Disaster For the Country · Return Journey

Chapter 12 – Cut First

Qiu Jiang started a fire, and the fire was so strong that the firewood crackled.

Qiu Jiang warmed her hands on the fire, thought for a while, then turned her head and said, “Is there any wine?”

The cook of Baixiang Inn crouched in the corner and looked at her with fear, helplessness and a little expectation. Hearing this, he stood up tremblingly, took out a jug of wine from the cabinet and handed it over.

Qiu Jiang took the wine and said with a smile: “Thank you.” After saying that, he took off the lid of the pot and took a big gulp, commenting, “It’s hard to drink.”

The cook was aggrieved: “I just wanted to keep warm. I brought all the monthly money back to my hometown to support my family. How can I have enough money to buy good wine?”

Qiu Jiang raised her eyebrows: “What kind of family do you have?”

“There is an eighty-year-old mother and there are…”

“Stop!” Qiu Jiang interrupted him, “Stop doing this.”

The cook said with a worried face: “Girl, how long are you going to keep me locked up at home like this? The inn is busy these days, and if I don’t go to work, I will be fired by the shopkeeper.”

“Just right.” Qiu Jiang glanced at him, “Just relying on the porridge I taught you, you can go to Yujing to sell it for a high price before dignitaries.”

The cook smiled wryly: “The girl said it lightly, how can one dish be enough? Those nobles have very tricky tongues, and they can’t wait to change a hundred tricks a day.”

“You are quite clear.”

“Why don’t you teach me a few more?” The cook’s expression turned flattering.

Qiu Jiang kicked him: “Lend your broken house to live for a few days, just want to steal my teacher, it’s a good idea!”

The cook was kicked and rolled over, and retreated into the corner: “Didn’t you say that you want to spread the unique skills of Master Toothless to the world?”

“I really want to. But he didn’t teach me!” Qiu Jiang sighed. The old monk not only had a good relationship with Feng Xiaoya, but also had a close relationship with another person. Toss him.

At this moment, there was a sound outside the house. Qiu Jiang’s eyes flashed, and he pressed lightly on the Buddhist bead with his hand, and a puff of white smoke immediately sprayed towards the cook.

The cook kept his eyes shut and passed out without saying a word.

Qiu Jiang clapped her hands, looked at the door and said, “It’s cold outside, come in quickly.”

After the door opened, the person who walked in was Si’er.

He looked at this dilapidated, small earthen house with a lingering smell of oily smoke, and frowned: “Why do you live here?”

Qiu Jiang pointed to the only window: “Open the window to monitor Xie Changyan.”

“Why are you bothering her? The madam is here to urge you again.” Si’er said as he handed her a new chicken hair brush.

Qiu Jiang opened the barrel of the pen, and it read: “Speed to kill Feng Letian.” The word “speed” was added, and it could be seen that he was really in a hurry.

Qiu Jiang said disdainfully: “If she says kill, she will kill it? Speech.” He threw the note into the stove and burned it.

Si’er looked at the greasy felt with distaste, refused to take a seat, but stood up and said: “According to the old rule, if you don’t do it twice, the next time it’s not the pen, it’s Wu’er.”

“I want him to come. Let him see with his own eyes, is Dayan’s Prime Minister such an easy-to-kill person?”

“But you are his daughter-in-law. There must be a chance.”

Qiu Jiang snorted coldly: “You are still the old emperor’s personal entourage, why haven’t you seen you for so many years?”

Si’er said seriously: “My task is just to monitor.”

The two stared at each other for a long time, Si’er turned his face away: “The pen has been brought, I’m going back.”

“Wait!” Qiu Jiang called him, and then squeezed out a flattering smile that was exactly the same as when the cook begged her before, “Brother Si’er, help me chop some firewood before we go?”

Si’er’s eyes twitched.

***

When the cook woke up, Qiu Jiang had disappeared. The fire in the stove was still on, and the room was incredibly warm.

He jumped up and rushed out the door.

The female devil is not here, go out and report to the police!

However, he stepped on something under his feet and almost fell down. When he took a closer look, it was firewood, and the cut surface was extremely smooth. Looking at the past again, I took a deep breath—

There was a pile of firewood behind the door, each of which was the same length as the one in his hand.

The cook was stunned for a long time.

Or…or…don’t report to the official? This is hundreds of firewood, enough for him to survive the whole winter! As long as the female devil doesn’t come back, let’s let this matter go… right?

