Seeing that the handkerchief was clean, the man was relieved. Perhaps he had just misjudged it. Who would send an old woman who was over fifty and could barely walk to check the situation over there?
He's so suspicious. Didn't his master send him, a young and strong man, to check the situation?
The man comforted himself.
"Alright, alright, stop crying. You must have been mistaken. You should go now," the man quickly waved his hand.
"You misread it? What did you misread? Whose son are you, to be so shameless as to corner an old woman like me in this deserted place? What do you want?"
As Qu Qingxi spoke, her eyes widened in surprise, revealing a look of terror. Then she took two steps back in a panic, her withered hands trembling as she protected her chest.
"You, who wants to do anything to you? Wishful thinking! You're just an old woman, who would want you?" The man choked when he saw the old woman's actions. He hurriedly explained a few words, then turned around and used his lightness skill to quickly leave.
It wasn't that he was afraid of the woman in front of him, but there was a real possibility that there were other people watching. If someone saw what he had just done, they might think that he, a man, was about to force himself on an old woman. How could he face his master then?
Seeing the person in front of her disappear, Qu Qingxi pretended to wipe the corner of her eye, then put away her handkerchief and continued walking forward.
She hadn't expected that her quick movement would be noticed and that someone would chase after her. To be fair, the man was quite observant, but he was inexperienced and didn't quite believe what he saw, which is why she had fooled him.
Qu Qingxi did not change her clothes immediately, but continued to wear that outfit, with that dignified appearance, walking shakily and unsteadily.
Qu Qingxi walked a long way before the man suddenly appeared at the same spot. Staring at Qu Qingxi's disappearing figure, he said suspiciously, "Could it be that I really saw wrong just now? If the person in front of me was faking it, she shouldn't be able to fake it so well, right? And she walked slowly for so long."
Qu Qingxi walked until she reached a jewelry shop, looked up and saw the sign "Treasure Pavilion" hanging above it, and then went inside.
The Treasure Pavilion was very large, displaying many exquisite pieces of jewelry. Inside, there were many ladies and young women dressed in fine clothes, accompanied by their maids, selecting jewelry. It seemed to be a very successful business.
When the people inside saw a simply dressed old lady enter, they immediately stepped forward warmly, "Madam, what would you like to see?"
Qu Qingxi waved her hand, "I'll just take a look around."
At the same time, Qu Qingxi revealed a jade thumb ring on her sleeve.
When the waiter saw the jade thumb ring, he was startled. He then helped Qu Qingxi walk inside, saying repeatedly, "Oh, look at my memory! The things you ordered last time have been made for you. I'll help you take a look now."
As the waiter spoke, he helped Qu Qingxi upstairs.
After going up to the second floor and entering a room, the waiter quickly and respectfully withdrew.
Inside the room, a man stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the window. The Treasure Pavilion was located on Zhuque Street, one of the most bustling streets in the capital.
The streets were bustling with people, and the shouts of vendors rose and fell, creating a lively atmosphere.
Hearing the knock, the man didn't turn around, but simply said, "Come in."
As soon as she entered, Qu Qingxi saw the man standing by the window. After the waiter left, Qu Qingxi stopped pretending, straightened up, sat down and poured herself a cup of tea.
Hearing the sound of tea being poured behind him, Shen Shuyan turned around and saw an elderly woman, over fifty years old, drinking tea by herself. She had a full head of white hair and her face was full of wrinkles, but she looked very energetic.
"Qu Qingxi?" Shen Shuyan stared at the person in front of him and tentatively asked.
"Yes, it's me." Qu Qingxi nodded. She drank three cups of tea before she could recover. Today she had gone through a lot of trouble and had to walk like an old lady, which almost exhausted her.
"What are you doing standing in front of the window? Trying to look profound?" Qu Qingxi teased.
"No." Seeing that the person in front of him was indeed Qu Qingxi, Shen Shuyan's indifferent expression disappeared completely, replaced by a gentle smile, and he sat down opposite Qu Qingxi.
Staring at Qu Qingxi's outfit today, he couldn't help but marvel. She was truly amazing. Up until now, he didn't even know if he had ever seen her true face.
The young man, the pretty maid, the naive scholar, and now the frail old woman—the only thing he could recognize was the jade thumb ring on her right thumb.
When Qu Qingxi was still in the Prime Minister's residence, she once sneaked out and ran into Shen Shuyan, who happened to be in the capital on business. The two had a conflict and ended up fighting.
The first round ended in a draw. It was the first time that Shen Shuyan had met someone who was evenly matched with him. He was inspired to fight, so he stopped Qu Qingxi from leaving, and the two fought a second time.
The second round ended in a draw, and Qu Qingxi was unwilling to accept defeat. So in the third round, Qu Qingxi and Shen Shuyan both used poison in unison.
Because Qu Qingxi was more skilled in using poison than Shen Shuyan, Shen Shuyan suffered a tragic defeat.
This incident led the two to develop a mutual respect. After Shen Shuyan left the capital, they secretly kept in touch through letters. However, most of the time it was Shen Shuyan who sent the letters, asking Qu Qingxi what the poison that had poisoned him last time was.
After Qu Qingxi married into the Nanqing Prince's Mansion, she summoned Shen Shuyan to the capital. She tried many methods but found that she could no longer go back. Now that she was about to get married again, she did not know much about the situation here, so she needed to cultivate her own power.
The first person Qu Qingxi thought of was Shen Shuyan. After Shen Shuyan came here, she left him some silver and then left.
Shen Shuyan remembered clearly that on that dark and windy night, he, a master, was defeated by a pretty little maid.
"I thought you'd forgotten all about this place," Shen Shuyan said with a hint of resentment.
After Qu Qingxi sent a message asking him to come to the capital, he only met Qu Qingxi once and rarely contacted her. He seemed to have been forgotten, and no one cared about him while he stayed here. Qu Qingxi also rarely arranged anything for him.
"Haha, no, no, I've been a bit busy lately." Qu Qingxi naturally knew she had been neglecting him for a long time, so she chuckled twice and quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, has anything been going on lately?"
Where do you mean?
"The Crown Prince's residence and the Marquis of Dingguo's residence." Qu Qingxi had previously instructed Shen Shuyan to send people to keep an eye on these two families. After all, information that one has in one's own hands is the most reliable, as information from others is often embellished and can easily influence one's judgment.
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