Who in the world does not know you?

Chapter 41 No secrets stay hidden forever.

Ning Qi looked at Ma Ben's waist token, and Ma Ben looked at Ning Qi holding his waist token. Both of them were trying to guess what the other was thinking.

The atmosphere was so awkward it was suffocating.

Ning Qi thought that they couldn't keep at this stalemate, and just as he was about to speak, Ma Ben spoke first.

"Officer Ning, all the waist badges of the people in the yamen should be the same. The number on my waist badge is the one that was registered when I joined the yamen."

"Um."

Ning Qi responded indifferently, but still showed no intention of returning Ma Ben's waist token to him.

"Officer Ning, you want to see my waist tag. Has someone lost theirs? But why are you only looking at mine?"

"Um."

Ning Qi's simple response left Ma Ben speechless.

Ning Qi didn't know why he said "hmm," but the problem was he didn't know how to subtly hint to Ma Ben to pay him hush money.

Yun Luobai and Ye Zi's description of him asking him to find Ma Ben was simple and easy to understand, but the details in the dialogue became the most important thing at this moment.

Ning Qi suddenly remembered that Ye Zi had told him to only look at the waist tag and not say anything.

Yes, he doesn't need to improvise at all.

Ning Qi appeared calm, but in reality, he was filled with rage and regret. Why did it take him so long to remember this...?

He returned the waist token to Ma Ben and turned to leave amidst the latter's puzzled gaze.

Anyone would think he has something wrong with him.

Ma Ben felt the same way at that moment.

However, there's a saying that goes, "If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear."

Ma Ben looked down at the waist token in his hand and realized that his slightly rough palms were covered in a fine layer of sweat.

He swallowed hard, put the waist token back into his pocket, and then felt uneasy. He took the token out again and looked at it.

The official badges all had special numbers on them. If he had left this badge in Mu Li's room, it would have been tantamount to exposing his identity as a murderer.

"How did he know...?"

Ma Ben muttered to himself, a hint of fierceness flickering across his thin face amidst his confusion.

There are no secrets that stay hidden forever.

Today, Ma Ben truly understands this principle.

There aren't actually that many coincidences in this world; it's just that things are interconnected and branch out, becoming closely intertwined.

As night fell, Li Zigui sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, the evening breeze carrying the rich fragrance of blooming peach blossoms.

This was not his imagination; the small courtyard where he lived had peach trees, which were currently in bloom with pink and white blossoms.

A cup of hot tea sits on a stone table to the side, still emitting wisps of steam.

Not far from the teacup was a wooden box containing items that Yun Luobai used for divination and fortune telling, which were the same items in the wooden box he had set up his stall with.

He already had two sets of these items. For convenience, he placed one set at the fortune-telling stall and kept the other set at home, which he used to draw lots to pass the time.

Yun Luobai looked at the brightly lit room across the street, where a figure was moving back and forth. He didn't look like he had a disability at all.

He interlaced his fingers in front of his chest, pondering whether there was any necessary connection between the events here.

The female thief deliberately surrendered herself in order to get into the government jail.

Yun Luobai had been to the prison, but there was nothing unusual about it.

With her disguise skills, which are extremely rare in the Central Plains martial arts world, she is not an ordinary petty thief. Moreover, she also has a very professional thieving skill. Otherwise, she would not be able to open the lock of the prison cell, let alone disguise herself as easily as taking something out of a bag through a small window inside the cell.

What exactly was in that prison that would interest her enough to make her go there herself?

Yunping is Yun Luobai's adoptive father. The two have lived together for many years and depended on each other for survival. Yunping raised Yun Luobai by relying on the salary he earned as a prison warden.

However, Yunping was a good person and would not use his position to seek personal gain, so he did not have any extra income.

The jailer was merely the person in charge of the prison, only one rank higher than a regular jailer, and the difference in their salaries was actually not that great.

Moreover, even if Yun Ping doesn't become a jailer, he can still be an ordinary prison guard and work with his former brothers. In addition, Yun Luobai has grown up and is now very wealthy, able to buy luxury homes at will. As his father, he doesn't need to worry about his son getting married in the future.

That being the case...

Why does Yunping harbor resentment towards Ma Ben's attempt to seize Yunping's position as jailer?

Yunping's personality dictates that he dislikes competing with others, so how could he possibly be depressed and sullen just because he can't bear to give up his position as a prison guard?

Why did Ma Ben try to take Yun Ping's prison warden position?

Yunping had served as a jailer in the prefectural jail for many years, while Ma Ben had only been there for a short time. Even if he was a distant relative of the prefect, he shouldn't have acted in a way that displeased others in the group.

What kind of place is Rouge Pavilion? It's a famous brothel in Ningzhou Prefecture.

Who is Mu Li? She is the most famous courtesan in the Rouge Pavilion.

Ma Ben wasn't Qingchuan, the young master of a general's mansion with a wealthy family. Qingchuan could spend his days indulging in pleasure and squandering money at the Rouge Pavilion. Where would Ma Ben, an ordinary prison guard, get so much money to visit brothels?

Furthermore, where does Ma Ben get his confidence that even if he spends lavishly on Mu Li in the Rouge Pavilion until his purse is empty, he can still get a large sum of money in the future?

After pondering for a moment, Yun Luobai suddenly reached out and opened the lid of the wooden box on the table, taking out the divination coins inside.

The ten divination coins were still tied with a red string, and the cloth was still red.

Ten divination coins slid off the red rope one by one, scattering randomly on the bright red cloth, appearing completely irregular.

Yun Luobai stared intently at the divination coins on the red cloth, his expression extremely serious. He even held his breath briefly at one point, so much so that he seemed not to hear the sound of a door opening in the opposite room.

"Young Master Yun certainly has quite a few tools for making a living; you even have a set at home?"

Ye Zi's voice came from beside him. Yun Luobai looked up and saw a pretty girl smiling and looking down at him.

Yun Luobai didn't reply, but Ye Zi didn't stand on ceremony and sat down next to him.

Seeing the divination coins scattered haphazardly before her, unlike the nine-square array she had seen at the stall earlier, she reached out to pick one up and play with it. However, before her fingertips touched the divination coin, she paused slightly and looked at Yun Luobai's fair and handsome face.

Seeing that Yun Luobai didn't react, she picked up a divination coin and examined it carefully in her palm.

There was a thin veil between them that hadn't been broken, but Ye Zi still held onto a sliver of hope, feeling that she still had the upper hand.

She blinked gently, her long, dark eyelashes fluttering gracefully. Her eyes and brows were as clear and flawless as those of a young woman of similar age, but without the troubles and worries of the world.

"You really know how to tell fortunes?"

"I know some."

Ye Zi asked the question earnestly, and Yun Luobai answered it just as earnestly.