Chapter 49

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 49:

Li Chunzhou nodded again, admitting.

Seeing her reaction, Qi Leyuan breathed a sigh of relief, changing his cautious attitude. Since Lady Chun was willing to admit, it meant it wasn’t a big deal, and Lady Chun surely wasn’t a bad person!

But Qi Leyuan still felt hesitant, asking in confusion, "If you wrote it, why didn’t you tell me? Why keep it from me?"

Li Chunzhou blinked slowly and said, "It was necessary."

Ming Xiang remembered the conclusion discussed in the group about the headless body case. The pigeons flew in from outside the capital, yet the person writing the official gazette was well-informed about the happenings inside the capital (investigations, people’s thoughts). At that time, they thought there might be a spy in the court or the person was incredibly cunning, predicting everyone’s reactions… Now it seemed the truth was that the person writing the official gazette was inside the city.

Qi Leyuan asked again, "Did you raise the pigeons that flew in from outside the city? Why couldn’t anyone find the location where the pigeons were raised?"

"There were no pigeons at the beginning. The contents of the official gazette were all written on the first day, then A’xuan implanted the memories into the person responsible for writing the official gazette and used illusions to make them think they saw pigeons delivering messages… Everything was fake."

Qi Leyuan remembered that when he first saw Li Chunzhou, there was indeed no Li Zhexuan by her side. Li Zhexuan came back at night, and at that time, he was terrified because of the eerie feeling.

Ming Xiang widened her eyes, hesitantly asking, "So, were you Lady Chun the one behind the headless body case?"

"Not me."

Qi Leyuan continued asking, "Do you know the murderer? Or do you know where they are?"

"I know, but even if I don’t say, you should be able to guess… Check the messages in the chat channel."

Just as she finished speaking, the carriage stopped in front of the Spring Flowers Tower. It was now dusk, and the lights inside the tower were on. Rainwater had pooled on the ground, forming a small puddle. Li Chunzhou got off the carriage, looked down, and showed no intention of going further.

Li Zhexuan shook off the rainwater from himself, used one arm to hold Li Chunzhou close, and held an umbrella with the other arm, getting half of himself wet in the rain.

Out of habit, whenever the distance between them narrowed, Li Zhexuan unconsciously stared at Li Chunzhou’s lips, his eyes revealing desire. It had been a while since he had last eaten, and he was very hungry.

Li Chunzhou pushed away Li Zhexuan, who had approached her like a puppy, and looked down at the splashing water on the ground. She still remembered the rainy days of her childhood when Gu Lingfan held her hand and they ran back to Spring Flowers Tower from East Market, splashing water along the way.

However, Li Chunzhou could not remember which summer that was. Afterwards, Shengjing never experienced such heavy rain again, and her life never returned to that summer.

Ming Xiang held another umbrella, carefully covering herself and walking beside Qi Leyuan.

Qi Leyuan’s feathers got wet from the water on the ground, as he struggled to walk, he couldn’t believe it and asked Ming Xiang, who always refused to touch him, "Can’t you pick me up? Even though I know boys and girls shouldn’t touch… But now I’m a mother hen!"

Ming Xiang firmly shook her head, unsure if she disliked men or sharp-beaked animals more.

Before entering the courtyard, several people could see a tall maid standing alone in the pouring rain holding an umbrella. Her figure was faint in the rain curtain, emitting a mysterious and eerie atmosphere. Raindrops hitting the umbrella made a crisp sound. Behind the rain curtain, the scar on Chihong’s face looked even more terrifying.

Ming Xiang couldn’t see Chihong’s expression in the rain, she only felt a hint of indifference. Behind Chihong, a blurry lotus pond swayed in the dark night, as if countless pairs of eyes were staring ahead following Chihong’s gaze, making her feel strange and uneasy.

No matter how many times Ming Xiang locked eyes with Chihong, she felt a deep and calm aura in her gaze, making her shiver in fear.

Suddenly, Chihong moved toward them, Ming Xiang’s heart leapt to her throat, then she heard Chihong say to her, "Go back and have a bowl of ginger soup, the red beans are ready."

Ming Xiang patted her face with her free hand, thinking she must have been scared silly by the recent Sub-dungeon encounter. Even though she was safe now, she still felt a bit jumpy.

These days of being together had indeed slightly changed Ming Xiang’s perception of Chihong. Although she was still a bit scared, she no longer saw Chihong as a murderer.

Chihong skillfully picked up the damp walking chicken from the ground, then moved closer to Li Chunzhou with the umbrella, whispering, "Miss, Sir Mi is here."

Li Chunzhou lifted a corner of her oiled-paper umbrella and peered forward, indeed seeing two blurry figures in the lotus pond. The person dressed in a crimson silk robe was undoubtedly Mi Hongbao.

The servant next to him anxiously held the umbrella for him, knowing he couldn’t be dissuaded, so he also started searching in the lotus pond.

Li Chunzhou silently watched for a moment, although the young master not far away was still fumbling in the dark for something, Li Chunzhou noticed he froze for a moment after locking eyes with her.

It was hard to say whether Mi Hongbao actually saw her, he probably felt embarrassed and simply pretended not to see her.

Li Chunzhou told Li Zhexuan to put her down, then she walked through the rain, stepping heavily through the water towards the lotus pond, gradually moving closer to Mi Hongbao.

Before she took a few steps, Mi Hongbao rushed over in three steps and two steps, grabbing her arm in a panic.

Mi Hongbao was startled by her actions, his voice raised, and in a harsh tone asked, "Why did you come down? The water is so cold! Are you crazy?"

