doubt
I didn't expect Xiao Yingzhu to act so boldly, and Qin Lan didn't even have any objections.
Xizhen lowered her brows, picked up the scented tea and brought it to her lips, then blew lightly on it until the petals floating on the tea surface sank deep into the water.
"No problem. I had already thought about it before I knew you would come."
"Miss Jiang, you can ask as much as you want."
Jiang Nian nodded, turned to a new page in the notebook, dipped the tip of the pen in ink, and made a new stroke on the paper.
"Then I will speak frankly—"
She paused for a moment, then raised her eyes and looked directly at Xizhen.
"I heard that the Goddess and Xi Changshi both came from the Wumi people of Donglan. Did you work with her during that time?"
This question was asked mercilessly, but it was indeed the key to determining whether the information about the goddess that Xizhen had was accurate.
"..." Xizhen narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze lightly falling on Jiang Nian's face, pursed his lips and smiled slightly, "It happened before. I was able to escape from the Wu Mi people and travel from Donglan to Huandu because of the help of the goddess."
“!”
Could their relationship be so deep?
Jiang Nian glanced sideways and thought about it.
At that time, Xizhen was right in saying that he and the goddess were from the same hometown.
But...is the goddess such a sentimental person?
Xizhen squinted her eyes, seeing that Jiang Nian was confused without saying anything, and spoke softly to her, making a few mouth shapes.
Before going to the Huachao Conference, Jiang Nian had done some training for this, so he easily recognized what Xizhen wanted to say.
“…”
After receiving the answer he hadn't explicitly stated at the meeting, Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment: "Does Commander Yu know about this?"
Xizhen slowly stretched out a fingertip, waved it towards her, and slowly said a few words.
"It's more than that. Their relationship is deeper than mine."
The rich fragrance surrounded her, subtly stirring Jiang Nian's nerves.
Xizhen put his hands on the table, propped up his chin, tilted his head towards her, and said with a smile:
"Only 'us' know about this, okay? Miss Jiang."
Suspicious that Yu Xizhen described the relationship between the goddess and Yu He as "deep", and his mind kept reminding him of the blood relationship between Xizhen and the goddess, Jiang Nian's mind was in a mess, and he frowned and replied half a beat late:
"I understand. Sir, please rest assured. I am not a talkative person."
Xizhen still supported his head with one hand, while the other hand was used to pick up the teacup from the table.
Hearing Jiang Nian's answer, he just gave her a feminine smile.
"It's okay to talk too much, it won't cause any trouble."
Intuitively, Jiang Nian didn't want to know the meaning behind this "causing trouble", so he blinked and changed the subject.
"If that's the case, then I'm relieved." She wrote a few words in the notebook, then looked up and asked Xizhen, "So, what kind of person do you think the goddess is?"
In order to make his understanding more detailed, Jiang Nian explained: "For example, are you paranoid about a certain thing? Are your words inconsistent with your actions? Do you make a desperate move and leave no room for maneuver?"
“…”
Surprised by Jiang Nian's words, Xi Zhen didn't answer. Instead, she looked up at her with a smile: "Miss Jiang, have you ever met this kind of person? It sounds like you're complaining a little."
"?"
Jiang Nian paused as he was about to write, and suddenly remembered that the people he had just described were Xiao Yingzhu and Meng Zheng.
Even if the two people look completely different.
But in some places, it is indeed the same.
It allowed her to be caught in the middle of their inexplicable dispute for a while, only then did she realize that they didn't have much deep hatred at all.
But they are diametrically opposed in opinions and views.
...If I had known earlier, I would have said to Xiao Yingzhu in the carriage, "Don't look down on each other."
Jiang Nian's heart was wandering, but he didn't show it on his face. He replied calmly, "It's just an analogy. Where can I find such a paranoid person?"
"Sir, please answer quickly."
Xizhen smiled but said nothing. After thinking for a while, he slowly replied, "Don't take the goddess' words too seriously."
"She is a typical two-faced person."
"Some strange words... just listen to them the other way around."
He spoke the last sentence so softly that it barely reached Jiang Nian's ears.
Seeing his mouth opening and closing, but his words were not obvious and it was difficult to discern his lip shapes, Jiang Nian paused and asked, "Master Xi?"
“…”
Xizhen was silent for a moment, and then her beautiful eyes and eyebrows were replaced with her usual smile.
"Nothing, Miss Jiang."
"I think after not seeing her for so many years, the image of her that I know is a little off."
"Given the Wumi people's disregard for human beings, they must have gone mad to survive until now... and reach such a high position."
He said the last word lightly, even a little cheerfully. Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, then calmly skipped over the word and continued, "Then, sir, is there anything you would like to say to me?"
The question just now seemed to make Xizhen fall into memories of the past, so it would be better not to dwell on it for too long.
"hint?"
Xizhen raised her hand and twirled the hair that fell below her neck, her fingertips gently twisting the soft dark-black hair ends, then she gently curled the corners of her mouth, and her gaze moved from the hair ends to Jiang Nian's face.
"If you really want to say something, Miss Jiang, you'd better pray that she doesn't discover your presence after entering Zuihualou."
"exist?"
