Двойная увертюра

Глава 17

Wang Cheng lowered his head somewhat embarrassed.

"Wang Cheng, did you see Cui'er yesterday?" Wang Gui asked him.

Wang Cheng shook his head.

"Didn't you clean up yesterday evening?" Wang Gui pressed. "Did you see Cui'er lying in the flowerbed?"

Wang Cheng shook his head repeatedly.

Yu Lanzhi was indignant. "Wang Gui, what do you mean? Do you suspect that Wang Cheng killed Cui'er?"

Wang Gui glanced at Wang Bibo, but dared not speak, and stepped aside.

Xiao Dao felt that the servants in Bibo Manor were all obsequious, while the masters were aloof and arrogant. It was all very uninteresting, the atmosphere was oppressive, and the smiles were fake.

The commotion attracted a crowd of servants, mostly maids and a few young men.

Wang Cheng gestured as if trying to prove his innocence, but Wang Gui wanted to take him to the authorities.

Xue Beifan interjected, "With so much blood from the dead, it must have sprayed all over the people, if not on the walls or flowers. All the servants in your household wear the same clothes, why don't you take them out and check them? That way, you'll have plenty of evidence to deny it."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a servant quietly disappear behind the crowd, as if he was about to slip away... Little Knife had sharp eyes, and he pointed, "Grab him!"

Perhaps feeling guilty, the servant turned and ran, which was tantamount to an admission of guilt, and he was captured by Hao Jinfeng.

A search of his residence revealed blood-stained clothes under the bed. The servant pointed to another servant, claiming he was also involved! So, like dogs fighting, both were dragged out.

Hao Jinfeng took the men to the yamen for questioning. It turned out that after being scolded by Yu Lanzhi, Cui'er harbored resentment and sprinkled poison into the vegetables, intending to kill two birds with one stone. However, the two servants witnessed this. They tried to extort money from her, but Cui'er refused and resisted. Because of Wang Bibo's influence, Bibo Manor had always favored women over men, and the servants were most averse to bullying maids. In a moment of panic, the two men accidentally killed Cui'er.

After hearing Hao Jinfeng's account of the case, Xiaoyue couldn't help but ask Xiaodao, "Why was that maid so vicious? She hated Yu Lanzhi, so poisoning her would have been fine, but why did she have to harm you?"

Xiao Dao crossed his arms and looked up, repeatedly thinking about that day by the lotus pond, when Cui'er blushed and said that being Wang Bibo's concubine would be a good thing... He felt inexplicably sad.

That Cui'er probably only wanted to stay by Wang Bibo's side and didn't have much ambition, but Yu Lanzhi wouldn't even allow that. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. As for why she wanted to kill him? Xiao Dao couldn't understand, and didn't want to understand anymore. So be it.

Later that evening, Yu Lanzhi suddenly came looking for Xiaodao.

With a "thud," the note Xiaodao gave her this morning was placed on the table.

Looking at Yu Lanzhi's expression, Xiao Dao sighed inwardly. He guessed that Wang Bibo had bewitched this silly girl, and now she was standing up for her cousin.

"Yan Xiaodao, how could you take advantage of my brother's misfortune to blackmail him?!" Yu Lanzhi berated him harshly. "Don't think that just because you got me a marriage arranged for me, I'm on your side."

Xiaoyue was airing out her quilts when she heard this and got annoyed. She'd finally seen what it meant to be ungrateful. She wanted to reason with Xiaodao, but then she saw Xiaodao's hand behind his back, waving it at her as if to tell her to shut up.

Xiaoyue could only stand aside and watch.

Xue Beifan and Chonghua were also there, both holding their glasses and drinking in silence. Women's affairs are best left uninvolved by men.

Hao Jinfeng took the document and looked at it for a while. "Oh! So Wang Bibo was being so helpful out of the blue because he wanted Xiaodao to risk his life to break the trap for him!"

Xue Beifan and Chonghua exchanged a smile—you might call them foolish, but they're not really foolish.

Yu Lanzhi pursed her lips.

Hao Jinfeng asked her, puzzled, "Miss, since Master Wang has no interest in Xiaodao, why are you still angry?"

“I’m not angry with her for that. My cousin obviously has no feelings for her anymore.” Yu Lanzhi sat down opposite Xiao Dao. “But it’s wrong to have this kind of written agreement. Why should my cousin get half of her family’s assets just because he doesn’t marry me?!”

Hao Jinfeng tilted his head as he looked at the document, muttering to himself, "Wasn't that for your own good?"

Yu Lanzhi said with a straight face, "That won't do. My cousin said he's marrying me willingly..." As she spoke, she blushed.

"Okay, then." Xiao Dao held his teacup and drank some tea. After listening to Yu Lanzhi's words, he said to Hao Jinfeng, "That's ridiculous."

Everyone looked at her, not understanding what she meant.

