A raincoat wind and snow to the small garden

Chapter 19 Snowy Villa (Part )

Chapter 19
There were so many people in the house that Xiang Xiaoyuan felt suffocated.

She bowed to Xie Yunxue and said, "Your Highness, I want to interrogate the cook who knew about this."

Xiang Xiaoyuan is always very polite when he is outside, and he follows all the respectful etiquette.

"Go ahead." Xie Yunxue's voice was cool. She glanced at her briefly and then looked away, as if she didn't care about her at all.

After walking through the gate of Xiaoyuan and taking two steps, he suddenly found that there was a sturdy young man following behind him.

Whenever she looked back, she could only see a wisp of green robe swaying on the branches, and the person had already hidden among the branches covered with thick snow.

This man is a martial artist with superb martial arts skills.

He frowned at Xiaoyuan and shouted, "Who are you? If you don't show yourself, I will report you as an assassin. These are troubled times, and you are causing more trouble. His Highness will punish you severely."

"Hey, hey! Don't worry!"

The branches of the plum blossoms trembled, snow and rain fell, and a smiling face was revealed.

He was a handsome young man, looking younger than Xiang Xiaoyuan. He had peach blossom eyes, dimples on his cheeks, and a red mole between his eyebrows. He brushed off the snow and said to Xiang Xiaoyuan, "I'm the secret guard Ah Qi. His Highness was worried that you might be in danger while trying someone alone, so he specifically ordered me to watch over you. I'm wholeheartedly protecting you, yet you're going to His Highness to complain about me. How disloyal!"

This person speaks in a casual manner, is always smiling, and seems very approachable.

But Xiang Xiaoyuan knew that he was not as harmless as he appeared. The folding fan in his hand alone was equipped with several silver needle mechanisms. In the sunlight, the silver light was very strong, like the white light from a fish's belly.

He should be very good at poisoning people. Xiang Xiaoyuan smelled a strange fragrance from him, which was the smell of some poisonous weeds that could penetrate the intestines and rot the stomach.

This person was dangerous, so Xiang Xiaoyuan subconsciously stayed away from him.

Xiang Xiaoyuan: "Since His Highness has sent you to monitor me, then you may follow me. Just don't talk nonsense and interfere with my interrogation of the suspect."

Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't believe that the cold-hearted Xie Yunxue would be so kind-hearted as to sympathize with women. He sent someone to follow him just because he was afraid that Xiang Xiaoyuan would not do his job well, and he wanted to have an extra spy to give him more peace of mind.

Ah Qi was blocked by Xiang Xiaoyuan and shut up sullenly: "Well, well, you really are stubborn. It seems that His Highness will suffer a lot in the future."

Xiang Xiaoyuan: "What do you mean?"

Ah Qi smiled and fanned himself: "Nothing much. Alas, a bystander sees more clearly than someone involved. I won't help you figure this out."

Xiang Xiaoyuan ignored him, still muttering to himself at such a young age, and continued walking towards the kitchen.

The cook had long been caught by the eldest lady of the Zheng family and brought before Xiang Xiaoyuan. Such a big thing had happened in the mansion, not only the death of the master of the family but also the disturbance of the Crown Prince. Duke Zheng was so frightened that he couldn't even eat properly, let alone her, the daughter-in-law who was in charge of the household.

Madam Zheng said politely, "Coroner Xiang, go ahead and interrogate her. If this woman dares to lie, I'll skin her alive!"

He nodded to Xiaoyuan and said, "I will do my best."

She walked up to the trembling cook and asked, "Lvliu said someone else had served the chicken soup before she did. If it weren't for your momentary negligence, Mr. Zheng wouldn't have died. Now is your chance to redeem yourself by telling the whole story. Take advantage of it."

The old woman knew very well that this was the only chance she could seize, and she didn't dare to hide anything.

The cook said with a bitter face, "How dare I lie? I really didn't see the man's face clearly..."

Madam Zheng was already furious. "Think carefully, you old hag! Do you really think I dare not punish you? My fourth brother is dead, and your life wouldn't be enough to pay for it, yet you still dare to lie to me!"

The cook was really wronged. She did drink a few pounds of wine, was lazy and dozed off, and let the other party take away the chicken soup without seeing the man's face clearly. But Mr. Zheng Si was dead, and she didn't get any benefit at all. Why should she cover up for the accomplice?

Seeing that Madam Zheng was going to use her life to fill this huge hole, she was so anxious that she burst into tears and begged, "I really don't know! I only heard the voice of the murderer, a servant, and I don't know anything else..."

Madam Zheng was so angry that her heart ached: "You are really a fool. You don't even know how to be careful about such a big thing!"

Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't want the cook to be executed, so she thought of a plan. "Let's spread the word that the cook had seen the murderer. To save his own life, the murderer will surely come and kill her to silence her. By then, the guards in the mansion will be waiting for her and will surely catch her."

Madam Zheng thought about it and agreed that this was a solution. She snorted coldly, "Then I'll keep you. Why don't you thank the coroner Xiang for saving your life?"

"Thank you, Coroner Xiang!" The cook wiped away her tears and kowtowed to Xiang Xiaoyuan repeatedly.

She waved her hand to Xiaoyuan and said nothing. In fact, she couldn't guarantee that the murderer would come back to kill the cook. She was just afraid that the cook would take the blame, so she resorted to this last-ditch measure to protect her.

There has been no progress in the case, only that the murderer is a man.

Xiang Xiaoyuan's head was about to explode.

She suddenly remembered the paper money and ashes flying all over the sky last night. This was a strange magic circle that required a sacrifice every month. No one had died in the twelfth lunar month, so Mr. Zheng Si just happened to fill this gap...

