Sizhoujiu
Su Zirui reacted extremely quickly, turned around, pulled the person behind him to protect him, and observed carefully.
The secret room was so quiet that only the faint sound of breathing could be heard. The dim candlelight flickered, and the shadows of two people were projected on the ground, extending to the base of the wall, swaying slightly.
"Strange, I really saw someone flash by." Aruo met Su Zirui's suspicious gaze and pointed outside the secret room hesitantly, "Really! My eyesight is very good, I won't be dazzled!"
Su Zirui was speechless... He had never thought about this question at all.
"I didn't see it wrong." Aruo felt a little aggrieved. Because there were no myopic glasses in that era, she paid special attention to eye care.
"Let's go. Whether it's a human or a ghost, we'll know after we catch it and take a look." Su Zirui pulled her out of the secret room and took a look at the situation in front and behind the corridor. There was no trace except their footprints.
"Ah!" The shadow flashed away, and Aruo only had time to point to the side, but when Su Zirui looked over, there was nothing unusual.
After a few times, Su Zirui's eyes revealed a hint of helplessness.
Aruo was a little irritated by the shadow that seemed to be teasing her. She tilted her head to recall the direction the shadow had flashed past. "Door, hallway, there's no other secret room that could have been hidden by your Qinggong... Is this a trick?"
She completely ruled out the possibility of a supernatural event. After all, it was impossible for a ghost to disappear several times without any further explanation.
Su Zirui raised his eyebrows, looked at her, and warned her lightly, "Don't be reckless."
The two of them, hands pressed against the wall, walked around the corridor separately before slowly reuniting. Su Zirui carefully examined the marks on the ground and walls, his fingertips tracing the cracks in the wall. Suddenly, he noticed a tiny dent, and his dark eyes fixed.
Suddenly, the air around him tasted sweet, and his sight was filled with a light cherry color, pale pink and almost white, like petals flying in front of his eyes. Su Zirui's heart sank, "Aruo!"
"Su Feng, be careful—" The girl's ethereal voice suddenly cut through the scene before him, instantly drawing his attention back. His body subconsciously turned to avoid the silent attack. The next moment, a brown shadow approached.
"Ouch!"
A loud cry of pain suddenly rang out, and Su Zirui quickly came to his senses. He saw the elegant girl holding a white jade ruyi with an angry look on her face, chasing after someone and hitting him.
Su Zirui looked thoughtfully at the wall where there was no trace of dents. His eyes turned cold. He knocked on the abnormal place and then he had time to look at the man who was running around with his head in his hands after being knocked by the girl.
He was wearing a brown long suit, and there was no dirt on his clothes or hands and feet, which showed that he had not been imprisoned for a long time. However, his long hair was messy and uneven, as if it had been cut at random.
"You bastard, hurry up and pull this vicious girl away, or someone will die!" The man was chased into the secret room and found that he had nowhere to escape. He was so angry that he pointed at the person who was blocking the door of the secret room and shouted. His voice was hoarse but full of energy and not weak at all.
Su Zirui watched for a while before he slowly reached out to grab the angry girl and said, "Okay, don't beat her to death."
He could see that the girl was just chasing after the man to scare him, and she hadn't really hit him much. However, her fussing made it clear that the man wasn't a master, which made her presence even more bizarre.
"Yes, yes, I'm going to report to the police!" The man pointed at Aruo with a trembling finger, and was so angry that he spoke incoherently.
"Report it. He's the official." Aruo, carrying the jade ruyi, raised an eyebrow and pointed with his chin at the jade-like nobleman beside him. "Anyway, this is self-defense."
Su Zirui looked over with an expressionless face, and the pressure revealed in his eyes made those who wanted to complain suddenly unsure whether to turn to him or the murderous girl.
"Nonsense." Su Zirui said neither lightly nor harshly, not knowing who he was talking about.
Aruo looked innocent as he casually placed the fragile, powerless jade ruyi on the table, completely forgetting that he had just used this priceless item as a weapon. "Who are you? What are you trying to do by playing tricks on me?"
