Gu Yanfei stood there motionless, quietly watching Master Xia's back getting farther and farther away. It seemed that he was watching him leave, but in fact he was observing his surroundings silently.
The flowers and plants not far away had been trampled, and there were two or three people hiding in the crown of the sycamore tree in the northeast, and there were also people in the shadows of the eaves and the wall over there...
Gu Yanfei sighed silently, and a wisp of white air was just exhaled from his lips before being ruthlessly blown away by the cold wind.
If she were alone today, she would have an 80% chance of saving her life, but with Juanbi, Madam Pang, and more than a hundred people in the village, she would not even have a 10% chance of survival.
Gu Yanfei gently stroked his cloak, turned around, and walked towards the corridor again.
She instructed the daughter-in-law, "Mrs. Huang Wei, go and tell your husband to call all the servants in the farm here."
Finally, she added, "Be careful not to alarm Xia's family."
Huang Weijia was slightly stunned. He could hear the seriousness in Gu Yanfei's words, and he could also hear that she seemed to have a deep fear of this family who came to stay overnight.
There was no point in blaming the other party for taking the initiative at this point. Gu Yanfei said nothing more, waved her hand to signal the other party to do the work, and she herself went to the main hall.
Huang Weijia bowed quickly and ran hurriedly along the corridor to the outside of the yard.
The atmosphere in the corridor was somewhat depressing and heavy. The wind and snow were howling all around, and there was a faint ominous smell in the air.
About a cup of tea later, Manager Huang came in, sweating profusely. It was the coldest time of the year, but he was so anxious that he was sweating all over, and he was very nervous.
All the servants in the manor came with him and gathered under the veranda in front of the hall.
They didn't know what was going on and were whispering to each other, all feeling a little uneasy.
Manager Huang ordered his men to close the main gate of the courtyard and guard the front and back doors of the courtyard, and then he entered the main hall.
"Miss." Steward Huang saluted stiffly, his expression solemn, his eyes filled with anxiety, "Everyone is here."
All the servants outside pricked up their ears and listened.
Gu Yanfei sat on a chair in the main hall and said calmly, "It's snowing heavily and windy today. A tree was blown down just now. If the house is not solid, it might be dangerous. It's better to gather everyone together to avoid any accidents."
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, and most of the servants outside heard it. They all looked towards the two plum trees that were cut in half in the courtyard, whispering to each other and hearing low voices from time to time.
"Young lady is really considerate and thoughtful." Manager Huang said dryly, and then went out to instruct the servants in the manor to clean up the east and west wings, preparing for everyone to sleep on the floor here tonight.
As long as everyone has something to do and has a focus, they won't tend to overthink, and the atmosphere eases a little.
Juanbi could tell that something was not right with her girl. She bit her lower lip slightly, feeling uneasy as if she had been scratched by a cat.
Come here. Gu Yanfei waved to Juanbi.
Juanbi obediently took a few steps forward, bowed her head, and waited for the girl's instructions.
Gu Yanfei stared at Juanbi's face again and again without saying a word.
The dead look remained unchanged, and a strong aura of death almost drowned Juanbi's small face, as if it was blackened by smoke.
Gu Yanfei pinched Juanbi's small chin with his slender jade fingers and sighed slightly, "It's dangerous now, are you afraid?"
After hearing Gu Yanfei's question, Juanbi's heart dropped instead. She felt like everything was settled. She shook her head and said,
"I am not afraid."
She is not afraid as long as the girl is around.
Juanbi smiled innocently with her teeth showing, her eyes bright and determined.
Gu Yanfei smiled and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine, as long as you are obedient."
"I am a very obedient servant." Juanbi nodded confidently.
She may not be confident in anything else, but she is very confident about this.
Juanbi moved her round face closer, stared at Gu Yanfei without blinking, and asked, "Miss, what do you want me to do?"
"No rush." Gu Yanfei said casually with a slight smile on his lips.
She turned her head and looked out the window, placing one hand on the windowsill and the other hand gently stroking the dagger she had placed on the table, as if she was playing with it, or as if she was thinking about something.
The snow didn't stop, and the snowflakes mixed with ice particles hit the tiles on the roof with a crackling sound.
She was looking at a wall outside the house, but Juanbi could roughly guess that the girl was looking in the direction of the guest house.
No, or rather——
That Mr. Xia.
The Master Xia that they were thinking about was standing motionless in front of a window in the guest courtyard, quietly looking in the direction of the main courtyard.
His charming, slanted phoenix eyes were as dark as ink and as deep as a pool.
A few grains of snow fell on his long dark blue eyelashes, as if a few drops of tears were stuck on his eyelashes.
He was smiling, his red lips slightly curved, his smile was enchanting, but there was no warmth in his eyes, colder than the snow and wind, his beautiful face seemed to be wearing a mask called smile.
