stopped at her lips.
Ling An nodded with a heavy face, saying everything without saying a word.
Tang Suzi understood immediately, and Ling An also knew the news.
She looked around but didn't see Lin Xiangli.
"Where's Xiang Li? How is she?"
"She went back to her room and said she wanted to be alone."
Ling An replied.
As a divine beast, Ling An could not personally experience the deep sorrow that humans felt when they lost their loved ones, but he could imagine the huge emptiness and sadness that one felt when losing an important person in their life.
Over the long centuries, he has received love, been hurt by love, despaired of human nature, and regained his kindness.
During the nearly twenty years he protected the human world, he witnessed countless cycles of life and death, and his heart gradually became hardened, allowing him to maintain a transcendent calm towards many worldly affairs.
However, if we really look into it, if there is anyone who can truly remain in his heart and become the person who can be called important after thousands of years of suffering, then the answer is probably the little girl who, when he was most desperate, put aside their past grudges and left half a steamed bun for her.
Therefore, he did not dare, nor was he willing to imagine how he would feel, and what his world would become, if Lin Xiangli encountered an accident.
Tang Suzi was also deeply shocked by the news.
She quietly sat down next to Ling An. The two of them didn't say much to each other. They just sat there quietly, their mood just like the weather outside, gloomy...
*
Time passed quietly and the sky gradually darkened.
Ling An, filled with worry, walked to Lin Xiangli's door again.
He raised his hand gently and knocked on the closed door.
"Xiang Li, eat something. You haven't had lunch yet. Your body won't be able to bear it if you continue like this..."
In the room, a butter lamp emitted a soft and dim light, but it failed to illuminate the uneasiness in Ling An's heart.
He listened carefully, but failed to catch any response from Lin Xiangli.
"Xiang Li..."
Ling An raised his voice slightly and knocked on the door again, but he was still met with dead silence.
The uneasiness in his heart spread like wildfire, and Ling An finally realized that something was wrong.
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door again, but still got no response.
So he pushed the door tentatively and found that it was not locked.
The door slowly opened, Ling An walked into the house, but did not see Lin Xiangli.
His eyes fell on the bed. The quilt was neatly folded and there seemed to be a piece of letter on it.
He walked up and picked it up, and saw that it was written,
"Ling An, I want to stay quiet for a few days. Please don't worry about me, and don't look for me."
His heart suddenly sank to the bottom.
Xiang Li, where did she go...
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