False evidence

Chapter 75 White Robes Appear Again
It wasn't until I deliberately blew a breath into Bai Jing's ear that she reacted, took two steps back, and looked at me with a hint of fear in her eyes.

"You're really scary. I... I never meant to hurt you..."

The noodles were served.

Jiao Tong glanced into the bowl, pursed his lips, and looked disdainful.

Chen Zudao was taken aback at first, then picked up the bowl, carefully took a sip of soup along the rim, and then let out a strange cry of "Waaah!"

I looked at him with a smile: "Is it still the same taste?"

Chen Zudao, without even putting down his bowl, nodded repeatedly: "Yes! Yes! The taste is just as good as before!"

I nodded: "That's good. Let's skip the alcohol and eat it while it's hot."

"You...aren't you hungry? Why aren't you eating?"

I glanced down at myself, and before I could say anything, Chen Zudao said as if suddenly realizing something:
"I forgot, you said that eating is a very formal matter. Your clothes were torn yesterday."

Do you have any clothes here that I can wear?

"Yes, yes! There are several outfits hanging on the left side of the wardrobe inside; you should be able to wear them all."

"I'll get it myself."

I went into the inner room, looked around, opened the wardrobe that Chen Zudao had mentioned, hesitated for a moment, and then took out a set of clothes...

When I woke up from my deep sleep, I certainly didn't remember what happened after that yesterday.

But through my conversation with Chen Zudao, I seemed to vaguely recall some memories.

When Chen Zudao lifted me up, my shirt was torn while hanging on the back of the chair.

Ignoring some of the 'nonsense' Bai Jing uttered in the kitchen, it's safe to say that Chen Zudao is very quick-witted. However, because of his deep feelings for someone, he's become overly quick-witted and a bit suspicious.

He initially suspected that my grandfather was "Uncle Daban" because he considered the method of making peach blossom white wine to be unique and a secret recipe that could not be passed on to outsiders.

When my clothes were torn and he came to his senses, he must have seen the wolf head mark on my back.

I can ignore what Bai Jing said about being possessed by evil spirits for now, but one thing is certain: Lü Xin has the same mark on him. And Chen Zudao saw it too.

Therefore, when the mark was revealed, "Uncle Da Ban" was overturned. In Chen Zudao's opinion, I became the reincarnation of Lü Xin...

I walked back to the main room, and Bai Jing was the first to see me, and she was immediately stunned.

Chen Zudao was slurping his noodles when he turned around and saw me, and his expression immediately became incredibly complicated.

The moon-white Chinese-style trousers and jacket, made of cotton, are clean and simple without being extravagant.

This outfit certainly didn't belong to Chen Zudao. On me, it looks like it was tailor-made.

Even the pair of cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles that were placed next to my clothes were actually my size.

Chen Zudao stared at me blankly for a while, then said in a hoarse voice, "You really look like him."

I pretended not to hear, walked to the table, glanced down at the three empty bowls stacked on the table, and then looked at the soup base in the bowl in front of Chen Zudao.

Chen Zudao finished his soup, wiped his mouth, and grinned ingratiatingly:
"This tastes just like the original. I haven't tasted this flavor in so long, I couldn't resist... I just... hehehehe..."

I said it with a thick skin, but the more I said it, the more awkward it became.

I asked Jiao Tong, "Can you cook?"

Jiao Tong nodded.

Chen Zudao interjected, "This little mute is quick-witted and his cooking skills are quite good. But I've tried with him so many times, using the same ingredients, and I just can't make it taste like yours."

Jiao Tong seemed to want to express something, but first looked at Chen Zudao. Chen Zudao's eyes flickered slightly, and he said loudly to him:
“Your Uncle Sanqi knows sign language, so just tell him what you want to say.”

I knew perfectly well that this was another attempt by Chen Zudao to subtly probe my identity, and I could only sigh inwardly.

I didn't learn much from my grandfather's skills in treating patients and prescribing medicine, but following him as he traveled from village to village, I truly witnessed many things that most people had never seen. Coincidentally, there was a mute in our neighboring village, and even more coincidentally, I was childhood friends with that mute.

Chen Zudao's deliberate test turned out to be a lucky one.

I gestured to Jiao Tong to indicate that I could understand sign language.

He immediately asked me in sign language, "What's in this noodle dish?"

He's just mute; he can hear, so I don't need to use gestures with him.

"One spoonful of lard, two spoonfuls of soy sauce. Add the chopped green onions first."

Jiao Tong shook his head and gestured: "I've tried, but I can't make it taste like Dad wants."

I laughed: "Your dad first ate this flavor of Yangchun noodles in Suzhou, but he probably didn't notice it, so he couldn't possibly tell you that the owner of that breakfast shop was from the north."

Both are noodles, but in the south, alkali is added, while in the north, at most only salt is added to the noodles. In the south, the broth from cooking noodles is mostly not drunk, so boiling water is used to rinse the noodles before cooking.

In the North, the emphasis is on using the original broth to cook the original food. The noodles are cooked thoroughly, resulting in a thick broth. Then, a non-alkaline broth is used to rinse the noodles before serving. That's the flavor.

Jiao Tong seems to have been raised by Chen Zudao, as they share similar habits.

The two clapped their hands together simultaneously, exclaiming, "So that's how it is!"

Then Chen Zudao reached out, grabbed Jiao Tong, and threw him out the door.

After the noodles were cooked, I slowly ate a few bites, but Chen Zudao ate three large bowls in a row.

Seeing that the time was right, I said to Jiao Tong:
"Go help mix a bowl of cucumber and vermicelli, and get a few pounds of Jiafan wine."

Jiao Tong is really efficient. I had just finished eating my noodles when he brought out the food and drinks.

This time, Chen Zudao and I both used bowls, but he clearly didn't dare to drink large gulps of alcohol.

I put down my wine bowl: "Let's continue talking about what happened back then."

Chen Zudao drank his wine slowly, becoming rather reserved: "Where to begin?"

"Let's start with the rich man's family. Before you speak, let me tell you."

I leaned back in my armchair and said slowly, "Bai Jing told me about some things that happened on the train. At that time, you and Lü Xin were both twenty-five or twenty-six."

"I'm twenty-five, and my younger brother is twenty-four."

"I don't like people interrupting me, why don't you speak first?"

Chen Zudao hurriedly waved his hand: "Tell me, tell me!"

I nodded: "Back then, there weren't many multi-story buildings in Jiangnan. The wealthy man's house had a three-courtyard layout, which was an old-fashioned residence. Inside the house, there was a small building. Tell me, who lived in that building?"

“That…that’s the embroidery pavilion, where unmarried daughters of the family live.”

I nodded: "Your clothes were stained with kerosene, and Lü Xin brought you some clothes from the embroidery building to change you into. You said those were guards' clothes. How could guards' clothes be in the embroidery building?"

Chen Zudao's complexion had become rosy again after drinking his fill, but suddenly it turned pale and then bluish, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Let me tell you."

My voice grew increasingly somber: "Leaving aside why Lü Xin came out of the boudoir, let me guess how you managed to destroy that family."

(End of this chapter)