The two of them were sitting opposite each other drinking tea. The rain and winter wind blew outside the window, and they were having fun. The smell of tea in the house lingered for a long time.
Yun Qi leaned on the chair with his forehead propped up. He grabbed a few chess pieces from the chessboard next to him with his other hand, put them in his hand and rubbed them. He stared at Lu Anran for a long time and mocked: "Usually beauties are half-covered. Why?" It makes people fascinated and thirsty, do you need to do more?"
Lu Anran raised his eyes and said calmly: "The tea is too weak. Do you want me to add some salt for the prince?"
A low laugh escaped from Yun Qi's throat: "I saw you being awkward when eating. It's not like I've never seen you before, so I turned it off."
Lu Anran was silent for a few moments, then stretched out his hand to pull off the left earring, and his entire face was exposed to the air in an instant. The left side was beautiful, with skin like snow, but after looking at the right side of the face, no one would notice the other side.
Pian Yunqi leaned over to take a closer look and said, "It's not like a scar or a burn. Is it present at birth? A birthmark?"
"Yes." Lu Anran met Yunqi's eyes frankly. There was inquiry in them but no superfluous emotions such as disgust and pity. Somewhere in her heart, she suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, "I was born with it."
Yun Qi didn't stare for a long time, he withdrew his gaze and continued to play with the chess pieces, "From now on, you don't have to wear that thing in front of my son, and..." The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, his peach blossom eyes turned up, and he said with a seductive smile: "On the left She has such a beautiful face, it would be a pity not to show it out more often."
Lu Anran's fingers trembled, and her heart skipped a beat. She slowly curled up her fingers and clenched them, trembling her eyelashes twice, and lowered her eyes to look at the table.
In the past sixteen years, she has seen countless expressions in the eyes of different people, but no one has said such words as calmly as Yunqi. Although she took it lightly and didn't care about other people's opinions, it still touched the soft part of her heart, as if it suddenly collapsed, making her feel a little top-heavy for a while.
"I'm very touched? Do you want to be a cow or a horse for me?"
One sentence brought back Lu Anran's thoughts. In order to avoid talking about her face, she brought the topic back to the case, "Besides what I just said, I have another question."
Yun Qi responded cooperatively: "Huh?"
"What is Juntao's identity?"
Yun Qi raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I thought you wanted to ask Gu Chengfeng's wife."
The population of the Gu family is not complicated. It turns out that the head of the family is Gu Chengfeng, a loyal general who died on the battlefield. He married three years ago and later took in two concubines.
Gu Chengfeng's parents died young, and he had a close relationship with his second uncle and second aunt, so he didn't have any worries like other people's fights over family property. After his coming-of-age ceremony, his second uncle released the head of the family to him, and later he married a wife. The second aunt of the Gu family also handed over the family to the family.
Therefore, when Yun Qi and Lu Anran asked about the housekeeper and the mistress of the Gu family, the other party showed an awkward expression, which made people think that there was a hidden secret.
Lu Anran said in surprise: "Have you found it?"
Yun Qi threw the chess pieces back into the chess jar and asked softly, "Is it difficult for me to investigate an individual?"
Lu Anran: "Oh, the prince must also have that lame little vendor under his control."
"Hiss~" Yun Qi changed his sitting position and pressed his knuckles on the table with his backhand, "Are you brave?"
Lu Anran ignored Yunqi's displeasure and lowered his head to drink tea. Hearing the other party laugh, he said: "Gu Chengfeng's wife's surname is Huang, and her family is in the restaurant business. The news of Gu Chengfeng's death came here, and she died the next day. She ran back to her parents’ house, and now she is making trouble to remarry.”
Lu Anran almost choked, "The Huang family is so brave."
Who is Gu Chengfeng?
The Emperor's personal title, General Zhongwu, made great achievements in the battle across the sea, and was a hero respected by people all over the world.
The Huang family should not be afraid of offending the Gu family by doing this, but they should also be afraid of the emperor and the people of the world.
"It's not the Huang family, it's the Huang family." Yun Qi smiled and waved his hands: "This Huang family is a wonderful person. Whatever names she uses are all false. She is only real when she sleeps with her arms around her in the bed at night."
Lu Anran couldn't tell whether to laugh or cry. He didn't know whether to admire her for her courage or to despise her and ignore her old feelings.
From this point of view, Huang basically had nothing to do with the case. When they returned to Jun Tao, Yun Qi asked, "Is there a problem with Jun Tao's identity?"
Lu Anran held the teacup in both hands to ward off the cold and said, "Although Juntao's appearance is different from that of ordinary maids, the fabric used in her inner clothes is Yuelong Brocade."
A city of silkworms was vomited to death and weaved into a moon-shaped garment.
This is the Yuelong Brocade. Although it is exaggerated, it can be seen that it is of great value.
Because the fabric is light and thin, cool and breathable in summer, warm and soft in winter, it is especially loved by the palace masters. In addition, the annual production of cloth is not much, and now it is only used in the palace.
It can be said that even money cannot buy it.
Yun Qi turned the folding fan in his hand and his dark eyes moved slightly: "Last year at the palace banquet on New Year's Eve, the battle in Jihai was fierce, and General Zhongwu and others did not return to the royal capital. In the name of reward, the emperor gave gifts to several families in the royal capital. , tell me if Yue Longjin is included."
Lu Anran asked back: "Even so, why can Jun Tao get it as a maid?"
