Haidu: Top of the Tower

Chapter 7 Survival in the Broken Plan
When her revenge plan was shattered into fragments like glass, Milady had no chance to be disappointed, to secretly hate, and she couldn't even show the slightest bit of pain.

Because behind the shattered glass stood a middle-aged woman with a bright red color.

Never panic.

Milady looked straight into those small black bean-like eyes, and even blinked slowly on purpose.She has seen children of the same generation flutter their eyelids like butterfly wings when they are nervous.

The other party came prepared.

After waking up, Milady realized how greedy Aunt Red's eyes were: they slowly walked on her face, staring, observing, analyzing... even a tremor at the corner of her mouth could not escape.

She suddenly revealed the "Chang'an letter paper" in order to catch herself off guard, let's see Milady's reaction, right?
Where did her doubts about herself go?
Although Milady walked carefully every step of the way, as long as she did something, it was impossible not to leave any traces.

If the investigation against her begins, it is only a matter of time before she can string together her actions and get an answer.As long as Aunt Hong continues to inquire, she will eventually find out about the clerk in the Family Affairs Office, and then she will not be able to hide the existence of the casino when she knows about it—maybe, she has already found out?
No, it shouldn't be so... The information that Aunt Hong currently has in hand should not be enough to put herself to death.

Besides, she would never be the only target of suspicion, and she would not even be the main target of suspicion.After all, from the perspective of common sense, it must be someone who is close to the casino to explain the internal situation of the casino clearly. Milady does not fit this role.

If Aunt Red was convinced that Milady had sent the secret letter, she would never have appeared in her own home and tried to make every possible attempt.After all, it was the clansmen who handled internal affairs, not going to court, and there was no need to talk about evidence. As long as the clan decided that there was something wrong with Milady, she would be finished.

The question is, how much does the other party know?
Even though Milady felt that all the muscles in her body seemed to have a sense of autonomy, no matter how much she suppressed it, she seemed to be about to tremble violently, she still forced herself to lean on the back of the chair, and assumed a very relaxed posture, borrowing By repeating what the other person said, I earned myself a little chance to breathe and react.

"Letter paper? Imported from Chang'an?" She pretended not to notice Aunt Hong's gaze, tried to keep calm, and said, "Why did Auntie ask this suddenly... No, I haven't bought it. Our family generally doesn't use that kind of paper."

Aunt Hong smiled, as if she had seen through her.

Could there be panic on her face?Milady wished she could look in the mirror.Or was the kid who ran errands for her to buy stationery coaxed out of the truth and confessed to her?
She has been very careful, whether it is ink printing or buying stationery, she has kept her whereabouts secret; this should be just her panic.

Can't linger too long on the stationery.

Milady smiled at Aunt Hong, wishing secretly that the corners of her mouth were not trembling. "Tai Li really invited me to the dance? I won so much money from Wei Lian last time...she was mad at me."

Aunt Hong leaned over and asked, "Is it a poker game?"

Sure enough, she had already investigated before coming to her home.

"Auntie knows too?"

"Yes," such a chubby, friendly and kind middle-aged woman, who looked no different from the warm-hearted and gossiping aunts in the clan, made Milady's heart tremble at this moment. "I just don't understand. How could you be so well-behaved that you suddenly go to Wei Lian to bet poker? Usually, you usually stay at home at that time."

Milady wished she had a look of commensurate astonishment on her face.

"Yes... how does my aunt know? I usually stay at home in the evening and prepare dinner for my mother." She said softly, "I don't need to prepare dinner recently. Facing these four walls alone, I feel empty and uncomfortable. I Thinking about going to the park..."

Aunt Hong still kept the same smile, her cheeks seemed to freeze.

Milady cut off the conversation abruptly—she realized that she had almost made a terrible mistake.

She almost let "happened to meet Teri" blurt out.

That night, Milady inquired about Terry's whereabouts, and only set off after she learned that she had gone to the park... Aunt Hong probably knew about it before she came to her house, and she was targeting Terry that night. to go.

Milady felt her palms were wet with sweat.

She had to come up with a reasonable motive right away in order to explain the past without giving the other party a chance to be suspicious... What should I say?What should I say so that Aunt Hong's attention will not continue to follow the line of "Tai Li, Huai Tuo, Casino"?

The reaction time left for her was too short, only a moment; and she had no contact with Tai Li at all, and even the excuse of "chatting" was too blunt.

By the way, Terry was not alone that night.

"Doesn't Tai Li often go to the park too?" She didn't dare to pause for too long, turned around, and hurriedly continued: "She and Wei Lian...often go together."

When she bit the accent slightly on the word "Wei Lian", Milady felt uncomfortable all over, and felt a bit of shame faintly.How could she allow herself to be cornered so that she had nothing to do but pretend to be interested in a boy?

Milady pinched her palms tightly with her nails, and there was a complex emotion that repeatedly hit her in her chest.It was impossible for her to pretend to be shy or admiring; she had to lower her head, hoping that Aunt Hong would misread her posture.

