Chapter 211

Two people walked and talked all the way, and before they knew it, they arrived at the inn’s entrance. The light in He Zhizhou’s room was still on. When Ning Ning knocked and entered, she immediately saw Lin Xun with huge dark circles under his eyes.

The little white dragon had never stayed up all night before, and the exhausting run last night had drained all his energy and strength. Now, he was lying on the table like a dead bug.

When he saw Ning Ning and Pei Ji enter the room, he finally showed a bit of life. “Senior Sister, Junior Brother! How did your investigation go?”

Ning Ning organized her thoughts and recounted everything in detail: the portraits of Luan Niang and the strange young man, what they discovered during their night visit to the city lord’s mansion, and the shopkeeper’s words.

He Zhizhou listened with wide eyes and mouth agape.

Finally, he slapped his thigh hard. “I know!”

Ning Ning nodded obediently, waiting for his performance.

“I also did something useful today.”

He Zhizhou took out a small notebook from the table and seriously opened it, revealing pages filled with notes.

“I met an old lady by the river and asked her about the grievances and disputes between the three people in the City Lord’s Mansion and made a shocking discovery.”

Pei Ji leaned against the wall holding his sword and listened calmly as he spoke. “Four years ago, during the flower festival, several prominent families of Luan City held a gathering on a boat on the Longyin River in the Hundred Flower Deep. Song Xianning and Luo Yuanming both attended. Miss Song returned home with an unusual radiance and was overjoyed. It took a long time before people realized she was closely involved with a man and was scolded harshly by her parents.”

He Zhizhou took a sip of water before continuing, “The most crucial point is that not long after this incident happened, Song Xianning married Luo Yuanming—what does this mean? It means that the man she has been thinking about must be the city lord! Their affair was discovered, and the parents of both parties hit it off and directly arranged the marriage.”

Ning Ning chimed in, “But the relationship between the city lord and his wife is not good.”

“That’s where Luan Niang comes in.”

He Zhizhou spoke seriously, showing a pained expression.

“Why did the city lord fall in love with her at first sight? And why did he suddenly start quarreling constantly with Song Xianning and treating her coldly? It must be because Luan Niang altered his memories. Luo Yuanming thought he loved Luan Niang, but in fact she was his ex-wife whom he had abandoned like dregs. Poor Miss Song married him with high hopes, only to meet such a tragic end—how pitiful!!”

Ning Ning couldn’t help but clap her hands after hearing this.

“This is so dramatic; this is like pouring dog blood directly into my mouth. Senior Brother He, in the future, if you’re not the author of an abusive novel, I definitely won’t read it.”

“I also agree with the shopkeeper that Luan Niang is actually Song Xianning,” said Lin Xun.

“Do you remember? The reason Luo Yuanming fell for Luan Niang at first sight was because she looked exactly like the goddess in his dreams. As the city lord, he couldn’t possibly publicize his dreams, so the only person who could know about this was the one sharing his bed.”

But this reasoning fell apart with just one object.

—The painting Luan Niang bought.

If she wasn’t Luan Niang herself, she wouldn’t have been so attached to that painting.

Also questionable was the reason Luan Niang sealed off Song Xianning’s bedroom.

That room had been untouched for a long time, and Luan Niang seemed to have done nothing with it. If it wasn’t for herself or Luo Yuanming, then could it be for…

The deceased Song Xianning?

Ning Ning suddenly sat up straight.

Yes, they had been fixated on Luan Niang and Luo Yuanming’s love and hate without considering her relationship with Song Xianning.

One thought after another surfaced in her mind, and under this premise, many things people had said now seemed traceable.

“Luan Niang never attended school, couldn’t possibly be literate, yet she often exchanged poems with the city lord and wrote beautiful calligraphy.”

And Song Xianning had studied since childhood, with elegant handwriting.

“Luan Niang grew up in Nuanyu Pavilion, rarely leaving it. How did she know about the shop?”

Song Xianning knew.

“You’d never guess, but Luan Niang’s personality changed drastically; I caught her delivering letters in the middle of the night, and the former city lord’s wife suddenly fell ill… all at the same time.”

“She seemed to know exactly what kind of woman the city lord liked and transformed herself completely into that type.”

What if the person Luan Niang was secretly communicating with at night was Song Xianning? Her friend fell gravely ill, with many suspicions, and even until her death, the truth was never found. Luo Yuanming was undoubtedly the most suspicious.

“She always worked hard and never gave up once she set her mind to something.”