Chapter 514 The Master Returns
The young princess nodded vigorously: "Yes, sneaking around, all alone, and at night! Luckily, I spotted them!"
As she spoke, she patted her chest.
Chi Heng glared at him angrily: "How could you have said everything I had to say!"
The young princess rolled her eyes at him, but then looked at Jiang Nuanzhi and said, "Sister Nuanzhi, what should we do? You make a decision. Should we send someone to check on them?"
"What are you looking at!" Chi Heng said urgently, "Young Madam, those two are definitely in cahoots! They're in cahoots!"
"What did you say?"
The next second, everyone turned around and saw Li Rong standing behind them.
Chi Heng: "Arong, you heard that just in time! We need to hurry up and get that plan done. Otherwise, something really bad might happen!"
...
Inside the Imperial Preceptor's residence, the old man strolled around the huge storeroom with his hands behind his back.
Following behind him was an old, white-haired butler, whose face was half crisscrossed with black veins and whose eyes were sinister. He looked extremely terrifying.
The other half of his face was kind and gentle, with a smile on his lips. When he saw the little old man, he kept wiping away tears and babbling, "Master, you're finally back! You don't know how long our whole family has been waiting for you! You've been gone for so long, why didn't you give this old servant any news? The people looking for you are still in Tianshan. I never expected that you would actually return to the capital."
The old man continued strolling around as if he hadn't heard, his hands behind his back. His eyes lit up when he spotted a crystal-clear white jade bottle: "Take this little bottle, and these two strings of beads, put them in for me. And this one, and this one, put them in too. Take out the treasure I asked you to keep before. Put one in too! Yes, put in this jade pendant that the late emperor gave me as well."
The gray-haired old butler piled everything he pointed to into the box.
In no time, the rustic wooden box was filled.
The old man went down another level and entered the cellar. At the very back of the cellar was his most treasured shelf. After hesitating for a long time, he took the two small wine jars from the top and carefully placed them on the ground.
He carefully uncorked the wooden stopper, took a sniff, and then a slightly intoxicated expression appeared on his face: "Hmph, these two jars of wine have been stored for over ten years, and no one has been willing to part with them. This brat got lucky!"
He then tied the two jars of wine with a rope, lifted them up, took the cloth bag from the old steward, and got up to walk out.
"Master, where are you going? You've just returned, why are you leaving again? Where will this old servant find you? What's wrong with you? You don't look well..."
"Shh!" The old man put his hand to his lips and shushed him. "Isn't he back now? I'll come back to see you again in a few days."
After thinking it over and over, he finally put down the wine jar and carefully felt around in his pocket. He pulled out a small oil paper packet containing the dried meat that Jiang Nuanzhi usually carried with them to stave off hunger. With a heavy heart, he stuffed it directly into the old steward's hands.
"Here's some delicious food that our warm girl made. If you really need anything, come find me in the Eight Great Hutongs. I live at Warm Girl's house."
The old housekeeper was taken aback: "Nuan'er? Who is Nuan'er?"
“Warm girl, your medical skills are excellent. You’ll find out if you ask around.”
As he said this, he raised his chin, then jumped onto the wall in a few swift movements and disappeared from the old butler's sight in the blink of an eye.
Watching the person in front of him disappear without a trace, the old butler stared at him for a long time with red eyes, then wiped away a tear.
When he turned back, his thin fingers pinched the whistle hanging around his neck and shoulder, and he put it to his lips.
A sharp whistle blew, and shadows shifted around them. Instantly, three to five people appeared.
The old steward's aged voice was like a resounding bell: "With the master back, summon the four guardians and order them to find the residence of a skilled healer named Nuan Yatou in the Eight Great Hutongs as quickly as possible. They must ensure the master's safety!"
"yes!"
Dark shadows rippled around them, and responses came from all directions.
The vast residence of the Imperial Preceptor was illuminated almost instantly. People came and went all night long.
The old man was completely unaware of this, and even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared much.
He was carrying his things, humming a little tune as he walked towards the Eight Great Hutongs.
However, he wasn't looking where he was going; instead, he kept glancing at the jar in his hand. He tried to resist, but finally couldn't. He pulled out the wooden stopper, tilted his head back, and gulped down several mouthfuls. Then he let out a long sigh, wiped his mouth, and exclaimed, "This is it! So refreshing!"
After enjoying himself, he thought for a moment, then put the cork back in. But after two attempts, he felt that it wasn't quite right.
He pursed his lips, pulled the cork off the bottle, and muttered, "Isn't there still a jar left? We've already drunk this one anyway."
Then he tilted his head back, gulped down the entire jar of wine, and smashed it to pieces with a "crack".
His cheeks were flushed. Clutching the remaining jar, he licked his lips, then remained frozen in place, refusing to look, before continuing his unsteady gait home. His pace quickened slightly.
However, after only a few steps into the alley, they were blocked by men in black.
The old man frowned, glanced at the tall man, and moved aside to walk past him.
But then a tall man in black appeared and blocked his way.
The old man paused for a moment, then chuckled softly, saying with amusement, "Trying to cause trouble for the old man? That's quite rare..."
"Hmph, your sister-in-law and the others may have been fooled by you, but they still have me, Chi Heng!"
Suddenly hearing a voice, the old man frowned and turned around to see Chi Heng tossing his hair and bowing politely to him: "Grand Preceptor, Chi Heng has offended you."
...
On Jiang Nuanzhi's side, the last dish of boiled fish fillets was placed on the table, and the entire table was now filled with dishes.
The old man had previously mentioned sweet and sour pork, braised chicken feet, and salted egg yolk chicken meatballs, and she even added two more, crispy chicken strips and braised pork ribs. She also steamed some small cakes and topped them with fruit to prevent the food from being too greasy.
She started cooking as soon as she returned from Chi Heng's residence, with several family members helping her. By now, at least an hour and a half has passed.
"He hasn't come back for so long, could something have happened?" Jiang Nuanzhi frowned, "He's not in good health right now, he's been poisoned, and he's lost all his martial arts skills. I'm a little worried."
As she spoke, she went to get her clothes: "I think I'll go out and take a look."
“Anuan, I sent people out to search for him. The scouts saw that Xiao Yuanshan has already returned home, but the Grand Preceptor is nowhere to be seen. I suppose he couldn’t have harmed the Grand Preceptor. The Grand Preceptor has always been carefree, so he should be back soon,” Li Rong comforted her.
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at the sky again: "But it's too late. He might be willing to go out, but he wouldn't stay out this late. My eyelids keep twitching. I won't feel at ease if I don't go check on him."
(End of this chapter)
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