Zhong Li walked over to Tian Lianxue and crouched down, picking up the empty wine cup from the ground and sniffing it.
"How is it?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"Hmm, it smells a bit of musk and camphor. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the 'Never-Failing Golden Spear Formula'," Zhong Li said, then turned to look at the beautiful woman lying on the ground, unable to help but sigh.
"Does the Young Master really not consider it? Miss Lianxue has gone to such lengths with her scheme."
Lu Wuxie glanced at her indifferently, his thin lips pulled tight.
Zhong Li ignored the subtle displeasure on his face and said, "The Young Master is truly heartless."
Hearing her words, Lu Wuxie could no longer hold back and sneered, "Am I heartless, or should I say you're forcing me to sell myself?"
Zhong Li stood up and walked to Lu Wuxie's side, saying, "Is Your Highness angry?"
Lu Wuxie remained silent, drawing a fan from his怀 and fanning himself. Just as he was about to take a sip of the clear tea on the table, he seemed to remember something, looked at Tian Lianxue on the ground, pushed the tea aside, and remained silent.
Zhong Li looked at his action and suddenly felt a sense of closeness. She casually pulled over a chair and sat opposite him, raising her eyebrows slightly. "It's hard to find many women in Jin Cheng who can compare to Miss Lianxue's beauty."
Lu Wuxie still said nothing.
"I've heard that the Young Master has been a frequent guest of Miss Lianxue in recent years, and even considered buying her freedom. Today is a good opportunity, why did you let it pass?" Zhong Li seemed to be in a good mood, teasing Lu Wuxie unusually.
Lu Wuxie glanced at her, still silent.
"Could it be..." Zhong Li raised her eyebrows and her gaze swept over the lower half of Lu Wuxie's robes, "The Young Master is impotent?"
"Crack..." This time Lu Wuxie reacted, forcefully closing his fan. The fan handle almost broke from the excessive force.
He looked up, his mouth twitching, at the woman opposite him, his fan making a crisp rustling sound.
Meanwhile, Zhong Li acted as if nothing had happened, pulled the still unconscious Tian Lianxue from the ground, and carried her straight to the nearby bed.
Lu Wuxie watched her busy back, took several deep breaths, and finally got up and walked to her side, saying, "By tomorrow, she better give me the result I want. Otherwise..."
As he spoke, he glanced at her earnest face and realized this was the first time he had been so patient with someone. Normally, who would dare to act so presumptuously in front of him?
Zhong Li did not answer immediately, but took a small bottle from her怀, poured out a pill, and put it into Tian Lianxue's mouth, then said, "Don't worry, this 'Spring Return Powder' is enough for Miss Lianxue to dream all night."
"I never expected your adoptive father to teach you medicine too?" Lu Wuxie felt that Zhong Li was a treasure, not only skilled in forensic examination and investigation but also in making various medicinal pills.
Zhong Li remained silent, her mind drifting back to the days she spent traveling with Gai Chen, and his disheveled appearance when he was injured after being chased. She had no choice but to learn.
"I need to undress Miss Lianxue now. Will the Young Master stay or leave?"
"...."
Zhong Li's question was met with silence.
She turned her head to look behind her, and at some point, the man's standing spot was already empty.
Zhong Li curled her lips and began to busy herself with the subsequent matters. As Tian Lianxue's inner garment was pulled open, she looked at the 'little blood pack' that had fallen from the woman's clothes on the bed at some point and let out a slight sigh.
Lu Wuxie sat in the carriage, looking at the suddenly extinguished candlelight in the Xunxiang Pavilion of Hua Man Lou. He said to Lin Jin, who was driving, "You stay. You know what to do next."
Lin Jin cupped his hands, jumped off the carriage, and walked towards Hua Man Lou. During this time, he seemed unable to resist and glanced at the lower half of Lu Wuxie's robe.
