After midnight

The darkness was so thick that it was hard to breathe. The person walking in front of Song Xin walked steadily and had a clear goal. It was obvious that he often came and went in the Song Mansion. Song Xin followed carefully, but her heart was pounding with nervousness.

She knew where he was going, but where else could he go? She didn't know why her uncle had called him here in the middle of the night.

This person is so familiar with the Song family's ancestral home, do his father and brother know about it? Thinking of Song Hongtian, Song Xin's steps unconsciously quickened a little. Seeing him walk into the courtyard of her uncle, she did not follow him.

Only after his uncle's door was opened and closed did Song Xin lean over step by step and squat under the brick wall next to the window.

The light in the room was dim, but it did not prevent Song Xin from hearing the voice coming from inside the room. The man said: "... Song Hongtian's stomach was black, which confirmed that he had been poisoned for some time. But his fatal injury was in his neck, and his cause of death should be suffocation. He was strangled to death when the poison took effect..."

Song Xin was sweating profusely, and she covered her mouth tightly to prevent any sound. But suddenly, she felt difficulty breathing, as if someone was choking her neck. She gasped and bit the middle joint of her right index finger. She bit out a deep tooth mark, almost bleeding.

How could this happen? How could this happen? Song Xin was afraid that she would sob out loud, but tears had already welled up in her eyes.

No, if she continued like this, she would be discovered. She didn't know why she was afraid of being discovered, but she ran away. She couldn't bear it anymore, and tears flowed down her cheeks, dripping into the invisible deep night.

She knelt down, digging her nails into the dark brown soil, and her index finger, which she had bitten in her mouth, bled a little. She cried loudly, not understanding who was so cruel? Who hated her father so much that he not only poisoned him but also strangled him to death?

Finally, she returned to her bedroom like a wandering soul, fell on the bed, and had no strength in her body. She blinked her eyes, and tears fell silently. She didn't sleep all night, and she didn't dare to close her eyes, because as soon as she closed her eyes, she felt that nightmares would follow.

When she regained consciousness, she was pinned down to the bed by a thick blanket. She felt extremely uncomfortable, with a headache and dry mouth.

"Miss, you're awake. Come and have a drink of water." said Aunt Zhang, who had been serving her.

"Auntie Zhang, what's wrong with me?" Song Xin's voice was so weak that it was almost inaudible.

"The young lady has a fever and has been sleeping for almost a whole day."

Upon hearing this, Song Xin looked out the window, and sure enough, the night outside had fallen again.

"Miss, have some porridge. I'll ask someone to make some."

Half an hour later, the table in the room was filled with delicious side dishes and fragrant glutinous porridge. Song Xin stirred it for a long time and took a bite. It tasted tasteless. She had a flat appetite and didn't feel hungry, but she still drank it spoonful after spoonful. After she finished, she threw the spoon down and left without touching the exquisite side dishes.

"Uncle." Song Xin called.

"How are you? Are you feeling better?"

Song Xin was stunned for a second and subconsciously touched his face.

"There's no one else at home, so the servants can only come to tell me. But Xin'er, you don't look well. Did you eat well?"

"I've eaten, uncle..."

"Xin'er, it was you last night."

"Yes." It turned out that uncle knew everything. Song Xin bit her lip and wanted to cry again.

Song Hongda's eyes were filled with pity. He closed his eyes and opened them again. "Xin'er, I will investigate this matter thoroughly and will never let that person go. But, can you please not tell your brother about this for now?"

"Why?" Song Xin was puzzled.

"The elders' meeting just ended, and your brother took the highest position. You know, if he couldn't take it, we would be devoured by jackals immediately without leaving even a bone. Now that he has taken it, he still can't relax, as he has too many things to do in the near future. Xin'er, but we don't know who the murderer is at all."

Song Xin was speechless; she really couldn't help.

"Wait a little longer. Wait until your brother comes back from Xidu. Wait until your uncle finds out who is responsible. It won't be too late to tell your brother about your father's situation."

"Okay, I'll listen to you, uncle."