***

The female devil squatted on the mast of a certain ship, watching the fun while drinking.

Because the ferry was frozen, it was full of ships that could not leave. There happened to be a businessman named Hu Zhiren who was in a hurry to ship the goods to sea, so Xu paid a lot of money to gather hundreds of trackers to pull the boat.

For some reason, Xie Changyan was also among them, pulling the rope and dragging forward profusely.

After Qiu Jiang finished drinking, he picked up the noose on the side, shook it, and threw it into a certain box on the ice, where there were still some leftover hip flasks and leather pants, which Hu Zhiren had distributed to the trackers before.

The noose was precisely placed on one of the wine jugs, pulled back, and continued to drink.

Qiu Jiang thought that Yan Guo also has its advantages, for example, drinking in such a cold day makes the wine taste better.

At this time, the businessman named Hu Zhiren didn’t know what he said to the boy. The boy ran towards Xie Changyan and said a few words to Xie Changyan. When Xie Changyan was shaking his head, there was a burst of exclamation from the other side of the boat.

Qiu Jiang squatted high and could see clearly that the ice suddenly broke and several people fell into it. The trackers quickly dropped the rope to save people. And Xie Changyan ran over to watch the fun, unwilling to be lonely.

Qiu Jiang watched her from a distance, thoughtful.

The trackers over there pulled several people up one after another, but one person named Xiaosun Liu was missing. Without further ado, Xie Changyan put his hair up, took off his fox fur coat, tied a rope and jumped into the ice cave.

Qiu Jiang subconsciously stood up, never expecting that the girl jumped as soon as she said it, without hesitation.

Can’t let her die!

This person is dead, and all subsequent plans will be over!

Qiu Jiang immediately turned over and jumped off the sail. Seeing a few sundecks drying on the deck, he immediately took one and put on one. Then he ran to the ice hole and pushed away the crowd: “Get out of the way!”

With a plop, she jumped too.

The ice water is extremely cold, Qiu Jiang thought, luckily she drank wine.

I don’t know if Xie Changyan can resist it, the kind of spoiled little girl with delicate skin and tender flesh will definitely fall ill with this jump!

She quickly found Xie Changyan, and Xie Changyan was holding on to the little Sun Liu and desperately going upstream—the water quality was unexpectedly good, as expected, he grew up by the sea.

Qiu Jiang swam towards her, grabbed her by the belt, and pulled them out of the water.

After Xie Changyan was rescued, he was stunned when he saw that she was the one who rescued him.

Qiu Jiang wiped her face and smiled at her: “You are quite brave, little girl.”

The servant at the side hurriedly put the fox fur back on Xie Changyan’s body: “Are you okay? Scared, frightened me to death!”

Xie Changyan woke up like a dream, and quickly turned to look at Little Sun Liu beside him – he was pale, half dead, and he didn’t respond to pressing his chest for a long time.

One person shook his head and sighed, “No, no, it’s been too long…”

Xie Changyan’s eyes turned red immediately, as if he was about to cry. Her lips were pale, her body was trembling, her hair was still dripping, and she looked extremely embarrassed.

Seeing this, Qiu Jiang softened his heart inexplicably.

She rescued Xie Changyan because Xie Changyan’s special status was beneficial to her. But Xie Changyan saved this little Sun Liu purely out of kindness.

People with kind thoughts are like beautiful flowers, they are always very pleasing to the eye.

Qiu Jiang pushed Xie Changyan, and said, “It’s so ugly, it’s shameful. Look at my sister.” As he spoke, he stepped forward and sat beside Xiao Sunliu, took out a bag of silver needles from his bosom, and pricked several main acupuncture points. Tong, using internal force to force the water out of the person’s chest and abdomen.

Little Sun Liu coughed, turned over and began to vomit.

Everyone watching was overjoyed: “It’s alive! It’s amazing! It’s alive!”

“Although he’s alive, he’s useless. Hurry up and carry him away.” Qiu Jiang put away the silver needle and looked at Xie Changyan—the little girl was so helpful, she probably wanted to go to sea early, that’s all, send the Buddha to the west. Immediately looking around at the crowd, he said, “Half a stick of incense has been delayed, time is running out, the others return to their original positions, listen to my orders, and make sure to go to sea smoothly before dark.”

“Yes!” There were a lot of responders.

Xie Changyan was still in a daze, looking up at her in a daze.

