Early in the morning, by the Qinhuai River, before dawn, Nie Yunzhu got up from the bed, washed up, then made a pot of tea and walked out of the front door of the small building.
The gloomy night shrouded the city walls and mountains in the distance, making it impossible to see clearly what was in the distance. She sat on the steps in front of the building, thinking about something. In fact, these days, she was thinking about one thing more than anything else. That familiar footstep had not sounded here for twenty days.
Thinking back, this kind of morning had been going on for nearly a year. She first knew him because of the chicken, and then she saw him running over every morning, talking, and chatting. Every morning was the most special time for her. Except when it rained heavily, that figure passed by here every day, even on snowy days. She almost thought it would continue like this.
Only these twenty days told her that the contact between the two was actually just this simple meeting every day. He didn't come over, so she couldn't find him. That person … was the husband of the young lady of the Su family after all.
This thought made her a little annoyed.
In the first few days, she thought he had something urgent to do, went far away, or missed his morning exercise. However, as time passed, she couldn't help but feel anxious, worried that something had happened to him or that an accident had happened. In the past few days, intentionally or unintentionally, she walked around the Su mansion, walking around the big courtyard wall to see if there were any clues, but she couldn't find anything. She was anxious, but she also felt that she was sneaking around. She really didn't know what she was doing.
The most serious time for this kind of worry was probably a few days ago when a few constables came to find her. At that time, she was in a daze in the backyard of the Takeshi store, thinking about something. When the manservant came in and told her that there were constables looking for her, she was really stunned. She ran out in a daze and almost tripped over the threshold. Then, when she heard the question asked by the constables, she was stunned for a long time before she reacted.
Gu Yanzhen, Gu Yanzhen, Gu Yanzhen again …
Who cares if he dies.
— — The two constables asked about the situation between her and Gu Yanzhen.
She almost wanted to complain in her heart, but she still briefly explained the previous relationship absent-mindedly. In the end, the two constables said that Gu Yanzhen was killed after he left the city, which also stunned her for a long time.
If it was in normal times, she might have been sad for a while because of this, but at this time, she had something on her mind. After being stunned for a long time, she turned back. Usually, she might have been sad for a while because of this, but at this time, she had something on her mind.
Not long after, she arrived at the vicinity of the Su Residence and saw Li Heng's wife, Su Tan 'er, and a servant girl coming out of the carriage. Although they looked a little anxious, it seemed like they were only going to settle some business. But when she thought about it the next day, she realized that Liheng wasn't, she thought., she, Liheng, Ming Mansion, she thought. a, she thought. she would Liar.
However, he also felt that such an idea was really silly.
In the past few days, he had been in a gloomy and complicated mood. But every morning, he would make the pot of tea and wait on the steps until dawn. At this time, she would adjust her emotions a little.
Hmph, if you don't come, I'll wait here every day!
She tried her best to be playful as she sat there and took a sip of tea. Then, the morning breeze brought the sound of footsteps to her.
*****
After twenty days, Ning Yi once again resumed his habit of running in the morning every day. Although Xiao Chan complained and nagged him with tears in her eyes when she changed the dressing on his hand after he woke up, and when she saw his burnt left hand after removing the bandage yesterday, it made Xiao Chan cry even more. However, it was still necessary to persevere in training.
The injury on his left hand had basically recovered. This recovery referred to the fact that he could do some basic movements and no longer hurt. His daily life was no longer a big problem. It was just that after removing the bandage, it looked a little ugly. Now, his whole hand was red. A few days ago, he bragged in front of Lu Hongti that he was a bloody butcher. He didn't expect that his words would come true. Whether it was in reality or appearance, it was true. It was really funny.
If he wanted to fully recover, the whole process would take half a year. It was also because Lu Hongti's medicine was really good. Originally, he was prepared to cripple his left hand. In that situation that day, he didn't have much choice. Although it was a pity, he could survive, so there was no need to be hesitant. Now, he had made a profit.
Some of the ingredients of the medicine were very expensive, but the Su family was rich, so it wasn't a big problem. Last night, he probably told the Su family's father-in-law and Old Madam Su about the process of "a friend had something to do and then his arm was burned". This morning, the reason why Xiaochan didn't want him to come out was mainly because she was afraid that the exercise would cause his arm to sweat. After all, burns and the like were mainly damage to the skin glands. However, now that Ning Yi had the internal energy cultivation method that Lu Hongti taught him, there was naturally no need for him to stop. He just restrained the amount of exercise.