Xiao Dao reached out and took the document, ripped it to shreds in two quick movements, and said to Yu Lanzhi, "Go back and tell Wang Bibo that you don't agree to the agreed terms, so I tore up the document. I'm leaving tomorrow, and he should find someone else."

...

Yu Lanzhi was dumbfounded, "You...you're being unreasonable!"

"Who's being unreasonable?" Xiao Dao asked her, amused. "Am I supposed to work for your cousin? I don't owe him anything! You treat him like a treasure, but I treat him like a bug. Whether he tricked you into making trouble or you came to stand up for your cousin yourself, I've already torn up the marriage certificate. If he's not satisfied, we can go to court and settle things. As long as he's not afraid to tell the whole world that Bibo Manor is an empty shell, let's see how Wang Bibo continues to uphold the reputation of being the richest man in Jiangnan without becoming a laughingstock. You shouldn't act like a tyrant anymore. Try being a maid and serving someone's foot bath."

Yu Lanzhi panicked, "You, is there no one else in the world besides you who can break through these barriers!"

Xiao Dao smiled smugly, "Go ask your cousin, why are you asking me? Don't forget, if your cousin is disgraced tomorrow and Bibo Manor collapses, it's all your fault today."

"I..." Yu Lanzhi couldn't bear this and burst into tears, feeling wronged. "I only thought you were extorting my cousin..."

"I'm extorting him? All I'm extorting is a little money, but he's extorting my life and my marriage. I didn't even cry, so why the hell are you crying?" Xiao Dao raised her eyebrows, startling everyone. They thought to themselves, "This girl is so fierce? This is the first time we've seen her like this." But Yu Lanzhi really brought this on herself.

Yu Lanzhi wiped away her tears, "Then...then what should we do? Xiao Dao, can you unlock the mechanism? Can't we still honor my cousin's written agreement?"

"You're worried about yourself." Xiao Dao rested his chin on his hand. "He finally made up his mind to marry you, but you didn't want it. Now he's torn up the agreement. Just wait and see if he'll have three wives and four concubines... By the way, it's still uncertain whether you'll be his legal wife."

Upon hearing this, Yu Lanzhi covered her face and burst into tears, filled with regret. Her previous spoiled and domineering demeanor had vanished completely.

As he was crying, a document was suddenly placed on the stone table in front of him with a "thud".

"Huh?" Yu Lanzhi wiped away her tears as she picked it up to look at it. It was the same document from before... The knife clearly tore it to shreds, so how did it come back to normal?

Yu Lanzhi didn't remember crying either, and looked at Xiao Dao while sobbing.

Xiao Dao stretched and said, "Haven't you ever heard of magic tricks? If you don't even have this much skill, your cousin wouldn't be so desperate as to come begging me for help."

Yu Lanzhi wiped away her tears. Xiao Dao glanced at her, annoyed. "You'd better watch your behavior in the future. Not every woman is so easy to bully. Just like Cui'er, if the poison had been put in your plate that day, you would have been dead long ago. I was just a get-out-of-jail-free card for you. Besides, you're also responsible for her death. She just thought your cousin was good and admired him. She was praised, and you can't stand that she wanted to drive her away. Are you the law? Even a princess isn't as powerful as you! Why don't you castrate your cousin? That way, no woman will like him and no one will compete with you."

"Pfft..." Xue Beifan choked on his drink and coughed, pounding his chest.

Yu Lanzhi was rebuked by Xiao Dao and lowered her head, remaining silent.

Xiao Dao waved his hand, "I'm too lazy to talk to you two siblings. Just because you're the masters doesn't mean you treat your servants like dirt. Aren't you leaving? Go back and reflect on your actions. Standing here like an eyesore is just an eyesore!"

Yu Lanzhi pouted, this was the first time in her life she had been scolded like this, and she even turned back to look at Xiaodao as she walked to the door.

Xiao Dao glared at him, "Can't you talk after you've left? What did your mother teach you?"

Yu Lanzhi pouted again, but finally said obediently, "Then I'm leaving... I'll add some dishes for you to dinner." After saying that, she ran off.

"That wretched girl, she'll only learn if you scold her." Xiao Dao pouted, turned around, and saw three men in the courtyard staring at her with their mouths agape and complicated expressions.

"What are you looking at?!" Xiao Dao glared at them. "You three better behave yourselves!"

The three nodded quickly, thinking to themselves, "Wow... that's amazing."

Afterwards, Xiaodao's mood brightened, and she invited Xiaoyue, who was also in a good mood, to go shopping for floral clothes.

Six ounces of heart

For the next two days, Xue Beifan thought Xiao Dao would prepare to enter the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool, but to everyone's surprise, Xiao Dao only spent two days playing.

She and Xiaoyue bought clothes, ate snacks, strolled through the night market, and even released lanterns by the river. In the evening, they sat on the rooftop chatting while holding iced fruit.

