Just as she was about to open the bamboo tube, a hand reached out from the side.
It was placed on her hand.
They were Qin merchants.
The young master smiled and said, "Ayan, don't tease the master."
As he spoke, he gripped Ayan's hand tightly and moved the bamboo tube away.
Ayan pursed her lips and stared intently at Qin Shang.
Qin Shang still held her hand with his right hand and naturally brought her to his side.
"These little trinkets of yours are fine to fool me, but why would they disturb the master?"
He smiled and turned his eyes away, looking at Dao Ci.
"Master, the young lady is impulsive and unruly, please forgive her."
The white-robed monk had a faint expression on his face.
"It's alright."
His figure disappeared beyond the snow-covered corridor.
Qin Shang's smile faded, he released A Yan's hand, and took the lead in stepping forward.
Let's go.
Ayan stood still, her expression dark and unreadable.
Why are you stopping me?
Qin Shang sighed, "Do you really have to stand outside and say it?"
Ayan remained expressionless.
"We people of Beiting are not afraid of the cold."
Qin Shang sighed again, walked back, took her hand, and pulled her forward with a little force.
"But I'm afraid of the cold."
Upon entering the room, osmanthus honey tea had already been poured.
The Qin merchant personally handed her the warm teacup.
Ayan didn't accept it, and the Qin merchant didn't force her. He held it in his hand, taking a sip every now and then.
The room was warm and fragrant; after a while, one would feel so comfortable and sleepy that one would be enveloped in its warmth.
Qin Shang: "Dao Ci has agreed to return to the capital and also to return to secular life. Therefore, there is no need to test him further."
Ayan: "I think so."
Qin Shang: "I don't doubt your Gu techniques..."
Before he could speak, Ayan had already raised her misty eyes and was staring at him angrily.
Saying that I don't have doubts is already a form of doubt.
"He was already under a spell, you just couldn't see it."
Qin Shang laughed: "Yes, yes, he's been poisoned, but he's quite patient."
Ayan poured herself a cup of osmanthus honey tea and held it in her hand.
Things did go a little wrong.
Dao Ci clearly has the Chongyan Gu worm on his body. This kind of worm is the most ferocious, known as the king of all worms. It is extremely difficult to refine and is almost extinct.
But why didn't the monk reveal anything despite her repeated provocations?
This led the Qin merchants to finally become suspicious of her information.
They even stopped valuing their allies.
This is not right.
For someone afflicted by a curse, willpower alone is simply not enough to endure it.
It's like someone slashing you; can you really stop yourself from bleeding?
She had specially applied a strong incense to her body today, but the monk showed no reaction whatsoever.
There must be something happening behind the scenes that she doesn't know about.
But don't worry, don't worry, she can still turn things around.
She survived even in such dire circumstances in Beiting.
She will continue to live, just like before, and things will only get better.
…
Ayan drank half a cup of honey water, and her expression returned to its indifferent state.
He slowly said, "You want to use his name to consolidate control over Yongzhou. After all, most of the military officers on the northwestern border still have their hearts set on the previous dynasty. You don't want to offend him."
Qin Shang laughed and said, "How can a mere commander of a thousand men like me gather such a force?"
Ayan: "Didn't the master say that there would be a war in Yongzhou? Last spring and summer there was a severe drought, and the pastures were barren. The Western Rong, along with several nearby small tribes, will have a hard time getting through this winter. Yongzhou is the closest granary. If we take it, the entire Western Rong will be able to have a prosperous winter."
The Qin merchant smiled and handed over a plate of snacks.
"As expected of the princess of Beiting, she sees things very clearly."
Ayan ignored his flattery.
He continued, "The talk of war is probably true. But you don't have any leverage or weakness against him, so how can you be sure he'll help you? Is it because his life is in your hands?"
"It's in your hands now, but it might not be there tomorrow. With so many variables, can you really get what you want most?"
"What does Ayan mean?"
The girl took the pastry from his hand, took a small bite, and then smiled:
"Find his Achilles' heel and seize it."
So, what is the Achilles' heel of a monk who has renounced all worldly desires?
.
When Daoci returned to his temporary guest room, he was burning up and his face was flushed.
"Master, is it a recurrence of your old ailment?" The man in black, who was lurking in the room, asked with a grave expression.
"Should we go find a doctor?"
The monk's Adam's apple bobbed, and beads of sweat trickled down his neck.
"Don't disturb others, step back."
After saying that, he didn't even have time to take off his soaking wet undershirt.
He sat down cross-legged.
Close your eyes and meditate.
…
Even after Qi Su's "glorious death," he didn't remain idle.
First, he ate lavish meals at the Chief Secretary's residence for a few days to replenish his depleted body.
Eating without doing anything is not conducive to digestion and absorption.
After her meal, she strolled around Jincheng, revisiting familiar places.
As she swam, she eventually returned to her former husband's home, the Sun family mansion, one of the most prominent families in Jincheng.
When she was the wife of the second young master Sun, she didn't go out much.
Although Jincheng is not large and is far less prosperous than the capital, its strict rules and regulations are no less stringent than those of the capital.
I used to live there for half a year, but I visited fewer places in just two days than I have now.
Speaking of which, the Sun family's food is quite good.
Madam Sun was from Luoyang. When she got married, she brought several cooks with her from her family home.
Over the decades, it has become a renowned dish in Jincheng, known as Sun Family Cuisine.
Qi Su guessed that the original novel's male protagonist, Qin Shang, might have gone to the Sun family to freeload a meal.
Since you're here, there's no need to be polite.
Qi Su first went to the kitchen and packed up a smoked fish and a tea-smoked duck.
Then he went to the courtyard where he and Sun Er had lived before.
…
My ex-husband, who died young, was a duck.
Looking back now, that bastard wasn't so pitiful, except for dying young.
I grew up in a world of luxury, pampered and cherished by my parents.
If you say you don't want to study, then you don't study; if you say you don't want to do business, then you don't do business.
When he grew up, he didn't want to get married. He just wanted to hang out with strong, muscular men, have his older brothers fawn over him during the day, and carry him around like horses at night.
This won't do.
The Sun family are businessmen, and they care about their reputation. It's fine for them to have affairs in secret, but if they don't get married, people will laugh at them.
In the end, he married a girl from the Changping Earl's Mansion in the capital, a girl as beautiful as a flower.
As a result, this guy not only disliked his wife, but was also constantly jealous, saying that his wife had stolen the affections of her lover.
What should have been a harmonious and loving marriage turned into a power struggle within the inner quarters.
Later, he got into a fight with someone over a man and got his head broken. He died before two hours had passed.
To cover up the shameful affair, his parents accused his wife of having an affair and threatened to drown her in a pond to keep him company.
Recalling the past, the original owner's heart remained completely unmoved.
Qi Su was so angry that she unleashed a series of comments on the screen.
Good heavens!
The original owner died in a cold pool on an autumn night, and then Qi Su transmigrated into this world.
If it weren't for the torment by the Sun family, the original owner wouldn't have died.
If the original owner hadn't died, Qi Su wouldn't have transmigrated.
An eighteen-year-old girl, gone just like that. It seems this debt will have to be settled slowly.
She can take some interest first; no one will object, right?
…
As a result, when she was picking through the antiques in Sun Er's study, she made too much noise, attracting Sun's mother, who was in the next room grieving for her deceased son.
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