My wife has a secret

Chapter 43 Questions
"Looking at your unusual behavior downstairs, you must have been a poor lady from a noble family. You have finally achieved what you have today, so don't follow your boss and seek your own death."

Shopkeeper Sun took a deep breath as he faced Xu Qing who was walking slowly towards him.

"Master Xu, there is no way for women to survive in this world. I, Sun, am where I am today because of the kindness of my boss... If the Exiled Immortal Tower collapses, my heart will die too."

Xu Qingxing walked to the stairs, saw the snow-white arms stretched out by Manager Sun, and laughed coldly.

"If you let me go up and settle accounts with her now, she can still breathe a few more breaths... If the government soldiers really rush over, your boss's death will be ugly."

When Shopkeeper Sun heard what Xu Qing said next, he was shocked and looked as pale as death.

She withdrew her hand tremblingly, no longer daring to stop Xu Qing.

Xu Qing walked past Shopkeeper Sun and continued to climb to the roof of the Exiled Immortal Tower.

……

In the gap between the mountains, a carriage was heading south.

The high-altitude plank road in the mountains stretches for miles, winding and twisting, almost connecting the misty clouds into a straight line.

Inside the bumpy carriage, a dim oil lamp was lit, and inside it sat a deep dark shadow.

She was wearing a black dress that reached close to her ankles, and her skin was as white as snow.

"Miss, at our current pace, we should be able to reach Suzhou City the day after tomorrow."

"Ah."

The aura of the woman in black was like an iceberg, and the expression on her face was cold and aloof, as if all worldly feelings had nothing to do with her.

The female coachman driving the carriage was of sturdy build. Although she was a woman, she was nearly seven feet tall.

She was very familiar with the lady in the carriage, and the journey was too boring, so she asked with a smile: "Miss, why do we have to separate from the caravan and take this shortcut? The caravan is taking the official road, and there are baggage vehicles accompanying it, which should be more comfortable no matter how you think about it..."

I chatted a few words, but didn't get any response.

The black-clad woman had a cold expression and her eyes were deep and calm, as if she could melt away any enthusiasm that tried to approach her.

The female driver was talking about something boring, so she sighed secretly and muttered, "I know, it must be another part of the young lady's plan."

Just when the atmosphere seemed to be a little tense, the sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the distance.

The woman in black frowned slightly and half-opened the curtains.

After a while, a carrier pigeon came and landed on the window frame.

Its feathers are smooth and white, like carefully polished pearls, sparkling softly in the sun.

The woman in black stretched out her slender, white jade-like hand, opened the envelope on the pigeon's leg, and read the information inside.

Her slightly raised fingertips were white without a trace of blood, almost transparent, and as clear as pearls and jade.

"wrong."

The woman in black opened her cherry lips slightly, exhaling a sweet voice, "It's all wrong."

……

Exiled Immortal Tower, top floor.

When Xu Qingchu reached the top of the building, he was shocked by the magnificent scene before him.

The carved railings, jade bricks, brocade quilts and embroidered blankets, the exquisiteness of the pavilion far exceeded his imagination.

Although he guessed that Qin would build the Exiled Immortal Tower as her own residence, he never expected it to be as beautiful as a fairyland, as if Qin was a fairy who was banished from the fairyland.

"The Exiled Immortal Tower... So the meaning of the name comes from this."

"Lang Jun."

The woman who quietly appeared from behind the screen had slender eyebrows as long as a painting, eyes as bright as stars, and her cherry-like thin lips were slightly curved upwards, with a somewhat elusive smile.

When Xu Qing saw her again, he suddenly felt that the words "chanting smile and charming eyes" in the Book of Songs had taken on a concrete image. It turned out that there really were people in the world who looked so iconic, pure and elegant, without a trace of worldly airs.

It’s a pity that the other party is going to die today.

"You don't seem surprised that I came upstairs... That's right, after all, the Zhennan Zhongwu Army and Suzhou Prefecture have surrounded this place, and the noise is so loud that you can hear it unless you are deaf."

Qin Shuying's charming eyes were as bright as stars in the sky, staring at Xu Qing intently.

"My dear, I will not run away, nor do I want to run away... Today's move is a desperate gamble. If I lose, I lose."

After she said this, she cast her gaze towards the slightly open corner of the window and saw the densely packed heads of soldiers on the street.

"It's still early, can you stay with Xiaoying for a while longer?"

