Chapter 69: Even the artificial hills have a story behind them.
A small piece of black cloth, slightly larger than a fingernail, single-layered, an ordinary piece of black cloth.
Xiao Qing rubbed her fingers together for a while, unsure whether she was being too sensitive or overthinking things.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This is probably a piece of fabric that it tore off from someone's shoe last time. I didn't expect it to be stuck in its teeth, and I didn't even notice." Ying Ying said somewhat nervously.
Xiao Qing thought to herself that she really had a connection with shoes lately.
Such a coincidence! She couldn't help but wonder if it was the fabric from those two shoes.
"When did this happen?" She touched the little head, and the little one nuzzled its fluffy head closer, stretching out its front paws as if wanting her to hug it.
"Your Majesty, please be careful," Ying Ying said, looking at her with concern.
"It's alright," Xiao Qing said, still hugging her.
Ying Ying, after confirming that Xiao Xiao wouldn't bite His Majesty, replied, "It happened the day before yesterday."
He thought for a moment, "That person was walking fast and almost fell, but Xiao Xiao jumped over it."
"When was the day before yesterday? And who was it?"
Yingying thought and thought and then suggested a time, which was roughly when Xiao Qing was not in the palace.
He thought about the man's appearance and build for a while before saying, "He was of medium build and a bit thin. When he fell, his shoe seemed to have shifted. When Xiaoxiao bit him, she almost bit the whole shoe off his foot. That's why he got angry and wanted to beat Xiaoxiao up."
This suggests that the shoes might be a bit too big for that person.
Ying Ying suddenly thought of a detail, "The other shoe that person was wearing was also a bit strange. The whole shoe was tied up with black cloth, with a knot on the shoe surface, and it seemed to be wrapped up to the calf. I didn't see it very clearly either."
There's a saying: "You can search high and low without finding it, but then it comes to you effortlessly."
This sums up Xiao Qing's current feelings.
The shoes I got from Li Qinghe were one old shoe and one new shoe.
The old shoes were intact, but the uppers of the new shoes had been disassembled.
However, the soles of the shoes remained untouched.
How do you wear shoes without an upper?
Tying it to your feet is a good idea.
"Can you still recognize that person?" Xiao Qing asked Ying Ying.
Ying Ying thought for a moment, "They should be able to recognize it."
Xiao Qing then turned around and waved to Ma Hong, who was not far away.
Ma Hong arrived quickly.
What are your orders, Your Majesty?
"You and Liu Changshi take Yingying to identify the people. First, identify all the palace servants in Chengde Palace, but don't make a fuss."
She thought for a moment and then said, "Both men and women are acceptable."
Ma Hong bowed his head and agreed, but then he thought that Xiao Qing was alone in the small garden after he left, and he was a little worried.
Xiao Qing chuckled.
"The Chengde Palace is just behind. Look at the Imperial Guards around here. What could possibly happen in a garden this close by? You should hurry up and go."
Ma Hong then quickly took Ying Ying away.
After a while, the three kittens started to get restless.
Lazybones turned over, shifted its bottom towards the sunlight, and decided to continue sleeping.
Without its owner to keep it in check, Yaoyao wanted to run off to play elsewhere.
Xiao Xiao had just been wronged, and now she was trying to climb on Xiao Qing to express her dissatisfaction.
While blocking Yao Yao's path with her foot, Xiao Qing comforted Xiao Xiao, thinking to herself that Ying Ying was quite capable. How did she usually manage to handle these three children?
She was in a flurry of activity when she saw a person hurrying out from the direction of Chengde Palace, their silent expression revealing a hint of panic.
Sparse plum blossoms?
Mei Shu definitely didn't come looking for her.
She didn't know what she was thinking at the time, but she quickly picked up the other two cats from the ground, then bent down and quickly hid in the artificial mountain cave with a clear spring flowing over the rocks not far away.
The cave wasn't sealed off; there were several exits to the side. However, Xiao Qing was small, and the jagged rocks inside blocked her way.
But she regretted it as soon as she went in.
Why are you hugging the cat for no reason?! That meow will give you away!
She was whispering to the three little ones stacked on top of each other, "Don't make a sound!"
Then a rustling sound came from outside.
Xiao Qing quickly shrank her neck and hid even further inside, then began to regret it.
Strange, isn't she the emperor? Why would an emperor need to hide from people?
She was inwardly berating herself for being stupid when the people outside quickly left.
Then, the chirping of birds came from outside, their sounds cheerful and short.
Is this a signal?
Xiao Qing made a decision quickly and hurriedly went outside, her eyes rapidly scanning up, down, left, right, front, and back.
With sharp eyes, Yao Yao pounced on a rock and fiddled with it for a while. The rock was actually movable; it rolled half a circle after being fiddled with, revealing a bit of gray inside that was different from the artificial rock.
It is a piece of cloth.
Xiao Qing quickly pulled out the gray cloth and put it into her sleeve, then restored the stone to its original state. After that, she picked up the cats and hurriedly went outside, hiding behind another big tree.
She quietly observed the movements around her, paying particular attention to the situation near the artificial hill.
Fearing being discovered, Xiao Qing's heart raced. She even planned that if she were discovered, she would walk out openly, get a good look at the person, and then summon the guards to arrest them.
Strangely, she waited behind the tree for almost fifteen minutes, but no one came near, let alone went to the artificial hill.
Did they find out, which is why they're not coming over?
Xiao Qing waited a while longer, making sure the other party wouldn't come over.
Using bird calls as a signal to transmit information has a limited range. Therefore, the person cannot be too far away.
Since they weren't far away, and she had waited for so long, the person should have shown up by now.
But since the other party hasn't shown up, either this person has noticed her presence, or this person never intended to come at all.
Surely they're not so sure that the things hidden in the rockery won't be taken, so they're coming back later?
Xiao Qing couldn't see anyone, so he took out the gray cloth to look at it.
But when she unfolded it, she found that it was just an empty piece of cloth, without any words, symbols or anything like that on it.
Xiao Qing felt that she had fallen into a vicious cycle, a suspense drama that always seemed to lead her to a dead end.
Headache.
She tucked the gray cloth back into her sleeve, thinking that this time she would never be able to put it back.
Now that I have it in my hands, I should at least figure out what's going on, right?
As she was thinking, she saw Ma Hongzheng respectfully greet someone in the small garden. Ying Ying followed behind them, her head slightly lowered, so her expression was not visible.
To be honest, compared to Ma Hong, Liu Yi, or any other palace servant, Ying Ying always seemed to lack something.
But she likes it.
comfortable.
Xiao Qing took the opportunity to go outside, pretending to walk the cat. Before long, Ma Hong and the others arrived.
Wang Xiang greeted Xiao Qing with a smile and said, "Your Majesty is much better now, which is a cause for celebration. Perhaps for this reason, even Heaven has eyes, as good news has come from the north."
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