Chapter 100 Willing to Serve
When Ling Feng came back, Qi Wuhan was having dinner. Jiang Lan asked the kitchen to stew ham and bamboo shoot soup for him, simmering it over low heat so that he could drink something hot as soon as he came back.
Jiang Lan asked Ling Feng if he had eaten, and prepared to ask Gui'er to go to the kitchen to get him a bowl of soup so that he could drink something hot to drive away the cold.
"He's eaten at Wanhua Tower." Qi Wuhan curled his lips, as if he was gloating.
Jiang Lan was slightly surprised, "You went to Wanhua Tower?"
"The Marquis asked his subordinates to go." Ling Feng replied.
Jiang Lan turned to look at him, smiled slightly, and asked very gently, "Who did you go to see?" Qi Wuhan looked at Ling Feng and repeated, "Who did you go to see?"
Ling Feng bowed and replied, "Miss Miaorong wants the Marquis to see her in person."
"This Miss Miaorong sounds familiar?" Jiang Lan said as she picked up some food for him, the smile on her lips becoming even gentler.
Qi Wuhan felt that if he didn't explain, he would be considered a fickle and unfaithful man. He had originally planned to tell her about Miao Rong, so he started by talking to her about Yanzhi from Ningzhi Pavilion.
This rouge is not the rouge used in rouge and powder, but the rouge of the captured girl.
The other party had the best craftsmanship and was responsible for making custom-made rouge for the ladies in the store. All the rouge in the general's mansion was made by her. Gradually, she won the appreciation of Princess Pingyang and became her confidant.
At the banquet hosted by the Queen before, Cui Jingshu presented the stunning peony painting. The pigments used in the painting were mixed by her, and the fragrance emitted was the key to attracting butterflies.
Jiang Lan guessed the key at that time. It might be that some spices were added to the paint or the scroll was fumigated with floral fragrance in advance to attract butterflies with the fragrance.
She originally thought it was a unique secret manual bought from the painter at a high price, but she was wrong about this.
Later, the six boxes of rose rouge that Cui Jingshu gave away were also made by her. Four of them were mixed with rotten grass, and only two were good.
After the girls from the Zhao and Zhou families met with accidents one after another, she became a little scared. She didn't know that the rouge was used on these young ladies from official families. Later, she heard that the Imperial City Bureau went to the General's Mansion to arrest people. She felt that the General's Mansion would definitely not protect her, and might even make her a scapegoat. So she planned to hide with her sister and quietly leave the capital after the storm passed.
"Her sister is Miss Miaorong?" After hearing this, it was not difficult for Jiang Lan to guess Miaorong's identity. She was Yanzhi's sister.
Qi Wuhan nodded and asked Ling Feng, "Does she really have to see me?" He smiled gently at Jiang Lan and said, "I am a married man now, so I have to avoid suspicion."
Jiang Lan didn't want to delay his work, so she said magnanimously, "Go ahead. The girl must have something important to tell you."
Qi Wuhan stared at her with a strange look on his face, as if he wanted to see some jealousy on her face, but the result made him a little disappointed and a little amused.
Why does it look like he wants to cheer him up? Even if he is indeed trustworthy, there is no need to encourage him like this...
"Then you come with me tomorrow." He stretched out his arms, hugged her in his arms and held her to sit on his lap.
Ling Feng took his leave on his own accord and turned away without looking around.
"Didn't you dress up as a man and accompany your cousin before? Tomorrow you should dress up as a man and accompany me." Qi Wuhan started to revisit the past, and he was quite interested in it. He would remember even the smallest details and would bring them up later. He could keep them in mind for the rest of his life.
“.…..”
Jiang Lan felt that this guy was sometimes just like a child who liked to make trouble unreasonably. She promised to go with him tomorrow, otherwise this matter would never be resolved.
…
The next morning, Ling Feng drove his carriage to the gate of Wanhua Tower.
A bone fan lifted the curtain, and Qi Wuhan got out of the carriage first. Then he reached out to help Jiang Lan, but she pushed him back. After all, she was now dressed as a man, and it was a bit strange for him to help her get down.
