Yu Shu opened her eyes, covered her forehead, and groaned. She was drunk in the middle of the day. She didn't expect that the strong liquor of ancient times would have such a strong aftereffect.
"Sis, you're awake." Yu Xiaoxiu was sitting at the table reading a book. When he heard the noise, he turned to look at the bed.
"Oh …" Yu Shu rubbed the back of her neck and sat up. Her voice was hoarse as she said, "What time is it?" "It's just past seven o 'clock. Are you hungry? I'll go get you some sweet soup. "
"Don't. Get me a glass of water." Yu Shu's throat was sticky. She just wanted to drink water.
"Oh …" Yu Xiaoxiu brought the glass of water to the bed and sat down next to Yu Shu. He looked at her without blinking and hid a smile.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yu Shu wiped her mouth and lay back against the headboard.
"You don't remember?" Yu Shu's eyelids twitched. Some scenes flashed in her mind. Her face turned red, but she pretended to be ignorant and said, "Remember what?"
Yu Xiaoxiu tried to stifle her laughter. "You came back drunk in the afternoon and forced Brother Jing to teach you how to draw. He can't speak, so how could he teach you? You took ink and scribbled on his clothes until they were completely black. Then, you grabbed his sleeve and refused to let go. Brother Jing couldn't do anything to you, so he had to take off his coat and give it to you. Only then did you let him go." "Ahem, is that so?" Yu Shu coughed and gave the empty glass to Yu Xiaoxiu to cover up her embarrassment. "Go to the kitchen and get me a bowl of soup." She was not a drunkard. Of course, she remembered what happened during the day. She drank two more glasses with Xia Mingming. When she came back, she saw Jing Chen drawing. She pestered him to draw one for her. As a result, Jing Chen's drawing looked good, so she crazily asked him to teach her. She also scribbled on his clothes. Jing Chen was easy to bully and let her mess with him.
Yu Shu pinched her nose in frustration. She lifted the quilt and got out of bed. She put on her clothes and wanted to apologize to Jing Chen. But when she reached the door, she gave up.
Forget it. She should pretend that she didn't remember such a shameful thing. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to lift her head in front of Jing Chen for two or three days.
Yu Xiaoxiu came back from the kitchen with soup. When he saw that Yu Shu's complexion was slightly better, he tried his best to put on a serious face and scolded her: "Sister, I don't want to nag you. You are a young lady. How can you get drunk in broad daylight? Don't do this again next time."
Yu Shu saw that he was pretending to be mature and found it funny. She didn't expose him and nodded her head obediently: "I know. It doesn't matter if I do it once in a while. Don't do it again."
Yesterday, she was drunk, but the next day, she woke up in good spirits. In order to avoid meeting Jing Chen at breakfast, Yu Shu got up early and went out.
When she arrived at Autumn Osmanthus Lane, it was still early and there weren't many people on the street. Yu Shu set up her divination stall and took out a book from the drawer to read. She accidentally flipped to a page and a note floated down beside her feet. She picked it up and saw that the date of birth was complete. She recalled that it was written by Xia Mingming yesterday. It was Xia Jiangying's date of birth.
There were no customers around, so Yu Shu took out a pen and paper and compared the note to calculate the time of disaster.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Yu Shu made a "tsk" sound. She looked at the last few numbers listed on the paper and bit the pen with uncertainty. She tore a clean piece of paper in her hand and calculated again. The result was the same as before. It meant that her calculation was correct. Xia Jiangying's disaster today was a bloody disaster.
"Is it today?"
Since she knew that it was the time of disaster, Yu Shu thought about it and felt that it was better to go find Xia Mingming. Thus, she put away the divination stall and temporarily left it at Sun Ji Tavern. She went to the crossroad and rented a carriage to the north of the city.
When she found the street of Taishi Shuyuan, before she even reached the door, she realized that today was different. From afar, she could see that there were many people gathered on the street in front of the shuyuan. There were carriages and horses. When she got closer, she was shocked to see that there were guards with sabers on their waists in front of the two small yellow doors.
Yu Shu had seen officers wearing the same uniform when she was gambling at Spring Fragrance Brothel. Thus, she knew that they were from the same yamen. She felt that something was wrong and went forward to ask.
There were many people who came out from the teahouses and restaurants to watch the show. Yu Shu randomly picked one and curiously pointed to the shuyuan and asked, "Brother, what happened inside? Why are there officers here? " "Shh." The man covered his mouth with one hand and whispered to Yu Shu, "It is said that there was a murder case last night."
Yu Shu's eyelids twitched. She also lowered her voice and said in disbelief, "Really?" The man pursed his lips and gestured to Yu Shu to look at the officers guarding the gate, "Didn't you see that the Supreme Court has sent people here? If it wasn't a murder case, how could they be alarmed?"
Yu Shu took a deep breath. Suddenly, an ominous premonition rose in her heart. She was afraid that the person who met with an accident was Xia Mingming's fourth sister. But it clearly didn't rain last night. Could it be someone else?
