When the book-traveling little detective meets the two-faced prince

Chapter 76 1 A thick brush also relieves worries

It was unknown how much time had passed before Zhao Tinglan, who was sitting on the ground, came to her senses. There was no one around her, and only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the leaves.

Zhao Tinglan raised her head and looked towards Yarenzhuang not far away, the hatred in her eyes becoming more and more obvious.

The fake Xing Haocang's hand looked very familiar to her.

When he looked at Rong Dong's body again, his eyes softened again, mixed with helplessness and confusion.

Rong Dong never said his name, nor did he ever mention where he came from. Whenever asked, he would just smile and say that Chunhua Tower was his home.

Zhao Tinglan brought Rong Dong's body back and dragged it when she had the strength, and sat down to rest when she didn't. When she rested, Zhao Tinglan would tell Rong Dong's body about her past with Xing Haocang.

Finally, after walking for a day and a night, Zhao Tinglan chose a place with nice scenery and buried Rong Dong with her own hands.

Zhao Tinglan, covered in mud and with disheveled hair, dragged her tired body back to the town and deliberately chose the road in front of the abandoned house because there were the fewest people on that road and she would not attract attention.

But when passing by the abandoned house, he saw a young man carrying a corpse out of the house. The corpse was much larger than the boy. The boy put the corpse on a straw mat and dragged it bit by bit.

Zhao Tinglan recognized the boy. He was the boy who covered his eyes with long hair a year ago.

Many adults and even government officials didn't care about the house, but this young man didn't show any fear. He looked panic-stricken a year ago, but he was very calm when carrying the corpse.

By chance, a gust of wind blew by, blowing up the boy's long hair.

The young man quickly dropped the corpse in his hand, covered his face with the long hair again, looked around, then pulled up the rotten corpse again and walked towards the outside of the city.

I don’t know if it was because she felt sympathy for the boy, but even though it was only a moment and the boy only had one intact eye, Zhao Tinglan still easily captured the emotions in the boy’s eyes.

Beneath those determined eyes, there was still indelible sadness and hatred hidden.

Soon, the house became an abandoned place, and word spread that it was haunted. No one dared to approach it, and it gradually became a place for refugees to live.

Zhao Tinglan sent someone to ask, and found out that the first person who took the lead in moving into the abandoned house was an unknown young man.

Ever since He Yuqing's body and Yulong Waterfall disappeared, the villagers of Yulong Village have been acting secretive, as if they are doing something in secret that they don't want outsiders to know about. They are not as hospitable as before.

Rong Dong's sacrifice gave Zhao Tinglan the opportunity to do business with Yaren Zhuang. The handwriting on the post she received was very similar to that of Xing Haocang, and it was also stamped with the Xing family's seal.

Apart from the major changes in the structure of the houses in Xingjiazhuang, Yarenzhuang still does the human trafficking business as before. Although there are no other evil acts, the methods used to treat the refugees are extremely harsh and cruel.

Duan Hongzhi, the big boss, would beat or scold someone if they did not do what he wanted. If he was too harsh, he would carve the word of shame on the person's face.

Xing Haocang would never do that.

Zhao Tinglan remembered that the young man who had his head chopped off by the executioner in the abandoned house also had words engraved on his forehead.

On several occasions, Zhao Tinglan spotted the blindfolded boy in Yaren Village. His overly long hair blocked his face and his head was always lowered.

The young man was a refugee from Northern Qi, not a Yunqiang person.

Logically speaking, even if he stayed in the town as a beggar, it would be difficult for him to be sent to this beggar's farm for no reason. He must have his own plans for coming in so many times.

It is not a big deal that the boy has a disability on his face and is difficult to be bought by others. The only thing is that he might be noticed by the people in the brokerage shop as time goes by.

Zhao Tinglan decided to help the boy secretly.

Even if the refugees of Northern Qi were bought and then driven away by their owners, they would not be sent to the border by the government like the people of Yunqiang Kingdom.

Therefore, every time they would buy the young man from the Ya Ren Zhuang, ask him to help out in Chun Hua Lou, and then find a random reason to drive the young man away.

Five years later, when Zhao Tinglan turned 40, Chunhualou held another grand banquet, and people from all walks of life in the industry came to celebrate Zhao Tinglan's birthday.

Zhao Tinglan was receiving guests from Chunhua Tower in the courtyard.

"Madam Zhao, may your birthday be auspicious and may everything go well for you."

This familiar voice made Zhao Tinglan feel a chill on her back. The scene of Rong Dong's death reappeared in front of her eyes, causing her breathing to stop for a moment.

Zhao Tinglan adjusted her mood, turned around, and found that it was Yan Jingyi, the magistrate of Changluan County.

Yan Jingyi bowed politely to Zhao Tinglan and asked his men to hand the prepared gift to Zhao Tinglan.

