Chenyan
A little bit of red gold thread paper slightly exposed from the envelope on the windowsill shimmered like the golden light flowing on the surface of a lake under the flickering beam of light, dazzling and eye-catching.
Xiao Yingzhu paused for a moment on the words 'Please Open' on the envelope of the invitation letter, then looked away without any interest, her expression calm.
"Not interested."
"Really not going?"
Qin Lan narrowed his eyes slightly, flipped his invitation letter casually in his hand, and tapped the corner on the window table.
"Why do I sound a little bit unconvinced?"
"The most famous incense maker these days isn't those street-side incense shops, but the Jade Fragrance House, owned by Princess Qingping. The incense she makes is considered a fashion statement by the wealthy daughters of the capital."
Qin Lan pushed the side with the princess's seal in front of Xiao Yingzhu, with a look of watching a show in his eyes.
"Aren't you going to ask Miss Jiang, your ally, for the perfume formula?"
The unfolded side clearly shows the time and place of the birthday party, and the seal at the end is small and bright red.
Because of Qin Lan's words, when discussing with Jiang Nian in the drugstore yesterday afternoon, the faint fragrance around her body seemed to linger around the tip of her nose again. Xiao Yingzhu's eyes swept across the line of words, and her long eyelashes drooped slightly, blocking the dark thoughts in her eyes.
Jiang Nian's reference to buyers and merchants is actually a metaphor for the relationship between the royal family and the people. The royal family arose from the people, and therefore their concerns were not only about defense but also about people's livelihoods.
He had been most clear about this before. Although he resented Emperor Changde, he also used these concepts to distinguish right from wrong and maintained a tacit understanding of Emperor Changde's actions.
Thinking of the past, Xiao Yingzhu's eyes were filled with evil thoughts.
There had never been an opportunity to talk to Emperor Changde alone, and the timing of Jiang Nian's words happened to be when the Second Prince was about to make his final preparations.
The invitation on the windowsill was shining, and his mind reflected the bright and clear eyes of Jiang Nian when she was frank with him yesterday. His gaze fell on the place written on it, and the emotions in his eyes were as deep as the abyss, and his mood was difficult to discern.
If it weren't for what Jiang Nian said in the yard, perhaps he really wouldn't have planned to find out his true intentions from Emperor Changde so early, and this is indeed the most important point.
From the moment he started noticing Jiang Nian, he didn't know if it was the honesty and openness implied in her usual words and actions that always led him to change his routine again and again.
Cooperate with Jiang Nian first.
Then, considering Jiang Nian's progress in developing anthelmintics, he would lead the fifth prince to Cang County.
Then, because of her words, he had some ideas that he had never done before, such as taking the initiative to find out what Emperor Changde really thought.
After the fierce battle in Shenjiang, Xiao Yingzhu was tired of interacting with others and looked at the opportunities in the world with dead indifference.
And anything that has anything to do with irrelevant people is almost impossible for him.
However, these behavioral habits that seemed to have been ingrained in their bones were now receding like the tide at a speed so fast that even outsiders could see the changes.
The changes caused by torn nerves seem to be harmless.
The tiny dust particles floating in the air danced in the beam of light coming through the window, and flowed down along the light and shadow in front of the nanmu bookcase opposite where books were displayed, adding a touch of tranquility to the already quiet study.
Xiao Yingzhu's eyes were dark and unclear, and she finally slowly withdrew her gaze from the invitation letter.
"I'm not going to show up."
The invitation on the window table was not rejected directly as before, and was still lying there.
Qin Lan's gaze lingered on it for a few seconds, his thoughts turning around. Thinking that there was indeed something going on between these two people, he put away the invitation letter that he had just opened to Xiao Yingzhu, and a dark smile appeared in his eyes.
"Okay then."
Xiao Yingzhu's position in the court is unclear, so it would be problematic if he showed up directly. Therefore, it would be enough for him to just show up, which would be considered an explanation to Xinfeng.
Qin Lan knew when to stop, so he didn't make any other strange requests and just let the topic go.
The next course of action was finalized today, and Qin Lan also got some information from Xiao Yingzhu about his thoughts on Jiang Nian. He was naturally satisfied and did not plan to stay here for too long to attract attention. He immediately stood up, said goodbye, pushed the door and walked out of the study.
