Je vends des vêtements et j'achète du vin à boire avec toi

Chapitre 19

"Is he afraid I'll defect to your side?" Feng Ning thought this was very likely: "I must know some secret he's hiding."

Long San didn't say anything, but poked at the fire to make it burn brighter. The guard, being quite perceptive, left a space for them to talk and then disappeared to another spot.

Feng Ning watched Long San's actions and asked, "Why did you come here?"

“You’ve been acting strangely these past few days, so naturally I had people keep an eye on you. You have no friends, and suddenly you received a letter saying you were going to bed early, so there’s definitely something wrong with that. But by the time someone came to tell me, you had already run away. Luckily, I asked the gate guard, and he recognized you, so I figured you must have run here.”

Feng Ning bit her lip and said, "It was Xia'er who gave me the letter. The day she left, she secretly told me that I am not Madam Long San. Today, the letter asked me to come here again, saying that she wanted to tell me the truth."

"You're not Madam Long San?" Long San asked in surprise.

"That's exactly what she said, and she told me to run away quickly."

Long San narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her expression: "You believe me?"

"Her words sounded so strange, of course I had to come and hear what was going on." Feng Ning still felt a lingering fear: "I never expected it to be like this."

"Aren't you Madam Long San?" Long San muttered this question, staring at Feng Ning.

Feng Ning touched her face: "Of course you wouldn't mistake me for someone else, right?" Compared to Xia'er, she was actually more willing to believe Long San. Besides, it was indeed unlikely that everyone in a house would lie without leaving a trace.

Long San glanced at her sideways: "What kind of question is that? Do you think I wouldn't recognize my own wife?"

Feng Ning snorted and said, "What's so strange about that? You don't know anything about your wife anyway, so it's possible that you've forgotten what she looks like."

"That's true." He deliberately went along with her, which earned him a glare from Feng Ning. She was disheveled, and her glare lost its force, but then she sneezed loudly. Long San couldn't help but laugh, and Feng Ning, annoyed and embarrassed, let go of him with a "humph" and sat away.

It was getting cold, and there was no moon. The only light on the shore came from the fire. Feng Ning sat there for a while, then couldn't help but move closer to Long San. "You think Xia'er said that to pique my curiosity and lure me here? She didn't really mean to say that I wasn't Long San's wife, did she?"

Long San replied, "You weren't disguised, yet you appeared at this location at the same time. Someone questioned you about the whereabouts of the treasure, and then used a maid to lure you in. If you're not Feng Ning, then who are you? If you're not Feng Ning, why would he kill you?"

“That makes sense.” Feng Ning twisted her fingers.

Long San then asked, "Xia'er's matter isn't the main thing you're hiding from me, is it?"

Feng Ning lowered her head and remained silent, muttering to herself, "Why is this spendthrift so smart? It's annoying."

Long San continued, "Feng Ning, you are all alone here. If you don't tell us what's wrong, we can't help you. What will you do if you get into more trouble?"

Feng Ning remained silent for a long time before finally replying softly, "I won't be so foolish next time. As long as I stay away from water, I should be able to protect myself."

Long San's face darkened: "So you still don't want to tell me?"

Feng Ning felt sad: "I don't want you to hate me." Long San's expression told her that he hated this situation even more. Feng Ning pondered for a long time and finally said: "Then promise me that whatever I did in the past, you can't hold it against me now."

Long San nodded, and Feng Ning said, "When we get back to the manor, I'll show you something."

But Feng Ning never expected that the day's shocks and surprises were not over. She returned to the manor with Long San, took him back to her room, gritted her teeth, and made up her mind to confess honestly: "I have found a clue. Perhaps the past me is really related to your attack." She paused, looked at Long San, and emphasized again: "It is the past me, not the present me."

As she spoke, she opened the jewelry box, but to her surprise, the hidden compartment was empty.

Feng Ning was stunned: "This, it was clearly in here. I searched for a long time that night and saw those silk ropes in this hidden compartment, and they were the same as the ones you showed me."

Long San understood: "You think the murderer is related to you? That's why you don't dare tell me and want to find out the truth yourself?"

