Chapter 9 Old Love
Well curb.
Daimao did not understand the meaning of these two words and just repeated them casually, but to Qiandeng and Cui Fufeng, they were like a thunderclap.
Cui Fufeng turned his head to look at Qian Deng and saw that her eyelashes were trembling slightly, as if he heard again the two words that Shi Jingning squeezed out to her with all his strength, splashing blood foam when he died tragically.
After that, they secretly sent people to all the wells inside and outside Chang'an City to check for the secret of the well fence, but found nothing.
And now, a man in her house is colluding with the rebel soldiers and is also looking for clues left by Shi Jingning.
Daimao also said anxiously, "County Lady, these rebels are hiding in the mountains and are being hunted by the imperial court. Our manor has helped to suppress them several times before. Now, if someone with ulterior motives finds out that someone in our palace is colluding with the soldiers and bandits - and these soldiers and bandits were once under the command of the old prince, what will happen if the county lady is implicated? What's more, I think these soldiers and bandits, as well as that person in the palace, may be related to my father's death!"
"Don't worry, I will take care of this matter."
After finding out the hiding places of the rebel soldiers, Qiandeng told Daimao and A Zhong to keep the secret strictly. Then he immediately changed into men's clothes, smeared some brown powder on his face, and prepared to rush to the dilapidated temple.
Cui Fufeng looked at her and frowned slightly. "In the deep mountains, there are soldiers and bandits everywhere. Why would you risk your life? I can take a few people with me."
"This matter is riddled with hidden secrets. It involves Uncle Fu, Shi Jingning, and even the circumstances surrounding my mother's death. How can I trust anyone else with this?" Qian Deng quickened his pace and headed outside. "The most urgent thing is to meet up with Ling Tianshui first, lest he act too quickly and dispose of everyone, potentially ruining the clues we've worked so hard to obtain."
Despite this, the son of a wealthy family would not sit still in the hall. When leaving the manor, Qiandeng still hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should take a few people with him for safety.
At this moment, a horse came straight towards Zhuangzi from the side and almost hit the horse ridden by Qiandeng.
Fortunately, Cui Fufeng made an accurate prediction and raised his hand to take Qiandeng's horse bridle. The opponent's horse was also very majestic, and the two horses just brushed past each other without colliding.
"Asshole, the prince is here..." As soon as the other party opened his mouth, with that weird accent, who else could it be but Mingjiu?
He cursed halfway, then saw that the person he was talking to was Cui Fufeng. Then he saw the beautiful silhouette of the person behind him, which was obviously Qian Deng. Ming Jiu shrank his neck and swallowed the rest of his words, then changed the subject to say, "Xianzhu? I was hunting nearby, and when I heard you were here, I wanted to play with you!"
Qian Deng didn't have time to play with him right now, so he turned his horse and passed him: "I have something to do, you go back first."
Upon hearing this, Mingjiu immediately spurred his horse and chased after them, saying, "I'm going too! You two, a girl slaying a girl (a single man and a single woman) is not allowed!"
Qian Deng was somewhat helpless: "It might be dangerous if we go outside the city."
Upon hearing the danger, Mingjiu became even more excited: "What are you afraid of? For the immortal pearl, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Before she could say anything, Cui Fufeng hit her right on the horn: "If that's the case, then come on. As we've said beforehand, we might have to fight."
Mingjiu was overjoyed: "Great! I love getting physical!"
Following the route provided by Daimao and the clues given by Jintang, the three of them rode their horses into the mountains. After walking along the barren ridges for a while, they found the dilapidated temple at the end of a narrow path in a small valley.
Outside the temple, behind the trees, a bright corner of clothing embroidered with silver threads was visible among the trees.
Mingjiu laughed as soon as he saw it, quietly approached, grabbed the corner of his clothes, and pulled out Jintang who was hiding behind the tree.
Jin Tang let out a low cry when he was caught off guard. When he saw it was them, he quickly covered his mouth to muffle the cry.
By the small spring next to the temple, a man and a woman who were picking and washing wild vegetables turned their heads and looked towards the bushes.
