Lying in the brocade box is a piece of hibiscus jadeite, which is delicate and clear, with a medium-to-high texture, and is not cheap.
The other side of the jade is carved with a plum blossom, which is exactly the plum branch that Xia Zhaoyi saw in "Yunmeng Yinsuo" and on the chessboard of the two old men.
The carving technique is very exquisite, lifelike and meticulous, and he is definitely a master of micro carving.
"My aunt died of illness when she was less than ten years old," Mrs. Qu said. "My father also said that my aunt was born with a disability and lost her right leg, making her mute."
"This piece of jade is left like this." Xia Zhaoyi asked.
"My grandfather said that he wanted to bury my aunt with him, but my grandmother disagreed. She said that my aunt was too young and had not yet left the imperial family, so the tomb was not suitable for other people's belongings."
Xia Zhaoyi nodded and said: "The plum blossoms carved on the jade are from Nianhuazhai. Maybe Tang Xiangsi liked these plums very much."
"This is what I want to tell you," Mrs. Qu said, "I thought about it all night last night and recalled that the reason why Tang Xiangsi became friends with my grandfather was because of Nianhuazhai. However, Nianhuazhai was
From the Li family, my grandfather had a good relationship with the Li brothers, so he got to know Tang Xiangsi."
"Madam, do you know how long Nianhuazhai has been around?" Xia Zhaoyi was curious.
"Well, I sent someone to look for the Li family's genealogy last night. It was about six hundred years ago, the first year of Yanhe."
"Zhang Taizong, the second emperor of the Zhang Dynasty, after so long..."
"Yes, it's time to go to court."
Xia Zhaoyi put the jade back and raised his hand to close the brocade box.
"Ah Li," Mrs. Qu looked at her, "Excuse me for asking, who is this Tang Xiangsi of yours?"
Xia Zhaoyi shook his head: "No, he doesn't know me. I just read his works and admire him."
Mrs. Qu thought for a while and said: "In this case, Ah Li, since he has stayed in Hengyang for a while and is an elegant person, if we focus on looking for his traces, we will definitely find a lot of traces. Leave this matter to me.
, I will never let go of what I can find."
"No," Xia Zhaoyi said, "Madam, this is just the way it is, don't investigate further, and," she looked at the maids aside, "don't let more people know about this.
"
Mrs. Qu also looked at those maids.
The maids lowered their heads, and when Mrs. Qu looked over, they all cheered.
Mrs. Qu looked back at Xia Zhaoyi and knew that her admiration was not as simple as she said.
But Xia Zhaoyi didn't want to say anything, so Mrs. Qu didn't ask. Mrs. Qu knew the size better than anyone else.
"Okay," Mrs. Qu said, "Ah Li, I will pretend that this never happened, but if you need anything in the future, just write a letter."
"Yeah." Xia Zhaoyi smiled.
The subsequent meals continued to arrive, and Xia Zhaoyi couldn't eat any more, so she only ate a little bit.
In addition to the ingredients, Mrs. Qu introduced some Hengyang attractions and interesting rumors, making Xia Zhaoyi laugh several times.
It took a long time to finish the meal, but apart from Nie Huimo being unhappy at the beginning, at least the atmosphere at the end was good.
The rain in the sky became lighter, but there was heavy thunder.
Mrs. Qu said that Xia Zhaoyi didn't like sedan chairs, so why not get a carriage?
Xia Zhaoyi shook his head, but when he opened the umbrella, he suddenly turned back and said, "Mrs. Qu, can you lend me a raincoat and a horse?"
"Okay!" Mrs. Qu wished for it, "Ah Li, just wait, I'll give you the order right now."
After saying that, she turned to look at the housekeeper beside her. She didn't need to say anything, and the housekeeper immediately left.
Mrs. Qu laughed and looked at Xia Zhaoyi: "I am the housekeeper, haha!"
Xia Zhaoyi also laughed.
There were many horses in the Qu family, and the steward chose the strongest and most handsome one.
It was hard to find raincoats. Mrs. Qu couldn't wear them, and neither did the maids. Only the grooms in the mansion and the guards at the courtyard wore them.
The housekeeper searched for a while and found a raincoat that no one had ever worn. After confirming that it was clean and odorless, he also specially made some spices and diffused it before taking it back.
When Xia Zhaoyi picked it up, as soon as his fingers touched it, he knew what the housekeeper had done.
She smiled and thanked her, turned to Mrs. Qu, and said seriously: "Thank you for taking care of me, madam."
"What kind of care is this? Why are you being polite to me?" Mrs. Qu said with a smile.
Xia Zhaoyi put on the coir raincoat neatly, got on the horse, and clasped his fists on the horse: "I will definitely come to Hengxiang again one day, and I will have a good drink and talk with my wife!"
"Very good! I'll wait!"
Xia Zhaoyi smiled casually and pulled the reins: "Mrs. Qu, farewell."
"Bon voyage," said Mrs. Qu, "see you tomorrow!"
Xia Zhaoyi nodded, lightly kicked the horse's belly with both legs, and the horse lifted its feet and left.
She walked not slowly, but at a very slow pace. A steady stream of rain fell on her body, gradually increasing in volume and dripping along the brim of her hat.
As Xia Zhaoyi walked, she quietly raised her eyes and looked around.
She actually made a rough observation when she came here, but not in detail. Now she looked carefully and found that after excluding the big trees under the thunderstorm, there was not much space left to guard the gate of Qu Mansion.
Mrs. Qu looked at the girl's thin back from behind. After a while, Mrs. Qu sighed softly and took the people back home.
Xia Zhaoyi turned around after leaving a certain distance and saw that only the courtyard was left at the gate of Qu's Mansion. She turned around and walked to the alley on the other side. Then she dismounted and climbed up the wall neatly on the base of the low wall. Her body was light and flexible, and she turned over in an instant.
The last eaves.
She searched for those points one by one, and she saw the footprints of three people in a large house south of Qu Mansion.
Xia Zhaoyi was 80% sure about the direction of the footprints and the freshness of the three footprints compared because of the rain. It was here where Nie Huimo or Nie Huimo's men watched her pass to Qu's house just now.
Now, people are gone.
Xia Zhaoyi left without expression, got on the horse again, and whipped her whip: "Drive!"
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and a thunderstorm suddenly fell. Pedestrians rushed on the street, and many people huddled under the eaves of the roadside and walked carefully.
Then there was a clear sound of horse hooves galloping, and a thin girl wearing a bamboo hat rode by. She was a superb equestrian, with a heroic appearance, and she was whistling like the wind.
Half an hour later, Xia Zhaoyi's horse stood up in front of the gate of Guiyuan Inn.
The wind picked up from the ground, blowing the rain on her body. She looked at the words "Guiyuan Inn" on it. The door was open, but because of the heavy rain, there were no guests inside.
The shopkeeper is not here, the clerk is reading miscellaneous books, and the accounting office is doing calculations.
Seeing someone coming at the door, the clerk closed the book and took a look.
Xia Zhaoyi dismounted and went in, throwing the reins of the horse, and the waiter hurriedly raised his hand to catch it.
She strode across the threshold, walked to the center of the lobby, raised her eyes and looked around.
A few guests in the lobby looked at her curiously.
Then he saw the girl taking off her raincoat and taking off her bamboo hat, revealing her beautiful and beautiful face.
The long skirt on her body was slightly damp, but it made her figure even more graceful. Her slender neck and straight back, thin waist and long legs, her waist and perky buttocks showed that she was extremely powerful and not a shriveled beauty.
"Give me someone who can make the decision!" Xia Zhaoyi shouted loudly, "I'm here to cause trouble today!"
