The doors and windows in the study were closed, and the light was dim. Only the thin flame of the candlestick was flickering.
Miss Gan was dressed in a homely brocade robe, with exquisite makeup and skin as fair as porcelain. She leaned lazily on her desk and squinted her eyes to examine Jiang Chen.
In such an atmosphere, the two of them looked at each other across the desk, watching the shadows on each other's faces changing with the candlelight, giving them a subtle and strange feeling.
After a long silence, Jiang Chen became more and more certain that although Miss Gan and Mrs. Jia were biological sisters, they were probably only similar in appearance, but in fact they had very different temperaments.
Mrs. Jia, who has an elegant style and likes to hold banquets, would probably never close the doors and windows on a sunny morning, hide in the dark study, and observe the visiting guests with such deep eyes.
"It has been a month." Miss Gan sighed softly, "There has never been a precedent for people who have been missing in Xiliao City for more than a month to be found. Although it is difficult to accept, this is the fact."
"Fourth Master Jia seems unwilling to accept this fact."
"I know that he can't let go of his sister." Miss Gan's tender and shiny face was full of melancholy. "It may take more time for him to gradually believe that my sister will never come back after all. My brother-in-law is an infatuated person. , Love is deep and lifeless, this despair will make him very painful, but what is more painful than despair is false hope..."
Jiang Chen had already guessed her purpose of coming and said calmly: "With Hero Chiyang taking action this time, it may not be impossible -"
"It's useless for anyone to come!" Miss Gan shook her head and pressed her hands on the desk, with a little more excitement in her voice. "The hope brought by the Chiyang Hero will only make my brother-in-law more painful! I really can't bear to watch it anymore. He suffered this!"
"Don't you want to know at all what happened to your sister?"
"Think! But what's the use? People can't be resurrected after death. The living need to continue living and not be dragged down by sorrow."
"What does Miss Gan mean?"
"Let him go, let us go too!" Miss Gan was so excited that her voice was slightly choked, "Don't give him any more false hope, let him get over this difficulty and start a new life!"
"But we-"
"I won't let your trip go in vain." Miss Gan's gaze regained its sharpness and depth, "As long as you promise to let him go, I will give you one thousand taels of silver as a thank you."
"this……"
"Sister must be dead. Even if you find the ruby ring, you can only get this at most." Miss Gan observed the change in the expression on Jiang Chen's face, paused, and then said, "However, out of sympathy Out of the respect of Hero Chiyang, I am willing to pay an additional thousand taels as compensation for Hero Chiyang giving up the mission."
"Well..." Jiang Chen pondered, "I have to discuss it with Chi Yang."
When Jiang Chen walked out of the study room, he had already forgotten Miss Gan's suggestion.
There was no need to discuss with Chi Yang, Jiang Chen also knew that if he couldn't find Mrs. Jia and couldn't get the five thousand taels of silver, his end would be even more painful than Fourth Master Jia's.
Walking on the flower path, Jiang Chen suddenly stopped, pointed at a maid in pink clothes on the side of the road and asked, "What's her name?"
He noticed that the maid in pink clothes had her back to the road and seemed to be quietly wiping away tears, and he couldn't help but feel a little curious.
The face of the servant who was leading the way changed, and he leaned into Jiang Chen's ear and whispered: "Young hero, be careful, this girl is infected with evil spirits. Don't get too close to her, otherwise you will be unlucky."
"Evil spirit?" Jiang Chen smiled, "It just so happens that I also have evil spirit in me. Maybe I am an acquaintance who happened to say hello to her."
With that said, he ignored the servant's dissuasion and walked directly behind the pink-clothed maid, coughing lightly: "Girl, why are you sad here alone?"
The maid in pink clothes was taken aback, and quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeves, turned around, said a blessing to Jiang Chen, and said with a nasal voice: "Please forgive me, sir, I'm so engrossed in my own thoughts that I'm rude. "
Jiang Chen saw that although her eyes were red and she looked like she had just cried, her eyes were clear and bright, and her behavior was quite polite. She didn't look like she was possessed, so he asked, "Why did they say you were possessed?"
