Affection

Although Qingzhu Village has "Village" in its name, due to the presence of its specialty, green bamboo, there is a large flow of people coming and going. Its scale is not smaller than that of some ordinary towns, so there are many gambling houses. There's no other way; the constables had to search separately. Zhou Yi sat at a tea stall, drinking tea.

By noon, several constables finally received a reply. They found Scholar Li at a gambling house called Qianjin Terrace. Without alerting the enemy, they sent one constable to notify Zhou Yi after finding the person, while the others remained at the gambling house to keep an eye on Scholar Li.

When Zhou Yi arrived at the gambling house, he saw Scholar Li spending money in large handfuls.

Where did this Scholar Li get so much silver? Zhou Yi pondered in his heart. He then instructed several constables to quietly summon the gambling house manager.

"Does this lord have something he needs from me?" the gambling house manager asked cautiously upon seeing Zhou Yi.

"It's not about you. Do you know how Scholar Xu got his silver, or if he won it here?" Zhou Yi inquired.

Hearing that it wasn't directed at him, the manager breathed a sigh of relief. After all, in this line of work, no one's hands are entirely clean.

The manager tidied his clothes and said to Zhou Yi, "This person is a regular customer. He never spent so lavishly here before."

Hearing the manager's reply, Zhou Yi had a general guess. He then ordered several constables to step forward and bring the man back to the prison. This is not Blue Star, where laws are perfect like in his past life. The yamen here represents the absolute force.

Seeing the constables step forward, the gamblers at the table scattered. Scholar Li, engrossed in his game, didn't notice anyone approaching until one of the constables placed a hand on his shoulder. He then turned around impatiently.

Seeing that the newcomers were constables and that a large area around him was now empty, Scholar Li's impatience instantly vanished, replaced by a fawning smile. "Officers, what do you need me for?"

Wang Er stepped forward and said to Scholar Li, "It's nothing major. We just have a case and would like your assistance in our investigation."

After speaking, Wang Er gave a look to the two constables beside Scholar Li. The two constables, understanding his intent, immediately grabbed Scholar Li and led him out.

Seeing this, Scholar Li panicked and struggled, shouting, "Officers! Officers! I haven't committed any crime, please don't arrest the wrong person!"

Hearing Scholar Li's loud shouts, Wang Er couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped forward and stuffed a cloth into Scholar Li's mouth.

Seeing Scholar Li being dragged away by the constables, the people in the gambling house began to discuss what crime Scholar Li might have committed.

The commotion subsided only after the gambling house manager came out. The crowd quickly forgot about Scholar Li and shifted their attention back to the gambling table.

After taking Scholar Li to the prison and locking him up, Zhou Yi gave the constables some silver and told them to go have lunch. As the saying goes, the King of Hell doesn't let hungry ghosts starve. These constables had followed him all morning and were quite exhausted.

After sending the constables away, Zhou Yi was about to interrogate Scholar Li when Li Yuanfang returned from outside. Upon seeing Zhou Yi, Li Yuanfang said with a serious expression, "My lord, Master Gui is dead. He died in his bed. When I arrived, I also found a pool of water nearby, but it disappeared very quickly before my eyes."

Hearing Li Yuanfang's words, Zhou Yi couldn't help but think of his own experience last night. If he were just an ordinary person, would he have met the same fate as Master Gui?

This "thought" had already begun to kill people. It had likely turned into a "grudge," and when combined with Yin Energy, who knew what kind of Weirdness it would become.

At this moment, Scholar Li, who was nearby, heard the cause of Master Gui's death and his expression suddenly turned terrified. His body trembled violently. Since his mouth was gagged, he could only make muffled sounds.

Zhou Yi and Li Yuanfang looked towards Scholar Li.

"It seems you know something. Speak, and perhaps it will save your life." Zhou Yi didn't expect that just as the lead on Master Gui's case went cold, Scholar Li would provide a new clue.