Qiu Jiang looked at her wet clothes and reminded: “Don’t be idle, go back and change your clothes before coming back.”

Xie Changyan let out an oh, and left obediently.

Qiu Jiang smiled, and said to Hu Zhiren’s servant: “Hey, get a drum!”

***

When Xie Changyan came back after changing his clothes, Qiu Jiang was beating drums on the deck, leading the trackers forward in unison: “One two hi! One two hi!”

I don’t know which Liuli has studied this, and believes that rhythmic slogans can control breathing, so that the entire team can exercise more efficiently and for a long time. Therefore, military training and emergency training all prefer this method.

Sure enough, the temporary trackers who were originally scattered like sand were surrounded by this slogan, and their pace was much more stable and their speed was much faster.

Xie Changyan rushed to catch up and asked, “What should I do?”

Qiu Jiang untied a roll of her belt from her waist and rolled her onto the boat.

Just as Xie Changyan stood firm, a drumstick was stuffed in his hand.

Qiu Jiang sat on the side of the boat, kneaded her shoulders and said, “It’s just in time, I’m tired from knocking, so you come for me.”

Xie Changyan played the drum obediently, but she didn’t seem to have any sense of music. The beat of the drum was sometimes fast and sometimes slow. After a while, the slogans of the crowd also became fast and sometimes slow, and their footsteps became chaotic.

Seeing that something was wrong, Qiu Jiang quickly yelled to stop, motioning everyone to stop, then looked at Xie Changyan complicatedly and said, “If you weren’t in a hurry to go out to sea, I really thought you came here to smash the scene on purpose.”

Xie Changyan looked embarrassed.

Qiu Jiang had no choice but to take back the drumstick: “Okay, that’s enough, you’ll have to do physical work, and go pull the boat.”

Xie Changyan jumped off the boat and was about to continue to help pull the boat when a group of soldiers galloped towards the ferry far away, and the leader was Meng Buli.

Qiu Jiang narrowed his eyes, and quickly made a judgment in his heart: Although Meng Buli is Feng Xiaoya’s entourage, Feng Xiaoya cannot mobilize the emperor’s private soldiers. So this team of private soldiers should be sent by Zhang Hua. Then the goal is not her, but Xie Changyan.

Qiu Jiang’s heart stabilized, and he decided to stand still and not rush to escape for the time being.

Sure enough, Meng Buli came to the front of the boat and motioned for the soldiers to join the ranks of the trackers to help pull the boat, but did not look at her at the bow.

Xie Changyan stared straight at Meng Buli, so Meng Buli had no choice but to say: “I will send you a ride.”

Qiu Jiang’s eyes flickered, thinking, King Yan and the little girl are really inseparable.

Xie Changyan’s expression was a little sad, but he didn’t say anything, and continued to help pull the boat.

Under Qiu Jiang’s leadership and with the help of the soldiers, after an hour, the ship finally entered the icy sea.

The crowd cheered.

Hu Zhiren thanked Meng Buli on the shore, Meng Buli waved his hand and said: “Leave a cabin for…” Looking back, he wanted to point to Xie Changyan, but Xie Changyan secretly left without knowing when.

Seeing Meng Buli turn pale with shock, Qiu Jiang smiled at him lying on the railing: “The little girl is gone, but the eldest girl is still here. Leave that cabin to me.”

Meng Buli glared at her, turned around without saying a word, and went looking for someone.

Qiu Jiang thought, this person is really not in a hurry to catch her. Did Feng Xiaoya know that she would definitely go to the appointment on the first day of the first lunar month?

At this time, Hu Zhiren stepped forward to salute and said, “Girl, which room do you want?”

Qiu Jiang looked at him, and heard that his wife had already laid chess pieces at the richest man Hu Jiuxian’s house, could it be this person? Immediately smiled, and handed the drumsticks to him: “Leave it to others.” After speaking, he tapped his toes, flew off the boat, and left quickly.

Is it a coincidence that Hu Zhiren appeared here?

According to her speculation, the so-called Qinchun Project is to replace King Yan. The steps that have been taken are the replacement of the future queen. The steps not taken are to kill Feng Lotte. Apart from other things, Madam did not tell her clearly.

This is not in line with Ruyimen’s style of conduct.