"Good girl." Song Hongda opened his arms and hugged her gently. "You have worked hard these days. Everything will pass. It will pass soon."

Song Xin leaned quietly, holding back her tears, neither nodding nor shaking her head.

The next morning, Song Xin was eagerly waiting for Song Yu to return. But she didn't wait for Song Yu, but Zhao Yunqi. A whole day passed, and Song Yu didn't come back. She almost couldn't wait to run to Zhao Yunqi.

"Brother Yunqi, do you know when my brother will be back?"

"He didn't say that, but I guess he won't be back for a while."

Zhao Yunqi said he would not come back, and Song Xin naturally noticed this. "Does my brother have anything else to do?"

"I'm not sure about that." Zhao Yunqi's denial overwhelmed Song Xin. She lowered her head, looking very powerless.

"What's wrong? If there is anything, maybe you can tell me and see if there is anything I can help with?" Zhao Yunqi had never seen Song Xin so anxious and serious. In Zhao Yunqi's impression, Song Xin was always gentle and smiling.

"It's nothing. I'll wait for my brother to come back." Song Xin forced a smile, the perfunctory look on her face could not be concealed.

"Yeah." Zhao Yunqi said nothing. That's right, now that his second uncle has just left, it's normal for Song Xin to rely on Song Yu.

Perhaps it was a bit embarrassing, Song Xin looked away, "Then I'll go back first, Brother Yunqi, have a good rest."

Not long after Song Xin left, Zhao Yunqi received a letter from Song Hongda. The letter was from him, and his uncle asked him to meet at 11 o'clock that night.

This was rare. For some reason, his uncle would rarely write to him to ask him to meet at night. But this time, perhaps because Song Hongtian had died and Song Yu was not in Jiudu, his uncle actually wrote to him. But what was even more strange was that his uncle also specifically wrote to ask him to be careful to avoid Song Xin when he went.

What on earth was going on? Zhao Yunqi felt more and more that something was wrong.

Eleven o'clock at night came quickly. When Zhao Yunqi arrived at Song Hongda's residence, Song Hongda's house was completely dark. Zhao Yunqi entered the house in the dark and stood there without moving. It was impossible for the uncle not to know that he was coming. Sure enough, there was a rustling sound in the bedroom. After a while, the uncle came over in slippers.

The light was on, and the brightness of a small desk lamp only allowed Zhao Yunqi to see the shadow of the person sitting behind it, and even the face could not be clearly seen.

"Uncle." Zhao Yunqi called in a low voice and moved closer.

"Yunqi," Song Hongda groaned for a moment, "Plan to leave."

Leave? Is that what he meant? Did his uncle already know about his plan? No, Zhao Yunqi immediately rejected this idea. His uncle couldn't possibly know that he was trying to persuade him to leave.

Seeing Zhao Yunqi remained silent, Song Hongda simply said, "You have worked diligently for the Song family for so many years. Now Song Hongtian has passed away. You should plan for yourself and Yun Shuang."

"Uncle, that's why I can't leave at this time."

"No, now is the best time for you to leave. As long as I am here, Song Yu will not do anything to you."

Zhao Yunqi naturally understood that he could trust his uncle, but he couldn't just leave like that now. He had not yet done what he promised Yin, and the reason he promised Yin was because he cared about him very much.

"Listen to me, don't get involved in the Song family's quagmire again." Song Hongda thought he was still being stubborn. Zhao Yunqi was too loyal.

"Song Yu has become the head of the Song family. Will anything happen to the Song family?"

Who is Zhao Yunqi? He grew up with Song Hongtian and has seen all kinds of tricks. Although he usually abides by his duties, he is very smart. He roughly reviewed what happened in the Song Mansion recently and understood it almost immediately, "Second Uncle's death is not ordinary?"

Song Hongda naturally did not respond, and his already unclear face became even more difficult to distinguish.

"Thank you for your warning, uncle. It's late at night, you should go to bed early."

Song Hongda watched Zhao Yunqi walk out and closed his eyes tiredly. If Zhao Yunqi didn't leave now, he might not be able to get away in the future. Also, he couldn't even save himself, so how could he convince others?