Qiandeng and Cui Fufeng quickly took them one at a time and pushed them into the bushes.
The sturdy man dropped the wild vegetables and vigilantly picked up a stone and threw it over here.
With a "fluttering" sound, a large turtledove flew up from the bushes behind and headed straight for the forest behind, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"It turns out to be a flat-haired beast." The woman next to him was wearing a royal blue silk dress. She looked to be in her thirties and had a pretty face. She was obviously Jintang's seventh aunt, Lan Xiurong.
Returning to the spring to continue washing wild vegetables, she jokingly said to the tall man beside her, "I haven't cooked in a while. Yesterday's corn rice was undercooked. You and Old Hu should gather some more firewood today."
"Okay, but be careful with your hands. Look, you got burned the other day, and the scab hasn't faded yet." The man took her hand and wiped it on his collar. He stroked the burn on the edge of his palm and spoke with caressing, "You've been pampered in the Jin family for years. Now you're with someone like me who lives in such a precarious situation. Do you regret it?"
"What's there to regret? The Jin family has been pampering me, but it's just to keep the family line alive for a dead man, and fill an empty grave a hundred years from now." Lan Xiurong held his hand and said nonchalantly, "It's okay. I've got some money. Once you've settled things here, we can go somewhere where no one knows us, buy some servants and some land, and live a good life. Isn't that better than the cannibalistic Jin family?"
Jin Tang felt embarrassed and turned his head to secretly observe Qiandeng's expression.
Qiandeng pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling them not to move.
Unfortunately, Mingjiu couldn't understand her gestures and said with a smile, "Xianzhu, be careful. The Jin family is so cruel and ruthless. It's very dangerous!"
The man was extremely alert. Upon hearing the noise, he immediately drew his sword and strode towards their hiding place. "Who?"
Jin Tang was furious and annoyed. He glared at Mingjiu fiercely, then stood up abruptly and pointed at Lan Xiurong and yelled, "Seventh Aunt, my family has treated you well. Why are you slandering my family like this?"
The man was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Lan Xirong, as if asking a question.
"He's the nephew of that dead guy I married. He's not very smart, how did he find his way here?" Lan Xiurong grabbed the man and her words made Jin Tang sad and angry.
At this moment, the remaining soldiers in the ruined temple heard the commotion and ran out, their swords drawn, surrounding the bushes where they were hiding. "Who are you? Are you an officer or soldier?"
"No, no, it's my friend who came with me to look for Aunt Qi." The not-so-bright Jin Tang became smart now and quickly signaled Qian Deng and the others to show up. "Aunt Qi, someone saw you here with the soldiers. I was afraid that if I reported you to the police, you would get hurt, so I called a few friends and came quietly to look for you."
Seeing that they were all dressed in luxurious clothes and had extraordinary appearances, and even the son of the richest man in Chang'an looked inferior to them, they felt relieved.
Although Mingjiu, the foreigner, looked difficult to deal with, his silly smile was exactly the same as Jintang's clear eyes, which made them let down their guard.
Lan Xiurong leaned on the man and said to Jin Tang, "Don't call me Aunt Seven. Even if you bring people to look for me, I won't go back with you."
Jin Tang asked, "But you took away all of Uncle Qi's inheritance. What about Xiaobao? You and him have been mother and son for ten years. Are you going to leave your child behind for a wild man?"
"Jin Bao was merely adopted from your clan. What does he have to do with me? If your Jin family wants to continue their bloodline, do it yourselves. Don't burden me with raising your child!" Lan Xiurong sneered. "What does the deal between your Jin and Lan families have to do with me? I'm a living person, not a commodity!"
Jintang was the youngest son of a wealthy family who had been spoiled since childhood. He was not very worldly-wise and was not as eloquent as her. He did not know how to respond for a moment.
He wanted to ask, if that was the case, why did you take away the Jin family's money? My family doesn't owe you anything. But in front of the county lady, he didn't want to leave the image of a penny-pinching merchant, so he finally stood there with his mouth open for a long time.
The scene froze for a moment and became awkward.
Qian Deng glanced around, leaned close to him and whispered, "Where's Ling Tianshui?"
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