It can't be that the evil spirit is causing trouble, right?

Xiang Xiaoyuan turned and walked towards the inner courtyard, with Ah Qi still following closely behind her.

Xiang Xiaoyuan turned her head and saw the pair of peach blossom eyes exposed outside the folding fan. She seemed to have just remembered Ah Qi's identity and asked, "Are you one of the twelve secret guards of the Xuanqi Division?"

Ah Qi's heart sank: "Don't tell me it took you an hour to remember who I am..."

Xiang Xiaoyuan nodded: "I'm sorry, I was too focused on the interrogation before and didn't pay attention to the people around me." Ah Qi heard her words and felt upset. He sighed deeply: "My presence is not that low..."

Xiang Xiaoyuan went back to her room and washed her hands and face. She took out a box of flower cakes, pinched off a piece, and handed it to Ah Qi.

"Since you are one of the Twelve Secret Guards, then you must know Huai Yu?"

Ah Qi took the cake and said with a smile, "Oh, another young lady attracted by Huai Yu's appearance? How come that guy has so many romantic partners? It makes people envious. But he doesn't understand the hearts of young ladies at all. Any woman who flirts with him will only be treated coldly by him in the end and leave empty-handed."

Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't want to ask that. She just thought Huaiyu was a little strange. He always kept to himself and had no friends in the Xuanqi Division. He seemed cruel, but sometimes he could be gentle and considerate. He wasn't a bad person.

For example, before, whether he was changing Xiaoyuan's clothes or helping her apply medicine, he would politely tie a headband to cover his eyes and would never offend her.

She admitted that she was curious about Huaiyu and wanted to know more about him.

Xiang Xiaoyuan generously pushed all the flower cakes in front of Ah Qi and said, "Can you tell me about Huaiyu? If you do, all these flower cakes are yours."

Ah Qi swallowed the flower cake, his peach blossom eyes roamed over the plump white cake, and he quickly looked away.

"I dare not talk about him, or Huai Yu will assassinate me."

Xiang Xiaoyuan said "Oh" in disappointment.

Ah Qi went to grab some cakes again, but Xiang Xiaoyuan slapped his hand away: "No more for you."

Ah Qi sulked and rubbed his reddened hands. "Hmph, but I can tell you that Huai Yu is very dangerous. As a greeting gift, I'll give you a piece of advice... If possible, stay away from him."

Xiang Xiaoyuan: "Why do you say that?"

Ah Qi: "Did you know that there are only eight of our twelve secret guards left? The other four have been with Huaiyu until today, but they all died at his sword. Huaiyu is a mad dog who only follows his master's orders. If one day, the master wants to take your life, no matter how close you are to him, you will die at his sword's hands."

Xiang Xiaoyuan was stunned.

She obviously didn't expect Huaiyu to have such a vicious side. No, that's not right. In fact, she had seen it a long time ago.

On the ferry, the unruly young man flew over a piece of silver and cut off the finger of the young master of a noble family...

He lowered his head to eat the flower cake in front of Xiaoyuan, thinking about his worries.

Xiang Xiaoyuan didn't say anything, and Ah Qi felt depressed. He had to go back to Xie Yunxue to do some work and had no time to pay attention to Xiang Xiaoyuan.

So Ah Qi took the lead, jumped over the roof and left the place.

In the mountains, the wind and snow are getting stronger, and the night fog is fascinating.

Before Ah Qi landed in the main courtyard, two fierce silver-night hidden weapons suddenly shot out, piercing the boy's flesh and sinking into his shoulders.

The hidden weapon swept through the air, bringing with it a fierce gust of wind.

Ah Qi was startled by the sneak attack and fell to the ground without any preparation.

Snow flakes touched Ah Qi's smiling eyes. Before he could stand up, a black boot was unexpectedly placed on his shoulder.

The foot stepped on his wound and pressed down hard, causing blood to ooze out and soak the ground like silver snow.

Ah Qi spat out a mouthful of blood and looked up.

Nuo opera mask, intense phoenix eyes, a moon-shaped sword across the waist...the person who came was actually Huai Yu!
Ah Qi's eyes were filled with anger, and he asked with a smile, "Don't you always say that you will never bully your colleagues? If so, what are you doing today, Huaiyu?"

Huaiyu lowered his head, his dark hair drooping. He stared down at Ah Qi and asked, "What are you looking for Xiang Xiaoyuan for?"

Ah Qi coughed up a mouthful of blood. "Of course, His Highness wants me to protect Xiaoyuan... What? Is Huaiyu jealous?"

He deliberately called her "Xiaoyuan" affectionately. He wanted to see if Huaiyu had different feelings for this young lady.

Huai Yu's voice was as cold as ever, as fierce as the wind: "Since you are doing work for the master, you should get out of here as soon as you are done."

Ah Qi laughed and said, "Why? You can't handle just a few words and a few bites of cake?"

Huai Yu sneered: "I just don't believe you have good intentions. When the fourth and fifth brothers died, you made great efforts."

Ah Qi pouted. "Why bring up that old story? But since you don't like me messing with Xiao Yuan, I'll listen to you and not bother her, okay?"

Hearing this, Huaiyu took back his boots, stood up and left.

After Ah Qi confirmed that Huai Yu had really gone far away, he spat out the blood foam from his mouth, took a pill to stop the bleeding, and snorted coldly: "You little brat, you're really heavy-handed!"

Ah Qi rolled his eyes toward the sky.

He never thought that Huaiyu would seriously injure himself for Xiang Xiaoyuan.

When did this mad dog start caring so much about someone? Did he scent-mark Xiang Xiaoyuan? He couldn't even say a word... What a bummer.

(End of this chapter)