He casually took the umbrella from the servant behind him and held it over Li Chunzhou’s head, wanting to wipe the water off her face, but then remembered they were arguing, so his hand awkwardly froze in mid-air.

Li Chunzhou looked at him steadily and said, "What’s more valuable, losing something expensive or losing someone precious? Even if the young master is healthy, staying in this water for much longer will make him sick. If something is lost, it’s lost. I can give you whatever you want…"

"Don’t be so hard on yourself," she put her slightly cool hand on Mi Hongbao’s hand holding the umbrella and whispered, "It makes me sad to see you like this…"

Mi Hongbao clenched his teeth and glared at her fiercely for a moment, but couldn’t help but get teary-eyed, muttering softly, "The whole afternoon, where did you go? You left me all alone…"

He loosened his grip on the umbrella handle and enclosed Li Chunzhou’s hand in his. Li Chunzhou also relaxed, knowing that he was appeased. She then held Mi Hongbao’s hand and walked towards the shore, saying as they walked, "Let’s go back to the house to talk."

Just as they reached the edge of the roof, Hongdou, holding a yellow lily cat, approached joyfully and said, "Miss, this is a cat sent by the Second Prince this afternoon, it’s only three months old…"

Upon hearing the words "Second Prince," Li Chunzhou’s heart skipped a beat. She made a gesture to Chihong to quickly take the kitten away, not daring to show happiness or affection, lest the jealous one next to her see it and get angry after just being comforted.

Chihong nodded silently, holding a chicken in one hand and the cat in the other as she left the room.

Li Chunzhou, with her damp hair, pitifully asked Hongdou, "Is there hot water ready?"

Hongdou nodded decisively, "Yes, it’s been prepared in advance. Ming Niang is already making the fire, there’s enough for all five of you to bathe!"

Li Chunzhou led Mi Hongbao to the bath, coaxing him in a gentle voice. Before she could push him into the bathroom, a sharp shrill sound came from the direction Chihong had left, "Ow!!! How hot is this water? Is it a hundred degrees?! Are you trying to bathe me or pluck a chicken?!"

Mi Hongbao was alert and asked, "Where is that man’s voice coming from?"

Li Chunzhou casually replied, "It must be a guest who took the wrong way. Okay, A’bao, go in and take a bath quickly. I need to change clothes in another room. I asked Hongdou to take the boy next to you upstairs."

Mi Hongbao looked down and saw that her clothes were all soaked, sticking to her body. His ears turned red, and he dared not look any longer. Silently, he walked in.

Li Chunzhou turned back to her room, where Chihong had already prepared everything. Li Chunzhou began to take off the wet clothes one by one and lay in the wooden tub filled with hot water.

She took a comfortable breath and then opened her eyes to see Li Zhexuan silently walking in and standing outside the tub, watching her.

Li Chunzhou was not surprised. Like a flexible fish, she turned her body and leaned on the tub, directing Li Zhexuan to pour in the hot water. Li Zhexuan obediently did so, then stared intently at the water in the tub.

Since Mi Hongbao had not left yet, Li Chunzhou did not stay in the water for long. After her body warmed up, she stood up from the tub. Walking out naked, her fair skin glistened like cream under the candlelight.

Li Chunzhou was not embarrassed or uneasy about being naked. She took a new dress from the shelf and put it on. When she looked back, she saw Li Zhexuan still staring at the bathwater in the tub. As she tied her belt, her movements paused, as if recalling some unpleasant memories, and her face suddenly changed.

Li Chunzhou turned Li Zhexuan’s head around and said through gritted teeth, "Stop thinking about drinking bathwater!"

She finished speaking, then tiptoed towards Li Zhexuan’s lips and bit over.

…

After a while, Li Chunzhou finally called Chihong in.

After everything was tidied up, Mi Hongbao entered the room. Probably due to the steam, his already handsome face looked even more rosy and charming. Li Chunzhou’s tone became even friendlier when she saw his handsome face.

"A’bao, the Oiran Contest is in four days. Will you come then?" Li Chunzhou, with her still damp hair, looked up at Mi Hongbao under the flickering candlelight, her eyes shining, looking pure and innocent.

Seeing a beauty under the lamp, the more you look, the more flustered you get.

Mi Hongbao didn’t really understand what Li Chunzhou was saying, but he agreed readily anyway. He lowered his head to look at Li Chunzhou’s fair face and felt that her lips had a strange blush, slightly swollen as if they had been touched.

When his senses returned, Mi Hongbao understood Li Chunzhou’s unspoken words, so he asked, "Do you need me to help you out? I will definitely come and make sure no one can outshine you!"

Mi Hongbao didn’t know how to treat someone well. As the only son at home and with the wealthy Northern Marquis Mansion, he had always expressed his affection by showering Li Chunzhou with money.

Li Chunzhou smiled and softly said, "I don’t want money, I just want to see A’bao… I’m sorry for today, I didn’t mean to be mad at A’bao. Are you still angry?"

She had said harsh words about never meeting again in the morning, but in the evening, it turned into just "being angry" lightly in her words.

Mi Hongbao shook his head gloomily and silently avoided the matter. He held Li Chunzhou tightly, treating her like a precious treasure, and said quietly, "I’m not mad, but Lady Chun owes me a favor."

Li Chunzhou leaned her head on his shoulder and whispered softly in his ear, "Okay, what favor does A’bao have?"

This time, Mi Hongbao remained silent for a while before answering, "I haven’t thought that far yet."