Xu Qing had thought about how Qin would react before she died, but her attitude seemed too calm, which even made Xu Qing think that she had a backup plan.

But if you think about it carefully, the ventilation here is good, and the only thing Qin can rely on, the Datura pollen, has a slow effect. In addition, with the great help from the Zhennan Zhongwu Army and Suzhou Prefecture... she can't make any waves.

"Considering that you tried to persuade me not to come this morning, I can give you some special treatment."

Seeing Xu Qing casually find a seat next to him and sit down, Qin Shuying looked at him and smiled sweetly, "Thank you, husband."

After a moment's silence, she slowly walked out from behind the screen, paced gracefully, and came to a guqin in the middle of the room.

Xu Qingneng noticed that Qin Shuying, who always liked colorful things, changed into a fiery red gauze dress today, as bright and colorful as a flame.

"My dear husband, do you still remember what I once told you about...the way we looked when we first met?"

Xu Qing had a guess in his mind. It seemed that Qin Shuying was unwilling to accept her fate and wanted to use past events to evoke her memories.

"Can not remember."

Faced with Xu Qing's cold answer, Qin Shuying was not discouraged.

Instead, she laughed to herself, "My words at that time were all to test my husband's reaction, to see if you really had lost your memory... Actually, at that time in Wangyue Tower, although I looked glamorous in front of others, the only thing I could show off was this red dress."

"It was used by the opera troupe to pay for prostitution in the building. Later, the people there couldn't redeem it, so the nanny let me wear it."

Qin Shuying knelt in front of the piano, stroked the strings with her hand, and continued to recall the past.

"My husband was fascinated by this dress the first time he saw me. Maybe my husband now won't believe it, but I had a good impression of you back then. I even thought about redeeming myself because of your pursuit."

Xu Qing asked: "Are you so kind?"

"It happened before. When I was young, I was willing to believe everything, but when I grew up, I didn't dare to believe it anymore."

Qin Shuying raised her head slightly, and her expression did not seem to be joking.

"I once met a sister who was seven years older than me in Wangyue Tower. She was a popular figure in the tower at that time and was in the limelight... Unfortunately, within two years, she was abandoned by the man she loved, contracted syphilis, and died in the woodshed in the backyard." "I peeked through the window, poked through the window paper, and saw her last words written on the wall. It was then that I realized that love could lead to mutual disgust and estrangement... Once a woman indulges in love, there is no turning back in her life."

Xu Qing said coldly: "Then the path you choose is to seize other people's property and pave the way for your own interests? Even if you have a thousand or ten thousand sad things, these cannot be the reason for you to do evil."

Qin Shuying looked suddenly enlightened, pursed her moist red lips and smiled slightly.

"My husband's teachings are something I will keep in mind."

She lowered her head to adjust the strings on the zither, and asked softly, "When I was famous in Wangyue Tower, I was called the best in both zither and dance, and the best among flowers... What song would you like to order, my husband?"

Without hearing Xu Qing's response, Qin Shuying raised her pink neck, withdrew her fair jade hand, and slowly stood up from the ground.

"Since my husband is not in the mood to listen to music, just watch me finish this last dance."

Then she took off her coat, bent sideways, and took off the snow-white stockings on her feet one by one.

A pair of plump, crystal clear, white little feet appeared in front of Xu Qing. The soles and ankles were a pinky orange color, so tender that there was not a single wrinkle or hard skin on them.

Suddenly, the sound of a flute rang out.

Qin Shuying spread her arms, threw away the gauze sleeves on her hands, and danced with her.

During the sudden stop and rotation, Qin Shuying's slender waist moved nimbly, she looked back and smiled, like a fairy under the moon, dancing in the world.

The red dress burned like a flame, with her snow-white skin faintly visible through it, igniting her charm.

When Xu Qing was attracted by the dance in front of him, the sound of the flute became faster and faster, and Qin Shuying's figure danced faster and faster with the sound, her jade-like hands lingering gracefully, and her skirt fluttering.

Her pair of watery eyes like smoke seemed to be hesitant to speak, and her whole body was flowing under the veils, like a flower in the mist, hazy and ethereal, clearly close yet out of reach.

Finally, the song ended.

The wind died down, and Qin Shuying landed gracefully in the center of the room. Her dress spread outward from her, forming a bright red rose.

"This is the dance I promised my husband before. If I finish it today, it won't be considered a broken promise."

