“... It's okay, Uncle Pan... Second Master, please start first.”
Wei Shuxuan was about to address Pan Leping as Lord Pan, but changed her words at the last moment. Pan Leping seemed to sense Wei Shuxuan's awkwardness and smiled. “It's okay, Young Master Wei. You can call me Lord Pan.”
“Um, I just can't change my way of addressing for a moment,” Wei Shuxuan was a bit absent - minded but quickly got back to the situation. “After all, there's only one Lord Pan in the Pan family now.”
Although this statement seemed reasonable on the surface, Wei Shuxuan wanted to observe Pan Leping's reaction through it.
However, Pan Leping just smiled. “Young Master Wei's statement is correct.”
Pan Leping's reaction was so calm that no emotion could be detected. Didn't Steward Wang say that there was discord between Pan Anping and Pan Leping? But Wei Shuxuan thought Pan Leping's reaction was too calm. He showed neither sadness nor happiness, which made her feel strange.
Moreover, it was even stranger that Pan Anping had given all his property to his discordant younger brother Pan Leping.
Wei Shuxuan was absent - minded during this dinner.
Since Steward Wang had been driven out of the Pan Mansion by Pan Leping, Wei Shuxuan couldn't confirm some things with him. In the following days, she stayed quietly in her room. No one knew what she was doing inside.
Actually, she was just sorting out the clues she had obtained. From Pan Leping's attitude towards Jin Yan'er, it was obvious that he really attached great importance to the child in Jin Yan'er's belly. He would spend several hours every day walking and chatting with her. So, if Pan Leping was really the murderer, he wouldn't let a pregnant woman participate in the killing.
Han Xinran and Pan Xintian wouldn't be so crazy as to harm their husband and father. Their instant reactions when they heard the news of Pan Anping's poisoning were very real. At least, Wei Shuxuan thought it couldn't be faked.
In fact, she had thought about her bold hypothesis, but she couldn't make up her mind for a long time. As Xin Zizhao said, there was no substantial evidence to support this view. How could people believe it? So she gave up this idea. Moreover, the story shouldn't be so dramatic.
After thinking for too long, Wei Shuxuan felt a bit hungry, so she went out of her room to look for something to eat.
As soon as Wei Shuxuan walked into the front yard, she saw Pan Leping chatting happily with a merchant dressed in golden clothes. But from their actions, they should have just finished a business deal, for they were walking towards the gate. At this moment, Pan Leping raised his left hand, making a gesture of invitation. The glint of light made Wei Shuxuan's eyes widen.
Wei Shuxuan had good eyesight, and she was only about ten meters away from Pan Leping, so she could see clearly that there was a jade thumb ring on Pan Leping's left thumb, and it was the same one she had seen at the banquet last time.
Why did he wear it on the right hand before and now on the left? Wasn't it redundant? Or maybe her bold conjecture was actually valid and there were traces to follow. Things were just so dramatic.
The person who died on the day of the treasure - appraisal meeting might not be Pan Anping, but someone else.
“Hey, what are you standing in the middle of the road for?” Xin Zizhao's cold voice came from behind her, almost scaring her to death.
“Can you not stand behind me and scare me?” Wei Shuxuan stroked her frightened heart, turned around, and gave Xin Zizhao a reproachful look.
“Sorry,” Xin Zizhao replied casually. The next sentence made Wei Shuxuan unable to suppress her urge to complain. “Who asked you to block the way?”
“Do you think I want to?” Wei Shuxuan replied angrily. Xin Zizhao followed Wei Shuxuan's line of sight, but there was no one in the front yard. What on earth was this guy looking at?
“There's no one here. What are you looking at?”
“They just left. You're a bit late.”
“Then who exactly are you looking at?”
“Pan Leping!”
“Are you still not giving up on your conjecture? You still can't come up with any substantial evidence.”
Xin Zizhao looked at Wei Shuxuan indifferently. Wei Shuxuan didn't care whether Xin Zizhao believed her or not. She looked back at him. “Humph, I will find substantial evidence to make everyone believe that my conjecture is right.”
Under the moonlight, the light in her pupils became even more dazzling, as if it was going to cover up the light of the moonlight, leaving only that bright glow.
“Ah, then good luck.”
Xin Zizhao yawned lazily and then turned around to go back. Seeing that he was about to leave, Wei Shuxuan quickly grabbed him. “Do you want to go for a midnight snack with me?”
As a result, Xin Zizhao didn't know what had come over him and actually agreed to go for a midnight snack with Wei Shuxuan.
“Hurry up and eat. I want to go back to sleep.”
“With delicious food in front of us, of course we should enjoy the food first. What's this about sleeping? Are you going to become an immortal?” Wei Shuxuan gave him a contemptuous look. Xin Zizhao was too lazy to waste words on her.
Wei Wei hid in the darkness, watching his master having a midnight snack with another man. Although that man seemed to have no interest at all, the master was still very enthusiastic about chatting with him.
“I'm done eating. Let's go back.”
“Aren't you afraid of indigestion?”
“No. I've always been like this before.”
At night, several thick dark clouds drifted in from afar and gradually blocked the silvery full moon. The whole earth suddenly turned dark, as if it was enveloped by darkness. No one knew what was going on inside.
The next morning, Wei Shuxuan was woken up by the noisy sound outside. She sat up irritably. “What on earth is going on? It's so noisy outside.”
After changing her clothes, Wei Shuxuan walked out of her room and met Xin Zizhao, who was also woken up. “Were you woken up too?”
“Um, it seems that there's another murder case.”
Hearing what Xin Zizhao said, all of Wei Shuxuan's drowsiness disappeared. She rushed to the front yard and saw Pan Leping lying on the ground. Wei Shuxuan went over and felt his breath. He was already dead.
Suddenly, she smelled a strange odor, a bit like the smell of almonds. She quickly lowered her head to examine Pan Leping's body. She took out a knife from her waist and made a small cut on Pan Leping's skin. The blood that flowed out was bright red, and the muscles were also bright red.
Xin Zizhao also walked over and checked again. “He died of poisoning.”
“I know what kind of poison he was poisoned with...”