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墨書 Inktalez
Lingxiang restored her appearance as the owner of Dragon Gate Inn, and the halted space began to move again. The shop assistant and Chef groggily got up from the ground, muttering a few words to themselves, and hurried to catch the donkey that had somehow escaped from the kitchen.
"Ruyi, do you still want to eat donkey tendon?" Lingxiang looked into Xing Ruyi's eyes. "If you still wish to have it, I will personally make it for you."
Xing Ruyi shook her head. "This donkey is too inauthentic. Even if it were made into donkey tendon, it wouldn't taste like what I want to eat. Never mind, let's just have Lingxiang the Shopkeeper sell this donkey to a farmer. While it's still young and strong, it can help with some work."
"Shopkeeper, this..."
The clerk had already led the donkey over to Chef, who had picked up his knife again. Upon hearing Xing Ruyi's words, both of them looked at Lingxiang with difficulty.
Lingxiang smiled and said to Xing Ruyi, "Thank you, miss!"
Then she returned the gold coin that Xing Ruyi had given her earlier on the second floor. Xing Ruyi glanced at it and pushed it back with her hand. "Since this gold coin was given to Lingxiang the Shopkeeper, Fox Demon has no intention of taking it back. And don't be in a hurry to thank me; I still need to ask the Shopkeeper for two people."
"Lingxiang knows who you are looking for; follow me!" Lingxiang said, signaling the clerk to take the donkey back to the donkey shed and instructing him to find a suitable buyer today. As for the selling price, she told the clerk to figure it out himself.
The clerk nodded blankly and exchanged glances with Chef before leading the donkey to the donkey shed.
Xing Ruyi, along with the fox and Chang Tai, followed Lingxiang to the backyard, where they found the missing Third Young Master Su, Su Jingrui, and Su Butler in an inconspicuous thatched house. However, both of them had also been transformed into donkeys—one middle-aged and one elderly.
"Since they are all donkeys, why not keep them together in the donkey shed outside? Is it because this Young Master turned into a donkey is more valuable?"
"In Lingxiang's eyes, these donkeys may be different, but in the buyer's eyes, they are no different. The reason they weren't placed in the donkey shed is that Lingxiang knows they will return sooner or later. Oh, what I mean is that those from Yamen will eventually come looking here."
"Since you know that Yamen will come searching here, why not let them go?"
"Because they are not good people and do not deserve mercy." Lingxiang glanced at the donkey that was once Third Young Master Su. "In fact, I saw you buying an umbrella at the market that day; I even thought about stopping you. It seems now that your reason for buying that umbrella was because you noticed Fourth Sister Su attached to that Red Bone Umbrella."
"You know?" Xing Ruyi countered but quickly dismissed any surprise. Lingxiang was a demon and ran an inn in this Paper Town; there were likely few things she couldn't see through.
"Lingxiang naturally knows because I scared Fourth Sister Su."
"You scared her?" Xing Ruyi did not expect that Lingxiang would have anything to do with the Su Family's affairs.
Lingxiang nodded, walked to the door, looked at the floating clouds, and let out a gentle sigh.
"White, I am the landlady of this Dragon Gate Inn, and at night, I am the Spider Demon who practices in the mountains, also known as a monster by others. In fact, I have been very careful; the places I choose are ones that ordinary people rarely visit. So when I saw Third Young Master Su and Fourth Sister pulling each other into my practice area, I was quite startled.
At that time, I had already restored my original appearance. If I had rashly transformed back into a human form, it would have drawn even more attention. Moreover, I was captivated by their conversation."
"Could it be that there is some complicated relationship between Third Young Master Su and Fourth Sister?"
Lingxiang nodded. "If I only listen to their conversation, I think so."
"What did they say?"
"They mentioned Eldest Young Master Su and First Lady." Lingxiang turned around. "Since you have investigated me here, you should know that Young Master Su has actually done me a favor; he helped me with the matter concerning Su Guangcai. As for Su Family's Grand Lady, she is originally from this Town, warm-hearted and generous. Although she hasn't helped me directly, we have crossed paths a few times; she is a rare good girl among mortals.
So when Third Young Master Su and Fourth Sister mentioned them, I couldn't help but listen more closely. However, the more I listened, the more I felt that the hearts of these mortals are truly frightening."
"Third Young Master Su and Fourth Sister Su Qianqian seem to be related to the death of Eldest Young Master Nursemaid," Xing Ruyi volunteered her findings from her investigation into the Su Family.
"Yes, I heard that too. At that time, Fourth Sister Su Qianqian was very agitated; she told Su San Shaoye that the reason she got together with him was to have him help her deal with First Lady. Now that First Lady is gone, she hopes Third Young Master won't cling to her anymore. But Third Young Master threatened Fourth Sister that if she dared to betray him and truly got together with Eldest Young Master, he would reveal everything about their relationship, including their involvement in murdering First Lady, to Eldest Young Master and the Master and Madam of the Su Family.
Although Third Young Master is a son of a concubine and a bastard of the Su Family, he still has Su Family blood running through his veins. Fourth Sister Su Qianqian is different; she is an adopted daughter of the Su Family. While she is favored, she is not truly one of them. If these matters were exposed, Master Su might not protect this Fourth Sister anymore.
