Chapter 41: The Black Abacus of the Good Baby

  “……”

  "Xiao Bi" was a bit stunned, she didn't know which link of her own had gone wrong, and was actually seen through by this guy who looked a bit silly.

  The spy who had been planted beside Xiaobi transferred all the intelligence to her hands, and she spent two days and nights forcing herself to become another Xiaobi in speech and manner, until the spy nodded and let her go.

  This disguise technique, looking at the entire Er Ye House, except for Mo Da Ge, no one can compare to her. Moreover, because she often wears a human skin mask and wanders around, very few people know her true appearance.

  Generally speaking, although she didn't learn it thoroughly, she had seven or eight parts similar to it, and she was still more than enough. In a big household, who would care about a small maid? To be cautious, she also served Cui Niang, during which there were no mistakes, and Cui Niang did not notice anything unusual.

  If that's the case, as long as she insists on her own, they won't be able to do anything to her. What she fears most right now is self-inflicted chaos, and thinking this way makes her even more determined. With Zhang Zuoyan here, their plan to go all out is immediately ruined, and for now, she can only adapt to the situation and take advantage of any opportunity to withdraw at once!

  She raised her head and smiled unnaturally: "The young master is joking, right? I've been following Aunt Cui for several years, who else could it be?"

  "What's going on with your hand?" Xun Qing asked, lifting her right hand.

  "Xiao Bi's fingers were slender and delicate, not like those of a young servant girl at all, but rather like those of a wealthy young lady who rarely ventured out. The tips of her fingers had a colorless nail polish applied, and the backs of her hands had a thin layer of calluses that weren't noticeable unless one looked closely. If one were to nitpick, this little servant girl took too much care in maintaining her hands."

  "What's wrong with my hand? My hand is fine!" 'Xiao Bi' said innocently.

  Xun Qing's words were indeed headless and tailless, even Zhang Zuo Yan didn't understand what he meant, let alone Cui Niang. As the atmosphere in the house became increasingly eerie, Old Lady struck her wooden cane on the ground and shouted: "Get up first, crying and wailing on the ground like a fool?!"

  "Xiao Bi" was startled and hastily got up, but unfortunately her feet were tangled in the hem of her clothes and she fell again. Unable to help it, Xun Qing had to bend down and lift up the little maid, but just then a gust of wind blew by and swept them backward.

  "Be careful!! Everyone hold your breath, quickly!!!” Zhang Zuoyan also saw clearly at that moment and helped Fang Xiaoling pull Xun Qing back.

  Bang!

  A large patch of white fog rose around 'Xiao Bi', quickly covering her figure.

  "I'm done playing with you guys, see you never hahahaha!!!!!!"

  The whistling sound of breaking through the air flashed by, and the cracking sound of breaking windows was all covered up in the loud voice of that little servant girl Zhang Kuang.

  It was the lingering sound that lingered, and when the blurred vision gradually recovered, the buzzing in his ears still didn't disperse. Xun Qing's condition was the worst, if it wasn't for Zhang Suoyan supporting him, he would have fallen down again.

  "This wench!!" The old lady was the first to react, angrily banging her cane. If she weren't so old and agile, she would have chased after her and given her a good whack.

  "Don't chase her anymore, she's not Xiao Bi after all." Xun Qing finally caught his breath and said.

  Zhang Zuoyan was somewhat curious, "Little brother is not talented, but only knows that she has a problem. Xun brother, how did you see through her?"

  "I bet two bucks she's the little girl I'm going to assassinate." Xun Qing had hung out with Zhang Zuoyan for a long time and had also picked up some of his bad habits.

  Zhang Zuoyan discontentedly hummed: "This is unfair, if she wasn't the one who assassinated you, my name would be written in reverse!"

  "Ah yo~~"

  Cui Niang gave each of them a slap on the face, raising an eyebrow and saying: "Qing Er, have you forgotten your pain now?! And you, Zuo Ye, aren't you getting old? If you continue to lead my Ming Ting astray like this, I'll have to tell Old Lady Fu that it's time for him to get married."

  Originally, Zhang Zuoyan was secretly laughing there, but unexpectedly Cui Niang turned the conversation around and included him as well, making him silently curse his bad luck.

  "Hmph..." Fang Xiaoling couldn't hold it in anymore. After finally seeing Zhang Zuoyan get embarrassed, she had to let herself have a good laugh.

  Xun Qing knew he was in the wrong, and his face turned red with a hint of embarrassment. He looked at Fang Xiao Ling who was still laughing uncontrollably, and his handsome face darkened even more. "You little fool, go back and pack your things!" he scolded in a low voice.

  Zhang Zuoyan's hearing was excellent, and he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his lips. He secretly handed him an elbow. When Xun Qing looked over impatiently, Zhang Zuoyan mischievously raised an eyebrow at him, until he stiffly turned his head, with a frozen expression on his face, and the tip of his ear turned a suspicious red. In fact, every time Xun Qing showed this look, Zhang Zuoyan had a strange sense of accomplishment.

  Cui Niang couldn't care less about the 'romantic glances' between them, but she was still quite concerned about what had just happened. "Qing Er, have you gotten yourself into some kind of trouble recently?"

  "Nope." Xun Qing had an innocent face, and in a way, he was indeed quite innocent.

