Perspective
Yan withdrew his gaze thoughtfully and did not insist on his opinion.
"Meng Jian must still be waiting for the right time to find an anthelmintic."
The teacup reflected Yan's slightly gentle face, and a few words were inserted into the quiet atmosphere.
Noticing Xiao Yingzhu raising her eyes, he naturally continued speaking.
"Rather than worrying about who 'Lu' will obey, why not first arrange for someone to be placed on the side of the goddess?"
The sun was shining brightly outside, carrying the lingering warmth of the afternoon into the interior of the house.
No one interrupted him, so he continued slowly:
"The Goddess is the leader of this epidemic. It's still not too late to place a special person with her."
"If you're lucky, you might even see 'Lu'."
Feeling Yan's gaze on him, he smiled slightly, his eyes carrying a hint of comfort.
Xiao Yingzhu suddenly put away his bored expression, raised his eyelids and looked at him as if he was seeing Yan for the first time, tapped the table, and said nonchalantly:
"you mean?"
Qin Lan was frightened by the faint smile that suddenly appeared at the corner of Xiao Yingzhu's mouth. A light bulb went off in his mind, and he instantly winked at Yan.
Naihe Yan didn't understand what he meant and continued to talk about the questions raised by Xiao Yingzhu.
"Recently, Zuihualou is recruiting maids for its courtesan. Why not send Ai to try?"
As the Flower Festival approaches, the lifeless Cang County slowly comes back to life. Even though it is only a flash in the pan, many people are willing to go to the event.
Recruiting maids at this time would be much easier than before when the plague was rampant and every household stayed at home.
Before Xiao Yingzhu could answer, Qin Lan had a bad feeling and interrupted:
"The Oiran has a long time to recruit maids. It's not impossible to wait until the Flower Festival is over."
"It's too early now—"
Before he could finish his words, Xiao Yingzhu slowly raised his hand.
Qin Lan frowned, stopped speaking for a moment, and his eyes suddenly fell to his ear.
The blood-red earrings fluttered out from the black hair, as if announcing something about to happen. They were extremely dazzling in the warm sun, reflecting a brilliant light.
Qin Lan narrowed his eyes subconsciously.
"Xiao?"
As Qin Lan's voice sounded somewhat incredulous, Xiao Yingzhu's voice fell at the same time.
The fan he had been holding earlier returned to his hand at some point. He pointed in Jiang Nian's direction and chuckled.
"Jiang Nian, go ahead."
“——”
No one expected that Xiao Yingzhu would choose this privileged girl who was favored by him, even Yan was unable to react.
Ai was the first to come back to her senses. Her usually indifferent gaze became focused on Xiao Yingzhu.
"Duke Xiao, I have more experience than your young lady. May I ask why you chose your young lady?"
Unlike Xuan Gui and Yan, Ai is both Qin Lan's subordinate and his adopted child.
Therefore, Ai has more freedom in certain speech and behavior that Xuan Gui and Yan are restricted from.
Xiao Yingzhu raised her eyes and glanced at him with a cold look, showing indifference to Ai's question.
He raised his hand slightly, indicating that Ai didn't need to continue.
This means that the intention will not be changed.
Why?
Qin Lan frowned and glanced at Jiang Nian.
Jiang Nian's face was calm, as if she had no complaints about being transformed into a maid and ambushed in the dangerous Zuihua Tower. She did not express any opinion about Xiao Yingzhu's actions.
Something must have happened between these two people.
"......" Qin Lan breathed a sigh of relief, half reminding and half questioning, "Private affairs should not be made public. Xiao, what is your reason for making such a choice?"
At first glance, Jiang Nian is just an ordinary drugstore girl. Regardless of what she can find out, she can probably only barely protect herself.
This is her first time in Cang County. What should she do if something goes wrong?
Not to mention what impact the insect repellent would have, he invited Jiang Nian to Cang County this time to identify the plant, not to let her do such a dangerous thing.
Not to mention Ai, they had only known each other for half a month, but he himself had some appreciation for Jiang Nian.
If such a good woman died because of Xiao Yingzhu's unclear instructions, how would she explain to her parents afterwards?
Besides, Emperor Changde is also a problem.
Xiao Yingzhu's choice was undoubtedly intended to push the game into a more dangerous position.
He wanted to seek the thrill of walking along the edge of the flames, facing the possibility of falling and being smashed to pieces at any time, but others did not think so.
It's really a bit extreme.
Xiao Yingzhu turned her head silently and looked at Qin Lan for a moment.
His dark and indifferent eyes reflected Qin Lan's reflection, and Qin Lan felt a tingling sensation on his scalp for no reason.
Something is wrong. This is very wrong.
I feel like I can't get anything out of Xiao Yingzhu. The chances of getting an answer will be greater if I ask Miss Jiang after the conversation.
But his motive for looking for Jiang Nian for no reason was too obvious.
Even if his thoughts become known to everyone as soon as he takes action, he still has to find an appropriate reason to cover it up.
Qin Lan's thoughts raced through his mind, and he tapped the table with his fingertips, actively guiding the conversation:
"That's fine. Since the next action is to resolve the Flower Festival issue first, there's still time to deal with the rest after the festival."
"They won't be prepared to take action at this time."
Meng Yao has been spoiled since he was a child. Meng Jian has conducted special investigations on the personalities of several princes and will certainly not interfere with Meng Yao's actions at this time.
"Um."
Although he was somewhat puzzled by Xiao Yingzhu's choice, Yan hesitated for a moment, and finally withdrew his gaze from Jiang Nian and responded lightly.
He and Qin Lan looked at each other, ignored the slightly delicate situation, and began to talk about the clues to be mentioned next.
"—When we went to the basement earlier, we got the remaining clues that were still intact."
