Ma femme escalade le mur

Chapitre 8

The two walked to the front of the pavilion and saw Zhan Yun already waiting there. The three of them went out of the elegant house together. When they crossed the broken bridge, it was Xiao Duan who spoke first: "Let's go back to the yamen first."

The two naturally had no objections. On their way back to the yamen, Li Qinglan had already instructed a servant to prepare a room. The servant led the three of them there, brought them a pot of freshly brewed "Xianglin Tea," closed the door behind him, and then left.

The three sat down around the round table. Zhan Yun first recounted everything he had learned from the woman surnamed Zhu, and Xiao Duan then briefly recounted his experience with Zhao Ting. After listening, Zhan Yun gently shook his jade-bone folding fan, his handsome brows slightly furrowed: "It seems the problem really does lie in this elegant abode."

Xiao Duan nodded, and Zhao Ting, who had been silently drinking tea, suddenly spoke up: "Don't you think that all the girls in that garden reacted very strangely when that lay Buddhist was mentioned?"

After a long pause, Xiao Duan slowly said, "They seem to be very protective of that lay Buddhist, admiring him and relying on him."

Zhao Ting put down his teacup and sneered, "I told you long ago, those girls are just bored and have nothing better to do! They insist on setting up some fancy house and even hiring some lay Buddhist to lecture them on the Book of Songs and the Book of Music. A bunch of women hanging around one man all day long, how can things not go wrong!"

Xiao Duan's phoenix eyes grew even colder: "There are currently no clues to suggest that the lay Buddhist is the murderer. The worst thing you can do when solving a case is to have preconceived notions."

Zhao Ting shrugged: "I didn't say he was the murderer. I just said that the abode was a mess, with a bunch of girls following a lay Buddhist around, which could easily lead to trouble."

Xiao Duan struggled to suppress the urge to facepalm. What was all this about?! They were supposed to be analyzing a case, how did it all veer off into the topic of relationships?!

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was getting a little stiff again, Zhan Yun quickly changed the subject: "Um, you were just talking about that Miss Lan, she said something about 'her soul coming back to take revenge on everyone,' what do you think?"

Zhao Ting coldly retorted, "Nonsense!" He picked up his teacup to his lips, about to drink, but then turned his head slightly and said, "However, according to her, someone died in that elegant house before."

Xiao Duan lowered his eyes and took a sip of tea: "And it shouldn't be too long. Most of the people from back then should still be at the elegant residence, otherwise she wouldn't have mentioned 'revenge'."

“This is indeed a new clue.” Zhan Yun tapped his folding fan lightly, his crescent-shaped eyes carrying a faint smile: “Miss Zhu just told me that Qian Dieyou went to the elegant residence for a while yesterday afternoon, and she seemed very excited. She even bought a new jade butterfly hairpin and kept asking her if it was pretty.”

Xiao Duan lowered his eyes and remained silent. Zhao Ting glanced at Zhan Yun, his deep eyes holding a half-smile. Zhan Yun glanced at Xiao Duan somewhat awkwardly, a faint blush creeping onto his handsome face: "What I mean is, Qian Dieyou is very likely to have an appointment with someone. Otherwise, why would a young woman like her go to that broken bridge in the middle of the night for no reason? If we follow this lead, we should find a solution."

Xiao Duan took a sip of tea and nodded gently: "Let's go to the Broken Bridge when it gets dark. We should see that lay Buddhist, no matter what."

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Broken bridge.

It was nearly 7 PM.

Xiao Duan stood under a tree and said softly, "They're here." The other two were sitting on a rock not far away and also saw someone carrying a lantern walking towards them on the broken bridge in the distance.

Zhao Ting stood up, dusted off his clothes, and snorted coldly, "This hermit is quite something. He's attracting a bunch of young ladies to this Broken Bridge late at night. Didn't I hear people saying at dinner that nobody dares to come to this Broken Bridge after dark? They say it's haunted or something..."

Zhan Yun took two steps forward, her crescent-shaped eyes half-closed: "I don't think I saw any men following me!"

As they were talking, a man dressed in white walked unhurriedly to the bridgehead, accompanied by the woman in the pink dress who had spoken with Xiao Duan and Zhao Ting that afternoon. None of the three moved, remaining standing in place and watching quietly.

The girls walked to the lake in twos and threes. Some stood by carrying lanterns, while others squatted down, taking something out of a small basket, seemingly lighting a fire. Soon, flickering lights appeared on the lake. Upon closer inspection, small, fiery red lotus blossoms floated gently on the dark surface, appearing eerily beautiful from a distance. Then, some people started burning something by the lake, weeping softly as they did so. The girls standing nearby wiped away their tears with handkerchiefs. Seeing that things were almost settled, the three men walked towards where the group had been.