Third Young Master demanded Fourth Sister obey his arrangements and marry the person he chose for her so they could jointly transfer the assets of the Su Family to their names. By then, whether Fourth Sister would still follow Eldest Young Master would be none of his concern."
"From what I've heard, Third Young Master Su seems to be the worst among the Su Family," Xing Ruyi remarked while glancing at the donkey on the far right. She used Ghost Technique to see through the donkey's exterior and discern its human form. Although it appeared decent-looking, it was clearly not as handsome as Second Young Master Su and had an air of family background about him. Those two eyes were filled with calculation.
"The household worries about daily necessities; mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships often lead to power struggles in large families. Both Young Master Su and Second Young Master are born of Madam Su and are legitimate sons who can rightfully inherit everything from the Su Family. This Third Young Master may be out working hard for the family's assets, but once Master Su relinquishes power, all his efforts over these years would merely serve as a wedding dress for the other two Young Masters. As a fellow Young Master himself, Third Young Master certainly wouldn't be pleased with that."
"That's just one aspect; another point is that Madam Su was originally just a concubine. If not for the main wife causing trouble, she wouldn't have succeeded in rising to her position now. The current Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master of the Su Family wouldn't have become legitimate sons either." Xing Ruyi rubbed her hands together. "It seems that this Third Young Master Su has further plans with his mother; he probably wants more than just the assets of the Su Family."
"The ultimate ownership of the Su Family's assets has nothing to do with Lingxiang; what Lingxiang cares about is only the experiences of Young Master Su and First Lady. From their conversation, Lingxiang learned that First Lady's illness and eventual departure were due to these two plotting behind her back; their methods of poisoning were beyond Lingxiang's imagination."
"I had also investigated this matter when I was at the Su Family before. Fourth Sister Su Qianqian mixed toxic flowers into a pillow given to First Lady; these flowers can invisibly cause illness or even take one's life."
"Not only the pillow, but also the daily life of the First Lady," Lingxiang said, casting a sharp glance at the Donkey transformed from Su San Shaoye. "The First Lady loves Chrysanthemum; this is known by everyone in the Paper Shop. Even on the day of the wedding, the base pattern embroidered on the wedding robe was also Chrysanthemum. One can imagine that there must be quite a few Chrysanthemums planted in the Su Family."
"There are indeed many. It seems even the Eldest Young Master's courtyard has been changed to Juyuan. The character '掬' not only contains '菊' (Chrysanthemum) but also implies holding Chrysanthemums in hand, suggesting that the Eldest Young Master has metaphorically compared the First Lady to a Chrysanthemum in his hand, which is quite poetic."
"In this world, there are few who are truly affectionate and many who are heartless, yet this couple has been harmed by those with ulterior motives." Lingxiang sighed again. "The First Lady loves Chrysanthemum and usually tends to them herself, so these two people smeared poison on the edges of the pots where they planted Chrysanthemums. It was precisely this poison that caused the First Lady to lose her sight. Yet these people still refuse to let her go; they even took advantage of her blindness and resorted to more malicious means. They bribed the maidservants around the First Lady, hiding poison needles in her clothing and soaking the roots of her hairpin and Vermilion Hairpin in toxic liquid. This poison was originally extracted from animals or plants; a dose or two wouldn't cause immediate harm, but over time it could gradually erode the First Lady's health."
"They are very clever, knowing that after the First Lady's departure, the Eldest Young Master would definitely investigate. Therefore, everything used by the First Lady was prepared in two sets. One set was poisonous and kept hidden, to be completely burned after her departure. The other set was safe, replaced by those bribed maidservants and left in her room, so the Eldest Young Master couldn't find anything out of place. Oh no! It's not that he couldn't find anything; at least he knows someone is secretly harming the First Lady."
"Does Su Jingbo know?"
"He knows because he was poisoned just like the First Lady! He was poisoned by that Chrysanthemum Scented Pillow," Lingxiang said, lowering her eyes. "The people of the Su Family only know that Young Master Su has secluded himself in a Temple, but they don't realize that when he left the Su Family, he had already been poisoned and even vaguely guessed who harmed them. However, he is kind-hearted and since the First Lady has passed away, he has no intention of surviving; he believes being poisoned is the best arrangement in this world, so he is unwilling to pursue it further."
"Su Jingbo must have swapped pillows with his wife," Xing Ruyi speculated.
"Yes! The Eldest Young Master indeed did this. Not long after using that pillow, the First Lady felt extremely uncomfortable. The Eldest Young Master felt sorry for her and swapped their pillows. At that time, he never imagined that his most beloved sister would give his wife a poisonous pillow."
Although that poisonous pillow was taken by the Eldest Young Master, it still remained on their bed; poison does not selectively affect just one person. The Eldest Young Master is a man and physically stronger than the First Lady; if it weren't for all those other poisons, she might have been able to hold on longer. But these people were too anxious and too clever."
"Especially that Su Qianqian, who wholeheartedly wanted to kill the First Lady to take her place, yet did not realize that by sharing a pillow with her husband, she ultimately caused harm not just to one person!"
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