Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 145 That person can’t be me!
By the time they walked out of Qixiu Garden, Yan Ciwan had completely calmed down.

Even if He Chunzhuo did not lie, it does not mean that there was anything improper going on between her mother and He Chunzhuo. She believed in her mother's character very much, and her mother was definitely not the fickle person that Yan Tingyu described.

There must be some misunderstanding here. When he arrives in Chang'an and sees Yan Tingyu, Yan Ciwan will definitely find her to get things clear!

Next, they went to Guipuyuan.

When they arrived here, they discovered that Guipu Courtyard was very close to Ruixue Tower, and there was only a flower wall between the two courtyards.

The flower wall was about six feet high. Originally, the wall was covered with forsythia, but now it was winter and no flowers or leaves could be seen, only white snow.

At this time, Yan Ciwan was standing in the courtyard and could clearly see the Ruixue Tower next door. Vice versa, if he stood on the second floor of Ruixue Tower, he should be able to take in the entire scene in this courtyard.

Fang Zhiyou was shoveling snow in the yard, and he piled the snow into a snowman.

He also put a bamboo hat on the snowman. When he saw Yan Ciwan and his group coming, he happily invited them into the house and sit down.

"This is the tea I just brewed, please have a taste."

Fang Zhiyou picked up a copper kettle from the small red clay stove, poured the tea into teacups, and distributed them to everyone present.

Yan Ciwan took a sip of tea and found that it was seasoned with onion, ginger, salt, and dogwood. She heard that this was a popular way of brewing tea in Chang'an recently. She had drunk it many times but was still not used to it. In comparison, the way of drinking tea in Xizhou was much simpler. People in Xizhou usually only put tea powder, sugar, and orange peel. It tasted sour, sweet, and refreshing, which was her favorite taste.

She put down the teacup and looked around the room. It was just common household furnishings and there was nothing wrong with it.

The only thing that concerned her was the faint fragrance in the air.

That is the sandalwood commonly used in temples.

Du Lingzhou asked and found out where you were last night.
Then I realized that some of your answers were no different from others.

"After I returned to my room last night, I kept reading. When I got tired, I went to bed and rested until dawn."

Du Lingzhou asked, "Why did you suddenly move out of Qixiu Garden?"

"I like quietness and solitude. Living under the same roof with others would make me feel very uncomfortable. It's very good here, peaceful and quiet. I feel very comfortable living here." After Fang Zhiyou finished speaking, he lowered his head and took a sip of hot tea, then squinted his eyes slightly and gently exhaled hot air, appearing very relaxed and at ease.

Yan Ciwan suddenly asked: "Where are you from?"

"I am originally from Chang'an. Unfortunately, both my parents died. Fortunately, I was adopted by a kind-hearted person, which allowed me to grow up smoothly."

Yan Ciwan asked, "Who adopted you?"

"He is no longer alive." Fang Zhiyou sighed, looking very lonely.

Having said that, it was naturally inappropriate to ask any further questions, so Yan Ciwan turned to ask other things.

"What does Mr. Fang do for a living?"

Fang Zhiyou smiled slightly and said, "I am not very talented. I usually make a living by helping people with their accounts. Sometimes I also write plays for opera troupes or write some scripts for bookstores."

Speaking of eating, drinking and having fun, Du Lingzhou immediately became interested: "What plays and storybooks have you written?"

Fang Zhiyoudao: "I have written a lot of things, but the most famous one is probably the "Meeting Monsters" series."

Xiao Wang suddenly asked, "The recent popular story of a scholar encountering a fox demon was created by you?"

Fang Zhiyou didn't expect that he actually knew this story, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"That was indeed written by me. I didn't expect Xiao Liulang would also read this kind of street storybook."

Xiao Wang explained, "When we passed by a teahouse, there was a storyteller telling this story. My friend and I thought it was interesting so we went in and listened for a while." Fang Zhiyou suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. If Xiao Liulang is interested in this kind of monster stories, I have several volumes of storybooks here, all from the "Encountering Monsters" series. I'll give them all to you."

After saying that, he stood up and walked to the bookshelf, took out four books from it, and then placed them in front of Xiao Wang.

Xiao Wang took it and said, "Thank you."

Du Lingzhou refused to give in: "Why did you give it to him and not to me? Do you look down on me?"

Fang Zhiyou immediately took out four more volumes of storybooks and handed them to him, which made him satisfied.

Yan Ciwan took a look at the storybook in Xiao Wang's hand, and then he realized that the fox demon and Mengdie Villa were mentioned in the story. As a result, a "fox demon" really appeared in Mengdie Villa. This couldn't be a coincidence.

She suddenly asked, "Does Mr. Fang know Fu Xue?"

Fang Zhiyou nodded and replied, "Of course I know her. She is the only daughter of Master Chu. I have met her several times. She is a pretty and smart young lady."

"Did you ever show her your storybook?"

Fang Zhiyou immediately denied it: "She is a young lady who has not yet married. How could I let her read such a book about love affairs? If Master Chu knew about this, he would definitely not let me off easily."

Yan Ciwan then asked, "Have you ever shown your own storybook to other people in the villa?"

Fang Zhiyou shook his head to indicate no.

Yan Ciwan suddenly asked, "Did you go to Meilin in the morning two days ago?"

Fang Zhiyou was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted and denied it.

"No."

Yan Ciwan stared at him deeply.

Fang Zhiyou felt uneasy when she looked at him, and he couldn't help but ask, "Why are you asking this?"

Yan Ciwan said in an ambiguous tone, "Two days ago I saw a sneaky man in Merlin. He ran very fast and I couldn't see his face clearly, but I felt that his figure was somewhat similar to yours."

Fang Zhiyou emphasized: "I didn't go to Meilin that day, that person couldn't be me!"

Yan Ciwan did not comment on this.

She turned her head to look at the flower wall outside the window. The wall was only about six feet high and covered with vines. It would be easy for an adult man to climb over it.

It has been snowing for the past two days, and the snowflakes are flying everywhere, quickly covering up the traces left by climbing over the wall.

Fang Zhiyou followed her gaze towards the flower wall outside. He didn't know what he was thinking about, and his expression suddenly became very unpleasant.

He said, "I'm a little tired and want to rest for a while. Do you have anything else to say?"

Du Lingzhou was very unhappy. Why did they chase them away one by one? How rude!
Yan Ciwan put down the teacup, stood up, and said with a smile: "This place is really nice. It seems that Mr. Fang is very happy living here. We have to go find Master Chu and Ling Niang next. I won't disturb you anymore. Goodbye."

There was nothing wrong with her words to other people's ears. Everyone thought she was going to find Chu Wangshan and Ling Niang to interrogate the case, but Fang Zhiyou's hand shook and she knocked over the teacup.

The tea spilled all over the floor.

His hands and sleeves were wet with tea, but he didn't care about that. He stood up, stared at Yan Ciwan and asked.

"Why did you go to see Master Chu and Ling Niang?"

(End of this chapter)