Snow falls and the wind blows

Chapter 52

Duan Chen stopped speaking because what he was about to say would be even harder for Liu Yichen to accept. Duan Chen glanced at Xiao Yiyi and saw that his master was also looking at him. Her bright eyes carried a lot of emotions: helplessness, understanding, heartache, but more than anything, heartwarming encouragement.

Duan Chen curved his lips into a smile, then turned to look at Liu Yichen: "Li Lingke was in the wooden house at the time, and he had also had a brief encounter with me before. I think that through my martial arts style, he should have already figured out that my master and I should have some kind of relationship. So, when Miss Lou returned to the wooden house to look for the whip, he directly took that soft whip and strangled Miss Lou's neck, dragging her to a tree and binding her."

Liu Yichen's fists, resting tightly on the armrests of the wooden chair, were clenched. His eyes were lowered, and his face was tense, as if he were suppressing something. Duan Chen turned his gaze and continued, "What happened next is just my speculation. We'll have to ask Miss Yue later before it's considered official." Everyone present nodded, and Duan Chen spoke again, "I think Miss Yue must have followed closely behind, but upon seeing Miss Lou with a soft whip bound around her neck and a Thunder God Whip nearby, she decided to kill her. The rest is history, but why Miss Yue happened to follow, and why Li Lingke left the Thunder God Whip aside, remains a mystery."

Liu Yichen slowly closed his eyes, his lips trembling slightly, his expression utterly desolate. Beside him, Xiao Yiyi smiled bitterly, sighing softly, "A-Ke, why are you doing this to yourself..."

The group around, including Duan Chen, all tacitly remained silent. Clearly, Li Linke's actions were related to the old incident that had occurred between them years ago. Regardless of the reason, Yue Yiyi was undoubtedly the one who committed the murder, but Li Linke was absolutely involved in orchestrating this tragedy.

Zhou Yufei, who hadn't said much all night, suddenly spoke up: "Then why did he bring Miss Lou's body back? Was it to confuse the issue?"

Zhao Ting frowned: "Indeed, what he did has puzzled us for a long time. We have been connecting Miss Lou's death with the other two cases, and the more we think about it, the more confused we become, unable to figure out the murderer's intentions."

Duan Chen said softly, "That's why I said before that it wasn't until I saw Yue Yiyi limping into the house with Yue Linran's help before dinner the night before last that I suddenly realized that perhaps Yue Yiyi was the real culprit who killed Miss Lou."

Liu Yichen also came to his senses and said with a furrowed brow, "I remember, Miss Yue's foot was sprained the day Yue Ru was murdered. She told me that she and Man Die had lunch, and after waiting for a long time, Yue Ru did not return. So she went to the next room to check, and when she entered the room, she saw Yue Ru..." Liu Yichen paused slightly, took a deep breath, and continued, "Later, Man Die came to Juyi Hall to find me. She had sprained her foot in the panic and was afraid that the murderer would strike again, so she ran back to the next room and hid under the bed until I arrived."

Xiao Yiyi shook her head slightly, her smile tinged with bitterness: "That really sounds like something A-Ke would do." Liu Yichen frowned as he looked at her, and Xiao Yiyi's eyes revealed a hint of helplessness: "He did it to kill two birds with one stone. First, as they said, it did indeed confuse everyone and leave them clueless. Second, A-Ke is never one to suffer a loss. If it was something he did, he would definitely take the blame without hesitation. If it wasn't something he did, no matter what others say, he would never take the blame for someone else. That's why he left Miss Lou's soft whip in the room before he left."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Changqing chuckled twice, a hint of mockery in his eyes: "I reckon that girl twisted her ankle in a panic when she saw the person she had killed suddenly reappear in the next room!"

Chapter Twenty-Three: Forgiveness and Entanglement

As they were talking, the steward led several servants into the room, brought in a fresh pot of hot tea, and served some snacks. Everyone had been busy all night and was a little hungry, so they continued chatting while eating snacks and drinking tea.