For a task, there must be an executor from the beginning to the end, and a potential watcher in the dark. For example, in Nanyan Xie’s Nestle Project, she was the executor, responsible for pretending to be Xie Liu, and Wu’er was the monitor, responsible for reporting the progress to his wife.

But in the spring, the wife asked her to meet Princess Yujing and let her go to Shafeng Letian, but she didn’t explain all the steps of the plan to her, which was very strange. If there is another executor, why not send that person to do these two things, but leave it to her? Was it because he was suspicious of her? So try?

And Zhanghua, since he agreed to Xie Changyan’s request to divorce, why did he send soldiers to send her to sea? Is it because I can’t control myself, or is it confusing the aristocratic family?

Why is there a disagreement between King Yan and Princess Yujing? Zhanghua is Yujing’s only nephew, and the old emperor is still alive, how can Yujing have the ability to change the emperor?

Countless thoughts ran through Qiu Jiang’s mind, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there were too many things that didn’t make sense.

And following the rhythm of others has never been her way of doing things.

In this matter, she decided to take the initiative.

***

When Qiu Jiang returned to the ferry, it was already dark, and she didn’t want to travel another 20 miles back to Yujing in the freezing cold night, so she planned to go to the cook’s house for a night and leave tomorrow.

When the cook saw her again, he was very speechless, but he took the initiative to stay on the bed and went to sleep in the corner.

Qiu Jiang smiled sweetly at him and said, “Thank you.”

“That…” The cook pointed nonchalantly at a certain cabinet, “There is wine in it.”

Qiu Jiang was slightly surprised, and stretched out his hand to touch it. Sure enough, he found a jug of wine. He smiled so much that his eyes narrowed: “That’s interesting, good brother.”

After taking a sip, it was much better than the previous wine. Could it be that he deliberately bought it to wait for her?

Qiu Jiang looked back at the cook, but the cook shrank his head into the quilt and remained motionless.

“Do you have any children?” she asked over her drink.

The cook was silent for a long time, and his voice floated out from under the quilt: “Yes.”

“several?”

“Two… oh no, three. One is missing.”

Qiu Jiang’s eyes flickered: “Lost it?”

“Well, boy, I went up the mountain to collect firewood, and it’s gone. Some people said that it was taken away by wild wolves, and some people said that it was abducted by human traffickers…”

“Have you found it?”

“I don’t have the time or the energy. I have to go out to work. The old man has bad legs and can’t get out of the house, and the two young children can’t live without their mother.”

“Then lose it?”

“Otherwise, what else can I do?” The cook stuck his head out from under the quilt and looked at her wearily, “This is fate.”

Qiu Jiang thought for a while, then handed over the flagon.

The cook hesitated for a while, then mustered up the courage to take it, found another cup and poured himself a cup, then returned the pot to Qiu Jiang.

Qiu Jiang smiled: “You are a fastidious person.”

“I can see that the girl is a person of status.”

“oh?”

“Many dignitaries have visited Baixiang Inn. The one who impressed me the most was Li Fangnan, Minister of the Ministry of Officials. When he entered the door, he always stepped on the right foot first. He said that men are right and women are left. Walk sideways and don’t step on the threshold. It’s an ancient ritual. All the descendants of the Li family do this. So does the girl.”

Qiu Jiang was taken aback, and subconsciously looked at her feet.

“Although I don’t know why the girl is here, and I don’t know what the girl does for a living now, but…” the cook strengthened his courage after drinking, “if the girl’s ability is used in the right way, it will definitely benefit the world. Just like me, Bai Got a recipe, and a pile of firewood.”

Qiu Jiang hooked her lips: “Are you a lobbyist sent by Sick Bird?”

“What?”

“It’s nothing. You’re too noisy, it’s time to go to bed.” Qiu Jiang pressed the beads, and white smoke spewed out again, fascinating the cook.

Then she drank the wine in the pot in one gulp, covered her body with the oily torn blanket, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The sky is falling, and you have to sleep well first.

When you achieve “the sky is falling, you can sleep well first”, you will find that there is nothing difficult.

***

The overwhelmed Qiu Jiang Meimei fell asleep, and when she got up, she found that the cook had left a few roasted yams in the stove, which were still warm, and they must have been deliberately left for her breakfast.

She strolled out while peeling the taro, to see if she could get a ride to Yujing. In the end, before he reached the car dealership, he saw Xie Changyan.

Xie Changyan stood in front of the garage door, took a deep breath, walked in with a determination far beyond his age, with his head held high.