  Zhang Zuoyan chimed in, "Xun brother has always been a magnet for bad luck. He's always the one people come to with troubles, he doesn't have the free time to go looking for trouble."

  Cui Niang furrowed her brow, thinking for half a day without an answer. She couldn't help but glance at Old Lady. The old lady's confusion was no less than hers, and the two of them fell silent for a moment, looking at each other.

  "How did you find out something was wrong?" Fang Xiaoling asked, leaning close to his ear.

  The ice-like face of Xing finally showed some cracks, and his ears felt even hotter. With Zhang Zhaoyan's gaze watching the excitement, he could only explain helplessly: "My mother is allergic to Fuso flowers, her maids will never carry such items, let alone women's cosmetics. Her fingertips were painted with medicine mixed with Fuso flower juice, I knew it as soon as I smelled it."

  "It's amazing you can still smell it, this house is so filled with the smell of medicine that my nose has gone numb." Zhang Zuoyan pretended to fan himself at the tip of his nose and walked over to the broken window, taking a deep breath.

  "I didn't notice it at first either, until I saw the red rash on my mother's hand and started to suspect."

  "Huh?" Cui Niang exclaimed, pulling up her sleeve. Sure enough, a dense cluster of red granules had appeared on her arm. She stared at it with wide eyes, momentarily forgetting that there was someone beside her.

  The old lady saw this, stamped her crutch and scolded in a low voice: "Cui Niang, pull up your sleeves!"

  Cui Niang only then realized that there was another outsider, Zhang Zuoyan, by her side and suddenly blushed.

  Zhang Zuoyan coughed lightly, and his gaze quickly moved away from Cui Niang's sleeve to Xun Qing's stiff face. Xun Qing shifted her body slightly, using an excellent angle to pinch Zhang Zuoyan's waist hard.

  "Ah......" Zhang Zuoyan wasn't blind, but Xun Qing had struck too quickly and too ruthlessly. He was in so much pain that tears were almost streaming down his face.

  "Zuo Yan, do you have anything else to say?" The old lady played with the agate beads on her wooden cane, her sharp eyes staring straight at the man in front of her who had a somewhat strange expression.

  “……”

  Xun brother, are you trying to use me as a live target this time...

  Zhang Zuoyan's heart was wailing, but no one paid attention to him, especially the innocent-looking little darling beside him. He let out a long sigh and said seriously, "Assassins are hiding among the servants, and they have deceived many people's eyes. This is an absurd and dangerous situation. This incident did not happen overnight. The timing, location, and human factors all came together, which shows that the person behind the scenes has put in a lot of effort. The top priority now is to thoroughly investigate the Xuan Fu, and everyone and everything related to 'Xiao Bi' must be investigated without exception."

  The old lady nodded after a moment of contemplation and said: "What Zao Yan said is right. This matter will be handed over to..."

  "Let's leave this matter to Sun Er." Xun Qing rarely took the initiative, and couldn't help but make Cui Niang and others look at him a few more times. "These people want to take Sun Er's life, so Sun Er naturally can't ignore it. Besides, I've been reading books for days and my head is spinning, it won't hurt to change my mind, maybe the effect will be better."

  "Then you handle this matter." The old lady slowly got up from her chair, leaning on a wooden cane, and the shaky appearance made people quite worried. "I'm old and can't compare to your young generation's vigor."

  Xun Qing hurriedly went to support her, but was pushed away by her single hand. "You all go ahead and busy yourselves, I'll head back to rest first. Ah Jing, help me back."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  The maid who had been waiting outside for a long time responded with a sound, her lotus steps moved lightly, and she bowed her head and entered the door. The old lady gently placed her hand on the maid's hand and slowly walked out.

  "Qing'er, remember that you are the young master of Xunfu. Let your new tutor teach you etiquette and rules when he has time." The old lady didn't forget to give another warning before she left.

  Xun Qing bowed his head in response, his face filled with helplessness. It wasn't until Old Lady Zhang walked far away that he stood up and shook off the dust from the hem of his robe. Cui Niang suddenly remembered there were still some things she hadn't taken care of, so she bid farewell and left as well. The room was now left with only Xun Qing, Zhang Suo Yan, and Fang Xiao Ling, who had been quietly standing by like a transparent wall.

  Zhang Zuoyan raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying Xun Qing's story: "What are you scheming?"

  In the absence of others, Xun Qing relaxed a lot more. He smiled and didn't answer directly: "Guess? By the way, with your incredible abilities, I'm sure Da Li Temple will welcome you warmly."

  "Are you praising me or mocking me?! The abbot of the temple and my family's old master are completely incompatible, I can't even hide. As the saying goes, 'when gods fight, the fish in the pond suffer', I still want to live a few more days." Zhang Sao Yan said while rubbing his arm, which didn't have any goosebumps, with an expression of avoidance and disgust.

  "What a pity." Xun Qing continued to innocently step on his sore spot, "I heard that Miss Lei has fallen in love with you at first sight~"

  "There are many girls who have fallen in love with me at first sight." Zhang Zuoyan rolled her eyes and said in a bad tone. But then she reacted and stiffly turned her head to Xun Qing, "Wait, which Lei girl did you say?!"