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墨書 Inktalez
The Guard came over to assess the situation, while Ye Xiaohan tried her best to appear weak, buying herself some time.
The food delivered during dinner was just as unappetizing as before. Ye Xiaohan made an effort to eat a bit more, but not too much to raise the Guard's suspicions.
She had done everything she could; now it depended on her teammates' cleverness. She hoped that Team 6 would be reliable this time and not send over any incompetent allies.
That night, as Ye Xiaohan leaned against the wall in a daze, she noticed that even though summer had arrived, the cell remained surprisingly cool. The stone slab she leaned against sent a faint chill through her, penetrating to her bones.
Whenever one part of her body became uncomfortably cold, Ye Xiaohan would 'struggle' to shift positions.
Suddenly, she heard faint sounds approaching, somewhat chaotic. Just as she entered a state of alertness, she heard someone slam against the cell door, followed by a familiar voice calling out, "Sister-in-law!"
It was 6 Yang! From the sound of footsteps, there was more than one person. Who else could it be? Were they from Yamen or reinforcements sent by the Flying Dragon General?
Uncertain about their safety and wanting to avoid exposure, Ye Xiaohan decided to maintain her act.
With great 'effort,' she opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused. After several attempts to gather herself, she finally directed her sight toward 6 Yang.
Indeed, 6 Yang was not alone; there was another man beside him—someone Ye Xiaohan recognized.
It was Gu Da, who had been introduced by 6 Bei to protect 6 Yang.
When 6 Bei had suddenly brought in this person, Ye Xiaohan had certainly taken note of this lead. However, after investigating for a long time without finding anything substantial, she gradually let down her guard against 6 Bei. Strange events kept occurring one after another, so she stopped obsessively pursuing Gu Da's background and only knew that he seemed to have gone out for some business.
Now that Gu Da had suddenly reappeared, was it because 6 Bei had summoned him again? Surely Gu Da couldn’t be the rumored Flying Dragon General? Ye Xiaohan scrutinized Gu Da's attire, which blended seamlessly into the street; if he were indeed a general, he was far too approachable.
This possibility flashed through her mind but was quickly dismissed.
Gu Da could not possibly be a general. It was simply impossible for Liu Bei to dispatch a general at any time or place to do his bidding. No general would spend their evenings in a village, farming and chopping wood.
However, since Gu Da was familiar with Liu Bei, he must be on her side this time. Ye Xiaohan had heard Liu Yang praise him endlessly and knew that he had some skills. With reliable allies by her side, she felt a bit more at ease.
Seeing Ye Xiaohan in such a weakened state, Liu Yang was frantic. He couldn't think of anything else and began banging on the cell door, shouting, "Sister-in-law, look at me! It's Liu Yang! Please don't die!"
Ye Xiaohan struggled to support herself against the wall, slowly making her way to Liu Yang. She reached out her hand, and Liu Yang quickly grasped it, looking at her with deep concern.
"Sister-in-law, you must have suffered a lot in here. You've lost so much weight; your face looks gaunt. I know you haven't had enough to eat. I've brought you some food!"
Liu Yang picked up the basket he had placed by his feet and tried to slide it through the gap in the door. As he fumbled, Ye Xiaohan reached out and pinched his cheek playfully.
"Ouch!" Liu Yang exclaimed, caught off guard as his face flushed red. He stared at Ye Xiaohan in surprise.
Ye Xiaohan quickly winked at him and leaned weakly against the cell door.
Liu Yang realized what was happening and exclaimed joyfully, "Sister-in-law, you're just pretending! You're fine!"
He lowered his voice and glanced around cautiously, afraid of being discovered.
"What could possibly happen to me?" Ye Xiaohan reassured him, wanting to alleviate their worries. "I'm just acting; I needed to buy some time until you came to rescue me. Back in the hall earlier, I had no choice but to faint. I couldn't just stand there and let Lord Liu condemn me without a fight; that would have been the end for me."
Liu Yang repeatedly said, "As long as you're okay! I was so scared! I heard you fainted in the hall and thought you had been beaten and couldn't take it anymore."
Ye Xiaohan smiled softly. "I'm fine; you all don't need to worry." Her biggest concern now was Liu Bei. He had left after leaving her a letter, and she had no idea where he had gone: "What about your brother? Has he returned? How is he doing? Is he recovering from his injuries?"
