Chapter 43: The carriage accident on Sister Lindong Street happened at 3:00 PM that day...
The news of the carriage accident on Lindong Street did not reach the prefectural government until around 3:00 p.m. that day.
"My lord, this is roughly what happened."
"Have the injured been properly accommodated?"
The Jiusu County Magistrate looked at the young yet dignified prefect before him and replied respectfully, "Your Excellency, the twenty-one injured at the scene have all been sent to Anji Hall for treatment."
"Does Anjitang have enough staff? All the nearby medical officers have been transferred there."
"After the incident, I urgently dispatched ten medical officers to provide support."
"That's good. How's the owner? Has everything been appeased?"
"There were two women in the car at the time, one of whom was Chen Weiyu, the courtesan of Ningxiangju. She was taken away by people from Tianying Pavilion after the incident."
Chen Weiyu of Tianying Pavilion must be related to the Ningxiangju case, Zhou Jin thought, it seems that the forces behind this case are indeed not simple...
"There's another one, named Tang... uh... Tang..." What was Tang? Jiusu County Magistrate was suddenly stuck. How could he forget the woman's name at the critical moment? Just as he was panicking and sweating on his forehead, he heard the prefect in front of him give the answer.
"Tang Suzi"
"Yes, yes, that's the name!" Jiusu County Magistrate slapped his forehead, but after seeing Zhou Jin's eyes, he was a little stunned.
That deep and unclear look, no, or to be more precise, it was the look in his eyes that seemed to show that he was thinking about something.
Then he heard Zhou Jin ask, "How is she?"
"She's fine. She went home after being rescued." County Magistrate Jiusu observed Zhou Jin's expression. Seeing that he seemed relieved, he cautiously asked, "Does your Excellency know her?"
Zhou Jin didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned away, his hands behind his back. The Jiusu County Magistrate could no longer see his expression. He only heard the young prefect say, "I understand. You can leave now."
When Shi Ying returned from delivering wine to Su Junshou, she saw Zhou Jin leaning against the table, holding a gold pendant in his hand, his eyes fixed, as if lost in thought. Noticing her approach, he continued to stare at the pendant and muttered, "Shi Ying, Lindong Street... How far is it from my old house?"
After Shi Ying made a rough estimate, he replied, "It's three streets away, about nine miles."
Hearing this, Zhou Jin slowly put the safety lock into his palm. He stared blankly into the air for a long time before asking again, "So, what do you think, is it possible for the dead to be resurrected?"
This sounds more like a soliloquy.
Shi Ying was completely bewildered. The prefect was acting very strangely today. Why would he suddenly ask such a question? His brows furrowed as he pondered how to respond.
But Zhou Jin didn't seem to need his answer anymore. He stood up straight and walked out the door, leaving only a sentence: "I have something to go out for. I'll deal with anything when I come back."
*
At that time, Tang Suzi was worried about losing the safety lock.
After Chen Weiyu was taken away by Guo Yan, she realized that there was a large mud stain on the hem of her skirt after being reminded by Lin Xiangli.
When she returned to Fang's house and was about to change into clean clothes, she felt an empty feeling around her neck, as if something was missing. She subconsciously touched it and found that the safety lock was gone!
She was extremely anxious and turned the carriage inside and out. She also searched carefully back and forth along Lindong Street, but she couldn't find her safety lock.
There were so many people on the street at that time. If it had fallen on the street due to the jolting of the carriage, would it have been picked up by someone?
If the safety lock really fell into the hands of someone else, where would she find that person?
You know, that was the only token grandma left to him...Tang Suzi felt a deep despair in his heart.
She had originally planned to go look for the old house, but she was worried that the Zhou couple were still there. She didn't know what to do...
As night fell, Tang Suzi returned to Fang Mansion in a daze, only to find Xiaoying standing in front of the gate, and... Zhou Jin
They both saw her, and Xiaoying came forward first, "Miss Tang, you're finally back! The prefect has been waiting for you here for hours!"
Why did Zhou Jin come to see her? Could it be...
She saw Zhou Jin walking towards her. The night was dim, but she could clearly feel the emotions in Zhou Jin's eyes as he looked at her, just like the way Zhou Jin looked at Zhou Tiao when they were children.
Tang Suzi had a bad premonition in her heart. She pinched her palm with her fingernails to keep herself calm and spoke first, "What do you want from me, sir?"
Zhou Jin said nothing, but looked at Xiaoying instead.
Xiaoying understood and quickly said, "Then you guys chat, I'll go back first."
When they were alone, Zhou Jin asked directly, "Ms. Tang, have you been to Zhuwei Alley today?"
Zhuwei Lane, that was the lane where the Zhou family's old house was located. Tang Suzi would of course deny it, "I've never been there."
After hearing this answer, there was no other fluctuation on Zhou Jin's face. He just took a deep breath, then raised his left hand, and slowly opened his clenched fist in front of Tang Suzi. A safety lock lay in the palm of his hand.
Zhou Jin asked again, "Miss Tang, do you recognize this?" His tone was flat, but his eyes were fixed on Tang Suzi's expression.
Seeing the safety lock in Zhou Jin's hand, Tang Suzi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the safety lock was picked up by Zhou Jin. But another layer of worry came to her mind. How could she get away with it in front of Zhou Jin?
What needs to be faced must be faced. She bit the bullet and pretended to be puzzled to pick up the chain in Zhou Jin's palm. She looked at the safety lock carefully for a few times, then shook her head and put the safety lock back in Zhou Jin's hand.
"I don't know him."
Zhou Jin didn't believe it. He took a step forward and stared down at Tang Suzi's eyes, but his eyes humbly wanted the person in front of him to give him a positive answer.
"You are the elder sister, right?"
The nails dug into the flesh of the palm, digging deeper and deeper until a dampness spread across the fingertips. Tang Suzi also spoke at this time.
"My Lord, I don't understand what you are talking about."
She took two steps back, putting some distance between herself and Zhou Jin, and continued, "I am the only daughter of my parents, and I have never had any other brothers or sisters since I was a child. I really don't understand why adults would mistake me for your elder sister."
"How could you not be my elder sister?" Zhou Jin did not give up. On the way here, his intuition made him almost certain that Tang Suzi was Zhou Tiao. However, he was repeatedly denied by Tang Suzi. He was very confused and did not care about what he said rationally.
Hearing these childish words, Tang Suzi vaguely saw the little Zhou Jin shaking her hand for candy, but she was no longer the Zhou Tiao who could hold his hand to buy candy. Zhou Tiao was dead. She had indeed died in a cold winter ten years ago.
"Perhaps, because I look like your elder sister, you mistakenly think I'm your relative, not just you, but your mother as well." Speaking of Zhou's mother, Tang Suzi also pulled himself out of the grief just now, and his voice became increasingly indifferent. "She repeatedly called me 'Tiao'er' and made me something Zhou Tiao liked, but no one ever asked me if I was willing to be treated as Zhou Tiao..."
Tang Suzi turned her face away, not wanting to look at Zhou Jin's hurt expression, and continued, "Let me reiterate for the last time, my name is Tang Suzi. Please tell the prefect and your mother not to do anything that bothers me again." After she finished speaking, she passed by Zhou Jin.
In the darkness of the night, Zhou Jin stood upright, his clenched hands slowly lowering...
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