Une aura glaçante

Chapitre 13

Chonghua wanted to throw an orange at him. This hooligan was taking advantage of the girl and taking advantage of her. She didn't know what Xiaodao had done to offend him. This was the first time she had seen Xue Beifan go so far.

Just as he was getting angry, Xiaoyue peeled an orange for Chonghua. "Young Master Chong, have an orange."

Upon hearing the word "Young Master," Chonghua immediately wilted. Young Master, Young Master Chong, Young Master Xue, Detective Hao... Xiaoyue always addressed people that way, and always kept her head down.

"Just call me by my name." Chonghua took the orange.

"Oh." Xiaoyue nodded, reaching out to peel one for herself. Chonghua quickly took it for her, saying softly, "I'll do it."

Xiaoyue was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Chonghua.

Chonghua smiled at her, peeled an orange and put it in her hand, "On this trip, you don't need to take care of anyone else, just let us take care of you."

Xiaoyue lowered her head to eat an orange, and unusually, she became a little awkward.

Xiao Dao, watching from the side, muttered under his breath, "Hold her hand and say a few more words, you idiot!"

Just as he was engrossed in watching, Xue Beifan's face appeared before him. Startled, Xiao Dao quickly dodged and glared at him menacingly.

Xue Beifan blocked her way with some dissatisfaction and asked, "You're such a difficult girl to please. If I don't hold your hand, you say I'm stupid, but if I do, you call me a lecher!"

Xiao Dao moved aside a little, still angry about what had just happened, and didn't want to pay any attention to him.

The music had subsided slightly, and the night was even darker. Strings of colorful paper lanterns hung high in the courtyard. The lanterns were made of thick paper, casting a dim light throughout the courtyard. Perhaps it was the heavy humidity of the night, but those who were a little further apart could not clearly see the expressions on each other's faces.

Wang Bibo drank alone, his eyes fixed on Xiao Dao and Xue Beifan, seemingly lost in thought, or perhaps just daydreaming.

Wang Gui announced the start of the banquet, and the maids came up one after another to pour wine and serve dishes.

After taking a couple of bites in silence, Wang Bibo suddenly asked Wang Gui, "Where's Cui'er? Didn't she promise to play the flute for me tonight?"

“Uh…” Wang Gui hesitated, then subconsciously looked at Yu Lanzhi.

Yu Lanzhi glanced at him sideways, and Wang Gui quickly whispered, "Oh, Cui'er quit her job and went home."

"Quitting their jobs?" Wang Bibo sighed. "Why are they doing it again? Are a lot of girls quitting their jobs lately? And they all happen to be the ones I've got my eye on."

Wang Gui smiled awkwardly and said he would find someone in a few days, then stood aside to serve.

Xiao Dao asked the young maid who was setting out the dishes, "Who is Cui'er?"

The maid glanced at Yu Lanzhi and saw her get up and go to Wang Bibo's side. She then whispered to Xiaodao, "Cui'er was playing the flute in the courtyard just now, and the young master heard her. He praised her for playing well, gave her some grapes, and told her to play at the banquet later to add to the festivities."

Xiao Dao's heart skipped a beat—wasn't this the pretty maid he saw by the lotus pond?

"She should be very happy," Xiao Dao said, puzzled. "Why did she quit her job?"

"Of course she didn't quit; she was definitely kicked out by Miss Biao." The maid's voice was extremely low. "When you're a maid in the Prince's mansion, you must never let the young master take a liking to you! If the young master smiles at you or praises you, and Miss Biao sees it, you'll either get beaten or kicked out!"

After the maid finished speaking, she stood up and went to the back to serve the dishes.

Xiao Dao subconsciously glanced at Yu Lanzhi, who was sitting next to Wang Bibo pouring wine. Yu Lanzhi was rather spoiled, after all, she was born into a wealthy family, but Xiao Dao couldn't see such a ruthless side in her—had he underestimated her?

"That's why they say the most poisonous heart is a woman's." Xue Beifan said sarcastically from the side, while reminding Xiao Dao, "You're lucky you didn't agree to this marriage, otherwise I'm afraid your life would be in danger."

Xiao Dao was too lazy to argue with him. If Wang Bibo hadn't been so philandering and unclear, Yu Lanzhi wouldn't have been consumed by jealousy.

