Thoughts
The topic was changed by Xiao Yingzhu. Qin Lan frowned slightly, but ultimately said nothing.
"Well, that incense pill is probably the goddess's escape route."
He recalled the recent missions of the next generation, tapped his arm with his fingertips, and continued:
"Her purpose is somewhat different from what everyone in Wu Mi wants her to do... From what I've seen so far, I always feel that she is using this success to exchange for something."
"But her status in the Wumi people is already so high. Is there anything she can't get?"
Xiao Yingzhu lowered her eyes and said nonchalantly, "Everyone in power has things they can't get. This is normal."
Qin Lan was startled, then realized that his words were ambiguous, and then changed his words:
"No, what I want to say is... I think that although the goddess's methods are cruel and inhumane, the thing that makes her so persistent is probably something she desires but cannot obtain."
"It's like... those intangible things, like feelings, or regrets from the past that you want to make up for."
Xiao Yingzhu smiled softly, his expression indifferent, but if you looked closely, you could see the mockery in his eyes: "As a goddess, you have already been filled with regrets. To worry about it would be putting the cart before the horse."
"……Too."
Qin Lan followed with a laugh, his tone nonchalant: "I can't guess what she's thinking. Even if I can counter her moves, it won't deviate from what Wu Mizhong wants to do."
"Ah, then I'll wait for news from Miss Jiang."
Qin Lan took a few leisurely steps forward and turned back: "Don't you have anything to say to her?"
…
The topic will always be brought back by someone who is interested.
Xiao Yingzhu sighed lightly and said calmly, "You seem to care about her quite a lot."
"?"
Smelling the inexplicable jealousy, Qin Lan laughed, stopped, and stood in front of Xiao Yingzhu, staring at him fearlessly: "Isn't it because of you?"
"If you were as fast as me, would you still need my concern?"
"You're not this slow on a normal day when it comes to handling official business. This is truly unbelievable."
Xiao Yingzhu was silent for a moment, then laughed: "When you say fast, do you mean doing odd jobs for the sect to make up for Tao Yu's medical expenses?"
Being stabbed unexpectedly by his friend, Qin Lan smiled wryly: "That's not necessary."
Alas, it’s no use trying to persuade him, so I’d better not try to persuade him.
Let them fiddle with it.
—
Jiang Nian returned to the courtyard and casually put his bag on the table.
The water in the clear pool was warm, and she had asked the maid to prepare it earlier.
Stepping into the clear pool, a jade hairpin slanted across her black hair, a pendant chain slid diagonally down her shoulder.
A rare night without conversation and no unexpected events, perfect for taking a bath and relaxing.
There is no other entertainment available in this era.
The epidemic in Cang County has not been resolved yet, and the current progress is neither fast nor slow, which makes people anxious.
Jiang Nian immersed himself in the water. The warm water spread to his chin and wet the few strands of hair that fell down.
Will something happen to Princess Qingping?
The question that had been lingering in Hana Chao's mind due to Lan's words had now turned into a boomerang and pierced his heart.
So when Lan asked her, he was actually asking her - did she need his help?
But she did answer that she trusted her companions.
Now I can only trust my companions.
The layout of Zuihualou was very different from the original version designed by Shouzan. After receiving the drawings, the soldiers began to work overtime.
If nothing goes wrong, we will get the results tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
At that time, she needs to remember the locations of various aspects in the building and then act accordingly.
But how to find the right moment to hide, then find a reasonable and convincing excuse to break through the heavy guards and hide in the top pavilion when the goddess is not around...
No matter what Jiang Nian thought, he could only lean over and crawl into the floor, crawling under it like an animal.
She's not joking, she really means it.
Because other places where you need to hide require skills no matter how you think about it.
But her area of expertise is not in this area.
If you are discovered, you may not be able to escape and will be caught.
Just as Xizhen had said, it was like a funny and cute little hamster that had failed to be fed, and was brought before the goddess for her amusement...
Thinking of the goddess playing the strings in front of them behind a thin screen, her charming and subtle smile, and the tune that suddenly turned into the underworld.
No matter how you think about it, she looks like a female ghost covered in the skin of a beautiful woman.
“…”
What if I get discovered? I can only fight hard.
In the misty room, Jiang Nian leaned over and hugged herself like a baby.
The long eyelashes were covered with mist, and even the pupils seemed covered with a layer of gauze.
The fan that Xiao Yingzhu gave her the day before was still stored in the bag outside.
The only difference between that fan and Xiao Yingzhu's was that it didn't have a pendant.
“…”
Thinking of this, Jiang Nian raised his hand and touched the earring hanging on his earlobe.
Glancing to the side, he saw the dark tassels spread out in the water like a spider web.
If the goddess discovered her, would she be able to tell from these earrings and fan that she belonged to Xiao Yingzhu's faction?
Forget it, no matter what, if I’m discovered, I’ll be dead.
Even though Xiao Yingzhu told her clearly that she would send Mo Qing to follow her, and Xi Zhen also said in person that she would help her, she would still be worried and nervous.
This is not a question of whether or not to trust your fellow man.
It's a matter of not being confident in one's own abilities.
Whether it was Xiao Yingzhu or Qin Lan, they both seemed very confident in handling the matter on their own.
Did they trust her too much, or did she have a wrong understanding of herself?
Jiang Nian, who never doubted himself, began to doubt his abilities for the first time in his life.
There is no point in worrying about it any more, you can only hope that the bridge will naturally become straight when it reaches the bow of the boat.
Jiang Nian sighed, stood up from the water, wrapped himself in a bath towel, then got ready and returned to the study.