Zhao Tinglan squatted slightly, nodded with a smile on her face, and when she lowered her eyes, she quickly scanned the back of Yan Jingyi's hand, then slowly stood up, stretched out her hand to take the gift from Yan Jingyi, and said with a smile: "County Magistrate Yan, your coming here is already a great gift to Tinglan, and it makes my Chunhua Tower glorious, so why bring a gift?"

"Let's put it this way. It's my duty. Madam Zhao, please don't refuse."

"Since it is County Magistrate Yan's intention, then Tinglan should accept it. County Magistrate Yan, please come in."

Zhao Tinglan handed the gift in her hand to the servant beside her, gently put her hand on Yan Jingyi's arm, and said softly: "County Magistrate Yan is so cruel."

"What are you talking about, Madam Zhao?"

"Tell me yourself, how long has it been since you last came to my place? I thought I did something wrong and you disliked me."

Hearing this, Yan Jingyi smiled heartily, patted Zhao Tinglan's hand and said, "I'm busy with work. Besides, I'm here now, right?"

"You'll have to come more often in the future."

"Okay, okay, I'll definitely come often, often."

After several years and many contacts with him, the author compared the locations of the brown spots on the back of the hands of Fake Xing Haocang and Yan Jingyi, as well as the way they spoke and walked.

Zhao Tinglan could finally conclude that the fake Xing Haocang was Yan Jingyi.

It was not until two years ago that Zhao Tinglan heard that the villagers of Yulong Village were asking if anyone had a daughter who had just died and wanted to use her for a ghost marriage for their dead son.

Over the past decade, Yulong Village has remained mysterious, but Zhao Tinglan has not given up on finding out the news about Yulong Village.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to purchase things for Chunhualou, Zhao Tinglan heard from villagers in the neighboring village of Yulong Village that at midnight on the sixth day of June every two years, a burst of gongs and drums would be heard in Yulong Village.

The sixth day of June is the River God Festival. Many places believe in river gods and hold sacrificial ceremonies at night, so it is not surprising. However, it is usually held in the evening of the same day, and rarely at midnight.

Zhao Tinglan remembered very clearly that the day He Yuqing died was the sixth day of June.

Now, it is almost the sixth day of June.

Although Yulong Village told the public that He Yuqing's parents moved away from the village because they could not bear He Yuqing's drowning, Rong Dong came back with the story that the two elders of the He family were hacked to death by a group of robbers.

Zhao Tinglan still believed what Rong Dong told her.

However, over the years, we have been trying to find a way to prove Yan Jingyi's identity, and Yulong Village has paid less attention to it.

I think the matter of He Yuqing drowning in Yulong Village more than ten years ago and the whereabouts of her body must not be that simple, and must be inextricably linked to the abandoned house.

Yan Jingyi must be involved in this.

Zhao Tinglan was not able to deduce the ins and outs of the whole matter, but there was one thing that Zhao Tinglan was clear about.

Without the help of people from the government, this matter would never have disappeared so easily.

She is now closely connected with Yan Jingyi. If she investigates on her own, Yan Jingyi will surely suspect her. Taking this opportunity, Zhao Tinglan decides to use a different method to approach Yulong Village.

Zhao Tinglan's eyes were full of guilt as she looked towards the room where Su Li was.

Su Li's condition became more and more serious. In fact, the money in Sun Wan'er's hand was not enough. Every time, the doctor would come to Zhao Tinglan to get the remaining money.

So Zhao Tinglan knew that Su Li didn’t have much time left.

So, before Su Li died, Zhao Tinglan spread the news that a woman had just died in Chunhua Tower. Sure enough, the villagers of Yulong Village soon came to the door, and after Su Li died, they took Su Li's body away.

Things should have been going smoothly, but the good times did not last long. The Northern Qi Emperor Xiao Jingzheng, disregarding the peace treaty between the two countries, attacked the Yunqiang Kingdom again, causing the small town of Zhouqing to become even more miserable and with corpses everywhere.

Chunhua Tower gradually became deserted.

The war that took place more than ten years ago has turned a large number of villagers on the border between Yunqiang and Northern Qi into homeless refugees. It is possible that the people of Zhouqing Town will soon become homeless refugees as well.

The war lasted for more than a year, and finally at the beginning of the New Year, the Yunqiang Kingdom was defeated, and a member of the Yunqiang royal family, Nan Rong, hanged himself in his bedroom.

Nan Rongyi, the 21-year-old prince of Yunqiang State, died in a raging fire in the Linnan Palace because he could not bear the humiliation.

Afterwards, the third prince of Northern Qi, Xiao Yihuo, fell seriously ill. After he recovered, he asked his father to grant him the land of Linnan as a fiefdom and he became the King of Linnan.

Zhao Tinglan looked at the snowflakes floating down from the sky, stretched out her hand to catch them in her palm, and watched the snowflakes melt in her hand. Zhao Tinglan's vision also blurred.

Thirteen years have passed since the last war between Northern Qi and Yunqiang Kingdom. Now she has grown old and her youth is gone.

