prescription
After deducing the identity of the spy, she asked the spy's name when she went to the pharmacy the next day. She wanted to let the two secret guards sent by Xiao Yingzhu to check the identity of Sun Dun. Unexpectedly, Qing told her that the master sent people to investigate and follow after deducing the whole process of the matter that day.
This also saved Jiang Nian a lot of trouble. I don't know if the two of them had a tacit understanding after they had explained everything to each other. Just after she finished explaining the matter about Sun Dun to Xu Bo, Qing told her about the tracking situation related to him.
After listening to Qing's brief report, Jiang Nian sat down in the carriage. He raised his hand to lift the curtain to let Qing in, but the secret guard who was standing outside just now disappeared.
Maybe he went to follow in the dark for protection.
The secret guards sent by Xiao Yingzhu were taciturn and difficult to track. Although they were always on call, she knew they were following her secretly. But their protection was invisible and difficult to perceive, like the erratic duckweed on the water, unable to find a foothold, and did not give her a sense of stability and security.
However, thinking about Caiqing's behavior standing outside just now, Jiang Nian suddenly came back to his senses.
Qing’s sudden appearance before scared her, and this time he was probably afraid that he would appear suddenly and scare her again, so he stood outside and waited.
After understanding Qing's actions, Jiang Nian lowered the curtain with confidence, and the carriage started moving forward. She leaned back in the chair with her eyes lowered, rubbing her temples.
I slept almost the whole day today and did nothing. I had originally planned to go to the warehouse to see how the employees were doing and whether there were any problems. Now everything has to be postponed. Next time I meet Xiao Yingzhu, I'll choose an earlier time.
But thinking of the young man whom she had never met and didn't know who he was, did he calculate that she would go to the warehouse today, so was he waiting there?
Unable to figure it out, Jiang Nian shook off all the random thoughts that suddenly popped into his head for no reason, and then closed his eyes to rest.
—
"That's all the secret report about the mine... Is there anything else you need to investigate, Pavilion Master?"
There were few cicadas chirping at night, and the man's shadow flickered with the candlelight, like a black and white ink painting against the screen.
The room was filled with a special fragrance. The unknown grass had lavender spikes of inflorescence that were slenderly picked up. Even though it had left its original growing environment and been out of the soil for a long time, it still shone brightly.
Qin Lan stared at this plant he had never seen before for a moment, then raised his eyes and spoke in a flat voice.
"No need. Did Miss Jiang's maid inform her about the appointment?"
The figure that was about to leave moved slightly, Ai paused, and there was a subtle hesitation in his tone when he replied, but this emotion disappeared in an instant.
"I've been informed, but when I was investigating, I encountered sunshine and rain."
The figure behind the screen paused, and then let out a leisurely laugh, followed by a sigh that was difficult to describe from behind the screen.
"I understand. You don't have to go to the Jiang Mansion next time."
"Um."
This time was a special case. When Qin Lan went to Xiao Yingzhu's residence to discuss something today, he saw a happy expression between his casual eyebrows, and he knew that he must have talked about something pleasant with Jiang Nian.
But knowing that Xiao Yingzhu didn't like people asking about her private affairs, and that he had asked too much gossip before, Qin Lan suppressed his curiosity and waited until the matter was over before going out to find Xinfeng, who was about to leave at the door of the mansion, to find out some news.
Xinfeng was also a straightforward person, forgetting the pain once the wound had healed. Seeing that everyone was united in their gossip, he immediately became a front-line gossiper, forgetting the painful punishment that might come from not keeping his mouth shut. He directly told Qin Lan every detail of the conversation between his master and Miss Jiang at the Bamboo Forest Teahouse the previous night.
The two of them gathered in the courtyard on the other side of the mansion and whispered. One dared to speak freely in the mansion of the owner of the gossip, and the other dared to listen outside the house of the owner of the gossip. When they both felt satisfied and were about to say goodbye, they found that they had talked for almost half an hour.
