Murder and Silence in Spring Mansion 033

  Ling Chao's eyes sank slightly, "Prince Rui must get better as soon as possible, otherwise, the two Dukes Wei and Xun will become more and more arrogant."

  "There is also a group of old and noble Tujia ministers who served my grandfather, I'm not afraid." Ning Yifei said, "My elder brother said that he can volunteer to follow Ling Feng into battle, he and Ling Feng will join forces, what's there to fear about the barbarian Chanyu?"

  "Absolutely not!" Ling Chao and Ling Feng exclaimed in unison.

  "The 50,000 Imperial Guards under Ning Yihong's command are an important guarantee of the stability of the imperial court. Most of the generals of the Imperial Guards are from the Ning family, and once your elder brother leaves, the army will definitely become unstable. If something happens within the imperial court, it will be difficult to control."

  Ling Feng finished the tea cup, drank it all in one gulp, swung his arm boldly and patted Ning Yifei's shoulder heavily. "Don't worry, I can intimidate the countries of Turpan, Gaochang, and Wuqi on the west side, and make the Turks fear me! Not to mention my two uncles are stationed there, both are invincible old generals, what do you have to worry about?"

  Ling Chao nodded his head, "With you three uncles and nephews guarding the border, I naturally have no worries."

  A figure walked out of the garden gate, Ling Feng looked up and saw that it was Cao Tianjian.

  Cao Tianjian quickly arrived in front of them and saluted, "Your subordinate has seen the Crown Prince, the Young Master, and the Ning Gongzi."

  Ling Chao Hua looked up and asked, "Lord Cao, have you made any progress in investigating the military supplies issue?"

  Cao Tianjian bowed his head, "Last time the Crown Prince went to investigate secretly, he had already found some clues. Unfortunately, His Majesty urgently summoned him back to Shengjing to discuss the war in the north. This time I went, possibly because the target was too big, and no direct evidence was found, further investigation is needed."

  Linghuang looked at Ning Yifei and said, "Yifei's paternal grandmother is in Yu State's Jinjiang County. It's time for Yifei to go back and visit the elderly."

  Ning Yifei raised an eyebrow, "Right, I'm preparing to return to my maternal grandmother's house for a visit. Coincidentally, her birthday is approaching and my mother has been mentioning that she wants to bring her back to the capital to celebrate."

  Ling Feng and Ling Chao Hua exchanged a smile.

  The two eldest grandsons of the Ning family are famous among the noble sons in the capital for their literary and military talents. The elder, Ning Yihong, is the grandson of the Duke of Rong, who won the title of Wu Shuangyuan at the age of 15 and is now an 18-year-old Huangmenlang General of the Imperial Guard, commanding 50,000 troops. Ning Yifei is different from his elder brother, disliking officialdom, superficially elegant and skilled in socializing, with a keen sense of news, but actually very cunning, known as the versatile and charming young master. He would be more suitable than Cao Tianjian to investigate matters.

  "Rations are a big deal, absolutely cannot have any more problems." Ling Chao Hua said in a deep voice.

  Ling Feng's expression turned serious and she frowned, "Exactly."

  After Ling Chao and Ning Yi Fei walked far away, Ling Feng invited Cao Tian Jian to sit down and drink tea, asking, "How has she been lately?"

  "The Qin estate is still quiet, the fourth miss and her family have started to take care of their business." Cao Tianjian thought for a moment and said, "A fellow townsman of mine happens to be doing silk weaving in Yuhang, I heard that the fourth miss's silk shop has found him."

  "Oh? Has it been decided?" Ling Feng heard this and was very interested.

  "The subordinate did not ask much."

  Ling Feng thought for a moment, "Isn't the Minister of Revenue your cousin? You go tell him to ask his fellow townsman who does embroidery to help her out."

  Cao Tianjian smiled, "Alright, no big deal."

  Ling Feng held the bamboo tube, imagining her delicate figure intently carving the bamboo tube, and couldn't help but smile. Who would have thought that this cunning and fierce person also had such a delicate side?

  He can't wait to see what other tricks the little girl who knocks on doors with a coffin has up her sleeve.

  Chen Huan, Zhou Zhengyu and Lu Zhanggui's three pairs of big eyes stared at the fat-headed, big-eared, small-eyed man opposite them.