Today's jog was about to stop in front of Nie Yunzhu's house.
"… A few days ago, I went out of the city to help a friend with something. Later, there was a small accident and my hand was burned. But fortunately, I found a famous doctor. The medicine is very magical, and it will recover in about half a year. "Ning Yi took a sip of tea and raised his bandaged left hand to show in the air." How is it? Do you think it looks good like this? "He felt that this style was indeed very cool.
Nie Yunzhu smiled faintly and lowered her eyes. "Does it hurt?"
"Uh, it doesn't feel much now, but it did hurt a lot at the time." Ning Yi smiled. "How have you been recently?"
"Well, it's fine. A very interesting thing happened a few days ago. Someone came to the shop with a wooden sign that he carved himself …"
In the early morning, by the river bend, it seemed that the scene of the past had returned, and some trivial family gossip was heard. Seeing Ning Yi, Nie Yunzhu also felt like she was relieved. However, when she recalled the situation these days, there was always a place that felt empty. When the first rays of dawn appeared, Ning Yi stood up and said goodbye. Nie Yunzhu hesitated. "You …"
"Huh?"
"Your hand is injured, and you need to apply medicine every day. It's not good to sweat. For the sake of your health, these days … you shouldn't run and sweat anymore. "
She said this with some difficulty. Ning Yi nodded. "Well, I understand, but it's okay. Simple exercise is not a big problem, and I won't sweat. I recently got some internal energy or something, and I can exercise at any time. This little exercise won't sweat. Haha, maybe after a while, I will become a martial arts master. "
In the past, Ning Yi would tell her about the rumors of the martial arts world, and now he was talking about it with a cheerful tone. Nie Yunzhu stood there and looked at his back. A cold tear suddenly slipped down her cheek and fell on the back of her hand in front of her. She was slightly stunned, then wiped it away in a panic, and suddenly ran forward. However, after only two steps, the embroidered shoe stopped again. Ning Yi turned around in front of her.
"Ah, by the way, the wine should be ready soon. When the time comes, I will bring the design of the various parts over. It's best to find a few blacksmiths who can keep it secret and do it separately. Well, I will try my best to ensure that the specifications are met, but the workshop needs to be kept secret … Have you contacted the winemaker? "
Nie Yunzhu clutched her handkerchief in front of her chest, and after a while, she nodded vigorously. "Yes, I have already contacted him."
"Oh, that's good." Ning Yi smiled, then waved his hand. "I'll go first. Classes will start in a few days, and I can be lazy these two days. Maybe I will go to Takeshi's place at noon. Heh, I miss the congee with pork and century egg."
Nie Yunzhu smiled and nodded. "I will wait for you."
The trace of disappointment in her heart gradually faded.
He would go at noon …
She was in a cheerful mood, and other things could be forgotten. In the morning full of vitality and hope, she was ready to go to the head shop to wait. At this time, she remembered the news of Gu Yanzhen's death from the two constables. "Why did the two constables come to me?" Nie Yunzhu thought. She didn't have much bad feelings for Gu Yanzhen. Gu Yanzhen was a talented person. His death made Nie Yunzhu feel a little pity and sadness. But on the other hand, even if he died, it seemed that he had something to do with her, which made her feel a little disgusted. Obviously, they had nothing to do with each other — these two feelings were not contradictory. After a while, she sighed and gradually faded away.
A few days later, there were more and more refugees outside the city. One morning, Nie Yunzhu told Ning Yi that someone he knew had died in an accident outside the city. This person had wanted to become a county magistrate. He was quite talented and had a bright future ahead of him. Therefore, he told Ning Yi that the situation was not peaceful recently and that he should be careful. At that time, Ning Yi's expression was complicated.
"An acquaintance?"
"I'm not familiar with him."
"Oh." Ning Yi shrugged, "It's a pity that God is jealous of such a talented person."
This was a story to be told later. Let's not talk about it for now.
*****
On the evening of the 6th of June, nearly two days had passed since the murder that night. Several constables were investigating near the burnt boathouse on the deserted riverbank. The wind was howling and the sky was getting dark. There would probably be a thunderstorm tonight.
