Lou Yunchun's eyes were like a pool, filled with friendship, deep and bottomless.
Xu Jiang felt like a fallen flower or leaf. There seemed to be no better place to go than here. Then she slowly approached and let herself fall into his eyes.
Lou Yunchun pulled her to sit down and sat close to her.
Xu Jiang couldn't help but smile when she saw him wrapped in a thin blanket and wanting to stay close to her. Then she opened her arms and hugged the man wrapped like a silkworm cocoon, rubbing her head into his neck.
Lou Yunchun suddenly froze.
The two of them hugged each other for a long while before Xu Jiang sighed and asked softly, "Did you go to Mr. Du's house and tell him about Zhao Xiu?"
"Hmm." The faint smell of fireworks and ink lingered at the tip of his nose. Lou Yunchun kept his breath very low, for fear of scaring it away.
"Just now, Liang Mo was here, so I couldn't ask. Now, can you tell me? What's going on with Zhao Xiu?" Xu Jiang thought for a moment, then said, "Or is there something fishy going on with Lord Mu?"
Now that Du Hui was involved in this matter, Xu Jiang had to ask.
Lou Yunchun knew that she was worried, so he didn't avoid it anymore. He thought: It's better to tell her so that she can be prepared.
"Do you still remember that before Jiang Gu left, I obtained a list of officials from him?"
Xu Jiang was stunned and asked, "Is this Lord Mu on that list?"
Lou Yunchun nodded. "After obtaining the list, I have already checked it out. Although Mu Cong has had little contact with the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue in the past two years, he has been very close to them in private."
Xu Jiang's mind was as clear as a mirror, and she immediately figured it out. "If this Lord Mu is one of their men, then Zhao Xiu, as his retainer, approached Mr. Du during the imperial examination. He must have bad intentions."
She held Lou Yunchun tightly, "Did you tell Mr. Du to stay away from him?"
Lou Yunchun soothed him, "Don't worry, Mr. Du is already aware of this matter and will be on guard against it."
"I don't know why they came to Mr. Du." Xu Jiang couldn't relax, and then asked, "Did you go to the Mu Mansion to take the opportunity to gather information?"
Lou Yunchun said, "I didn't go to the Mu Mansion, but Mu Congchi led me there. I just went with the flow."
Mu Cong also invited Lou Yunchun to the banquet. What else could he do besides thanking him?
This matter was shrouded in doubt and posed a hidden danger. Xu Jiang warned, "You must be careful."
"I know." Lou Yunchun raised his hand to wipe away the slight worry from her brow, and said softly: "Don't get involved in this matter, just take care of the bookstore."
Xu Jiang sighed in his heart.
If you are not in a position to do so, do not meddle in other matters; if you are not in a position to do so, do not meddle in other matters. If you are not in a position to do so, do not meddle in other matters. There is no point in worrying about this matter. It is better to do your part well.
The uneasiness in her heart was gradually relieved, and Xu Jiang hugged Lou Yunchun again, hanging her chin on his shoulder.
It feels very comfortable.
"Ajahn."
"Um?"
Her gentle breath touched Lou Yunchun's ears, which made his heart flutter.
Lou Yunchun reached out and wrapped her in a thin blanket, and whispered in her ear, "Kiss me."
Xu Jiang was restrained before she could even feel embarrassed.
A small insect bumped into the lamp wick, creating sparks, then quickly turned into smoke and dissipated into the spring night.
The drizzle fell silently all night long, with smoke rising from the wet tiles. Xu Jiang got up as soon as the sky was light to make soup.
The green snails bought yesterday had spit out all the mud and sand. Xu Jiang drained it out, then poured it into a basin, added cooking oil and salt, and rubbed it repeatedly to clean it.
The mallard was slaughtered last night. Lou Yunchun put in a lot of effort. Thinking of him with duck feathers on his head and expressionless face, Xu Jiang couldn't help laughing.
She found two ceramic jars, filled each with a mallard duck and half a pound of green snails, then picked two handfuls of golden thread vines from the wild vegetables and put them in, finally sprinkled a little salt, filled with water and sealed the jars.
The jar must be sealed tightly, otherwise the soup will leak out and lose three-tenths of its freshness.
Seal the jar and place it in a wooden steamer to steam it. When the steam comes out of the steamer, turn to low heat and steam for four hours. The soup is ready.
Xu Jiang covered the stove and let the soup slowly steam on the stove. When she saw that the time was just right, she tidied herself up and went out to open the door.
The rain had stopped outside, but the ground was still wet. The breakfast vendor and Liang Mo turned into the alley almost at the same time, and Xu Jiang didn't know who to greet first.
"What are you eating today, ma'am?"
"What?"
"There are steamed buns, corn porridge, Hu cakes, fried fruit, and pastries."
"Has Liang Mo eaten?"
"Eat it." Liang Mo got off the donkey.
Xu Jiang went back to the house, fetched two bowls, and handed them to the vendor. "Then I want a bowl of corn porridge, a steamed bun, and a pie."
Then, noticing the donkey's bulging belly and a satisfied look, he asked Liang Mo, "What did you feed it?"
"Wild wheat grass." Liang Mo patted the two sacks on the donkey's back. "Since it likes to eat it, I brought some back for it."
No wonder, this dead donkey's favorite food is wheat straw, especially the fresh one with dew. In the past, when traveling, it couldn't stop eating wild wheat straw when it saw it.
"Don't spoil it, or this stupid donkey will get on with you."
"It's okay." Liang Mo touched the stupid donkey's head and led it into the backyard. The stupid donkey followed closely behind him in small steps, rubbing its head against his hand from time to time.
What a bootlicker.
Xu Jiang counted the money for the vendor, then went into the house with the breakfast.
Liang Mo tied up his donkey and came in, asking, "Boss, is the paper mill delivering paper today?"
"Send it off. The rain has just stopped, so it's estimated to arrive around noon." Xu Jiang smiled and said, "Don't worry, wait until the clouds disperse before printing. If you have time, continue to finish the book that Hu Xu annotated yesterday."
"Okay!" Liang Mo was eager to try, so he rolled up his sleeves and went to look for books, paper and pen.
After breakfast, Xu Jiang also found the scroll of county annals that hadn't been completed the previous night and began to work on it. The two of them sat at a table, each focused on their work. Xu Jiang would occasionally offer guidance when Liang Mo stumbled upon something.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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