"I'm playing tricks? You're not afraid, are you?" He ragged his messy hair with his fingers, annoyed, his face revealing an impatient expression. His skin was slightly pale, his features were not particularly outstanding, but his eyes were full of life. He looked not much older than Su Zirui.
Aruo smiled. "If you are a ghost, you should go back to the underworld as soon as possible. There is nothing fun in this human world. I see that you are not that old. If you become a ghost like this, you probably won't be very smart in life. Since you are dead, you should plan your ghost life carefully. Why cling to this human world? If you are doing well, you won't become a ghost."
Did he really think she was a fool? She and Su Zirui had come in by accident. If the enemy had come in by now, they would have rushed in or called for help. This person had sneaked into this low-level formation and tried to scare them away. Either he was not very strong or he was guilty.
Everyone else was working so hard, so was she supposed to just pretend to be oblivious when she was supposed to cooperate with him? Su Zirui was just standing there, so why should she put herself in a difficult position? If she was unhappy, she could just hit him.
Su Zirui pursed his lips and suppressed his smile. How could he ignore what this girl could think of? It was just that strange formation...
"Bah, bah, bah, you're the devil. You sneaked in here in the middle of the night, so you're not a good person." The man rubbed his forehead where he had been hit, sitting down on the edge of Fang Shouren's bed. "I was sleeping soundly, and I thought there was a thief."
"Are you going to stay here?" Su Zirui suddenly asked, leaning against the door of the secret room with his hands folded.
"Why should I tell you?" The man glared at them impatiently, turned his head to look at the sleeping Fang Shouren, and reached out to his wrist as if to confirm something.
Aruo's nose twitched and he leaned closer to him curiously.
The man's face froze, and he leaned back involuntarily. "What do you want to do?"
"Hey, are you a doctor? You smell like herbs. I thought you only smelled sour." Aruo wrinkled his nose and took two steps back with a little disgust.
"Who said I smelled bad? I only have one, two..." The man seemed to remember something and counted on his fingers. His voice became weaker. "It's only been three, four, five, or six days...that's all."
Looking up, he saw Aruo quietly retreating to Su Zirui's side. The man suddenly jumped up and said, "I, I, I haven't been out these days, and I'm not dirty. Why are you retreating?"
It made him feel dirty, and the man subconsciously raised his hand to smell it. It still smelled of licorice and mint, but as he sniffed, he felt something else mixed in. Could it be because he had messed with Awei yesterday? Or was it because he had applied the insect repellent mugwort this morning?
"Has someone imprisoned you here?" Su Zirui stopped the childish confrontation between the two and asked.
The man glanced at him and said unhappily, "What are you imprisoning? I was hired to treat patients."
"Treat the disease?" Aruo was stunned for a moment. "Fang Shouren?"
"Do you know Mr. Fang?" The man looked strange.
Aruo hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "I don't know him."
Su Zirui scoffed, not bothering to pay attention to this conflicted girl. "Who hired you? That kind-hearted Mr. Fang outside?"
"Why are you asking so many questions? Anyway, as long as I'm here, Mr. Fang will not die. As for the rest, if you have the ability, go and check it yourself. Aren't you an official?" The man paused, sat cross-legged on the ground, and spread his hands out in a rogue manner.
"How much do you know about those outside?" Su Zirui suddenly asked.
The man froze, then tugged at his uneven hair in frustration. "I'm just a doctor, how much do I know?"
Su Zirui suddenly curled his lips and hummed a sound, leaning forward slightly to examine him closely. "Whether it's a lot or a little...it's hard to say."
The man felt a chill down his spine as he rubbed his nose with his hand and muttered, "Just take what you want, why bother with so much?"
"Master Su, what are you talking about?" Aruo squatted beside the two of them and asked curiously. She knew they were playing dumb, but it was late at night and her brain was not enough.
The two men looked at her speechlessly, "Nothing."
Aruo: ...What should I do if I want to punish someone?
"Does Fang Jingsheng know you?" Seeing that the two were not prepared to answer, Aruo changed the subject.
