There were so many rooms in the villa that it was difficult to find a small one. The servants ended up shutting Su Yunkai and Ming Yue in a room that was spacious and bright. If it hadn’t been for the sound of the door being locked, they might’ve thought that the servants were treating them cordially.
Su Yunkai pushed at the window, but it had been blocked by a plank that was nailed across; they couldn’t open it.
Ming Yue sat at the table, resting. Watching him walk around and push things without finding any possible exits made her feel unsure about whether she should cry or laugh. “Those ingrates. Locking you here is exactly what the murderer wants.”
“I just saw Cui Xiu and Zhao Kang standing in the back of the crowd.”
“They must be very happy, right? To see you getting accused.”
“No.” Su Yunkai sat down and shook the teapot. There was no tea in it, so he set it down. “They were not happy, but neither were they sad. If I had to use a word to describe it…they were calm, as though they were detached from everything else. Their gazes were locked on Shen Wei.”
“Is Shen Wei their next target?” asked Ming Yue.
“Perhaps. What I found strange was that the most difficult person to deal with among the trio—Shen Wei and Liang Fangdong and Jin Fugui—is Shen Wei himself. So why didn’t they kill him first before anyone detected that anything was wrong? They didn’t even attack him for the second or third target. Now that Shen Wei is so alert and full of suspicion, he refuses to leave the side of the Marquis of Pingxi. Finishing him off will be very difficult.”
Ming Yue said softly, “Brother Su, you’re too kind. That’s why you don’t understand the purpose of the murderers. Grandpa said that the greater the hatred one harbors for a person, the more one wants to see that person suffer torture and die slowly. This is what eases the hatred in their heart. As we’ve seen in these couple of days, Liang Fangdong and Jin Fugui both act under the leadership of Shen Wei. Meanwhile, Yu Xianghong is the leader of a troupe that was raised by Shen Wei. Having to watch the people beside him die one by one . . . haven’t you seen Shen Wei become more frightened by the day? He is even displaying signs of becoming mad.”
As soon as she said it, Su Yunkai understood.
Compared to before, Shen Wei was indeed much more pathetic looking, no longer carrying the leisurely demeanor or the bearing of a rich man. Instead, he resembled a rabid dog, arbitrarily biting people.
“So Shen Wei is their final target.”
Ming Yue also thought so, especially after listening to Su Yunkai saying that Cui Xiu and Zhao Kang were calm.
Suddenly, there was a sound from above their heads. They looked up together and saw that three tiles had been uncovered from above. The surrounding tiles were currently being carefully removed from the ceiling.
The afternoon sunlight shone directly into the room, revealing dust motes floating in the air. The particles were white like tiny willow catkins drifting.
Ming Yue raised her head to glare. Then, upon seeing a familiar face, Ming Yue said joyfully, “Shui Shui.”
Bai Shui, who was currently squatting there and carefully uncovering the tiles, raised a finger across her lips to shush Ming Yue. Su Yunkai pulled Ming Yue to the side so that the dust wouldn’t scatter all over her head.
Bai Shui moved slowly. It took a while before she finally “dug” a hole large enough to accommodate herself. She glanced around. Seeing that no one was around, she jumped inside and landed lightly on the ground. “The people are guarding the yard. They probably think that you can’t escape, since all the doors and windows are locked.”
Su Yunkai asked, “Where is Shen Wei now?”
“In his room. He isn’t letting me or Qin Fang get close to him. From the window, I could only see him sitting on the ground surrounded by tables. Pretty much everyone else is outside. I think he lost several years these past few days; he’s scared out of his mind.”
Ming Yue said, “Look at what kind of person he is. Getting scared once in a while would do him a world of good.”
Su Yunkai said, “I want to ask you about Xiu Xiu. Tell me what you know.”
Bai Shui knew that this was classified information, but now was not the time to consider protocol. Only, she herself didn’t quite understand. “My lord, why are you not concerned about getting out of here? Why are you so concerned about that case?”
“It is because I want to solve this case that I am asking about that one.”
Bai Shui still didn’t understand. She realized that she usually didn’t understand his work and simply did as she was told. The results were always good, so she decided it was enough to just listen to him. “That Xiu Xiu was called Su Xiu, originally…”
*
It was past midday. The people in the villa were still in a state of panic. As for the people building the bridge across the ravine, they also stopped work. Hearing the sounds quieting down, Shen Wei cried in alarm, “Why did they stop? Why are they not repairing it anymore?”
Yu Fenglin, who was sitting on the bed reading, looked at him with disdain. “You are a human being. They are also human beings. They have to eat and rest.”
Shen Wei said with dissatisfaction, “They must be as dull as rocks. How come they didn’t get more people so they can take shifts?”
“Building a bridge is a craft. Moreover, the terrain here is dangerous, so it’s hard to get paid a decent sum of money. Being able to invite so many people here is already impressive.”
Seeing that he was calm, Shen Wei said anxiously, “Isn’t the marquis worried? What if the murderer wants to kill the marquis?”
