cold clothes

At this moment, Qingyou was discussing matters with someone, and the two had differing opinions, arguing heatedly. He believed that now that the Third Prince was not in the capital, it was a good time to impeach the Wang family, but the other party said that it was not the time, and that they should win over the neutral faction.

Qingyou felt that the boy had become much more conservative after not seeing him for many years.

The young man looked helpless, his handsome face bearing a gentle, half-smiling expression that made him seem very approachable, yet his dark eyes revealed an unwavering certainty. He put down the case file, shook his head, and said, "Zhao Qun is not in the capital, but the Emperor is still here. Making any rash moves will only bring trouble upon ourselves."

"But isn't the Tian family trying to suppress the Wang family's power? If we present the evidence, wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

“Then we’ll become the thorn in their side…” the boy sighed softly, then his eyes narrowed and his tone turned cold, “Someone’s coming.”

The boy immediately retreated into the shadows. Qingyou also noticed the footsteps outside the door, his brow furrowed in displeasure at the uninvited guest. Unexpectedly, the visitor, seeing the door closed, rudely banged on it and even kicked it. So arrogant! He'd like to see who it was.

Qingyou opened the door with a gloomy expression. Just as he was about to touch the latch, a cold glint of light pointed straight at his brow. He instinctively turned his head back, preventing the sword tip from piercing him.

Upon closer inspection, the sword was still stained with blood.

"Isn't he here? Damn it, this is infuriating, this is truly awful..." the person muttered. Qingyou was stunned when she heard the girl's voice, and then she didn't know whether to be angry or laugh.

He used two fingers to pry the sword out of the door, then opened the door and saw Leng Yi covered in blood, looking dazed. This was a scene he had not expected.

Qingyou asked in surprise and hesitation, "How did you do this?"

"Your man, that Yuan Li, had designs on me. I acted in self-defense and slit his throat. I don't know if he's dead or not. What do you suggest we do about it?"

Leng Yi composed herself and said that she had already thought of what to say on the way here. She didn't want to start by questioning her, since she was the victim.

Qingyou's expression immediately turned serious: "What exactly happened?"

"Don't be surprised. As you've heard, I can take you to the crime scene." Leng Yi turned around and gestured for Qing You to follow her, but unexpectedly, a familiar voice rang out behind her.

"Cold clothes".

Leng Yi froze instantly, turning to look at Yin Jiu in disbelief.

What's Yin Jiu doing here?

Yin Jiu, his face grim, strode over to Leng Yi, wiped the blood from Leng Yi's face, and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it wasn't Leng Yi's blood. His anger hadn't completely subsided, and he said, "I heard what you just said. Who is that Yuan Li? Did he hurt you? Why are you covered in blood? Go clean yourself up first."

After saying that, Yin Jiu pulled Leng Yi into the house. Leng Yi looked at Qing You blankly. Qing You crossed her arms, looking like it was none of her business.

Leng Yi was dazed and confused as Yin Jiu pressed her into a chair. Yin Jiu went to fetch some water, while Leng Yi stared blankly at the documents on the desk. These documents seemed to be quite confidential, so Qing You immediately put them away.

Soon Yin Jiu returned, using a cloth dampened with water to wash Leng Yi's face with the same meticulous care as if polishing a fine piece of porcelain. Indeed, Leng Yi's cheeks were comparable to exquisitely crafted white porcelain. Her skin was fair and delicate, smooth and warm to the touch; even a gentle rub would leave a red mark.

At first, Yin Jiu was shocked and heartbroken by Leng Yi's disheveled appearance. Later, as he washed her, he became somewhat distracted... But he also vaguely sensed that something was wrong: Leng Yi's reaction was too obedient. Leng Yi had been acting strangely ever since their reunion yesterday.

After washing her face, Yin Jiu frowned at Leng Yi's clothes and said to her, "Go to your room and change into one of my clothes. There's no need to wear dirty clothes anymore."

Qingyou, standing to the side, watched Yin Jiu, wrapped in a cold coat, fuss over her with a speechless expression. He almost thought Yin Jiu was going to dress the young girl herself, but Yin Jiu came out ahead of time.

Qingyou continued to stare at him with an expression that said, "Look at your behavior, I really don't know what to say."

