Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 8: Nine True and One False, a Newly Made Story

At nightfall, in the courtyard.

Zhou Mingwen filled a pot of sake and handed a cup to Lu Xiaofeng, ready to share with him the story he had just made up over the past two days.

"Are you kidding me? I've only seen you eating and drinking in the manor these past two days. How did you know the true identity of the Plum Blossom Thief? Besides, didn't you say you weren't interested?"

Zhou Mingdao said, "I said I wasn't interested, but that person was just too clumsy. Lu Xiaofeng, you have to know that in order to write that detective novel, I read many strange cases and important case files in the Ministry of Justice. I also had in-depth discussions with several of the Six Gates' top detectives and even the Four Great Detectives.

"You've never eaten pork, but you've never seen a pig run? When it comes to your knowledge of the case, even you are far inferior to me!"

Lu Xiaofeng was speechless.

Lin Xian'er, who was at the door, gritted her teeth when she heard this.

These past two days she has been preparing to deal with Li Xunhuan, while also having to devote her attention to monitoring Lu Xiaofeng.

I really didn't pay much attention to Zhou Ming.

I didn't expect this person to be so powerful.

She didn't know what a detective novel was, but she understood that this person seemed to be taking advantage of his father's position as the Minister of Justice and was very knowledgeable about criminal cases.

"Could it be that he has really seen through my identity? Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Lin Xian'er was unwilling to believe such a thing, but she knew that she couldn't just walk in like that.

Otherwise, regardless of whether the two people in the courtyard knew her true identity or not, they would immediately stop the conversation.

She quietly walked to the side and listened carefully.

"Young Master Zhou is so powerful. Tell me, who is that Plum Blossom Thief?" Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Zhou Mingdao said: "Don't look at it now. Everyone says that the Plum Blossom Bandit is Li Xunhuan. But in fact, most people are just blindly following the rumors. They have no brains at all.

According to my investigation, the Plum Blossom Thief is not Li Xun Huan, or even... a man! She is in Xingyun Manor, but almost everyone ignores her!

"You guys are really capable!"

Lu Xiaofeng put down his wine glass: "So, the Plum Blossom Thief is..."

"Lin..." Zhou Ming uttered a word softly
"Lin!" Lu Xiaofeng's eyes lit up. It was exactly the same as his answer.

"Lin Shiyin!"

"That's right... No!"

Lu Xiaofeng almost didn't react. He slammed the table and stood up, angrily saying, "How could it be Lin Shiyin? That's clearly Lin... In any case, it can't be Lin Shiyin! Please don't make random guesses. If such speculations get out, it will be bad for Madam Long's reputation!"

Outside the wall, Lin Xian'er's silver teeth were about to break.

When Zhou Ming called out Lin Shiyin's name, she felt relieved, but Lu Xiaofeng's next words made her feel cold all over.

She knew that even if she took every precaution, this famous hero could still see through her true self.

"No! I have to find a way to solve this problem!"

Hands-on?

I am only at the acquired realm, how could I possibly be a match for Lu Xiaofeng who is at the innate realm!
Beauty and body?
If it were before, she would have been very confident, but after being defeated by Li Xunhuan, she already knew that even her strongest weapon would not always work.

"What should I do..."

In the courtyard, Zhou Ming said, "Don't worry. I have my reasons for making this inference!"

"What kind of excuse is that?" Lu Xiaofeng rolled his eyes. "Madam Long is a woman, and she's never practiced martial arts. How could she be the Plum Blossom Bandit? Besides, the Plum Blossom Bandits have committed dozens of crimes, all for the purpose of robbing wealth. Madam Long has no worries about food and clothing, and her family is wealthy. Why would she rob all this wealth?"

Zhou Ming laughed and said, "You don't know this? Did you know that there was once a strange man in the martial arts world named 'Wang Lianhua'?"

"Of course I know. This man became famous in the martial arts world more than ten years ago. It is said that he is a master of martial arts, and is also proficient in astronomy, geography, medicine, divination, astrology, and various other miscellaneous knowledge. When it comes to changing appearances, he is unparalleled in the world, so he is called the Man of a Thousand Faces!

However, at that time, there was another famous hero in the martial arts world, Shen Lang. The two of them clashed several times, and they developed a mutual admiration and became close friends. Later, Shen Lang decided to leave the country, and Wang Lianhua disappeared with him.

Zhou Mingdao said, "But you don't know that before Wang Lianhua left, to prevent her lifelong learning from being lost, she compiled all her skills into a book called 'Lianhua Treasure Mirror.' At that time, Xiao Li's Flying Dagger was becoming famous in the martial arts world, so Wang Lianhua asked someone to give this book to Li Xunhuan, hoping that Li Xunhuan would help her find a good disciple to inherit the skills."