Finally, the butler brought a small bowl of hot chicken soup to Duan Chen's side, bowing as he said, "Miss, this chicken soup was sent to you by our young lady. It contains wild ginseng, red dates, shiitake mushrooms, and several blood-nourishing herbs. Our young lady sat by the fire for over an hour, and as soon as it was ready, she had me bring it over, saying that you should drink it while it's hot for the best effect." After saying this, he glanced at Duan Chen somewhat nervously, then quickly lowered his head again.

Duan Chen smiled slightly and said softly, "Please thank Miss Liu for me. She was quite frightened today, and I'm so sorry to have troubled her."

The butler nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, seemingly relieved. Seeing this, Liu Yichen also looked comforted and waved to the butler, signaling him to leave.

Xiao Yiyi lifted the lid of the bowl, looked at the color of the soup, and then leaned closer to smell it. When she saw the pair of silver chopsticks next to her, she couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle. Duan Chen, who had been smiling faintly, turned slightly to get closer to Zhang Gaoji, picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of clear soup, blew on it, and slowly put it in his mouth.

Seeing that Xiao Yiyi had checked the soup and it seemed fine, Xiao Changqing didn't make things difficult for her. Chewing on a piece of chestnut cake, he mumbled, "Little Duan, take your medicine. Where's the medicine I gave you? Take one quickly!"

Duan Chen put down the spoon, the smile on his lips almost imperceptible, but there was a faint smile in his eyes. He turned to look at Xiao Changqing, took out the small bottle from his sleeve, poured out a light brown pill, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it with the chicken soup.

"Miss Duan, my Liu family has truly wronged you..." Liu Yichen held the teacup in his hands, hesitated for a long time, and finally uttered these words. First there was Liu Manye's pot of poisoned tea, then the old master of the Liu family set a trap underwater, and Duan Chen's current injuries are all inextricably linked to his Liu family.

Duan Chen swallowed the soup in his mouth and curled his lips: "The old master obeyed Li Lingke's orders and let him do whatever he wanted in the manor, causing the enmity and conflict between Jiangnan and Jiangbei to reignite. He is indeed unforgivable. However, his underwater scheme was actually to avenge Miss Lou."

Zuo Xin took a sip of hot tea and nodded, saying, "This time, Xiao Duan took the blame for us. Otherwise, given the old master's cunning, he probably originally intended to..." Zuo Xin raised his eyebrows with a slight sigh, but didn't continue.

No one responded to the question, yet they all understood the implication of Zuo Xin's words. It seemed that, as Duan Chen had previously speculated, while Lou Yueru was indeed killed by Yue Yiyi, Li Lingke must have been involved. And the intricacies of this situation were likely far clearer to Old Master Liu than anyone else. His willingness to risk his life for Li Lingke was one thing, but Li Lingke's unprovoked death of his granddaughter must have deeply enraged the old man. His scheme wasn't solely aimed at Duan Chen. Or perhaps, his true desire would have been fulfilled if someone other than Duan Chen had perished at the bottom of the lake.

For example, if the person who died was Zhao Ting or Zhou Yufei, then Li Lingke would have really messed things up. He wanted to play a subtle game of sowing discord, not an open and blatant act of defiance. The old man's betrayal of everyone before his death could be seen as his final act of resistance against Li Lingke.

Liu Yichen's face turned pale whenever the matter was mentioned, and deep sorrow lingered between his brows. After all, his father, whom he had respected and revered all his life and who was a chivalrous hero of the martial arts world, would actually be willing to bow down and become a lackey of the Western Xia people, wreaking havoc on the Central Plains martial arts world. It was something that would be hard for anyone to accept.

Duan Chen seemed to see through Liu Yichen's thoughts. After finishing the last few mouthfuls of chicken soup, she took out a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe her mouth before speaking again: "The old master did not collude with Xixia for any wealth or glory." Everyone present, except for Xiao Yiyi, showed some surprise. Liu Yichen also looked at Duan Chen with some doubt, as if she did not understand why she was so certain.

Duan Chen glanced at Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting and Zhou Yufei diagonally opposite him, and asked softly, "Do you still remember the story Miss Liu told us on the day she took us to admire the plum blossoms?"