Xuan started over, ready to put an end to this suffocating conversation.
"Those pages record the amount of donations collected from 'Lu' that year."
"The people living at the foot of Qixia Mountain regard 'Lu' as a positive god who can ward off evil spirits, so they will worship 'Lu' on specific dates."
"And those hiding behind the statue of 'Lu' are members of the Wumi tribe."
"They used the donated money to transport the 'witch'. These pages were equivalent to the treasury at the time."
He was looking unhappy.
"If we can obtain the information corresponding to the remaining pages, we may be able to know what 'Wu' is."
Those pages destroyed by heavy rain originally recorded the quantity needed by the "witch".
And the 'witch' is likely to be related to that unknown plant.
It may even be the source of the coming epidemic.
Xiao Yingzhu nodded lightly, indicating that she understood.
All the necessary information had been explained, and there was no one else to report to at the moment, so Xiao Yingzhu's eyes fell directly on Ai.
"Are you free to conduct an interrogation these days?"
Ai was stunned for a moment when his name was suddenly called, then he responded swiftly, "I am on standby at any time, awaiting orders from Duke Xiao."
Xiao Yingzhu raised her hand and asked Xuan Gui to move the man out of the room, and briefly recounted the two incidents that happened in the State Guest House last night.
First, Meng Yao mobilized the nobles in the State Guesthouse, greatly stimulating their expectations for the Flower Festival. In the future, there will probably be many outsiders who were persuaded by those nobles to come to the Flower Festival.
The second group was the two men who first broke into the library and then into the storage room, as well as the person who was walking in the corridor outside the library at the time.
Now that these four men acted on the same day, it is hard not to think that they are from the same group.
Xiao Yingzhu directly ordered Ai to hunt down the remaining two men.
No matter what means are used, get information related to Meng Yao from them.
Even if we can't find the source right away, we can still find the remaining locations where they are distributed.
This also eliminates the possibility of Ai becoming a maid.
The people on Meng Yao's side were implicated in this incident. Although Meng Yao's power was not that great among the Wu Mi people, he was still a favored prince.
Even if Emperor Changde ordered Meng Yao to be brought back at this time, it would be impossible to stop what he would do next.
“…”
Things have come to this point, and it is impossible for Qin Lan to recommend other candidates who are suitable to be maids.
What's more, even if Xiao Yingzhu is not in a place where she is at home, she has more than enough subordinates and no shortage of candidates to be maids.
There was a bit of complicated emotion in his eyes, but he did not ask Xiao Yingzhu anything here, but smiled and said:
"That's good. Let's end our conversation today."
"Handle the assigned tasks well—"
Qin Lan's smile faltered as he caught sight of Xuan Gui. He glanced at Xiao Yingzhu, and seeing that she didn't show any reaction, he said to him:
"You go back first, I still have something to discuss with your master."
Xuan Gui nodded and walked out of the room directly.
After his subordinates left, only Ai and the other three were left on the field.
Ai was cleaning up the leftover desserts and was about to leave after taking the handkerchief from Jiang Nian, but was stopped by Qin Lan.
"?"
Qin Lan ignored the cold look Xiao Yingzhu gave him and said directly to her, "Did you bring the gift I was supposed to give you last night?"
Without Qin Lan's instructions, the gift was extremely precious in Qin Lan's eyes. How could Ai take the initiative to bring it out again for Jiang Nian?
So Qin Lan was satisfied to see Ai shaking his head.
He walked down the stairs and smiled at Jiang Nian, saying, "I was busy last night and didn't hand it over to Miss Jiang on time. I feel bad about it."
"While we have some free time now, why don't you go get some gifts with Ai, Miss Jiang?"
Jiang Nian did not refuse. At this moment, she did not want Qin Lan to notice the pendant on her earlobe.
I managed to hide for the entire morning, and if I were discovered now, I would probably be subject to a lot of gossip again.
Besides, they looked like they had a lot to talk about alone.
So Jiang Nian didn't say anything more. After a brief response, he walked out with Ai.
In an instant, Xiao Yingzhu and Qin Lan were the only ones left in the room.
Qin Lan glanced around and found no suspicious signs. He then glanced at the door that Ai had closed and asked Xiao Yingzhu:
"Are you in a bad mood today?"
Xiao Yingzhu, who had not stood up from the beginning to the end of the conversation, was now looking out the window leisurely.
There are clear bird calls.
The green leaves are lush and the mottled light is swaying under the heavy shade of the trees.
After a moment, Qin Lan heard a casual chuckle.
"How do you know?"
He slowly shifted his gaze, tilted his head casually, and looked at Qin Lan casually.
A few strands of his black hair fell down as he tilted his head, and the swaying blood-red pendant was dazzling to the eyes.
Xiao Yingzhu curled her lips nonchalantly, supporting her chin with her hand, and with her beautiful face, she looked as if she was indifferent to the world.
This cynicism, as if he didn't treat others as human beings, was something Qin Lan remembered last seeing when Xiao Yingzhu had just taken over the Duke's Mansion.
However, compared to the time when he could still find out what Xiao Yingzhu was thinking, now when Qin Lan wanted to guess what Xiao Yingzhu was thinking, everything was a fog and there was no trace at all.
Xiao Yingzhu, who is in her twenties, is no longer as easily controlled by others as she was in her teens.
He can control his emotions very well and never divert them to unnecessary places.
So naturally he wanted to show the image of Xiao Yingzhu, who appeared difficult to get along with.
As for who I want to show it to...
This is the only breakthrough.
Qin Lan retracted his gaze, sat back in his seat, snorted and chuckled, saying playfully:
"Miss Jiang is no longer here, so there's no need for you to pretend she's disgusted, right?"
"She was in a bad mood the whole time."
"——Why do you want to do this? Don't you like her very much?"
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