TSFLIP Chapter 796

“Thank you, Miss.”
The seven-year-old boy finally smiled, his face lighting up with a pure, innocent joy.

“Oh, right.” Fengguang asked, “A few days ago, I saw you leave the estate and go home. Was something the matter?”

Wuqi paused before answering, “That day, the steward told me I’d be living here at the Xia estate from now on. So I went back once to get my clothes. Miss, I wasn’t being lazy.”

“I didn’t say you were lazy.” Seeing the fear flash across his face, Fengguang felt a pang of sympathy and quickly reassured him, “I was just asking because I care. After all… you don’t really have any family left.”

“Please don’t worry, Miss. I’m fine.”
His young face was bright with a steady, comforting smile.

Fengguang nodded. “Good. Oh, and aren’t you supposed to go see about saving that Manjusri lily? You’d better get going.”

“Yes, Miss.. I’ll take my leave.”
He bowed politely, then turned and left.

“Miss…” Lianzi shifted uncomfortably behind her. “Aren’t you being a little too concerned about that boy?”

“What makes you think that?”

“I don’t know, just a feeling.”

“Then you’re feeling wrong.” Fengguang said calmly, “I only care about him the same way I care about you. He just lost his mother and has no other family. What if he couldn’t handle it and did something foolish?”

“But he seems perfectly fine to me…”

“Well, you look fine too. Does that mean I can just stop caring about you from now on?”

“No way!” Lianzi cried, looking stricken. “If you ignored me, I’d be miserable!”

Fengguang shrugged. “See? My point exactly.”

Lianzi pouted for a moment, then remembered something and whispered, “Miss, I heard they still haven’t caught the person who killed Madam Liu.”

“Mhm. And?”

“And… there’ve been more and more rumors about a white-haired ghost killing people. They say just a few days ago, it even appeared in broad daylight on the main street!”

Fengguang immediately thought of Shu Feng. She scoffed, “There’s no such thing as a white-haired ghost! People just love spreading nonsense.”

“But it’s true, Miss! Everyone says he’s very handsome, with long white hair. He uses his looks to lure in victims—and then kills them all at once…”

Fengguang slammed her hand on the table. “Utter nonsense! He’s not that kind of person!”

Lianzi blinked in confusion, startled by her sudden outburst.

“Well? What else did you hear?” Fengguang demanded. “Go on, tell me everything.”

“Y-Yes, Miss. I also heard that the magistrate’s men are going to Linglong Manor today to question its owner, because the owner supposedly has white hair… Wait, Miss, where are you going!?”

Seeing Fengguang suddenly bolt toward the door, Lianzi cried out, hurrying after her.

Without turning back, Fengguang shouted, “To Linglong Manor!”

Linglong Manor was unusually lively that day.

Inside the main hall, aside from Shu Feng, Qi Yuan, and Steward Fu, there were three newcomers—officials from the county office. Two of them were bailiffs, while the third, a young man, was the newly appointed county magistrate, Shu Qiu.

Shu Qiu was barely past twenty, yet he already held the position of magistrate. It wasn’t a high rank, but he had been personally appointed by the emperor himself, which made him one of the most respected figures in Tong County. Despite his scholarly, gentle appearance, he was known for being honest and humble in office. Over the past few years, he had earned the people’s admiration by genuinely serving their needs.