"To be honest, confirming the truth of the rumors about the jade seal is one of the tasks entrusted to me by the elders of my family. They said it was of great importance and asked me to find out the truth and return to Bingming as soon as possible."
After Hao Bai finished speaking, he stole a glance at Zhongli Jing. The other person was looking at his nose, and his nose was looking at his heart. It seemed that he had no interest in what he said at all. He suddenly felt a little depressed and added with a pout, "I think he is afraid that it will fall into the hands of some thieves and harm the people."
When Zhongli heard this, he actually opened his eyes and looked at him for a moment, but still said nothing.
Xiao Nanhui heard this, but her mind was elsewhere. She cautiously probed, "You said it was of great importance. How important is it?"
Hao Bai gave her a strange look and said, "Isn't the imperial seal of the country of great importance?"
Xiao Nanhui choked up, "Of course. I mean...besides this, is there any other secret in this jade seal?"
Hao Bai looked away: "I've never heard of this before. Perhaps it's because I'm a junior in the family, so there are some things that are not my place to know."
Seeing the other party start to practice Tai Chi, Xiao Nanhui had to give up, but he still felt itchy in his heart.
She had always felt that the matter of the secret seal was not so simple. If what was recorded in the history books was true, why did Emperor Ye Xuan send the princess to escort this jade seal, and why did the princess choose to drown herself in the abyss rather than hand it over?
And the Xiao family's annihilation disaster...
“Caught up!”
The voice of the Shrike came from the front of the car, interrupting Xiao Nanhui's thoughts.
The carriage tilted heavily to one side, and a bumpy feeling immediately hit it. It turned onto a small road at a fork in the road.
Ding Weixiang, who was near the window, lifted the curtain slightly and looked out, his expression somewhat solemn: "What is Zou Sifang doing in the swamp?"
Xiao Nanhui was startled and looked outside as well.
There was a gray color outside the car window. The morning sun had risen not far away, but the sunlight could not penetrate the fog lingering above the earth.
The wind brought with it the smell of dampness and decay, a scent unique to the northern swamps.
******************
Thirty miles outside the city of Murhe is the edge of the swamp. From here on, there is no official road. Only the ruts left by occasional travelers can barely distinguish the road. Ordinary travelers will see a stone tablet warning at the border, reminding them that from here on they will enter the swamp area, and it will be extremely dangerous without a guide.
However, all this is not a concern for Zou Sifang.
He had walked this northern swamp road for many years, and it was no different from the road at his doorstep.
In the past, he would go into the swamp several times a month to see what the Xiong family had collected that month. Now that he was getting older, he had handed over these matters to the managers below. He only came once every two or three months and stayed only for two or three days each time. If he stayed any longer, he would feel the dampness entering his body and his joints would ache unbearably.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but hug the heater tightly in his arms.
After this serious illness, he felt his health was worse than before, and he still had no children. If he couldn't keep a firm grip on this business, it would sooner or later fall into the hands of the Xiong family. After much deliberation, he found only one solution: to buy out the Xiong family's land.
However, the amount of gold and silver needed to buy the land is not a small amount, and the Xiong family is not stupid, so they will certainly not give in easily.
Fortunately, he will be able to raise the money soon.
Zou Sifang lifted the car curtain to look at the sky and asked casually, "Are we almost there?"
The driver was an old servant who had served Zou Sifang for nearly twenty years. He knew his master had important business today and dared not delay. "It's less than a mile to go. We're taking the old route today, a shortcut. It's just that the rain earlier caused some areas to flood, so we're a little delayed."
Zou Sifang responded in a low voice to show that he understood. He looked at the box in his hand, and the uneasiness he had felt since leaving the city came back to his mind.
But he deliberately sought out the Xiong family's base to discuss this business, which showed that he was keeping it in mind. The Xiong family would support him for a while just for the sake of the gold and silver.
This is his territory, who else could be more familiar with it than him?
Thinking of this, Zou Sifang's heart fell back into his stomach.
In the gloomy swamp, there is a flat land of nearly 100 acres. On it stands a house made of rammed earth with a pine wood base. It has high walls, small windows, and seldom hears human voices. This is the old house of the Xiong family.
If an uninformed lost person saw this house in the wilderness, he might think it was a haunted house.
Zou Sifang's carriage drove into the gate of the mansion, but no other carriages or horses were seen.
The yard was empty, not a single person could be seen. In the morning mist, one could only see a white lantern hanging under the window in the middle of the distant courtyard. It seemed that it had been lit last night and had not yet been extinguished.
Zou Sifang told the old servant to wait outside the gate, and he slowly walked towards the house with the box in his arms.
The ground is paved with pebbles, which make a "crackling" sound when people walk on them.
There were no pebbles in this area, so Zou Sifang had to spend money to bring them from elsewhere. He laid them here to prevent thieves from stealing the medicine. After all, the Xiong family stored their medicinal materials in the house, and it was inevitable that people would be concerned about them in the wilderness.
Zou Sifang stopped about ten steps away from the house.
He could already see the door god painting on the wooden door. The people from the Xiong family should have heard the noise long ago, but no one came out to greet him.
Will it...
Zou Sifang's heart was beating faster. He was about to turn around and leave when the wooden door suddenly creaked open halfway, revealing the head of an old man with a half-bald head.
He is the manager of the Xiong family.
Zou Sifang breathed a sigh of relief, then became a little dissatisfied: "The buyer will be here soon, why don't you send anyone?"
The steward's eyes looked a little dull, and he stammered for a long time, "People... are already waiting for the master inside."
Zou Sifang was stunned. He didn't expect that the other party would arrive earlier than the agreed time.
He was a little anxious, so he walked quickly to the door, pulled the old man away and was about to go into the house.
The left leg just took half a step and then it was suspended in the air.
His gaze was fixed on the ground beneath his left foot, where a mass of black, sticky liquid was slowly spreading outward.
It's blood.
Zou Sifang raised his head stiffly. The steward was also looking at him stiffly, with a few drops of blood on his trembling beard.
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