Suspicion

An Changfu and Liu Meixiang had met with disaster three days ago, and the news had quickly reached Anyuan County.

The An Family had been filled with wailing. Everyone had been stunned by the news. The very next day was New Year's, a festive day for the whole family to reunite, yet news of this calamity had arrived at such a time, forcibly turning a joyous occasion into a funeral.

An Ziran had met with disaster on the afternoon the news arrived.

At the time, everyone had been steeped in shock, and no one had noticed that An Ziran had gone missing. By the time they realized he was gone, an hour had already passed.

It was said that the An Family had found him in the rear courtyard. He had been lying in the snow, wearing only a very thin garment. If not for his thick flesh and abundant fat, with the weather as it was, lying in the snow for an hour would have surely frozen him into an ice pop. Still, the original owner truly had died.

As for why An Ziran had been lying in the snow—

Everyone said that he had been so overwhelmed with grief over his parents' deaths that he had lost his head for a moment. No one pursued the matter further.

But how could things possibly be such a coincidence? The original owner had truly died.

From the maids, An Ziran learned that because the original owner had been spoiled by An Changfu since childhood, he had grown into a wealthy young master who loved food and idleness and knew neither learning nor skill. He had done no small number of vile things, such as bullying others. With that sort of personality, he did not seem like someone who would commit suicide. Thus, An Ziran suspected there was more to this matter. Someone had most likely wanted to kill him, and the purpose was obvious: nine times out of ten, they were after the An Family's property.

An Ziran sat in a reclining chair. At present, he did not know the An Family well enough to sort out who was the most suspicious. Besides, without evidence, even if he knew who had done it, there was nothing he could do. Right now, there were two things he needed to do.

The first was to lose weight. He had to lose weight!

The second was to take the An Family completely into his own hands, then slowly uncover the culprit who wanted to harm him. Only then could he take precautions in advance. Since that person wanted the An Family's property, they would certainly seek another opportunity to strike.

His mind kept turning, and as An Ziran thought, he gradually fell asleep.

He had only taken over this body three days ago. Though he had reclaimed a life, this body's constitution was truly too poor. Coupled with catching a chill, his spirits had remained low.

However, the reason the original owner's body had been ruined came as a surprise to him, because it had nothing to do with a life of wine and women.

Because An Changfu had kept a strict watch over him in this regard, the original An Ziran had had few opportunities to come into contact with the opposite sex. Whether innocent young ladies or women from brothels, he had barely touched any of them. An Ziran was quite satisfied with this. He himself was not someone who liked to fool around, and naturally did not wish to inherit an unclean body.

When he woke again, it was already noon.

Chunlan—the maid who had brought him hot water that morning—noticed he was awake and immediately brought the meal to his room with another maid, Qiulan.

The two were both Liu Meixiang's personal maids. There were also Xialan and Donglan. Since Liu Meixiang's death, the four had been assigned by the steward to serve him. Maids were more attentive, making them just right for caring for him while he recovered from a serious illness.

An Ziran did not have much of an appetite. He still wanted to lose weight, so he did not eat much. After only one bowl of rice, he had Chunlan and Qiulan carry the tableful of dishes away.

Chunlan looked as though she wanted to speak but hesitated. Before she could say anything, Qiulan pulled her outside. They were merely servants, and especially at such a sensitive time, the less they said, the better. The more they spoke, the more likely they were to make mistakes and incur the young master's displeasure.

The room suddenly fell quiet.

An Ziran paced around the room three or four times before Chunlan and Qiulan returned. He turned back and said coldly, "Bring me my cloak. I'm going to the study."

The study he meant was An Changfu's study. Many account books were stored there, and it was a short distance from his room.

Qiulan immediately fetched a snow-white cloak from inside. It was made of fox fur and extremely expensive. It was said to have cost more than a thousand taels when it had been bought. Because An Ziran's constitution tended toward coldness, An Changfu had specially purchased it for him. In the entire An Family, only he had one; no one else, including his own younger sister, received such treatment.

The three left the room. The corridor, which had only been swept clean that morning, was once again covered by a thin layer of heavy snow. Everything was dazzlingly white, like a world draped in silver. Though cold, it possessed a unique beauty.

Just as An Ziran was about to reach the study, a middle-aged man approached from the opposite direction. The man's steps were somewhat hurried. He was the An Family's steward, Su Zhou. He was older than An Changfu and had served the An Family for over twenty years. It was said that An Changfu trusted him deeply and that he was utterly loyal to the An Family. Many things An Ziran did not know could be asked of him.

When Steward Su saw An Ziran in the corridor, a trace of astonishment seemed to flash through his eyes. He swiftly concealed his expression and strode up to him. "Eldest Young Master, the First Master has arrived. He is at the mourning hall right now. Do you... want to go take a look?"

An Ziran's gaze shifted to the steward's face.

"Then let's go take a look."