Pursue
At dusk, people came and went in front of a gambling den in the city.
Zhong Linlan walked into the bustling hall. The waiter inside saw that he was wearing a light blue robe and had an air of nobility that made him seem like a gambler. He was also accompanied by a burly man, so he turned around and ran inside to call out the owner of the room.
“Young Master Jiang, Boss Jiang?” Zhong Linlan looked at Jiang Likun, who was rushing out, and sized him up. “I heard that you took over this gambling den a few days ago, and business is doing well.”
Jiang Likun, dressed in a crab-green robe with jade ornaments at his waist, looked quite respectable. He frowned and cupped his hands in greeting. "Sir, you are indeed well-informed. But how can a city be without gambling dens? Even if I am not allowed to open one, someone else will."
Zhong Linlan remained noncommittal. "I came to see you this time for two things."
A commotion erupted at the nearby gambling table, drowning out the conversation.
Zhong Linlan turned her head and looked at him, saying, "Aren't you going to invite me in to talk?"
Jiang Likun's expression was not good, but he had been instructed by his uncle to not offend him, so he reached out and invited him in.
Passing through the narrow tea room and into the inner room, one smells a musty odor. The inner room has no windows, and the lights are dim. In the corner, there is a soft couch and a few low cabinets, and nothing else.
Zhong Linlan looked around and said, "Young Master Jiang is, after all, from an official family with some savings, and he also has a maternal uncle who holds a high position like the Grand Commander's Chief Secretary to look after him. Why would he stay in a place like this?"
“Isn’t this how all gambling dens are? I only come to check it out occasionally,” Jiang Likun said. “Sir, please speak if you have something to say.”
Zhong Linlan said calmly, "You probably still remember Lu, the musician from Yiye Residence. Her godmother came to me today, saying that two people came to harass them and tried to kidnap the musician. When they were stopped, they beat her up. Those two men were tall and looked like professional thugs. Is this related to you?"
Jiang Likun spat, "It has absolutely nothing to do with me! My lord, I always handle beauties myself, I would never entrust such a thing to a brute. Besides, that musician Lu Xi'er is hardly a celestial being, I have no reason to go looking for her like this."
Knowing his reputation as a playboy, Zhong Linlan glanced at him and asked, "Why do you say that Lu Qinshi cannot be considered a celestial being?"
Jiang Likun rolled his eyes and glanced away. "Once, I accidentally lifted her veil and took a look. But I assure you, I let her go after just one look and didn't hurt her at all. You can ask her if you don't believe me."
In the end, he shifted his gaze back to the present, looking directly at the person, clearly quite confident.
Zhong Linlan pondered for a moment and said, "I'll believe you on this matter for now. But I still need to ask you, have you seen Chen Shilang from Wansong Academy? He's a gambler and has disappeared."
Jiang Likun shouted, "Sir, I only took over this gambling den for fun! Once I'm tired of it, I'll abandon it. I have no interest in getting to know the gamblers!"
His voice was urgent. Zhong Linlan remained silent for a moment, then made a few indirect remarks before finally saying, "If you have any news about Chen Shilang, be sure to send someone to tell me."
Jiang Likun agreed and hurriedly saw Zhong Linlan out of the gambling den before returning to the room.
He closed the door, dragged the soft couch to the other side in the dim light, and after groping around in the corner for a while, a tunnel appeared on the ground.
Going down the tunnel, it was a bit brighter down there, in a small, secret room.
Several wall lamps were lit, illuminating the figure tied to the wooden frame. The figure was disheveled, with a thin, naked upper body that had been whipped until the skin was torn and bleeding, with crisscrossing whip marks and hardly any intact flesh.
The guard beside him respectfully called out "Young Master" and then handed him a long whip.
Jiang Likun casually took it and said, "Chen Shilang, didn't you say you took leave? How come someone is looking for you after only two days?"
Chen Shilang opened his eyes, swollen from the whip marks, and trembled on the wooden frame, saying weakly, "Young Master Jiang, didn't we agree that it would be enough for you to beat me to my heart's content?"
"Who told you that you could have fun playing for a day or two?" Jiang Likun turned his head and asked, "Dacang, did you tell him that?"
Zheng Dacang, who was standing by, quickly shook his head, "I wouldn't dare, there's absolutely no such thing."
Seeing Jiang Likun flick the whip on the ground, he picked up a strip of cloth from the table next to him and was about to wrap it around Zheng Shilang's mouth as before, so that he would not howl when he was being beaten.
Zheng Shilang turned his head and struggled to his feet, panting, "No, no, don't! I still have a way to pay off my debts!"
Jiang Likun scoffed, "You have a way to pay off your debts, yet you're willing to be beaten up to do so?"
Zheng Shilang said in a trembling voice, "I just remembered that I can sell you some information that Young Master Jiang will definitely be interested in."
"Would you really be interested?" Jiang Likun glanced at Chen Shilang, who was barely recognizable as human on the shelf. "Tell me about it."
Chen Shilang took a breath. "Five years ago, I saw the arrest warrant for the Jiang family massacre and I remember the portrait on it. A few days ago, I saw a woman who looked very much like the portrait."
Jiang Likun tossed aside the whip, walked closer to him, and grabbed his hair. "You'd better remember correctly!"
