Chapter 258 Night Watch
Having seen many people like Liu Ji who wanted to make friends and curry favor with others, Qi Xianguan was a little uncomfortable when he suddenly met Qin Yao who treated him calmly.
After a pause, he continued to face the child and said in a mature tone:
"Madam, we have met three times, but I still don't know your name. Can you tell me? This time, it was thanks to your help that we were able to escape. After we return home to recuperate, Jingxuan will bring a generous gift to complete the etiquette."
"My name is Qin Yao." She smiled at him, "Is Jingxuan your nickname?"
Qi Xianguan shook his head and explained: "It was the name that the master gave me."
Qi Xianguan had completely different attitudes towards his real benefactor and his nominal benefactors such as Ding Shi and Liu Ji. He answered Qin Yao's questions much more politely.
Qin Yao looked at the young boy in front of her, who was about the same size as her own Dalang. His clothes were disheveled, his hair was flying, and there were gray stains on his face. The only thing left on his body was a pair of eyes, which looked clear and bright.
"This Taoist temple courtyard is not very spacious, but it has a wall around it, so you don't have to worry about wild animals suddenly invading at night. It's a rare good place. If you don't mind, you can rest here tonight and set off tomorrow morning."
Qin Yao said as she looked at the carriage whose door had never been opened, "There is a mountain spring nearby. You can boil some hot water to wash up first."
After saying that, he waved at Liu Ji and Liu Li, and his tone became impatient: "Come in and cook!"
Liu Li was called because she was entrusted by Liu Dafu.
As for Ding Shi, she couldn't control what he wanted to do. Anyway, her family would not give up the good position they occupied.
Liu Ji still wanted to meet the great scholar, but who would have thought that the door of the carriage had never been opened. Qin Yao was shouting in front again. Looking around, he had to bow to the carriage with closed door and retreated reluctantly.
Liu Li also looked back every step of the way, wanting to catch a glimpse of the great scholar.
Unfortunately, Ding Shi is here, so it’s not his turn.
Qi Xianguan looked at the Qin Yao and Liu Li families who had spread out their tents and laid them out at the corner between the two walls on the east side of the courtyard. Those were the only two intact walls in the entire Taoist temple, and the rest of the place was somewhat collapsed.
Ding Shi generously pointed to the space occupied by his own guards and coachman, indicating that he could give it to Qi Xianguan and his master.
Thinking of the gentleman in the car, Qi Xiangu thanked him, turned around and told Shi Tou to ask the guards to set up the tent first and then go to pick up the gentleman from the car.
Ding Shi offered to help. Qi Xianguan looked at him, nodded, and accepted his favor.
After all, this person looked much more pleasing to the eye than Liu Ji, and was not as utilitarian as him. He made the unreasonable request of wanting to see the gentleman right away.
The Qi family did not suffer much loss, only some food was lost, and the rest of the important books and belongings were not lost.
But in this situation, having no food would be fatal.
Fortunately, Ding Shi donated half a bag of rice, and Shitou organized the guards to go into the mountains to hunt some meat, so we finally had dinner in the evening.
However, Qi Xianguan was not in a hurry about this. Tomorrow morning, he would ask his guards to take silver to the nearby villages to buy food.
It's expensive, but they don't care about this little money at all.
When Qin Yao and Liu Li's families had finished dinner and were preparing to lie down in the tent to rest, Ding Shi led Qi Xianguan and his party into the temple.
The four guards came in first, followed by Qi Xianguan.
Four guards were carrying a sedan chair with a curved backrest. An old man in white Confucian clothes, with a thin figure and gray hair, was sitting on it.
Entering the yard, the old man looked up at me. His pair of dark brown eyes were sharp and bright, not at all like the cloudy eyes of other old men of the same age.
Qin Yao was arranging sleeping positions for the four children in the tent with her back to the gate when she saw Liu Ji, who was kneeling beside her, stand up excitedly and whisper, "It's Gong Liangliao!"
Qin Yao looked back curiously, but the old man had already withdrawn his gaze and was being carried by the guards towards the tent that had just been set up.
Qi Xianguan stood respectfully under the sedan chair and accompanied him all the way.
When the sedan chair was put down and the guards came forward to carry the old man, Qin Yao and others suddenly realized why Qi Xiangun was reluctant to order the guards to abandon the car and break out.
Because Gong Liangliao has no legs.
Under the scholar's robe, there was nothing, nothing below the mid-thigh.
Liu Ji and Liu Li gasped when they saw this. Liu Ji couldn't even imagine what kind of pain that was.
Liu Li recalled the days when his legs were broken by horse bandits and he could only stay in bed and move slowly in a wooden wheelchair. If he had not been newly married and had a wife to hold him back, he would have thought it would be better to die.
But when he looked at Gong Liangliao just now, his eyes were sharp and his back was straight. He also did not forget to urge his disciple Qi Xiangguan to come to his tent to check his homework before going to bed.
"How old is he?" Qin Yao asked in a low voice.
Liu Ji counted on his fingers and answered uncertainly: "Fifty or sixty?"
Liu Li is still reliable, "It should be sixty-three."
Qin Yao looked at the tent opposite in surprise. In Sheng Country where the average life expectancy was less than 40 years old, this was considered a long life.
But it’s getting late, so I’d better go take a shower and go to bed.
The summer nights were not cold, but there were many mosquitoes. Fortunately, Liu Ji bought some mugwort from the inn in advance, lit it and placed it on the stone next to the tent to smoke it, which reduced the number of mosquitoes.
In order to avoid being unable to react if anything happened at night, Qin Yao asked Liu Ji to guard the first half of the night and she herself would guard the second half.
Liu Ji did not dare to raise any objection. He kept the fire burning and secretly observed the other side's every move.
However, the fire was too strong and he began to sweat, so he sat forward a little and listened attentively to the noise from the opposite side.
Unfortunately, Gong Liangliao never came out after entering the tent. After watching for two quarters of an hour, the opposite side became completely quiet. The guards were divided into three groups to guard the gate, the yard, and the wall. They ensured that no refugee with bad intentions could be allowed in.
Liu Ji suddenly felt that it was unnecessary for Qin Yao to arrange for him to keep watch.
Ding Shi also returned to the small room in the corridor that the coachman had temporarily separated with a sheet to rest.
Because the courtyard was not spacious, after giving their space to Qi Xianguan and his group, they could only stay under the corridor of the temple gate.
Fortunately, the weather is hot, so I don’t have to worry about catching a cold.
The temple gradually became quiet, with only the light footsteps of the Qi family guards and the sound of the burning fire.
Liu Ji was bored and fiddling with the fire, then he leaned over to the carriage next to him and fell asleep.
He was dreaming about his glorious moments at the top of a high position in the government when a slap hit his face, instantly shattering his beautiful dream and waking up with pain.
"I asked you to keep watch and you went to sleep?" Qin Yao asked in a low voice.
Liu Ji wanted to see who disturbed his sweet dream, but when he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar fierce face. His heart trembled, and he opened his mouth to explain, "My wife, I, I..."
Qin Yao shook her head in disdain, "Get in!"
Liu Ji looked at the moon above his head and found that it was already the middle of the night. He quickly got up, gave Qin Yao a few awkward smiles, and then went into the tent.
After a while, his sweet snoring could be heard from inside.
Qin Yao rubbed her brows and sat down. For the one hundred and first time, she suppressed the urge to strangle him to death and stayed on duty for the second half of the night.
(End of this chapter)
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