Banquet
Ayton stopped and walked forward.
Halfway through the walk, he turned back and said to his men beside him, "You go ahead, I'll go ask around."
Thinking of the shoulder pole he was carrying, Buqu quickly bent down and stuffed one of the packets of formula into Ai's hand: "Wait, take this medicine that Miss Jiang prepared for us before going to Zuihualou."
The brown potion in the small bottle swayed under the water as the two hands passed between them, and then was held firmly in the palm of their hands.
"I see."
Ai's voice was light and emotionless, but when he glanced at the old woman, his expression hid a hint of alertness.
"You guys keep going as planned. I'll be here later."
After receiving the order, the soldiers responded in a low voice and merged into the large group of peddlers moving forward.
—
Holding the powder bag in his hand, Ai knocked tentatively on the gate of the courtyard and said to the old woman inside, "Old lady, is there anything I can help you with?"
The old woman looked over, her gaze vague and uncertain, as if following the sound. She hesitated for a moment and shook her head slightly.
“…”
Ai stood still, studying the old woman's face for a moment before saying, "We are merchants from the border, carrying some medicinal herbs not found here. We heard there's an epidemic raging in the city of Cang County. Is there anything the old lady needs? Or is there anything the children at home need?"
Before the old woman could speak, she observed her expression for a moment, then continued:
"I have some ready-made potions here, and I'd like to give you a pack for you to try."
It had been a long time since Jiang Nian had roughly taught him what he was saying. Ai Hui thought about it for a long time but couldn't think of how to say the second half. He could only pick up a word he had just said and make up something at random:
"If the old woman doesn't need it, could you prepare a pack for the child to try? With the epidemic raging, it's best to have more on hand just in case."
This time, the dull old woman reacted and looked straight over. Through Ai's position, it was unclear who she was looking at.
Ai stared for a moment, then walked over, holding the potion in his hand. He bent down to the old woman's mouth and said, "The distance was too far, I didn't hear clearly. Could you please repeat it?"
“…”
The green leaves of the elm tree outside the yard were bright, reflecting the light, which was reflected in Ai's eyes when he raised his eyes.
Hearing those unclear and faint words in his ears, Ai immediately stood up again and looked towards the bungalow behind the old woman with some doubts.
Only the bare window frame was left of the window, and a hole in the window paper had been poked by a naughty child and had not yet been repaired.
But I definitely didn't feel that there was anyone else in the yard except the old woman.
He subconsciously looked around and saw that the villagers were still staying in their houses, no one came out, as if they were afraid of these strange "uninvited guests" coming from outside.
On the road, the soldiers disguised as merchants had already reached the designated place and were hiding in the woods at the foot of Qixia Mountain. They found a secluded place to avoid being noticed by the villagers who had returned from farming.
Ai lowered his eyes again and glanced at the old woman sitting on the bamboo chair in front of him. He nodded slightly to the old woman and said, "In that case, I will bring this package of formula into the room and let your grandson try it out."
The old woman said there was a child at home who could try, but why was there no one there?
Ai pinched the potion between his fingers and walked towards the inner door with a questioning look.
—
The room was empty, with almost nothing in it except some old pots and pans, a table, a chair, and a bed.
Ai pushed the door open, her palm touched the rough wooden door, and she stood at the threshold and looked at the furnishings inside for a moment. Apart from the dry smell of earth, she only felt a gust of cold wind passing through the gap between her body and the door frame, and then went into the patched sleeves of her clothes, which she was wearing to pretend to be a vendor.
He looked back at the old woman sitting in the middle of the yard.
The old woman hunched her back, her hands folded on her knees, her white hair pinned up with a hairpin, like a body with its soul almost drained away, not moving a muscle.
Hearing no sound of anyone trying to stop him, and since this place looked like it might contain clues that could be explored, Ai no longer hesitated and stepped into the room.
—
Qin Lan rode his horse, looking at the seemingly endless, uniform desert and the white sky. His mental and physical fatigue reached its peak. He really didn't want to go forward. He reined in his horse and found a shady place to sit on the ground.