Xinfeng came to his senses and realized that it was not a good idea to talk about the master's gossip here. It seemed a bit stupid no matter how he thought about it. Then he touched his neck and turned his head to glance at the corridor not far away. He saw the quiet study shrouded in the shadows of green trees. Xiao Yingzhu inside seemed to have not noticed the movement here and wanted to slip away.
Seeing Xinfeng leave after he finished speaking, as if he had something urgent to do, Qin Lan was very smart at this moment. He thought of something interesting and reached out to stop him.
"Where are you going? You just finished your mission not long ago."
The blocked trade winds were somewhat puzzled and turned back with a bewildered look on their faces.
"Yes, but the master has given another order."
A hint of understanding flashed in Qin Lan's eyes, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Are you going to the Jiang family warehouse?"
Seeing Xinfeng's subtle reaction when he heard this, Qin Lan withdrew his hand and smiled at Xinfeng.
"Let's go together."
—
The reason why Xinfeng was allowed to guard the warehouse of Jiang Mansion at this time was simply because Xiao Yingzhu had told Jiang Nian the truth, and Jiang Nian knew the identity of the outsider in Pingzhou.
Xiao Yingzhu would then dispatch his trusted secret guards to look after the staff members. At the same time, if any movement occurred, the secret guards would immediately report to Xiao Yingzhu.
Thinking back to when I was in the capital, I went to the Duke's Mansion to look for Xiao Yingzhu that night, but only met Mo Qing.
The words Mo Qing brought him later made him set off early to find Tao Yu, whom he had not seen for a while.
After Qin Lan and Tao Yu confirmed their relationship, Tao Yu was busy with the affairs of her sect, while Qin Lan was busy retrieving information from the Intelligence Bureau and monitoring Dong Lan's movements.
They lived in different places. Tao Yu must have come down the mountain to find him for something, but Mo Qing told him that he was going to Princess Qingping's birthday banquet to get the perfume formula.
Tao Yu himself had no interest in these sachets, so it was intriguing that he went to the princess' birthday banquet to ask for the recipe.
Afraid that Tao Yu would cause misunderstandings and be turned away if he went to see her, Qin Lan made a prompt decision and left Mo Qing, who was smiling with interest, and rushed to the place where Tao Yu usually waited for him in the capital.
But when I got there, Tao Yu had just walked in.
——
"Why are you here?"
He pushed open the classical and elegant carved door. Tao Yu had just put down the cloth-wrapped sword in his hand and looked up at him doubtfully, motioning him to answer.
Her confused expression was as chilling as the water of an icy spring, instantly extinguishing the anxiety in Qin Lan's heart. Now that he was no longer anxious, the explanation he had prepared on the way disappeared without a trace in an instant.
He walked forward a few steps, closed the door behind him, and when he turned around, his expression was no different from usual.
"Come to see you."
"I just went to the Duke's Mansion to look for Xiao Yingzhu. After returning home, I heard from the housekeeper that you came to the mansion to look for me but didn't see me and left again. I thought you would come here."
Tao Yu didn't seem unhappy. Qin Lan couldn't figure out whether she had heard the gossip from Mo Qing, so he had to avoid the topic of the birthday party for the time being and changed the subject.
"Is there something urgent that happened when you came to the capital at this time?"
Usually Tao Yu would send him a message before coming to the capital. This time he came to him directly, most likely because something went wrong. The previous times he came to him, he usually went to his mansion, so he used this excuse.
Although it is not ruled out that Tao Yu, seeing no one in the mansion, might have guessed that he went to the Duke's Mansion and asked Mo Qing to deliver a message, it is also not ruled out that Mo Qing deliberately deceived him.
Tao Yu looked at him for a few seconds, a look of deep thought flashing across her face. However, she didn't dwell on Qin Lan's reasoning and took out an ancient book with a yellowed cover.
"Didn't you mention the matter between Donglan and Huan earlier? I was worried, so I asked Master to tell my fortune."
She lowered her head and turned the book to a page.
The ink used to depict the plants above has faded somewhat due to age.
"Master asked me to make a prescription for a medicine that's in great demand. The prescription includes this plant, which I've never seen before in my life, so I came down here to ask you to find it."
"prescription?"
