Chapter 61: Sharpening the Knife to Xichun
The two quickly reached a consensus. When Xichun was about to push the door open to go out, the three children turned around and ran. The youngest girl almost fell because she ran too slowly. Her brother grabbed her and held her under his arm and rushed out quickly.
Xichun looked at the beggars running around in the alley with disgust and said with disgust: "A bunch of motherless little stray dogs!"
Little beggars were common in the streets and alleys of Moyun City. The area where Bai Qinglan lived was a mixed crowd. Xichun was worried that groups of beggars would come out and pester her for money, so she quickened her pace and left without giving it much thought.
The three children ran away for a while and then quietly came back. Da Niu continued to squat by the wall of Zi Teng Lane to beg and stare at people. The brother and sister followed Xichun and watched her return to the Duke's Mansion.
It was already dark. A Yuan pinched the crumpled piece of paper in his arms and prepared to help his employer find out the truth with professional ethics: "Xiao Ya, where did you see the dog hole yesterday?"
The area behind the Duke's Mansion is the base for many of these little beggars. Logically, they should have known it all before. How could there be a dog hole that he didn't know about?
"It's a bit off the beaten track," Xiao Ya led her brother around in a big circle based on her memory, and finally stopped at a weedy wall where few people came. "It's right here."
The messy grass and trees grew there, perfectly blocking the dog hole, and it couldn't be seen unless you looked carefully.
A Yuan pulled aside the grass and saw a hole that was neither too big nor too small. A child like Xiao Ya could easily crawl in, but he had some difficulty. If it was Xichun's size... it would probably be a bit difficult to get in, but he could still get in.
"With such a big hole, we don't know when it was robbed." A Yuan whispered, "Is it so difficult for the Duke's Mansion these days? They don't even have the money to repair the mansion."
The little girl looked at her brother in confusion, and suddenly remembered something. She pulled his sleeve and said fearfully, "Brother, let's go quickly. There is a monster in the house behind the dog hole!"
"What monster?" A Yuan asked curiously.
"It's... it's a monster," the little girl couldn't say anything, but she kept emphasizing: "It's a monster that makes strange noises. I heard it that night. It was so scary!"
"Has it been calling all the time? We haven't heard it before."
"They weren't barking all the time. I just happened to hear one." Xiaoya racked her brains and said, "There are no wild dogs crawling in such a big dog hole. They must know there is a monster behind it."
As they were talking, the brother and sister seemed to really feel a chill on their backs. Some indescribable creepy feeling made the two children afraid.
A Yuan pulled his sister away quickly and warned her, "Whether it's true or not, don't come here again. If you sneak in through the dog hole and get discovered by the Duke's Mansion, you'll be beaten to death like a thief."
"I understand. I won't come here again!"
After returning to his home, A Yuan thought that he would tell his employer everything word for word tomorrow, including the matter of the dog hole... He hoped that the employer would give them an extra meat bun for this reason, as he and Xiao Ya had not eaten meat for a long time.
*
Chen Ting still didn't show up last night. Shen Wangshu's mood had changed from wanting to settle accounts with this guy at the beginning to calming down his anger. He just did what he had to do as usual and didn't think about that annoying guy.
After practicing a set of Five Animal Exercises in the morning, Lvliu came in from outside with two children.
Shen Wangshu had sent the others away early. The little girl who saw the noble for the first time was already stunned. She stared at the fairy-like beauty with her bright black eyes without blinking, and asked foolishly: "Sister, are you a fairy from heaven......"
Shen Wangshu was delighted and embarrassed by the sweet compliments from the little girl, and then he heard another handsome and tall boy nervously scolding, "Little girl, don't offend the noble!"
As A Yuan was about to pull his sister to kneel on the ground and kowtow, the nobles pulled him up with one hand each. A gentle and graceful voice came from above his head: "Don't be so nervous. Did you eat before you came? Do you want to eat some cakes to fill your stomach?"
Just as A Yuan was about to refuse, his sister beside him swallowed hard, stared at the delicious pastries, and whispered, "I've eaten it. I've eaten wild vegetable soup...but I can eat some more."
Shen Wangshu couldn't help laughing and gave her the whole plate of chestnut cake. The little girl said thank you politely and couldn't wait to enjoy it.
A Yuan looked at his sister helplessly, and confessed to his employer like a little adult, then told her all the information he had collected last night without missing a word: "...the two of them also agreed to meet at Zi Teng Lane in two days to collect the money. If you want to catch them, you'd better send someone to keep an eye on them as soon as possible."
"Also, Xiaoya said that she followed that woman into a dog hole the night before yesterday and found half a piece of paper."
Shen Wangshu took the crumpled paper ball, and his eyebrows jumped violently after seeing the words on it clearly.
She didn't recognize the handwriting, but the original owner did. It was the handwriting of Prince Bao's son, Gu Ziliang! Although only half of the note was left, one could roughly guess the original content from this half...Where did Xichun originally plan to put the note?
The dog hole behind the Duke’s Mansion?
Shen Wangshu had a bad premonition in his heart - this dog hole that even beggars couldn't easily find, could it lead to the forbidden place of Xuanji Courtyard, the courtyard that Aunt Zhang had mentioned?
Chen Ting might have been recuperating in that yard all along when he was ill, so he did not allow anyone to approach. No one knew that there was a hole in the back wall of the yard!
Shen Wangshu tried every means to prove his innocence. Xichun directly put the note in Chen Ting's face. The terrible thing was that it was really his illness period now, and Shen Wangshu couldn't get close to him casually... because Chen Ting might not have seen the note yet, but if she rashly went to that yard, something would definitely happen.
Shen Wangshu couldn't help but curse in his heart. What hatred or grudge did Xichun have against him that made her want to harm him like this? !
The current situation is like putting her on a shaky and dangerous bridge.
Shen Wangshu gritted his teeth and thought, two days, right? If she is not killed by Chen Ting within two days, Xichun will definitely not survive!
The two children completed the task in excess, and the little girl who picked up the note made a great contribution. Shen Wangshu paid them one tael of silver each and asked them to keep the matter a secret. Seeing that the little girl liked the cakes in the mansion, he packed two boxes for them to take away.
"You guys are still to keep an eye on Xichun for the next two days. If there is any news, you must inform me immediately. Do you understand?"
A Yuan and Xiao Ya stared at the silver ingots in their hands in a daze and nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
The noble man was so kind, not only did he treat them to delicious cakes, but he also gave them extra compensation! They will definitely complete the task well!
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