Transmigrated Female Official

Inside the Yibin Pavilion private room, Chu Yilin sat down and gulped down two cups of tea before saying, "I'm so thirsty."

Today he went to investigate Chu Qingluo's drowning, and Ji Qiran was waiting for his results.

Once he calmed down, he said, "I hired people to salvage the boat they were on, and they found a large round hole on the bow." Chu Yilin gestured with his fingers to show the approximate hole, and continued, "The wood grain around the hole is still very fresh, so it can be confirmed that it was just chiseled out."

Ji Qiran recalled that Chu Qingluo had also mentioned the hole in the bow of the ship, and his face darkened: "Then that was premeditated murder?"

Chu Yilin also abandoned his usual carefree demeanor and asked seriously, "Did Third Sister and Peony offend anyone in the palace?"

Ji Qiran turned her head and stared at him suspiciously, "Could it be that my eighth sister did this after getting jealous of you?"

"How could that be?! The Eighth Princess just happened to see me and Shaoyao boating on the lake that day. There's no way she could have known beforehand and sent people to dig the hole." Chu Yilin shouted his innocence.

Ji Qiran gave him another disdainful look: "You'd better stay away from my Eighth Sister and distance yourself from her." After saying that, she picked up her teacup and took a sip.

Chu Yilin curled his lip: "Do you think I want this? It's not that easy! Back then, you tried to get rid of my third sister, but you still failed..." He spoke softer and softer as he spoke.

Ji Qiran abruptly slammed down his cup: "So you're thinking of developing something with my Eighth Sister?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Chu Yilin quickly waved his hand in denial. Seeing that Ji Qiran's expression had stabilized, he recklessly asked, "Judging from what you just said... are you thinking of developing something with my third sister?"

"Chu Yilin!" Ji Qiran shouted through gritted teeth, his face dark with rage. He wished he could kill the grinning man in front of him.

Chu Yilin put on a smug smile and raised his hand to indicate that he should not act rashly. "Someone is getting angry out of embarrassment. Okay, let's stop talking about that and get back to business."

Ji Qiran gave a helpless snort: "Did you find anything useful?"

"Of course, he doesn't even know who I am." Chu Yilin continued jokingly, "The boat originally belonged to an old boatman. He said that a strong young man suddenly bought the boat from him for double the price that day. According to the old boatman's description, the man who bought the boat had some very distinctive features. I've already sent people to investigate, and I expect to have news soon."

Ji Qiran nodded. He wanted to see who was trying to hurt Chu Qingluo.

……

Meanwhile, Gongsun Yu also arrived at Suyin Lake today to investigate the matter. Although none of the boatmen moored on the shore were the scarred man Chu Qingluo had described, he was fortunate enough to witness Chu Yilin sending men to salvage the boat…

"You mean my second brother is also investigating this matter?" Chu Qingluo was somewhat surprised, and the image of Ji Qiran jumping into the lake to save her inexplicably flashed into her mind.

"Yes, thanks to him, it saved me a lot of trouble. The situation is just as we guessed; this incident was indeed deliberate. The Second Young Master also traced it back to the scarred man. Once the scarred man's identity is confirmed, everything will be resolved."

"Did your second brother see you? Did he know you were also investigating this matter?"

"No, I avoided it." Gongsun Yu paused, then said, "Should we continue investigating the scarred man, or wait for the Second Young Master's results?"

Chu Qinglu thought for a while and said, "Finding this scarred man in the vast sea of ​​people in Yancheng is like finding a needle in a haystack. Let's just wait for Second Brother's results."

In her view, although Gongsun Yu was intelligent, he was ultimately alone and weak. Chu Yilin, on the other hand, was different; he spent his days fooling around outside, had such a close relationship with Ji Qiran, and was influential both inside and outside the palace, so his connections must be extensive. Since he was investigating, they might as well just sit back and reap the benefits.

"Gongsun, let's go out for a walk today," Chu Qingluo suddenly suggested.

"Okay." Gongsun Yu was already used to her sudden whims, so he didn't ask any more questions and simply agreed.

