Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 207: Spreading falsehoods
Yuejin suddenly came to Yongchunyuan, holding a stack of drawing paper in his hand, and spoke to Yan Ciwan and others.

"I am here on the orders of the Grand Chamberlain to make a shoe print for you."

Yan Ci Wan and Xiao Wang left shoe prints on the paper one after another. Yue Jin carefully compared their shoe prints with the half shoe print found at the base of the study wall and found that they were inconsistent.

The suspicion of the two was reduced a little. Yuejin was about to leave with the drawing paper, but he saw Xiao Wang staring at the half footprint on the drawing paper in a trance.

Yue Jin couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Liulang seems to be very interested in this shoe print?"

Xiao Wang retracted his gaze, his expression not changing much, and he responded calmly: "I am trying to recall whether I have seen this shoe print before."

Yuejin asked: "Have you ever seen it?"

Xiao Wang shook his head: "No."

Yuejin was not too disappointed. He put away the drawing paper and reminded: "If you have seen this shoe print somewhere else, you must tell us in time. This is very important for finding the murderer."

"That's for sure!" Yan Ciwan agreed immediately. She rolled her eyes and asked curiously, "Have you compared other people's shoe prints as well?"

Because the comparison results of Yan Ciwan and Xiao Wang have come out, confirming that the two are not the owners of the shoe prints, so Yue Jin did not hide it and answered truthfully: "We have compared the shoe prints of Xie Li, Xie Chusong, and Liu Qingguang, and they are all inconsistent with this half shoe print. In addition, we have also compared all the servants close to them, but still found nothing."

"Is this really the case? There were shoe prints left at the scene, but we can't find the owner of the shoe prints. Could it be that the rumors are true..."

Yuejin's expression became serious, and he asked, "What rumor?"

Yan Ciwan leaned over and lowered his voice, saying mysteriously, "I heard that the governor's mansion is haunted, and many people have seen a white ghost with their own eyes. Maybe this half shoe print was left by the ghost."

Yue Jin shouted, "Nonsense! Ghosts don't even need to walk with their feet, so how could they leave footprints? These are all rumors, don't believe them!"

Yan Ciwan was almost sprayed by his saliva and quickly took a step back.

After the other party finished speaking, she whispered, "I didn't believe it at first, but you have searched the governor's mansion and couldn't find the owner of the shoe prints. This makes me believe that the rumors may not be groundless."

"Perhaps that person hid himself, or perhaps he was so skilled in martial arts that he escaped from the governor's mansion by climbing over the wall overnight. In any case, the person who left the shoe prints must be a human, not a ghost! Rumors stop at the wise, so don't mention this matter again in the future, and don't spread rumors!"

Yan Ciwan advised seriously, "I think it's better to believe it than not. Regardless of whether there is a ghost in the governor's mansion, it is a fact that Governor Xie was murdered. The ghost of a wrongly killed person is still lingering. It would be best to invite a master to perform a ritual. Exorcising the ghost is secondary. The most important thing is to calm people's hearts."

Yuejin was somewhat persuaded.

The death of Governor Xie has caused panic in the entire Governor's Mansion. If a ritual can calm people's hearts, it might be worth a try.

"That's easy for you to say, but where can we find a reliable master who can exorcise ghosts in such a short time?"

Yan Ciwan smiled with curved eyebrows and introduced enthusiastically: "No need to look for it outside, there is a ready-made ghost exorcist in front of you."

Yue Jin followed her line of sight and saw Xiao Wang. He was stunned: "When did Xiao Liulang become a master?"

Xiao Wang smiled helplessly: "I am not a master, I just practiced with my master for more than ten years and learned a lot of Taoist techniques, including performing rituals."

Yue Jin suddenly realized, and immediately said: "I have to report this matter to the Grand Councilor first to see what he thinks. I will inform you when there is a result."

After Yuejin left, Xiao Xie asked, "What's with that half shoe print?"

Xiao Wang briefly explained the origin of the shoe prints. Xiao Xie said, "So they were the shoe prints left by the murderer. No wonder the internal guards took the trouble to compare the shoe prints of all of you."

Uncle Jiu suddenly said, "It may not be left by the murderer."

Xiao Wang looked at him and felt a little surprised. Usually, Uncle Jiu seldom expressed his opinions actively, but today he seemed a little abnormal.

Then Xiao Wang remembered the half shoe print. For some reason, the shoe print gave him a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen it somewhere before?
He had been thinking about it for a long time but couldn't remember it. Now looking at Uncle Jiu who seemed a little abnormal, Xiao Wang suddenly remembered it and his expression became solemn.

He stared at the other person and said in a deep voice, "At present, it is indeed not certain that the shoe prints are directly related to the murderer, but this person quietly climbed over the wall and sneaked into the study in the middle of the night. His identity and purpose are very suspicious. It is worth investigating carefully."

Uncle Jiu felt a little guilty when Xiao Wang looked at him. He lowered his head silently and stopped talking.

Xiao Wang said that he was a little tired and wanted to go back to his room to rest.

He walked towards the west wing, and Uncle Jiu followed him silently.

When they entered the bedroom, Uncle Jiu wanted to help Xiao Wang go to bed, but Xiao Wang said he was not sleepy.

Uncle Jiu said, "Then I'll go boil some water and make tea for you."

"No need, I have something to ask you."

Uncle Jiu met Xiao Wang's sharp gaze and tensed his body involuntarily. His voice became very soft: "Liu Lang, if you have anything to say, just tell me."

Xiao Wang's gaze moved down and landed on the uppers of his shoes. They were a pair of black leather boots, made from many pieces of leather of different sizes sewn together. There was some mud on the edge of the soles, and the uppers were also gray. There were a few places where the leather was a little torn. It was obvious at a glance that they had been worn for many years.

"Uncle Jiu, it's time to change your boots."

Uncle Jiu's voice sounded a little hoarse: "Don't waste money, these boots can still be worn."

Xiao Wang and Uncle Jiu have been together for many years and are very familiar with each other. At this moment, Xiao Wang can see how nervous and uneasy Uncle Jiu is. If he has a clear conscience, why should he be so uneasy?

Although he already had the answer in his mind, Xiao Wang still wanted to hear it in person.

"Uncle Jiu, where were you during the second watch last night?"

Uncle Jiu replied in a low voice: "I have been waiting for your news outside the governor's mansion, but you have not come out. I am very worried."

"So you sneaked into the governor's mansion?"

Uncle Jiu's heart tightened and he subconsciously looked up at Xiao Wang, but was stung by the other's sharp gaze.

"I do not have……"

Xiao Wang interrupted him directly: "Don't lie to me! Uncle Jiu, although we are master and servant in name, I have already regarded you as half a family member. No matter how others deceive me, I will not take it to heart, but if you deceive me, I will be very sad."

Uncle Jiu's lips trembled slightly, and he swallowed the lie that was about to come out of his mouth.

He watched Xiao Wang grow up and knew very well how strong Xiao Wang's ability to see through people's minds was. It was impossible for him to hide anything from Xiao Wang.

After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice extremely hoarse: "Yes, I sneaked into the governor's mansion last night."