Qin Lan picked up the book from the table, his eyes lingered on the page with the picture of plants for a moment, and he frowned slightly.
"What does military intelligence have to do with this prescription?"
The descriptions next to the plants drawn on the bamboo slips have become blurred over the years, and only the outlines can be seen clearly when you get close to them.
His gaze fell on the book without stopping. He lowered his eyes and read it line by line until the last word.
Tao Yu sat in the chair with his head lazily supported, shaking his head as he listened.
"Master's implication is that there are hidden mysteries that require contemplation and understanding.
But this time he specifically ordered me down the mountain... I felt the time was coming for this to happen. He never made a mistake."
“…”
Qin Lan raised his head, closed the bamboo slips in his hand, and sighed.
"I'll take care of it and hand it over to my subordinates."
"Um."
Tao Yu nodded, then stood up and handed him a mechanical bird.
"When we find relevant information, we'll use this bird to pass it on. Otherwise, ordinary pigeons can only fly out of the mountain, not into it."
The sect she belongs to is a secluded sect with many practicing doctors and disciples. They believe that doctors do not knock on doors, so people often want to visit them for help. Anyone who is not sincere will be turned away. The road leading to the sect is difficult to find and is inaccessible to ordinary people.
The mechanical bird was well-made and lifelike, standing quietly and obediently in Qin Lan's hand. If it weren't for the lack of light in its eyes, it would give people the illusion that it could tilt its head flexibly and take off in an instant.
He closed his palms and hid the mechanical bird in his sleeves. Seeing that Tao Yu had no intention of continuing to speak, Qin Lan was about to try out the perfume formula when he suddenly remembered something.
"Is the prescription your master mentioned... located in Huandu?"
He turned over the place names recorded in the book and pointed them out to Tao Yu.
"When this plant was not extinct, it was associated with mountain ranges. Judging from the description of where it grows, it's more like the Donglan area than Huandu."
"There's a cure, but even you haven't seen it. Does that mean it's rare in the sect? And the brothers who traveled far and wide haven't found it elsewhere?"
Tao Yu tilted his head slightly to think about it, then shook his head.
"There should be some in Huandu. The person who wrote this bamboo slip was our great master. He didn't like to leave the mountains and was very individualistic. He wouldn't record any herbs from places that had nothing to do with Huandu."
Qin Lan quickly reviewed several related place names in his mind and had some thoughts in mind.
"Okay, I understand."
After thinking about it, he was about to test Tao Yu who was looking at him with a pensive look. His usual flexible and adaptable words were all offline, and he was speechless for a moment.
Unable to avoid her inquiring gaze, Qin Lan turned his head and coughed lightly, and finally asked a dry question.
"Um, did you know that I went to Princess Qingping's birthday party yesterday?"
Tao Yu raised his sword and nodded.
"I know."
"Then..." Qin Lan closed his eyes, made up his mind, and said the words that would kill Tao Yu if he asked her, "You and Mo Qing..."
"Well, I didn't see you at the mansion, so I went to the Duke's Mansion. What happened?"
Looking into Tao Yu's frank, somewhat puzzled gaze, Qin Lan's words got stuck in his throat and he fell silent completely.
Seeing that his friend was hesitating, Tao Yu was a little confused and added another sentence.
"You and I missed each other on the way, didn't we? You go back to the mansion, and I go to the Duke's Mansion?"
…
Tao Yu seemed to think that he went directly to the mansion after returning from the birthday party, and she went from the mansion to the Duke's Mansion, so the two routes were different and they missed each other.
This logic does not seem to be wrong.
Unexpectedly, Tao Yu would be able to justify herself. This casual excuse actually made sense. Qin Lan had no idea how to explain it, so he could only give a dry reply.
"Yes, yes, that's right, that's right."
"The perfume formula..."
When Tao Yu heard what Qin Lan asked, he finally knew what he was concerned about. He suddenly pulled the corner of his mouth, with a look of indifference and understanding, and said with a forced smile:
"I know. You went to the birthday party to ask Qingping for the perfume formula. Mo Qing said you were quite excited."
"Why, what scandal did Xiao Yingzhu have that made you so gossipy?"
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