Daily life in the academy

Wenzhe shook his head and said softly, "I understand what you're saying. I'm also worried that Father and the others won't be able to close the case on time, but I feel more that something's not right."

Mu Bailian: "What's wrong?"

"I read the relevant files last night. I had no idea that women had been disappearing so often in Sheng'an in the past year or two. Sometimes there would be reports every one or two months, sometimes three or four months. However, these were only missing persons cases, not criminal cases.

Until a month ago, someone reported their sister missing and claiming she was murdered. The Ministry of Justice accepted the case, and then there were a series of disappearances, but no reliable clues were found. Until then, a female corpse appeared in each of the four directions, east, west, south, and north. The death was horrific. The autopsy record stated: her hands and feet were bound, and her body was covered with scars, many of which were whip marks and burns. She was in extreme pain before her death.

It’s not that Baizhi has improper thoughts. When she heard the words “whip marks” and “burns”, she immediately thought of those two letters. After all, perverts are everywhere.

Wenzhe paused for a moment before continuing, "Suspicion one: Those deceased disappeared at least two months ago. They weren't the bodies of women who had recently disappeared. Suspicion two: When the man reported the case, he claimed his younger sister had been murdered. How did he know his younger sister wasn't abducted and sold by human traffickers, but murdered? Suspicion three: After the officials from the Ministry of Justice went to Yanshoufang for routine inquiries, they came back to report that the prince didn't look like he'd lost his beloved. He was still enjoying himself, with no trace of grief on his face. Yet, he was in tears at the Ministry of Rites."

Yan Qingchen: "So, you suspect this whole thing is actually a conspiracy, perhaps related to the Prince of Di?"

Wenzhe: "That's right, but we still need more clues."

The two of them were analyzing the incident, and Mu Bailian and Bai Zhi were surprisingly in sync. They looked left and right, and kept stuffing food into their mouths. Listening to the opera was important, but filling their stomachs was also important.

"Then Azhe...are you going to help your father investigate the case again? But there's nothing we can do in the academy." Mu Bailian was still chewing a bun in his mouth.

Wenzhe was afraid that he would choke to death, so he handed him the millet porridge and said, "I'll have a day off tomorrow, so I can't stay with you for the next two days."

It can be said that she has a general understanding of what happened. As a person with a half-open God's perspective, Bai Zhi can probably piece together a relatively complete story line based on the known conditions. This is definitely related to the stepping stone that An Ziqian mentioned in the last dream.

**

The next day after school, Yunlu Academy was closed for two days. Wenzhe left first, worried about the case.

Mu Bailian looked at Bai Zhi, who was leisurely tidying up his desk, and asked, "What are your plans for the next two days?"

Bai Zhi was lost in thought and didn't hear Mu Bailian's words. Seeing no response for a long time, he knocked on the desk and said, "Azhi, I have a question for you. What are you planning to do these next two days?"

"Ah?" Bai Zhi came back to his senses and looked up at Mu Bailian. "As for me, I'm going to the city to work as a helper in a tavern to earn some money."

"I still have to make money." Seeing that Bai Zhi couldn't play with him, Mu Bailian suddenly felt bored, waved his hand and walked away.

Bai Zhi finally finished packing and stood up to leave. Yan Qingchen also finally finished reading the book in his hand, threw it to the servant waiting beside him, and walked out together.

"Brother Yan, can you take me into the city later?"

Yan Qingchen glanced at him and said, "Then why do you think I've been sitting there?"

Hearing this, Bai Zhi's eyes lit up: "So Brother Yan was waiting for me just now? I'm so happy."

"Don't be happy yet, get in the carriage and tell me about your dream."

"Oh." I thought it was because he cared about her.

After the two of them got on the carriage, Yan Qingchen poured Bai Zhi a bowl of tea and asked, "Did you dream about An Ziqian? What did he do?"

Being so straightforward almost made Bai Zhi lose her temper.

Bai Zhi asked tentatively, "Brother Yan, why are you suddenly asking about An Ziqian? What did he do?"

"That day in Xiyun Tower, after meeting An Ziqian, I noticed that you looked strange, so I asked my father to investigate him. The investigation did reveal a problem; his identity was forged, but their true identity was not discovered."

Yan Qingchen took a sip of tea, but his eyes were fixed on the person in front of him, not missing any subtle expression on his face.

However, at this moment, there was no expression on Bai Zhi's face. She lowered her eyelids, covering her eyes, the only part that could reveal her thoughts. At this moment, she was calculating in her mind how much information to reveal.

At least she has been in the workplace for some time, but human hearts are unpredictable. They can be very friendly and affectionate with you like a sister one second, and stab you in the back the next second and make things difficult for you.

Although Yan Qingchen would not go to such lengths, Bai Zhi's life principle has always been: do not have the intention to harm others, but always be on guard against others.

"I did dream about An Ziqian, but his true identity wasn't mentioned in the dream. However, I had a vague feeling that he wasn't simple." Bai Zhi raised her eyes and looked directly at Yan Qingchen. "During the last epidemic, he seemed to be behind the scenes. I once dreamed of him meeting a man in a black robe. It was late at night, and the man was wearing a terrifying mask, so his face couldn't be seen clearly. However, he had an extraordinary aura, unlike an ordinary person."

"Why did they meet in secret?"

"From what I've heard, there are two points: first, the epidemic doesn't need to spread any further; the goal has been achieved; second, to gain the trust of the Di envoy, we need a stepping stone."

Both of them fell silent, leaving only the regular knocking sounds.

"Is his target the Crown Prince? Is An Ziqian a member of the Prince of Qi or the Prince of Gong's army?"

Yan Qingchen seemed to be asking Bai Zhi, or talking to himself, but even if he was asking Bai Zhi, the latter would not give any response.

You can't just say, hey, you're all wrong, he's trying to seize power for himself. It's too troublesome to explain. It's better to guide him to find out the truth step by step. There is no wall that is impenetrable in this world.

It is now May and the days have become much longer. When we arrived at Xishi, the sun had just set and the sky was still bright.

Before Bai Zhi got off the carriage, Yan Qingchen instructed her, "Remember to send a letter to the palace if you encounter any trouble."

Bai Zhi nodded fiercely: "Don't worry, Brother Yan, I am a child who can cry."

Yan Qingchen: “…”

Today is the day when the night market is open. The West Market is much more lively than usual. There is a pub that is bustling with people and many customers.

Ye Sanniang was sharp-eyed. She greeted Bai Zhi as soon as she entered the store: "Xiao Zhi, I haven't seen you for a long time. I didn't see you and Xiao Yan come together today, so I thought you weren't coming again."

"Sanniang, it's been a while since we last met. Xiaozhi has been missing you. Brother Ye and I are not in the same school, and the teacher finished class late today. I had some personal matters the last two times, so I didn't come with Brother Ye. He probably thought I wasn't coming this time either, so we didn't run into each other. But since I thought the night market was open today, I hurried over to help."