Chapter 73: Regeneration of Doubts

Not long after, two or three more people came out of the forest not far away. The spy told them what had just happened. The four of them looked at each other, and without hesitation, they climbed up the wall with grappling hooks and headed straight for the fields.

When we got to the edge of the field, one of them asked, "Where exactly is it?"

After being asked this question, the spy on the wall was dumbfounded. He was too far away to see clearly where Zhao Tong had buried the things. He could only point roughly, but it was probably at least half an acre in size.

The spies who came later twitched their foreheads and immediately shouted, "How are we supposed to search such a large area? Do we have to plow the whole land?"

"Are we not going to look for it? We've been watching for so many days and finally found something..."

Seeing the two men about to quarrel, the other two immediately tried to stop them, "Stop it, Ah Si has been talking a lot. We finally made a discovery, we have to dig deep to find it. Hurry up and get to work, they will be back soon."

In the backyard, four people were sweating profusely, searching back and forth in the half-acre field with iron rakes, and they plowed the land that had only been roughly turned over into fine soil, and even dug up a lot of soil in the places that had not been dug up yet.

Under the scorching sun, with sweat soaking his clothes, he finally found a note with great effort. The note was almost torn by the iron rake.

They unfolded the note with trembling hands as if they had found a treasure, but after reading it, all four of them showed strange expressions.

"Isn't this just an ordinary... poem?"

"Is there some mystery in it?"

"We only know a few words, so there should be some deeper meaning, right?"

Finally, the four spies discussed it and decided to put the note away and deliver it to the capital as quickly as possible.

…

Qingwu and his group came back and saw Xiao Ji sitting in the corridor reading leisurely from a distance, with a rare look of leisure between his brows.

Qing Wu brushed off the dirt on her skirt and walked to the corridor where Xiao Ji was. She couldn't help but ask, "We just worked for a while, why did you call us back?"

She tilted her head and asked across the railing. She looked so cute. Seeing her slightly wet temples, Xiao Ji didn't bother to answer. He turned around, picked up the teapot beside him, poured a cup of tea for Qingwu, and handed the cup to her across the railing.

"Moisten your throat first and rest for a while."

Qing Wu took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. After returning the cup to him, he asked, "Can you tell me now?"

However, the man in the corridor, Ruyu Langjun, said nothing. He smiled and shook his head, with a sly look in his peach blossom eyes. He only said, "You'll know after the afternoon."

It was rare for him to show such a lively expression, and he was in such a good mood. He even kept her in suspense. Qingwu thought this was a good thing, so she was happy to cooperate with him and replied with a smile; "Okay, then I'll go in and change clothes and cook for Liu Lang."

Xiao Ji also smiled and nodded. After a while, Qing Wu changed into clean clothes and went to the kitchen. Although Nanny Xia took over the cooking, Qing Wu still went to help, and the dirty clothes and shoes were left to the two maids to wash.

Looking at her receding figure, the corners of the boy's lips unconsciously rose up, and he returned his gaze to the book.

As soon as she left, Baozhu came into the hall and took out Qingwu's dirty clothes. But she was in trouble when she came out and stopped at the door for a while, at a loss.

Baozhu paused for a while, which attracted Xiao Ji, who was originally immersed in a book. He looked up at Zhu'er beside his wife, who had stopped in her place for a long time, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Baozhu was startled by this sudden question, and the clothes in her arms almost slipped off. She hurriedly hugged the clothes tightly, and her voice was a little timid: "I am worried about whether to wash my lady's shoes?"

Xiao Ji's gaze fell on the pair of shoes in Baozhu's hand. The shoes were just the most ordinary style, and both the soles and the uppers were covered with mud. A look of doubt appeared in his peach blossom eyes.

"Is this even worth worrying about?"

Seeing Xiao Ji frown, Baozhu's heart skipped a beat again, and she quickly explained, "My wife has been working in the fields these past few days, and the other two pairs of shoes have been washed but are not yet dry. If this pair is washed as well, if my wife gets her shoes dirty again in the afternoon, she won't have any clean shoes to change into, so she's worried."

But when Xiao Ji heard this, his brows furrowed even tighter. Ever since he broke his leg, he had been extremely idle. He was so bored that he noticed things that he had never noticed before.

He clearly remembered that there were at least five or six pairs of brocade shoes in the box in the hall, so why did he say there were none?

Thinking of this, he also said: "The third box beside the bed in the inner hall is filled with brocade shoes. There is no need to be scornful of their workmanship. Just take them out and let Madam wear them."

There were also two pairs of shoes embellished with pearls, which were very exquisite, but there was no need to be overly frugal. Could it be that he could not afford to provide his wife with a few pairs of shoes?

But Zhu Er still refused, "No, those shoes can't fit you."

Can’t wear it?

This simple sentence made Xiao Ji's heart pause for a moment. Before he could figure out why, Baozhu in front of him hurriedly bowed and left.

Baozhu was extremely afraid of saying something wrong and didn't dare to get along with Xiao Ji anymore, but she didn't know that she had already said the wrong thing.

Looking at Baozhu's receding figure, Xiao Ji tapped the wheelchair armrests with his slender fingers. When Zhao Tong, who had returned from the backyard, came to his side, he asked, "Tell me, how come these shoes suddenly can't be put on?"

Zhao Tong didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "The lady has grown taller, and her feet have grown a little bigger too. Master, you don't know that some young ladies can still grow taller in their prime."

However, this reason did not hold water in Xiao Ji's ears. The rhythm of his fingertips tapping the armrest suddenly increased. "The embroidered shoes I made when I entered the East Palace are already too small after just over a month?"

Even if he grew taller, it would be impossible for such a big change to happen in just over a month.

He lowered his eyes and glanced at his arm resting on the armrest, and suddenly thought of his wife's arm. It usually looked white and well-proportioned, but when Tanaka saw it, he saw that the thin muscles were bulging. Moreover, the arm was not a fancy one, but very flexible and strong.

Xiao Ji recalled the day when he first arrived at the palace, his wife pushed his wheelchair as if it were flat ground. You know, this wooden wheelchair is heavy, and he is tall and strong, so even Zhao Tong found it difficult to push it. How could his wife do it so easily?

How could it be the arm of a girl kept in the boudoir?

The young man's eyes gradually became deep. Zhao Tong was unaware of the myriad thoughts running through his master's mind. After a moment's thought, he tentatively said, "Maybe he's walked too much these past few days and can't dress too formally? It could be..."

He knew how cumbersome and restrictive the shoes worn with palace attire were, but before he could finish his words, Xiao Ji raised his hand to stop him, "Go find Zhu'er's washed shoes, and bring the embroidered shoes from the room as well."

Instead of asking, why not just compare and see.