"You know him?" The man was a little surprised. Seeing her nod reluctantly, he didn't hide it. "He is also one of my employees."
"Ah, you're still from Infernal Affairs?" Aruluo immediately understood. "The fake Fang Shouren and Fang Jingsheng hired you to watch over the real Fang Shouren? This plot is too melodramatic."
But it sounded great, two salaries for the same job. Why couldn't she have such a good thing?
"Do you know how to set up formations?" Su Zirui mentioned the illusion he had just had. It was the first time he had come into contact with this kind of formation so realistically, but the time was too short.
The man patted his long, dusty robe with disdain and said, "I'm a doctor, I don't learn Taoist magic."
Compared with the emperors of the previous dynasty who were obsessed with Taoism, this dynasty is more inclined to Buddhist theories, and some people still have prejudices against Taoism.
Aruo smiled silently, vaguely guessing at Fang Jingsheng's plans. It seemed he knew Fang Shouren had been replaced, but why was he still holding his ground? Qin Zhi's presence was definitely no coincidence; were they plotting something? But what about that deal the Qin family had taken on? Was it related to Fang Jingsheng?
Also, does the time she came to Sizhou have anything to do with this matter?
The tip of his ear twitched slightly, and Su Zirui's face darkened, "Someone is coming!"
Eh? Aruo didn't hear anything, but she covered her mouth and held her breath.
After a while, a man who looked like a butler opened the door of the secret room and walked in. He was not surprised to see the man. He asked about the condition of the unconscious person on the bed, gave a few warnings, and then left.
After everyone left, Su Zirui carried Aruo back through a secret passage.
"Why are you helping us?" Aruo was a little confused.
Su Zirui had just tried to knock the newcomer unconscious, but the man stopped him and pointed out a secret passage for them to hide in. Although they were skeptical about the man's identity, they immediately decided to hide as he was more reliable than the newcomers.
To be honest, if Su Zirui wasn't there, Aruo wouldn't have believed this man. After all, she had seen many people betraying their allies, and when she had the ability, she would tend to knock out the people present and then escape.
But then again, if Su Zirui wasn't there, she wouldn't dare take the risk of visiting someone else's secret room.
The man turned around to look at Fang Shouren, whose face was sallow, and said calmly, "I just want the patient to get better quickly."
Aruo didn't say anything. She was just thinking, what if Fang Jingsheng knew that his father was unconscious here, but didn't rescue him... The thought turned around in her mind and then she put it aside. She hadn't lived a good life yet, so she didn't care about the grudges and hatreds of other people's families.
"Let's go." Su Zirui was quite satisfied with what he had gained tonight.
Aruo nodded, and the two turned around without hesitation, intending to leave along the road. The man looked at their backs, stunned for a moment, and couldn't help asking, "Hey, wait. Aren't you supposed to ask who I am?"
Aruo and the other man looked at each other, and with a rare unanimous agreement, they turned around and asked, "Do you need it?"
These two people... are so annoying! The man was so angry that he couldn't help but take off one of his shoes and threw it at the two of them.
Su Zirui spun around and dodged, pulling the girl aside who was unable to react in time.
"Come back! The exit over there is guarded, go this way!"
By the time they emerged from the Fang family's secret passage, the sky was already beginning to brighten. Early risers were starting to prepare food on the street corners, and the porridge stalls were steaming hot. The two of them simply abandoned their Qinggong training, grabbed a random outer robe, and strolled back.
"I thought you would take him back to the yamen for interrogation." Aruo couldn't help asking as she looked at the young man beside her who was still in high spirits after not sleeping all night.
Given Fang Shouren's close relationship with the prefect, Lord Zhu, this seems to be connected. The doctor knew the secret passage's exit, but he never left, so he must have some inside information. With such compelling evidence before his eyes, Su Zirui didn't even bring it back to the yamen for questioning? Not only that, he seemed genuinely pleased, his lips curling slightly.
Su Zirui knew what she was thinking without even looking, but...
"It's not easy to alert the enemy at the moment."
