Chapter 432 - Xiao Hualing
Pei Tingming wanted to retort, "How can we know that you aren't the culprit?" when he stopped as he remembered that Ke Hanying is a local tyrant.
Although Ke Hanying isn't from Anchuan, but he is very powerful. Not only because of his wealth and influence, but also because he is fearless. He doesn't fear he'd lose all his wealth as he can just make them again. He also doesn't fear he'd lose his influence since he just can buy it.
It's not the person who doesn't have anything to lose that you should be afraid of. It's the person that has everything, but isn't afraid to lose them that should be feared!
Pei Tingming doesn't want to offend Ke Hanying, but he doesn't want to act amiable towards him when in fact he doesn't like him. Just why did the Anhu mayor made him replace him by this arrogant local tyrant? Or, why does the local tyrant want to attend a funeral? Is he tired of living and want to have his own funeral, too? Then, he can go ahead and die now.
He secretly sneered and ignored what Ke Hanying said as he held back his temper from flaring up. He turned to ask Ji Qiuxin about her opinion about the supernatural events, only to see her looking so pale and her expression is bad. She suddenly feels unwell.
Pei Tingming's expression that just eased turned worse. "Let's go back, eat our dinner and then rest." He said before he turned to the captain of the guards. "Have the servants clean this mess. After that, have them clean up Tingsong's room. We'll hold a small funeral for him tomorrow, like what we did to Tingting's." he said.
"Yes, our lord." The captain of the guards answered.
Pei Tingming left. Ji Qiuxin calmed herself for a while before she followed. The captain of the guards saw that only Ke Hanying was left so he went to call the servants. He missed to see the smile that appeared on Ke Hanying's lips as Ke Hanying looked at Xu Hongkai's corpse.
"How is it, for your name you've carefully kept clean to be ruined today, and from here on?" Ke Hanying asked. He's obviously talking to Xu Hongkai's corpse, which is a bizarre and also frightening sight. "No one can hide the truth forever. You should've seen this coming." He said before he also left the shed.
Yi Bing, Huo Ling and Jiu Ye who witnessed everything. "…" we've discovered such a shocking trut. Unfortunately, we can't reveal it…
"HEY! What does he mean… what does he mean by his words?!" Jiu Ye finally reacted when he found his voice.
"... as what you understood, I guess." Huo Ling answered.
"Don't be so casual about this! This is a very important matter!" Jiu Ye said.
"We're not." Yi Bing seriously answered.
Jiu Ye's head almost exploded from countless thoughts in his mind. "You mean, Ke Hanying knows Xu Hongkai?!?!" he asked.
Huo Ling looked at him. His gaze seemed to be telling him, "Such an obvious fact, do you still need to ask?".
"… I'm sorry. But, I have to organize all my thoughts so that I could reach a clear and definite answer." Jiu Ye muttered. "Ke Hanying knows Xu Hongkai. Xu Hongkai is secretly a pedophile and committed such acts." He said. "Could it be, Ke Hanying was Xu Hongkai's former victim?" he asked, then made a pause. "He must be. No one knows about Ke Hanying's background and only knows that he suddenly appeared in Anhu and made his name. But, we can't deny what happened just now. Ke Hanying knows Xu Hongkai, and obviously has a grudge on him. So, Ke Hanying must be from Anhe! And later he moved to Anhu!" he finished.
Yi Bing smilled. "Good. You're becoming sharper." He said.
Jiu Ye foolishly grinned. "Thank you, senior Yi." He said.
"If Ke Hanying is originally from Anhe… could it be – " Huo Ling spoke. " – Hualing, too?" he asked.
They turned to him.
"Ke Hanying knows Hualing, and sounded like they have a deep relationship." Huo Ling continued. "Ke Hanying was Xu Hongkai's former victim, and Hualing killed Xu Hongkai. Did she kill him to avenge her friend? Or… was she also a victim?" he asked.
They fell silent.
"Hualing as a former Anhe citizen is possible." Yi Bing finally spoke. "And she killed Xu Hongkai as a revenge is likely. The question is, when did Hualing arrive in Anchuan? And why?" he asked.
