bamboo forest
Fuling lowered her voice a little more than usual, fearing that others would hear her.
Jiang Nian reached out to take it, raised his eyes and looked around, only to catch a glimpse of the black crow feathers on the ground.
The yellow envelope only had her name on it.
"Miss." Fuling hesitated, her tone tinged with worry, "This letter seems to be from the Censor."
Jiang Nian's mind flashed back to the official who had raised the question yesterday, and the doubts in her heart immediately dissipated. She opened the envelope, scanned a few lines of words, and put it back into Fuling's hands.
"It's nothing serious."
"It's getting late, let's go back home first."
The Censor might have thought that he had some special relationship with Xiao Yingzhu, so he came to ask her about it.
Most likely, he was afraid of accidentally offending the Duke of the current dynasty.
It’s a pity that he and Xiao Yingzhu are just partners, and the Censor’s thoughts are obviously unnecessary.
But this is a good time to take advantage of the opportunity.
When you need it...
Thinking about the future arrangements for the operation of the drugstore, Jiang Nian concealed the deep meaning in his eyes, and just gently comforted Fuling who was still worried, and then got on the carriage sent by the mansion to pick them up.
The oil lamps on the street were glowing dimly, and the candles on the lampstands in the corners were lit. When the wind blew, the bright candlelight flickered.
By the time the carriage returned to Jiang's house, the setting sun in the sky outside had already disappeared.
After dinner, Jiang Nian just arrived at the side room when the maid who often followed Jiang's mother told her that Jiang's mother was calling her for something.
From the time she traveled through time until now, Jiang's mother rarely spoke to Jiang Nian. I don't know why she called her over this time.
After Jiang Nian told Fuling to put the envelope under the account book he brought back from the pharmacy, he went to the main room where Jiang's mother lived.
The garden lights illuminate the winding path in the yard, and the flowers and plants that Jiang Mu usually takes care of are planted beside the path.
After lowering his head and carefully avoiding the plants, Jiang Nian stood in the corridor, raised his hand and knocked on the door, and called out "Mother".
After a while, there was some movement inside.
Jiang's mother usually goes to bed early, and now she is ready to go to bed with her clothes on.
The door was opened by the personal maid, and the bitter and heavy smell of Chinese medicine slowly spread out.
Although she seldom spoke to Jiang's mother, Jiang Nian knew that she always liked to use Chinese medicine to regulate her body. Taking advantage of this topic, she asked about Jiang's mother's health before getting to the point.
"I wonder what instructions mother has for Jiang Nian today?"
Jiang Mu Suli's face looked a little tired in the candlelight, and the marks of time had left some traces on her face, but the elegance of her facial features seemed to still remain between her eyebrows.
She listened to Jiang Nian's questions and just smiled gently with a soft tone.
"Nannan, come here."
Jiang Nian's hand was gently held by Jiang's mother. She looked at her daughter carefully and asked after a while.
"Did you encounter any difficulties going to the store today? I heard your father said he would hand over the management of the store to you."
"...If you have any problems, you can talk to your mother."
Did you call her over in the evening to ask what happened today?
Jiang Nian was stunned. He thought that in their eyes, this was his first time doing business, so he would naturally worry about problems.
Perhaps Jiang's mother was worried that she might encounter business problems. Jiang Nian didn't think about it too much, but just gently held Jiang's mother's hand back, his tone revealing a relaxing affirmation and reassurance.
"No, there are many things to do in the store, but they are not tedious. My daughter can handle them all."
Mother Jiang listened to Jiang Nian's words with her eyes lowered, with a hint of incomprehensible worry lingering in her eyes.
But in the end, he just closed his eyes tiredly and let go of the hand he was holding.
"Well, after hearing what Nannan said, I feel relieved."
Feeling that Jiang's mother had nothing else to say, although Jiang Nian had some doubts in his heart, he still nodded meekly in response.
Because he was not very familiar with Jiang's mother, Jiang Nian added some caring words, and finally found the right time to leave and stood up to say goodbye.
When she returned to the room, Fuling had already put the letter from the Censor under the account book as she instructed.
Guizhi heard from Fuling that Jiang Nian had received a letter from the Censor, and she was also worried.
"Miss, do you really not need to reply? Or tell the master?"
Jiang Nian knew that they were worried that the Censor might come to their house, so he just shook his head.
"There's no need. If Your Highness doesn't reply, then we naturally don't need to reply either."
Looking at the stunned and confused expression on Guizhi's face, Jiang Nian didn't explain much. But when she thought of the fawning look of the Censor when facing Xiao Yingzhu, her soft voice gradually became a little cold.
"As expected, it wasn't long before anxious people came to give gifts."
Seeing the cold expression in Jiang Nian's eyes, which did not reflect a smile, Guizhi shivered inexplicably. She moved her lips and finally just said "OK".
There were no unnecessary chores tonight, and Jiang Nian didn't need Guizhi or Fuling's help at the moment, so they immediately left and closed the door carefully.
The candlestick on the table swayed slightly, and the letter lay quietly on the table.
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and looked at the yellow cover for a while, then finally took out the letter, placed it on the candle flame, and slowly burned it into ashes.
Just now, Fuling walked out of the house to the yard with the letter.
I guess Xiao Yingzhu also saw it.
The fallen crow feathers on the ground in the yard resurfaced in Jiang Nian’s memory, and he gently closed his eyes.
