beware
Now that Ru was going to find You, and You had something to ask Ru, she wouldn't have to worry about running into You who would appear on the road without anyone noticing.
Jiang Nian avoided the guards and quickly walked towards the last room at the end of the corridor.
There were light footsteps on the wooden floor. The walls seemed deep and steep in the dark areas. Looking up at the dark areas in front, one could only glimpse monochrome black.
In the dim light, the rest of the furnishings were silent in the years, covered with a layer of white cloth, the vision was diffused, and the dust was floating in the slanting light.
It's like an old spider web, soaking and entangling every breath with fine dust.
Jiang Nian was shocked by the crampedness of the dark place. He frowned and opened the closed door beside him.
There was a slight click from the doorknob, and the rotten smell instantly filled my nose.
She held her breath and looked inside with the light coming through the edge of the long wall behind her.
There was no lighting, and the faint light only showed her the way forward. If she wanted to verify whether there was a talisman formation here, she would need to go in and explore it herself.
It was the slack period for the guards after their shift change, and the people on duty after noon were nervous and drowsy. They just sat at the end of the corridor with their legs crossed, half-closed their eyes and stared at the corridor filled with golden light in a daze.
Jiang Nian is not afraid of the dark, but the mysterious color given to her by the Wu Mi crowd is like a psychological portrayal that implies danger. In this environment where there is no one around and she has to rely on herself, and she is unaware of the potential dangers, she is still a little nervous.
He carefully observed the layout of the room with a serious expression along the way, remembering the way he came, and circled around several corners of the room before finally seeing the talisman array.
The light of the talisman array was not as dazzling as the other places. The golden light was faint, alternating between light and dark, like the weak breathing of a patient.
Without You's answer, he could only mark it on the drawing when asking the maid at night. After memorizing the talisman array, Jiang Nian quickly turned back to the door.
There is nothing peculiar in the decoration of this room, and there are no strange ornaments here.
But the oppressive feeling it gave her was heavier than that in other rooms, making her want to quickly escape from this forgotten and abandoned place that was left at the end of the year.
—
Taking advantage of the guard's lazy daze after yawning, Jiang Nian walked quietly past the guard. Relying on the map in her mind, she went up the stairs on the side that few people passed by, and walked along the right wall. After reaching the third floor, she was shocked to find that this was a dead end. She had to suppress her pounding heart and go back to the first floor.
Except for the first one when she was looking for the talisman array yesterday, You led her to the direction every time, so Jiang Nian didn't feel nervous when she met the servants and maids.
But now I have to go explore alone, and the anxiety that has been suppressed in my heart is lifted up again. I am always on guard to see if I will meet other people at the next blind spot.
Unfortunately, Murphy's Law never fails.
The more you worry about something happening, the more likely it is to happen.
Jiang Nian was praying that she wouldn't run into anyone when her personal maid came down from the windlass, holding a gift box and walking towards her from the front.
The distance was still far, Jiang Nian's right eyelid twitched, and he hurriedly hid in an empty room nearby.
I had originally planned to wait for the maid to pass by this room before heading back to the windlass, but as soon as the door closed, faint sounds of conversation came through the non-soundproof wall next door.
“…”
The plot progression over time is always remarkably similar.
Yesterday, You followed behind her and watched her walk.
Today he ran into her hiding by the wall and listening to his conversation with Lu.
The maid outside the corridor had not yet walked here. The gift box in her hand was very valuable. She was afraid that if it was accidentally broken, it would be half her life, so she walked step by step in a very elegant manner.
Jiang Nian stood behind the door and listened to the footsteps in the corridor for a while, then made a quick decision, walked quietly to the side of the door, restrained his breath and began to secretly gather information.
The voices from next door came in intermittently.
—
You spoke in a low voice, with a chilling smile: "My sister and I have served the Wu Mi people for so many years, how could we betray them?"
"I thought that after two or three years, your vision might have improved, but I didn't expect that even after being transferred to Cang County by the leader, you still haven't improved at all."
Before Lu could respond, he said with a smile and a faint whisper, "You're not still counting on your sister to nominate you after returning to Donglan, are you?"
