girl

Three days passed in a flash, and the news that Tonghuachaohui brought was the follow-up intelligence from Mo Qing.

There were crowds of people around, the afternoon sun was warm, and the clear light filtered through the leaves, dappling every corner of the old tree.

The fallen green leaves rustled as passers-by stepped on them. The wooden pieces that granted their owners wishes were pierced with round holes, hung with long ropes, and tied to the drooping branches.

Jiang Nian raised his head, tied up his piece of wish wood, and then raised his hand to block the glaring sunlight coming through the tree branches.

Ai behind him looked away, something caught her attention, and she didn't turn around until Jiang Nian called her name.

"Miss?"

The crowd in the distance was noisy, and the main figures inside were the main ones.

Jiang Nian pointed to the aromatherapy in Ai's hand.

"Give it to me first."

This year's Flower Festival is hosted by Meng Yao. According to the procedures of previous years, the Flower Festival is divided into four arts.

But Meng Yao never follows normal procedures, so this time he might do things according to his own preferences.

Someone had tied a bell to a wooden prayer stick hung on a tree branch. The bell jingled and interrupted what Jiang Nian was about to say.

She raised her head with a slight feeling and looked at the piece of wood. Under the bright sunlight, the beautiful handwriting written in ink on it was exceptionally clear.

【Hope that everything goes smoothly as expected】

A faint scent of incense lingered around the wooden strip. Jiang Nian walked a few steps to the side and saw the name signed on the other side of the wood.

“…”Xiao Yingzhu?

This handwriting was definitely not written by Xiao Yingzhu's subordinates, nor could it be written by the women around him.

After all, she and Ai are the only ones who can be called women.

Extremely simple social connection.

A crowd of people not far away were walking towards this side with a bustling voice. Jiang Nian looked away and looked back.

"Let's go somewhere else first."

The incense table is in Shichan Hall. There are not many people there at the moment, which is enough to conceal one's presence. It is a good place to observe Meng Yao's movements.

Ai followed Jiang Nian's gaze and looked at the piece of wood. The wind blew the wood high up, and she saw nothing.

A strand of hair scattered beside her was slightly blown by the wind. Ai frowned slightly, lowered his eyes to shift his attention, and went in the direction of Jiang Nian.

—

The incense table in Shichan Hall had been perfectly arranged. When Jiang Nian entered the room, he first glanced around calmly before sitting down in the agreed place.

Ai carried the wooden box and sat down next to Jiang Nian.

The bamboo mat rubbed against the wooden box, making a subtle, heavy sound. The objects inside shook slightly when they fell to the ground, and a faint crisp sound could be heard.

Before attending the incense banquet, Xiao Yingzhu and Qin Lan made arrangements for the operation.

Unlike previous plans, the person who inquired about whether Meng Yao and 'Lu' had any relationship this time was Jiang Nian, not Ai.

The enemy's spies in Cang County are not on the same level as those in Pingzhou. Every move here will be recorded by the other side.

Although we were in the dark all the way from Pingzhou to Cang County, it is always better to be cautious.

Therefore, Ai, who always represented Qin Lan's side, disguised himself as a noble lady from a certain family in Cang County, and Jiang Nian was the maid of this "noble lady".

A long wooden table was placed in the middle of Shichan Hall. There was a hollow in the middle of the table to display the items needed for the incense banquet. Small wooden strips were used to hold the wood chips, and the distance between them and the guests was just right.

Jiang Nian placed his hands under the table, holding the small incense box in his right hand, paying attention to the movements outside.

The group of people outside were going through the prayer process. The place where they were sitting was right in front of the tree where Jiang Nian had just hung the wood chips. Behind the crowd of heads, Meng Yao, who was not very tall, could only barely show his head.

He held high a piece of wood that was obviously larger than the others, and hung it in the center surrounded by the crowd.

The person guarding Meng Yao stepped forward, lowered his head and whispered something in his ear. Then, Meng Yao turned around, raised his hand, and signaled the group of people outside to quiet down.

Everyone who came to the Huachaohui had something to ask of Meng Yao, hoping to gain the favor of Emperor Changde and elevate their own family's status within the court. Therefore, during this crucial event, they were all extremely careful about their words and actions.

Now, the "stepping stone" to a higher level has spoken, and the group of nobles naturally listened attentively with their heads bowed, hoping to perform better and win Meng Yao's "admiring" attention.

Jiang Nian was stroking his chin with boredom, adjusting the angle and looking at the crowd under the wishing tree in a manner that was not so obvious as to observe the outside world.

Seeing Meng Yao delivering a speech that was completely inaudible, and then seemingly wanting to "be considerate of the people's wishes" and plan to take one or two pieces of wood from the tree to fulfill the above wish, she was suddenly startled and then straightened up.

When she was hanging up the prayer note just now, she seemed to see Xiao Yingzhu's name.

At that time, she didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that she was just interested in Xiao Yingzhu's flowers and plants, but now it seems that the "coincidental" wooden stick, sandwiched in the Flower Festival, separating her and Meng Yao, is a bit subtle.

