Now that Bai Zhi and Shen Yanchu had gone to the backyard, Liu Ruyan was alone, following the rockery and stone forest to the front yard garden.
The sound of a flute came from the garden. As I approached the waterside pavilion, I saw clearly that the instrument was shaped like a bamboo pipe and was dark in color.
"Mr. Miaoyin has superb piano skills, but the sound of the flute is sad." Liu Ruyan approached and said to Dong Qingxian, "I never expected that we would meet again at the Qifu Villa."
Dong Qingxian put down the bamboo basket and looked slightly startled: "Do you recognize me?"
She nodded: "That day in Jinzhou, the trail left a deep impression on me."
Dong Qingxian lowered his eyes, with a gentle smile on his lips.
"Loyalty value 5, total 30, host please keep up the good work."
Liu Ruyan's smile deepened.
"My name is Dong Qingxian, don't you know my friend's name?"
"Ruyan." She said casually.
"Ruyan." Dong Qingxian considered it between his teeth and spoke again, "It's hard to find a close friend in the mountains and rivers, so why don't I call you Yan'er?"
"Ahem—" Liu Ruyan covered her lips. This child was too ignorant to see outsiders.
Dong Qingxian poured a cup of tea for her: "Here, moisten your throat."
Liu Ruyan took it familiarly, but when she picked up the tea, she thought of Shen Yanchu. If he were here, he would definitely hand over a glass of water with a cold face and say "Come on".
After drinking fragrant tea, she started chatting with him: "The one I listened to you playing just now was a 筚篥?"
"Exactly." Dong Qingxian responded, "Compared to the Yao Qin, the Juozhen is not very good at learning, which makes you laugh."
"I don't understand the music either. I just think the tune just now doesn't sound like Hu music."
"It's a Dharma song." He replied, looking into the distance, "I just want to borrow a piece of music to help the souls of the dead."
When Liu Ruyan heard this, her eyes moved: "How much does Brother Dong know about Liu Shangshu?"
He shook his head: "When I first heard the bad news this morning, Qingxian was also surprised."
She sighed: "I heard that Mr. Liu wants to steal the Qi family's treasures, but based on his nature, he is not like a treasure thief, and he will not easily seek death."
"Yan'er means that Liu Shangshu was murdered?"
"There is no evidence to support it." She replied truthfully, but suddenly the topic changed, "By the way, I saw you leaving the party in the middle of last night's birthday party. Where did you go?"
Dong Qingxian blushed, and then thought that she was just a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child, so there was no need to be too restrained: "I went to the toilet."
She snorted and asked, "In your opinion, who among the people attending the banquet is the most suspicious?"
Dong Qingxian lowered his head, seeming to be deep in thought: "Last night, I saw Master Qiu come out of the hut and then go somewhere else."
Liu Ruyan secretly made a note, chatted with him for a few words, and then stood up to leave.
Liu Ruyan came out of the garden and then turned into another courtyard, where the head of the Feng family and the head of the Qiu family lived.
The head of the Feng family was over fifty years old and looked lean. He stayed in the house after lunch and was said to be meditating.
"I've seen fellow Taoist Daoist!" He came out to welcome her and looked behind her, "Why don't you see the real Mingjuezi?"
"The real person has gone to practice for Liu Shangshu." She returned the greeting.
"That's right, unless you die, your grievances won't go away." The head of the Feng family led her into the house and said, "The ghosts of those who hanged themselves are still lingering. Coupled with the continuous rain these past few days, the Yang Qi will be insufficient."
Liu Ruyan listened patiently to his ramble. At the end, the head of the Feng family suddenly stood up and pointed out the window.
"I have been practicing Zen for many years, and I had the chance to open my heavenly eyes. Take the tree where Liu Shangshu hanged himself, for example. It is very evil."
She answered: "How evil is that?"
The head of the Feng family said sadly: "Last night, I saw a white shadow on the tree, which looked like a cat."
Liu Ruyan also remembered the white shadow: "In my opinion, the jade seal is missing, who is the most suspicious?"
The head of the Feng family snorted coldly: "There is no need to ask, the head of the Qiu family loves antiques, who else could he be?"
"Fellow Taoist, you really have unique insights."
"Mild praise, ridiculous praise."
