Chapter 219:
Pei Yuqing’s expression on his face showed a momentary daze.
That’s right.
Perhaps some guest, out of curiosity, pushed open this door, saw that tragic scene, felt compassion, and covered the mother and daughter with cotton quilts to shield their bodies.
It couldn’t be Wanwan.
At that time, Wanwan had already jumped into the lake.
In the boundless abyss, a ray of hopeful dawn suddenly emerged, but it was just a fleeting moment, followed by even deeper darkness.
As if plunged into an endless hell.
Such a huge disparity was enough to drive anyone mad with despair.
Low sobbing sounds came faintly.
Pei Yuqing hunched over and squatted on the ground, not getting up for a long time. His usually clear and upright figure like a pine tree faintly trembled in the dim light.
The two servants kneeling on the ground saw water stains falling onto the wooden floor in front of them, spreading out.
No one dared to speak.
A long time passed, so long that the sunset outside the window had completely set, and the side room fell into boundless darkness.
A guard lit candlelight, and Pei Yuqing finally stood up. He staggered somewhat to the window, leaning half his body out.
Pei Shu’s face changed drastically, thinking his master was going to jump into the lake to follow Madam, so he rushed over hurriedly to pull him back, only to see the man who had leaned half his body out frozen like he had been acupointed, motionless.
Pei Shu wanted to go over to check, but Pei Yuqing, with his back to him, had already straightened up and raised his hand to stop him from approaching.
“Master…” Pei Shu waited a moment, then mustered his courage and said, “It’s freezing cold; take care of your body.”
But the young man standing at the window, lost in thought, ignored his words entirely.
The iron chain under the window, the room just one wall away, the bedding on the mother and daughter…
Such a coincidence was enough to make clear springs bubble up again from the desolate well bottom.
Pei Yuqing slowly turned around. Amid such great sorrow and joy, his face looked truly unwell, with clearly visible tear tracks on it.
He said nothing, paced a few circles in the room, then returned to the room where Xie Wanning had stayed that day, carefully examining the layout of both rooms.
Finally, he walked to the two servants and asked, “When you came in, where were that mother and daughter, and what did they look like? Describe in detail, without missing any details.”
Since he had spoken, the two servants naturally told everything they knew and racked their brains to recall many details.
Like how the ground was full of bloodstains, and that young lady had died miserably, with her legs unable to close.
Until he heard that the woman had her back to the bed, a flash of light suddenly gleamed in Pei Yuqing’s eyes, which had always been somber.
This room had no other places to hide people. According to his deduction, after Wanwan jumped into the lake, she really sneaked into this room, and the only place she could hide was under the bed.
So… another coincidence?
He didn’t believe it!
His eyes were already red, and he lowered his gaze to the two kneeling servants, his voice low and hoarse. “Do you know the background of that mother and daughter?”
No matter what, they died on the boat, so the boatman must have quietly inquired about it.
Sure enough, the servant said, “The steward inquired. This mother and daughter were from the South. More than ten years ago, a family of three came to the Northern Region and ran a restaurant. Three years ago, the male head of the household said he was going back home to visit family, but he never returned. The world being unstable, everyone said he died on the road. The restaurant closed two years ago.”
As for why the mother and daughter were traveling far, they must have wanted to return to the South to search for relatives.
A widow’s door invites much trouble, let alone a woman with lingering charm and some family assets traveling with her daughter who was like a flower about to bloom.
