Jiaohua

Chapter 1565 Wen Baixi

"Sister, do you know who it is?!" Xue Xianghua asked hurriedly.

Xuexiang Shenmu looked at the big wooden box that had just been opened: "According to what you said, it was all assassination. How many people do you think are on the other side?"

"To kill so many people in one night, there must be at least five, right?"

"Impossible. There were five people, but there wasn't even a single bloody footprint at the scene. This is extremely difficult to do."

"What if the opponents are all top-notch experts?"

Xuexiang Shenmu shook his head: "The Meng family is also a master. If you want to kill them without alerting them, especially at night, you need to sneak into their rooms again and again in the dark to do it. For such a master, do you think the grass on the grassland grows so well?"

Xue Xianghua nodded: "That's right. If one of them is awakened, as long as any sound is made, the others will wake up. I don't believe there is a master in this world who can fight more than three men from the Meng family at the same time and still escape unscathed."

Xuexiang Shenmu stood up and went back to the big wooden box, opened it again and took out the scroll inside.

"Sister, what are you doing? You won't let me touch the painting."

Xuexiang Shenmu spread the scroll on the table, looked at the girl in the painting, and said softly: "The masters I'm talking about are very rare."

In the painting, the girl is standing by the river, with her hair tied in a ponytail, a slim waist and long legs.

The river in the painting is very clear and still, but the wind is strong. The girl's black hair and clothes are fluttering in the wind, making her look lively.

The way she tilted her head, her eyes seemed to be looking at the person who was looking at the painting, her eyebrows and eyes were gentle and quiet, as if she was listening to what the person who was looking at the painting had to say to her.

There is a line of small words next to it: Xia Nu A Li, November of the Guisi year, Youzhou followed Xinfu.

Xue Xianghua didn't know Chinese characters: "There's a woman in this painting. Who is this woman? She must be Chinese."

"I brought this painting back from Qisan Mountain, the small courtyard of Lu Wuwei."

Xuexiang Shenmu's eyes turned cold. "To accomplish such an extraordinary assassination, the killer must not only have extraordinary talent, but also must train hard from a young age. And most importantly, she must have an extremely powerful master who is also the best in the world to teach her. The only person I can think of is Ah Li."

"The woman in the painting is the Ah Li you often talk about."

"Take this painting and have someone copy it. If it is really her, they can arrest her by looking at her face. Then they will definitely catch her."

"Does she look like this?" Xue Xianghua tilted her head to look at the girl in the painting. "She doesn't look bad, but she's just that good. She can't compare to you, sister."

The Snow Fragrance Divine Tree suddenly became furious: "What time is it?! What are we competing for? Is it so important to be good-looking? Can you help us rule China? Can you help me win the war? Can you save me from the hardships on the road? Can you bring Jinzhi back to life? Can you bring her body back to be buried on our grassland!"

"There are so many good-looking people in the world, but skills and wisdom like Ah Li are rare. You can't compare with her here, no way! Why don't you go out and ask all the men, if they have a choice, would they prefer my face, Ah Li, or Ah Li's sister Xia Zhaoyi! Are you crazy?"

"Don't mention the Meng family masters to me anymore. In a one-on-one fight, even if you bring out a Meng family master, it's just the threshold for fighting with Ah Li!"

"What happened to my brother, and what Mubu Ivan has become now, don't you already know?"

“You should have gone to Mount Qisan and eaten a portion of what we suffered that day.”

Xue Xianghua said in panic: "Sister, don't be angry, I just said it casually! Don't scold me anymore!"

"What you said casually is more terrifying. You don't have any sense of crisis at all. Ali has already come to our Lanze City alone! You are a waste! That is Ali. She is not a ghost, but she is more terrifying than the evil god Amonaqiu on our grassland! She is the best killer in the world, do you understand?"

Xuexiang Shenmu picked up the wooden box and the letter on the table and turned away.

It was the first time that Xue Xianghua was scolded so harshly. Her face turned pale, her eyes suddenly turned red, and she started crying with her mouth pouting.

Xia Zhaoyi slept for a very long time.

After waking up, Zhan Ning and Zhao Ya finally arrived.

But both of them were frostbitten, one had a runny nose and the other kept sneezing.

Zhan Ning's face was red as she said aggrievedly, "Second Miss, we are not up to the task. Not only did we come here for nothing, but we are also sick and will become a burden."

Lin Wumei came over with her head lowered, holding a tray with two bowls of hot noodles on it.

It's strange to say, when facing Ali, she has become natural and generous, but when facing these soldiers of the Xia family army, she always has a sense of guilt that makes her unable to raise her head.

Xia Zhaoyi smiled and said, "Let's eat the noodles first. Drink the soup and eat the meat. Your body will warm up quickly. We can talk about other things later. But don't mention the word 'drag' anymore."

Lin Wumei thought of something at this time, and said to Xia Zhaoyi: "Miss A Li, don't be surprised, there are actually Han people in Lan Ze City."

Xia Zhaoyi looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm not talking about the Han people who hide their identities and pretend to be Northern Yuan people like you and me, but the Han people who live openly as Han people. However, their lives are not very good, but they used to be very glorious."

Xia Zhaoyi said: "They are the officials from Youzhou and Xinfu."

Lin Wumei was surprised: "Miss A-li knows?"

After saying that, Lin Wumei felt a little embarrassed: "That's right, how could Miss A Li not know about this? This kind of thing is easy to check."

"No, I just happened to be in Youzhou during that period."

Xia Zhaoyi looked at Zhan Ning and Zhao Ya who were eating noodles with her bright eyes.

