Intention

The conversation with Zhou Jinyu resurfaced in my mind.

As the "eldest son", he skillfully and naturally integrated himself into the position of negotiating cooperation with her.

Be gentle and humble when asking for advice, but at the same time leave her room for retreat.

The contract, his understanding of her, and the timing.

"Zhou Jinyu" put so much effort into playing the role, and his words were so perfect, as if he was almost obsessed with playing a dead person in a restrained and gentle manner.

But the more thorough you are, the more doubts you expose.

It was like a well-planned show, perfect in every way, but when the flaw on the surface was revealed, it was unexpectedly sloppy, as if deliberately guiding others to notice it, and then it would fall apart on its own.

The more information he got, the more confused Jiang Nian became about his position.

Although there is no way to find out the truth now, she is already very sure of one thing.

This person came here because of the same thing she had heard in the teahouse before, namely, her cooperation with Xiao Yingzhu.

—

It was afternoon when Qin Lan and Xiao Du were almost at the gate of the mansion.

Birds are singing in the forests, the paths are covered with fallen leaves, and the cool breeze from the mountains relieves the stuffiness on my body.

The attendant walked through the long corridor and came to the cool courtyard at the back. He lowered his brows and said to Xiao Yingzhu, who was playing chess:

"Young Master Qin has arrived and is waiting for you in the reception room outside."

The secret guards close to Qin Lan were recently ordered to go on missions. The huge mansion was extremely deserted. Qin Lan did not see Xiao Yingzhu outside, so he could only follow the rules and find a servant to help pass on the message.

It's scorching hot in the summer, but the yard is exceptionally refreshing.

The black and white pieces fell in different directions, and in one corner they were facing each other in a tense confrontation.

Xiao Yingzhu was obsessed with one of the black pieces, and tilted her head, with no emotion in her voice.

"Let him look for it here."

The cicadas in the woods behind the pavilion were chirping, and the sound became louder at this time.

The sound of the chess pieces falling was so clear that it drowned out the servants' responses.

—

Xiaodu tilted his head and looked around the mansion, and was very curious about the layout of the buildings inside.

Qin Lan noticed Xiaodu's reaction, raised his hand and hooked its head, with a smile in his tone.

"You've never been here before? Why are you looking around so much?"

The attendant led the way silently in front. The length of the corridor was getting shorter and shorter to the end. Xiaodu stopped and looked around. The shadows of the lush green trees outside the corridor were reflected in his two black eyes.

The study is near the end of the corridor, facing east, and is currently being bathed in direct sunlight.

Qin Lan looked back at the trees outside the study, and there was a gap in the shade of the trees facing the study window.

The crow that was perched on my shoulder and was too lazy to fly became a little agitated at this moment, as if it had a strange familiarity with this place. It flapped its wings and landed on the windowsill of the open window, looking inside.

Xiao Yingzhu's study was warmed by the sunlight, and the dry wooden shelves exuded a scent of sandalwood under the scorching light. Just standing outside the window, one could smell the fragrance of wood.

The servant in front stopped and Qin Lan glanced at Xiaodu.

"Let's go, it will fly over by itself soon."

The attendant in front listened to his words and took Qin Lan out of the pavilion.

—

A dress with bamboo green sleeves contrasts with the lush green forest behind the pavilion.

The chessboard on the stone table was removed at some point and replaced with two cups of tea.

The attendant stopped outside the courtyard. Qin Lan walked to the opposite side of Xiao Yingzhu, raised his hand to pick up the teacup and turned it around.

"Tea again? Anything else?"

I don’t know why, but Xiao Yingzhu was in a good mood today, and her voice was cheerful.

"What else would you like to drink?"

The clear and bright tea soup swirls slightly in the cup, and the sweet and fragrant fruity aroma is diffused in the floral fragrance, lingering in the nose.

Qin Lan frowned and looked at the teacup in his hand. The sweet aroma made him stunned for a moment. He raised his eyes calmly and observed Xiao Yingzhu's expression. The thoughts in his mind turned over and over again, and finally he blurted out.

"Have you taken your relationship with her to the next level?"

