Chapter 234
Chapter 234
The second story also concerned Mingyue Villa.
But it clearly took place earlier than the first.
The “master” and “driver” in the story had likewise spent a night at the villa, yet their memories had not been erased, and they had ultimately been allowed to leave safely…
Still, whether everything they had experienced was real deserved careful thought.
The post station, the attendant, the rabbit, the body, the villa, the boy, the young lady…
Had they truly existed, or were they merely illusions?
Yu Lang put down the booklet and glanced at Ren Fengjue. “My lord, why does the ‘master’ in this story seem a little familiar?”
Ren Fengjue emerged from his thoughts, his gaze meaningful.
He was about to answer when Xia Ximo suddenly spoke for him.
“Meng Zhiyuan, is it not?”
Yu Lang froze. “Meng Zhiyuan, the Minister of Works?”
As he absorbed this, he could not help wondering again.
Why did Miss Xia know even more than he did?
Ren Fengjue explained, “Minister Meng personally visited the Northern Border to conduct surveys for the Grain Transport Map. He must have come to Mount Yuebei.”
Yu Lang paused, unsure what to feel. Hesitantly, he said, “Then the rumor that he… took his own life out of fear of punishment?”
When Ren Fengjue went to the imperial palace to investigate Meng Zhiyuan’s ghost, Vice Minister Yu had happened to be assigned to Xiling County.
By the time he returned, the case had quietly been closed…
Before he could learn how that unsolved case had finally ended, other matters had intervened.
Ren Fengjue replied, “He did not kill himself to escape punishment. He was murdered…”
Yu Lang’s expression changed. “Does His Majesty know?”
Ren Fengjue nodded.
Yu Lang hurriedly asked, “Then who was the killer? Why was it not announced?”
“The killer was not human,” Xia Ximo said.
“…”
This shocked Yu Lang even more. As he connected it with what had come before, he found himself speechless.
Ren Fengjue briefly described the strange events that had taken place in the Meng Family’s study that day.
Yu Lang fell into thought as well.
So many strange things had happened recently. On the surface, they seemed entirely unrelated.
Only now, looking back, did he realize with a shock that this was not so.
There must be someone behind it all, someone who had been stirring trouble at court as early as a year ago, perhaps even earlier.
Minister Meng’s death, the Former Dynasty Crown Prince, and Zhong Yi were all closely connected behind the scenes…
Was this hidden hand human or ghost? What was its true purpose?
“My lord, if Minister Meng’s killer was not human, could his death also have something to do with this villa?”
He had come here. Though he had not been trapped, he had ultimately met a violent end.
Ren Fengjue looked at the snow outside. “I always thought Minister Meng died because of that map. Now I am no longer so certain…”
Yan Zhengchu suddenly spoke. “If Minister Meng’s experience was real, why did this villa become like this?”
Yu Lang said, “It probably became like this after the young lady disappeared…”
Then he asked Ren Fengjue, “My lord, could the young lady still be in the villa? Could these stories be what she wants to tell us?”
Ren Fengjue looked around.
He had already sensed that there was someone else in the villa, so he deliberately said, “If that is true, she should give us the next ‘clue’ very soon.”
They all fell silent for a moment.
Just then, Wuyou, who had been trailing sleepily behind Xia Ximo, suddenly lifted their nose and sniffed. “Do you… smell something fragrant?”
At this, everyone concentrated and sniffed as well.
“It smells like… roasting meat.”
Yu Lang loved good food and recognized it at once. “Now that you mention it, I am rather hungry.”
He had barely finished when the others’ stomachs began growling one after another.
The sudden hunger made the aroma even harder to resist…
Axia abruptly pointed toward the courtyard at the back. “It seems to be coming from there.”
They exchanged glances, then could not help looking toward the rear courtyard.
One of the doors stood half open, with a dim yellow glow spilling out. In the pitch-black night, it looked distinctly eerie.
Yu Lang instinctively asked, “Has the next ‘clue’ arrived?”
Ren Fengjue suspected a trap and was about to warn them, but Xia Ximo was already walking over.
He hurried after her.
Xia Ximo pushed the door open and was about to enter when Ren Fengjue gently tugged her back.
The door creaked open. There was no one inside.
Only a stove stood there, with an animal glistening with fat roasting over it…
That was where the aroma came from.
“It really is roasting meat?”
Looking at the golden surface of the “meat,” sizzling and shining with fat, they all felt their empty stomachs, whose hungry growls rose one after another.
Only then did they consider a problem.
If they remained trapped here, the dry provisions they had brought would not be enough.
Yu Lang swallowed discreetly and said to Ren Fengjue, “My lord, this looks like a test of our self-control…”
Ren Fengjue looked away and turned to Axia. “How much food do we have left?”
Axia opened the bundle of provisions he carried and found only two steamed flatbreads remaining.
“I remember there should be another bag in the carriage,” he said. “Together with these…”
Excluding Wuyou, there were five of them. That food would keep them going for two more days at most.
A sense of foreboding stirred in Ren Fengjue. “Go and check the carriage now.”
Axia acknowledged the order and left at once.
But before long, he hurried back, his face full of terror.
“My lord, our carriage is gone!”
Everyone’s heart sank.
Yu Lang glanced back at the roasting meat and gave a bitter smile. “It really is a test of our self-control.”
Ren Fengjue knew that their only way out of this predicament was to discover the villa’s secret as quickly as possible.
He had Axia divide one of the flatbreads so they could each put something in their stomachs.
Then he entered the room where the meat was roasting. “This did not appear from nowhere. The next ‘clue’ may be in this room.”
Yu Lang steeled himself and followed. He studied the “roast” and, for some reason, felt nausea rise in his stomach.
Suddenly he said, “Look at it. Does it… look like a rabbit to you?”
At his words, the others immediately gathered around to look. Their expressions froze.
A rabbit had appeared twice in the second story.
It had clearly been very important to the young lady of this villa.
Yet now it had appeared before them like this…
Remembering what had happened to the station attendant in the story sent another chill down their backs.