But when the book was delivered, Li Xunhuan was not at home, but Lin Shiyin was, so the book fell into Lin Shiyin's hands. However, at that time, Lin Shiyin happened to have a conflict with Li Xunhuan.

Because Li Xunhua had made a lot of bad friends in the martial arts world and had no time to spend with her, Lin Shiyin was secretly angry and always thought that it was all Li Xunhuan's fault for practicing martial arts. So, she hid the Lianhua Treasure Mirror and didn't let Li Xunhuan know about it!

Lu Xiaofeng had never heard of such a rumor before, and asked suspiciously, "You made this up, didn't you?" "Why would I make this up? It's all true!"

Zhou Ming said, "So, with this book in hand, Lin Shiyin might have become an expert in martial arts, not to mention physical training. She might even have become adept at disguise. The book already contains hidden weapon techniques, and since she was familiar with Li Xunhuan, she might have heard a lot about them. This combination of skills gave rise to the Plum Blossom Bandits' powerful hidden weapon techniques!"

"Even so, she doesn't have to be a Plum Blossom Thief!"

Zhou Ming said, "You've been here for a few days now, so you should know that Xingyun Manor is quite dilapidated. Long Xiaoyun is quite famous, but he's weak inside. If this property falls into his hands, he will be mismanaged and may be unable to make ends meet.

Lin Shiyin is probably doing this to plunder wealth to supplement her family income!"

"Your inference..." Lu Xiaofeng was really speechless.

Because Xingyun Manor is indeed quite dilapidated, and Long Xiaoyun is also known as a heroic man in the martial arts world.

What does it mean to be ambitious?

Simply put, it’s about spending a lot of money!

Using money to make friends is naturally generous.

The result is a surge in fame, but it is not very friendly to money.

"So, according to you, the rumor that the Plum Blossom Thief is Li Xunhuan is also being manipulated by Lin Shiyin?"

"Of course that's impossible. Lin Shiyin is just one person and doesn't have such means. However, Long Xiaoyun does!"

Lu Xiaofeng kept gnashing his teeth.

Because this inference was consistent with his idea, he also felt that Long Xiaoyun was the one who spread the rumor, but he should have nothing to do with the Plum Blossom Bandits. He just wanted to use the Plum Blossom Bandits incident to make a name for himself.

"However, Lin Shiyin should also be aware of this matter, but she did not stop it. She even secretly guided and promoted it."

"Why is this again?"

"What do you say?"

Lu Xiaofeng was speechless: "Don't tell me, Lin Shiyin is taking revenge for something that happened ten years ago? That was already ten years ago!"

"But she hasn't been happy in these ten years!"

Zhou Mingdao said, "Think about it. Lin Shiyin comes from a family of scholars and prefers literature to martial arts. She hid the Flower-Loving Mirror because Li Xunhuan diligently practiced martial arts and associated with people from the Jianghu.

But Li Xunhuan is at least proficient in both civil and military affairs, while Long Xiaoyun is only good at martial arts but not literature. In order to maintain the property of Xingyun Villa, he makes friends with many martial arts heroes.

These aspects all happened to hit upon the things that Lin Shiyin hated the most. Do you think she was willing to marry such a person? After being with such a person for ten years, do you think she was happy?
Even though she hadn't said anything in the past ten years, it didn't mean she had no opinions in her heart. It was like a sharp stone falling into a river and gradually becoming smooth. It wasn't that it hadn't been sharp before, but that it had been worn away bit by bit by the river water!
Do you think that the process of changing from sharp to smooth is what this stone wants?"

Lu Xiaofeng remained silent.

Zhou Ming continued, "Have you seen Long Xiaoyun's son in the past few days in the village?"

Lu Xiaofeng shook his head.

"Let me tell you, that kid looks sweet and sensible on the surface, but he's actually a devil at heart. He's not even ten years old, but his hands are already stained with the blood of dozens of people. You didn't see him because he's been out and about these past few days!"

"What?" Lu Xiaofeng said, "A child has dozens of lives on his hands? Impossible!"

"This is the truth! If you don't believe me, go check it out!"

Zhou Ming spread his hands: "And the result you found must be the same! If a child is not taught well, it is the fault of the father! I won't elaborate on the reasons why this child has become like this.

The point is, as a woman raised in a family of scholars and poets, Lin Shiyin...is she happy that her son has become such a beast?"

Lu Xiaofeng was silent.

Zhou Ming continued, "For a woman, the four most important men in her life are her father, her lover, her husband, and her son!
She lost her father at an early age and never experienced any fatherly love.

She had been with her lover for several years, but he turned around and left her.

She married a husband who worked in the industry she hated the most and did the things she hated the most.

He gave birth to a son, but he was as brave and aggressive as his father. At a young age, he had already killed many people and was as cruel as a snake.

This is Lin Shiyin's life... Do you think she can be happy?"

(End of this chapter)