She was dressed in a blood-red dress with a red jade hairpin in her hair. She was as charming as the Lycoris radiata on the other side of the underworld, with a contradictory aura of being both enchanting and dangerous lingering around her.
The room was pitch black and unlit. A strong wind blew by, and white snowflakes floated from the window to the ground, like a patch of silver moonlight.
An old figure walked in silently from the back door. The darkness in the house did not affect his movement at all.
The silver-haired old man walked briskly past the young man and stopped three steps away from Young Master Xia. The snowflakes on his body quickly turned into water droplets.
The old man bowed and clasped his fists, and said in a deep voice: "Sir, everything has been arranged."
"I just walked around this farm and checked carefully. There are ordinary country folk here, old and young, and none of them are martial artists. At most, there are a dozen strong men with brute force."
"I discovered that some carriages came here more than half an hour ago, but they have all left. Judging from the direction they are heading back to the capital. It snowed heavily tonight, and the wheel tracks are almost covered up."
"I also heard from several people in the village that it was windy tonight, so the master asked them to close the doors and windows, lock the stable, turn off the lights and fire, and go to bed early."
"Now the lights are out, everyone in the village should be resting."
When he said the last sentence, the old man raised his eyes slightly and looked at the handsome and almost seductive face of the young man in front of him. There was a fierce murderous intent flashing in his sharp old eyes.
Water droplets melted from the snow fell slowly from the old man's cuffs, wetting the ground below.
The slight ticking sound was almost inaudible under the sound of the wind and snow outside.
"He is a smart man." Master Xia said in a low voice, as if praising, but also as if thinking about something.
A chuckle like snow falling on an ice river floated from his enchanting lips, making anyone who heard it feel cold all over.
"..." The old man looked up at him again in confusion, his heart in his throat, nervous and uneasy.
"She figured it out." Mr. Xia said affirmatively, curling his lips into a smile, and casually picked a red plum blossom from the window.
There was a blood-red ring on his slender and flawless fingers. The ring looked like ruby and metal, and was engraved with delicate and intricate patterns. The bright red color made his hands look as cold and white as frost.
He stared in the direction of the main courtyard.
At this moment, in this huge manor, only there were still some lights flashing, like a bright pearl in the endless dark night, tempting people to fly into the fire.
The old man and others behind him also followed his gaze and looked towards the main courtyard.
The old man's pupils twitched and a solemn look appeared on his face. Only then did he slowly realize the meaning of the young master's words.
The owner of this manor actually discovered their intentions. Did he see through their identities? Or...
Never mind, it doesn't matter! In the blink of an eye, the old man's expression changed several times, from surprise and solemnity to murderous intent.
Only Master Xia, who was standing in front of the window, had an unchanged expression. He gently twisted the delicate red plum blossom with his fingers. The bright red petals trembled slightly, and a few snowflakes floated gently between his fingers.
He smiled again, charming and feminine, his voice like a song: "Interesting."
He was smiling, but the smile never reached his eyes.
No matter whether the other party found any clues or not, it was meaningless to him.
It’s just the word “death”.
His eyes were calm from the beginning, like ice that had been frozen for a thousand years, or like he was looking down at all living beings from the clouds. All living beings were ants, and no one could catch his eyes.
The smile on his lips deepened three points, like a gorgeous flower of hell blooming in the darkness, so bright and red that it was even more dazzling than the red plum blossom between his fingers.
The cold wind blew twice, violently picking up the dead branches on the ground and crashing them heavily onto the stone steps not far away, causing the branches and leaves to scatter and break into pieces.
Young Master Xia slowly turned around and changed the subject: "Has our Third Prince left the capital?"
As he said this, his tone changed in a very subtle way, becoming intimate and soft, like an ice sword coated with icing sugar.
The old man calmed himself down, put aside Zhuangzi's previous thoughts, and returned his mind to the main business of this trip. He replied respectfully: "Sir, the people have arrived at the Qili Pavilion."
"We'll be here in half an hour."
The old man's pupils sparkled in the darkness.
After finishing the business, he stood quietly with his head down, with the same movements and expressions as the servant, all very respectful.
In the inky darkness, the old man and the young man stood still with murderous intent like two blood-stained swords.
It was quiet all around.
The sound of falling snow outside the house became clearer and clearer, and a solemn and murderous atmosphere filled the air.
Mr. Xia's hand holding the red plum slowly dropped, and he uttered three words lightly: "Get started."
His tone was understated, and the delicate red plum blossom was thrown out by him with the movement of his lowered hand, and it spread out in an arc like a drop of blood.
To the other two people, it became one word:
kill!
Even though he didn't say who he would attack, everyone present, young and old, understood what he meant.
This one sentence determined that the lives of hundreds of people in this village would be lost.
(End of this chapter)
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