Although rejected, Qi Wuhan found it amusing. He tilted his head and moved closer, using his fan to block their faces and whispered to her.
The intimate look of the two of them was too ambiguous in the eyes of the girl welcoming guests at the door, just like they were lovers. Especially since Jiang Lan, who was dressed as a young man, was fair, tender and petite, and standing next to Qi Wuhan, he looked even more like a perfect match.
Seeing the girls at the door all giggling, they must have thought that the two of them were in some shameful relationship. Jiang Lan knew that he was deliberately letting them think so, so she left him and walked away quickly. Qi Wuhan immediately followed and whispered something to her. Jiang Lan gave him a glare, as if she was being teased by him. She tilted her head and pursed the smile at the corner of her mouth. She couldn't let him get so complacent.
The madam had just brought a guest upstairs when she came out and saw a distinguished guest downstairs. She immediately rushed downstairs to greet him, with a smile on her face that made wrinkles appear.
"My Lord, you are finally here. I'll ask someone to tell Hongluan to get ready to welcome you~" As the madam spoke, her shrewd eyes, which were crow's feet from smiling, secretly glanced at Jiang Lan behind him and felt that she looked a little familiar. Jiang Lan lowered her head slightly for fear of being recognized by her.
"No need." Qi Wuhan said slowly, waving his bone fan, "I want to listen to Miss Miaorong play the piano today."
Jiang Lan quietly looked up and glanced at the back of his head. Seeing that he looked very familiar with the situation, she secretly poked him with her eyes and decided to settle the score with him when she got back...
As if sensing the murderous aura behind him, Qi Wuhan turned around and gave her a concerned look.
The madam's shrewd eyes could tell at a glance that there was something unusual about the relationship between the two, but she didn't find it strange. It was not uncommon for high-ranking officials to have some special fetishes and like to keep some male prostitutes and concubines in their mansions.
"My Lord, please come upstairs~" The madam attentively led the person to the private room upstairs, and then went to call Miaorong over.
When Miaorong came over, she was holding a zither in her arms. After bowing to Qi Wuhan, she asked, "I wonder what song the Marquis would like to hear?" Her expression and tone were the same as usual, and she was very calm.
Qi Wuhan glanced at the madam, who immediately tactfully excused herself.
"Just play a random song." Qi Wuhan said casually while waving his fan.
Miaorong bowed slightly, went over and placed the zither on the table. After sitting down, she plucked the strings twice and then started playing.
The sound of the piano is melodious and graceful.
Jiang Lan reached out and picked up a piece of cake. Just as she was about to eat it, Qi Wuhan came over and took a bite of it.
The sound of the piano paused slightly, as if startled by the intimate behavior of the two people.
"Tell me, what do you want to see me for?" Qi Wuhan picked up another piece of cake and fed it to Jiang Lan, not caring about other people's eyes at all.
"I would like to ask the Marquis for a favor." Miaorong replied while playing the piano.
Jiang Lan looked at her carefully. She was not afraid in the face of danger. Her identity must be extraordinary...
"Tell me about it." Qi Wuhan said casually.
The piano music stopped.
Miao Rong stood up and pleaded, "My sister is young and ignorant, and she has offended the Marquis. Please spare her life, Marquis."
"Why should I forgive her?" Qi Wuhan asked calmly while waving his fan.
"Don't you want to know who the leader of the Black Lotus Cult is, Lord Marquis?" Miao Rong said with her head slightly lowered.
Jiang Lan was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect to hear the words "Black Lotus Sect" at this moment. It felt very abrupt. She couldn't help but ask, "Are you from the Black Lotus Sect?"
"I used to be." Miaorong replied.
"Since you know the identity of the leader, you must have a high status in the sect." Qi Wuhan said.
Miao Rong replied, "I am the previous Suzaku."
Jiang Lan was stunned again. She had heard Qi Wuhan say before that there were four great elders in the sect, namely Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird and Black Tortoise. She didn't expect to see another one here. But the other party's answers were so cooperative that she always felt something was wrong. Wasn't he afraid of being caught?