Qiu Jiang was suddenly curious, and sneaked in to see what she wanted to do. Only after hearing the footsteps did he realize that Xie Changyan was recommending a special carriage to the owner of the car dealership in exchange for money.

Huh?

The dignified Yan’s former queen-to-be is actually short of money? Down and out, come to a car dealership to beg?

On top of that, the boss didn’t take the set at all and had the guy kick her out.

“Get out! If you talk nonsense again, I will report to the police and arrest you!”

Xie Changyan was thrown on the ground with a disheveled face and a frustrated look on his face.

Qiu Jiang couldn’t help but chuckle.

Xie Changyan turned his head when he heard the voice, and saw her sitting on the fence of the stable, enjoying the fun with the crowd.

Xie Changyan stood up silently, and patted the dust off his clothes.

Qiu Jiang sighed: “Obviously you can make money with your looks, but you have to rely on your brains.”

Xie Changyan gave her a blank look, turned around and left.

Qiu Jiang followed her slowly, and continued: “Although the brain is good, the vision is not good.”

“What’s wrong?” Xie Changyan seemed very unconvinced.

Qiu Jiang raised her eyebrows: “Is this the attitude of asking others for advice?”

Xie Changyan thought for a while, and actually bowed to her respectfully: “Madam please enlighten me.”

The word madam pleased Qiu Jiang inexplicably. Qiu Jiang said with a smile: “Whenever a pickpocket steals, the first choice is the elderly and a woman with a child in her arms, followed by a person with worries written on his face, and then a rich kid who calls friends. The three types of people are the easiest to attack.”

Seeing that Xie Changyan was confused, Qiu Jiang said again: “Similarly, when liars cheat, the greedy people are the first choice, followed by the timid ones, and the ignorant people are the last choice. Why?”

“easy?”

Children can be taught! “So, if you want to fool someone into giving you a carriage, you have to choose a good partner.”

“I’m not fooling around, I’m offering advice from the bottom of my heart.”

“A good strategy requires a discerning eye. The cake you painted is too big. First, ordinary businessmen never think about it, and second, they dare not eat it. Look at the car dealership you chose, here The town has been operating for thirty years and still has such a facade, what does it mean?”

Xie Changyan thought about it seriously, and replied: “Don’t think about making progress, stick to the rules.”

“Yes, so if you offer advice to him, it is equivalent to giving the beauty to the blind.” Qiu Jiang looked at her with a smile, “Gan Luo Zhibian, if you meet Qin Shihuang; If it’s not Lord Mengchang, what’s the use of it?”

Xie Changyan was shocked, as if he had realized something.

Qiu Jiang asked, “So, now you know what to do?”

“I know. I’m going to find the businessman surnamed Hu.”

Now it was Qiu Jiang’s turn to be surprised: how could she think of Hu Zhiren? “Why?”

“He was the first to think of going out to sea when the river was frozen. He is a man with strong ideas, courage and execution ability. If I go to offer advice to him, I will surely succeed.”

Qiu Jiang smiled noncommittally.

Xie Changyan did it when he thought of it, and immediately went to find Hu Zhiren.

Under the sun, her long hair was swaying, and her tall body was full of vitality.

Qiu Jiang looked at her back, but his eyes gradually became darker: “Hu Zhiren is a fish, I have to rely on your bait to help me catch it…Little girl.”

The Zouchun Project must have executors and monitors.

Madam will not send ordinary disciples to face such important events, so only core disciples will come.

And the core disciples of Ruyimen who appeared near Yujing at this moment are only her and Si’er.

It’s not her or Si’er, who could it be?

Among the Ruyi Seven Treasures, she has seen the first, second, fourth and fifth children so far.

It is not yet known who San’er and Liu’er are.

Will Hu Zhiren be one of them?

If so, it is no coincidence that he appeared here.

While thinking, Qiu Jiang secretly followed Xie Changyan, only to see that she really went to pay a visit to Hu Zhiren.

Hu Zhiren met her politely in the flower hall, listened patiently to her introduction of the weird carriage she had built, and took ten taels of gold without hesitation, expressing his willingness to support her in building the carriage.

Xie Changyan breathed a sigh of relief, happily took the gold and left.

Hu Zhiren smiled and sent her to the door in person. The servant beside him said suspiciously: “Master, is what she said true? Can this kind of carriage really make money?”

“…Do you know who this woman is?”