On the third day, Xue Beifan stopped Xiao Dao, who was running out with a fishing rod, at the courtyard gate. "Hey, Xiao Dao, have you had enough fun? Can't you do something serious now?"

Xiao Dao glanced at him sideways and said confidently, "Who says playing isn't a serious matter!"

Xue Beifan patted his forehead to calm himself down and tried to negotiate with her, "Can we play again if you break the mechanism?"

Xiao Dao looked up at the sky, "Hmm, let's do it today, after lunch." Then he ran outside again.

Xue Beifan stood there stunned for a moment, then chased after him, asking, "Today? Do we need to prepare anything?"

As Xiao Dao ran outside, he shouted, "Great! We want fried wontons for lunch!"

Xue Beifan was both amused and exasperated. He turned around and saw Chonghua standing at the courtyard gate, also looking puzzled.

At noon, Xiao Dao ran back carrying two fresh carp. He cooked a sweet and sour carp, and the sweet and sour aroma wafted far and wide, making everyone drool and peer into the kitchen.

Xiao Dao was quite fair; of the two fish, one went to her and Xiao Yue, and the other to Hao Jinfeng alone. Xue Beifan, Chonghua, and Wang Bibo didn't get any.

Chonghua crossed his arms and berated Xue Beifan and Wang Bibo, "I'm completely guilty of collusion. You two are beasts, but I'm not. Why shouldn't I be allowed to eat either?!"

...

After lunch, Xiao Dao changed into a neat white outfit, with the sleeves and waist cinched.

Xue Beifan, who had also changed into a neat outfit, asked her, "Where do we enter from?"

Wang Bibo is also going.

Xiao Dao looked them up and down. "What are you two doing?"

Xue Beifan and Wang Bibo exchanged a glance. "I'll go with you!"

Xiao Dao pursed his lips and curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a sly smile. "Alright, you two are almost guaranteed to lose your lives if you go in. That would be doing a service to the people!"

What Wang Bibo and Xue Beifan said made her heart tremble. "So dangerous?"

Xiaoyue took out a dagger. "Xiaodao, I'll go with you."

"No way. Aside from me, every few who go in will die. There's no need to throw your life away." Xiao Dao casually picked up the half of the map of Jiuzhulongtan that Wang Bibo had given her and looked at it.

"Are you going alone?" Xue Beifan was still worried.

Xiao Dao tucked the blueprints into his waistband, looked up at Xue Beifan and smiled, "Are you worried about whether I live or die, or something else?"

Xue Beifan sighed after being interrupted by her, "Of course I'm worried about you, we're friends after all."

Xiao Dao raised an eyebrow. "Hao Jinfeng is my older brother, and Xiaoyue is my friend. I didn't say anything else, so you don't need to worry about me. Just worry about what you really care about." After saying that, he deftly flipped into the territory of the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool and leaped onto the treetop.

Wang Bibo frowned slightly. Xiao Dao stepped on the treetop where the mechanism was located, but the mechanism did not activate.

"What amazing lightness skill!" Chonghua exclaimed. "Don't be fooled by how few moves she makes when she fights; her lightness skill is truly remarkable."

Xue Beifan stood there watching with his arms crossed, saying nothing—not only was her light-footed skill excellent, but her ability to infuriate others was even better! Yan Xiaodao was a proud and arrogant woman with a very stubborn temper. She only wanted sincerity; if you didn't give her sincerity, don't try to offer her false intentions as sincerity, or she would throw them on the ground and trample them without any mercy.

Xue Beifan glanced at Hao Jinfeng again... How did Hao Jiulong win Yan Ruyu's heart back then? And how did he break her heart? But one thing is certain: Yan Ruyu was heartbroken and left for twenty years, her vow never to turn back was alarming.

As everyone waited outside, strange sounds occasionally drifted from the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool. Sometimes it was birds taking flight, sometimes it was a spinning wheel rolling... In short, they were all very light and not frightening.

As the sun began to set and everyone grew restless, a white shadow flashed... Xiao Dao floated out like a pink disc, holding a beautiful eight-treasure dagger and a small bundle in his hand.

Landing lightly, Xiao Dao pointed at the entrance to the Dragon Pool and said to Wang Bibo, "There are a total of eighty-one mechanisms. I didn't take that many things; I couldn't carry them all. So I'll take eight of your treasures. Also, you still owe me ten thousand taels of wages. We're even now."

Wang Bibo looked at Xiaodao in surprise, "You... you've solved all the mechanisms?"

Xiao Dao rubbed his hands together. "I've really seen something amazing. Bibo Manor is indeed full of treasures. If you bring all these things out, you'll be the richest man in Jiangnan, and even if you go outside and shout that you're the richest man in the world, no one will dare to say a word against you."

Wang Bibo was pleasantly surprised and led his men into the Nine Pearl Dragon Pool.

Yu Lanzhi followed them inside. As she passed Xiao Dao, she hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and asked, "When are you leaving?"