The notebook that recorded the clues was still in its place. She wiped her slightly wet hair, lowered her eyes and turned to the page that recorded Lan's conversation in the morning.
He avoided asking about Princess Qingping and instead talked about himself.
Therefore, it is almost impossible to obtain information about Princess Qingping from Lan. The only way now is to get the antidote for Princess Qingping from the goddess as Qin Lan said.
A long time ago, when I was in Pingzhou, I heard about Princess Qingping's birthday banquet in a teahouse. At that time, I was still thinking about her relationship with Xiao Yingzhu.
Now everything has changed, and her life is now in her own hands.
Jiang Nian was silent for a moment, then picked up the pen on the pen holder.
Regarding the intelligence information Qin Lan had given her about the Cui family, she should review it now and make up a character that is more in line with Miss Cui based on the above information.
Thinking of this, Jiang Nian picked up his pen and began to write down his next plan in his notebook.
The rustling sound of paper scraping across the surface didn't last long in the quiet study before a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
Jiang Nian paused with the tip of his pen, then lifted it up and placed it on the pen holder, then stood up and opened the door.
The visitor was a maid from the Youguan Mansion. She respectfully presented a letter to Jiang Nian.
"Miss, here is your letter, please take a look."
"Oh, yes, thank you."
Jiang Nian took the letter in confusion. When he saw the handwriting on the cover, he suddenly remembered something that he had forgotten. He nodded to the maid and closed the door.
...It's a letter from Meng Zheng.
I had agreed with him before that we would write letters to synchronize information every once in a while.
I've been busy these past two days and indeed forgot about this matter.
Jiang Nian returned to the table, opened the letter by candlelight, read it carefully, and then sat back in his seat.
The general meaning of the letter was that he had sent people to investigate the members on the list of remnants of the bishops who were related to the eldest princess and whose places of residence were relatively far away from Cang County, and they would receive news in a few days.
Then he asked what time we went to Zuihualou, and if we needed help, we could tell him.
Then...then there was the matter of the thieves leaving behind the remnants of the bishop's party at the Flower Festival.
Jiang Nian lowered his eyes and read the letter again. After thinking for a while, he took out a piece of letter paper from the desk drawer and started writing.
[I will go to Zuihualou the day after tomorrow. If there are no unexpected incidents along the way, I will be able to visit the remaining members of the bishop's gang with you in about a week or two to investigate. As for the thief from Huachaohui, he has been eliminated.
According to what Xiao Yingzhu said, I think the cause of his death was due to the goddess's men, who killed him in order to prevent the exposure of the fourth party in the Flower Festival.
As for the bishop's remnants... I have a reasonable guess.
Because there were internal conflicts among the Wumi people, some of them rejected the remnants of the bishop because they were unable to move around easily and did not have the identity to walk freely in the "daylight". They believed that accepting them would be a burden to the Wumi people.
Some people also accepted the remnants of the bishop, thinking that this could distract the attention of His Majesty and us.
Since the thief himself had nothing to do with the remnants of the bishop, can we assume that he was instructed by someone to carry the bishop's symbol around to confuse our vision of where the remnants of the bishop were hiding and delay our time in finding them?
——To prove this, the remnants of the bishop can use their "tempting" identity to hinder our progress in tracking down the Wu Mi people's actions.
If you think my reasoning aligns with yours, you can slightly adjust your original plan to clean up the bishop.
Jiang Nian paused for a moment after writing this, his eyes fell on "Do you need help in going to Zuihualou to find out information about the goddess?" He hesitated for a moment, inexplicably feeling that if he agreed to Meng Zheng's inquiry, he would be suspected of betraying Xiao Yingzhu.
...There's obviously no deep hatred between them.
But Jiang Nian was extremely certain that Xiao Yingzhu's agreement to let her and Meng Zheng cooperate was already his biggest concession.
If she were to accept Meng Zheng's help, Xiao Yingzhu would probably not recognize his ability. And in Meng Zheng's eyes, Xiao Yingzhu would probably think that he really had no ability.
Sure enough, no matter whether there is a conflict or not, or how big the conflict is, she is always the awkward one caught in the middle.
Jiang Nian twisted the letter and read it several times, and finally came up with a slightly compromise statement to reply.
"Thank you for your kindness, Fourth Prince. However, I have already made a complete plan for my trip to Zuihualou. If you can offer your assistance when I visit the remaining Bishop's followers, I would be deeply grateful."
Wait, it was clearly Meng Zheng who needed her cooperation, not her who needed Meng Zheng's cooperation. Why did it sound so much like she wanted something from Meng Zheng?
“…”
Jiang Nian closed his eyes, feeling that he might really not say this kind of letter without causing displeasure to people on both sides, even if Xiao Yingzhu couldn't see it.
Adhering to the basic principle of not violating the cooperation with Xiao Yingzhu, Jiang Nian replied to Meng Zheng again in an extremely official written statement, then let the entire piece of letter dry, folded it neatly, and put it in the envelope.
After writing her name with a pen, she went out and called the maid over.
"...Please put this letter in the pickup area. Remember to keep it safe."
There is a special place for sending letters in the Youguan Mansion, so she doesn't have to think about who to ask to make the trip.
Watching the maid leave the courtyard, Jiang Nian sighed softly. Just as he was about to turn around and close the gate, he saw the figure of someone coming from not far away.
Xiao Yingzhu, who had not spoken to her in the afternoon, actually came to see her in the evening.
Thinking of the wrong thing he said in the morning, Jiang Nian felt inexplicably uncomfortable. He then opened the door again and moved sideways to let him in.
"What's the matter with you looking for me so late?"
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