C5

Chapter 5 - Hidden Arts

After everyone had left, Zhuo Qingyan immediately had them lock the door. Then, with the support of the Qiu mama, she went downstairs and sat in front of the table, looking at the two of them.

"You guys have all seen today's situation. I'll give you all the right to choose a path to stay, because the road ahead might be even harder to walk on."

"Miss, this servant won't leave. This servant will always follow you …" Mo Yu's voice immediately became choked with sobs, and his eyes started to turn red.

"Miss, this old servant won't go, I will always guard Miss. No matter how difficult the road ahead is, this old servant will always accompany Miss …" Qiu mama also nodded seriously at her.

Zhuo Qingyan let out another long breath. "Fine, since you've all decided, the three of us will support each other as we walk down the path. I can guarantee that as long as I live, I will ensure your safety …"

"Miss …" Mo Yu cried out.

Qiu mama also stood there silently wiping away her tears.

Zhuo Qingyan calmed herself down again and said, "By the way, what else did my mother leave behind in the Plum Garden?"

"Third Aunt didn't leave much behind. When she was still alive, she would go to the art studio every day. That place is filled with her Painting, as well as some books."

The Qiu mama pointed to the screen at the back of the hall.

Zhuo Qingyan stood up and Qiu mama and Mo Yu immediately came over to support her. The three of them went around the corner of the screen and saw an empty wooden door, and behind the wooden door, a whole row of bookshelves and the paintings in the room made her head hurt even more.

She forced herself not to feel comfortable and pushed open the wooden door. Step by step, she walked in.

The strong sense of familiarity had already caused her to tear up as her vision became blurry.

After taking in another deep breath, she forced her tears back. Standing there and looking at the Painting on the wall, she did not frown when she saw one of the blanks: "There's a painting missing?"

Qiu mama and Mo Yu looked at each other, but stopped in their tracks.

"Speak, if you don't speak now, there will be no more chances in the future …" When Zhuo Qingyan saw the two of them, she knew there was something behind it.

Qiu mama shut his eyes and said, "It was during the first three days of Third Madame's illness that Master came to Plum Garden and forcibly took away that painting. He even had a huge argument with Third Madame …"

Zhuo Qingyan's body swayed, and the two of them immediately supported her, worriedly looking at her. Zhuo Qingyan let out a long sigh: "I seem to remember, mother hugged me and cried for a long time that day, and said a lot of things, but the me at that time … "Now that I think about it, I don't remember what it said …"

"Miss, don't worry, you'll be fine …" The Qiu mama comforted her.

"Place all the books and paintings here in your place. You must bring them to Ling Mansion. As long as they are safe and sound, I will find out how mother died …" Zhuo Qingyan lightly said.

"Miss, are you suspecting …" Qiu mama immediately looked at her in alarm.

"Otherwise? I don't believe that my mother would abandon her foolish daughter like this and pass away so peacefully! " Zhuo Qingyan walked forward as she spoke.

Walking up to the bookshelf, Zhang Xuan started flipping through the books on it.

After circling the table, he came to the front and saw a few books, along with some of the four treasures of the study room. He took the books in his hands and flipped through them, but was attracted by one of the books called "Geography of the Big Man".

She slowly sat on the chair and started flipping through it.

Qiu mama and Mo Yu also walked to the place where paintings were hung on the other side of the bookshelves and started to clean them up.

To her, everything that happened here was something she did not understand at all. The things that the original owner had given her were only fragments. It was very difficult to combine them together, as this had nothing to do with her previously being an idiot.

He might be able to find some clues and understand some things from these books.

After sitting and watching for a while, she couldn't help but want to cross her legs. However, when she lifted her right knee, it was as if she had touched something underneath the table.

Soon after, he heard a noise coming from the bookshelf behind him.

She moved away from him in alarm and stood at the edge of the table, staring at the bookshelf.

In the bookshelf at the back of the chair, two rows of books shrank against the wall, revealing a black hole. When she tried to stretch her head out to take a better look, there was movement again, and a black box with red stripes slowly emerged.

After a while, there was no longer any sound, so she went forward and took the box from him. She then placed it on the table and looked at it silently.

Wooden, still quite heavy, with a lock on top but no key. This is troublesome, but it can't be broken open, can it?

However, the style of the lock was also very special. The hole in the lock was also different. It looked like a plum flower!

Zhuo Qingyan raised her head and breathed out deeply. "How could I, a mere soldier, understand the wisdom of the ancients? Is that not hard for me …"

After saying that, she reached out her hand to press down on the back of her neck, but when her finger touched the chain on her neck, her heart skipped a beat and she immediately pulled it out.

She held it in her hand and looked at it again. After comparing it with the lock on the box, she immediately took it off her neck and pressed the Plum Blossom Pendant on the lock. When the lock was completely embedded, she gently let go.

The pendant emitted a soft "ka ka" sound when it came to the keyhole. It then turned for a week before a "pa" sound could be heard again. The lid of the box automatically opened a crack.

After waiting for a little while longer, the box stopped moving. She then reached out to open the lid.

There was also a small box inside. He took the box out, opened the lid and saw what was inside.

The leather scroll was nailed with golden threads. There were a total of ten pages. Seven different colored gems were embedded in the shape of a crescent-shaped dagger. At the bottom, there was a book engraved with a hairpin engraved with a picture of peach blossoms.

When he opened the book, there was a piece of skin inside. On this piece of skin, there was a picture. Reaching out to touch it, two words "Human Skin" suddenly appeared in his mind!

Zhuo Qingyan couldn't help but secretly sigh. Human skin? Such a large piece of skin, if it was human, which part of the human body would it belong to? Back?!

Furthermore, there was clearly a map on it. On the back of the person was a map?

Anyone with a brain would know that this was definitely an extremely important item. If their guesses were correct, it might be a treasure map.

As for the ancients, they wouldn't easily expose their chests and backs. Men were still lacking a bit, but women … Right, a woman … This skin should be the skin on a woman's back.

After exhaling once more, she could only shake her head and say to herself, "These things are useless to me. With my current abilities, it's impossible to find them. Even if I did, what would happen? Would I starve to death by guarding these things?"

When she was about to put the item back into the box, she realized that there was a small silver ring at the bottom of the box.