Logically speaking, since Liu Bei had found the Flying Dragon General, he should be safe now. But without hearing it directly from him, she couldn't shake off her unease.
Yang knew that if he deliberately concealed the truth, it would only make Ye Xiaohan overthink. If she got stuck in a loop of worries, it would only lead to unnecessary trouble. So this time, he honestly told Ye Xiaohan, "Ever since my brother sent a message through someone last time, he has been well, but after that, there has been no news at all."
"However," Yang added, "I believe my brother is a lucky person; he will surely turn misfortune into good fortune and nothing will happen! When my brother returns, you will also have cleared your name by then, and we can all go home together."
Although Ye Xiaohan was still somewhat worried about Bei Liu, with Yang making such an effort to comfort her, she couldn't show her disappointment. She smiled and nodded, "That's good! You're becoming more responsible! You need to take care of yourself too; there are still elders at home who need your care!"
"Mm!" Yang replied seriously. This responsibility weighed heavily on his shoulders, but even if it doubled in weight, he would never give up. This was the most important thing in his life.
As important as life itself, even more so.
Gu Da saw that the two had calmed down and started to speak after patiently waiting for them.
"Boss Ye, that was truly a close call this time. Luckily, you were clever enough to think of pretending to faint, which even the Yard Officer couldn't discern. Otherwise, once the judgment was made, it would have been difficult to overturn."
Flattered by such praise from someone impressive, Ye Xiaohan felt a bit embarrassed. "What kind of cleverness is that? It was just a moment of quick thinking. The situation was urgent; I really didn't have any other options. Being carried around like that—I never want to experience that again; it was too humiliating."
Gu Da chuckled, "It was precisely because the situation was critical that Boss Ye's boldness and attention to detail shone through. We truly admire you."
"You're too kind," Ye Xiaohan waved her hand dismissively. "I was just trying to survive; at that moment, I wasn't sure if Bei Liu had found help or if the Flying Dragon General could be trusted. It was a gamble, but thankfully I won."
What if the Flying Dragon General had just felt obligated and didn’t intend to get involved? Then she would have been finished.
Fortunately, she believed her judgment of character was still quite good; Ye Xiaohan felt a brief moment of pride.
Gu Da noticed the subtle change in Ye Xiaohan's expression but said nothing as she reveled in her small victory while Yang continued to praise her intelligence. Neither of them noticed his reaction.
Ye Xiaohan playfully covered her face with three fingers and pretended to be shy. "Alright, stop praising me! I'm starting to feel like I've really become a strategist and I'm getting carried away."
Gu Da did not continue and shifted the discussion to the main topic: "Ye Boss, you saw the victims and the evidence in the hall today. What did you find?"
"There is significant evidence, and I was just about to tell you!" As soon as it came to the main issue, Ye Xiaohan's nerves immediately tensed up, entering work mode.
Ye Xiaohan detailed her findings, especially the characteristics and effects of Cochineal.
"The only people who could have approached me and accessed the secret room are a select few. Aside from those living in House 6, no one else had the opportunity. The true culprit behind the poisoning isn't hard to guess."
Ye Xiaohan voiced her suspicions. Since moving into this house, only a handful of people had lived there, and with a little elimination, only a few candidates remained.
"Those people again!" Liu Yang exclaimed angrily. "They even thought of such a rotten idea as poisoning! I really was blind to think they were good relatives. Ugh!"
"I don't have concrete evidence on who did it, but it definitely involves them. It could be Liu Wen or Yang Hua, or that Yang Juanjuan."
Ye Xiaohan agreed with Liu Yang's perspective. She felt she had been blind to think that Liu Wen and the others had settled down and would no longer recognize right from wrong, which is why she hadn't insisted they move out.
If she had decisively kicked them out back then, none of this would have happened.
Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in this world; blaming herself now was futile. She needed to learn from this lesson and avoid tripping over the same vine again.
"However," Ye Xiaohan pondered for a moment and said, "this is just my speculation; we can't be certain about what happened. It's also possible that Liu Yuan sent someone else to do this. He has many subordinates who are more capable, which would significantly increase the chances of success."
In any case, this matter was undoubtedly related to that group of people.
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