"After this heavy rain, I'm afraid we can't find anything!" A bailiff's voice resounded through the river bank along with the wind. The boat house on the shoal of the river had already been completely burned. Of course, there were also some collapsed wreckage, and the charred corpses of people were mixed among them. It was unknown how long they had been washed away.
"If the body of County Magistrate Gu is really in it, what's going on?"
"I reckon that County Magistrate Gu made a deal with the Yang Clan brothers here and was killed by the assassin."
There were a total of five constables. Three were ordinary constables and the other two were the chief and deputy constables. They were the official constables of the Jiangning Prefecture. The five of them searched around the wreckage for a while. In fact, they had already found some clues when they discovered it in the morning. They could roughly confirm that one of the corpses was Gu Yanzhen. They had predicted that it would rain again and rushed here. The constable in his thirties walked to the shore and searched for other clues nearby. After a while, the other deputy constable, who was slightly older and tall and skinny, also came over.
"Chief Chen, the rest of the people said that the female assassin was responsible for the death of the two servants of the Gu Clan. Now that she, Yang Yi and Yang Heng's family are dead here, it's easy to close the case."
The slightly taller and skinny deputy constable's surname was Xu. At this moment, the constable's surname was Chen. At this moment, he smiled and said, "The prefectural magistrate also hopes so."
They came today because of a murder that happened outside the city yesterday morning. Two servants of the Gu Clan were kidnapped and their corpses were thrown back. The person who appeared at the scene was the female assassin who assassinated Song Xian on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. At that time, the rest of the servants of the Gu Clan had watched the female assassin kill them. After that, the county magistrate, Gu Yanzhen, was also missing. Only then did everyone think that something had happened and expanded the investigation to this place.
Yang Yi and the Yang Heng brothers who lived here were notorious villains. They lived in a remote area and if they died, the local authorities basically wouldn't care and would probably only clap their hands in joy. However, it just so happened that Gu Yanzhen's case happened at this time. Some things had to be investigated. A county magistrate's death in the Jiangning region had to be explained to the higher-ups.
Yang Yi and the Yang Heng brothers had always been arrogant and domineering, but they were also extremely vicious. Not many people in the Jiangning region would easily provoke them. Now that he had investigated and found out that his entire family had been wiped out, only a powerhouse like that female assassin would be able to do such a thing. As for why Gu Yanzhen and his servant were here, the reason probably depended on whether the higher-ups wanted to discredit him or light him up. It didn't matter.
If such a case were to be discussed separately, the Jiangning prefectural magistrate would be under a lot of pressure whether the case could be solved or not. However, the female assassin was very powerful and used martial arts to break the law. Now that she had killed someone, she had already escaped the city. In any case, there was already Song Xian's case. Now that it was pushed to the higher-ups, it became an embellishment instead. In the afternoon, when everyone was analyzing the case, the prefectural magistrate had expressed his intention to merge the cases. He didn't want to be responsible for two disgusting cases, so it was better to merge them into one. From the looks of it, the logic was still accurate. Gu Yanzhen had hired someone to do some bad things and the female assassin ended up dying here with Yang Yi and Yang Heng's family. The female assassin was fierce and even killed two of Gu Yanzhen's servants to vent her anger.
"That's probably how we'll close the case."
Constable Chen smiled. As he spoke, the two of them walked along the riverbank. The deputy constable went to the side to look at the blood on the riverbank, which might have been the scene of the first murder. After a while, he turned around but couldn't find Constable Chen. He turned around and entered the bamboo forest, only to see Constable Chen 'sitting' there for some reason.
He didn't really sit down because there was no chair behind him. At this moment, this man with a calm appearance was sitting in a horse stance in the bamboo forest. He placed his hands on his knees and looked like he was sitting steadily. He just stood there, slightly tilting his head and looking at the wreckage of the house on the shoal in the distance with a bewildered expression. Deputy Constable Xu was about to walk over when he suddenly stretched out his hand. "Don't come over!"
"What's wrong?"
The sound of the wind blew across the riverbank. Constable Chen looked there for a long time before muttering, "This is … such a ruthless person …"
*****
His finger was still hurting after applying medicine, but it felt a lot better. It should be fine tomorrow. I can't be sure if it's still early in the morning, but it will be normal tomorrow. Please forgive me.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
