Chapter Eighty-One: The Governor of Guilin, Lin Ke

  Zi Ruoye and Liu Qingyou asked the shopkeeper for the location of the Taishou Mansion after finishing their meal, and the two set off on foot. Now that this wind-blown and wave-topped place has men coming out to walk around, it's simply telling others to come and catch him quickly. The gaze of the crowd changed from astonishment to pity.

  Upon arriving at the governor's mansion, two gatekeepers stood before the entrance. Zi Ruo Ye stepped forward and politely said, "I'd like to pay a visit to the governor. Would you be so kind as to introduce us?" He then handed over his visiting card.

  The guard looked at Ziyue Ye and politely replied, "The governor has been busy with cases recently, I'm afraid he doesn't have time to see you. You'd better go back."

  Liu Qingyou was very satisfied with the attitude of the guards. A superior can often be seen from the people they lead, and it seems that the governor should be a humble person. Zi Ruoye said again, "I and the governor are actually old acquaintances, you help me present the visiting card, and the governor will see us."

  The guards actually didn't want to help Zi Ruoye, because their governor was indeed busy and couldn't even eat a meal. However, the governor was always calm and collected, took the visiting card, nodded slightly, "You wait for a moment."

  Liu Qingyou stood by, puzzled in her heart, with a questioning look in her eyes. When did this dead man and the Governor of Gui City become old acquaintances? Zi Ruoye blinked, indicating to wait and see what happens next.

  In the Taishou's mansion of Gui City, the Taishou herself was sitting in her study, looking at the case files for the past month. The numerous missing person cases had made her anxious. Her desk was piled high with files, and even the floor was covered with them. The Taishou's hair was disheveled, and she looked extremely exhausted.

  The guard holding the purple leaf's visiting card came to knock on the door, "Sir, I have something to report."

  Lin Ke raised his head. At this time, there shouldn't be any cases happening. Could it be that the culprit dared to commit a crime in broad daylight? "Come on in."

  The guard opened the door and went in carefully without stepping on the scrolls, saying, "Sir, there is someone outside who claims to be an old acquaintance of yours and has sent up a visiting card."

  Old acquaintance? She doesn't even remember having any old acquaintances, and the only one she had hasn't been seen in over three years. Her gaze shifted to the visiting card, and upon seeing the familiar wood grain pattern, her pupils constricted, and she suddenly stood up, "Quickly let her in! Bring her directly to the study!"

  The guard finally walked out and saw that Ziyue Ye and Liu Qingyou were standing quietly on the side, exuding a noble air. He stepped forward and said, "So you are indeed the master's old acquaintance, I'll take my leave then." The guard's tone was neither arrogant nor humble, and Ziyue Ye nodded slightly in her heart.

  The guard led Zi Ruoye and Liu Qingyou to the study, then respectfully said, "My master is in the study, you can go in now." With that, he stepped aside.

  Study? Zi Ruoye raised an eyebrow and pulled Liu Qingyou to open the door. When she saw the scrolls all over the floor, she looked at Lin Ke who was still buried in his work and smiled, "Sir, I didn't think you were so busy."

  Lin Ke raised his head and took a glance at Zi Ruo Ye before continuing to lower his head to examine the documents, "Less nonsense, hurry up and help me take a look. Now in Gui City, 20 people have gone missing, all of whom are handsome men. There's no death, but they also haven't been found."

  Liu Qingyou listened to the tone of the prefect in front of him, and he immediately realized that this prefect who had been bowing his head to read the case files must have known the deceased scoundrel. Otherwise, how could he speak to the deceased scoundrel in such a tone? It's just that he didn't expect that the Prefect of Gui City, who was supposed to be a humble person, seemed to have a big temper too.

  "As soon as I arrived, you didn't even offer me a cup of tea and asked me to investigate the case?" Zi Ruoye let Liu Qingyou sit on the chair, but herself sat down on the ground, looking at the files on the floor.

  "If I don't find it, the Emperor will have to drink my blood instead." The two of them were both engrossed in examining the documents, and their conversation didn't distract them from their work.

  Passion? **? Zi Ruoye finished reading a volume and let Liu Qingyou take a look, saying as she read, "With your skills, how could it have dragged on for so long?"

  "If it weren't for you insisting on making me the governor of Guilin, would I have gotten myself into this mess?" Lin Ke's words were laced with resentment. Three years ago, she was a well-regarded number one scholar, but that detestable person didn't assign her to the Imperial Academy or make her an imperial tutor, instead sending her to Guilin.

  "You don't come here, who will I give my osmanthus wine to every year?"

  Liu Qingyou listened to the conversation between Zi Ruoye and Lin Ke while carefully examining the case files. He discovered that most of the missing men were husbands who had been neglected or ill-treated by their wives, despite having good looks. "Damn it, why do these men with good fortune and appearance get mistreated by their wives?"

  Lin Ke heard another person's voice, and only then did he raise his head to look at Liu Qingyao, his eyes flashing slightly. "The master of this beautiful woman who doesn't even acknowledge me actually dares to bring a man out?"

  Is the dead bastard someone who doesn't appreciate beauty? Liu Qingyou was very curious about Lin Ke's evaluation of Zi Ruoye, because compared to the Zi Ruoye she knew, it was a completely different person.

  Lin Ke looked at Liu Qingyou with a gaze that was as gentle as the moon and as elegant as an orchid, her temperament quiet and serene, like a lonely valley where the orchids bloomed quietly. Lin Ke had known Zi Ruoye since she was six years old, and from then on, she had been forcing her to study, demanding that she be well-versed in astronomy and geography, with no exceptions. If it weren't for the fact that Zi Ruoye was the one who had saved her life, Lin Ke would have strangled her to death long ago.