"Ah." Huo Ling muttered as he and Jiu Ye looked at each other. "We have too little information about Hualing." He said.
They only know that she's a ghost, and is the mastermind behind the supernatural events that happened. They still do not know what grudge does she have to haunt the Pei family, and currently have killed three members of them. They also don't know how did she know how to manipulate the time, and where did the other souls go to, especially Shi Jiu's target which is a foreign soul in this world.
Speaking of Cao Cao and he arrives. They saw Shi Jiu in Jiu Ye's room when they returned.
"Found something?" Yi Bing asked.
Shi Jiu turned and they were surprised by his grave expression, which is a great contrast of his usual carefree expression. "Yes." He answered. Before they could ask another question, he already spoke. "About Xiao Hualing." He said. His expression is solemn.
"Tell us what you know." Yi Bing spoke as they took their seats.
"Yes." Shi Jiu nodded. "Her name is Xiao Hualing. She is an orphan. It is the name she has given herself." He started. "'hua' for 'flower'. She sells flowers. And she is as beautiful as the flowers she sells." He said.
"So, that's why Ke Hanying was sitting beside the flowerbed on the riverbank." Huo Ling said.
Shi Jiu and Jiu Ye were puzzled, and Yi Bing immediately told them about his investigation on Ke Hanying.
"I see." Shi Jiu muttered and he looked pensive. But, he has to finish reporting first. "When she arrived in Anchuan, many men admired her. She is the most beautiful women in the town." He continued. "Pei Tinghe is a playboy, as well as Pei Tingsong. 'birds of the same feathers flock together'. They were smitten on her." He said.
"So, she's really Pei Tinghe's first crush!" Jiu Ye said.
"It can be said of Pei Tingsong's, too." Huo Ling added.
"At that time, the Pei family's power is on the rise, and their influence is spreading." Shi Jiu spoke. "Seeing that the two young masters of the Pei family are courting her, all the other men retreated. But – " he said. " – whether Pei Tinghe or Pei Tingsong wanted to marry her as his main wife or take her in as his concubine, they have to wait for Pei Tingyi to get married fist." He looked at them three.
Enlightenment flashed on their faces. "That's right! Not only Pei Tingyi is the eldest son, but he is also the heir!" Jiu Ye said. "No matter who Pei Tinghe or Pei Tingsong falls in love with, but they had to wait for Pei Tingyi to marry a woman he likes first before they have their turn." He explained.
Shi Jiu nodded. "That's right." he said.
"But, we didn't see any woman around Pei Tingyi." Huo Ling spoke. "He never married, right?" he asked.
"He didn't." Yi Bing answered when he remembered the Pei family tree that Shi Jiu sent to them before.
Pei Tingyi's name is alone. He neither has a wife nor a child. Not even a concubine.
"Yes." Shi Jiu nodded. "Pei Tingyi didn't marry anyone. In fact, he never had anyone he liked." He said. "And this is one of the reasons why Pei Tinghe and Pei Tingsong, as well as Li Hua, resents Pei Tingyi. Because of Pei Tingyi, neither Pei Tinghe nor Pei Tingsong could get married." He explained.
"Then, what happened to Xiao Hualing?" Huo Ling asked.
"Ah!" Jiu Ye exclaimed when he remembered something. "Did Pei Tinghe reject her that's why she's haunting the Pei family?" he asked.
To their surprise, Shi Jiu shook his head. "No." he answered. "It was the other way around." he said. Before they could speak, he continued. "It was Xiao Hualing who rejected them." He told them.
"What?!" Jiu Ye exclaimed. "She rejected… then, if it was her who rejected Pei Tinghe, then why is she haunting him and his family?" he asked.
Shi Jiu frowned. He didn't know the answer, and so he continued. "After Xiao Hualing rejected them, Pei Tinghe and Pei Tingsong didn't give up and continued courting her, promising her that they'll take her as their main wife. She only needs to choose between them and she'll have a wealthy life." He said. "The people think she's afraid to offend the other man if she'd choose one. Some even thought that she's acting hard-to-get. But, that isn't it." he looked at them. "It's because she is carrying a child."
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