My wife has a secret

Chapter 14 Murder Case
"Yes, yesterday's poem was already a masterpiece of Mid-Autumn Festival. How easy is it to write another poem that can be compared with it?"

"Besides, Lu is just a woman after all. She is lucky to be blessed by God and write a masterpiece. Can she really write another one?"

Under everyone's suspicious eyes, Xu Qing slowly stepped onto the stage and asked softly towards the northern balcony: "Yesterday at the Puyuan Poetry Meeting, I wrote a poem about scenery. How about I write another poem about scenery today?"

After a while, a maid came out of the private room, bowed to Xu Qing and said, "Mr. Xu, please go ahead."

"The stone door is open on the steep rock, and the two doors are thousands of feet high. The boat stops along the quiet path and you can sit and watch the roar of the waterfall."

As soon as the words came out, everyone in the audience applauded, praising that this Lu was indeed an extraordinary woman. In addition to the Mid-Autumn Festival masterpiece "Thinking of the Moon and Remembering People" she wrote yesterday, she could also compose such a majestic and grand quatrain.

If you look closely, you will see a beautiful painting of a solitary boat sailing on the pool, watching the waterfall falling, and towering strange rocks like a stone gate.

But the maidservant next to the private room went back to her room for a while, then stood up and said, "This is not a good poem just for describing the scenery. The standard of poetry is not only the beauty of the words, but also the rhyme and artistic conception."

"My little... young master said that this poem is half a point worse than yesterday's."

Xu Qing shook his head, and the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

"Please be patient. I haven't finished reading this poem yet."

While reciting poetry, Xu Qing came to the inkstone table that had been set up in advance.

The person who was writing the poem was a pretty young woman wearing colorful clothes. Her face was heavily rouge and powdered, but it fits Xu Qing's imagination of a prostitute.

"Are you Chun Shisan Niang?"

"Master Xu, you are joking. My maiden name is Ruan, and my given name is Xiaoxiao. I am an ordinary singer in Zuiyuanlou... It is only because of my beautiful handwriting that Madam Chen put me on record as a good singer."

Zhu Yuande was still being held by the big man at this moment. Seeing Xu Qing leisurely flirting with the girls on the stage, his face turned purple.

"Boss, what's the meaning of the second half of your poem?"

Xu Qing looked back and found that everyone had pricked up their ears and was watching his next performance intently.

He pondered for a moment, and then said leisurely: "I feel as if the fairyland is not the human world, and the immortal famous mountains are in the sky. Back then, I read the book and looked at the flowing spring, which cleansed my dusty mind and made me appreciate it."

Everyone in the audience was moved.

"Great! Great!"

"This poem is worthy of being written by the most talented woman in Jiangnan, Great Qi. Looking at the level of this poem in the past and present, I am afraid that no other woman can compare with it, right?"

Upon seeing this, Nanny Chen hurried out with a smile on her face and tried to act as a peacemaker.

Now that excellent poems and lyrics have been created in Zuiyuan Pavilion, they will make the building famous in the next few days.

If she could persuade the young master in the capital to make peace with Young Master Xu, wouldn't she be able to rise to a high position in the future without any worries?
"Mr. Mu, look at how well this poem is written. The beautiful scenery of the mountains and rivers is still vivid before my eyes...Nowadays, I have everything in my Zuiyuan Tower, including fine wine and beautiful women. Why make things so awkward?"

The little maid on the third floor raised her head slightly, without showing any mercy to Nanny Chen from Zuiyuanlou.

"Madam Chen, do you mean that my young master is not as good as the Xu family?"

Nanny Chen's expression froze when she heard this, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

The capital city is different from Suzhou. It is a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers are everywhere.

Some aristocratic families have worked hard under the emperor for hundreds of generations and have long since become powerful Heluo families.

As the saying goes, there are no commoners in the upper class, and no gentry in the lower class. Even the Xu family, a newly-promoted noble family that became famous because of the Queen Mother, still cannot be compared with these aristocratic families with profound heritage.

How could Zuiyuanlou afford to offend such a behemoth?

The maid snorted coldly and turned to go into the private room.

After a while, she came out of the room again and said calmly, "My master said that although this poem has the feeling of my pure heart, it is still a little lacking in artistic conception."

Someone in the audience expressed dissatisfaction, "Is this person coming to Suzhou to cause trouble?"

After hearing the conversation between Nanny Chen and the maid, the guests of Zuiyuanlou all knew that the young man sitting in the private room was from the capital, not a native of Suzhou.

As young men from wealthy families, everyone was already familiar with Xu Qing. Now seeing that guy making things difficult for Xu Qing again and again, they all felt that this guy from Beijing was going too far.