……

The carriage turned into the most secluded alleyway in the north of the city. Chu Qingluo jumped off the carriage, leaving Jiuwei to wait where she was, while she led Gongsun Yu into the alley.

This was a narrow alley, too narrow for a carriage to pass; it was only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. On both sides of the alley were simple mud houses, the damp floors sticky and emitting a pungent smell.

"Are you here to find the place where Yan Xi used to live?" Chu Qingluo had kept her secret the whole way, and Gongsun Yu only guessed her purpose when they arrived at the place. It wasn't just a random stroll on a whim.

"Yes, this is the alley listed on the roster." Chu Qingluo stopped a man who happened to be passing by and politely asked, "Excuse me, sir, do you know which room Miss Yan Xi lives in?"

The man waved his hand, indicating that he did not know.

"So even the prosperous Yancheng has places like this..." When Chu Qingluo toured the city for her coming-of-age ceremony, she only walked along the main roads and had never seen mud houses like this. This must be what's known as a slum. The alley isn't long, and there probably aren't many households. Most people living here must know each other.

The two stood to the side, waiting. But the strange smell in the alley was unbearable, even to the point of being nauseating... Chu Qingluo hadn't expected Yan Xi's living environment to be like this. Seeing that Gongsun Yu was usually a rather clean young master, even if he didn't say anything now, he would still feel somewhat uncomfortable, so he said, "Sorry for dragging you to a place like this."

Gongsun Yu seemed somewhat surprised, and said with a faint smile, "Why should I apologize? I'll go wherever you go."

Upon hearing this, Chu Qinglu smiled, pursing her lips. "You're so good with words." A hint of coquettishness flickered in her clear eyes, a glint she herself didn't even realize...

With a knock at the door, they saw an old woman emerge from a house not far ahead, carrying a basket in her hand.

The two hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Auntie, may I ask which room Miss Yanxi lives in?"

The old woman sized them up with a hint of wariness and asked, "They're gone, what do you want now?"

To avoid the old woman misunderstanding that they were bad people, Chu Qingluo had no choice but to make up a lie: "Auntie, I'm Yanxi's friend. I just came from out of town, but... as soon as I arrived in the city, I heard that something had happened to her." As she spoke, she even pretended to be in tears: "I wonder how her poor, lonely sister is doing?"

When the old woman heard that she came from out of town and could tell that Yanxi had a younger sister, she didn't seem like a bad person, so she lowered her guard and sighed, "That child is also unfortunate. Her mother is gone, her uncles and brothers have all gone to find other ways to make a living, and her only sister who loved her, Yanxi, has also had an accident... They say it's about buying an official position? I can't believe it no matter what..." At this point, the old woman sighed again.

Chu Qingluo sobbed, "Yes, Auntie, I don't believe it either."

"How much does it cost to buy an official position? Where did Yan Xi get so much money? Don't you think so?" The old woman seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, explaining her point of view.

Chu Qinglu nodded repeatedly in agreement: "Auntie, how is Yanxi's sister now?"

The old woman replied, "She was adopted by Aunt Wang next door. I don't know what kind of windfall Aunt Wang made, but she said she bought a house in Yucheng and moved her whole family there."

"Huh?" Chu Qingluo was a little surprised, but not wanting to let go of the only clue, she asked again, "Has her sister's cough gotten better?"

"What?! My sister is perfectly healthy. It's Yan Xi who has the cough. You're her friend and you didn't even know?" The old woman's voice suddenly rose eight octaves.

"Ahem..." Chu Qinglu was speechless for a moment, and said awkwardly, "She didn't tell the truth, perhaps because she was afraid we would worry."

The old woman seemed to agree with her statement and continued, "Yanxi was a very kind girl. She often helped us neighbors with minor illnesses for free, but she herself contracted a serious disease... It's really a tragedy that she had such a tragic fate." After saying that, she shook her head and did not forget to comfort her, "Young lady, someone from her family has already moved in, so there's no point in you going to look for her anymore. Everyone has their own destiny, so please accept my condolences."

“…Thank you, Auntie.” Chu Qingluo nodded. The old woman patted her arm gently again, then slung her basket over her shoulder and left.