The undisguised ridicule came through particularly clearly from the end of the word "you". Even though Jiang Nian couldn't see Lu's expression, he could imagine what kind of angry look would appear under the mask of strange smile.
"I advise you to stop arguing with her. I wanted to persuade you with kind words and let you know that the muddy waters here are not so easy to wade through, but you insist on being ungrateful..."
Ru laughed strangely a few times, making it clear that he was unwilling to believe what You said.
"Wait a few days for me to observe. When I find any fault, don't go crying and looking for her like a baby who hasn't been weaned."
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes, listening to the conversation next door, while also paying attention to the footsteps in the corridor.
The maid's footsteps were a bit heavy. She paused for a moment when passing by the door, as if she had sensed something for no reason. She was looking at the door of the room where Jiang Nian was in confusion, but was then distracted by the words of the maid who came from behind.
The two people next door also obviously heard the conversation in the corridor, and the volume of their conversation gradually died down.
"Go tell her, I will keep an eye on you on behalf of the leader."
"Be careful, I'll catch you, and then it will be too late to cry foul..."
The voice stopped halfway, the laughter suddenly became hoarse, and the words were stuck in the throat of fate.
Yu's gloomy yet joyful laughter replaced Lu's words:
"You'd better stop getting involved with my sister and me. Don't think you're so great just because you made a fool of the spies outside."
"Look at your immobile body now. You really have no ability to resist in front of the person you hate."
As if admiring Lu's irresistible and angry face, the last tone of You's voice revealed joy. After a moment of silence, the interest that rose in his heart dissipated, and he became bored.
"Anyway, as long as the mission is completed, the leader will not punish us whether it is successful or not, and you, the scapegoat, can just live well."
"What a fragile thing..."
A rustling sound came from next door, and the familiar sound of paper pages unfolding made Jiang Nian immediately realize something.
Are you planning to feed Ru some powder or pills?
As soon as this thought popped into her mind, the sound of a violent struggle next door immediately confirmed her guess.
The cups fell to the ground, and the subtle sound of flowing water and the cough that was forced to swallow until it was strangled in the throat were heard together. You seemed to feel disgusted, picked up the cloth beside him and wiped his hands slowly, waiting leisurely for Ru to catch his breath and be furious.
Realizing what was going to happen, Jiang Nian thought that he probably knew most of the information. Although it was not of much use, it could be used as a clue and connected together after all the information was collected.
Therefore, in order to protect his eardrums, Jiang Nian immediately stood up and walked towards the door.
Naru's voice was loud to begin with, and I wonder what it would be like if he got angry.
She didn't want to get injured at work before she had finished gathering intelligence.
If that were the case, he would have to wait until the discomfort was over before he could see Xiao Yingzhu, and he wouldn't be able to use the discomfort of being injured while gathering intelligence to tease him.
The time for Jiang Nian to catch her breath was short. Just as she was about to raise her hands to cover her ears, the deafening questioning voice from next door went straight through the wall and hit her eardrums.
"——What did you feed me?!"
Jiang Nian felt a headache. She had much more things to deal with than just worry. She didn't want to get involved in this unreasonable quarrel. She immediately determined that there was no one outside the door, opened the door and slipped out.
—
The noise in the tea room died down after that thunderous roar.
You looked at Lu, whose mask was red, and waved the pill in his hand.
"You can't talk anymore, right? The sun is setting, isn't it time to change places?"
"A lot of people are eyeing your position. I don't want my sister's plan to be hindered midway. Are you going to hang on like this until the plan is completed?"
His eyes were cold and gloomy, but a smile was on his lips: "If there is no antidote, you'd better be quiet for the next few days."
Ignoring the look Ru was giving him, he turned around with a worried smile, casually put the pills into his bag, opened the door of the room with a happy expression, and without waiting for Ru to say anything, closed the door to block out the resentful gaze.
—
Standing outside the tea room, You turned his wrist.
It took some effort to grip Lu's neck, which was as thick as a tree trunk. Although it didn't consume as much energy as "driving" the puppet normally, it still caused some damage.
However, this dull pain is of no importance to You.
Anyone who wants to hinder my sister's plan must be dealt with.