But no matter what, Meng Yao cannot see the wooden stick.

The Wu Mi people are now in a state of alarm, and there is no room for him to think too much.

Jiang Nian subconsciously wanted to stand up, but then he thought of Ai on the other side.

Seeing that not many people noticed them, Jiang Nian leaned over slightly and whispered a few words to Ai.

The whispered words were caught in the gradually noisy hall, and the sentences seemed fragmented.

Ai understood what Jiang Nian meant, and then gave her the wooden box. He quickly chose a concealed route, left Shichan Hall and hid under the tree.

“…”

It's amazing that he can run so fast while wearing such gorgeous and complicated clothes.

Jiang Nian looked out from outside the gate and looked towards the route where Ai was moving.

There was nothing else there except the azure sky and the empty space compared to the area under the wishing tree.

—

In the distance, Meng Yao, surrounded by other people, picked up a few pieces and looked through them. As the group of people approached the direction where she hung the wood pieces, Jiang Nian couldn't help but concentrate, hiding the nervousness that seemed to be about to show in her heart, and followed Meng Yao's actions closely with her eyes.

For Ai, who relied on various cover to move forward every day, it was extremely difficult for him to avoid being discovered by the group of nobles surrounding Meng Yao.

But it would be much more difficult to avoid the guards following Meng Yao.

More and more people were sitting around the incense table in Shichan Hall. Jiang Nian couldn't continue looking at the wishing tree and could only look away.

Before her eyes fell on the solid wooden table in front of her, a crisp voice interrupted her plan in her mind as she was secretly thinking about how to deal with this sudden change.

Jiang Nian raised his head and looked in the direction where the sound came from.

The person who interrupted her thoughts was dressed the same as her and was also a "maid" in the Huachao Society.

Seeing Jiang Nian turned his attention, the maid smiled, turned slightly and gestured to the side.

The other party raised his hand to signal the people at the opposite table. The girl in the lead was particularly conspicuous among the people at that table.

As if noticing Jiang Nian's gaze, the girl raised her head and smiled gently at Jiang Nian.

It was obvious that they were inviting her over.

But now she was dressed as a "maid" instead of a "lady".

Why invite a "maid"?

Do you want to find out something?

Touching the cool edge of the box, Jiang Nian put away his thoughts, stood up, returned the greeting to the maid, and walked towards the group of girls.

During the days she was in Cang County, she focused on doing things related to the Wu Mi people. Even when she left the guesthouse and went out, she did not pay attention to the surrounding buildings and local customs.

The girl let her pass at this moment, which was the first time in this period of time that she spoke to someone who was considered a "stranger" in Cang County.

......

What time has passed? Now even the word "Wu Mi Zhong" is familiar to her.

As expected, no matter where she goes, she cannot escape the fate of being a corporate slave.

well.

Jiang Nian closed his eyes, suppressed the helplessness and sigh in his heart, and, led by the maid, walked into the crowd surrounding the girl.

The girls around all looked dressed in extraordinary clothes; most of them were probably noble ladies attending the Flower Festival.

And being surrounded by these noble ladies...

Jiang Nian adjusted his thoughts and bowed to the girl.

"What do you want, young lady?"

She dressed as a maid because she was forced to do so, but in this situation, she would not utter words like slave or maid.

If the other party didn't have something urgent to ask her, he wouldn't have directly ordered her to come.

When the noble ladies around heard her call them like this, they didn't say much. They just raised their hands to cover their faces with handkerchiefs and looked at her with a smile.

Being stared at by the unknown beauties and noble ladies around him, Jiang Nian felt a little creepy: "..."

The young girl didn't care about the people around her and asked her directly, "Excuse me, what family's daughter is your master?"

Jiang Nian blinked her drooping eyelashes and replied softly, "Miss, it's Cui."

"Cui?"

This identity was arranged by Qin Lan, and Jiang Nian only remembered the information that others would ask about. As for whether this family actually existed in Cang County, she didn't know.

But since they can disguise themselves so openly, they must not be afraid of being discovered by the original owner.

When the girl heard the answer, she looked thoughtful. She didn't ask any more questions on the topic. She smiled and whispered a few words to the other girls. The group of girls around her dispersed instantly.

The smell of rouge and powder faded, and Jiang Nian felt that his nose became much clearer.

The crowd outside Shichan Hall was noisy, as if one of the nobles had been appreciated by Meng Yao, causing discussion among the surrounding nobles.

The girl also heard the noise outside, and then stopped looking at him with a serious expression. After making up her mind, she raised her hand and hooked her finger at Jiang Nian, lowering her voice and asking:

"Does your master... have any dealings with the Fifth Prince?"

She paused and smiled:

"You should understand what kind of honor you can gain in Cang County by being connected with me."

"And now, you have a rare opportunity to switch allegiance from your young lady to me."

The girl had no doubt about how powerful her family was in the eyes of others, and ordered as a matter of course:

"Under the wishing tree... I've hung a wishing note there. Isn't your master out looking for the Fifth Prince? While she's distracting the Fifth Prince, take the wishing note and hand it over to me."