Mysterious Lotus Casebook

Chapter 22: Three Days of Floating Life

Finally, Wang Heigou and Li Lianhua made a negotiation: they would leave Guo Kun alone for the time being. During a period of three days, Guo Dafu and the others would not interfere with Li Lianhua’s plan.

Everyone and everything would wait until the moon shone bright in three days’ time.

Although Li Lianhua vowed that there would be a result, the others were full of doubt. Wang Heigou made up his mind that if there were no results, he would send Guo Kun to the higher-ups since he had no idea about any hidden case that happened fifty years ago anyway.

Guo Dafu sighed and frowned. He felt troubled when he thought about his mother, wife, and child. Guo Fu, on the other hand, was full of enthusiasm and followed Li Lianhua every step of the way, believing in him wholeheartedly, and in everything he said and did.

Li Lianhua went to sleep in the guest room first and didn’t get up until the next morning. A day and a half had passed since the negotiation.

Guo Fu paced back and forth outside of Li Lianhua’s room, as anxious and jumpy as a flea, but he did not dare enter.

When Li Lianhua finally woke up, he rummaged through the clothes in the wardrobe for a long time and picked out two white robes. After comparing the two for a long while, he seemed unable to decide which one to wear. Finally, he decided to close his eyes and choose one randomly. After he chose one, he dressed himself slowly.

While Li Liahua dressed himself, he had forgotten to close the window to his room, and Guo Fu’s eyes were as big as an ox’s as he nearly fell over in shock. Li Lianhua finally opened the door and came out.

He first went to Guo Dafu’s study, which had been there since Cailian Manor was built. It contained all the calligraphy, paintings, and antiques collected by Guo Qian and Guo Dafu. Guo Fu followed him and poked his head around, but Li Lianhua didn’t mind.

There were several bookcases in the study. The innermost one belonged to Guo Dafu’s grandfather, the second belonged to Guo Qian, and the third belonged to Guo Dafu. Li Lianhua opened the three bookcases one by one and took out some calligraphy and paintings to read.

Some of them were account books, some were poems, and occasionally some were ink paintings depicting the scenery of Cailian Manor. The brushwork was wonderful and lifelike, and there were many red lotus, purple lotus, and mandarin ducks pictured, as well as some poetic words such as Thousands of Trees With Lotus Blossoms.

After looking at it carefully for a while, Li Lianhua shook his head, held up a piece of the intricately written cursive writing, and recited it confusedly, “Line after line has disappeared…?

I am heading all by myself…? Young Master Guo, I can’t understand what this means.”

Guo Fu looked at the poem with a frown and read it reluctantly, “It’s cold in the dusk box … It’s a mass of… a mass of …” He didn’t know most of the words, and he really couldn’t tell what the detailed cursive script was saying.

Li Lianhua didn’t laugh at him but just gazed at him for a long time, his eyes full of interest.

“This type of writing really does like a mass. Young Master Guo, when you look at it all together, don’t you think it kind of looks like a nose?” Li Lianhua asked with a playful smirk.

Guo Fu burst into a fit of giggles at the joke before suddenly remembering what they were here for. But he couldn’t stop himself from laughing even more, “Haha! Master Li… haha! We’re… We’re supposed to be investigating.”

Li Lianhua reluctantly put away the scroll, looked around the study carefully, and opened the window. There was also a view of the lotus pond outside the window, but the lotus flowers were sparse and not as beautiful as at the guest room window.