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My heart is bleeding.
Shopkeeper Xu touched his chest and realized that he might still have some conscience.
Everyone was not surprised by the A grade and continued to listen to Manager Xu's classification of the rankings. Some of the onlookers lived far away from Baima Street and were only paying attention to small drugstores, so Manager Xu suppressed his helplessness and dissatisfaction and continued to read the loose pages in his hand one by one.
Jiang Nian stood outside the crowd, not as excited as Guizhi. Her insect repellent was too effective. If she hadn't been the first-class one, the onlookers in front would have pointed at the rice fields nearby and started discussing it with Shopkeeper Xu, even without her saying anything.
What she is most concerned about right now is what happened with Meng Jian.
Now let the secret guard go back and tell Xiao Yingzhu, and we need to wait for the other party's reply.
Xiao Yingzhu must know something, but there are some things she hasn't told her yet. She must be still confirming something.
Jiang Nian lowered her eyes, thinking about the insect repellent. Guizhi beside her touched her arm and said, "Miss, Miss?"
"Well, what's wrong?"
Jiang Nian was pulled out of her thoughts when Guizhi called her. She looked over at Guizhi, only to see her raise her hand and gesture to the front: "Miss, Manager Xu wants you to go up and claim your reward."
Reward?
Is there a prize for this competition?
Jiang Nian's questioning gaze was so obvious that even Guizhi noticed it. Before anyone noticed her, she blended into the crowd and whispered to Jiang Nian, "In previous competitions, Xu's pharmacy always ranked first, so Manager Xu specially formulated a series of rewards for his own pharmacy and displayed them on the counter, scaring the customers who came to buy from him."
"Now that Miss has broken her consecutive years of A-grade records, she should hurry up and claim her reward to piss off Shopkeeper Xu."
Jiang Nian was silent for a moment, and in his mind he imagined the row of glittering rewards on the counter of Xu's Pharmacy that he had distributed to himself, and suddenly he felt a little reluctant.
Or let it go.
Guizhi, who was standing next to her, looked at Jiang Nian for a long time without moving, and looked at her questioningly: "Miss, aren't you going?"
“…”
Jiang Nian was about to refuse when the onlookers standing in front of her noticed her and said, "You are here!" They kindly turned around and pointed to Shopkeeper Xu: "Shopkeeper Xu—Shopkeeper Xu—Miss Jiang is here!"
Caught off guard by her name, Jiang Nian looked up. The people who had blocked her view just now all stepped away, smiling at her amiably, waiting for her to come forward and claim her reward from Shopkeeper Xu.
Jiang Nian was silent for a moment. Even though she walked over, she didn't know why she always had a bad feeling.
Shopkeeper Xu, who was standing in front, saw Jiang Nian approaching obediently, and a sinister smile appeared in his wrinkled eyes: "Miss Jiang is the grand slam winner of our competition!"
Jiang Nian had a hunch that something was wrong, and subconsciously took a step back. He lowered his eyes to stare at the reward in Shopkeeper Xu's hand, and said calmly, "If Shopkeeper Xu wants to give me a reward, just give it to me directly."
—
The other side.
After the secret guard took over Jiang Nian's words, he immediately rushed out from the competition venue and rushed to the Qishan Mansion.
On the way, I kept looking towards the distant woods, trying to see some shadow of the person approaching the insect repellent.
Unfortunately, the forest was too dense, and the midday sun was at its brightest. The forest was filled with light reflected from the green leaves, blocking his view of the shady area beneath the forest.
Xiao Yingzhu sat in the study as usual, reading letters about the border.
The sunshine outside was so bright that the scent of agarwood in the study was almost overwhelmed by the strong sunlight. The sound of flipping through letters could be heard softly, occasionally pausing, and occasionally there was the rustling sound of paper being put back in its place.
When he had read more than half of one of the documents, Xiao Yingzhu suddenly raised his eyes and looked indifferently towards the door.
"Enter."
With the master's permission, the secret guard carrying Jiang Nian's message entered the room. After conveying Jiang Nian's words verbatim, he stood to the side of the desk, waiting for Xiao Yingzhu to give him orders.
In the corner of his eyes, he saw the fingertips that were lifting the corner of a page of letter bent, as if he was thinking about something. After a moment, the sleeves that were lightly stroking the table fell down, and the master's casual instructions came from above his head.
"No problem, just find a few people to follow."
But—is the person who stole the insect repellent really still waiting for them in the woods?
This thought lingered in the secret guard's mind for a long time, but he never uttered it out loud.
Since the master has given such an order, there must be a reason for it, and I just need to complete it according to the instructions given by the master.