Chen Shilang was forced to look up. "I have a very good memory. Although I've only seen you once, I won't forget."
Where is that woman?
Chen Shilang swallowed hard. "In the Lu family, she is the daughter of Master Lu, no, the third master of Lu."
"Slap!" Jiang Likun slapped him hard across the face. "Miss Lu is only eighteen years old. Do you know how old the person who wiped out my family back then would be this year?"
Chen Shilang's face was slapped crooked. After a moment, he stiffly turned around and said with trembling lips, "She should be twenty-one years old, but eighteen and twenty-one don't look that different. The Lu family's young lady was only recognized by the Lu family two years ago, so her age might be fake."
Jiang Likun scoffed, "The Lu family aren't stupid. How could they mistake one person for another when they're recognizing a daughter?"
As he said this, he lifted his hand forcefully, "Does it really resemble the painting?"
Chen Shilang's head was pulled even higher by his hair, and the scalp at his temples was stretched out of shape. He trembled all over like a leaf. "She looks like her! She looks like her! Although some people say that all beauties look alike, she really looks like Hua Yingtu! Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to match them up even after five years."
"I heard that the young lady the Lu family found looks quite similar to the Lu family's wife."
"But this young lady was found in the desolate mountains outside the city. Young Master Jiang, think about it, what kind of person would hide in the desolate mountains?"
Jiang Likun suddenly loosened his grip and remained silent for a few moments.
Soon after, he grabbed Chen Shilang's hair again, "You wouldn't be deliberately making trouble for me because this Miss Lu's status makes her untouchable, would you?"
Chen Shilang, his face pale, shook his head repeatedly. "Everyone who went to the Ji family banquet that day saw Miss Lu. Just take the portrait and ask her, and she'll be right."
"Slap!" Jiang Likun slapped him again. "Where am I supposed to find the portrait from back then?"
Chen Shilang was confused and his lips trembled as he dared not refute.
"Okura, don't let him die, and don't let him out either."
Before leaving in a hurry, Jiang Likun uttered these words.
Zheng Dacang bowed his head in agreement, but was anxious. He had been stuck in the basement the whole time, so he sent a message to Zhong Linlan, saying he had to find a way to sneak out.
*
As darkness fell outside, Mu Qing felt particularly uneasy. Just as she was about to ask someone to close the windows, she heard a scolding voice outside and asked what was going on.
Shiyu went to check and came back whispering, "It was Aunt Ning who was questioning Zixiao. Zixiao had been missing for quite some time this afternoon, and when she came back, she kept making mistakes. When asked where she had been this afternoon, she refused to tell, so Aunt Ning got angry."
Mu Qing still remembered Zi Xiao and said, "Let Zi Xiao come in and talk."
Zixiao followed Ninggu into the room, her face blank as she stared at Mu Qing in the main seat.
Ning Gu turned her head and scolded, "Zi Xiao, you're really getting more and more outrageous. You've forgotten all the manners you learned."
Zixiao bowed with a somber expression, which made Mu Qing feel uncomfortable. She said, "Aunt Ning, Zixiao has always been very kind. Why be so harsh on her?"
Ning Gu nodded slightly, then said to Zi Xiao, "Zi Xiao, Miss understands you, but you should be more attentive to your work. You haven't been seen all afternoon, where did you go?"
Zixiao lowered her head and said softly, "I just wandered around outside the manor."
Seeing her pitiful appearance, as if she were frightened, Mu Qing felt sorry for her and asked, "Are you frightened?"
Zi Xiao raised her head and glanced at Mu Qing on the main seat again, feeling slightly relieved.
She said softly, "I've encountered a madman."
When someone told her that the real prostitutes were still out there and that the one at home was a fake, it was utter nonsense.
However, the young lady outside looked somewhat like the madam and somewhat like the master, and had a clear birthmark, which really confused her.
"No wonder, then you should take a good rest."
Seeing that Zixiao was no longer so timid, Mu Qing told Ning Gu not to be too harsh on her and to give her more time to rest.
Ning Gu had always admired Zi Xiao, and her reprimand was only out of deep love and concern. She naturally agreed and then took Zi Xiao out for a while, ostensibly to teach her manners again, so that she could stay by her side from now on.
After everyone had left, Shiyu turned off the lamp. Mu Qing lay on the bed, looking at the curtains that shone with dim moonlight in the darkness. He recalled the curtains swaying when the carriage went out of control, and found it hard to fall asleep.
That wasn't an accident; someone must have recognized her. Who could it be? If we know who it is, we can find a way to deal with them.
She was lost in thought, plagued by nightmares. After several days and nights, she finally began to have some ideas about the person lurking in the shadows.
The person who recognized her at the Ji family banquet must not be a servant; no one in the village would stoop to serve others.
The night raid on the Lu residence caused the carriage to go out of control, indicating a strong desire to see her, which seemed more like malice than goodwill.
Therefore, the only person she could think of was Jiang Likun.
She didn't really want to deal with this person, but if he recognized her, he would definitely not let it go. Rather than that, she might as well strike first.
However, on the day she made up her mind, she heard from the maid in the mansion that the young master Jiang who had once forcibly taken a woman had fallen and broken his head, bleeding a lot and falling into a coma. He was likely to die, which could be considered a case of good and evil being rewarded in the end.
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