He walked forward a few steps, smiled and nodded to the maids passing by him, then glanced at the compartment where they had just talked.
For some reason, I felt like some cute little animals were eavesdropping on us while we were talking just now.
Is it an illusion?
You smiled, stretched out his hand, and opened the door of the next room.
The interior layout is the same as usual, with not much change.
In recent days, Zuihualou has welcomed the new arrivals and it is very convenient to enter and exit.
If the cute little animals feel like jumping around at this moment, let them jump around.
Suppressing the gloom that was gradually spreading in his eyes, You reached out again and closed the door in front.
Looking up from this corridor, one can only see a corner of the room where the goddess is visiting.
You rubbed his wrist absentmindedly, turned around and walked upwards.
Right now I need to help my sister see if there are any interested people around, and this time is just right.
One has been dealt with for now, so the next one will have to wait a while.
He didn't want to keep someone who had something on them until the end.
It is best to eliminate the problem completely after obtaining all the information.
—
This time, Jiang Nian went out of the door and went all the way to the mezzanine under the attic. He had smooth access without encountering much hindrance.
Based on the principle of completing everything that can be found out in one go, she looked around vigilantly for a moment, and only moved forward after she felt that there was no sign of life around her.
It was the same as what she thought when she saw the blueprints in Youguan Mansion. The surroundings were all dark, but since the windlass could reach here, it meant that someone would come here to store some things.
The wooden floor of this mezzanine is quite old and makes a noisy sound when you walk on it. In order to prevent people from passing by below, Jiang Nian kept slowing down his pace.
There were no detailed notes on this level on the blueprint, so she could only rely on her senses to reach the location of the goddess's guest room.
But then again.
Is it true that someone would go to the ceiling and crawl on the floor to listen in order to gather intelligence?
It feels so weird.
According to what he heard just now about the quarrel between You and Lu downstairs, and the fact that You fed Lu something similar to a mute potion, he should be rushing to the vicinity of the goddess's room.
“…”
Jiang Nian blinked and suddenly stopped.
There are wooden boxes lined up all around, and I don't know what's inside. A faint fragrance lingers from them.
If you go deeper without marking the area... you might get lost here accidentally.
She lowered her head, took out the perfume bottle, and sprayed some on her clothes. After it dried, she probably left powder.
But then again.
Can you really see this powder in the dark?
Jiang Nian half-believed and half-doubted, so he left a little perfume on a nearby cargo box and continued to walk forward towards the room where the goddess was.
The thoughts that had been delayed continued to flow.
If the goddess was worried about guarding the area, she should be in the corridors on the fifth floor, not in this mezzanine.
Jiang Nian felt a little bit like praying.
Apart from listening to the movements below on the ceiling, she really couldn't think of how to turn herself invisible, open the door under the noses of the goddess and the guests, and then walk in and listen in a corner.
Maybe those secret guards and followers have a way.
Jiang Niansi paused for a moment, then tried to call the secret guard in a low voice.
The surroundings were quiet, without any change.
…
Can secret guards only operate on the third floor and below?
Judging from the attitude of the maid and the secret guard, the secret guard she requested to go to the fourth floor would not come back for a while, which meant that they were not very familiar with the fourth floor.
...How did Xiao Yingzhu arrange those secret guards?
As expected, I still brought in my usual thinking and thought that the secret guards would be spread across every floor of Zuihua Tower.
If it was really that easy to infiltrate, this place wouldn't be called the gathering place of Wu Mi Zhong Cang County.
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes, avoiding some strange-looking wooden floors, and walked for an unknown amount of time - maybe he was going in circles, or maybe this mezzanine was really big.
Finally, after about fifteen minutes, they found it on the ceiling of the goddess' room.
It’s like walking in the dark, and suddenly you catch a glimpse of light.
Jiang Nian was alert and ready to move forward.
In the darkness, the outlines around were blurred.
As she walked forward, she suddenly saw a human-shaped shadow in her peripheral vision.
"?"
Suddenly thinking of the faceless doll in You's hand, Jiang Nian frowned and hid behind a wooden box.
After a moment, the puppet began to move.
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