Xiao Yingzhu's final statement in the afternoon overlapped with this letter.
His meaning couldn't be more obvious.
The reason she got this letter today was that Xiao Yingzhu had calculated that she would use the name of the Duke of another country to negotiate with the Censor.
And the last sentence in the afternoon emphasized to her once again that an alliance with the same ideals is as strong as gold.
I gave her face and reassured her.
It is reasonable that she will not be able to refuse no matter what happens next.
Although the real purpose behind the alliance still seemed like a shadow lingering behind her, Jiang Nian knew from the beginning that this cooperation would not end so quickly.
But the ideas Xiao Yingzhu brought were actually consistent with hers, which was a little unexpected for her.
The first floor is hidden in the night among the mountains.
The long courtyard was filled with the aroma of tea.
The crisp sound of rocking the jar suddenly stopped after Xiao Yingzhu arrived.
Qin Lan had the mahjong tiles scattered on the table removed. In the dim candlelight, three people whose faces could not be clearly seen stood up quietly from in front of the table, bent over and hurriedly walked past Xiao Yingzhu. The sound of their shoes stepping on the wooden floor was almost inaudible.
Feeling Xiao Yingzhu's gaze, as cool as the night, Qin Lan spread his hands and said with a smile, "You're too late. I'll find someone to keep me company."
He reached out and pushed open the tightly closed wooden window behind him. The shadows of bamboos outside the house swayed, and suddenly only moonlight remained in the room.
The lamp in the corner was turned off by someone at some point.
When the temperature in the room was no longer stuffy and just dropped to the lowest point, Xiao Yingzhu sat down on the armchair that Qin Lan had just asked someone to replace it.
The teacups on the table had already been brewed twice. When the host of the tea ceremony sat down, Qin Lan pushed the black-glazed Jianzhan teacup filled with mirror-clear tea in front of Xiao Yingzhu.
"The Miyun Dragon you mentioned earlier."
On the rosewood table, the teacup is filled with green leaves and red edges, and the clear and lively rock flavor lingers hazily in the nose.
Xiao Yingzhu casually lifted the edge of the cup with her fingertips, shook it slightly, and then put it back on the table.
"Thank you for your trouble."
Seeing that the tea he had brought remained untouched, Qin Lan was not annoyed. He caught a glimpse of the slightly sinister expression on Xiao Yingzhu's face. He turned his head to look at the moonlight outside the window, smiled and said, "Did the emperor send you a letter?"
The clouds and mist dispersed, and the full moon, which was originally blocked by the clouds, shone its moonlight through the bamboo forest and onto the window eaves, and the table next to the window suddenly turned cold and white.
Xiao Yingzhu looked at the small, translucent, dark lamp on the table in front of her, which was reflecting a bright light. She skipped his question and lightly tapped the table with her fingertips.
"That's why I came to see you today."
He spoke in a somewhat careless manner, with some elusive mixed feelings.
"After mid-autumn, they should be here."
Qin Lan poured himself a cup of tea and looked at Xiao Yingzhu opposite him, whose brocade clothes were dazzling in the moonlight. He just agreed but did not raise the topic immediately. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes after observing her.
"It's time to come."
The tea is sweet and mellow, and the porcelain cup in my hand makes a light sound when it touches the table.
Qin Lan narrowed his eyes and his gaze lingered on the clothes of the person opposite him.
"Are you using the beauty trick today?"
Xiao Yingzhu paused subtly in her tea drinking movements.
"Beauty trick?"
He slowly recited a few words, lowered his eyes to glance at his clothes, as if he remembered something, the arrogance in his eyes dimmed slightly, then he curled his lips and stretched out his hand to casually gather the sleeves that seemed to be glowing.
"As long as it can achieve the goal, then it can be considered a beauty trick."
Seeing Xiao Yingzhu's intriguing reaction, Qin Lan knew that he would know something he wanted to know today. He raised his eyes again and glanced at his brocade clothes that looked even brighter in the moonlight, feeling a little helpless.
“…You really are a person with a lot of thoughts in your body.”
Seeing that Xiao Yingzhu was just playing with the teacup with her eyes downcast and didn't respond to his words, Qin Lan didn't continue the topic. Instead, he stopped here and got straight to the point.
"I recently sent someone to follow the Second Prince you were looking for."
"I don't know if he's too afraid of the old emperor above him, or if he's waiting for something else, but he hasn't made any moves recently and seems quite quiet."
"But if there's anything unusual..."
Qin Lan's tone gradually deepened, and his eyes were filled with thoughts and memories.
"The old emperor's good son, the Fifth Prince, has been getting along with him recently."
As the words fell, a light sigh came from the other side.
"Are you okay?"
Xiao Yingzhu raised his eyelids, his eyes full of amusement and interest. He curled the corners of his lips with a half-smile and put the teacup back on the table.
"Are you trying to mislead the students?"
Qin Lan shrugged and leaned back in his chair.
"Who knows? It's intriguing that they could pull off a fake-and-real swap in broad daylight."
"As for what to do..."
The Miyunlong tea on the table cooled down, and the fragrance of tea in the room was blown away by the wind.
Qin Lan tossed the dice that he had found from nowhere and closed the shaking jar.
"Someone will give us the answer soon."
The room was silent, and the smile on Xiao Yingzhu's face reflected on her elegant brocade clothes, like a spring breeze.
However, the rebelliousness that had been suppressed was now clearly visible under the cold moonlight.
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