Chapter 75: Temptation

Lin Yannan washed her hands and changed her clothes, standing in the backyard of Xiao Qian's residence and staring absentmindedly at the gingko tree behind the wall.

Little did she expect that the backyard of this residence was connected to the courtyard of the Tao family.

Is this a coincidence or intentional?

按说他一个皇子，就算再不得宠，也不至于住这么简陋的地方。

萧潜洗了个澡，换了身月白色的畅袖宽袍，身上没了猪粪味，神清气爽。到书房，见林晏晏不在，问封凌，封凌说看到甄公子往后院去了。

Xiao Qian came to the backyard and saw Lin Yannan standing in the yard staring at the wall.

"What are you looking at?"

“没什么，就觉得这株银杏长的好好。”那是她十岁那年，父亲和她一起种下的，一晃快十年了，小树苗长成了大树，枝繁叶茂。

“我也这么觉得，当初买这宅子就看中了这株银杏，尽管不是自己家的。”

"Do you know whose house is over there?"

"It belongs to the Tao family, the home of renowned physician Tao Weicheng." Do you want to know anything specific about the translated content?

Lin Yannan pretended to be surprised: "Wasn't the Tao family wiped out?"

萧潜目色凝重：“是啊，诛九族，满门一共五十九口。”

林晏晏心中一痛：“但愿我们能尽快查清当年的真相。”

Xiao Qian nodded his head.

"By the way, I heard that there was a haunting at the Tao residence recently," Lin Yannan tried to probe, as she had suspected before that there was a fourth person in the Tao residence that night, and now she suspected this person to be Xiao Qian.

"That's right, that night I heard some noise so I went to take a look. I caught two thieves, but they didn't get anything. Instead, they were scared off by a female ghost, and they ran away in fear."

"Really? The Tao family's house has already been ransacked, so there shouldn't be anything left to steal, right?"

"That's not necessarily the case. The whereabouts of the Tao family's ancestral medical book, 'Spirit Creek Notes,' are unknown. Many people speculate that this book is still in the possession of the Tao family. That night, I discovered some clues. The female ghost is likely someone connected to the Tao family. The thing everyone has been searching for might already be in her hands." Xiao Qian also tried to probe, paying attention to the subtle changes in her facial expression.

It's a mystery that the silver needle pouch is in Tao Siyu's hands, and he can't figure it out no matter what.

Lin Yannan is still calm, although his guess is correct, there is absolutely no way to link it to her.

She never expected that Xiao Qian would recognize Tao Siyu's silver needle pouch.

"So, you spread the rumors about the haunted house? Were you hoping to lure the snake out of its hole?"

Xiao Qian bitterly smiled, "It was a failed strategy."

Lin Yannan said, "Let's not talk about the Tao family's matter for now, let's go to the study."

The study was brightly lit, and Xiao Qian looked at the corner of the letter paper that Lin Yannan had found and said, "The flying eagle is indeed the totem of the northern barbarians. Could this be a signal of communication from northern spies?"

“很有可能，孟超在机缘巧合下发现了这张残缺的信纸，偷藏了起来，但是被对方发现了，所以招致灭口。对了，你派人去孟家了吗？”

"Let them go, I told them not to act rashly. Keep an eye on the newcomer and see where he goes."

Fishing with a long line, if this person is really a spy from the Northern Barbarians, this might be an opportunity to uproot all the nails they have in the capital city. Lin Yanyan was in a great mood: "I've gained a lot tonight, I can go back and sleep peacefully."

"I'll take you back."

"No need, just give me a different horse."

She didn't want to ride the horse covered in pig dung.

"I insist on sending you." Despite dressed in men's clothing, she was still a woman. Going out alone at such a late hour was unsafe. Furthermore, she was now the key player in solving the case. Many clues were discovered by her, especially finding this torn piece of paper - a great achievement. Ensuring her safety was imperative.

Xiao Qian escorted Lin Yannan to the side door of the Moyuan Pavilion and watched her enter before turning back.

"Miss, why did you change into different clothes?" Tan Yun saw that the Miss was wearing men's clothing that was obviously too long for her, and her curiosity couldn't be contained.

很明显，小姐吃过晚饭出去是跟一男的在一块，而且是个比小姐高出一截的男人。

"Your clothes got dirty."

"Where are the dirty clothes?"

Lin Yannan disagrees: "Throw it away."

She can't possibly say it was left at Xiao Qian's house, can she?

檀云：……小姐真败家，那件以上的料子可是上好的雨花锦，要好几十两一匹呢，说扔了就扔了。

天还没亮，萧潜被封凌叫醒。

“殿下，祁柒和栾羽回来了。”

萧潜立即下床，披上衣袍去书房。

"How bad is the situation?"

祁柒道：“回殿下，子时刚过，果真有人进了孟宅，在里面呆到丑时末才离开，我们一直尾随他，这人功夫不错，我们不敢跟的太近，就看他进了东平巷的宅子，再没出来。地址属下已经记下来了。”

Qi Qi handed over a piece of paper.

Xiao Qian glanced at it and asked, "How tall is that person?"

"Around 7 feet, similar to my subordinate," replied Luan Yu.

“这差事办的不错，你们下去休息吧！”萧潜非常满意。

It seems that Lin Yanyan was right again. The footprints were indeed a disguise, and this person brought a pair of shoes to the Meng family to conceal their height.

@include>Translated content: "Qiqi and Luan Yu, step back," Xiao Qian said. "Feng Ling, isn't your sister looking for something to do?"

“是啊，她就是野。”封凌苦恼道。

“那就给她找点事做，以后专门负责去定安侯府墨渊阁跑腿，并且暗中保护林大小姐的安全。”今天林晏晏让他换一个人，他想来想去封凌妹妹封花是最合适的人选。花花的身手在封凌之上，而且俏皮活泼看起来人畜无害，具有迷惑性。

案件有进展，萧潜整个人都兴奋起来，梳洗一番便去了顺天府，一头扎进户房查东平巷那间住宅的房主。

Then a familiar name appears. Translated:

Guo Yongli.

It's actually Guo Yongli.

“肖大人，听说你一大早就来衙门，是不是案情没进展睡不着了？”陆昭南休养了半日加一晚上，精神奕奕，也早早也来到衙门，听说萧潜在户房便找了来。

Xiao Qian took out the household register where Guo Yongli was listed and told the clerk at the household office, "I need it for investigation purposes. I'll take it for now and return it in a few days."

The clerk smiled and said, "Feel free to take it, Mr. Xiao. Just make sure you don't lose it."

出了户房，陆昭南递上一袋包子：“你爱吃的王记肉包，我特意绕道去买的，我跟你说，查案要紧，吃饭更要紧，吃饱了才有力气动脑筋不是？”

Xiao Qian took a bite of a steamed bun and tasted the savory meat: "You got one thing wrong. I didn't come early because there was no progress in the case. I came early because there was significant progress in the case, and I was too excited to fall asleep."

Lu Zhaonan stared wide-eyed: "What happened after I left yesterday? How did a major breakthrough suddenly occur in the case? What did I miss?"

Xiao Qian reached out his hand: "Give me another steamed bun."