I still remember that when I had my first face-to-face conversation with Xing Haocang, I was only sixteen years old.

Before she knew it, at the age of 47, she was actually older than Xing Haocang.

Half a year after the war, Chunhua Tower gradually became lively again. Just when Zhao Tinglan felt that he had no ability to solve all of this and could not compete with the government, Zhao Tinglan, who recognized this fact, became more and more sad and wanted to end his life.

By chance, a name came into Zhao Tinglan's ears.

Jiang Lian'an.

A wisp of green smoke rises, and all the injustice in the world ends.

It is said that he is not afraid of the powerful and speaks his mind, and everyone in the world praises him.

As long as there is a grievance, you can light a wisp of green smoke. If he sees it, he will definitely rush over.

These words successfully rekindled a glimmer of hope in Zhao Tinglan's heart.

Yes, what she couldn't do, perhaps Jiang Lian'an could do. She could find a way to lead Jiang Lian'an to Yulong Village, and spread Jiang Lian'an's story so that the young man in the abandoned house could also know about it.

To be honest, Zhao Tinglan didn't know whether Jiang Lian'an would go or not. She just held on to a glimmer of hope and secretly pushed forward everything she could.

but……

What she didn't expect was that the sick Sun Wan'er took the luggage and escaped from Chunhua Tower while no one was paying attention.

Zhao Tinglan sent people out to look for Sun Wan'er, but they couldn't find her.

One month before Yulong Village held the River God Festival again, Yan Jingyi resigned and the new county magistrate Li Weisheng was transferred back to his hometown to take up the post. However, he has not appeared in public and his whereabouts are unknown.

Zhao Tinglan felt that this was an opportunity, so she asked her servant to find out whether Yulong Village still needed the corpse of a young woman. However, the news she got back was that there were no young men in Yulong Village who needed a partner for a ghost marriage.

Although Zhao Tinglan was puzzled, she still had to carry out the plan.

Zhao Tinglan originally wanted to go to the vicinity of Yulong Village to light up incense sticks the day before the village's river god festival, but the incense sticks had already been lit three days in advance.

The green smoke rising straight up can be seen even in Chunhua Tower, and its direction is exactly Yulong Village.

Li Weisheng has not appeared in the town since he took office. Could it be Li Weisheng?

But as long as someone is raising smoke, it means that besides himself, there are other people who are also holding on, and there is a possibility that what happened back then will be revealed to the world.

However, Zhao Tinglan didn't know that the person who lit the cigarette was Sun Wan'er.

Eight days later, the case in Yulong Village was solved, which made people sigh. The murderer turned out to be Li Weisheng, the newly appointed county magistrate who had a relationship with He Yuqing.

But what surprised everyone even more was that Li Weisheng was not Li Weisheng, but the fake Li Weisheng who poisoned the He family first, and then Duan Hongzhi brought people to the door and hacked the two elders of the He family to death with knives.

The fake Li Weisheng knew that his crime was unforgivable, so he held He Yuqing's body and died in the Hongzhu Temple he built for He Yuqing.

That night, the flames illuminated the sky, and even people outside Yulong Village could see them.

The case of the bride's disappearance was finally solved twelve years later. The flame of hope in Zhao Tinglan's heart grew stronger and stronger. If all went well, the next place to lead Jiang Lian'an would be Yaren Village.

The news has been released, and the young man should take action.

If the young man did not take action, she herself could not miss the opportunity that Jiang Lian'an was still in Changluan County. Zhao Tinglan turned her attention to the four letters written in advance.

Three days later in the morning, the dry bones of a young boy appeared in the corner of the abandoned house, and a wisp of green smoke burned. On the second night, Zhao Tinglan sent a letter in the name of Master Xing.

When she got there, Zhao Tinglan discovered that Yan Jingyi was dead. With the help of Jiang Lian'an's inference, she learned the whole story.

Everyone is working hard, suffering, and looking forward to what he holds in his heart.

Shi Peng and Sun Wan'er were so determined to do what they did, even at the cost of their lives, that Zhao Tinglan realized that she had done too little.

Through the brief contact at Yarenzhuang, Zhao Tinglan knew that Jiang Lian'an was an intelligent person with a meticulous mind, so after returning, she was prepared that Jiang Lian'an would come to her.

Sure enough, Jiang Lian'an really came.

Zhao Tinglan sat by the window, a smile on her lips, and she smiled with relief.

Thirteen years later, Zhao Tinglan put on the purple dress again, put on makeup, and appeared in front of everyone.

With a bright smile and graceful manners, she amazes everyone as soon as she appears.

If you don't look carefully, no one will notice the tiny holes on the side of the thigh.

It was not until they were in the house that Jiang Lian'an told Zhao Tinglan his thoughts one by one. Zhao Tinglan looked at the orchid painting that had been hanging for twenty years, gently stroking the thick strokes, and her mind became so clear for the first time.

Zhao Tinglan understood that she could finally let it go...