The maid in pink had a look of sadness on her face: "It's because of Qiu Lu... After Qiu Lu's death, strange things often happened in the house, and they said it was Qiu Lu's evil spirit who was causing trouble. The slave girl was usually close to Qiu Lu, so she told her Even though he said a few kind words, he was regarded as possessed."
Jiang Chen's eyes moved and he asked: "How did Qiu Lu die?"
"Qiu Lu... had an affair with the groom, and was beaten to death by Miss Gan..." The maid in pink clothes lowered her head, tears falling down drop by drop.
Jiang Chen immediately realized that there was something strange in this!
Although Miss Gan is Mrs. Jia's sister, she is still a guest. What right does she have to discipline the servants of the Jia family?
The maid's affair with the groom was a scandal, but it wasn't a crime worthy of death, right?
Could it be that this Miss Gan is an eccentric old maid who doesn't like seeing other people being in love with each other, and when she sees that kind of scene, she gets so angry that she goes crazy and kills her immediately?
Jiang Chen carefully recalled Miss Gan's behavior in the study and felt that this was really possible.
He decided to take the pink-clad maid with him to meet the old housekeeper.
In the main room, Chiyang was still asking the old housekeeper about the details of Mrs. Jia's life.
Jiang Chen walked over and interrupted: "How's it going? Do you have any clues?"
Chi Yang shook his head: "Originally Mrs. Jia's personal maid said she saw something, but she is already dead and the clues are broken again."
"Oh, is that maid named Qiu Lu?"
"Yes! How do you know that?" Chi Yang showed curiosity.
The girl in green clothes smiled and said: "The sister in pink clothes at the back must have told him! The little slut is very good at dealing with girls!"
Jiang Chen ignored her teasing. At this time, he was sure that Qiu Lu must have seen something, so she was silenced by Miss Gan.
So, is Mrs. Jia’s disappearance related to Miss Gan?
The two sisters fell in love with Fourth Master Jia at the same time, so much so that they turned against each other and even killed him?
No wonder Miss Gan had no hope of getting Mrs. Jia back and wanted to send Jiang Chen away with two thousand taels of silver.
However, we cannot conclude that Miss Gan is the murderer just because of this speculation.
Miss Gan is indeed obstructing the investigation, but maybe she just wants to push the boat forward and turn Mrs. Jia's disappearance into fact. There is no evidence that she caused the disappearance.
"Why is the little thief looking so sad again?" The girl in green clothes giggled, "Aren't you very smart? Couldn't you have imagined that the key to the matter lies with Miss Gan?"
Jiang Chen said calmly: "You are still the smartest."
"Miss Gan was chatting with you just now, didn't she reveal anything to you? You should give full play to your strengths and use all the tricks to deal with girls!" The girl in green clothes sneered, "Is it possible that our handsome and charming Jiang Shaoxia , Are you going to fail here?"
Chi Yang rubbed his chin and murmured: "What she said makes sense! Otherwise, why don't we go to Miss Gan and ask about the situation?"
"No need, she is leading us to go around in circles." Jiang Chen waved his hand, but due to the presence of the old housekeeper and others, he did not say the second half of the sentence - Miss Gan will never cooperate. Now go and ask Miss Gan, and don't ask anything. If you don't come out, it will only waste time.
Jiang Chen glanced around and took in everyone's expressions: Chiyang's confusion, the green-clad girl's ridicule, the old housekeeper's deepness, the pink-clad maid's sadness, the servants' whispers...
Everyone's performance is like a thread, tangled together, and it becomes a mess.
If you call everyone out for questioning individually, you might be able to figure out some clues, but that would take too long, and may not even be completed in a day or two.
Now that things have come to a point, the only way is to use force to defeat cleverness and cut through the mess with a sharp sword!