"Oh." Aruo seemed to understand. She wasn't too concerned about this. She just felt that Lord Zhu was related to her case. She had a feeling that there was a conspiracy behind him, and that he might be related to her. But the clues were too confusing and she couldn't find a clue for a while.
"Don't think too much. Just be content and do your best." Su Zirui didn't have high expectations of her now.
The cool breeze in the early morning was a little chilly. Aruo, who was wearing thin clothes, couldn't help but sneeze a few times. He felt more and more anxious as he walked. There was a slight sweat on his forehead, and his heart rate began to become a little irregular.
"What's wrong with you?" Su Zirui noticed that her eyes were flickering a little, and couldn't help but ask.
Not knowing how to explain low blood sugar to a man, Aruo touched her stomach embarrassedly and looked up innocently, "I'm hungry."
She hadn't eaten much since being poisoned yesterday, and hadn't slept all night. She was always in a bad mood when she woke up, so now her stomach was empty and she felt a little dizzy.
Su Zirui's expression was blank for a moment, he sneered and glanced at her, "Let's go."
"Where are you going?" Aruo, who was not very focused, followed him blankly for a few steps before reacting.
"Don't you claim to want to try delicacies from all over the world? Sizhou also has many authentic delicacies." Su Zirui took her around the corner and came to an inconspicuous little shop.
Aruo curiously looked around the shop, which consisted of a simple small kitchen and two tables. She smiled at Su Zirui, who was talking to the busy old man, and said, "I didn't expect that Master Su would eat so down-to-earth."
She had assumed these high-class scions would patronize high-end restaurants. After all, even Qin Zhi rarely condescended to eat at street stalls with her. Though dressed in a simple outer robe, his upright figure and handsome face made him look like a man of nobility, a stark contrast to a street vendor. Su Zirui had only patronized the stall near Fengxian Bridge once, and that was to rest after a long night out.
"What we eat is the taste. Many so-called delicacies look gorgeous but taste like crap. On the contrary, small shops like this have authentic flavors." Su Zirui wiped the white porcelain spoon carefully and handed it to her with a gentle expression.
"Good wine needs no bush." Aruo nodded in agreement. The old man quickly brought a bowl of tofu pudding. The smell of old ginger rushed into the nose, giving people an inexplicable sense of security.
Aruo was slightly surprised. Most tofu puddings in Sizhou were salty, but her bowl was filled with ginger and sugar water. She looked up at Su Zirui, who was calmly drinking his porridge. Aruo was slightly surprised, and the look in her eyes was a little strange.
"What? Don't you like it?" Su Zirui felt uncomfortable when she looked at him. He just remembered that she liked sweet things and told the old man about it casually.
"Master Su is suddenly so considerate... Could it be..." fake? Aruo's imagination was full of ideas, and she looked at him with a wary look. No wonder he was acting differently than usual!
Su Zirui laughed angrily, "Could it be that in Miss Qi's mind, Su is a harsh person?"
When these words came out, Aruo was really shocked and asked, "Do you think you were very gentle before?"
Who, with a single word, threw her from a second-story window into the lake? Who, with a single word, dragged her off a cliff? Who had thrown her into prison for no reason? It was only a man so straight-laced with a penchant for imprisonment that, at the age of twenty-two, despite his impeccable family background and good looks, would be automatically excluded from the list of potential husbands by a noblewoman in Beijing in this era of early marriage.
Glancing down at the tofu pudding, Aruo felt a mixture of emotions. Great, this must be a knockoff. After she finished eating, she would have to go back to the secret room to find the real thing.
Su Zirui, who was always observing people, touched his nose. His tone was steady, and there was no hint of insecurity. "I asked you to distract those people... I really wronged you."
Aruo couldn't say that he almost wanted to throw ten taels of silver to hire someone to kill him.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't a big deal. While his actions were certainly hateful, he only dared to do so knowing she could swim. He jumped off the cliff for his own survival. And the prison... imprisoning her next to her immediate superior was a brilliant move. This felt more like a prank than a punishment.