Just then, a maid brought Xiaodao a dish of stuffed oranges, which Yu Lanzhi had specially ordered the kitchen to make. Xiaodao's gloomy mood immediately improved. He reached out his chopsticks to pick up a shrimp, but then he saw that the silvery tip of his chopsticks turned black the moment it touched the shrimp.

"Hey!" Xue Beifan quickly stopped Xiao Dao, "It's poisoned!"

Xiao Dao was also startled. Wang Bibo heard this and stood up, "What's wrong?"

Xue Beifan held up his chopsticks with the tips pointing upwards for Wang Bibo to see, "Someone added seasoning to the dish."

Everyone was startled. The maids quickly stepped aside, and Chonghua and Xiaoyue stopped eating. Hao Jinfeng, who had just eaten quite a bit, was so shocked he wanted to choke. He stared intently at the chopsticks in his hand, noticing that one end was still silver and hadn't changed color. He figured it was probably okay.

"Wang Gui!" Wang Bibo's face turned ugly.

"Master," Wang Gui rushed in, looking troubled, "this..."

"Try them all," Wang Bibo instructed. Wang Gui quickly took a silver needle and tested each dish one by one, finding that none of the dishes were poisoned, except for the shrimp dish with the small knife, which contained a deadly poison.

Xiao Dao stared at the silver chopsticks, then lifted the plate slightly. By the moonlight, he saw a faint layer of pale blue powder on the surface of the shrimp, indicating that the poison had just been applied.

Xiaoyue looked up and stared at Yu Lanzhi next to Wang Bibo. Yu Lanzhi met her gaze and got annoyed, "Why are you looking at me?!"

Xiaoyue frowned. Yu Lanzhi had specifically mentioned that she was going to make this dish for Xiaodao that afternoon. Could it be that she poisoned it? Wouldn't it be too obvious to do so?

"I didn't!" Yu Lanzhi quickly shook her head and said to Wang Bibo, "Cousin, I didn't poison her!"

Wang Bibo glanced at Yu Lanzhi, seemingly hesitant.

"You don't believe me?" Yu Lanzhi's eyes reddened.

“I believe you,” Wang Bibo blurted out, “but let’s find out the truth first.”

Yu Lanzhi opened her mouth, stood up, turned around and glared at Xiao Dao, "Say something! Aren't you a little devil?!"

Xiao Dao held up his chopsticks and looked at everyone. "It shouldn't be Lan Zhi, right? She wouldn't be stupid enough to poison this dish and give me a pair of silver chopsticks."

"Exactly!" Yu Lanzhi noticed a sneer on the face of the maid who had just served Xiaodao, and stepped forward to pinch her ear. "What are you laughing at! Are you accusing me?!"

"Miss, spare me! I don't know anything!" the maid cried out in pain, while Xue Beifan shrank back—thinking to himself, this is too unreasonable!

Xiao Dao chimed in, "Don't resort to violence yet, investigate first."

"It must be you bunch of brats who teamed up..." Yu Lanzhi pushed the maid aside and angrily pointed at the maids around her, "Don't think I don't know what you've been saying about me behind my back."

"Lanzhi!" Wang Bibo frowned and stopped Yu Lanzhi from throwing another tantrum.

Yu Lanzhi turned around and gave Wang Bibo a resentful look. "I'm going home now and I won't look for you again. Are you satisfied now? It's not like I'm unwanted. Why should I be so pathetic as to stay here and have to watch other people's faces every day? Marry whoever you want!" After saying that, she wiped away her tears and ran away.

Everyone present stared silently at Wang Bibo, who seemed quite angry as well. He slammed down his cup, sat down, and ordered Wang Gui, "Find out who poisoned me."

"Yes." Wang Gui nodded and left.

No one present had any appetite left. After a moment, a maidservant mustered her courage and asked Wang Bibo, "Master, would you like the song and dance performances to continue...?"

"What do you want? Who can eat this?!" Wang Bibo's face was extremely ugly, which frightened all the maids into retreating.

Just as everyone was feeling awkward, Xiao Dao clapped his hands.

With a "smack," everyone looked up at her.

Xiao Dao jumped up and pulled Xiao Yue, "Come on, Xiao Yue, let's go find Lan Zhi for a late-night snack and celebrate her escape from suffering."

Xiaoyue was dragged away by Xiaodao in a daze, leaving Chonghua and Xue Beifan looking at each other with some sympathy for the dejected Wang Bibo.