Lu Wuxie, unable to miss Lin Jin's subtle sympathetic gaze, closed his eyes coldly, his forehead veins bulging, and said, "Hurry up!"
After about the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, Zhong Li got into the carriage.
The carriage began to move as the accompanying coachman cracked his whip.
"You asked me to question Tian Lianxue. I did. How do you plan to investigate this case afterward?" Lu Wuxie knew he wouldn't be able to return to his mansion tonight. Zhong Li had better find something to do, otherwise, how could he justify his sacrifice as the Young Master of the prestigious Prince Xian's mansion?
Even going so far as to...
Sell his body!
"Let me ask the Young Master a question first." Zhong Li knew that she had already been cursed by Lu Wuxie countless times before she even got into the carriage. She deliberately ignored the displeasure on his face and asked calmly.
Lu Wuxie was not one to seek out trouble. He took a deep breath to calm himself and gestured for Zhong Li to continue.
"I heard the Young Master mention before that the red coral lotus hairpin was very popular during the previous emperor's reign, but has now disappeared. Why did it reappear ten years ago, and why were the victims all women from the Willow Lane district?" Zhong Li asked.
"How much do you know about the Ruan family?" Lu Wuxie did not answer immediately but instead asked Zhong Li.
Zhong Li shook her head. She didn't care much about court matters, so she knew very little. The only thing she understood was what Lu Wuxie had told her before: the Empress of the previous emperor came from the Ruan family.
"The former Ruan family was as influential in Nanyue Kingdom as Prince Xian's mansion," Lu Wuxie said. "However, in the eighth year of Anhe, the Ruan family committed treason, leading to their decline and even their disappearance from Nanyue Kingdom for a time.
Before that, although the red coral hairpin was prohibited from entering from Jinzhou, with the death of the former emperor, the supervision became less strict. Who knew that the Ruan family would be involved in such a matter? The people of Nanyue Kingdom felt that this item was inauspicious, and gradually no one wanted it.
As for why Zhi Qiu and Shi Hua wore this item..."
Lu Wuxie paused, glancing at Zhong Li, "Perhaps, as a woman, you understand the reason better than I do."
Zhong Li lowered her gaze, piecing together what Lu Wuxie had told her about the red coral lotus hairpin, and considering the living conditions of most women in the Willow Lane district, it was not difficult to figure out.
In modern times, most women might already be focused on achieving their personal value and could let go of other things with a sense of destiny.
In ancient times, a woman's life might have been destined to be like a dodder, dependent on men and yielding to power. Therefore, their pursuits were merely a devoted lover or a life of wealth and prosperity.
And the former Empress Ruan Lian happened to possess both of these things. As prostitutes at the lowest level, how could they not envy and desire them? Even if the red coral lotus hairpin was criticized by the public as inauspicious, what did it matter? Were their life outcomes worse than what they considered tragic?
Since that was the case, they were more willing to seek good fortune to comfort their already desperate lives.
Perhaps this was also the reason why Zhi Qiu and Shi Hua proudly wore the hairpin in Willow Lane.
Lu Wuxie looked at the woman opposite him, her gaze lost in thought as she stared out the window. He knew she was intelligent and had already figured some things out.
He casually poured a cup of clear tea and placed it opposite her, "Can we talk about what we need to do next now?"
Zhong Li returned to her senses, her gaze slowly focusing on the handsome face of the man opposite her.
At this moment, Lu Wuxie smiled casually, a hint of unfathomable casualness in his eyes. But for some reason, the more indifferent he appeared, the more she felt that this man was not simple.
It was as if...
She recalled his performance when he infiltrated the Jia Mansion in Anding County. He exuded an aura of profound inscrutability.
"Now there are three directions that we both need to thoroughly investigate," Zhong Li dismissed her thoughts about Lu Wuxie and brought the conversation back on track.
Lu Wuxie glanced at her, and when she wasn't paying attention, his gaze deepened. He continued, "Tell me about it."