The three of them were slightly taken aback upon hearing this. Zhan Yun frowned and said gently, "Is it the story Miss Liu told about the origin of the name Wanliu Manor?"

Zhou Yufei frowned as well: "I usually treat these kinds of things as legends. How does it have anything to do with Li Linge?"

Duan Chen nodded slightly. The three remained silent for a moment, then Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting spoke almost simultaneously: "Li Wanqian!"

Zhou Yufei pouted and muttered under her breath, "I thought of that too. Why haven't I seen you two so quick to talk before..."

Zuo Xin and Xiao Changqing exchanged a glance, both somewhat incredulous. Xiao Changqing's eyes widened as he asked, "The previous King of Western Xia, the one who changed his name to Li Jiqian after ascending the throne?"

Liu Yichen's eyes gradually reddened. After a long silence, he asked Xiao Yiyi in a slightly hoarse voice, "Back then, did my brother commit suicide because he knew all this?"

Xiao Yiyi's eyes also welled up with tears, her bright eyes glistening with them, yet a faint smile still lingered on her lips: "Back then, your father was more stubborn than he is now, he insisted on forcing him..." She choked on her words, then waved her hand, took a deep breath, and said with feigned ease, "So many years have passed, why bring this up! I originally thought that after what happened with Xuan, he wouldn't be so fixated anymore, but I never expected that this time it was A-Ke who approached him first..."

Liu Yichen's large hands, gripping the armrest, were bulging with veins, and his eyes were filled with tears. "If I had known earlier, I would never have helped him... It's all my fault that my brother died..." As he spoke, his voice trembled. Liu Yichen looked up at Xiao Yiyi and said somewhat indistinctly, "I've also caused you a lot of suffering..."

Xiao Yiyi's smile deepened: "There's nothing bitter about it. I chose this path myself, and it's nobody else's fault."

Xiao Changqing was the first to stand up. He walked over to Duan Chen in a few quick steps and said with a smile, "Little Duan, shall I take you back?" As he spoke, he gave Liu Yichen and Xiao Yiyi a wink and lowered his voice, "Let Sister Yiyi and the young master have a good chat. I'll take you back so you can rest early."

Duan Chen slowly rose, supporting himself on the armrest of the chair, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Master, let's chat." Before Xiao Yiyi could react, he turned and walked out.

Just as Xiao Yiyi stood up to speak, Liu Yichen quickly walked up to her and whispered, "Yiyi..." His handsome features were filled with pleading, his eyes were a little red, and his thin lips were slightly pursed, as if he was very aggrieved.

Xiao Yiyi turned her head and saw his appearance, then burst out laughing: "You look exactly like the first time I saw you, like a rabbit!"

Everyone in the room had already stood up, but hadn't left yet, so they all heard Xiao Yiyi's remark clearly. Zhou Yufei immediately grinned mischievously and whispered to Zhao Ting, "In the whole world, the only person who could describe this Young Master Liu as a rabbit is probably Master Duan Chen!"

Zhao Ting didn't speak, but turned to look at Liu Yichen. Liu Yichen was slightly taken aback, then nodded gently. Wanliu Manor had to give the imperial court an explanation regarding the matter of Old Master Liu.

Duan Chen wasn't walking fast because of his injuries. Just as he stepped over the threshold, the other three caught up. Zhan Yun quickly moved to the other side, while Zhao Ting, having nodded to Liu Yichen, walked a little slower. He then walked behind Xiao Changqing and tapped his shoulder with his finger.

Behind them, Zuo Xin and Zhou Yufei walked side by side. Seeing the four people ahead, they both sighed in unison. Another commotion was about to erupt!

Xiao Changqing turned his head and glanced at Zhao Ting with a displeased expression: "What?"

Zhao Ting parted his thin lips slightly and uttered two words: "Make way."

Xiao Changqing's delicate eyebrows shot up, his eyes widening in disbelief: "Why?"

Zhao Tingjian frowned slightly, glanced at Duan Chen, then looked at Xiao Changqing, his expression darkening. Xiao Changqing ignored him, turning back to walk alongside Duan Chen, affectionately nuzzling his arm: "Little Duan, I have a few good things here! I'll give them to you when we get inside..."