Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 421 420 Pitcher Plant

late.

Tuk-tuk-tuk.

There was a sudden knock on the door.

Xu Liansheng and Zhao Mumu exchanged a glance.

Xu Liansheng turned to look at the door: "Who is it?"

A trembling voice came from outside the door: "Madam..."

Xu Liansheng gasped, her expression turning serious: "Who's outside?"

Zhao Mumu moved to Xu Liansheng's side, her right hand forming a hand seal, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

This time, the head steward remained silent, and instead, Feng Xiuhu spoke up: "Liansheng, don't go to the government office. Let's speak frankly."

Xu Liansheng and Zhao Mumu looked at each other again—it seemed that Feng Xiuhu had been standing outside the door for a while, and none of them had noticed.

Xu Liansheng's face stiffened, but she tried to keep her tone calm: "Second Master, what kind of grown man enters a widow's house? Why don't we go to the government office and talk things out, so we can get Third Master out as soon as possible?"

Feng Xiuhu remained silent for a while outside the door. When he spoke again, his voice was no longer polite: "I dare to kill even the county magistrate. What makes you think the government can protect you?"

Xu Liansheng's eyelids twitched, and after a moment she finally moved her feet, walked over and opened the door.

Outside the door, the head steward stood with his hands at his sides, his legs trembling like a leaf. Beside him stood Feng Xiuhu. When Xu Liansheng's gaze swept over, Feng Xiuhu grinned at her, revealing his white teeth.

Looking further back, Fang Youliu leaned against the railing, yawning lazily; while Shunzi just squatted by the wall, head down, saying nothing.

Xu Liansheng smiled and said, "I am relieved to see that Third Master is safe and sound. It all comes down to Second Master's great ability. What I cannot do, Second Master can accomplish in just a few words."

Feng Xiuhu ignored her and pushed her aside to enter the house. As he stepped onto the floor, the fish below swarmed over.

A quick glance around revealed that the bouquets in the black and white photograph still looked fresh.

Before he could put the leather notebook on the counter back into the drawer, Feng Xiuhu's eyes lit up, and he went over to pick it up.

Xu Liansheng's expression changed slightly, but Zhao Mumu acted even faster: "Stop!"

Just as the incantation was about to be delivered, vines suddenly sprouted from under six of Zhao Mumu's trouser legs, skimming the ground and instantly reaching her feet.

"what!"

Zhao Mumu let out a cry of surprise, and before she could even react, she was tightly bound to the spot.

Putting aside the drawback of the slow pre-casting motion, Fang Youliu was actually the most accomplished among those present—the naturalist was comparable to the bishop and the high priest.

Fang Youliu had already drawn the runes before even entering the room.

Xu Liansheng bit her lower lip, trying to make a final explanation: "What does Second Master mean by this?"

Feng Xiuhu ignored her and casually picked up the leather-bound book to read it.

The pages were filled with names, each person categorized by their identity, job title, experience, hobbies, and other details. The author highlighted the key points in the details and got straight to the point in the brief ones.

The last page prominently displayed the names "Ma Er" and "Ye San," but "Ma Er" had been crossed out, followed by only a few words: "[Suspicious by nature, had ties to the Fengyu Temple, and is therefore discarded.]"

The content following "Ye San" is much richer.

[Taijing, the agent of the Mist Church? Honest and simple-minded, but with a narrow perspective. His stinginess with money suggests a poor background, and his lack of independent thought makes him easily trusted. He is adept at using small favors to manipulate, and genuine affection to win hearts. Women may arouse his suspicion, but family ties can disarm him.]

The note sandwiched on this page also slipped out. Feng Xiuhu glanced at it briefly and casually tossed it to Fang Youliu.

Fang Youliu picked it up and almost burst out laughing: "What do you mean by 'just a lowly rickshaw puller, not worth worrying about'?"

He handed the note back to Shunzi with a disgruntled expression. Shunzi stared at it for a long time, then clenched the note in her palm, lowered her head, and became even more silent.

Xu Liansheng remained silent. Feng Xiuhu walked past her and sat down on the sofa.

He patted the person next to him: "Sit down."

Xu Liansheng walked over and sat down beside him as instructed, silently waiting for Feng Xiuhu to continue.

Feng Xiuhu took out two cigarettes, lit them together, and then handed one to Xu Liansheng.

"Thank you, Master."

Xu Liansheng took it and whispered a thank you.

Feng Xiuhu looked at the black and white photos on the opposite wall, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "The flowers in that vase are different every day. Who sent them today?"

"Lu Tiefeng".

Xu Liansheng replied calmly, "I asked him to do something, and he was so happy that he sent someone to deliver flowers."

Feng Xiuhu nodded: "You've got these men completely fooled. They kindly gave you flowers, but you turned around and put them in front of your dead ex-husband's memorial tablet. If they found out, they'd be furious."

Xu Liansheng lowered her eyes slightly: "It's alright, they can't get into this room."

Feng Xiuhu flicked his cigarette ash: "I've roughly figured out the situation, but there are some questions I haven't figured out. Only you can answer them, so let's talk and ask as we go."

Xu Liansheng smiled, and then relaxed completely. She smoothed her skirt and gently crossed her legs, revealing the unique temperament of "Madam Xu".

"Please speak, Second Master—I would also like to hear whether what you say is correct."

Feng Xiuhu couldn't help but laugh. He lightly tapped Xu Liansheng with his finger and said with a smile, "Liansheng, you almost fooled me too."

"The words that come out of your mouth always have one thing in common—they are both the truth and the lie."

Xu Liansheng remained noncommittal, giving Feng Xiuhu a flippant look.

Feng Xiuhu licked his lips: "You said you'd heard of us back in Jiangluoxi, and that you made friends with us because you admired us."

"That's true, but what you didn't say is that you didn't just hear the names Ma Er and Ye San, but you already knew back then that Ye San was an agent of the Mist Church."

"It was this information that made you decide to use him."

Xu Liansheng readily admitted, "That's right, but using Third Master was just a spur-of-the-moment idea. I never expected that the unexpected turn of events would come from you, Ma Er, which is why my brilliant move turned into a blunder."

Having clarified this point, Feng Xiuhu was able to recount everything from the beginning.

"Ever since your deadbeat husband kicked the bucket, you've been secretly hindering the Duke's career..."

Xu Liansheng interrupted, "He has a name. His late husband was named Shen Zhenbang, Zhenbang as in 'to govern the country and bring peace to the nation.'"

Feng Xiuhu glanced at her sideways and said, "I'll call him a deadbeat, what are you going to do about it?"

Xu Liansheng's eyelids twitched. She hadn't had much contact with Feng Xiuhu and clearly lacked sufficient knowledge about him.

Seeing that Xu Liansheng remained silent, Feng Xiuhu continued speaking.

"You started Shi Wu Yu to avenge that dead man, because you needed the identity of a businessman to cover up your true intentions."

"Then you used your advantages and your best methods to subtly infiltrate the government office. If it were just one or two men, that would be one thing, but wherever you reached, regardless of rank, were key points in the government office. After reaching this point, you could influence the government office's decisions with just your smile and frown."

Xu Liansheng raised her eyebrows slightly and said with a smile, "Second Master, you are wise. I did not seduce anyone. I was just naturally exuding my charm. Whether they admire me or covet me, that is their own business."

"We've always heard people criticize butterflies for only wanting to eat honey, but we've never heard anyone complain about the saying that delicate flowers are too fragrant and only attract butterflies?"

Feng Xiuhu pointed at her: "Stop trying to glorify yourself, you're just a pitcher plant."

(End of this chapter)