"This tea doesn't taste right, does it?"

“Is this what this little ball is supposed to taste like?”

“…”

The sound of the teacup being gently placed back on the stone table seemed to carry a hint of coldness. Xiao Yingzhu looked at him with a smile, and spoke each word clearly.

"Drink, or not?"

Suddenly, there was a person sitting on the stone chair opposite, and Qin Lan held the teacup in his palm like a treasure.

"Drink, I drink."

He nodded, suppressed the gossipy thoughts in his mind, looked through his eyes and drank one third of the water in the teacup.

—

After Princess Qingping’s birthday banquet, Qin Lan paused for a few days to investigate the relationship between Xiao Yingzhu and Jiang Nian.

It's not that he wasn't curious, but when he wanted to take advantage of this rare free time and sneak to the Duke's Mansion in the middle of the night to reminisce about the past, he was bumped into by Mo Qing who was sweeping the fallen leaves outside the study.

Qin Lan was just wondering why a secret guard like him would sweep the floor for the servants, but Mo Qing took the initiative to ask questions.

"What brings you here?"

Qin Lan was interrupted in his questioning and was stunned. He glanced at the dark study.

"Come to find Xiao Yingzhu, has he gone back?"

The fallen leaves on the ground were swept into a pile and clustered into several small clumps. Mo Qing slightly blocked the broom behind him and responded.

"The master went back last night. You are late."

"last night?"

Qin Lan looked up at the moon in the sky. The soft and cool light diffused into the courtyard through the clouds. He turned his head in surprise and looked at Mo Qing again.

"Your master returned to Pingzhou overnight? What's the matter that made him so anxious?"

"Didn't the birthday party just start yesterday?"

"Who is he looking for?"

"Jiang Nian?"

Mo Qing blinked, looking clueless.

"You should ask the master. I can't explain it clearly."

Looking at the expression on Mo Qing's face, Qin Lan was silent for a moment. He caught a glimpse of piles of fallen leaves out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly curled his lips and pointed at the pile of leaves with his finger.

"Were you punished by him?"

"Or is it the courtyard that only needs to be cleaned once a month?"

Qin Lan took a few steps forward, walked around the place a few times, and chuckled.

"What did you ask him? Did he punish you by making you sweep the floor?"

Xinfeng loves to talk, so Xiao Yingzhu punishes him by not allowing him to speak for a month.

Mo Qing is usually lazy and always keeps things simple. He usually leaves after finishing his own things and never takes on matters that are not his business.

So he was punished to sweep the floor.

This is the kind of job where you can't take shortcuts and you can tell at a glance if anyone is slacking off.

It just so happens that the trees in this courtyard are still blooming, and when the wind blows, the flowers fall to the ground, carrying the fruits with them.

If you don't sweep it for a day, it will look completely different.

Qin Lan clicked his tongue and looked around.

"You didn't mention Jiang Nian to him, did you?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, that's so miserable."

Mo Qing put down the broom, raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Really?"

"After the master left yesterday, Miss Tao Yu came to see me."

"Do you want to hear what she asked?"

When he heard the name, Qin Lan's eyebrows jumped, the smile on his face disappeared, and he slowly turned his eyes to look at Mo Qing.

"What did you tell her?"

Mo Qing shook his finger, his brows and eyes smiling.

"The Princess's birthday banquet."

—

The scar healed and the pain was forgotten. The setback he had with Mo Qing was quickly forgotten. When he saw Xiao Yingzhu again today, the gossipy nerves in his heart were stirred up again.

Watching the person opposite him slowly drinking his tea, Qin Lan glanced at Xiaodu who was flying towards the pavilion.

"What news is this? It's urgent, but it has nothing to do with military affairs?"

Xiao Yingzhu's cold gaze fell lightly on his face, and Qin Lan bravely stepped forward to face the challenge.

"When Xiaodu came back, he changed his direction and stayed at my pavilion in Nichuan. When Ai saw the letter, he thought it was sent to us, so he opened it and took a look."

He lazily raised his hands and placed them behind his head.

“I didn’t expect it to be sent back to Pingzhou.”