After careful consideration, Su Zirui had not actually done anything excessive to her. On the contrary, he had helped her several times. Thinking of this, she could no longer say anything to hurt him.
No, wait…she was actually making excuses for him?
Aruo curled her lips, it was so scary, it must be the fake in front of her that reduced her dislike for Su Feng.
"Are you still holding a grudge?" Her expression was so rich that Su Zirui couldn't guess it, so he asked with amusement.
"If you treat me to breakfast, I won't mind you throwing me into the lake." Aruo raised her little chin and glanced at him arrogantly.
"Thank you very much for not making a fuss about it." Seeing her smug look, Su Zirui smiled.
He was so cooperative that Aruo couldn't pretend anymore and laughed, "Isn't this very generous of me?"
The girl before him smiled, her eyes curved in a smile, sparkling with tiny starlight. Her delicate features were exceptionally soft in the morning light. A strand of hair rose playfully, swaying slightly in the breeze. Su Zirui lowered his eyes slightly, his long fingers twitching on the edge of his teacup.
After eating half a bowl of tofu pudding, Aruo finally came to his senses. After his mind cleared, he realized how ridiculous his thoughts were.
"It's really delicious. The tofu pudding from Yangzhou is also good. When I was in Yangzhou, I often went to eat pine nut fish and tofu pudding made by an old lady. I'll take you to try it if I have the chance."
Su Zirui remembered that her next destination was Yangzhou, "Have you been to Yangzhou before?"
"The Qi and Qin families got married, and I stayed there for almost a year." Aruo said nonchalantly.
The Qi family's eldest son spent most of his time in Yangzhou after marrying, leading some to speculate that he married into the Qin family in exchange for Qin Shuang, a business prodigy, to work for the Qi family. If that were true, she would have married into the Qin family... If she had lived well in the Qin family, why would she have wandered around for years? Su Zirui's eyes were filled with an inexplicable pity at this thought.
As soon as Aruo looked up, she saw his sympathetic eyes and was speechless. She knew what people were saying about this marriage, but was this knowledgeable man also imagining something strange?
"Everyone in the Qin family is very nice to me." Aruo couldn't help but explain.
The Qin family must have treated her well, and Young Master Qin Zhi had taken great care of her and protected her. Su Zirui withdrew his sympathy, "Young Master Qin also has deep feelings for you."
Aruo nodded, "Maybe it's because Qin Shuang loves me more."
Su Zirui was choked and couldn't respond.
"Miss Qin is already married." Su Zirui didn't know what mood he was in when he said this.
Aruo tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face, "I know."
If Qin Shuang didn't marry, how could she come to the Qin family? After a pause, she added, "Shuangshuang is the living person who loves me the most in this world."
Living people? Su Zirui glanced at her forehead imperceptibly, tapping the table with his slender fingers, the smile on his face so faint that it was almost invisible. "Come to think of it, you and Young Master Qin are quite close."
What he said was quite polite. There was almost no distinction between men and women in her words and deeds with Qin Zhi. Considering that she was not an ordinary girl and Qin Zhi was a man of the world and not particular about trivial matters, it was not considered to be very unusual.
"There's nothing strange about being unfamiliar with him." Aruo poured a cup of tea, took a sip and replied.
Qin Shuang had always wanted to marry him to her so she would stay in the Qin family, and Qin Zhi's personality was indeed more compatible with hers. She knew that her words and actions were a bit bold compared to other girls, but fortunately, the people of Daqi were not conservative, and the people she usually interacted with were either well-informed or knowledgeable, so she wouldn't misunderstand.
Of course, she would also pay attention to the occasion and the other party's acceptance. If necessary, she could also act like a lady from a noble family.
Hearing this, Su Zirui's face became even colder. His gaze fell on her forehead and his fingers moved slightly.
Aruo felt a chill on her forehead and licked the sweetness off the spoon, wondering what she had said to anger him. She calmly turned her head and looked over to the other side. Several early risers, holding large bowls, surrounded the old man, their excited little faces flushed. She wanted to laugh. "Master Su, look, how lively it is. There are three children in my family, and I'm the youngest. Although we're not here now, we used to play together as a group when we were little. It was so much fun."
