When Qi Ning rushed to Zuiliu Pavilion, it was already late at night. The previously noisy Zuiliu Pavilion had also quieted down at this time. The guests had either returned home or were already sleeping soundly with their arms around the girl. It was in front of Zuiliu Pavilion, and there was no one to greet him.
Qi Ning had already put on the middle-aged mask from before and entered the building. There were no more people in the hall. Two turtle men leaned on their chairs and yawned. When they saw Qi Ning entering the room, they both stood up and exchanged words. After taking a look, Qi Ning had rescued Hua Lianxiang in this building before. These two turtle men happened to have seen this face, and one of them had already come up to him with a smile and said: "Master, you are here!"
"Where is the flower-faced fragrance?" Qining glanced at it and got straight to the point.
"Sir, wait a moment. I'll send someone to inform you." The turtle man winked at his companion. The other turtle man turned around and was about to leave, but Qining had already said coldly: "Stop!"
The man was startled and stopped. Qi Ning walked over slowly, stood next to the man, and asked, "Where is the flower-faced fragrance?"
The corners of the turtle's eyes twitched slightly, and he said with an apologetic smile: "The uncle said before that he would come over later, and Hua Lianxiang also packed up, but I didn't see the uncle when I arrived, so...!"
"So what?"
"So I asked Hua Lianxiang to go back to his room." Mr. Gui said with a smile: "I'm going to summon Hua Lianxiang now, dress up a little, and I'll be here to serve you soon. I'll have a cup of tea first and wait for a while..." !”
Qining shook his head and said: "I don't want to wait. Wherever he is now, you can just take me there."
Mr. Gui looked slightly embarrassed and smiled awkwardly. Qining said coldly: "I have already paid the money. Hualianxiang is mine tonight. Is it difficult to take me to see her now?"
The turtle man was a little helpless, hesitated, and finally said: "Then... then uncle, come with me." But he did not go upstairs, but took Qining to the backyard. Qining followed behind and walked out of the front door. Building, he entered the backyard from the back door, and was taken to the outside of a back room by Mr. Turtle. The lights were still on in the house. When the Mr. Turtle arrived at the door, he glanced at Qining, and then shouted inside: "The flowery face is fragrant." , that uncle is here, please clean up...!"
Qining looked around and saw that the houses in the backyard were incomparable to those in front. The front building was gorgeous and luxurious, but the backyard was old and dilapidated.
Immediately there was a commotion in the house, and Hua Lianxiang's panicked voice was heard: "I... I'll be fine soon...!"
The blind fortune teller left a poem that led Qining to Zuiliu Pavilion, and pointed the clue directly at Hua Lianxiang. Qi Ning still doesn’t understand what is fishy about it. Hua Lianxiang is just a member of Zuiliu Pavilion. The brothel woman who has long since passed away, is there any clue in her that is worth digging for
"Uncle, I will take you to the front building first and find a clean room. After Hua Lianxiang has cleaned up, I will take her up there." Mr. Gui smiled apologetically and said, "Anyway, I will definitely let you go tonight." This trip is in vain.”
Qi Ning ignored it, suddenly stepped forward, reached out, and opened the door. A stale smell immediately spread out from the room, which was very unpleasant. Qi Ning frowned slightly, glanced at it, and saw This is an extremely narrow room. There is a small plank bed in the corner, and a small wooden table next to the bedside. It is extremely simple. The Hua Lian Xiang is standing in front of the small wooden table at the moment, holding a wooden comb in his hand. Dressing in front of a bronze mirror, Qining pushed the door open and came in. Hua Lianxiang immediately turned around and was startled when she saw Qining standing in front of the door.
But Mr. Turtle had already stepped forward to persuade him: "Uncle, it's a little dirty here, but...!"
Qi Ning raised his hand to signal Mr. Turtle not to say anything more, and said calmly: "There is no need to go to other rooms, I will stay here tonight."
"Ah?" Mr. Gui was a little surprised, and then he thought to himself that this guest's hobbies are probably very different from ordinary people, otherwise how could he like the beauty with a damaged face? He smiled and said: "The young man will bring the wine and food here later."
After Mr. Gui retreated, Hua Lian Xiang came back to his senses. He thought of something, took out a clean handkerchief and wiped the only small wooden stool in the room again and again. Then he took two steps back and said nervously: "Uncle … Sir, please sit down!”
Seeing her reaction, Qi Ning didn't have the sophistication and ease of a woman at the party. He just nodded lightly, went to sit down on the wooden bench, and looked around. Nothing special happened. For a moment, he really didn't know what to do. Talking about it, he hesitated and finally asked: "They... didn't hit you, did they?"
Qi Ning had previously been concerned about Tian Xuerong's safety and left midway to rescue Tian Xuerong from the tiger's mouth. However, he was thinking about whether the madam would be embarrassed after he left.
Hua Lianxiang hurriedly shook her head and said: "No... no...!"
Qi Ning nodded and used the light to observe that Hua Lianxiang had changed into a relatively clean dress, but the material was obviously very inferior, far inferior to the clothes of the girls on the front floor. There are glaring scars, but if you look closely, you will see that this flower-faced face is very beautiful. She was obviously an outstanding beauty in the past, and her eyebrows do not have the aura of prostitution that a brothel girl should have.
Hua Lianxiang is now the meanest miscellaneous woman in Zuiliu Pavilion. Naturally, she does not have any jewelry. The only thing Qining sees is a necklace hanging around her neck. It is said to be a necklace, but it is actually a jet black hemp rope. When they were strung together, there was an object hanging from the bottom. The object was covered by clothes, so you couldn't tell what it was.