Xiao Yingzhu never had the habit of seeing guests off. After Qin Lan walked out of the corridor, he turned to look at Song Chui who appeared not far away.
"Did you take note of what I just said?"
Matsukune nodded silently.
"Is it consistent with what you have checked?"
Matsukuni's eyes remained calm as he raised his hand to gesture "yes".
Xiao Yingzhu's gaze paused on Song Chui's expressionless face, and then she looked away without interest.
"Then let's go according to the previous plan and pass on the message to Mo Qing on the way to Donglan."
"——If Emperor Changde sends another letter, just keep it directly. There is no need to pass it on to Pingzhou."
He looked at the invitation letter on the windowsill, and the cold smile on his lips turned slightly cold.
"I will go to the capital then."
Matsukune gestured again and disappeared into the study.
Qin Lan walked out of the study and glanced at Xin Feng, who was standing not far away and walking towards the gate but turned back, and raised his eyebrows.
"I've taken care of your business for you, why are you still here?"
Xinfeng glanced at the study and leaned idly against the wall next to the door.
"Matsubuki is going with me to do some work. He's still with the master. I'm waiting for him."
Qin Lan's smile froze, and then he shook his head with a smile.
"Your master is extremely suspicious."
It seems that even Emperor Changde would give in to his suspicion.
Seeing Xinfeng's dazed look, Qin Lan just sighed and looked at him with some pity.
"You're such a simple person, but you've stayed with Xiao Yingzhu for so long. It's hard for you to not be pawned by him."
"?"
Xin Feng just thought that Qin Lan was like his adopted parent. If he successfully delivered the princess' birthday invitation to his master, he would no longer be in a dilemma of not being able to hand over the letter and not replying to it.
But as Qin Lan said the next sentence, the thank you he wanted to say was stuck in his throat.
Seeing Xin Feng's somewhat dissatisfied look, Qin Lan stopped teasing him, turned around, waved his hand and walked out the door.
"Let's go, goodbye."
Qin Lan stopped walking until Xinfeng could no longer see his figure. He closed his eyes slightly and sighed.
Even now, after so many years, Xiao Yingzhu's suspicion has not diminished.
Even his friend who had been helping Xiao Yingzhu since he rescued her from the pile of corpses would inevitably arouse his suspicion of everything.
The fact that Song Chui hadn't gone out to handle official business yet must have been that Xiao Yingzhu had instructed Song Chui to wait there in advance.
Such behavior obviously means that he still has doubts about the information he brought, and wants to compare the intelligence obtained by his subordinates with what he brought to confirm whether there is any deviation.
Obviously Xiao Yingzhu could have hidden the verification matter deeper instead of letting people know as soon as they asked.
But Xiao Yingzhu didn't do that.
It can only be said that he is reminded of his position all the time. Although Qin Lan is clear about Xiao Yingzhu's actions, he can't help but feel a little hurt.
The carriage passed by the road in front of Jiang Nian's experimental field, and Qin Lan's eyes paused for a moment on Jiang Nian's warehouse.
If Xiao Yingzhu's suspicion can be reduced, then we can only look at Miss Jiang Nian, who can arouse Xiao Yingzhu's interest and make her agree to cooperate.
After Xiao Yingzhu finished reading the petition, she looked up and saw Xuan Gui appear in the study. She pushed the petition aside and a look of interest appeared in her eyes.
"Did Zhu Wang and Jiang Nian meet?"
Xuan Gui nodded slightly, then reported Jiang Nian's next whereabouts coldly.
"He returned to the Jiang residence at the end of the day, and then seemed to be going out. His carriage stopped outside the Jiang residence."
Xiao Yingzhu was only concerned about whether Jiang Nian understood his intention. Seeing that Jiang Nian's actions were consistent with his expectations, he did not ask any more questions.
He sat quietly at the table for a while, tapping the surface with his fingertips.
"From now on, when investigating matters related to Jiang Nian, only investigate what I want to know. Don't pursue anything else."
A hint of surprise flashed across Xuan Gui's cold eyes, and then he lowered his head.
"yes."
"I know I was wrong, please punish me, Master."
In the past, Xiao Yingzhu always asked him to get to the bottom of the matter, but today's task was to find out whether Miss Jiang had any discussions with the Censor.