Ten years later, those memories have become blurry, but the happiness and caress we once had are still deep. When Aruo thinks of his childhood, a smile appears in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
Absent? Su Zirui was slightly taken aback. According to the file, she wasn't even eighteen yet, yet she'd been traveling for nearly four years... She'd mentioned her family more than once, clearly not an orphan. What had she been through to speak so calmly and with such a smile about her absent loved ones?
He lowered his eyes to look at the plate of pancakes on the table, no longer looking at her nostalgic yet happy smile, and his usually calm mood became a little unstable.
The silence made Aruo feel a little uncomfortable. She looked around twice. It was still early, and there was nothing interesting to discover on the street. Her attention returned to the person beside her.
"By the way, I heard that your father is in a high position and has great power, but you are his only child?" He didn't mean to inquire, but Aruo was used to chatting with people about family matters, both in the past and now, so he asked casually.
Su Zirui was not used to talking about family matters with others, so he just nodded slightly out of politeness.
A child from a wealthy family, wouldn't the family pressure be quite great? Poor kid, Aruo said with emotion, "Then, Master Su, you must work hard in the future."
Being an only child is stressful, no matter which dynasty it is. It would be much better to have brothers and sisters.
"Ahem," Su Zirui coughed a few times. Seeing her happily drinking the sweet soup with a carefree and innocent look on her face, he wasn't sure if he had misunderstood. He replied a little embarrassedly, "How can something like this be accomplished by one person's efforts?"
"That's true." Aruo drank some tea nonchalantly to remove the sweetness in his mouth, his mind full of legends about the mansion.
Alas, it's said that in ancient times, there were many family feuds, and having too many children wasn't a good thing either; they needed to be educated well from a young age. Indeed, life is a process of creating troubles for oneself. Aruo suddenly remembered Su Zirui's words about the hardships of life that night. She thought about how she had been homeless since arriving here, unable to find her place of belonging, and even rarely had the opportunity to get a good night's sleep.
She never considered her extra life superior. These ancient people, like Bi Gan, possessed a few clever tricks. Their intelligence was hard to judge, but the simple were also exceptionally simple. This only made her, who had been subjected to the ravages of society's various interests since childhood, feel ashamed. The shrewd had strategies and power, but she, without any tricks, couldn't compete. In the end, she could only live a Buddhist existence, seeking a glimmer of freedom in the narrow cracks.
After all, is there anything more desperate in life than having no mobile phone, no internet, and no household registration of your own?
No.
Life is full of hardships, but it would be a pity to give up. Since we cannot give up, we have to move forward step by step.
Looking sideways at the old man carrying a pot of steaming porridge, Aruo seemed to see his own old age. There were no nursing homes in this era, right? It seems that no matter which dynasty, you can't live without money. Thinking about it, Aruo sighed slightly, thinking too much, "So, I have to work harder!"
With a puff, Su Zirui swallowed the hot tea that was about to spit out of his mouth, choking him and making him cough repeatedly, unable to catch his breath.
"Master Su, are you okay?" Aruo jumped up in shock and patted his back. "Did you choke?"
"Ahem, it's okay. Just sit down." He moved sideways to avoid her hand and waved his hand, "No need to take pictures."
"Are you really okay?" His face turned red from coughing, and his ears seemed to be dripping with blood. Aruo asked doubtfully, and couldn't help but reach out to help him breathe.
"I'm fine!" Su Zirui subconsciously blocked her hand and looked into her clear, round eyes. His face, no longer cold, was slightly flustered. He stood up and said, "Take your time to eat. I have something to do, so I'll go back first."
After taking two steps, he seemed to remember something and turned around to put down two pieces of silver.
"Eh?" Aruo was stunned. Seeing him stride away, she quickly followed him, "Master Su, wait for me."
The person in front was walking faster and faster. Looking closely, it seemed like he was fleeing in panic. Aruo was very puzzled. Why did he always suddenly have urgent matters?
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