On the morning of the 17th, the people who were staking out Yin Jin'an's courtyard finally heard some noise.
Ma Chenyang has returned from his hometown.
He took the key, opened the outer door, and went into the west room. Seeing that the door was closed and the horses were not in the stable, he knew that Yin Jin'an and Jiu Tian must have gone out on business.
He swept the yard clean and threw the snow into the large pond outside.
After tidying up the yard, I started kneading dough and steaming buns.
When it's cold, steamed buns can be kept for two days.
If the young master in brocade robes and Jiutian return, we can reheat it and eat it anytime.
After steaming the buns, I took out the winter spinach I brought from my hometown, cleaned it, and then went to buy meat, minced it, and marinated it.
The morning was busy.
The two hidden people: ......
They suspected Zhang Xiangliang was lying, and that Xiao Jin'an might not actually live here.
Inside the inn, the nobleman's subordinate said to Manager Sheng, "Tell the coachman to come over again and have a word with my master."
Manager Sheng happily agreed.
Zhang Xiangliang, carrying a rag, diligently went to the guest's room on the second floor.
The guest still spoke to him through the screen, his voice sounding very gentle, but he felt that the person was not very old.
"Zhang Xiangliang, was the Embroidered Uniform Guard your neighbor before?"
"Yes, he lives in the Cui family's old house, not far from my house."
"You two have a good relationship with him?"
"It's not really true. We're all neighbors, and we help each other out when needed."
"Oh, what is he helping you with?"
“He didn’t help the younger one; it was the younger one’s mother who helped him, occasionally giving him some food.”
"You mean he's been starving?"
Zhang Xiangliang didn't know what the other person meant; he couldn't see their expression through the screen.
He is an honest man, but not a fool.
Is this person a relative or an enemy of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?
"The Cui family treated him extremely badly. They chained him to the old house and didn't bring him food. He seemed to eat rats and weasels..."
Sometimes, he would shout loudly at night, scratch at the door and bed, keeping us awake...
"Oh, does he howl every day, or only occasionally?"
"It's not every day, maybe once a month."
Zhang Xiangliang never counted how many times he howled, but Jin Yi was locked in the Cui family's old house for four months and howled two or three times.
Thinking about Jin Yi howling in the old house those days, it was truly too tragic and terrifying.
It looks like a wolf!
In truth, his mother only brought him half a bowl of porridge on August 16th, and Jin Yi had to climb out on his own; he usually didn't dare to go in.
Because Cui Fude declared that Jin Yi was a monster, and that they would not be responsible for anyone who was bitten and eaten by him.
The person behind the screen seemed to be thinking. After a while, he asked again, "When was the last time you saw him?"
“His leg was broken. The doctor in town said his leg bone was so badly fractured that it could never be healed. He moved to his current courtyard and hasn’t left since. Nobody in town has ever seen him.”
What else do you know about him?
"Reporting to the honored guest, I have not had much contact with the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and I know nothing else."
The person inside didn't ask any more questions, but simply said, "A reward~"
Then someone came out and gave him another ten taels of silver.
The man who gave him the money said, "Zhang Xiangliang, you must not tell anyone about my master's talk to you, or you will bear the consequences."
Zhang Xiangliang nodded solemnly.
He wouldn't tell anyone else, but he wanted to tell Jiutian.
If these people are bad guys, he should warn Jiutian and that idiot.
At dusk, he finished work at the inn, and Manager Sheng specially called him to the small rest room behind the counter, asking with a smile, "Xiang Liang, went to help out at the esteemed person's place again?"
"The guest called the servant over and asked him some questions."
“Zhang Xiangliang, you’re too honest and don’t know how treacherous the world can be. I’m just reminding you, when you’re out and about, say as little as you can, and keep quiet if you can. Look, there are so many servants in the whole shop, why do they keep questioning you? Don’t they know there’s a reward to be had?”
Manager Sheng reminded him that there's no such thing as a free lunch, and that outsiders don't eat for free or take money for free.
Zhang Xiangliang's heart skipped a beat. He bowed respectfully to Manager Sheng and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Manager Sheng. I understand."
After leaving the inn, Zhang Xiangliang went to the steamed bun shop and bought a freshly steamed bun wrapped in lotus leaves, then headed to Aunt Zhang's place.
Aunt Zhang and Zhang Xiangxiu are spinning thread and making shoes at home.
"Mom, are you busy?" Zhang Xiangliang handed the steamed buns to Aunt Zhang. "These are freshly steamed hot buns, Mom, please have some."
Aunt Zhang didn't like Ye Ting, but she had no grudge against Zhang Xiangliang, and besides, her son was honest, so she felt sorry for him.
Zhang Xiangliang told her that he was working at Shenglong Inn, since he had nothing else to do anyway.
My second brother and father were not at home; they went to the county town to find work.
Zhang Xiangliang stuffed the ten taels of silver he had just received from the nobleman into Aunt Zhang's hands: "Mother, please take this."
Aunt Zhang didn't answer.
Where did you get the money?
"I fed the horses for a distinguished guest at the inn, and he rewarded me with this."
"Then take it back. You can do some small business in the future. After we split up, I won't want your things."
“Mother, the benefactor has rewarded me three times, totaling twenty-one taels of silver. We have eleven taels at home, which is enough for our needs.”
Aunt Zhang immediately became alert. What kind of important person would reward her with twenty-one taels of silver in three days?
She immediately asked Zhang Xiangliang what he had done. She didn't believe that he could get so much reward money just for helping to feed the horses.
Zhang Xiangliang had some questions in mind, so he told Aunt Zhang everything that had happened in the past few days, including what Manager Sheng had said.
Aunt Zhang immediately became anxious: "Are you confused? Aren't all the innkeepers locals? Why would such a distinguished person ask you about money when no one else does?"
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