  "Mr. Feng, you mean to put the silk fabrics in our store for free and settle the account at the end of the year? If they don't sell, can we exchange them for new patterns?" Mr. Lu repeated hastily, fearing he had misunderstood.

  In the spring morning, there is a slight coolness flowing in the air.

  The stout and big-eared silk merchant, Feng the shopkeeper, wiped away a tense sweat, "Yes, not only that, I'll take half of the original price. Does Fourth Miss find it satisfactory?" He looked at the 8-year-old little maid with hopeful eyes, just like he was looking at his rice bowl owner with such tenderness.

  Lu Zhuangui and Zhou Zhengyu suddenly looked at Chen Huan.

  Chen Huan's face was bewildered, Lu Zhuangui and Zhou Zhengyu were both there, why did he only ask himself? He didn't even know him.

  "Why?" Chen Huan furrowed his brow, this was such a strange thing, there might be some trickery involved.

  Feng Zhanggui quickly rolled his eyes and said, "You're still not convinced even though it's cheap?"

  He immediately revealed a sincere smile and said, "I want to open up sales in Yuhang, you sell well, it will naturally be spread out, right? The three of you don't have to ask anymore, I still have to hurry up and prepare goods for you, this year's Shengjing silk new flower color is particularly good to buy, if I go back late, the partner will finish all the goods, that would be troublesome."

  Is the white sent more anxious than the white obtained?

  Chen Huan's eyes rolled around and he said, "Brother Zhou, go with Boss Feng to pick out some fabrics."

  Zhou Zhengyu also had this intention, personally went to check his warehouse, just in case there was a problem, he could find someone to ask.

  Chen Huan watched them leave, scratching his head in confusion. "Lu Shu, what's going on with him?"

  Lu Zhuangui was also confused, "Maybe he's telling the truth, anyway we didn't give him any money, and selling cloth won't cause any trouble, let's just take a look first."

  He nodded his head in agreement, "That's right, but we must be careful."

  Zhou Zhengyu immediately got on the horse cart and tried to get close to Feng Zhanggui, insisting on inviting him to eat at the best restaurant in Yuhang. Feng Zhanggui couldn't refuse, not only did he go, but also got drunk.

  After three rounds of drinks, Zhou Zhengyu saw that Feng was in a better mood and asked, "I think your business in Yuhang is already quite good, so why are you giving our small store such a favorable deal? Mr. Feng, look, I'm also just a poor laborer, don't dig a hole for me to jump into. I have elderly parents above me and a pregnant wife below me, my whole family relies on me for food."

  Feng Zhanggui let out a loud snort, gave him a white eye, "Are you kidding me? I dare to dig a hole for the fourth miss of the Qin family to jump in? The Minister of Revenue personally instructed me to take care of the fourth miss's business. Do I dare not give face? When the time comes, they will deduct my taxes and seal off my two shops. What I lose is absolutely more than that amount of money. If things go wrong, all the businesses in Jiangnan will be ruined."

  Zhou Zhengyu's eyes widened, "The Deputy Minister of Revenue? Why is he helping our young lady?"

  "I don't know, maybe Old Master Qin is about to become an official, so let's give him some face and make friends with him later." Boss Feng was a businessman who traveled all over the place, so he knew a thing or two about officialdom. Besides, the Qin family was one of the big households in Yuhang, so it was worth making connections with them, but his information was limited, and that's all he could gather.

  Zhou Zhengyu returned to tell Chen Huan, but she wouldn't believe it. Even if Qin Songtao was a rare young champion, there were many champions, and no one dared to say how his future would be. Would the pragmatic faction of the Ministry of Revenue give him face?

  When she got home and told him what had happened, Qin Wan tilted her head and said, "Since he knew Xing Huan, it's likely that Ning Da Gongzi was secretly helping."

  Is it Ning Yihong again?

  He even knows clearly about his own business?

  Why?

  Deeply grieved and puzzled, unable to find a solution.

  Xin Yue pushed open the curtain and entered, "Xiao An has something to report."

  "Ask him to come in."

  Xiao An's face was bright red, panting, "Young master, young lady, something has happened..."

  "Speak slowly." Qin Yu looked at him.

  Xiao An glanced outside the door and saw that Xinyue had clearly put up the door curtain and was standing guard outside.

  Xiao An lowered his voice and said, "Fei Dao died."

