Translator: Cinder Translations
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Jiang Cheng looked at Xia Meng, and after a few seconds, he suddenly spoke up, "Can you do me a favor?"
Xia Meng sneered. Just as she was about to retort with something like, "You guys are so capable, why would you need me?" or "Why should I?" to save face, she caught a glimpse of the fatty staring at her.
She swallowed her words, pursed her lips, and reluctantly spat out a single word, "Speak!"
"Tap, tap, tap."
The crisp sound of footsteps grew closer. Qin Jian, who had been drinking tea at the table, stood up alertly, and You Qi also sat up from the bed.
The window was slightly ajar, leaving a small gap. An Xuan peered through the gap and saw someone walking along the stone path towards them.
The person was moving quickly, as if they had something urgent to attend to.
It was Chen Xiaomeng.
An Xuan narrowed his eyes and immediately lowered his voice, "Don't let her in."
Qin Jian was the first to head towards the door, intercepting Xia Meng before she could knock. You Qi followed, and finally, the slow-moving An Xuan.
"Miss Chen," Qin Jian maintained his usual demeanor of a worldly sage and spoke in a sincere tone, "What brings you here?"
"Have you found anything strange in your room?" Xia Meng spoke quickly, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead.
Qin Jian feigned curiosity, "What kind of strange thing?"
"A painting."
"No," You Qi said firmly.
Despite their words, the group crowded at the door, showing no intention of letting Xia Meng in to take a look.
"This painting appeared out of nowhere, it's really eerie. There might be clues on it," Xia Meng continued, "Do you want to come and see?"
An Xuan smiled slightly, "Maybe later," he said, narrowing his eyes, "We're still discussing some clues we found earlier, and we've made some progress."
"Alright," Xia Meng sighed, not pushing the issue, but added, "The painting is of a woman in a theatrical costume, dancing gracefully. The costume looks a lot like the one Tang Shirou was wearing."
You Qi's pupils flickered, and then he spoke in a concerned tone, "You should be careful then."
"By the way," Xia Meng suddenly said, "There's also a poem on it."
"A poem?" Qin Jian's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and asked in a steady voice, "What kind of poem? Is it from this era, or..."
Xia Meng shook her head and lowered her voice, "I'm not sure. It's only 16 characters long. I suspect it's related to the clues."
"Oh?" An Xuan stared at her and nodded, "Go on."
"At the third watch, the drum sounds, the boat sails on the lake, dressed in funeral attire, fortune lies in silver frost."
After finishing, Xia Meng deliberately glanced at Qin Jian's clothes and then subtly shifted her gaze away.
Qin Jian's expression changed slightly, but after a few seconds, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery as he looked at Xia Meng.
"Funeral attire..." He looked down at the black funeral robe he was wearing, then raised his head with an exaggerated expression, "Miss Chen, are you referring to me?"
Qin Jian narrowed his eyes, sneering inwardly.
These people actually thought he was a novice who had just entered the nightmare. They had chosen the wrong opponent.
Their trick was too clumsy, so obvious that it could be seen through at a glance.
They clearly knew that the suddenly appearing painting was strange and wanted to lure him over, trying to make him reveal his flaws and become their scapegoat.
Qin Jian immediately realized that this idea must have come from that little brat who called himself Hao Shuai. Despite his young age, he was full of wicked ideas.
Knowing that he might see through their scheme and not be tempted by the painting, they had concocted a few lines of nonsensical, suggestive phrases to lure him in.
Such malicious intent... Didn't he fear that his family would suffer retribution?
Just as Qin Jian thought Chen Xiaomeng would defend herself, she left without a word.
Only after Chen Xiaomeng disappeared down the path to the side room did Qin Jian snap out of it, and a strange emotion flickered in his eyes.
"Knock!"
"Knock!"
"Knock!"
The door, which had just been closed, suddenly echoed with a mechanical and monotonous knocking sound. Qin Jian, who had been deep in thought, felt a sense of foreboding.
An Xuan opened the door, and the middle-aged woman stood outside with an expressionless, deathly pale face. She spoke word by word, "To thank all the doctors, the young master invites you to a boat tour on the lake tonight." She paused, then added, "At the third watch."
Qin Jian was stunned, and in the next second, the color drained from his face.
"Doctor," the fatty leaned over and whispered, "Do you think Qin Jian will fall for it?"
Jiang Cheng, the mastermind, took a sip of tea and remained calm. The fatty was anxious, thinking to himself that the old saying was true: the emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is.
"I don't know," Jiang Cheng said, "But you can ask her."
The fatty followed Jiang Cheng's gaze to Xia Meng, who was sitting on the bed. Unexpectedly, Xia Meng seemed to sense something and let out a cold snort.
The fatty felt somewhat reassured.
It seemed that even Xia Meng wasn't confident about not being deceived in such a situation. Facing someone as cunning as the doctor, ordinary people really had no chance.
According to the clues, they were certain that Young Master Huang had more plans for tonight. So, the doctor had ambushed the middle-aged woman on her way to deliver the message, intercepting her and finding ways to delay her.
After the middle-aged woman was intercepted, Xia Meng immediately went to inform them, leaking some information about the clues.
Especially the specific and accurate details about the third watch and the boat.
Then, they presented the doctor's modified version of the clues.
Jiang Cheng had anticipated that Qin Jian wouldn't fall for it—he wasn't that stupid. But as long as they planted the seed of doubt, the plan was a success.
After that, Xia Meng left swiftly, and the middle-aged woman came to deliver the message, solidifying the clues.
After all, up until now, no boat had appeared on the lake. Such accurate information would inevitably make Qin Jian suspicious.
"Doctor," the fatty licked his lips, unable to hide his concern, "I just went over our plan again in my head, and I feel like there's something wrong, like..." He paused, "It's not perfect. Qin Jian, that old fox..."
"There's no such thing as a foolproof plan. This was always risky," Jiang Cheng said nonchalantly, "But don't worry too much. Have you thought about who is the most dangerous person in this scenario right now?"
The fatty answered without hesitation, "It's definitely you, doctor. They've already hung your portrait in the room. All that's left is to send you a funeral banner!"
"Tsk," Jiang Cheng was visibly displeased.
(End of the Chapter)
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