Zhou Yi pulled the cloth from Scholar Li's mouth.

After the cloth was removed, Scholar Li, who had been struggling moments before, suddenly became calm. His eyes darted around as he clearly thought about something.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi intensified his tone and said to Scholar Li, "If you don't speak, I'll 'invite' Miss Liu over."

Hearing this, Scholar Li no longer dared to harbor any other thoughts and quickly told Zhou Yi the whole story.

It turned out that Scholar Li Ji and Scholar Xu Tianlin were fellow students. Perhaps because they were both from "poor" families, Xu Tianlin regarded Li Ji as a close friend. What Li Ji envied, however, was that Xu Tianlin had a childhood sweetheart, Jiang Yu'er.

This childhood couple had made a pact: if Xu Tianlin still couldn't pass the Juren exam, he would return to Qingzhu Village to marry Jiang Yu'er and become a Teacher there.

Having failed to pass the Juren exam, Xu Tianlin was disheartened. However, thinking of his childhood sweetheart who was waiting for him in Qingzhu Village, Xu Tianlin returned to his hometown, preparing to marry Jiang Yu'er. He never expected that the childhood sweetheart waiting for him at home would turn out to be a corpse.

Upon reaching his home, Xu Tianlin saw Jiang Yu'er hanging herself in her room. In her hand, she tightly clutched the token of their love, a piece of Autumn Rabbit Hair, which he had given her.

Because Xu Tianlin's family was poor, this Autumn Rabbit Hair was the only valuable thing he possessed. Before leaving, Xu Tianlin had broken the Autumn Rabbit Hair into two pieces, giving one to Jiang Yu'er as a token of their love, and keeping the other for himself.

Seeing Jiang Yu'er's corpse, Xu Tianlin's mind was on the verge of collapse. If not for the suicide note left by Jiang Yu'er, which revealed the cause of her death, Xu Tianlin might have followed her to the grave.

Upon learning that the person who caused Jiang Yu'er's death was Shopkeeper Liu Yuantong, Xu Tianlin's mind was completely consumed by hatred. However, with his scholar's physique, incapable of even lifting a chicken, Xu Tianlin feared he would be stopped by the guards before he could even enter the Liu mansion.

The calm Scholar Xu decided to make a long-term plan. Although Jiang Yu'er was already dead, Xu Tianlin still dressed her in a wedding gown. He placed the brush in his hand together with the one in Yu'er's hand and buried Jiang Yu'er.

After arranging Jiang Yu'er's funeral, and with his elderly mother still at home, Xu Tianlin used all his savings and asked his friend Li Ji to help take care of his mother. He also told Li Ji his plan. Upon hearing it, Li Ji was filled with righteous indignation and patted his chest, promising to keep Xu Tianlin's secret.

With his affairs in order, Xu Tianlin set his mind at ease and began to implement his plan. Perhaps by fate's grace, Xu Tianlin easily secured a position in the Liu mansion, copying books for them. However, while copying, Xu Tianlin learned that Shopkeeper Liu never came to the study. Thus, Xu Tianlin had to change his plan and target the Liu family's daughter.

Miss Liu also loved to read, and Xu Tianlin approached her with his ulterior motive. The two quickly developed a relationship. Just as Xu Tianlin was planning to use Liu Xue to get close to Shopkeeper Liu, he never expected that Shopkeeper Liu would discover his plan. Subsequently, Shopkeeper Liu ordered someone to drown Xu Tianlin in the river.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi suddenly shouted at Li Ji, "How did Shopkeeper Liu know about Xu Tianlin's plan?"

Li Ji's face changed. He stammered for a long time, unable to say a word.

Li Yuanfang, who was nearby, suddenly lunged forward and kicked Li Ji, shouting, "If you don't tell the truth, I'll tear you into five pieces!"

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me, I'll talk," Li Ji cried out.

Hearing Li Ji speak, Li Yuanfang stopped his actions.