They both stopped at the same time.

Zhan Ning blinked and suddenly said, "Ah, Second Miss, you don't want us to go find Chen Yongming, do you?"

Zhao Ya asked in a low voice: "Who is Chen Yongming?"

Lin Wumei was even more surprised: "You also know Chen Yongming? I want to talk about the clinic where he works."

Zhan Ning looked at Zhao Ya: "Back in Hengxiang, didn't you stay at Ruan's house for a long time? There is a bone cave deep in the mountains, and there is also a place where people were killed and dismembered, all of which are internal organs, body parts and heads." "Just talk about Ruan's house, there is no need to describe other things in such detail, we are eating noodles."

"At that time, a little girl ran away. She was about the same age as our second young lady! The girl's name was Chen Yunqi, and this Chen Yongming was Chen Yunqi's father."

Lin Wumei discovered that they knew much more than she did.

Zhan Ning said, "Liang Dechang and his team found out that Chen Yongming is now working as a handyman in a clinic in Lanze City. His Han identity makes his life difficult, and his salary is very low. He is now in dire straits. It's a pity. It just so happens that the two of us are sick now, so we can go to the clinic to check it out."

Zhao Ya nodded and looked at Xia Zhaoyi: "Second Miss, if we find this person, we..."

Xia Zhaoyi said: "Kill him."

They both said at the same time: "Yes!"

"But don't worry, you should recover first and talk about it after you get better."

"No problem, we are in good health and will be well soon!"

At this time, Ma Ningsheng came back quickly from the far back door.

After taking off the snow hat on his head, Ma Ningsheng put a wanted poster on the table.

"Second Miss, something happened, look!"

When several people saw it, they were all shocked.

Lin Wumei covered her mouth with her hand and blurted out subconsciously: "How could it be!"

She stared blankly at the woman in the painting, paused, and then looked up at Xia Zhaoyi.

"Well, it seems so. Miss Ali, is this a picture of you?"

"It's me," Xia Zhaoyi picked up the portrait, "but I had a nun's hairstyle last night, and I have a ponytail in the portrait."

Also, the drawing is weird.

The left and right sides are so aligned, as if they were marked with a ruler.

Moreover, the entire face is very wide, with the facial features and eyes concentrated in the middle, resulting in a large amount of white space on the face, making it look fat.

But it doesn’t matter. As long as people who have seen her can still associate the portrait with her, then the painting is successful.

Zhan Ning said, "It seems that these Northern Yuan barbarians are quite capable. Before noon, they have already linked the assassination last night to the second young lady."

Zhao Ya said: "That's too much. Why don't you draw the person more beautifully?"

Lin Wumei couldn't help but say: "In fact, if it were me, when I thought of a top-notch assassin, I would also be able to contact Miss Ali in the first place. There are not many masters like Miss Ali in the world."

As she spoke, Lin Wumei suddenly paused and looked back at the wanted poster.

"Miss Ali, can I take a closer look?"

Xia Zhaoyi handed over the wanted warrant.

There was only one head portrait on the wanted poster, but the more Lin Wumei looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, especially the hairstyle that Xia Zhaoyi had just mentioned.

Suddenly, Lin Wumei exclaimed: "I remember now! This portrait was painted by Wen Baixi!"

Xia Zhaoyi raised his eyebrows: "The Wen Baixi from Huzhou Prefecture?"

"Yes, he once painted a picture of you, Miss Ali, standing on the river bank, with a line of small characters beside it, which read, 'Xia Nu Ali, November of the Guisi Year, Youzhou from Xinfu.'"

Zhan Ning paused: "I know the painting you are talking about. It is hanging in the small house in Qisan Mountain, Guizhou, right?"

"Ah."

"But I have asked Zhang Chi to take the painting back to Hejing and give it to the Second Miss."

Lin Wumei said, "Wen Baixi is a master painter. He can draw a portrait based on what you said verbally. How difficult is it to ask him to draw another one that is exactly the same? I am sure that this painting was drawn by him because it is hung on the wall and I can see it every day. There is no mistake."

As she spoke, Lin Wumei looked back at the portrait: "Also, the one who had this portrait painted as a wanted poster must be the Snow Fragrance Divine Tree. Unfortunately, the people of the Northern Yuan Dynasty did not have painters with exquisite painting skills. The girl Ali in the portrait was facing sideways, so these painters painted the other half of her face in a similar way."

Xia Zhaoyi looked at the portrait thoughtfully, raising his left hand to support his chin.

Zhan Ning said, "Second Miss, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking of another painter," Xia Zhaoyi said, "His name is Tai Zicang."

After Bai Qingyuan's death, Tai Zicang resigned from his position as a teacher, returned home, closed the door, refused to see guests, did not accept disciples, and almost never showed up.

As for Wen Baixi, Xia Zhaoyi mentioned to Zhili and Xu Yinjun when he left Hengxiang for the last time that he wanted to recruit this famous painter. Having such a great man by his side could help a lot.

Before in Zhitu, she received a letter from Zhili, in which Zhili mentioned Wen Baixi a few words.

According to their preliminary investigation, Wen Baixi became famous only very recently, and last year, almost no one knew this person.

Could it be that Taizicang...is Wenbaixi?

Although the two people's painting styles are completely different, there is no similarity in color, lines, structure and layout.

But for a master painter, it is not difficult to change his painting style skillfully.

  Was it because of Bai Qingyuan's death that Tai Zicang took his anger out on her and hated her, so he painted her?

But what's the use? She is not afraid of whether others know her or not.

However, this is just speculation. Tai Zicang and Wen Baixi may not be the same person.