Yu Fenglin sneered, “If he dares, I can take him. What’s more, I have a clear conscience. Aside from enemies of other nations, I have never done anything that would warrant such hatred. Now, it seems that the murderer’s target is obviously not me.”
Yu Fenglin looked at Shen Wei again. He did not say a word, but he expressed it all through a rather mocking smile.
This look made Shen Wei feel uneasy and extremely guilty. He took a step back and didn’t dare converse with the marquis again. Shen Wei could only hope that the bridge would be repaired soon so that he could get out of this place.
As he was praying, someone suddenly knocked on the door. “Master, it’s not good! The room next door is flooded!”
Shen Wei jumped up in fright. He ran to open the door, but as he was about to open it, he pulled away as if he had been burned. Shen Wei turned to Yu Fenglin to plead, “Marquis…”
Yu Fenglin slowly set down his book and walked to the door with disapproval etched upon his face. Suddenly, a shadow flashed in front of the door. Yu Fenglin immediately stepped back. Almost in sync with his retreat, a sharp sword pierced through the wooden door and passed by the side of Shen Wei’s face, nearly stabbing through his head.
Shen Wei shrieked, falling limply onto the ground.
Yu Fenglin kicked the wooden door open, breaking it into pieces and tossing it aside.
The masked person carrying a sword was forced to retreat in order to avoid the falling wood. Without waiting for him to land, Yu Fenglin rushed forward and hit him in the face with his bare fist. Startled, the man sidestepped lightly to avoid another blow.
Before he had a chance to breathe, he saw Yu Fenglin in front of him again. This time, he couldn’t escape. He got punched on the shoulder and his bones nearly broke.
Seeing that the situation was bad, the man made a couple of quick successive jabs.
Yu Fenglin didn’t want to fight to the death with that person, so he immediately stepped back and didn’t go to catch him.
Noting the hesitation, the assassin threw his sword at Yu Fenglin, then jumped up and fled from the roof.
Seeing this, Shen Wei, who had just come out of the house, said in a loud voice, “Chase him and catch him! I will reward you greatly.”
Money can make the devil move the mill. As the man was injured and there were many people around, more than ten people ran after the assassin upon hearing his roar.
Although the assassin was injured, he was quick and nimble, jumping from roof to roof. His speed and agility caused those chasing him to feel troubled. However, catching the killer meant that they would be safe. It meant that they would no longer have to worry anymore. Moreover, if Shen Wei died, they would not receive their proper pay.
In any case, it was good for them to catch the killer.
The villa was too big and the person was so fast that he seemed to be flying over the eaves and past the walls. By the time they chased the person to a spacious yard, the person was gone. After a while, they saw a man walking through the corridor. They rushed forward, yelling. The noise scared the person, causing him to drop the flower in his hand.
Qin Fang leaned over to pick his flower up and frowned at them. “What are you all yelling so loudly for? If you scare out some disease in me, I’ll definitely catch you and put you in prison.”
The person in front recognized that it was Qin Fang. Remembering that he and Su Yunkai were together, the person asked suspiciously, “For what reason is the little marquis here?”
Qin Fang looked at him and said, “I’m taking a walk. You’ve locked up the only people I can talk to. I’m so bored. Are you telling me that I can’t walk around? Oh, you’re worried. Then call your master over and lock me up in a room too. I’m an easygoing person, so I won’t stab you in the back when I come out.”
The words were full of menace. Someone said politely, “We would never dare to do something like that… Did the little marquis see anyone run over here?”
“No. What’s the matter?”
“A man was going to assassinate the Marquis of Pingxi.”
Qin Fang was so surprised that the flowers in his hand fell on the ground again. Several petals fell off. “Assassinate the Marquis of Pingxi? Why?”
When the people saw that he did not seem to be acting and that he was indeed very surprised, their suspicion lessened. “We don’t know. Since the little marquis didn’t see him, we’ll go to another place to look.”
Qin Fang was still a little distracted. He waved his hand and said, “Go, then.”
The man in front was about to lead them away, but then he said, “How can there be fallen flowers on the shoulders of the little marquis? I’ll brush them off for you.” He reached out and patted Qin Fang on the shoulder.
Qin Fang did not know what the man was testing him for, but what the man had said just now really surprised him. Once those people had left, Qin Fang rushed to the plantain tree behind the corridor. Angrily, Qin Fang nearly jumped the person leaning against the tree, demanding, “My good Shui Shui, how do you have the guts to assassinate the Marquis of Pinxi? He can tear a cow apart with his bare hands!”
The corners of Bai Shui’s mouth lifted. She took off her mask, revealing her pale face.
Qin Fang paused. Suddenly remembering what the man had done to him, he suddenly went over to touch her shoulder, “You’re injured, aren’t you?”
Just as he touched her shoulder, Bai Shui’s originally pale face became even paler. Qin Fang hastily supported her. “Do you really want to die?! Are you a fool?”
“I’m fine. Don’t scold me.” Bai Shui said, “I clearly went to assassinate Shen Wei.”
Qin Fang blinked, “Shen Wei? Why him?”
“Because…that is what Lord Su ordered.”
.
A Hint of Spring 
Thank you for the update.
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