Hao Jinfeng couldn't help but ask, "Can I go too? I'm not full."

...

Rabbits don't eat grass.

In a private room of a restaurant on a street in Pingjiang Prefecture.

"Don't cry." Xiaoyue handed a handkerchief to Yu Lanzhi, who was sitting at the table sobbing. "Xiaodao said he believes you."

"You've wronged me!" Yu Lanzhi said between sobs, "It wasn't me in the first place!"

"The innocent have nothing to fear, why are you still crying?" Xiaoyue shook her head.

“She wasn’t crying because she felt wronged,” Xiao Dao said, leaning over the table and fiddling with the teacup in front of her. “She was angry that her cousin didn’t trust her.”

Xiaoyue nodded understandingly and remained silent, sitting quietly beside her.

Yu Lanzhi cried for a while and then calmed down, wiping away her tears without saying a word.

Seeing that she had recovered, Xiao Dao asked, "Are you really planning to go home?"

Yu Lanzhi pursed her lips and remained silent.

"Useless." Xiao Dao curled his lip.

Holding her teacup, Yu Lanzhi said sadly, "If I leave, my cousin might have to drink to celebrate. If I don't bother him, he can be free."

"Young Master Wang is quite accommodating to you, isn't he?" Xiaoyue had a different opinion. "Don't overthink it."

"It's because I don't overthink things that things turned out this way," Yu Lanzhi said angrily. "Do you think my cousin really likes me? No way! My aunt loves me very much. She told my cousin to take good care of me. My cousin only tolerates me because he is filial."

Xiao Dao and Xiao Yue exchanged a glance and decided to remain silent, listening to Yu Lanzhi pour out her grievances.

“I decided when I was very young that I would marry no one but my cousin, but from childhood to adulthood, many people liked my cousin, and he liked many people too.” Yu Lanzhi twisted the handkerchief in her hand. “But he was always very good to me. I thought he was just playing around, so I kept waiting... until he insisted on marrying you.”

Xiao Dao also looked troubled.

Yu Lanzhi glanced at her and said, "I don't know what he saw in you. You two have only known each other for a short time, while I've waited for him for so many years!"

Xiao Dao and Xiao Yue both nodded – yes, it's infuriating.

“Although I hate you, you said you wanted to break off the engagement,” Yu Lanzhi retorted. “Why would I bother poisoning you?!”

Xiao Dao and Xiao Yue nodded in agreement.

"I know I have an unpleasant personality; it must be those maids playing tricks on me."

"You think I'd kill you just to tease you?" Little Knife patted his chest, thinking to himself, "This is my life!"

Later that evening, Wang Gui came out with his servants and found everyone. He said that Wang Bibo had sent him to find Yu Lanzhi, and he said a lot of nice things, such as "The master knows he was wrong and is very worried about Miss Yu..."

Yu Lanzhi calmed down a bit and went back with them.

Xiao Dao carried a large oil paper package and returned to Bibo Manor with Xiao Yue. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Hao Jinfeng sitting on the steps at the entrance, sighing with his hands supporting his chin.

Seeing his worried expression, Xiao Dao leaned over and asked, "What's wrong? Why aren't you asleep so late?"

Hao Jinfeng frowned. "I was asleep, but I woke up hungry. The kitchen said they were checking for poison, so they threw away all the food. I'm too hungry to sleep."

Xiao Dao chuckled, sat down next to him, and stuffed the oil paper package into his arms, saying, "I knew you weren't getting enough to eat."

Hao Jinfeng looked at Xiaodao with a puzzled expression, then opened the oil paper package and saw a dozen large, white, fresh meat buns inside.

Hao Jinfeng's mouth dropped open.

Xiao Dao chuckled and urged him, "Eat up, you'll be able to sleep better if you eat your fill."

"Mmm." Hao Jinfeng smiled at Xiao Dao while eating a meat bun, "Miss Xiao Dao, you are such a good person."

"Is it kind of you to treat me to steamed buns? What if I treat you to a big meal?" Xiao Dao watched him eat the steamed buns, resting his chin on his hand, wondering if his own father ate like this.

“It’s different.” Hao Jinfeng’s mouth was full, and he shook his head. “The moment I saw you, I felt like I’d seen you somewhere before.”

Xiao Dao smiled slightly, "That's because we have a connection."