Chapter 48 The Uninvited Guest
Dongmai readily accepted the task assigned by Shangguan Jin.
Prepare one or two decent blood-stained clothes.
After thinking for a moment, based on her experience from reading storybooks, Dongmai quickly figured out what kind of blood-stained clothes to prepare.
First, the blood-stained clothes must be torn, not intact.
After all, if only clothes are left, it must have been the result of a fight. If the body is gone and only clothes remain, they must be ripped to shreds, preferably in complete disarray...
In order to make the tattered clothes look very realistic, Dongmai took two sets of clothes that the Duke of Dingguo used to wear from Shangguan Jin's room.
I took both the outer robe and the inner garment.
I even brought a pair of pants.
Then he went to find the guard dogs at the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.
"Come on, tear it apart! Treat this clothing like a thief who came to steal from our mansion!" Dongmai commanded the wagging-tailed dogs.
After sniffing the Duke of Dingguo's clothes, the bewildered dogs wagged their tails even more enthusiastically.
Oh, this is the scent of my master!
Although I haven't seen my owner for three years, I can still smell the scent.
Watching those dogs wag their tails like brooms, their mouths agape and drool practically dripping onto their clothes.
Winter wheat has finally been abandoned.
Forget it, if the dog at home won't work, a stray dog outside should be fine!
So, Dongmai secretly wrapped a roast chicken in the Duke of Dingguo's clothes and threw it into the pack of stray dogs on the outskirts of Beijing.
Sure enough, in less than an afternoon, a complete set of clothes was torn to shreds by wild dogs.
Looking at the tattered brocade robe and undergarment, splattered with oil, Dongmai was extremely satisfied.
That's right, it's okay even if there are oil spots.
Anyway, we'll have to bleed some more when we get back.
Winter wheat is smart enough not to be so naive as to think of making a cut on its hand to let some blood out.
She asked the kitchen staff to leave some fresh blood for her when they slaughtered the chickens and ducks.
After pouring a bowl of chicken blood onto the pile of rags, Dongmai discovered a problem.
The bloodstains seem a little too fresh...
Dongmai carefully recalled what those long-lasting bloodstained clothes looked like...
Oh, it's a bit dark, not this bright red.
Also, bloodstains from clothes left for a long time should have soaked into the fabric.
But now, how do we age these blood-stained clothes?
This is a big problem.
However, no matter what kind of problem it is, it can't stump our winter wheat.
She simply rested her chin on her hand, stared at the tattered cloth, and within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she came up with a solution.
Dongmai first sent everyone out of his yard, then rolled the pile of rags in the mud.
The rags were covered in mud, and the color of the mud was indistinguishable from the color of the bloodstains. The pile of rags was then buried under the crabapple tree in the yard.
Three days later, she finally dug out the rag.
At this point, the pile of blood-stained clothes and rags was completely unrecognizable.
No matter who looks at it, they would only think it's some rags torn from a dead person.
The soil and blackened bloodstains were stuck together.
Yes, it looks very similar!
Dongmai happily wrapped up the pile of blood-stained clothes, preparing to report back to Shangguan Jin that very night.
She could imagine how happy her young mistress would be to see the blood-stained clothes she had painstakingly prepared.
That evening, Shangguan Jin first went to see the old lady and talked with her for a while.
Then I went to see my two daughters and told them to get some rest.
He reprimanded his three sons who were with the Seventh Prince and were discussing something.
It wasn't until 9 PM that she returned to her courtyard with her two maids.
As soon as she arrived at the courtyard gate, Dongmai was waiting for her, holding a bundle!
"What is it?" Shangguan Jin asked with a smile.
"Yes! Something's up!" Dongmai looked at Shangguan Jin seriously, then glanced at the bundle in her hand.
There's nothing Shangguan Jin doesn't know.
The task of delivering the winter wheat must have been completed!
"You two should go back and rest too. I'll call you if I need anything," Shangguan Jin said, sending the two maids back to the side room in the courtyard to rest.
He carried the winter wheat to his house.
The two stepped into Shangguan Jin's house, and Dongmai thoughtfully closed the door and locked it.
“Miss, I have completed the task you assigned me. Please take a look and see if it suits your taste.” Dongmai opened the bundle in front of Shangguan Jin.
Looking at the tattered pieces of cloth, Shangguan Jin narrowed her eyes.
The original color of the clothes is no longer visible, but the material feels like it's made of high-quality fabric.
Shangguan Jin leaned closer and took another sniff.
The smell of blood wasn't very strong anymore, but you could still smell it.
It also has a greasy and foul smell.
That's right. As long as you insist that it's the brocade robe that the Duke of Dingguo often wears, that's fine.
"What kind of blood did you use?" Shangguan Jin asked with a smile.
"Hehe, chicken blood! I was going to cut my hand, but isn't it said that human blood is different from the blood of livestock?"
But I was thinking that if I got a cut on my hand, it would be difficult to do anything.
Anyway, they'll just roll around in the mud, so you definitely won't be able to tell what color it is afterward.
They used chicken blood!
The chef in the kitchen helped me butcher two chickens!
"We can't just hurt someone else to get these two blood-stained clothes!" Dongmai said seriously.
Shangguan Jin nodded in agreement.
She knew that no matter what task was assigned to Dongmai, she could complete it very well.
After repacking her bundle, Shangguan Jin planned to visit her parents' home in person the next day.
If we discuss it with the old master of the Shangguan family, we're sure to get his support.
As long as the old man intervenes, I'll have someone to discuss things with, and I'll feel more confident.
Shangguan Jin was about to offer some words of encouragement to Dongmai, urging her to continue her efforts and strive to become the second most powerful steward of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion...
Dongmai frowned and looked at Shangguan Jin's inner room.
"Miss? Is someone inside?" Dongmai mouthed to Shangguan Jin, then pointed.
Shangguan Jin stood up immediately.
How could that be? Is she the kind of person who hides people in the inner room?
Seeing that Shangguan Jin was also nervous, Dongmai immediately became serious.
She first gently opened the door that had been closed, gesturing for Shangguan Jin to stand behind her.
Then she casually picked up a celadon porcelain bottle, its color reminiscent of the sky after rain, from the shelf by the door.
At this moment, Shangguan Jin also heard what sounded like movement coming from the inner room.
It sounded like a cabinet or some kind of board being moved.
Did a thief break into the house?
That's impossible. The Duke of Dingguo's mansion is under extremely tight security lately.
Since the Seventh Prince is currently living in the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, in addition to the Duke of Dingguo's own servants and guards, Emperor Xiao Jing has also sent quite a few to his residence!
To put it bluntly, even if a crow flew over the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, it would be caught and interrogated.
A petty thief trying to enter the lady of the house's inner courtyard?
How is that possible?
"Could it be a stray cat that sneaked in..."
Waaaaah!
Before Shangguan Jin could finish speaking, two figures darted out from the inner room.
One person covered the mouth of another.
"Don't make a sound! It's me!" the man covering Shangguan Jin's mouth whispered.
Upon hearing this voice, Shangguan Jin's eyes widened in disbelief.
Holy crap! That sounds like the voice of that Duke Dingguo.
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