The maid upstairs stood in front of the carved railings, not even glancing at the restless crowd, and said calmly: "Yesterday's poem, with just four lines, conveyed the mood of looking at the moon and missing someone. Today's poem is not as good as that."

After hearing this, Xu Qing understood.

It seems that the young man upstairs is not some ignorant person who doesn't understand poetry. To be able to study poetry to this level, he must be a very learned person.

However, he did not come to Zuiyuanlou to compete with others, so he was not very interested in the identity of this man from the capital.

"The quality of a poem cannot be judged by its length or refinement, and I'm only halfway through this poem."

The maid was slightly stunned, and the guests below looked at each other in bewilderment. They had never expected that Xu Qing's poem had still some remaining sentences to read.

"The beauty of mountains and rivers is no accident, thunderstorms and wind and clouds are the true weather. The desolate monuments stand in a forest and are covered with weeds, and the heroic spirit of a generation is great. The former Liu Lang is gone now, and the moon shines on the bookcase every year. The setting sun is about to go back to the boat, and the sound of the Buddhist chimes swings the oars."

After reading the last four sentences, even someone as thick-skinned as Xu Qing blushed.

After listening to the entire poem, the maid returned to her room. There was no movement for a long time. When Nanny Chen went upstairs to check again, she found that the young master from the capital had left with his servants from the stairs on the other side.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuande broke free from the hands of those strong men and gave Xu Qing a thumbs up.

"The eldest brother is so majestic and heroic. He is able to marry such a knowledgeable and talented sister-in-law... Even those arrogant and domineering families in the capital have to tuck their tails between their legs and flee in disgrace."

Zhu Yuande's praise drew unanimous approval from the people around him. Everyone felt that Xu Qing had brought honor to the people of Suzhou.

Although no one said it, they were all envious in their hearts.

Because of his aunt's powerful status, Xu Qing has married many well-known women in Da Qi in recent years.

Apart from the third wife, Mrs. Lu, who has become very famous in the literary world recently for her poetry, the fourth wife, Mrs. Qin, was also once a famous prostitute in the Wangyue Tower in the capital.

On top of this, not to mention the second wife, Yang, who had made great military achievements, and the first wife, Shen, who was famous all over the world.

Shen Shuangxu's name has spread so widely that even in the most remote towns and villages of Da Qi, people have probably heard of it.

No matter how hard you work, you won't be as lucky as Mr. Xu.

Ruan Xiaoxiao, who was copying the poem earlier, put down his writing brush and walked to Xu Qing, knelt down and saluted, and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu, your wife's poem is really wonderful. I wonder when you can introduce my daughter to your sister-in-law?"

Ruan Xiaoxiao's eyes were filled with a hint of desire, and Xu Qing always felt that the look was familiar.

It seems that Ruan Xiaoxiao is not willing to be a brothel singer, she still wants to take this opportunity to get to know Lu Wanhe. "You really have no chance, the rules of the Xu Mansion's backyard were set by Shen, even I can only go through the side door to see him when entering the Xu Mansion, let alone you."

Before Xu Qing could even open his mouth, Zhu Yuande came up to him and boasted, "This young master has known the boss for more than ten years. In the entire Xu Mansion's backyard, I have only met that Qin once."

Ruan Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and laughed secretly, "I didn't expect that Mr. Xu, who does his own thing in Suzhou City, is so afraid of his wife at home... Doesn't he know that Qin is beautiful?"

"I just saw her from behind, and she really had a slender figure, like a fairy in heaven."

Zhu Yuande's eyes rolled, and he stepped forward and gently embraced Ruan Xiaoxiao's slender waist, "But in my opinion, you are more beautiful than the fairies in the sky."

"Hey, Mr. Zhu, your mouth is sweeter than honey."

Xu Qing looked at the fat guy whose true colors were revealed, feeling helpless.

Fortunately, this boy has never seen the lady in his backyard. If he really saw the face of Qin and Lu, he would probably have no interest in the vulgar women in Zuiyuan Tower.

However, this also increased Xu Qing's curiosity. Although this ordinary brothel girl looked average, there was a chance that the top-notch courtesan might be different.

According to the plot in the novel, wouldn't I have traveled through time and space to recite poems and spend the night with Chun Shisan Niang?

"By the way, where is Chun Shisanniang from your Zuiyuan Pavilion? Isn't she the one who usually serves my boss? Why can't I see her today?"

Nanny Chen came over from the crowd at the door and apologized repeatedly to Xu Qing and Zhu Yuande.

