"No, no, I just wanted to pull your quilt up for you, but your fierce look scared me. Ye Qing, I had good intentions. Look, after you fainted yesterday, I was the one who carried you to bed and even brought you another quilt."
Ye Qing looked down at the quilt on the bed and, realizing she hadnāt been violated, snorted at Qu Liushou and got out of bed.
"Tell me again, did you hide those things?"
"Damn it, I could say you hid them. And you still need to explain about your handkerchief." Qu Liushou knew Ye Qing would question him.
"Yesterday... the day before yesterday, I was in the hospital all night, how could I have come here? Besides, I threw that handkerchief away a while ago, no idea where it is. You think Iād believe this nonsense? Qu Liushou, Iāve figured it out. If you didnāt hide them, you lost them. Let me be clear: I wasnāt here the night before. I swear, if I was here, may my whole family perish. Now do you believe me?"
Qu Liushou, seeing Ye Qing swear so viciously, finally believed her words.
"I... I... Iāll swear too, I really didnāt hide those things. I brought them back from Mr. Meiās study, and who knew two pieces would fall on the way. I couldnāt bear to lose them, so after putting the rest in my room, I went back to look for them. I searched back and forth twice and finally found the missing two items. But when I returned to the room, all the paintings were gone. I thought I put them somewhere else, so I searched the entire room but found nothing, except for your handkerchief. I thought you might have come by when I was out..."
Before Qu Liushou could finish, Ye Qing angrily grabbed his collar, "So, when you went out looking for things, someone came in here and took them. You idiot, you must have been discovered and followed."
"Impossible, no one followed me. If they did, I went two big circles outside, how come I didnāt see anyone? Itās late at night and freezing cold, who would be up at that hour?" Qu Liushouās confidence wavered, realizing if someone was indeed targeting him, all his efforts would have gone to waste, doing someone elseās dirty work for nothing.
"Do you think they would let you notice? Tell me honestly, have you mentioned anything about us to anyone lately?" Ye Qing was on the brink of madness, so many paintings couldnāt be lost to others just like that.
"I told no one, why would I spread around shady stuff?" Qu Liushou was frustrated, having no clue who might have tailed him.
"Think again, could someone have noticed you on the way?"
"No one, I was cautious when I returned, there was not a soul behind me. Iām sure of it."
Ye Qing saw Qu Liushouās nonchalant demeanor and pushed him aside in fury, "No one followed you, so those things grew legs and ran off by themselves? You idiot, quickly think if thereās anything strange." On the verge of insanity, Ye Qing suddenly remembered something and asked urgently, "I didnāt have time to poison Aunt Wu that day, when you went in later, did she notice you?"
"Donāt even mention it, I almost forgot, I was smart enough to check the maidās room first, and found she wasnāt asleep yet. It scared me, but I didnāt give her a chance to scream, knocked her out with a blow."
"Are you sure sheās really unconscious?" Ye Qing remembered that her handkerchief was likely left at home, and Aunt Wu had remarked it was a pity to throw it away.
"This..." Seeing Qu Liushouās uncertain look, Ye Qingās heart sank.
"Idiot, you were definitely tailed."
Even now, Qu Liushou couldnāt believe it, "Are you saying Mei Familyās maid?" Qu Liushou finished and spat, cursing, "Damn it, who would have thought a maid could be so cunning, following me all the way, and I didnāt even notice. What do we do now?"
Ye Qingmei ignored him and asked, "The two pieces you found yesterday, show them to me."
This time, Qu Liushou dared not delay, he brought them out quickly, still excited, "At least it wasnāt all in vain, we still have these two items."
But when Ye Qing opened it, one contained an erotic painting, which made her frown and mutter to herself about Mr. Meiās perverseness possessing such things. The other wasnāt too bad, it was a Tang Dynasty painting.
"What did you steal from Old Meiās cabinet that night?"
"All were finger paintings, more than a dozen. But I was so busy looking for these two, I didnāt have time to open and look." Qu Liushou now regretted it deeply, really deeply. If he knew, he would have guarded those dozen paintings rather than lose these two boxes.
"For now, keep quiet about this matter, this place isnāt safe anymore. Iāll hold onto these two items for now. Let me handle the rest, and donāt forget to keep an eye on Aunt Wuās family. See if she took the items home."
"How can you take them, I should keep these two." Qu Liushou was reluctant, what if those items couldnāt be recovered, and these fell into Ye Qingās hands, his efforts would be in vain.
Seeing Qu Liushouās reluctance, Ye Qingās face turned cold, glaring at him, "In your hands, what if something else goes wrong, whoās responsible? Besides, with the police surely watching you closely, be careful not to slip up, I wonāt be able to help you then."