After learning that Ye Wanmian lived in Qingyu Alley and was from Dongli Town, not a suspicious person, the other guard let down his guard and kindly reminded her,
"Miss, although I sympathize with your experience, outsiders are not allowed to approach the residence of员外 Chen. You'd better leave quickly."
Ye Wanmian shivered and looked back the way she had come. She said in a trembling voice, "I understand. I was just so panicked that I ran here without thinking. I didn't mean to offend the official. I'll leave right away."
She glanced at Zhou Wang, returned the handkerchief to him, and then walked back the way she had come.
However, after only a few steps, several dog shadows emerged from the front. They growled at Ye Wanmian and scared her back. She looked at Zhou Wang and the other guard helplessly.
"I... I'm afraid to go back alone."
Zhou Wang felt the handkerchief in his hand turn hot. He quickly put it away and said to the other guard, "Brother Li, I'll escort Miss Jiang home. Please hold the fort here by yourself."
The other guard's eyes shifted back and forth between Ye Wanmian and Zhou Wang. He smiled knowingly and said, "Sure, leave it to me. Go with peace of mind."
Zhou Wang walked up to Ye Wanmian and said, "Miss Jiang, I'll see you home."
Ye Wanmian was flattered. "Won't this be too much trouble for you? Aren't you still working?"
Zhou Wang replied, "It'll only take a little while. It's okay."
"Thank you, Brother Zhou."
With Zhou Wang escorting her, the dogs didn't dare to get close. They just followed from a distance.
On the way, the two tried to avoid the other guards patrolling the town and headed towards Qingyu Alley. Zhou Wang wanted to say something, but seeing Ye Wanmian with her head down, he swallowed the words back.
According to the previous plan, after Ye Wanmian and Zhou Wang had walked about three streets, Xiao Jingcheng pretended to jump out of a corner inadvertently and was discovered by them.
"Da Huang!" Ye Wanmian rushed forward with a delighted face and hugged the yellow dog. "Where on earth did you run off to? I've been looking for you everywhere!"
Xiao Jingcheng looked at Zhou Wang behind them and couldn't help baring his teeth. He wished he could pounce on him and take a bite to teach him not to get close to her in the future.
But for the sake of their plan, he had to suppress that impulse for the time being.
Zhou Wang naturally sensed the hostility from the yellow dog, but it was just a dog, so he didn't take it to heart.
The appearance of the yellow dog broke the silence between Ye Wanmian and Zhou Wang.
"Brother Zhou, in any case, thank you for tonight." After standing up, Ye Wanmian thanked Zhou Wang again.
Zhou Wang quickly waved his hand. "Miss Jiang, don't say that. You helped take care of my mother before. You've been kind to our Zhou family. It's just seeing you home. It's nothing."
The two walked forward slowly. Ye Wanmian chatted casually, "Brother Zhou, are you used to working in the residence of员外 Chen?"
Zhou Wang was a bit flattered and replied, "Yes, I'm used to it. I'm just a guard. Usually, I just patrol and keep watch. It's not very hard."
Ye Wanmian tilted her head slightly and said, "I remember you mentioned before that you worked in the courtyard of员外 Chen's youngest son. Why have you been transferred to the outer courtyard now?"
Zhou Wang sighed and said, "You don't know. Young Master Chen passed away a few days ago. After his death, there was no need for me to guard the courtyard anymore, so the steward transferred me to the outer courtyard."
Ye Wanmian was shocked. "Died?"
Xiao Jingcheng, who was following beside Ye Wanmian, was also surprised.
They didn't expect to really get some information from this man surnamed Zhou.
"Why did he suddenly die? Did he get a sudden illness?" Ye Wanmian's tone was a bit urgent, but Zhou Wang didn't notice. He was simple - minded and voluntarily answered her question.
"Presumably so. Usually, he would make a fuss at night, but that day he was completely silent. I sensed something was wrong. When I went into the room, I found that he had already lost his breath."
Without Ye Wanmian asking, he took the initiative to say, "That day was exactly the day when the prince's body was found. Although员外 Chen was sad about Young Master Chen's death, he didn't dare to make a big deal out of it for fear of causing trouble, so he didn't disclose a single word to the outside world. Now Young Master Chen's body is still in the mourning hall, waiting for a chance to be buried outside the city."
He died so suddenly, and it was exactly on the day when the prince's body appeared.
There's something fishy about this!
Ye Wanmian quietly clenched the sleeve of her dress without showing any emotion on her face. She said, "I didn't expect such a thing to happen in the residence of员外 Chen. It's really a pity."
"Yes." Zhou Wang said, "白发人送黑发人.员外 Chen is really pitiful."
Humph, pitiful? Who knows what's really going on behind this?
Ye Wanmian and Xiao Jingcheng thought of this simultaneously.
She casually found a few more topics to chat with Zhou Wang, and then pretended to sigh enviously, "I've never seen a mansion as magnificent as the Chen residence in my life. I really envy you, Brother Zhou, for being able to work there. Brother Zhou, can you tell me what the scenery is like in the residence of员外 Chen?"
Zhou Wang immediately perked up and talked non - stop, "You know, the Chen residence is really magnificent. There are rockeries and strange stones everywhere. Every place is like a painting. There are also corridors and pavilions built on the pond. There are full of lotuses on it. Many of them are in bloom now. When the wind blows, there's the fragrance of lotuses everywhere!"
"However, that lotus pond has been enclosed recently. It's said that a servant got drunk and accidentally fell into the pond and drowned a few days ago. They said they're going to rebuild the fence to prevent anyone else from falling in."
There really is a lotus pond in the Chen residence, and someone even drowned in it. Doesn't this match the body found on the beach?!
Sure enough, all this is related to the residence of员外 Chen!
But why did员外 Chen do these things? Could it be that he has some deep hatred for the prince?
Ye Wanmian remembered what Zhou Wang had just said about the Chen family's plan to hold a funeral for the suddenly deceased Young Master Chen, and the two of them had arrived at the entrance of Qingyu Alley.
Ye Wanmian stopped and said, "Brother Zhou, you can stop here. Now that I've found my Da Huang, I think those dogs won't dare to chase me anymore."
Zhou Wang felt a bit disappointed, but he didn't dwell on it. He nodded and said, "Miss Jiang, be careful."
Ye Wanmian waved goodbye to him and entered Qingyu Alley. She first returned to her small courtyard. After a while, hearing Sang Biao's call from outside, she opened the door again and left with the yellow dog.
By the time Ye Wanmian returned to the medical clinic, it was already the fourth quarter of the Chou hour.
Sitting in the room and recalling everything she had learned tonight, she couldn't help shivering. She murmured to the yellow dog that was quietly looking at her from across the room,
"What should I do, Da Huang? This whole thing is so strange from beginning to end. Who designed all this? Should I continue to investigate?"