Qiu Jiang, who was lying on the roof, heard this, thinking that Hu Zhiren really recognized Xie Changyan.

Hu Zhiren said to the boy: “I heard that the nineteenth lady of the Xie family in Yinzhou was selected as the emperor’s wife, but she rejected the marriage on the grounds of embarrassment and heavy responsibility. If I guessed correctly, it is Miss Xie.”

The boy was shocked.

“How can you not listen to the news from the person from the emperor’s side? You send someone to follow her, and if she has any difficulties, solve them secretly.”

The boy said: “Young Master wants to show her kindness.”

“If you are a merchant, how can you not know the art of living with rare goods. Go.” Hu Zhiren dismissed the servant.

Everything was normal so far, but after that, he picked up the teacup and blew lightly, and said leisurely: “It’s freezing cold on the roof, why don’t the Seven Lords come down and have a cup of hot tea?”

When Qiu Jiang heard this, he found himself, so he simply jumped in from the window and sat down opposite him: “We met yesterday and didn’t know each other, but today we are willing to recognize me?”

Hu Zhiren personally made tea for her: “I’m stupid, and I didn’t recognize the Seven Lords at the first time. After I came back, I thought about it again and again, and the more I thought about it, the more something went wrong. After interrogating Si’er, I was sure that it was really you.”

Qiu Jiang narrowed her eyes: “Then what should I call you? San’er, or Liu’er?”

“The seven masters have promoted me, and I am just an ordinary disciple of the Chizhu Sect, not yet the sect master.”

Qiu Jiang recalled that last year he had heard that Liu’er was accidentally injured while performing a mission. Looking at it now, his injury might not heal. Therefore, Madam wants to replace Liu’er and promote him to take over the name of Chi Zhu.

And to become Qibao, it is not enough to surpass the sect master in martial arts alone, one must also make great contributions to the organization. She was able to become agate back then because she obtained the full formula from Nanyan Xie’s family. And this person’s contribution…maybe the Zouchun Project.

Qiu Jiang quickly figured out the mystery, and when he looked at Hu Zhiren again, his gaze was different.

She poured the tea backhand, and the two brothers put their arms around each other’s shoulders, and said with a smile: “Hey, I see that you have a full heaven and a round house, and you have a blessed face. The number of red beads must be yours. From now on you will be six I’m Qi’er, we are good brothers and sisters. Good brother, let’s not drink tea, can we have some wine?”

Hu Zhiren couldn’t help laughing, and hurriedly asked the boy to fetch wine. Qiu Jiang took a sip and her eyes lit up: “Twenty-year-old Fenjiu is beautiful!”

“I’ve never heard of the Seven Masters being addicted to alcohol before, but I didn’t expect to be an expert.”

“Before, I didn’t dare to touch alcohol during the mission. This mission is good, so I have to be good at drinking, so I can feast on it.” Qiu Jiang deliberately mentioned his mission to see how much the other party knew.

Hu Zhiren said: “Prime Minister Feng really likes fine wine.”

Qiu Jiang put down his glass and sighed.

“What’s wrong with the Seven Masters?” Hu Zhiren helped her fill up the wine.

“Madam asked me to kill Feng Letian quickly, but I tried several times, but there was no chance at all.”

“Prime Minister Feng claims that Dayan has the best martial arts among the officials; he has the highest official position among those who know martial arts. It is really difficult to deal with.”

Qiu Jiang was startled—Feng Letian knows martial arts? impossible! That time when she met him at Taohe Villa, he clearly had heavy steps and no martial arts skills!

“But as your daughter-in-law, don’t you have the chance to poison?”

“Father and son are both very cunning… we can only wait for the New Year’s Eve dinner to see if there is a chance.” Qiu Jiang said, staring at the Fenjiu in the cup, and asked as if thinking of something, “What about you? here we go?”

Hu Zhiren nodded implicitly and smiled: “Everything is going well so far. Just wait for Feng Letian to die.”

Qiu Jiang’s heart sank – Shafeng Letian was indeed part of the Qinchun plan. Feng Letian is the most important courtier of King Yan, if he died, King Yan would lose an arm.

Seeing that Hu Zhiren didn’t intend to discuss this matter in depth, she changed the subject: “What do you think of Xie Changyan?”

“Whimsical, bold and lively.”

Qiu Jiang thought, it was the same conclusion as her own.