The soldiers beside him were also a little tired, but not as weak as Qin Lan. They just followed Qin Lan and walked on the dry grass beside the road.
The closer you get to the border, the more huge stone statues you'll see.
The stone statue was roughly carved by the craftsman. Looking from the bottom up with a frown, one can only make out two eyes, a mouth and a straight hooked nose.
They stood on the lawn and looked at each other seriously.
The wind blew up sand and carried away a piece of dry grass. Standing under the stone, it was most likely that your face would be covered with debris and sand.
The soldier made a few "Pooh" sounds, wiped his face with his hand, and turned to look at Qin Lan, who was lying on the stone neck with his legs weak.
He sat in a low position, and the angle was good, so the dust avoided him and flew towards the chin of the stone. Higher up, they were the group of people standing in front of the stone, admiring its appearance.
Just like choosing a concubine, the courtesans picked the soldiers of suitable height and, with the help of the wind, pressed their bodies against the soldiers' faces with a "slap" sound.
“…”
Feeling a pair of lifeless eyes falling on his face, Qin Lan put his hands on his legs, raised his eyes in confusion, and looked in the direction of the sight.
Seeing a pair of faces covered in dust and grass debris, he felt a little funny for some reason. He even laughed casually: "No rush, after checking the route, we can go to the Qixia Mountain mine to find medicinal herbs, and then we can return to Pingzhou."
Buqu wiped the dust off his face and got back to business. His playful thoughts were gone, and he felt a sudden weight on his heart. "I know."
"If this epidemic is stopped by Miss Jiang, Pavilion Master... do you think we still need to look for herbs?"
Qin Lan's smile faded, and he looked a little solemn. He cast his gaze on Bu Qu's face and said seriously, "Even if Miss Jiang can control the latter epidemic, the earlier batch of patients will still need our help."
"No matter what, as long as there is a cure, we must do it."
"Before Huandu and Donglan start a conflict, we can't be careless at all."
The guard nodded, not quite understanding, and after thinking for a long time, replied, "I understand. It's to prevent the plague in Cang County from spreading further and reaching the capital, right?"
Qin Lan nodded slightly, his tone heavy, "It's hard to say whether the plague will break out again. If Cang County becomes chaotic, refugees will follow the route and enter the capital. That's the most undesirable situation."
Even if the epidemic is stopped this time, the original epidemic has not been cured. It seems to be harmless now, but will it break out again in the future? They cannot predict it.
In order to avoid future troubles, we must eradicate it now.
—
Zuihualou
After last night's heavy rain, the midday sun is shining brightly again.
Wooden floors become slightly hot when exposed to direct sunlight for a long time.
Jiang Nian stood up from the warm room, rubbed his eyes, and covered his warm cheeks.
......
So quiet.
Did you oversleep?
The moment he regained consciousness, Jiang Nian immediately remembered the page of paper he had taken from Ling before lunch break.
The goddess still needs her personal maid to go to the top pavilion in the afternoon. If she doesn't go now, it will be too late.
There was no alarm clock in the room, and the funnel was half full and had been forgotten to be turned over.
Jiang Nian glanced out the window, observing the sky, hurriedly picked up his coat from the back of the chair, opened the door, and trotted to the windlass.
—
Running all the way, facing the strange looks of the maids passing by, Jiang Nian got off the windlass, changed his position and ran again, passing the maids who were going down the stairs, dodging all the way to the fifth floor.
After walking in Zuihualou for a few days, the exercise before the Huachao Meeting was almost forgotten. Now she was jogging again and climbing several flights of stairs. She was a little out of breath.
After calming her breath at the stairs, she turned her head and looked at the room in the attic upstairs.
The door was half open, white light shone through the gap, dust floated in the air, and the shadows on the stair railings were slanted and cast on the steps below, with the black and white interplay outlining a clear outline.
Is the goddess not in the room?
Why is it so quiet?