"The thing about me betting poker with him..." She gritted her teeth and continued to remind the other party: "Did Auntie hear what Wei Lian said? Did he mention me? What did he say about me? He wasn't angry, right? That day He didn't seem angry at night."

After today, there will never be a next time.

Aunt Hong finally moved her body. "Oh no, Teri told me."

Milady could not tell whether she believed her.

"This time... Wei Lian will also go to the dance?" She added.

Aunt Hong obviously didn't want to waste time on the topic of "Wei Lian". She waved her hand, but ignored it, and asked the question in a different direction: "How long did you stay in the casino that night? Can't find you in the casino?"

"Ahem... Aunt knows. I've never been in a casino before. I don't even recognize those things, and I feel flustered when I see them." Milady twisted her hands back and forth, she didn't need to pretend, she was already very disturbed. up. "Terry was mad at me that night and wanted me to lose money...but I didn't want to lose face in front of them. So when I entered the casino, I quietly hid. After they left, I turned around a little and left too , because I didn’t dare to stay there alone...it looked weird. I didn’t pay attention to how long it was, it shouldn’t be long.”

"Aren't you hurt?" Aunt Hong asked with concern.

When the word "no" was about to be uttered, Milady swallowed it back in time.

"Injured?" She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Why did you get hurt?"

... This Aunt Hong is really difficult to deal with.

Aunt Hong knew far more information than she had said, but she purposely hid traps in unnoticed places one after another, waiting to see if Milady would show her feet.

There was at least an hour between when Tai Li and her group left the casino, and when the group on the White Shark caused a commotion.If Milady answered "No injury", it meant that she was very aware of what happened in the casino, and it could not be explained by "turning around a little".

"It's nothing." Aunt Hong frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "Did you see anyone else from the Gaota family in the casino that night?"

As soon as this question came to her ears, Milady almost couldn't hold back a long breath of relief.The focus has shifted away from her... It means that she has temporarily muddled through this level.

"Except for our group? Oh, then I don't see anyone. Anyone else go?"

"I want to know too." Seeing that she couldn't ask anything, Aunt Hong answered with a few vague words, and then suddenly patted her forehead. "Oh, the date of the dance seems to have been changed, I can't remember it. How about it, I'll go back and ask, and I'll let you know when I ask."

Milady smiled and nodded in response, as if looking forward to it, followed Aunt Hong to stand up.When sending Aunt Hong out of the house, she casually asked, "Where does Auntie work? Is there a shortage of manpower?"

Before Aunt Hong left, she turned her head and smiled at her. "Security Office."

When Milady walked slowly back to the living room and sat down, the sunset sunlight came in through the glass windows that had not been cleaned for several days, casting faint shadows of stains on the floor.

Since Itami's absence, her home has been turning into a disorganized mass grave.The daily objects at home, once there are no people to wipe, clean, maintain and use them, they will decay at an unexpected speed, and they will be thrown everywhere dying.

Milady did not sit still; she stood up and went to the kitchen, picked up the kitchen knife, and chopped the empty chopping board.

The residences assigned by the Gaota family to low-ranking members are close to each other; when walking in this residential area, you can clearly hear who is lighting a fire and who is arguing... She didn't know that Aunt Hong had gone away No, but she was happy to make Aunt Red think she was making dinner as usual, just in case.

Everything is very clear: if the patriarch, Tea Rose, had asked the people from the Clan Security Department to start an investigation, there is no doubt that the letter went around and finally fell into his hands.

why?
Milady tapped the kitchen knife in her hand for a while, and finally threw it away.

She bent down beside the kitchen counter, and the emotions that were suppressed just now and had no time to feel rushed up like a backlash—she had put so much effort into putting herself in danger time and time again. In the midst of the struggle, he kept struggling to find a way out... In the end, all his efforts were in vain?
Does Mom deserve what she deserves for swallowing wet sand and touching pollution crystals?

Tea Ross is unshakable?

She squatted down unknowingly, her body curled up tightly; if there was a moan in her throat, she didn't hear it at all, because the only thing in her ears was the humming of blood rushing past.

She doesn't understand.

Milady's confusion, pain, and unwillingness seemed to have turned into a living creature, gnawing at her internal organs; she was tortured by the question "why" repeatedly, but she never had an answer——Judgement Family Didn't the "Sea Waves Concerto" family discussing politics never allow private development of industries?
Everyone in Haidu knows that the status and wealth of Gaota and other families are exchanged from the fingers of the trial family at the cost of dealing with pollution; in order to ensure that they are unrivaled in Haidu, they have always Be very careful, never give the Yizheng family any chance to become big... In order to justify their name, they also promulgated a new law. The behavior of Tea Rose is a crime in the legal sense.

She knew that the letter was successfully handed over to the commander's sister, but why didn't the trial family take action, but instead gave the letter—or the news—to Tea Ross?

Milady slammed her fist on the floor, and the skin on her joints burst into blood, but she didn't notice it at all.

It's almost like...indulging Tea Rose on purpose.

She raised her head slowly from the kitchen floor.