Hu Zhiren added: “There is a characteristic of being pampered. It is probably because she was spoiled by her mother and grew up, and then was held in the palm of Yan Wang’s hand and cared for. People also want to be used to her. she.”

Qiu Jiang froze sharply for a moment—Hu Zhiren’s eyes sparkled, it was a dangerous expression full of unspeakable intentions that men only have when they are interested in women.

But Hu Zhiren quickly restrained that look—in fact, if it wasn’t for Qiu Jiang, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to detect this strangeness in him, and returned to a gentle look: “Did the Seven Lord follow her to my place? The Lord is also interested in her?”

“I thought it was Queen Dayan, so I was interested. Now I’m just a little girl, so I don’t find it interesting. I mainly came to see you.” Qiu Jiang raised his glass with a smile, “I’m alone in Dayan. Manpower. The only contact person, Si’er, is too lazy to live in a remote place. After thinking about it, it’s more convenient for you…”

Hu Zhiren smiled and said: “If you have an assignment, just speak up.”

“Cheer up. Then I would like to toast you, future Sixth Brother.”

“I also wish the Seven Masters all the best and return to the Holy Realm soon.”

The two looked at each other and smiled, saying nothing.

***

After Qiu Jiang finished drinking, he asked for a carriage and driver from Hu Zhiren, and lay down comfortably to return to Beijing.

The carriage was extremely stable, and the quilts on the brocade couch were all scented with sweet-scented osmanthus flowers, making them as soft as clouds.

However, Qiu Jiang was lying on the couch, but she didn’t enjoy it at all. Instead, she frowned deeply and was full of thoughts.

Hu Zhiren’s words were impeccable, and she babbled around for a long time, but failed to extract any useful information from him. At present, we only know: First, he is indeed a disciple of the Chizhu Sect, and he has not replaced the original Liu’er. Second, both he and she were sent by Mrs. Ruyi to carry out missions in the country of Yan, but they were independent of each other and did not interfere with each other. Three, the item in the Zouchun plan aimed at Feng Letian was brought out by the wife alone, and no one else was arranged. Fourth, Hu Zhiren should only be the monitor of the Chunchun plan, not the executor.

Why?

After thinking about it for a while, Qiu Jiang felt that it was because he didn’t have enough status.

No matter how rich Hu Zhiren is, he is still just a lowly businessman. With this status, he can make trouble, but it is impossible to shake the political situation of Dayan and replace the emperor!

Therefore, there must be another executor. Who will it be? Has it already appeared, but was ignored by myself, or has it not appeared yet?

And all the doubts come down to one reason – Mrs. Ruyi didn’t really regard her as the future heir.

She is still testing her.

Qiu Jiang couldn’t help but reach out and beat her forehead. This Fenjiu is soft to drink, but has a lot of stamina. She has a very good capacity for alcohol, she won’t get drunk after a thousand cups, and this is the first time she has such a headache… Immediately told the driver: “Look for a pharmacy to stop and buy some hangover soup.”

The coachman with gray hair and stooped body responded. After a while, the car stopped.

Qiu Jiang leaned on the car couch and continued to beat her head. By the way, she lifted the curtain and looked out. This glance made her heart tremble.

“Fuchun Hall”!

The pharmacy in front of the car is actually called Fuchuntang!

She pursed her lips, got out of the car herself, and walked into the pharmacy.

The pharmacy is very large, with a consulting room and doctors sitting in it. The coachman was buying sober medicine from the waiter, when he turned his head and saw her coming in, he couldn’t help being startled.

Qiu Jiang gestured to him, signaling him to ignore her, and then continued walking with his hands behind his back, looking around.

No wonder Feng Xiaoya would come here to buy medicines, this is probably the place where Yujing has the most medicinal materials except the imperial palace. There were eight people in total, and the medicine package was made of very elegant paper, with the word “Wang” printed on the lower right corner.

Qiu Jiang raised her eyebrows, and couldn’t help calling a waiter to ask, “Has this place changed owners?”

The man was at a loss for a while before he understood: “You mean the original shopkeeper, Jiang Yun? He quit long ago. He gave the shop to the Wang family.”

“Why?”

“I heard that something happened at home, who knows…”

At this moment, another clerk interjected: “I know, I know, his daughter was lost, so he sold the shop and went looking for her everywhere.”

The previous guy asked curiously, “Did you find it?”