Fengyuan Tavern was just ahead, so Yu Shu decided to go find Xia Mingming first. Not long after she left, two sedan chairs stopped in front of the shuyuan's gate. Someone came forward to open the curtains. Two people came down from the sedan chairs. Their faces were dignified. They were dressed in thick official robes and wore a black veil on their heads. One was a young man and the other was a middle-aged man.
"Chu daren, Bi daren."
Xue Rui nodded to the guards at the gate and gestured to the Supreme Court official, Chu Yufang, to go first. The two of them entered the Grand Historian's Library. Passing through the flower garden corridors, they went directly to the women's guesthouse by the lake.
Once they entered the garden, a servant came forward to report. Xue Rui and Chu Yufang listened and their expressions became more serious. They asked a few more questions and allowed the servant to lead them to the east row of rooms.
The location of the crime was the second room in the east. Xue Rui and Chu Yufang went in to take a look. The murdered corpse was still resting on the bed, not moving an inch. The smell of blood made the two of them frown. They stepped forward and lifted the white cloth to take a look. However, when they saw the tragic scene, they both averted their eyes.
Chu Yufang stayed in the room to take a look. Xue Rui retreated and stood at the door to take a look. Not far away, he saw the back of a female student sitting with her head lowered. He frowned and asked the servant beside him, "Who is that person? Didn't I order you to gather the people in the women's guesthouse elsewhere? Why is there someone else?"
"Reporting to daren, that young lady was the first person to find the corpse. This subordinate thought that Sarito would have something to ask, so I asked her to stay."
Xue Rui nodded and did not blame him. He walked forward alone, intending to ask the female student.
"This young lady."
Xue Rui stopped a few steps away from the female student and greeted her politely. When he saw her turn around to reveal a slightly pale face, his eyes couldn't help but light up. He'd wandered the world for a long time, and he'd seen all sorts of women, but it was rare to see a beauty like the one before him.
It was not to say that she was beautiful, but that her eyes were like the stars and the moon. They were really moving.
Xue Rui put away his momentary amazement and combed his expression. He was about to inquire about official business when he saw the female student's surprised expression when she saw him. She stood up and greeted, "Young Master Xue, I trust you've been well since we last met." Xue Rui heard her tone and asked suspiciously, "You recognize me?"
The other party lowered her head and said softly, "Mr Xue, people of high status tend to forget things. We met once in Yiyang City." After hearing her words, how could Xue Rui not remember her? "You are Miss Ji?"
So it was the Ji family's Ji Xingxuan. A few months ago, he met her once in Yiyang City. But at that time, she was wearing a veil and he had other thoughts in his mind, so he did not look at her carefully. He did not expect to meet her here today.
"Yes, it is my daughter." Ji Xingxuan raised her head and smiled weakly at him. Then, a wave of dizziness hit her and she lost her balance, causing her to fall forward.
Seeing this, Xue Rui strode forward and supported her arm with one hand. After she stabilized herself, he let go of her slender arm and said, "Sorry for offending you."
Ji Xingxuan held her forehead and shook her head. "Thank you." …
Xue Rui observed her haggard complexion and recalled the bloody scene of the corpses he saw in the room just now. He immediately understood what was going on, so he pointed to the hall next to him and said, "Let's go inside and have a seat first."
Yu Shu went to Fengyuan Inn and asked the innkeeper downstairs. She found Xia Mingming's room on the second floor and knocked on the door for a long time before she answered, "Who is it?"
"It's me."
"Ashu?" Xia Mingming opened the door and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She yawned and said, "How did you find your way here?"
Yu Shu saw that she had just woken up and thought that she still didn't know what had happened in Taishi Library. She pushed her into the room and urged, "Quickly change your clothes and go out with me. Something happened in Taishi Library."
"Ah?" Xia Mingming woke up instantly and grabbed Yu Shu in a panic. "What happened?" "I don't know yet, but I heard that it was a murder."
Xia Mingming's heart skipped a beat. She shook her head and said to herself, "It can't be my fourth sister. It didn't rain last night, and we had dinner together in the evening. She promised to take me to Taishi Library today." Although she was comforting her, her expression was in a mess. Yu Shu pulled the clothes at the end of the bed and put them on her. She comforted her, "Don't panic. We'll know when we go there.
Xia Mingming calmed down a little and quickly put on her clothes. She left the inn with Yu Shu and hurried to the door of Taishi Library. They wanted to enter but were stopped by the guards. "Stop. It's forbidden for people to enter or leave here."
Xia Mingming said, "I'm here to look for someone. My sister is studying here. Brother, please make an exception and let me in."
The guards of the Supreme Court were very strict. No matter how Xia Mingming begged, they shook their heads. "Wait. You can't enter now."
Xia Mingming looked at Yu Shu for help. The latter hesitated and stepped forward. She cupped her hands and whispered, "Can I trouble you to go in and help us find someone? It's the daughter of the Xia family, Xia Jiangying." When the guards heard this, their expressions changed. They looked at each other. The one on the left asked Xia Mingming, "Who are you to Xia Jiangying?" "I'm her sister." Xia Mingming didn't care that she was dressed as a man and blurted out.
The two guards in front of the door whispered to each other. The one on the left nodded to Xia Mingming. "Come with me."
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