Miss Zhu was the first to spot the three figures. She stepped forward and bowed to them, then looked at Zhan Yun with a shy expression. Zhan Yun smiled slightly, "Miss Zhu." His gaze then drifted to the white-clad man standing by the lake with his back to the three. Seeing this, Zhu Qiaolian smiled slightly and said, "Does Young Master Zhan wish to get to know the recluse?"

Zhan Yun's crescent-shaped eyes curved even more, and she nodded gently. The three followed Miss Zhu toward the man, and Zhan Yun asked softly, "May I ask how this gentleman is addressed?"

Zhu Qiaolian turned around and smiled: "The layman's surname is Song, given name is Qiao, and his pen name is Menglian. We all call him Layman Menglian."

Before Zhu Qiaolian could call out, the man had already turned around. In the dim firelight, the man was dressed in white, his eyebrows like distant mountains, his eyes like morning stars, a faint smile on his lips carrying a hint of vicissitude, and his slightly melancholic eyes revealing a transcendent air of detachment from worldly affairs. Zhan Yun spoke first, holding a folding fan and bowing slightly: "Master Meng Lian, I have long admired you."

The man returned the greeting, his pale purple lips parted slightly, and his deep voice seemed to come from a quiet valley, melodious and mysterious: "Greetings, gentlemen."

Zhao Ting gazed at the small fire lotuses that were either drifting away or sinking into the water, his deep eyes fixed on the man before him: "A very special way of praying for blessings."

The man smiled leisurely: "It's a custom from my hometown. Every time we pluck a lotus flower, we silently recite a prayer, and after dark, we light a candle and put it in the water to send off the soul of the deceased."

Xiao Duan remained silent, her cool, phoenix-shaped eyes meeting the man's. Only after the man finished speaking did she finally utter a word: "Does the layman also believe in ghosts and spirits?"

The man paused for a moment, then smiled faintly and turned to look at the lake, which was gradually returning to darkness: "May the dead rest in peace, and may the living find solace."

"Oh! Little Lan, what an exquisite handkerchief! It's burned like that?" The group looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the girl, Lanlan, had changed her clothes and was wiping her eyes while speaking softly. The woman who had asked her to leave that afternoon was also standing beside her, her face somber, and she gently patted Lanlan's shoulder.

As the flames gradually died down, the girls' emotions calmed down. Layman Menglian bid farewell to the three of them, saying, "It's getting late, and it's not safe for you ladies to walk at night. I need to take them home, so I won't chat with you any longer."

“Since we have nothing else to do, why don’t we join the layman in seeing the ladies off?” Zhan Yun said with a slight smile.

The smile on Meng Lian Jushi's lips deepened, and she glanced at Zhao Ting and Xiao Duan indifferently: "Very well."

Fortunately, the ladies' residences were mostly located in two areas of the city, and the journeys were not circuitous. By the time the last lady was taken home, it was already past midnight.

"Recently, one incident after another has occurred at the elegant residence, with women dying in particularly gruesome ways. Although the authorities have been doing their utmost to find the murderer, they have yet to make any progress. Since you are acquainted with the ladies of the elegant residence, have you noticed anything amiss?" Zhan Yun said calmly, tilting her head to carefully observe the man's expression.

Song Qiao stopped, her brows furrowing deeper. "The three gentlemen have already visited the elegant abode today, and just now observed us by the lake for quite some time. I'm sure you three already understand the relationship between the young ladies. You may inquire about who I, Song Qiao, am. However, if you're hoping to hear anything detrimental to 'Bamboo Fragrance Elegant Abode' from me, you'll be disappointed." With that, she bowed slightly and turned to walk in another direction.

Watching the man's departing figure, Zhan Yunqing's handsome brows darkened with a hint of gloom. He turned to look at the two men and said, "This man is not simple."

Zhao Ting narrowed his deep eyes slightly, and his thin lips formed a shallow curve: "I feel like none of the people I met today were honest!"

Xiao Duan looked up at the two of them, his phoenix eyes still cold and aloof. He thought to himself that since he met these two, they had finally said something reliable!

Author's Note: All I can say is that I've been planting clues and foreshadowing in every chapter. ╭(╯^╰)╮

10

Chapter Five: Nighttime Investigation of the Elegant Abode • Clash...

"Thump! Thump! Thump!" The sound of a clapper rang out from outside the window; it was the third watch of the night.

Xiao Duan opened her eyes, threw off the thin blanket, sat up in bed, reached under her pillow for a willow hairpin, and tied up her loose hair with the hairpin as she got out of bed. She walked to the table, picked up the kettle, and poured some water. She wiped her face, then picked up the glass and drank it sip by sip. The icy water slid down her throat and into her stomach, sending a chill down her spine.

Setting down his water glass, Xiao Duan turned and walked to the window facing the street. Opening the window, he stepped onto the windowsill, leaped, and landed steadily on the street outside the inn. Using his light-footed skills, he made his way to the entrance of the inn. Xiao Duan then rose into the air, lightly touched the blue bricks on the wall with his toes, and landed on the grass in the courtyard.