“Then I don’t know. There has been no news for a long time, and I don’t even know whether he is dead or alive…Girl, why are you asking this?” the man asked, but seeing Qiu Jiang’s face pale and in a daze, he confronted the previous man. Glancing at it, both turned around and continued working.

Qiu Jiang stared at the medicine cabinet that was as high as the wall in front of her. The names of the herbal medicines passed by her eyes, as if she saw the little girl named Jiang Jiang crawling up and down in front of the cabinet, while her father was beside her. pointing at her with a smile…

— But, it’s not a memory, it’s just a hallucination.

Qiu Jiang lowered her eyes and went back to the car to lie down without saying anything. After a while, the coachman brought hangover soup, and she asked him thoughtfully while drinking the soup, “Why did you deliberately stop at Fuchun Hall?”

After a moment of silence, the coachman replied, “Mr. He said, take your former residence for a walk.”

“Are you an elegant person?”

“yes.”

“Does Hu Zhiren know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did Hu Zhiren tell you anything else?”

“He just asked me to take care of you and see where you are going by the way.”

Qiu Jiang looked at this honest and dull coachman who seemed to be over 60 years old, and couldn’t help laughing: “It’s hard for you to work on both sides.”

The coachman was silent again.

Qiu Jiang stared at him and suddenly asked, “Are you being coerced?”

“What?”

“Why do you obey Feng Xiaoya?”

The coachman’s eyes flickered, and Qiu Jiang reminded him: “You have to know that for a person like me, you can tell at a glance whether you are telling the truth.”

The coachman hesitated for a long time, and gently stroked the tiger’s mouth of his right hand with his left hand. Qiu Jiang noticed that there was a piece of skin missing from the tiger’s mouth on his right hand. It should have been cut away by a knife several years ago, and now it has become an old scar. He just stroked the scar like that, and said softly: “My eldest son Ali lost thirty years ago.”

Qiu Jiang stopped breathing slightly.

“I still have three sons to raise, and I can’t go away, and I can’t find him. In the past thirty years, I often saw Ali crying in my dreams. Now, my sons are all married and grown up, and I can breathe a sigh of relief, so I joined ‘Cut skin’.”

“Skin-cutting?” She glanced at the scar—does it mean skin-cutting pain?

“They are all people who have lost their children. They can do everything. After joining, they exchange information with each other, pay attention to passers-by, and look forward to finding their children one day. Mr. He is also one of us.” The coachman said this , looking at her with an indescribably complicated look, “He didn’t coerce me, we are all voluntary.”

Qiu Jiang was silent.

The coachman lowered the curtain, went back to the shaft and drove off.

Qiu Jiang stared at the hangover soup in his hand, and after a while, he let out a long sigh.

Her head was still dizzy, the car body was shaking, her eyelids were as heavy as a thousand pounds, she was dangling, her fingers suddenly loosened, and the medicine bowl fell to the tapestry-covered floor without making any sound.

The boundless darkness enveloped her head and face, and Qiu Jiang closed her eyes.

***

When she woke up again, she was still in the carriage.

The carriage is stationary and I don’t know where it stops.

After a while, the car door opened, and the coachman walked in with a rope. Seeing that she had woken up, he was surprised. He didn’t expect her to wake up so quickly, so he hurried forward and tied her tightly with the rope.

Qiu Jiang looked at him, but laughed: “Mr. He asked you to tie me up?”

“no.”

“Then what are you doing?”

Struggling and hesitation flashed across the driver’s face, and finally he raised his head with red eyes: “I heard Hu Zhiren call you the Seven Masters. You are a person with status in Ruyimen.”

“Yes. Then?”

“Presumably that Mrs. Ruyi is willing to exchange Ali for you.”

Qiu Jiang understood that he wanted to use himself as a hostage to exchange his long-lost son, and he couldn’t help sighing: “First, how do you know that Ali is still alive? Second, why do you think Madam would be willing to exchange? Third , you trade me for your son, so don’t care about other people’s children in ‘Cheskin’?”

The coachman’s lips kept trembling, and finally he roared: “I don’t care about other people! I only want my son! You are the proud disciple of that female devil head, Ali is just an insignificant one, she will definitely change it!”

Qiu Jiang stared at the scar on his hand, and sighed quietly: “It hurts so much…”

“Shut up! Anyway, write to that female devil quickly, and I will report Ali’s appearance to you…” Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the ropes on Qiu Jiang’s body one by one.