Qin Shuying opened her mouth slightly, breathing in warm air. Her gaze stayed on Xu Qing for a moment, then she walked straight towards the window.

Although Xu Qing was still savoring the dance and felt pity for the beauty who was more beautiful than a flower, he could not end the poisoning hastily.

Qin Shuying pushed open the window, and the wind outside blew into the room, making her dress flutter.

A white shadow broke through the window and hit Xu Qing like a sharp arrow.

At first Xu Qing thought it was a sneak attack, but when he climbed up from the stool, he suddenly realized that what hit him was not something else, but a snow-white carrier pigeon.

"Pigeon?"

This sudden strange phenomenon also made Qin Shuying at a loss, and she looked at Xu Qing helplessly.

Xu Qing coughed twice and removed a thin piece of letter paper from the pigeon's leggings.

Ask her about Zuiyuange.

The handwriting on the letter seemed familiar. Xu Qing remembered that this was the handwriting used in the letters sent from the capital.

Then the recipient of the carrier pigeon letter is self-evident. The other party is his first wife, Shen Shuangxu.

"How did she know that I came to the Exiled Immortal Tower and even came here?"

Xu Qing was very confused, but he still followed the advice on the letter and looked up at Qin Shuying standing by the window and asked, "Do you have anything to say about Zuiyuan Pavilion?"

"Zuiyuan Pavilion?"

Qin Shuying frowned, looking hesitant, "What happened there?"

"Why are you pretending? Chun Shisanniang had her eyes gouged out and was hanged on the beam. The purpose of killing her was to lead me to the gambling house on West Street..."

Xu Qing's voice suddenly stopped.

He suddenly felt his whole body tense up, his heart pounding, and his mind went blank.

"You dug out your eyes?"

Qin Shuying shook her head in astonishment and murmured, "We didn't do it. No matter how cold-blooded I am... I would never do such a thing."

Xu Qing also realized something was wrong at this moment.

Although Qin Shuying used Datura pollen on him, the medicinal effect of that thing is limited. Rather than poisoning people to death, it is more likely to cause hallucinations and coma, and create dependence.

Chun Shisan Niang had her eyes gouged out, so a tiny amount of pollen was definitely not enough. She had to use the stems and leaves of Datura to make her stop screaming.

This means that the murderer of Chun Shisan Niang is someone else, and they also have the Mandragora in their hands.

Moreover, most of Qin Shuying's subordinates are women. No matter whether it is the shopkeeper Sun in this building or the maids in the yard, the strength in their hands is a little insufficient... How could these people be murderers?
"Anything else?"

Xu Qing rubbed the piece of letter that gave him the reminder slightly and found that there was another piece of folded paper hidden under the question.

When he took the top one away, he found two words written on the second note.

"fool."

This woman!

Even though he had not met the lady in the backyard, Xu Qing was still furious.

He thought that this trip to the Exiled Immortal Tower was the right direction, and he would be able to catch the real culprit who poisoned him in the backyard. But who would have thought that there was a hidden story behind this matter?

The most embarrassing thing is that this lady could not only predict his actions in advance, but also humiliate him by sending messages via carrier pigeons, which was more frustrating than slapping him in the face.

Who on earth is this Shen Shuangxu? She was able to judge the situation in Suzhou in advance while still on her way back, and she was able to write a letter in advance to stop me from forcing Qin to death. Is she a devil?

Qin Shuying looked at Xu Qing's uncertain expression, as if she had guessed some of the reasons, and asked in a low voice: "A letter from the eldest lady?"

Xu Qing took a deep breath, calmed himself, and changed the subject, asking, "The Zuiyuan Pavilion incident has nothing to do with you. In other words, you didn't know that Chun Shisan Niang was dead? Then why did you ask Yang Liu to smear the flower fragrance on me the next day so that you could determine where I was?"

Qin Shuying thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "It was not my idea to look for my husband's whereabouts that day, but someone else's idea."

"other people?"

"Correct."

Qin Shuying sorted out her thoughts and told Xu Qing, "My husband should be familiar with my history. He knows that the first group of mandragora I cultivated came from the hands of Hu merchants, but those things died after arriving in Suzhou, so I asked the servants in the mansion to buy mandragora on the black market."

"bought?"

"No, the mandragora on the black market is worth a fortune, and it is hard to find even one. We simply can't find a way to buy it."

(End of this chapter)