The next moment Qi Wuhan helped her ask this question.
"You told me this, aren't you afraid that I'll have you arrested right now?"
Miao Rong replied, "I am still useful to the Marquis. As long as the Marquis keeps my sister safe, I am willing to serve you."
Qi Wuhan thought for a moment and said, "Then tell me first, who is the leader?"
Miaorong looked at Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan was stunned. "I'm not."
Qi Wuhan smiled dotingly, feeling that his little Lan'er was so cute~
"Go ahead." When his eyes swept over Miaorong, his smile disappeared, and he even looked a little cold, as if the other party had offended his Xiaolaner.
"I'm worried too much." Miaorong bowed apologetically, then took two steps forward, opened her red lips and said a name.
Jiang Lan was startled, and Qi Wuhan also looked a little surprised.
This name is so shocking, it's like seeing a ghost.
"Why should I believe you?" Qi Wuhan said indifferently.
Miao Rong replied, "Because I saw it with my own eyes."
Qi Wuhan smiled and said, "What you see with your eyes may not be true. How do I know you are not setting a trap for me?"
"Then how can the Marquis trust me?" Miaorong asked.
"Tell me the purpose of your coming to the capital." Qi Wuhan said.
Miao Rong replied, "My sister and I just want a place to stay. We don't want to live a life of fighting and hiding. Those people in the sect like to daydream about something that is nothing but deceiving themselves."
…
On the way back in the carriage, Jiang Lan asked Qi Wuhan if he believed what Miao Rong said. He asked for her opinion. Jiang Lan felt that what she said must be true, but she didn't know if there was any other purpose. She always felt that the other party was a little too cooperative...
"Maybe he decided to make this move from the beginning." Qi Wuhan said with a smile.
Jiang Lan pondered for a moment, nodded in agreement, and then asked another question, "She mentioned the leader... Are you going to report this to His Majesty?"
Qi Wuhan said, "Your Majesty is still worried about the military camp. Let's wait until we have a thorough investigation before we speak. Telling His Majesty now will only make him more suspicious."
Jiang Lan nodded in agreement, then pulled open the car curtain and looked out. Seeing that it was the way back, she told Qi Wuhan that she wanted to go to the medicine house to see Zheng Qianer first. He then asked Ling Feng to turn around and head towards the medicine house.
When Zheng Qian'er saw Jiang Lan dressed in men's clothes, she was surprised. She herself had never had such a bold idea that a woman could dress up as a man.
Zheng Qianer's face doesn't hurt anymore, but it's still a little itchy because new flesh is still growing.
The first thing she did every day when she saw Ye Rushui was to ask when his face would heal. Ye Rushui answered once and then stopped. She would ask him other questions, such as how old he was, why he wore a mask on his face, and whether his hair was naturally white...
Ye Rushui did not answer any of these questions.
Qi Wuhan came today, so Ye Rushui asked him to arrange someone to send Zheng Qianer back. She only needed to change the medicine on her face every morning and evening, and she didn't need to stay with him.
Zheng Qianer insisted on waiting until her face was healed before going back.
"If the young lady refuses to go back, I will not give her the medicine."
Ye Rushui's words made Zheng Qianer cry. She felt that he was not considerate at all.
Jiang Lan asked her to go home and take good care of herself, and her mother missed her very much, so Zheng Qianer agreed to go back.
Qi Wuhan asked Ling Feng to send the person back, and he and Jiang Lan stayed here to watch Ye Rushui pounding medicine and wait for Ling Feng to come back.
"I haven't prepared any meal for the Marquis."
"Even dogs wouldn't eat the food you cook, and I'm afraid it's poisonous."
Jiang Lan was a little curious about how bad it would taste, but it couldn't be poisonous...
On the way back, when passing by Yipintang, Qi Wuhan asked Ling Feng to buy some food in the building. Jiang Lan remembered that she had met Manager Hao on the street before. The other party also came to the capital to open a restaurant, so she told Qi Wuhan about this matter and planned to go there for a meal when she was free, just to show her support.
Qi Wuhan said that he would go with her to show his support in a few days.
…
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