Zhao Yunqi walked slowly, his body showing the consequences of working non-stop for the past few days. He didn't like to disturb people late at night, but thinking of Song Hongda's last warning to him, he wanted to take a look. He immediately rushed to the clinic, hoping to find some clues.

When he arrived at the clinic, he stopped in surprise. The white lanterns hanging outside the clinic were swaying in the wind in the dark night.

He pried open the door of the clinic, and found that the inside was intact, even clean and tidy. The thick pile of medical books he saw last time was now piled at the corner of the counter. Zhao Yunqi thought for a moment, and almost couldn't wait to go and look through them.

He flipped through the pages and found that many of the books had scratches on them, but only one page on one of the books was folded up. On that folded page, there was a circle drawn on the introduction column called Huan Guo, and there was also a mark. Zhao Yunqi took the book without hesitation.

He was almost certain that Song Hongtian was poisoned by the illusion fruit, and he almost immediately remembered the tree on the island in Jiunan Park. So, Zhao Yunqi naturally thought of Anyan and Yin.

If it wasn't Anyan, could it be Yin? No, Yun Shuang told herself that the person who poisoned her was Lin Nuan.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yunqi was still in shock. He had just calmly said in front of his uncle that his second uncle's death was not ordinary. He already knew who the murderer was. But it was still not right. Why was the doctor killed? Who killed him?

It definitely wasn't Lin Nuan, because there was no need. Not to mention whether they would find out Lin Nuan, even if they did, what would happen? Just like Lin Nuan wouldn't come to kill Song Hongtian head-on, Song Yu wouldn't do the same. The feud between the Song family and the Lu Lin family had already been established, and both sides knew that sooner or later it would be a life-and-death battle.

Who killed Dr. Wang? Dr. Wang's death was too strange.

By the way, did Song Yu know that the doctor was murdered? Did he know that Song Hongtian was poisoned? Did he know that Song Hongtian was poisoned by the phantom fruit? If he knew, his first reaction would be the same as mine, and he would think of Yin. But it was definitely not Yin, at least the person who killed Dr. Wang must not be Yin, because this completely violated the morality of the Dark Night.

Zhao Yunqi's thoughts had never been so chaotic. After he turned the corner, he simply found a corner to sit down. He spread his legs, supported his chin with one hand, and looked into the endless darkness.

So, think about why the murderer wanted to kill Dr. Wang and what Dr. Wang knew. Dr. Wang knew that Song Hongtian was poisoned, so there are two possibilities. First, the murderer did not want others to know that Song Hongtian died of poisoning. Second, the murderer did not want Dr. Wang to know that Song Hongtian did not die of poisoning.

Zhao Yunqi's eyes widened in surprise, and the cold air gave him goose bumps. He looked up at the few stars in the sky and forced himself to calm down.

Song Hongtian might not have been poisoned to death. This assumption was too bold. What about the uncle? How did he infer that? Zhao Yunqi's hair stood on end, and he walked towards Song Hongtian's grave.

At night, the cemetery was dark. Zhao Yunqi reached out and touched the soil around Song Hongtian's tomb. There were signs of people moving around. It couldn't be Song Yu. After Song Hongtian was buried, he almost went to Xidu with him and hasn't come back yet, so it must be his uncle.

Zhao Yunqi carefully raised his head to look at the moonlight. The clouds around the moon had dissipated, but it still emitted only a weak and dim light. He returned along the same route and planned to come back tomorrow.

After the elders' meeting ended, Song Yu returned almost immediately. He almost followed Zhao Yunqi, but when he was still far away, he decisively went northwest along a small path beside the official road. That path was a wilderness road, and there were no towns for hundreds of miles along the way.

Not far west of Jiudu, there are stretches of barren mountains. Those barren mountains belong to the territory of Xishan, and almost no one stops there. Song Yu had never set foot here before today.

If Zhao Yunqi knew about this wilderness path, he would be horrified, because in the early years, his body was familiar with this path. That was the road he took when he was tied up and covered with his facial features to meet the "Son of God" An Yan.