Hearing the faint displeasure in Mo Liandi's tone, Xue Changsheng hurriedly raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat off his forehead. "I've long heard that Miss Liu is a master at solving cases. To be honest, I've invited Miss Liu here today because I have an important matter that requires her help!"
A look of surprise flashed across Liu Rumei's eyes. "I'm afraid I don't deserve such praise, sir. Why don't you go to Lord Xue? He is truly a master at solving cases! I'm just a coroner."
Hearing this, a bitter look flashed across Xue Changsheng's eyes. "I won't hide it from you, Miss Liu. I've never gotten along well with A Zhan. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to turn to you. Moreover, this matter is also related to A Zhan, so it's not suitable to make a big deal out of it. That's why..."
Liu Rumei hesitated for a moment and then softly asked, "I wonder what the matter is?"
Seeing Liu Rumei's expression soften, Xue Changsheng quickly bowed again. "Please follow me, Miss Liu and Your Highness."
If he had only invited Liu Rumei, he was afraid that the Prince of Guo'an wouldn't let her go. Fortunately, A Zhan and the Prince of Guo'an were good friends, so he didn't have to worry about this. Therefore, Xue Changsheng directly invited both of them.
A look of contemplation flashed across Mo Liandi's eyes, but he didn't say much. He took Liu Rumei's hand and followed Xue Changsheng away.
Everyone in the courtyard noticed the situation here and their expressions varied.
The Marquis of Huaiyuan also frowned. What on earth was Xue Changsheng up to?
Following Xue Changsheng to a secluded small courtyard, as they stepped in, a faint fragrance of medicine wafted over.
Mo Liandi's face turned a bit colder as he stepped into the courtyard.
A maid saw Xue Changsheng coming and quickly opened the door to invite the three of them in.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped in, they saw Xue Zhan kneeling beside the bed. There was a smile in his eyes as he whispered something to the woman on the bed. It seemed that he had made the woman laugh, and a soft chuckle came from her.
Hearing the noise behind him, Xue Zhan immediately turned around. Seeing Mo Liandi and Liu Rumei, he raised his eyebrows. "Why are you here?"
Xue Changsheng couldn't help but cough lightly. "It was I who invited Miss Liu here. Your mother is seriously ill. We must find out the cause of her illness!"
Xue Zhan gave him a cold look and said indifferently, "Thank you for your concern."
Seeing this, Xue Changsheng couldn't help but let out a long sigh. He took a deep look at the woman on the bed. "Qiao Niang, I'll come to see you later."
"The grand banquet for Lord Xue is extremely busy. There's no need to bother for me. Don't come again." Her cold voice carried a bit of coolness.
This made Xue Changsheng's expression change. There seemed to be endless helplessness in his eyes. "Miss Liu, I'll have to trouble you."
Then he turned around and left.
After Xue Changsheng left, Xue Zhan's expression looked a bit better.
Mo Liandi also led Liu Rumei forward and came to Xue Zhan's side. "Aunt Qiao."
Only then did Liu Rumei see the woman on the bed clearly. The woman on the bed looked about five - tenths similar to Xue Zhan. She had the gentle and graceful appearance of a Jiangnan woman, and there was no trace of the coolness in her voice just now.
However, Liu Rumei didn't know how to address this woman for a moment. Xue Changsheng's wife had passed away three years ago. Looking at this one...
Xue Zhan seemed to see Liu Rumei's hesitation and smiled. "Just call my mother Aunt Qiao like Mo Liandi."
Mo Liandi also smiled and said to the woman on the bed, "Aunt Qiao, this is Liu Liu, my princess."
Hearing this, Liu Rumei immediately glared at him without hesitation. Who was his princess? It was still too early to say that!
"......Aunt Qiao." But after all, she was Xue Zhan's mother, so it was reasonable to call her Aunt Qiao.
"My princess? Has Miss Liu agreed? How shameless!" Xue Zhan also didn't hesitate to expose him.
This made Lu Qiaohui laugh continuously. She also secretly sized up Liu Rumei and sat up from the bed. "Come here quickly and let me take a look at you?"
Liu Rumei felt extremely embarrassed, but she didn't say much and stepped forward.
Xue Zhan seemed to think it wasn't enough. He took out a folding fan from somewhere and gently waved it in his hand. "Mother, what do you think of Miss Liu? How about I marry her and bring her back as your daughter - in - law?"
As soon as he said this, Xue Zhan instantly felt a chill on his back. He didn't need to look to know that Mo Liandi must have a gloomy face at this moment.
Lu Qiaohui also couldn't help but glare at him. "Don't harm that poor girl."
Mo Liandi had finally found a wife. He couldn't ruin it.
Xue Zhan couldn't help but pout. "Mother, I'm your own son. You can't turn your elbow out!"
Lu Qiaohui gave him another disdainful look. "I know what kind of person you are. Don't harm Miss Liu. Otherwise, I'll be the first one to never forgive you!"
Liu Rumei stood aside, also feeling extremely embarrassed. However, she had quite a good impression of Lu Qiaohui, perhaps partly because of Xue Zhan.
Seeing Liu Rumei looking so embarrassed, Mo Liandi quickly brought her back and whispered, "Aunt Qiao and my mother are good friends."
Liu Rumei nodded with a smile. No wonder Mo Liandi and Xue Zhan were such good friends.
Lu Qiaohui also nodded with a smile. "I've watched the prince grow up. Miss Liu is a nice girl. You mustn't treat her badly!"
Mo Liandi immediately nodded. "Aunt Qiao, please rest assured."
Seeing this, Xue Zhan couldn't help but sigh. "Mother, why don't you believe me?"
"Stop being so talkative!" There was full of helplessness in Lu Qiaohui's eyes.
"Aunt Qiao has always been in good health. Why...?" She looked like she had been ill for some time. Thinking that Xue Changsheng had invited Liu Liu here, could it be that something had happened in the mansion of the Grand Marshal?
The smile on Xue Zhan's face instantly disappeared. "Mother, what on earth is going on? You even hid it from me!"
If Xue Changsheng hadn't sent someone to tell him today, he might still be kept in the dark.
Lu Qiaohui couldn't help but sigh. "It's a long story. I heard that you've been extremely busy with official duties recently, so I didn't want to bother you."
Therefore, she had asked people to hide this matter.
Liu Rumei also pricked up her ears and listened as Lu Qiaohui slowly told the story.
"Not long ago, a maid in the mansion suddenly fell seriously ill. She passed away within a few days. After that, strange things in the mansion happened one after another like an opened sluice. A young servant got up to drink water in the middle of the night and suddenly fell into the well. He wasn't found until the next day. After that, things finally calmed down a bit."
"So what about you, mother?"
Lu Qiaohui let out a long sigh. "This is exactly the strange thing I'm talking about. Every night after midnight, there will be an inexplicable sound in the mansion. It sounds like the sound of a flute but also not quite. It makes it hard for people to fall asleep!"
As time went by, she also fell ill. She originally thought it wasn't a big deal, but unexpectedly, the sound had kept coming for so long.
Liu Rumei couldn't help but frown slightly. "Is that sound not far from here?"
Lu Qiaohui nodded. "Yes, it seems to come from the water."