After breakfast, Qiao Qixin moved a small mat and sat in the yard to boil medicine for herself as usual.
The casserole was bubbling. She held her chin up and stared at the pot in front of her in a daze.
I have been taking Chinese medicine for several days, and I have gradually gotten used to the smell.
Now that I smell the herbal scent carefully, I feel that it has a somewhat different flavor.
Qiao Qixin stayed in the small courtyard all morning in case Li Shangshu, who had not finished venting his anger last night, suddenly came to the door.
But it was almost afternoon now, and not even a single attendant, not to mention Li Shangshu, had passed by the door.
Qiao Qixin took advantage of this free time to carve out the map of Li Mansion. She didn't want to delay any longer, so she simply fooled around with lunch and then ducked into the small woods in the outer courtyard.
The fallen leaves spread a blanket on the ground, making a crunching sound when stepped on.
After Qiao Qixin walked for a while, she felt something fell behind her.
When I turned around, I saw the same familiar hidden guard.
"The thief who walked on the courtyard wall the night before was you, right?" Qiao Qixin looked at the guard who had wrapped herself tightly, "Did Liu Zhan ask you to do that?"
The hidden guard replied, "It is indeed the young master who asked a lowly official to pretend to be a thief in order to sneak in and check on the girl."
Qiao Qixin tilted her head, "His decision was quite stupid. Not only did it not dispel Li Shangshu's suspicion, I was still treated the same as before."
The hidden guard lowered his head, not knowing what to answer.
"Okay, you go tell him later that I already know the location of the study, but there are guards guarding the study and I can't get in." Qiao Qixin looked at the white wall in the distance, and then handed over the map she had drawn earlier.
Hidden guard.
"Yes, Miss Qiao."
The hidden guard left with the map.
Qiao Qixin walked alone in the woods for a while.
She stepped on the fallen leaves and listened to the crisp and crackling sound under her feet. The surroundings were lonely and lively.
——
"Does she already know the location of the study?" Liu Zhan unfolded the map on the desk.
The progress is quite fast.
Liu Zhan thought.
She originally thought that she would need to recuperate for a few days after being bled for the second time. Unexpectedly, on the second day, she had already found the location of the study room.
After he asked the hidden guards to retreat, he went to Dali Temple alone with the map.
"Master." Liu Zhan pushed open a wooden door and said respectfully.
"Liu Zhan, why are you here now?" An old man with a white beard put down his brush.
"Master, this is the map of the Li Mansion." Liu Zhan said without further ado, and showed the map to Kun Bai, the Minister of Dali Temple.
Kun Bai stroked his beard, looked at the map carefully for a few times, then raised his eyes to Liu Zhan, "Really?"
"Really, it was painted by someone I placed in the Li Mansion." Liu Zhan said firmly.
"Believable?"
"Believable."
Kun Bai stroked his beard and sat back on the chair, then stretched out a finger to point to the place marked "Study" on the map, "I remember you said last time that Li Shangshu's corrupt accounts are stored at this location."
"Yes, Master, when will we apply to the housekeeper?" Liu Zhan's tone was slightly excited.
Kun Bai glanced at him, "Why are you so anxious? I remember that it has been a year since the last time. Can you guarantee that Li Shangshu has not changed his position during this year?"
"Then, let my informant in Li's Mansion continue the search?" Liu Zhan hesitated.
Qiao Qixin has done enough, and he doesn't really want to trouble her again.
Kun Bai looked at the map and said, "Don't worry, tell me about your informant first."
Liu Zhan was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered that he had never told Kun Bai about Qiao Qixin's situation.
He hesitated and said, "It's a girl, her name is Qiao Qixin."
"It's sweet when you have peppers, and it's peaceful when you're under fire." Kun Bai nodded, "What a good name."
Liu Zhan continued, "I met her when I was investigating the affairs of the Jia family in Bianling City. She was originally a peasant woman, but for some reason she was abducted into the Jia family."
"I intercepted her when the Jia family sent her to the capital, and then asked her to go into the Li Mansion to help me check Li Shangshu's accounts..."
Liu Zhan's voice became smaller and smaller because he saw Kun Bai's eyes staring at him intensely.
"Why would she, a peasant woman, agree to go into Li's house to help you find accounts?" Kun Bai withdrew his gaze, calmly and peacefully picked up his brush and copied everyone's inscriptions on the rice paper.
Liu Zhan felt like there were thousands of thorns pricking his back.
He stood solemnly in front of Kun Bai, waiting for the punishment he deserved.
Kun Bai finished the entire inscription before putting down the brush again.
At this time, Liu Zhan's clothes on his back were soaked with his own cold sweat.
"Liu Zhan, do you still remember the first meeting with me?" Kun Bai said calmly.
But Liu Zhan understood that this was a sign that Kun Bai would go crazy.
"Remember, remember, my disciple pushed his friend down the hillside that day." Liu Zhan said bravely.
"Partner?" Kun Bai's expression was calm, but there was a compulsion in his tone that could not be resisted or avoided.
"Yes, he is my disciple's brother..."
Liu Zhan had to fall into that annoying memory.
It was his brother who attacked him first that day. Liu Zhan was on the defensive and pushed him down the hillside.
As for why the brother took action, it was not a child's play, but brother Liu Zhan's rejection of this outsider brother.
Because Liu Zhan was an orphan that Mrs. Liu picked up on the street, and that brother was Mrs. Liu's biological son.
The elder brother believed that Liu Zhan was deprived of his mother's love for him, so he often rejected Liu Zhan in words and actions.
As for Liu Zhan, before he was picked up by Mrs. Liu and brought back to the house, he was a "wild child" on the street. He lived a savage life of a dozen for three days and one dozen for five days, which also developed the very irritable temperament in him when he was a child.