A-Man’s eyes lit up: “Oh, isn’t this Erniu!”
Erniu seemed to sense something was off with Jiang Si’s mood. He raised his head to sniff her hand, making coaxing whimpers in his throat.
The moment she saw Erniu, Jiang Si’s tense state immediately relaxed, and she revealed a gentle smile tinged with sadness: “Erniu, why are you here?”
It must be said that seeing Erniu at this moment was a comfort to Jiang Si’s tormented heart.
Her father was good, and her brother was good too, but in her previous life, one had left her, and one had died. Besides Yu Qi, only Erniu had remained by her side.
Even in her previous life’s final moments, she vaguely heard Erniu’s bark.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but for Jiang Si, Erniu was indeed more than just an ordinary dog; he was family who had accompanied her for a long time.
“Woof—” Erniu barked once and turned his head.
Jiang Si followed his gaze and saw a young man’s eyes light up under a tree not far away, where he had been waiting for who knows how long.
There were many onlookers outside Earl Yongchang’s manor, and Yu Jin standing under the tree wasn’t conspicuous, but once Jiang Si saw him, she couldn’t see anyone else.
After a moment of stunned silence, Jiang Si turned and walked away.
Yu Jin took large strides to catch up, blocking her path.
He had originally prepared two plans: one was to question her angrily, and the other was to complain pitifully. But the moment he saw the young girl’s pale face, both plans were thrown to the wind, and he blurted out: “Who made you upset?”
Somehow, hearing these words, Jiang Si, who had been fully armored just moments ago, suddenly had her heart defenses broken. Tears fell like broken strings of pearls.
The crystal-clear teardrops rolled down her fair cheeks, making her face look even paler and more fragile.
Yu Jin was instantly flustered and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears: “Don’t cry, I’ll go get revenge for you!”
Jiang Si snapped back to reality, retreating two steps as if scalded, then turned and ran away quickly.
Watching helplessly as the young girl’s figure disappeared at the entrance, Yu Jin’s handsome face darkened.
What on earth had happened?
She could face bullies and even murderers with composure and fearlessness, so why did she cry like that just now?
Just thinking about those crystal-clear teardrops made Yu Jin’s heart ache terribly.
He hadn’t even had the heart to make her cry, so which bastard had a death wish?
Yu Jin shifted his gaze to the entrance of Earl Yongchang’s manor.
He had arrived early and observed coldly that Earl Yongchang’s wife had been found dead in her room at dawn, and the Earl had invited the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture to investigate. Asi was Miss Xie’s good friend and had been staying at the Earl’s manor during this time. Her unusual behavior must be related to the Earl’s manor.
He had to find out what had happened.
“Long Dan—” Yu Jin called out.
A baby-faced man jumped down from the tree, grinning as he asked: “What are your orders, Master?”
Yu Jin found the other’s smile irritating and said displeasedly: “What are you smiling about!”
Long Dan looked aggrieved: “Master, I’m happy for you.”
Yu Jin’s eyebrows twitched.
Happy? He was worried sick, what was there to be happy about?
Long Dan blinked: “Master, you don’t understand, do you? When a girl cries in front of a man, what does that mean?”
“It means she’s very sad.”
“Master, you’re thinking too simply. It means this man is special in the girl’s heart. Otherwise, think about it, why doesn’t Miss Jiang cry in front of me?”
“You want her to cry in front of you?” Yu Jin narrowed his eyes.
Long Dan’s scalp tingled as he wiped his sweat: “I was just giving an example, Master, please don’t misunderstand!”
“Even giving an example is not allowed.” Yu Jin frowned displeasedly, then suddenly changed his tone, “Tell me, how am I different in her heart?”
Long Dan opened and closed his mouth.
How would he know? He was just trying to make the Master happy!
“Ahem, Miss Jiang crying in front of you proves that you’re someone she can rely on in her heart. Don’t people only show their true feelings in front of those they trust? Don’t you think so?”
Yu Jin thought about it and felt Long Dan’s words made a lot of sense. His heart immediately soared.
So that girl had always been saying one thing but meaning another and deeply trusted him.
This wasn’t good; how could he feel happy when Asi was sad?
Yu Jin silently self-criticized for a moment, then instructed Long Dan: “Go and inquire about the situation at Earl Yongchang’s manor, especially pay attention to whether Miss Jiang has encountered any problems.”
Long Dan accepted the order and left, leaving the man and the dog staring at each other.
Erniu gave his master a look of disdain.
Useless, letting the mistress run away again.
Yu Jin reached out and smacked Erniu once, angrily saying: “What’s that look for!”
“Woof woof.” Erniu perfunctorily barked twice, then ran off wagging his tail.
Yu Jin folded his arms across his chest, staring intently at the main gate of East Peace Earl’s manor.
He wondered if she would come out again today and if not, should he go in?
Prince Yu Qi rubbed his chin, seriously pondering this grave question.
Just as Yu Jin was contemplating how many slaps he would receive if he sneaked into Jiang Si’s boudoir, Long Dan returned to report: “Master, I’ve found out!”
Yu Jin came back to his senses: “Speak.”
“It turns out that the one who killed Earl Yongchang’s wife was the manor’s cook, and that cook killed Earl Yongchang’s wife purely because of a misunderstanding about Earl Yongchang. The Earl was so angry that he suffered a heart attack and passed away too…”
“What about Miss Jiang?” Although the sudden deaths of Earl Yongchang and his wife were shocking, Yu Jin had seen life and death many times before. He only cared about Jiang Si.
“Miss Jiang? This has nothing to do with Miss Jiang.” Long Dan was stunned at first, then realized, “I found out that Miss Jiang played a significant role in the investigation, and even the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture couldn’t stop praising her. It’s said that he wants to visit her later to express his gratitude.”
Visit to express gratitude?
Yu Jin immediately pictured an old codger in his mind and instantly felt relieved.
Zhen Shicheng, who had returned to the yamen: “…” What misunderstanding did people have to see a handsome middle-aged man as an old codger?
“Then why did she cry?” Yu Jin murmured.
“Master, isn’t Miss Jiang’s family neighbors with Earl Yongchang’s manor? Perhaps the Earl and his wife were good to her, so she’s sad about their passing.”
Yu Jin’s gaze once again turned towards East Peace Earl’s manor.
He felt it wasn’t that simple. It seemed he needed to ask her about it.
Jiang Si walked into East Peace Earl’s manor and quickly instructed A-Man: “Go tell the master that Earl Yongchang has passed away.”
A-Man couldn’t help but ask: “Miss, where are you going?”
“I’m going back to Begonia Pavilion to tidy up a bit.” Jiang Si left hurriedly without looking back.
Running back to Begonia Pavilion in one breath, Jiang Si’s unsightly expression startled Aqiao.
“Miss—”
Jiang Si waved her hand, went straight into the room, and closed the door, leaving Aqiao outside.
Although Aqiao was usually calm, Jiang Si’s appearance made her worried. She quickly pressed her ear to the door to listen to the movements inside.
Suppressed sobbing sounds came from within the room.
The young miss was crying?
Aqiao’s heart skipped a beat. She poked her head out but didn’t see A-man’s shadow, which made her even more anxious.