Chapter 40 Interrogation

  The old lady's face was a bit stiff. She patted the little maid on the back, helping her to calm down, and then took out the silk handkerchief she carried with her and carefully wiped her hands before stopping.

  "Xiao Bi" coldly smiled, but her body still maintained the arched posture, continuously trembling.

  "You just speak out. If there's any grievance, I won't blame you." The old lady had no choice but to soften her tone.

  "Xiao Bi" sobbed for a while, then lifted up her tear-stained face and said softly: "That day, I went to call Young Master. Unexpectedly, I saw a young maid about my age talking to him. I was waiting on the side, when suddenly that young maid suddenly pulled out a dagger from her waist and stabbed towards Young Master. I was so scared that I cried out, and that maid saw me, and...and..."

  "All right, I know," said the old lady in a warm voice. "This is not your fault, just take good care of your injury here."

  "Thank you, thank you old lady." She secretly smiled to herself, not expecting the old man to be so easy to fool, which would save her a lot of trouble from now on.

  Now I just hope Mo Da Ge won't blame her for taking good care of him without his knowledge.

  "Knock knock---" Suddenly, a knocking sound came from outside the door. She narrowed her eyes and scanned around cautiously before lowering her head again to play the weak woman.

  "Come in." The old lady said with some surprise.

  A maid came forward with a respectful bow, her footsteps slow and deliberate. When she was still over a foot away from the elderly lady, she stopped in her tracks and said softly, "Milady, the mistress and young master request an audience."

  "Let them in."

  "Yes."

  "Grandma, this is..." Xun Qing had already taken big strides into the room and was immediately overwhelmed by the thick smell of medicine, causing him to sneeze.

  The old lady's sharp eyes finally had a hint of softness, but her tone was still somewhat reproachful. "Qing'er, your wound hasn't healed yet, how can you run out and catch the wind? Cui Niang, you're not paying attention to him either!"

  Cui Niang scolded her own precious son, saying: "This skin kid, who can control him?! He's just able to get out of bed and he's already jumping around everywhere."

  Xun Qing rubbed his nose and chuckled, making even Old Lady unable to continue scolding him.

  It's only at this moment that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law can put aside their differences, because they both have a common child to protect.

  "How much of yesterday's events do you still remember?" The same question, but this time it was asked by his grandson.

  Xu Qing furrowed his brow and replied, "I'm not very clear about it either. All I remember is that a maid-like woman suddenly bumped into me, then she suddenly pulled out a dagger and stabbed me in the abdomen, and then..."

  Cui Niang saw the situation and quickly helped him rub his brow, comforting him: "If you can't remember, then don't think about it. That woman was extremely vicious, she fed him a strong hallucinogenic drug on the knife tip, not being able to remember is normal. Buddha bless you, you're safe and sound..." Her murmuring voice grew softer and softer, Xun Qing lowered his head to look at her, and she had actually started sobbing quietly.

  "Mother, I'm fine, I really am. Look, my body is sturdy!" Xun Qing was a bit flustered and desperately winked at Cui Niang.

  Cui Niang wanted to smile, but her lips only curled up halfway and couldn't curve any further. She pretended to hit Xun Qing lightly and scolded in a low voice: "You naughty child!"

  This side is lively and affectionate, but for 'Xiao Bi', it's a kind of torture. The old lady's sharp eyes have never left her, isn't she starting to suspect something now?!

  "Qing'er, have you seen this child before?" The old lady remained silent for a long time before finally speaking up.

  Xun Qing's gaze fell on her, and after circling around twice, he furrowed his brow: "Isn't this the little maid by Mother's side?"

  "She was also injured by that assassin, just like you."

  Xiao Bi hastily bowed her hands towards Xun Qing and said in a soft voice: "I, Xiao Bi, pay my respects to the young master."

  "This girl is much more well-behaved when she sees you than when she sees me." The old lady said with a smile, but it was hard to tell whether she was being sincere or not.

  "Xiao Bi" secretly cursed "This old thing!!", but still maintained a weak and gentle appearance on the surface.

  As expected, Xun Qing couldn't bear it anymore. He hastily went over and supported her with his arm, saying: "You'd better just rest honestly in bed."

  "Qing'er, did you see the assassin's face?"

  "She looks like she has a few similarities with Xiaobi." Xun Qing pondered for half a moment, his gaze lingering on 'Xiaobi' for a long time before finally speaking up.

  This remark scared 'Xiao Bi' into a cold sweat, what you see is actually me, good or not? Are these few similarities going to drive me crazy?!

  However, she kept her head down and was standing in a position that only showed her back. I didn't get to see her face at all.

  "Ah~~" You're speaking with such a big gasp, are you trying to scare me to death?! It's said that way, but 'Xiao Bi' this time is completely relaxed. As long as she insists that the assassin discovered her when injuring Xun Qing, she can safely get away with it. Then, after the wind dies down, throw Xiao Bi's corpse into the well and calculate the timing to thoroughly cover up this broken matter. By then, no matter how they investigate, there will only be the conclusion 'Xiao Bi was killed to silence her', while the Two Instruments Department never appeared at all.