After coming out of Feng's house, Liu Ruyan turned around and knocked on the door of Qiu's house.
Liu Ruyan walked in without telling the head of the Qiu family why she was here, and just preemptively said, "You stole the jade seal!"
The head of the Qiu family was so frightened that he almost dropped the pearl in his hand. He said in a confused voice: "You, you..."
"Me what?"
"You are so slanderous!"
"Oh?" She turned her back, "But on the night of the birthday banquet, some people saw you leaving the party with ulterior motives. Others said you had evil intentions and were obsessed with antiques. If it wasn't you, who could it be?"
"I didn't steal it!" he shouted.
"Let me ask you, where else did you go last night?" Liu Ruyan said seriously.
"I said I didn't steal it, so I didn't steal it. I just touched the Qi family's treasure. This is obvious to everyone." The head of the Qiu family tried to excuse himself.
"Why don't you explain where you have been and who you have met?"
The head of the Qiu family turned away, with a stern look on his face: "Why should I tell you who I have seen?"
Liu Ruyan caught a glimpse of the red mark on his neck: "Does Mrs. Qiu know about this?"
With a "clang" sound, the pearl in the hands of the Qiu family finally fell to the ground and broke into two pieces.
"What else do you know?"
She smiled meaninglessly: "I know what Mrs. Qiu doesn't know."
"I'm afraid of you. I just sneaked out to have a private meeting with my concubine. You must not spread this matter." His expression was grim.
"The path knows the pros and cons." She agreed from the ground.
The head of the Qiu family showed his true colors after a little stimulation. He was not a scheming person. I'm afraid he wouldn't have the ability to steal treasures.
It was getting dark when she came out, and she came to Master Chu's door.
As a long history officer, Chu Kun served as an aide to the late emperor. Now he assists the young emperor in power. He is experienced and difficult to deal with.
Knocking on the door, he saw a servant opening the door.
"My master is out. Does this little Taoist friend need to see you?"
"Exactly." Liu Ruyan responded and came to the door. "The master asked me to bring a message to Mr. Chu. Since he is not here, Xiaodao will wait a little longer."
After the servant served Liu Ruyan hot tea, he bowed aside.
Liu Ruyan raised her hand to touch her belly: "I wonder if my friend can bring some pastries over. When I passed the kitchen on the path, I saw crab cakes being made inside."
The servant thought the child was greedy, so he went to get it.
As soon as they left, she called out Ye Xun: "Guard the outside for me."
She pushed open the door to the inner room and began to search based on her reconnaissance experience. Since Chu Kun, as the emperor's counselor, was not mentally inferior to hers at all, it was only appropriate to avoid his sharp edges and investigate secretly.
She checked all the suspicious places in the house one by one, with skillful techniques, and everything she looked through was restored to its original state without any clues.
Time flies, and servants go and come back.
"Host, the target person is approaching." Ye Xun reminded.
Without raising her head, she ran her fingers along Chu Kun's changed clothes and groped all the way over: "How far is it?"
"Ninety-eight steps," he said.
The system can detect all scenes within a hundred steps, and there is no time to waste: "Ninety, eighty-nine, eighty-eight..."
Liu Ruyan moved quickly, picking up an inner shirt again, and continued to fumble along the inner pocket with her fingertips. Finally, her eyes changed. She took out a confidential letter from the inner pocket, unfolded it, and read it quickly.
"Ten, nine, eight..."
The figure of the servant was reflected outside the window. She kept moving her hands and put the secret letter back into her inner pocket.
At the right time, the door to the wing was opened, and the servant walked in carrying a stack of orange pastries.
But when he heard a soft sound from inside the room, the servant looked for his voice and saw that it was Liu Ruyan who had just finished drinking the tea in the cup and put the cup down.
"I'm back now." She looked happy and took the plate from the servant.
With a smile on his lips, the servant thought to himself that this Taoist boy was only half a child.
Liu Ruyan ate several pieces of crab cakes one after another, and returned to her serious expression: "It's getting late, so Xiaodao will go back first. If Mr. Chu asks, please give him this amulet."
"The little one knows that he will definitely present the amulet to the adults."
Liu Ruyan held the stack of pastries and said goodbye, her expression becoming condensed.