"That smell when you open the mailbox..."

Qin Lan chuckled.

"Is it the stream pillow?"

Xiao Yingzhu's pupils were deep and insightful, like a dark pool.

Seeing his pupils dilate slightly, Qin Lan leaned back a little.

"Don't do it, I've been thinking about this all night."

"At the beginning, it wasn't about that..." Seeing the smile on Xiao Yingzhu's lips becoming colder, he paused and changed the word "perfume formula".

"...Those things are associated with each other."

"I can't believe Xiao Yingzhu. On the surface, she seems indifferent to everything, cold and carefree. But behind the scenes..."

Qin Lan sighed and shook his head.

"I actually secretly did this for Miss Jiang..."

Stepping on the last line of Xiao Yingzhu's patience, Qin Lan changed the subject, and a hint of crisis and chill was revealed in his smiling eyes.

"—set up protection."

"Are they about to take action?"

The cicadas in the trees stopped chirping and the wind outside the pavilion died down.

The solemn atmosphere between the intertwined teacups had not yet dissipated when Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyes and picked up an extra piece from the chessboard.

The round black teacup was very eye-catching in his porcelain-white hand, and was gently placed next to the teacup as his hand fell.

“Whenever you see a square, you must point it out; when you see a square shape, you must look at it.”

The shadow of Heizi was reflected in his deep black eyes. His jade-like fingertips gently twisted it, as if he was holding it in his hand, and then slowly closed it, as precious as a precious jade.

"Thirty flowers bloomed in the center..."

The voice that seemed so light that it could be blown away by the wind was taken over by the person on the other side.

"Chess is born from the broken part?"

Qin Lan looked away from the black spot, his eyes fell on the teacup, and he was lost in thought.

"The Second Prince has begun to take action."

"But your words are mixed with truth..."

Qin Lan raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Yingzhu.

"I just returned to Pingzhou not long ago. Besides the information I can get from Cangjun, the spies you arranged in Pingzhou..."

Thinking of what happened before, he paused slightly and dismissed the idea.

"No, what else is there besides eyeliner?"

"A few days ago, I wanted to go to your Duke's Mansion to look for you, but Mo Qing told me that you had returned to Pingzhou."

"Rather than being busy with military matters, which aren't urgent at the moment, you should rest in the capital for a day or two before returning. This will ensure you're in the best mental state to cope."

"But you came back so quickly. Besides meeting Miss Jiang, it must be because there was some relevant military intelligence."

Qin Lan glanced at Xiaodu who was basking in the sun.

"The information I received came from Cang County, not Pingzhou."

"I inferred that the Second Prince took action based on intelligence, and your basis is..."

"You got it when you got to Pingzhou, didn't you?"

During a break in their conversation, Xiaodu flew up and jumped on the stone table.

Xiao Yingzhu took out the mailbox and put the note into his sleeve.

"in accordance with?"

His voice was indifferent, allowing Qin Lan to guess. Qin Lan narrowed his eyes and plucked a feather from Xiaodu.

Xiao Du, who had lost a hair, opened his mouth and wanted to bite Qin Lan, but Qin Lan pinched his mouth with his backhand.

"Found it on the ferry."

If the military intelligence was in front of him, Xiao Yingzhu would naturally not go to the trouble of looking for Xi Zhen, who was far away on the border of Huan, to ask for the recipe. He could just choose one of his talented subordinates to do it, or give it to him after this urgent period. After all, military intelligence is the most important thing.

But he didn't.

"Xiaodu, you are so unreliable. You even used it to send the letter to Xizhen, and you even had the leisure to mix the spices. It means that the military intelligence is not yet obtained."

"When you arrived in Pingzhou, I just asked Ai to pass a message to you, and you directly sent a letter to recruit me."

"Have you received military intelligence by now?"

Xiao Yingzhu gave a casual smile, and the dark look in her eyes indicated Qin Lan to continue.

"Just like the methods of obtaining military intelligence that we just eliminated."

Qin Lan put his hand to his lips, his eyes deepened, and his tone revealed the joy of discovering another piece of gossip.

"Did you get it from Jiang Nian?"