Due to uncertainty, he did not go directly into Miss Jiang's house to investigate as he did before when he was investigating spies, but he still stayed outside the Jiang Mansion to observe for a while.
Thinking about how he hadn't slept the whole night after talking with Qin Lan, and only took a short nap at dawn, and that he was not very clear about the requirements when he gave Xuan Gui the task, Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyes to look at Xuan Gui who was half-kneeling on the ground, and then calmly rejected his words.
"No, it's my fault."
Seeing that Xuan Gui seemed to want to look up suddenly, Xiao Yingzhu's nonchalant eyes showed a bit of interest.
"Prepare the car and go to the city gate."
It takes time to develop a large number of anthelmintics, but they will be sold in bundles in the near future.
Calculating the time, now that all other matters have been dealt with, there is no reason to go anywhere else, and it is time to start using the manpower given to her.
But the manpower given to her has not been used yet, which can only be because it was blocked due to other things.
Thinking about what was needed to make the anthelmintic, the only thing she had was the set of bottles and jars that had been placed in her warehouse.
The blacksmith shop with the best quality and fastest workmanship in Liangdu City was located at the city gate.
In his two previous conversations with Jiang Nian, he felt that her ideas and wording were interesting.
If he were to go to the city gate now, he might come across something that would pique his interest.
The coachman stopped the carriage in front of Jiang's house again.
At this time, Jiang Nian had already changed his clothes.
Having climbed the mountain and gone to the downtown area in the morning, it was inevitable that he would get dusty. Jiang Nian didn't like dirt, so he wanted to go directly to the blacksmith shop to settle the account with the blacksmith.
But when she saw that the hem of her skirt had gotten a little muddy on the way to the Taoist temple, she had no choice but to go back to the room and ask Fuling to prepare a new set of clothes, and she also went to wash up.
Fuling followed Jiang Nian's instructions and stopped after sending Jiang Nian to the gate of Jiang's house.
Jiang Nian turned around and waved to Fuling, then got into the car and lowered the curtain.
There is a long distance between Jiang Mansion and the city gate of Liangdu City. Going straight past it is equivalent to driving from east to west.
I have been busy with family matters in the past few days. Although the purpose of this trip is also for business purposes, Jiang Nian is still a little excited because it is the first time he has been to a place other than the Jiang Mansion and the drugstore experimental field. Seeing the unfamiliar scenery, he is still a little excited.
However, this bit of good mood was instantly reduced by half when he saw Xiao Yingzhu.
Ever since he carefully calculated the cooperation relationship with Xiao Yingzhu this morning, Jiang Nian had the illusion of returning to modern times and seeing his superiors when he thought about the chips he should raise for the convenience brought by cooperating with the Duke.
Her heart, which had been slightly relieved yesterday due to her unexpected discovery that Xiao Yingzhu shared similar views with her, returned to a state of caution and exploration.
Jiang Nian asked the driver to stop the carriage, raised his hand to lift the curtain and got out.
I don’t know if Xiao Yingzhu is interested in hiding her identity today like last time, but it’s always better to be cautious with etiquette.
She glanced around and saw that there was no one around, so she bowed slightly to Xiao Yingzhu.
"Why are you here today, sir?"
Xiao Yingzhu seems to prefer light-colored brocade clothes, and even the single earrings must be the same color as the brocade clothes. In the hot weather, all she sees is a pure white, which makes her feel cool.
There was a hint of deep meaning in his eyes, and his tone was light, with a hint of inquiry.
"My friend has a teahouse nearby. I just came here to enjoy it today. I wonder why Miss Jiang came here?"
It was not known whether Xiao Yingzhu did it intentionally or not, but because of his plain clothes and words, Jiang Nian always felt that he seemed somewhat elegant.
And he dressed like this twice in a row, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, gradually erasing the dark red and bright-colored vicious image when they first met, so as to let people down their guard and make him easy to eat.
Jiang Nian became more alert in his heart, and the smile on his face was shallow and pure.
"There's an urgent matter at the blacksmith shop, and I was just about to go there. If you have anything else to do, please excuse me."
Xiao Yingzhu's eyes were distracted, but the smile on her lips remained sharp, and her tone was casual and light.
"Miss Jiang and I are allies. We are in trouble now, so how can we just stand by and watch?"
There was a hint of coldness and darkness in his eyes.
"Miss Jiang, why don't we go together?"
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