deadly mantra

Chapter 53 I don’t belong to anyone, but I must be someone who cares about you

At this time, a policeman rushed in quickly and went straight to Bao Simu, looking delighted and panting:

"Finally I found you! Baozi, come on, follow me. There are new clues about the Yongchang Escort Bureau tragedy!"

Huang Leiming was a police officer at Jingzhao Yamen. Because his temperament was similar to that of Bao Simu, he often screened out portraits of prisoners with low-risk bounties and secretly handed them to Bao Simu in private.

Over time, the two of them became close friends. Sometimes, Huang Leiming would ask Bao Simu to go out in the field together to apprehend criminals or investigate cases.

Knowing that she was very concerned about the Yongchang Escort tragedy, Huang Leiming came over to call her and go together to catch the suspect.

When Bao Simu heard the new clue, his eyes suddenly lit up. He grabbed Huang Leiming's arm excitedly and walked towards the door:
"What clue? Where did you find it? Let's go! We'll tell you more on the way!"

The stepped foot hesitated.

A layer of cold sweat broke out on Bao Simu's back. He turned around stiffly, met Li Mubai's uncertain face, and said with embarrassment:

"Cousin...I...I can explain."

Li Mubai never liked her having contact with people from the government, and he didn't like her running around the crime scene behind Huang Leiming.

There were outsiders around today, so Li Mubai couldn't help but look at Huang Leiming and said:
"Huang Captou, it's so late, where can I find the little bun?"

Only then did Huang Leiming notice Li Mubai. He immediately lifted up his clothes, knelt down on one knee, and said in a rough voice full of excitement and admiration:

"Jingzhao Yamen, Huang Leiming, come to see His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Ji Fanyin looked at Li Mubai in surprise:
"Prince...Your Highness?"

Feng Xiaoyao was also surprised and looked Li Mubai up and down for the first time.

Shui Qingchen smiled slightly and saw Li Mubai's embarrassed expression.

"I...can explain..." Li Mubai smiled awkwardly, looked at Ji Fanyin, and said slightly nervously: "I didn't mean to conceal my identity, but I concealed my last name for the sake of convenience."

Feng Xiaoyao thought for a while and said:

"I remember that the royal surname of Chixia Kingdom is... Li?"

Li Mubai nodded:

"Ah."

"Li Mubai?"

"Ah."

Feng Xiaoyao turned around again and looked at Bao Simu, who was standing not far away:

"Then who is she?"

Bao Simu shook his head in panic, fearing that Shui Qingchen would misunderstand him, so he quickly cleared the air:

"I'm not lying to you, my name is Bao Simu."

At this time, Ji Fanyin asked:
"Bao Yide, what's the relationship with you?"

Bao Simu said:

"My father is Bao Yide, the leader of the Good Sword Alliance, and my mother is Ji Qianying, the eldest daughter of Ji Mansion, the most noble house in Chixia Kingdom."

Ji Fanyin looked directly into Bao Simu's eyes and showed an extremely subtle smile:

"Your mother is the... eldest lady of Ji Mansion?"

Bao Simu nodded proudly:
"That's right, my grandpa is a veteran of three dynasties in the Chixia Kingdom, Mr. Ji. My mother is the only apple of his eye, so she is naturally the eldest lady of the Ji Mansion."

"The only one..." Ji Fanyin considered these two words, and a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.

Looking at Ji Fanyin, Bao Simu smiled and said:

"Speaking of which, Ji Fanyin, your surname is also Ji, hahaha. Maybe our two families even had a meal together 500 years ago."

There was a trace of sadness in Ji Fanyin's eyes that was incomprehensible, and he joked leisurely: "With the same surname but different fate, even if it goes back 500 years, you will still be eating from the golden branches and jade leaves, and I, ha, maybe... Fighting with beggars for food on the street."

Her laughter contained a bit of self-deprecation and a hint of coolness.

The atmosphere of the scene suddenly fell into embarrassment.

Shui Qingchen noticed that Ji Fanyin's little hands behind her back were clenched tightly and trembling slightly, as if she had remembered something sad and was trying desperately to restrain herself.

There was a stabbing pain in his heart, and his big warm hand pressed against her, holding her cold little hand, and asked in a low voice:
"Why did you snatch the food from the beggar's hand?"

The temperature in his palm made Ji Fanyin subconsciously shrink her hand.

The concern in Shui Qingchen's eyes froze slightly because of her dodge, but he soon showed a gentler and more cautious smile, and asked naturally:
"Speaking of which, I seem to have never asked you, where are you from? Where is your home?"

His question was one that Feng Xiaoyao and Li Mubai had thought about but never asked.

Everyone present focused their attention on Ji Fanyin.

Ji Fanyin had long been accustomed to being looked at by others, so she didn't feel nervous. She just raised her red lips and showed a bright smile, but what she said made everyone present feel worried:
"My father used to love me very much, until one day, he knew that my biological father was someone else. He couldn't tolerate it. He continued to live in deception, but he couldn't let go of my mother, so he I was secretly abandoned at sea. It was the fishermen who went out to sea who found me fainting from hunger in the boat. I survived and went ashore, wandering aimlessly alone."

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, sweeping away the slight sadness in her eyes, and she said with longing:
"At that time, I told myself that one day, I must break out of my own power, and then go home in glory and tell him: No matter who my biological father is, I just want to be the one who was The child she carried on her back that made him proud.”

The sound of sobbing could be heard in the hall, and Bao Simu bit his lip in emotion and distress.

Li Mubai felt a little moved when he heard this. He looked at Ji Fanyin complicatedly, not knowing how to comfort her.

Although Feng Xiaoyao also felt that Ji Fanyin's story was pitiful, he was more concerned about another thing:
"Then where did the gold bars on your body come from? Are you rich? Right? Will you pay me my salary on time?"

The sad atmosphere lingering in the hall was completely destroyed in an instant.

Everyone looked at Feng Xiaoyao.

"Feng Xiaoyao!" Li Mubai.

"Feng Xiaoyao!" Bao Simu.

"Brother Feng!" Shui Qingchen said.

Feng Xiaoyao was shocked and exclaimed:
"what?"

While Bao Simu wiped away his tears, he glared disdainfully at Feng Xiaoyao, who looked confused, and scolded:

"You really are! You don't care about the atmosphere at all!"

Feng Xiaoyao blinked and said bluntly:
"How much is the atmosphere worth? I am a villain first and then a gentleman. What if she doesn't have the money to pay me a salary in a month? When the time comes, you can give it to me on her behalf."

"Money, money, money! You, you, talk about money no matter how you open your mouth!"

"If you've ever been hungry, you know how important money is."

"How come I'm never hungry! My father often puts me in solitary confinement and doesn't allow servants to give me food!"

"Are you an idiot? Can that be the same?"

The two of them were talking to each other, arguing on the sidelines.

Shui Qingchen frowned slightly, as if there was a big stone blocking his heart.

He was silent for a while, wanting to comfort the little guy, but he also felt that he was not here when she needed her most, and it would be too late and useless to say anything now.

He reached out and patted the top of her head three times. Shui Qingchen opened his lips slightly and whispered:
"I'm late."

Ji Fanyin pursed her lips, as if complaining:
"It doesn't matter if it's late, you are still someone else's, which is heartbreaking."

Shui Qingchen's big hand on her head froze, and he deliberately rubbed her hair hard, making a bird's nest on top of her head. He looked seriously and said word by word:

"I don't belong to anyone, but I must be someone who cares about you."

(End of this chapter)