  "Ah!" Qin Yu and Qin Wan exclaimed in unison.

  She should have thought of it, unfortunately she was too slow.

  "How do you say 'prefectural government'?"

  "He was found in a river outside the city, and it's said that he drowned, after which nothing more was heard."

  "This is terrible! Then how can we investigate the cause of Father's and Mother's death?" Qin Yu anxiously asked.

  Fei Dao's case, Chen Huan didn't reveal anything. The murderer must have been unaware that they had targeted Fei Dao, and only because she was searching for clues in the Qin Mansion did they kill her to silence her. Although the trail seems to be broken, as long as the murderer makes a move, they will definitely leave behind some clues.

  "Xiao An, hurry up and find out where his son is. If he doesn't have any other family members, let Zheng Yu brother take him to the farm to find a reliable person to adopt him. If someone takes him away, investigate clearly where they went. However, don't let anyone know."

  Xiao An was taken aback for a moment, then nodded his head, "Alright, I'll go right away."

  "Huan'er, are you trying to help Fei Dao Bao raise his son?" Qin Yu's face was unpleasant.

  "His son might know something." Qin Wan said, looking at Chen Huan who was quiet.

  Qin Yu suddenly enlightened.

  The three of them anxiously waited for a while, and Xiao Anzi ran back with sweat all over his body.

  "The person has been taken into the village, but is running a fever."

  The worried heart finally put down, "Xin Yue quickly handed a towel to Xiao An and brought some snacks."

  Xiao An wiped her face, "Don't worry, miss, no one saw me. I climbed in through the window at the back of Fei Dao's house. The child was burning with fever and seemed to be hallucinating, probably no one wanted to bother with him. Brother Zheng Yu and I quietly carried him out of the window and even invited a doctor to take a look, nothing serious."

  "Well done." Shen Huanzhen praised.

  "Let's go and take a look." Qin Yu said hastily.

  "No way, it's already risky enough bringing him to the village, let's wait until things calm down for a while." Shen Huan shook his head.

  Qin Wan drew closer to Qin Yu, "Brother, I'm a little scared."

  Qin Yu held her hand tightly and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

  Chen Huan looked up and glanced at her sister and brother, feeling sorry for them. As the young master and miss of a wealthy family, they had never experienced such frights before. In her previous life, she had disguised herself as a man to transport corpses in order to fill her belly, and had even snuck into graveyards at night to steal offerings, experiencing things that ordinary people couldn't imagine.

  Fear, in her case, has long been a non-existent word.

  The sky has darkened and it's started drizzling outside with a patter of raindrops.

  The spring rain in Jiangnan is beautiful and mysterious.

  Chen Huan held up a paper umbrella painted with a jade orchid and wandered around Dan Gui Yuan.

  The sky was gray and hazy, but the rain washed the originally gray courtyard, making it even cleaner and more transparent.

  Droplets of rain fall into the artificial stream surrounding the corridor, drawing endless circles on the water's surface, as if telling a story that belongs to this place.

  Chen Huan always felt that this small courtyard had a kind of inexplicable eerie chill.

  After circling around, I finally walked onto the stone path leading to the backyard filled with Osmanthus trees.

  The gate of the backyard was peeling off its paint, which made it look like the most neglected place in Dan Gui Yuan. However, the leaves on the Osmanthus trees inside the yard were even greener, and the rain brought out bursts of fragrance from the flowers, invigorating one's spirit with their scent.

  Ouch...

  She pushed open the wooden door.

  Small clusters of light yellow flowers were gently laid on the ground by the rain, floating and sprinkling on the clear gray stone slabs, but also because of withering, set off the tranquility. Unfortunately, weeds covered the path, covering many, many things.

  The surroundings were quiet and soundless, even the rain seemed to have lightened a lot.

  Her eyes paused for a moment.

  At the end of the bluestone path overgrown with weeds, in the deepest part of the garden, a wisp of blue smoke drifted lazily.

  Someone is burning incense!

  Digression

  This chapter is so fat...

  Dear ones, thank you for leaving messages for Duodu. I'm deeply grateful. No more words, just hard work on writing code and creating a good story to dedicate to everyone.

  Degree degree can't get the third day full look at relatives, tomorrow will be pushed down. Liked sisters hurry up and jump into the bowl, otherwise, can't find happiness.

  9:55 Second update is online.