"You two gentlemen, you don't know that we, who make a living as a small business, are usually very afraid of disputes. Especially in our Zuiyuan Pavilion, Chun Shisan Niang is the only famous lady. Whoever we send to serve a young master will be resented by the other tables... So when encountering such a situation, Chun Shisan Niang will usually say that she is ill and bedridden."

Nanny Chen changed the subject when she got to this point.

"However, Master Xu's poems today are so good that I, Nanny Chen, will make an exception and let Thirteenth Lady come to receive Master Xu's guests... After all, Little Thirteenth Lady and you are old acquaintances. If she hears that Master Xu has come all the way to see her, she will definitely smile from ear to ear."

It has to be said that the business of ancient brothels was very skilled.

The madam spoke from the bottom of her heart, as if she was really impressed by Xu Qing's charm, which made people very happy.

Xu Qing nodded, and waited for the maid inside the building to go upstairs and bring Chun Shisan Niang down to see her true face.

But not long after the maid disappeared, a sharp scream was heard from upstairs.

"Dead...dead!"

The first one to react was Xu Qing. He quickly stepped around the people in front of him and rushed up to the pavilion.

Even from two flights of stairs away, he could see the girl standing at the door, her face filled with panic and confusion.

By the time Xu Qing rushed to the door, the blood in the room had already dried up.

Chun Shisan Niang, whose fame had shocked the entire Suzhou City, had her limbs broken in an extremely twisted posture and was hung on the beam of the house.

There was a dark space in her eye sockets, like eerie pits.

"Well……"

The maid who first discovered the corpse could not bear such a horrific scene. She turned around, rushed to the side, and vomited on the floor.

Xu Qing didn't have any special feelings about the corpse, but there was one more thing on his mind.

I was investigating the poisoning incident based on my previous life's experience, but why were the third and fourth rooms so secretive about what happened in the past? And after I came to the brothel, the red card girl who I used to order often died again.

Someone is preventing me from investigating this matter.

Xu Qing took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

As soon as he entered the room, he noticed something was wrong.

The furnishings in this red-card lady's room were normal, even the dressing box in front of the bronze mirror was only half-open, revealing half of her lipstick.

At this time, Nanny Chen and Zhu Yuande arrived late. Nanny Chen almost fainted when she saw the scene in the house and burst into tears on the spot.

"My Thirteenth Lady! My Thirteenth Lady... Which damn thief did this? My Thirteenth Lady worked diligently and never offended anyone, so how could she suffer such a disaster..."

Zhu Yuande was also dumbfounded. He usually only knew how to eat, drink and have fun, and had never seen such a brutal scene.

Especially since Chun Shisan Niang used to be able to laugh and chat in front of him, but now her eyes have been gouged out and she has become a skeleton. How can he remain calm?

"Report to the officer! Go and report to the officer!"

The servant downstairs heard the noise and ran out of the door to report to the police.

When the other guests heard that someone had died in Zuiyuan Pavilion, they immediately scattered like birds and beasts and ran out of the attic in a group.

"Boss... let's go too. This doesn't seem like a place to stay for long."

Zhu Yuande's face turned purple and he didn't even have the courage to look into the room a second time, but Xu Qing raised his hand and rejected his suggestion.

"Go wait outside the building. I'll ask you some questions."

Nanny Chen was wiping her tears when she heard Xu Qing's words, a little confused, "Xu... Young Master Xu, what do you want to ask..."

"I actually came here today just for Chun Shisan Niang, because I heard that she had a lot of contact with me before. Is that true?"

Nanny Chen was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Xu Qing to ask such irrelevant questions at this critical moment.

But Xu from Suzhou had a powerful background, and Zuiyuange couldn't afford to offend him, so she had to answer the questions honestly.

"Yes, before you lost your memory, you did come to take care of the business of our building. Every time you came, you would order Room No. 1 and ask Chun Shisanniang to accompany you."

When mentioning Chun Shisan Niang, Nanny Chen couldn't help but shed tears.

After the two red-card offenders in Zuiyuan Pavilion were redeemed, only Chun Shisan Niang could hold up the scene.

Although Zuiyuan Pavilion cannot compare to the Hongluan Tower next door in terms of the number of people, Chun Shisan Niang is well-known, and many young men who claim to be romantic and talented will spend a fortune just to see Chun Shisan Niang's dance.

Now that Chun Shisan Niang is dead, her cash cow is gone.

"Does Chun Shisan Niang have other regular customers?"

"Master Xu, it's already this late, do you still care about these things..."

Nanny Chen was halfway through her words when she saw that Xu Qing didn't look like she was joking, so she wiped the tears from her face and sobbed, "Of course there are regular customers, but everyone in Suzhou knows that you often come to Zuiyuan Pavilion, so no young master dares to go too far, except..."

(End of this chapter)