Yun Qi raised his eyebrows confidently, and Lu Anran thought he had an idea, but ended up spitting out two words: "Guess."
Lu Anran: "..."
—
In the evening, the rain gradually subsided, but the clouds continued to roll in thickly, and lightning burst in the middle, each one more touching than the next.
Chun Miao went in carrying the food box. When she saw Lu Anran holding a small piece of white bone in his hand, he wiped it and looked at it carefully. With another sudden thunder and lightning, Chun Miao's face turned a little pale.
She tried not to look at the roughly arranged human figures on the ground, and took out the food plates one by one and put them on the table, "Miss, eat first, otherwise it will get cold soon."
Lu Anran put the bone in his hand exactly where it should fall, and hummed casually, but showed no intention of getting up.
Chunmiao stood far away and said hesitantly: "The way I look at other masters and professors is different from Master Lei."
In fact, Chunmiao regarded Lei Weng as a fake husband who was specifically trying to deceive her lady.
How can a serious master just start, teach nothing, and disappear without a trace?
Oh, and also dropped a bunch of bones.
Lu Anran said disapprovingly: "Teaching means solving doubts, teaching means giving. There is no stipulation on the method required. It probably varies from person to person."
Chunmiao curled her lips: "I don't understand, but the young lady can't face this pile of corpses every day."
Lu Anran bent down for a long time, then straightened up and took a few breaths. It seemed that it would be impossible to finish it today. She stood up to wash her hands.
After dinner, on the way back to Luyuan from this room, Lu Anran kept the case in his mind. He thought about whether Yunqi had found out about Jun Tao, and flashed the charm on the soul-inducing flag...
At the fork in the road, Lu Anran changed direction, "Go to Wenlan Tower."
Wenlan Tower, the library of Jixia Palace, contains ancient and modern books, covering everything. It is said that there are tens of thousands of volumes.
Chunmiao couldn't keep up with Lu Anran's thoughts, "Miss?"
"I'm going to find two books. If you feel bored, go back to Luyuan alone."
Chunmiao pursed her lips: "Is it related to Prince Yun? Is it because the Prince asked the young lady out today because of the Shangyuan Festival case?"
Lu Anran turned sideways and admitted without saying anything.
"Before leaving the house, the master told me that the forces in the capital city are complex, so you can just focus on your studies and not get involved in any stakes." Chunmiao said anxiously: "I'm not saying that Prince Yun is not good... I'm only worried about you. If you get involved, you may offend someone unintentionally. The master is in Mengdu, and we are here... Miss, this slave is..."
Lu Anran gestured: "I know what you mean."
Seeing that she was not angry, Chun Miao finally relaxed her anger, but she didn't let it go and raised it again.
"I know it well, you can go back."
Chunmiao held her shoulders and watched Lu Anran turn a corner, and his back disappeared in front of her eyes. She sighed in her heart - whatever she said she knew, it was just perfunctory to her.
—
Thunder rumbled in the middle of the night, moving across the sky, and streaks of lightning were like sharp blades, tearing a hole in the sky.
After dawn, the whole courtyard was in a mess.
Fortunately the rain stopped.
It is still cloudy, the sky and the earth are covered with gray. The mountain wind blows into the bones, and the noses of the cold spring seedlings cleaning the yard are red.
Lu Anran came out with a hand stove, saw a flowerpot had fallen over, and reached out to help it up.
There were also movements and voices talking to each other from the neighboring yards, but no one was communicating with their yard.
The school building where Lu Anran is located is the most remote place in the entire Luyuan, and there is no one to keep her company. Fortunately, she likes to be quiet, and it unintentionally suits her needs.
After Chun Miao finished sweeping the floor, she put the soil out of the flowerpot back into the flowerpot and said, "Miss, get up. I'll warm the porridge on the stove and I'll bring it to you."
Lu Anran yawned and leaned half of his body against the door frame. He read a book a little late last night and was still not fully awake now. He looked lazy.
Chun Miao quickly brought up a bowl of porridge, two plates of side dishes, and a plate of white sugar glutinous rice cakes. She excitedly reported today's strange news, "The thunderstorm last night was really severe, and it blew down a lot of things. By the way, the most powerful one The rolling mines shook the doors and windows, and the servants were afraid that it would break up the house."
Lu Anran took a piece of sugar glutinous rice cake and took a bite. After swallowing it, he smiled and said, "It's not that exaggerated."
"Really, although it didn't chop down the house, it knocked down a thousand-year-old tree in the back hill. When I went to get breakfast, I heard them say that it was such a strong tree, so it just split it in half. Burnt."
"You read?"
"No." Chun Miao said: "A lot of tree branches fell down on the mountain road. It's not easy to pass now. But the tree is so tall that you can see it from a distance. The whole half is gone. The dark side is all covered with trees. Burnt smell."
Chun Miao seemed to be very interested in the big tree that was struck by lightning, and she chatted for a long time.
Lu Anran's head really ached when he heard it, and he rubbed his forehead and said, "If you are really curious, just go and clear the road in the back mountain and have a look."
Chun Miao really went.
Lu Anran didn't take it to heart. After eating, he went to the house where Lei Weng kept the body as usual, took the booklet where he recorded the summary, and thought about it by himself while reading it.
But before she turned the page, Chunmiao rushed in from the outside screaming, without even breathing, shouting: "Miss, someone is dead in the back mountain! Someone was struck to death by lightning!"