Feng Ning nodded: "My dowry maid died at such a coincidence, so I think she must know something. I saw that Xia'er looked very flustered when she saw me, so I tested her. It turned out that she really had a problem, but I didn't expect that it would end up harming her."

Author's Note: I don't seem to have much to say today, so it's your turn to talk.

14

14. The entangled and complicated Third Madam Long...

Long San remained silent for a long time. He looked around the room and called Xiao Qing in: "Madam, who has come to visit these past few days?"

Xiaoqing looked at Long San's face with some tension: "Not many people come. Only Granny Yu comes to visit occasionally, Doctor Chen comes to see patients, and there are servants who bring meals. Otherwise, Xia'er came to deliver new handkerchiefs a couple of days ago." Xiaoqing paused and added: "New handkerchiefs were sent to each courtyard."

Mentioning Xia'er, Feng Ning's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that she had taken the silk rope as well? Long San's expression remained unchanged, but he instructed Xiao Qing to have the servants prepare hot water, saying that Feng Ning had fallen into the water and was frightened, and needed to soak in hot water to cleanse herself and relieve her fatigue. Xiao Qing obeyed and left. Long San then turned to Feng Ning and said, "I will arrange for two guards to watch over you. Don't go out alone on weekdays. The manor will conduct a thorough investigation. Besides Xia'er, there might be other people lying in ambush."

Upon hearing this, Feng Ning was deeply moved. She was clearly the suspect who tried to kill him, and she might even have seduced other men, yet he didn't blame her at all and even protected her. Feng Ning immediately rushed over and hugged Long San: "Thank you."

In this unfamiliar and dangerous place, with a blank and helpless past and an unpredictable and uncertain future, she was fortunate to still have him by her side.

"I will no longer hide anything from you. It's all my fault." If she had told her earlier, with Master Long San to handle things, Xia'er might not have been able to leave. Now that everything has been asked, she wouldn't have lost her life for nothing, and she herself wouldn't have had to suffer the pain of drowning.

As they were talking, two male servants carried in a large wooden tub filled with hot water. Xiaoqing and another maid followed behind with bathing supplies. When Feng Ning saw this, she was about to let go of Long San, but Long San hugged her tightly and said in a loud, affectionate tone, "Alright, don't panic. It's all over now. I'm here for you. I know everything now and I'll take care of things for you."

Feng Ning's mind raced, and she understood. She then cooperating in a soft and sweet voice, saying, "Husband, you are so good to me." Her affected manner made Long San stiffen, and several servants and maids all turned their heads to look.

Long San hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "You're less scary when you're a little fierce." After saying that, he let go of her and smiled as usual, "You should soak in the water and get some rest. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

Feng Ning was furious at his subtle teasing, but she couldn't show it in front of the servants, so she could only force a smile and see him off. Turning back, she felt a little dizzy looking at the large bathtub full of water and thought to herself, "Oh no, my fear of water is getting worse."

All the servants and maids withdrew, and Feng Ning stood by the bathtub, hesitant to go in. Finally, having no other choice, she called Xiao Qing in, pulled up a screen, and had her keep her company on the other side. In this way, she distracted herself, constantly reminding herself that she couldn't drown in the bathtub, and finally managed to finish her bath.

That night, Long San was reading secret reports from various factions in the martial arts world when he heard a knock at the door. He opened the door and saw Feng Ning, who was wrapped up in a large cloak and looked like a ball. Before Long San could speak, Feng Ning had already scurried past him into the room.

Seeing the light on, the files on the table, and the neatly made bed, Feng Ning said, "Oh, you're still awake? That's great."

Long San was about to say, "I'm not asleep and I don't want to chat with you." Before he could finish speaking, he saw Feng Ning throw off her thick cloak, revealing that she was only wearing an undergarment underneath, her hair was loose, and she was even holding clothes and a pillow. No wonder she looked so round just now.

Long San blinked, and before he could react, Feng Ning had already quickly climbed onto his bed, pulled up the covers, and crawled in to lie down.

"What are you doing?" He was dumbfounded for a long time before finally finding his voice.