After much deliberation, this is the only answer, right?The Judgment family has long known that Tea Ross has an underground casino.

In other words, the underground industry of Tea Rose is actually acquiesced.

Once I thought of this, my miscellaneous thoughts and doubts gradually came to light.

The trial family did not do anything because the High Tower family was still obedient; when they felt that the High Tower family was not obedient and obedient enough, when they needed to punish or even remove Tea Rose, they would have a ready-made reason - Tea Rose's illegal industry.

Since all the "Sea Wave Concerto" political families are the objects of attention, wouldn't it be convenient if they had a handle that could punish them at any time according to their own wishes?
Milady smiled silently and wiped her face.

She really thinks the adult world is simple.It is not her character to indulge in accidents and mistakes and cannot extricate herself; now that the matter has come to this point, she must find a way to protect herself... What should I do to break away from the secret letter?

In the process of printing and sending the letter, she admitted that she left no clues for people to follow.There were at least hundreds of people in the casino that night; even if a few people had seen her and had an impression of her, they didn't know who she was.After much deliberation, Milady found that the biggest risk was the clerk sent by the Family Affairs Office to urge her to clean up.

Only he knew that Milady had already learned of the existence of the "place".

He is the only link that can link Milady to the underground industry of Tea Rose; otherwise, as long as Milady does not know that Tea Rose has an underground industry on the surface, no matter how many casinos Teri takes her to, it will make no sense. it's the same.

How to keep him quiet?
Milady walked back and forth in the room a few times, restless like a trapped animal.

She thought of many ways, begging him, bribing him, threatening him...but none of them worked.Not to mention that she has no power, no money, weak power, and no understanding of that clerk; as long as she shows that she doesn't want him to speak, it is tantamount to alarming the snake immediately.The clerk was no fool, and would surely realize that Milady had something to do with the secret letter.

At that time, who will choose Milady between the patriarch Tearos and Milady?

For the first time, she felt that relying on the brain would be powerless.The mouth grew on someone else's face, and she couldn't think of any way to make the clerk stop talking about it——

Milady stopped abruptly.

She turned her head, took a few steps towards the wall, and carefully looked at the faint, almost imperceptible traces on the wall for a while: they were as pale as the phantom of a large flower, splashing brilliantly on the wall.

After throwing the anti-crystallization drug on the wall that night, Milady went out; on the second day after returning from the casino, she scrubbed the wall carefully, but due to the long time, there were still a lot of stains on the wall. Faint traces, fortunately, it's hard to see if you don't get close.

Milady's thoughts followed the anti-crystal drug and thought of cleaning up the dirt.

That's right... Cleaning up is the source of everything that follows.

Not only did crystal pollution cause her to lose her mother, but its shadow was also tightly entangled in every step of Milady's actions... There was a question that she hadn't thought about carefully before, and it also came to her mind at this time middle.

Before Aunt Red came to Milady's house, she had obviously investigated her carefully, talked to Doreen, Teri, and maybe the relatives and neighbors nearby-she didn't even see Milady in the evening. The habit of going out has been inquired clearly - then, why didn't Aunt Hong find the clerk at the Family Affairs Office?

Milady slowly straightened her back, feeling her strength gradually return to her body again.

The answer is actually quite simple.

The Gaota family experienced a period of rapid population expansion in the early days of successfully entering the "Sea Wave Concerto". The Tea Ross family was like a magnet, attracting together the descendants of the Gaota family scattered all over the place.After more than ten years of development, the total number of people in the Gaota family has reached nearly 2000. Among them are those who entered the Gaota family due to marriage, newborn children, a few in-laws, and even those who serve the Gaota family all the year round. servant.

With the ever-increasing scale of the clan, the clan affairs office is also expanding day by day. As far as Milady knows, there are at least a dozen clerks alone.

The object of Aunt Red's investigation—or, at least, one of the objects of investigation—is Milady; then she will naturally start from the circle around Milady.

Where has Milady been recently, who has she dealt with, who has a good relationship with, and who does she live close to... Aunt Hong never let it go; but that clerk had never appeared in Milady's life circle before. .

That's why he was temporarily ignored by Aunt Hong.

And the only intersection between Milady and the clerk is "cleaning up the dirt".

She took a deep breath, feeling that she seemed to see a ray of light in the desperate situation again.

From the clerk's point of view, Milady just asked about the casino work. If he didn't suspect Milady, he would not take the initiative to report it to the clan.

In Aunt Hong's view, although Milady is one of the subjects of the investigation, on the surface, she has no reason to know that the patriarch has an underground property.

Milady was safe if the two men did not meet.

Before Aunt Hong discovers the existence of the clerk, he will never appear by her side again... completely cut off the connection between the two, and she will still have a chance.

He had already called twice, and Milady would never let him come a third time.Who knows if Aunt Hong will find out next time?

How to do?Is there a way that I don't have to clean up the dirt myself, and the clerk won't come to the door again?
While Milady was biting her nails and thinking about everything, she happened to see the nautical chart she had put aside.

(End of this chapter)