The secret guard nodded in agreement and was about to leave the study when the taciturn Xiao Yingzhu suddenly spoke again and called him back to where he was.
"Wait."
The chess pieces scattered on the table reflected spots of light in the sunlight, causing the secret guard to squint.
When he looked back, he saw a secret guard appear beside Xiao Yingzhu.
Pine Blow.
How long has it been since we last met?
The guard's gaze fell on Song Chui's silent face, and he remained silent for a moment. Then he lowered his eyes again, looking for the voice. "Master, do you have any other instructions?"
Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then opened the drawer, pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him.
"Give this to her."
The letter was very thin, and there must not have been many pages inside.
The secret guard took it and put it away in his hand, then looked at Xiao Yingzhu again. Seeing that Xiao Yingzhu no longer had any intention of asking him to give instructions, he felt relieved and walked out.
After the lattice door was closed and silence fell in the study, Song Chui stood where the secret guard had stood just now, raised his hand and gestured to Xiao Yingzhu for a moment.
Xiao Yingzhu raised her eyes, her gaze fixed on his flipping gesture for a moment, and asked casually, "Since it's a trick, what do you think it is?"
Matsukipe's expression remained unchanged as he quietly expressed his thoughts with gestures.
The chessboard in the distance remained exactly as it had been from the previous game. Xiao Yingzhu hadn't touched the chessboard for a day. Seeing Song Chui's gaze fall on the chessboard on the table, he smiled faintly and explained:
"The previous plan was based on Meng Jian's stance being on the side of Donglan. People's hearts change easily, and since he has already changed, only minor adjustments should be made."
“It’s not about letting things go.”
“…”
Song Chui was silent for a moment, then gestured to Xiao Yingzhu: "Should we help him escape now? Judging from the master's plan, I have a feeling that the master wants to help him."
Xiao Yingzhu sighed softly and raised his hand to rub his acupoints: "My original intention was not to help him, this is just the easiest way."
Meng Jian planned to use someone else to disguise himself as him to steal the insect repellent and escape from the other side during the chaos.
After changing the original plan, it became so simple.
And now he wants Songbuki to track down the person disguised as Meng Jian.
Song Chui looked at Xiao Yingzhu for a moment, then lowered his eyes and silently observed the communication gestures he had made: [But you don't have to help him.]
[Meng Jian wants you to do this kind of thing.]
[If the master doesn't help him, we can kill two birds with one stone.]
Xiao Yingzhu lowered his eyes to look at it for a moment, and said lightly: "The first priority is Dong Lan, not Meng Jian."
Song Chui had already lowered his hands, ready to accept the order and complete the task, but after hearing Xiao Yingzhu's words, he finally raised his hands again.
[Master...wouldn't you be on guard against him returning to Huandu?]
"That's something to be dealt with later." But let's put it aside for now.
After asking Xiao Yingzhu about his thoughts, Song Chui nodded silently, made a "yes" gesture, turned around and headed in the direction provided by the secret guard.
Someone suddenly came into the study, and the room suddenly became empty.
Xiao Yingzhu leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes slightly, then opened them again after a moment.
On the pile of documents on the desk was a letter that Mo Qing had sent from Cang County.
He had already opened it, but now he wanted to read it again.
The contents of the envelope were also unremarkable, even the information about Jiang Nian and You's conspiracy in Zuihua Tower.
When he saw Jiang Nian's hesitant expression, he waited for her to speak up. But she wanted to keep it to herself, so he had to find out through other means.
She wouldn't tell him, so he wouldn't tell her in return.
The handwriting on the letter page was neat, and all the important things were listed on the letter paper. Although Jiang Nian and You did not have any particularly intimate actions, and were even wary of each other from beginning to end, Xiao Yingzhu still felt dissatisfied.
He doesn't like the people or things that belong to him to be occupied by others, even if it is not an intimate relationship or even for a short time.
None of this works.
What belongs to him must always belong to him, only then will it be complete.
Xiao Yingzhu has always known how possessive he is.
Although he never liked to be too obvious about his words—not because he was afraid of scaring others, but simply because he didn't want to do so—he would only be a little more obvious and give them a hint if someone he cared about didn't understand what he meant.
Most of the time, he only needed to glance at his subordinates and they would understand what he meant.
Jiang Nian wasn't someone he had always worked with, so it didn't matter if he understood a little slower, as he had plenty of patience.
But patience has its limits.
When the person he is targeting does not take the initiative, he will use other methods to make the distracted girl come back to her senses and face him.
The letter in his hand was pressed on the table. Xiao Yingzhu closed his eyes slightly tiredly, propped up his head, and hid the thoughts in his heart.