"Sit down first." Qining saw that Hua Lianxiang was very nervous and even a little uneasy. He raised his hand to signal Hua Lianxiang to sit down by the bed. Although this was Hua Lianxiang's residence, Hua Lianxiang seemed very reserved and forced a smile. He just sat on a small edge of the bed, glanced at Qining, and asked: "Uncle... Isn't the uncle from the East China Sea?"
"I am a traveler from out of town." Qi Ning smiled slightly. He knew that if he looked serious, Hua Lianxiang would be even more nervous. Relax himself, and Hua Lianxiang would also relax because of his emotions. Sure enough, Qi Ning smiled gently. , Hua Lian Xiang’s nervousness seems to have subsided a bit: “The humidity here in the East China Sea is very heavy, and many...many outsiders are not used to it.”
"I've been to many places, so there aren't any big problems." Qi Ning said in a friendly tone, "Are you from Donghai?"
"I... not...!" Hua Lianxiang shook her head: "My hometown is... in Yueyang!"
"Yueyang?" Qi Ning was startled, thinking that Yueyang was in the Jingnan area and quite far away from the East China Sea. He asked curiously: "You are from Yueyang, how did you get to the East China Sea?"
Hua Lianxiang lowered her head and said: "I lost my mother when I was a child, and my father and I depended on each other, but my father liked to drink, and... he liked to gamble. When I was thirteen, he owed a gambling debt and was unable to repay it. Debt collectors came to my door, and my father... my father treated me as a gambling debt and paid it off to others."
Qi Ning frowned, with a trace of sadness on his painted face: "At first, I was just sold to a wealthy family as a maid. I... I went to several families, coming and going, and then... Later, I was sold to Donghai. , accidentally smashed a jewelry box belonging to the mistress, and... was sold to Zuiliu Pavilion."
Qi Ning sighed in his heart. The miserable fate of this flower-faced Xiang really made people sympathize. He asked softly: "The scar on your face...!"
"Less than half a year after I arrived at Zuiliu Pavilion, I met a guest. He was drunk that day and hit me with... his fists. I tried to dodge, but... he picked up a pair of scissors, and then...!" Hua Lianxiang lowered her head and her voice trembled, but she couldn't continue.
Qi Ning shook his head. Although he sympathized with Hua Lianxiang's fate and experience, judging from Hua Lianxiang's experience, he couldn't find any clues that were particularly useful to him. He even wondered why the blind fortune teller asked him to come to Hua Lianxiang, so he At this moment, footsteps sounded outside the door, and the turtle man came into the house with wine and food, and said with a smile: "If you need anything, sir, just give me the order." He placed the wine and food on the dressing table, and said to Hua Lian Xiang : "Serve me well. If you are negligent, mother will not forgive you."
Qi Ning's face was a bit ugly. After the Turtle Master finished speaking, he left with a smile. Qi Ning winked and Hua Lian Xiang understood. He went over to close the door, then walked back, hesitated, and said: "Uncle...Uncle Are you going to rest? I...I'll fetch some water for you to wash...!"
Qi Ning waved his hand and said, "You don't have to think too much. I came here tonight just to talk to you. I have no other intention."
Hua Lianxiang was a little surprised. Qining thought for a while and then asked softly: "Girl, I want to ask you about someone."
"Who are you talking about?"
"There is a fortune-teller in Donghai City. He is blind in both eyes." Qi Ning roughly described the appearance of the blind fortune-teller, and then asked: "I wonder if you have seen this person?"
"Fortune teller?" Hua Lianxiang looked confused and shook his head: "I have never left the gate since I arrived at Zuiliu Pavilion. I don't know what the streets look like. The fortune teller you mentioned, I... have never seen. .”
Qi Ning said in surprise: "You mean you haven't left the gate since you were sold to Zuiliu Pavilion?"
Hua Lianxiang smiled sadly, nodded and said: "Mom watched me very closely. She sent people to keep an eye on me. She was afraid that I would run away secretly. Not to mention leaving Zuiliu Pavilion, even... even if I was close to the gate, as long as they saw me, I would... !”
Qi Ning was a little angry. The people in Zuiliu Pavilion obviously didn't regard Hua Lianxiang as a human being at all, but he was even more surprised in his heart. He thought that Hua Lianxiang had never even left the gate, and he was the most humble person in Zuiliu Pavilion. , it is impossible to have any personal connections. How can such a character have the clues he needs? He had always suspected that the fortune teller led him to Zuiliu Pavilion to look for Hua Lian Xiang, and that he might be somewhat involved in the cause of Tantai Zhilin's death. Now it seems that the two have nothing to do with each other.
Since he was not involved in Tantai Zhilin's death, why did the fortune teller let him find Hua Lian Xiang
"Then do you know Tantai Zhilin, the commander-in-chief of the Donghai Navy?" Qining asked, staring into Hua Lian Xiang's eyes.
Hua Lianxiang said, "I heard a guest mention him."
"That is to say, although you have heard of Tantai Zhilin, you have never seen it, and you have never even heard of the fortune teller." Qi Ning thought thoughtfully, judging from Hua Lianxiang's reaction , this girl really knew nothing about blind fortune tellers, and had nothing to do with Tantai Zhilin. He was full of doubts in his heart, and was at a loss to understand the other party's intentions.