Yin Jiu ignored his gaze and instead asked with a murderous look, "Who is Yuan Li?"

"Who is Yuanli?" Qingyou repeated, mimicking Yinjiu's tone, then teased, "You sound so fierce. You weren't like this just now."

Yin Jiu's face flushed slightly for a moment, then she tried to be serious and said, "Stop it, tell me who that person is, and you need to explain to me clearly how Leng Yi became like this. You've been telling me for the past few years that everything is normal for her, but that's not the case. You're also hiding things from me, Qingyou."

Qingyou's expression slowly darkened.

Silence is an admission. Yin Jiu narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled, "You've been my eyes and ears at Fengxiang Pavilion for so many years. It's quite surprising that you're hiding something from me. Let's talk about it later. Leng Yi is still here."

“Lengyi, Yinjiu, you even have special nicknames for each other. Are you that close?” Qingyou’s eyes revealed sarcasm. “You inquire about Ningbi’s situation every month or two, but she hardly ever thinks of you.”

Yin Jiu's expression remained unchanged, still with a smiling fox-like demeanor: "Don't rush, there are still many things to hide, we'll talk about them later, and they're not just about her."

At this moment, Leng Yi came out after changing her clothes, and Yin Jiu instantly put away her scheming and went forward with a worried look on her face.

This sudden change of heart made Qingyou grit her teeth in hatred.

"Is the uniform of Langxuan Pavilion suitable for me?" Yin Jiu asked.

“That’s not what we should be concerned about right now,” Leng Yi said, rubbing her forehead. After so much time, she had become much more sober and was worried that Yuan Li might be completely dead. She looked at Qing You: “We must go see Yuan Li’s body now. It would be a huge problem if someone found it.”

“I’m not going to do such a trivial thing,” Qingyou said with a frosty expression.

Leng Yi couldn't understand why Qing You's attitude had suddenly become so bad. Was someone dying a small matter? Or was it a small matter that she was almost raped?

Just as she was about to question him, Yin Jiu spoke first: "Brother Qingyou, the people from Langxuan Pavilion are dead. Madam will definitely ask you for the reason. And just as Ningbi, the courtesan, said, the sooner this scandal is dealt with, the better."

"That's a really insightful remark," Leng Yi thought to herself, giving Yin Jiu a mental thumbs up.

Qingyou's face darkened. He'd even called her "Brother Qingyou" for the sake of a woman, without finding it disgusting at all.

In the end, Qingyou went along anyway. When the three of them arrived, Yuanli had not yet been discovered, and the body was already stinking. Qingyou looked at Yuanli's corpse with disgust, made a hand gesture, and two men in black appeared from nowhere and carried the body away at Qingyou's command.

Leng Yi, not understanding, asked, "Have these guards always been in this area?"

Yin Jiu smiled and explained to her, "No, they came with us. There aren't many people patrolling, it seems we need to increase the number of patrols."

Qingyou didn't bother to listen and simply turned and left.

Only Leng Yi and Yin Jiu remained at the scene, and Leng Yi became reserved again. The incident had only happened yesterday, and Leng Yi didn't know how to face Yin Jiu, unable to even apologize.

Yin Jiu gazed at her with deep eyes, seemingly sensing her unease. He smiled and said, "Don't worry too much. You didn't kill him on purpose, so nothing will happen to you." Even if you did, it won't cause any trouble for you.

Then he added, "You must be frightened. I'll go with you to the herbal medicine shop."

"No, no thanks." Leng Yi quickly waved her hand in refusal and said with her head down, "I'm going back to Liuyun Pavilion."

"I don't want to go to the herbal medicine shop with you!" Leng Yi cried out in her heart.

Yin Jiu wasn't angry at being rejected. She smiled and said, "Alright, I have something to do, so I won't see you off. I'll come find you again tonight."

"Okay, okay." Leng Yi nodded blankly, then suddenly realized what she meant and quickly waved her hand again.

"Don't come. There are two old women living downstairs. It would be easy to be discovered."

Yin Jiu's smile slowly faded, and she looked at Leng Yi with a determined gaze, "I will come to find you tonight."

Leng Yi's heart tightened. She wanted to refuse, but then she thought that if she kept refusing, would he misunderstand her as disliking him? But now that she was in this state, she was no longer worthy to be near him.