There are still many things that need to be resolved by him. When he looks back on the relationship that has been put on hold, he will not be boiled like a frog in warm water.
He has always been indulgent towards Jiang Nian, but indulgence has its limits. If he keeps avoiding and not facing the problem, then he will use another way to teach Jiang Nian to face it.
After all, he doesn't like things to be delayed for a long time.
This matter has now dragged on beyond his expectations and is progressing very slowly, so slowly that he is almost losing his patience to wait.
“…”
The fatigue and melancholy in his eyes flashed by in an instant, so fast that it was almost imperceptible. When Xiao Yingzhu opened his eyes again, there was only a cold and dark look in them.
Earlier, on the stone path above the green ravine, he must have explained it clearly to Jiang Nian.
What if Jiang Nian runs away again and questions himself again?
Xiao Yingzhu subconsciously lowered his eyes to the anti-insect prescription that Jiang Nian had given him nearly two months ago, and some handwritten contracts of conspiracy agreements.
The handwriting above is beautiful, and each stroke is written neatly.
Even though he was always good at predicting things, he would never have anticipated that some of his ideas would be changed by others in just two months.
Is this good or bad?
His black hair fell down as Xiao Yingzhu moved, hiding the expression on his profile, but it couldn't hide the gentleness of his fingertips as they touched the paper.
The study was silent for a while, and someone's sigh spread over the fragrance of flowers on the tree outside the window, and then disappeared.
—
Cang County
When Qin Lan came out of the Youguan Mansion, he was suddenly hit by a surprise envelope falling from the sky.
“…”
Reaching out to remove the envelope from his face, Qin Lan looked around but saw no one. After a while, a black feather slowly floated down from the sky and landed at Qin Lan's feet.
?
Suddenly realizing something, Qin Lan did not rush to look for the naughty crow. Instead, he lowered his head, opened the envelope in his hand, and pulled out the letter pages inside.
The problem that he had been worrying about a few days ago, how to strike up a conversation with Yu Hexizhen, was solved today as soon as he went out. Qin Lan excitedly unfolded the letter and read it all over, finally stopping at the date marked under the envelope.
Dated one week ago.
Had it been written then? Then why did he only receive the reply now?
Qin Lan calmed down for a moment, raised his head silently and glanced at the crow that was sitting on a branch and looking at him with its head tilted, and suddenly understood something.
——This guy was walking around on the street with his back to him!
This is simply too abominable! How can one be so passive and lazy?
Now that the crow had delayed his delivery, Qin Lan could not travel back in time to catch the crow halfway through delivering the letter. He could only accept his fate and return to the mansion with the envelope.
Ai, who was about to go out at the same time, saw his adoptive father coming back. He turned around and looked at Qin Lan in a daze, then suddenly put down the reins in his hand and turned to look at him.
"Master, aren't you leaving?"
Qin Lan wanted to observe the 'people' in the mines for a while longer before telling Tao Yu about them. But now that he had received the envelope he had been thinking about day and night, he naturally put the matter aside.
"Wait a minute, return Miss Jiang's envelope first, otherwise Xiao Yingzhu will come back to me in a sinister way."
Ai stood where he was, watching Qin Lan, who said he was disgusted, but actually acted very quickly. He walked towards the house without stopping, and soon he disappeared. Only the crow was left standing on the branch. It tilted its head, turned its fat body raised by Ai, and looked at Ai.
Ai held the reins in his hand and remained silent for a moment, then put the reins into the carriage next to him and said, "If the Pavilion Master is not in a hurry, why should I be in a hurry? Forget it."
After a while, the two people and one bird who were about to set off disbanded at the door of the mansion.
—
After Qin Lan returned to the room, he immediately took out a pair of scissors from the drawer and opened the tightly wrapped envelope.
The corner of the letter inside was exposed.
With Jiang Nianran's curiosity aroused, Qin Lan lowered his head, picked up the letter and pulled it out, but unexpectedly brought out a small, light note.
"?"
He paused for a moment as he opened the envelope, then unfolded the note, which had only a small line of words written on it.
【Return home.】
This handwriting is from Xizhen.
This is like giving up half of your official position.
Qin Lan held the note up to the sunlight and looked at it. After confirming that it was correct, he put it back.
Since Xizhen returned to Xiaoxiang to reminisce about the past, what about Yu He?
Out of curiosity, Qin Lan opened Yu He's letter and read it.
Although the letter was large, there were only a few words written inside.
Qin Lan looked at it for a moment, his expression suddenly froze, and gradually became empty.
?
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