  "Wow, it's quite lively here! Brother Xun, you're so energetic. Look at me, I'm almost exhausted, don't I deserve some compensation?"

  No need to think, such a familiar tone must come from the mouth of some hypocrite.

  Xiang didn't think much and suddenly threw a punch at his shoulder: "You're not indulging in your beauties, what are you doing here?"

  "Cough..." Zhang Zuoyan helplessly rolled his eyes and nodded towards his own back.

  "Ling..." Just as Qing was about to call out to her, he swallowed the name back down. Then, with a swift motion, he grabbed Zhang Zaoyan's collar and gritted his teeth, whispering menacingly in his ear: "What did you bring her here for? Don't you think it's chaotic enough already?"

  “……”

  "Qing er..." Cui Niang warned him with a glance, hinting that he should not make trouble here, lest they lose face in front of the servants.

  The small hand was also the one that had placed her hand on Zhang Zhaoyan's collar, with bulging blue veins, and gently pressed it down, shaking her head slowly at Xun Qing.

  "Don't mind me, I just came to see if you're dead or not." Zhang Zuoyan shrugged, still sharp-tongued. "By the way, I'm also quite curious about what happened here?"

  The key point is that sentence afterwards... Xun Qing stared at his friend with a black line on his head, and abruptly turned his head to one side, obviously not wanting to pay attention to him.

  "Auntie, Auntie, okay~~" Zhang Zuoyan obviously didn't want to let him off the hook, the smile on his face growing thicker and more intense. "And who is this young lady...?"

  "She was also injured by assassins like Xun Qing." The old lady still liked Zhang Zuoyan very much, and smiled warmly.

  "Is it before or after?"

  "Xiao Bi" couldn't bear it anymore, this person she had seen before, in Yingying's boudoir. This was going to be a bad situation, tsk... She habitually went to bite her fingernails, but when her left hand lifted halfway, it pulled on the injured part of her right hand. A sharp pain came over her, and suddenly she felt an urge to just pretend to faint. She slightly raised her head, and in one glance, she looked into that man's eyes full of playful meaning, and her heart skipped a beat.

  It was after that. The slave girl couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise and was discovered by the assassin. Then...

  Zhang Zuoyan opened his mouth and smiled: "Then you really are lucky, the assassin injured you and ran away, and didn't even silence you."

  "It's possible that the slave was startled and accidentally broke this matter, and in a moment of panic, she stabbed the slave." She was going crazy, this man was stubbornly refusing to let go, what did he want to do.

  "For a moment, he was flustered... Hmph! Zhang Zuoyan's expression changed in an instant, and he shouted sternly, 'You dare to deceive me with your glib tongue!!'"

  "Xiao Bi" was startled, originally already nervous in her heart, now even more flustered. She hastily got up from the bed, wanting to make a courtesy. Who would have thought that her feet were tangled in the bedding, and with one trip, she almost rolled off the side of the bed.

  The old lady frowned, looking at Zhang Zaoyan, Cui Niang looked around, not knowing what to say. Xun Qing stared blankly at the tip of the little maid's finger, somewhat distracted.

  For a moment, the atmosphere in the room solidified.

  Zhang Zuoyan walked slowly to the front of the maid who had fallen to the ground, his eyes cast down, cold and unyielding. "The once-majestic Su Manor may have declined, but there should still be someone following this young master. You say that the assassin disguised themselves as a small maid to get close to him, but Su Qing is not an idiot, he wouldn't casually approach strangers, let alone masked people. The assassin must be someone familiar. And since you saw her commit the crime, she had no reason not to kill you to silence you... and..." He bent down and picked up her right hand, "I still don't understand why she injured your right hand, can you explain in detail?"

  Although Zhang Zuoyan was smiling, her smile was very gentle, but she still felt a chill to the bone. She wanted to withdraw her hand, but the old lady was staring at her from the side, and being timid at this time was absolutely impossible, she wasn't stupid enough to incriminate herself.

  Zhang Zuoyan wasn't finished yet, he was enjoying this cat-and-mouse game. "Xun Qing's injury is on his left hand, if I'm not mistaken, you're also left-handed."

  "What the adults mean is that the slave is actually the assassin who cried 'stop thief'?" Xia Bi couldn't bear it anymore, if this continued, she would eventually be exposed.

  Xun Qing took a step forward, grabbed Zhang Zuoyan's sleeve and pulled him back. Zhang Zuoyan was taken aback, but gave face by taking a step back, saying: "Brother Xun has something to ask, I dare not disobey."

  Xun Qing was still staring blankly at her right hand, and after a moment, he withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and asked abruptly: "Miss, who are you exactly?"

  (Like it? Collect it, those with tickets can throw them over, I'm not afraid of being crushed. Do you know who I am? I am myself, I am diligent typing king, Ah Piao~~~~ Come guess how the secret was discovered, there are many clues in the text, if more than two dear babies answer correctly, I will add even more, haha~~~)