Jiang Nian thought of the list of maids that Xiao Yingzhu showed her before sending it to Zuihua Tower.
There was already a portrait of her and her family on it.
Although the family is made up.
"The maids who entered Zuihualou asked for a list. My portrait is already on it."
She blinked.
"Does this count as being known to the Goddess?"
Xizhen gently withdrew her fingertips from the curled hair and thought for a moment.
"Maybe not? I'm not sure."
He narrowed his eyes again.
Against his fair skin, the deep red at the corners of his eyes was extremely charming.
"But since you were allowed in, that means even if the goddess discovered you, she would tolerate you for the time being, right?"
"After all, if you occasionally let a cute little hamster stealing oil and rice in, even a vicious person would watch it with a smile for a while before thinking about its end."
Xizhen tilted her head and spoke in a feminine voice, as if coaxing a child.
"But since it's a cute hamster...if we can sneak in without being seen, maybe nothing will happen, right?"
"I don't know the probability."
"It's up to Miss Jiang to decide."
Jiang Nian took a deep breath and reached out to hold the almost cold flower tea in his palm. When his warm palm touched the complete coolness, his confused thoughts calmed down.
"...I understand. Thank you for your answer, sir."
After taking a sip of the scented tea, she placed the porcelain glazed teacup back on the stone table.
"What if we are accidentally discovered?"
"Does Mr. Xi have any way to escape?"
As if amused by Jiang Nian's choice of the word 'escape', Xizhen smiled softly and sighed lightly, "Miss Jiang, there's no need to be so nervous."
"Of course there are ways to escape."
He leaned his head on his hand and spoke slowly, seeming to be very interested in the current topic and deliberately slowing down the pace of his answers.
"After all, your mission is crucial to the success of Cang County. If you need help in times of crisis, I will lend a hand."
"To lend a hand..." Jiang Nian repeated Xi Zhen's words and hesitated for a moment, "Doesn't Mr. Xi have other important matters..."
Xizhen blinked and smiled at her, "Miss Jiang, have you forgotten? Even if I'm cooperating with Commander Yu now, it's based on the Goddess."
"After all, my mission goal is the same as yours."
"It's all about finding out the source of the disease in the hands of the goddess and the plants in the mine."
"It was only because of the suspicion among the three parties that I took the initiative to cooperate with Commander Yu."
Yes.
The employees assigned to the insect repellent warehouse in Pingzhou are all important staff members of Xizhen.
Thinking of this, Jiang Nian wrote a few more words in the notebook and glanced across the page.
Even though he now knew from Xizhen about his relationship with the goddess, and even though he knew that Yu He and the goddess had a deeper relationship than Xizhen, the most important question remained unresolved.
Should I ask that soldier?
Even if the soldiers said they were on their side.
But it's only at this moment.
Who knows what will happen next?
What's more, his identity and origin are unknown, and all his abilities are beyond ordinary people.
It can hardly be described as a "human being".
Although Xiao Yingzhu and Qin Lan accepted her statement, they were still suspicious of the soldiers.
...After all, even she hesitates for a moment when she thinks of those promises.
Xizhen was not at all anxious about the urgent situation. He took the tea from the servant who had just arrived in the garden to change the water for them, and filled the teacups of both parties on the table.
"No matter how urgent it is right now, rest is the most important thing."
"Miss Jiang, it's time to rest. Why don't we try the tea bags you brought."
Xizhen lost interest in answering and Jiang Nian didn't want to keep pestering him. Besides, he had been asking questions for a while and even the tea had gone cold.
She calmed down her anxious mood and took out the tea bags in the wooden box from her bag.
"I made this according to...the recipe from my hometown." Xizhen must have never been to Pingzhou?
"If you don't mind, please try it now."
The prepared tea has received unequivocal praise from Ai and Qin Lan. Xiao Yingzhu occasionally drinks it but hasn't made up his mind about it. However, he'll occasionally throw a pack of it to try at meetings. Does that mean he thinks it's okay too?
Jiang Nian watched Xi Zhen put the teacup into the teacup as she said. Her slender fingertips clicked on the tea lid. With a crisp sound, the steaming mist was covered up, and a very light chuckle with a hint of breath came from above.
"Miss Jiang looks very nervous?"
Jiang Nian, having his heart inexplicably hidden, revealed his feelings openly, looked directly at Xi Zhen and smiled slightly, saying:
"That's natural. After all, only a small number of people recognize it right now. The tea I blend myself... naturally I want others who come to taste it to recognize it."
Xizhen rested his fingertips on the table and narrowed his eyes after hearing the answer: "What about the rest of the people?"
"—Of course I haven't tasted it yet."
After a moment of surprise, Xizhen reacted and gently brushed the wall of the cup with his fingertips.
"It seems that Miss Jiang is very confident in the scented tea she made?"
Jiang Nian didn't care about the difference between flower tea and herbal tea, and smiled naturally.
"People in my hometown really appreciate what I do... but it's hard to please everyone, so there are bound to be some who won't accept it."
"Until I meet someone who can't accept me, I naturally have to maintain humility and the necessary confidence."
Jiang Nian looked directly at Xi Zhen's slightly absent-minded gaze and said with a smile, "Master Xi, don't you agree?"
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