  For so many years, Zǐ Ruò Yè's every encounter with them was always a careless and nonchalant one. Yet, in her eyes, there was a cold detachment, as if no one could enter this woman's heart. The smiling eyes that were full of warmth couldn't be seen even a hint of temperature. Today, out of nowhere, a man appeared, how could she not be surprised?

  In response to Liu Qingyou's puzzled gaze, Ziyue Ye looked at him soothingly and said, "I let you come to be the governor of Guicheng not just for leisure, right? Giving you a comfortable job with a salary is like having a piece of cake fall from the sky!"

  Zi Ruoye's eyes flashed slightly when Lin Ke was ranked first in the imperial examination, she knew that Lin Ke would have a great future, so she transferred her out of the capital. She believed that being an official in the capital would grind away a person's heart, whether it was a tiger with sharp teeth and claws or a swift and fierce leopard, they would all become cats that could only be admired after staying in the capital for a long time.

  "Too lazy to bother with you, what do you see that I don't?" Lin Ke rubbed her brow, knowing she couldn't outtalk this person, so she gave up. For now, the priority was still to catch the person and bring them to justice.

  "This person... is probably a man." Zi Ruoye smiled and curled up her face, threw the volume away, took out a small wine bottle from her bosom and started drinking, although it wasn't as good as what she usually drank, but it was still fragrant and delicious.

  "What?!"

  "How can it be a man?"

  Liu Qingyou and Lin Ke suddenly stood up, enough to express their inner surprise. Lin Ke had thought that the criminal could be one of countless possibilities, maybe it was

  The middleman, who may also be a specialist in bullying men

  The thief may also be... many possibilities, but all of them are based on the assumption that the criminal is a woman. Never thought that the culprit would actually be a man!

  "Hmm, I'm just guessing."

  Lin Ke directly jumped over the desk, Liu Qingyou was stunned for a moment, didn't expect that the Taishou with such a strong bookworm aura would also be a martial artist. The next second Lin Ke jumped in front of Zi Ruoye, staring at her fiercely, "You don't have to pretend anymore, just say it quickly." She had already been driven crazy by this case, and now this person still dared to pretend to know something and tease her.

  Zi Ruoye stretched out her hand and smiled at Lin Ke, who gritted his teeth and said, "Once the matter is settled, I'll give you the hidden Osmanthus wine!"

  Zi Ruoye then picked up a volume, pointing to the records on it and asked, "Lin Ke, from these records, apart from what you just told me, do you think there's anything else missing?"

  Lin Ke frowned and thought for a moment, "Most of these men are either neglected by their families or swapped husbands."

  Liu Qingyou's face filled with anger when she heard about swapping husbands, "How detestable! Didn't the Emperor prohibit this a long time ago?" She said hatefully.

  Zi Ruoye furrowed her brow, it seemed that these phenomena couldn't be stopped. She nodded at Lin Ke, "That's right, it's this point."

  "Is there any doubt about this?" Lin Ke asked back.

  "I think this person isn't someone with high martial arts skills, those missing people are probably gone on their own." Zi Ruoye said again, actually she was quite eager to see the man again.

  "What! How is that possible?" Lin Ke was already getting a headache from Zi Ruo Ye's words, "You said they left on their own, does that mean you know where they are now?"

  "I don't know."

  Lin Ke's temper was indeed gentle, but every time she was with Zi Ruoye, Zi Ruoye could always infuriate her to the point of being half-dead. Liu Qingyou watched Lin Ke's furious appearance and felt a little sympathetic.

  "You can't even speak a complete sentence! You're speaking in riddles, one segment at a time. Don't think about leaving Guilin City! Although I don't know how you arrived in Guilin, it's probably because you were bullied by inferior people or ambushed. I'm the local snake here, without me, you can't even fly with wings!" Lin Ke directly threatened Ziyue Ye, not even bothering to beat around the bush.

  Zi Ruoye was speechless, who would say that the imperial court's officials were like local snakes? This person's analogy was really not good. He patted Lin Ke's words away and leaned against Liu Qingyuan's feet with a timid look, "Don't get excited, listen to me."

  Liu Qingyou was tickled by Zi Ruo Ye's action and couldn't help but laugh, "You stupid fool, don't be too stubborn, just say it. Ben Gongzi also wants to hear."

  "I'll say it, just listen." Ignoring Lin Ke's disdainful gaze, Zi Ruoye said quietly, "Although I don't know where those people are, but I do know they're absolutely safe now."

  He paused and continued, "That man probably had the same experience or was very dissatisfied with this phenomenon, and he must have been preparing for a long time before recently starting to take action, because in the previous period of time he was persuading those people to make them angry and resistant."

  Lin Ke heard and pondered, unexpectedly, there was such a man in Guilin City. "He could have reported to the authorities. I would have definitely accepted it."

  Zi Ruoye shook her head, "Lin Ke is a good person, but he's a bit too rigid. That's why she let Lin Ke guard the city of Gui, to learn from the cunning of merchants. 'Do you know that it's hard for an honest official to handle family affairs? The man knew this point well, and most men already have a slave mentality. How do you know that after you severely punished those wives, they won't take revenge on the men who reported them to you? What's meant by 'family shame must not be made public' is that maybe after you've handled this case, soon white mourning clothes will fill the skies of Gui City.'"

  Liu Qingyou listened to Zi Ruoye's analysis and felt that she was absolutely right. The men of the Purple Mystic Sect indeed had a slave mentality, and after long-term oppression, it was likely that they had already formed a habit. "Damn it, how should this case be solved?"

  Qing Yu raised an eyebrow, "Does Taigong look like a man to you?" Zi Ruoye's eyes sparkled with cunning again, making Lin Ke feel uneasy all over. She always felt that Zi Ruoye's gaze was unfriendly... and it made her hair stand on end for no reason.