Jiang Nian slowed down his pace, placed his hands on the railing, and carefully moved up a few steps at a time.
Her line of sight was just level with the ground at the gap in the attic door, and she blinked and looked inside for a moment.
There was no one in sight, and the room seemed empty.
Is this true or false?
Jiang Nian paused for a moment, then held the handle and went straight up to the last step.
The door of the attic was ajar, and a faint, cool fragrance lingered from the gap. Jiang Nian stood in front of the door, thought for a moment, then raised his hand and knocked on the door.
No one answered.
Are you going to visit guests?
Recalling that when the goddess went to meet the guests, many maids in the top pavilion also left.
The recipe that he was worried about might be in the top pavilion. Jiang Nian hesitated for a while, but still pushed the door and walked in.
Silently saying sorry in his heart, Jiang Nian turned around and moved the door to its original angle. He turned around, stood in the room and looked around for a moment, and finally his eyes passed through the bead curtain in front of him and fell on the goddess' dressing table.
“…”
Would the information she was looking for be there?
Jiang Nian stood there, not moving.
She sighed and raised her hand to rub her temples which were beginning to ache.
This is not right.
Even if you want to find out some information, the goddess is not the kind of person who is easily stressed or hysterical. If you can come up with something that can interest her, maybe you can negotiate for the antidote for Princess Qingping.
I still couldn't get over the line of defense in my heart that prevented me from entering other people's rooms or touching other people's things without permission.
Jiang Nian took a step back and stood a little further away from the bead curtain.
Since there is no one here now, I still have to think about where she should hide and listen if I talk to the goddess about plague or minerals here.
The interior of the pavilion wasn't particularly messy, perhaps thanks to the daily cleaning done by the personal maids, so everything sparkled. While there were many items, aside from some rouge and powder left behind by the goddess after use, most were clearly arranged.
There are too few places to hide in the not-so-big space.
Jiang Nian ignored the places that could only accommodate one person to rest, and raised his eyes directly to look at the hidden compartment where clothes were stored.
…
Can people hide there?
She had seen the personal maid take out the clothes inside before, but because the door was only half open, she didn't see the layout inside clearly.
Just as he was hesitating, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and placed it on Jiang Nian's shoulder.
“!”
Jiang Nian was startled by the force that was neither light nor heavy. He reflexively took a step back to the door frame and turned around to look back.
Seeing the person coming, she sighed in her heart, as expected, but a smile still appeared on her face.
"Sir Extraditer."
You waved his hand, stood still in his original position, and just raised his eyelids to glance inside.
"My sister is meeting a guest. What do you want? Let's talk downstairs."
Judging from the tone of this picture, it is still the same as before, so I guess his mentality has improved.
It was quite awkward to stand in front of someone else's room door. Jiang Nian nodded, then turned around and went downstairs with You.
—
The maids who used to guard the road were nowhere to be seen. Jiang Nian had been curious since he came up just now. Normally, no matter how important the matter was, they would stay here. How come they all left at once?
She usually didn't pay attention to those maids. To her, except for the secret guards, You and the goddess, everyone else was a stranger.
You walked in front, and seemed to sense her confusion from a distance, and explained:
"Today, my sister also needs to evaluate the geisha's job status. Therefore, while my sister is entertaining guests, the maids will help the geisha sort out the number of visitors on weekdays."
Is there any other work of this kind to be done?
Zuihualou is different from the common singing and dancing halls. It is mixed with many forces of the Wumi people, and most of the rules are set by the Wumi people. Jiang Nian did not understand these, so he could only nod knowingly.
"So that's how it is... No wonder I didn't see anyone else when I came up just now."
She looked around and saw that the lower the floor, the more people there were. In order to prevent him from hearing, she stopped the topic.
After reaching the corridor on the first floor and agreeing on a cooperative room with You, Jiang Nian didn't intend to get too involved in the test. He turned and looked at You, thinking about the most likely choice he would make, and said:
"What are you going to get in exchange this time?"
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