Hearing the light and subtle footsteps, Wu Chao stopped and without looking back, he just asked: "How is it? Can you identify it clearly?"
Suishan replied: "My subordinates have carefully identified this person. This person is indeed 70-80% similar to the man in black that I saw that day. However, the man's face was covered at the time, so I dare not make a conclusion. Except that
In addition, my subordinates looked at the opponent’s palms and found that he is indeed a skilled bow and arrow user.”
Ordinarily, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to distinguish even these seven or eight points from such an encounter, but Suishan was a secret guard and had always been keen, and he had a deep memory of dealing with those who wanted to harm his master's life.
After hearing this, the young man's slender and beautiful fingers were slightly tightened behind his back.
After a while, he ordered: "Tell Sui Jiang that you must be more careful when exchanging news with the people in Yingyue Tower in the future."
Suishan's eyes moved.
Young Master is worried that if the control inside Yingyue Building is not strict, will a problem happen again easily if it happens once?
Or do you have other considerations?
But no matter what the reason was, the young master had his own considerations in his actions, so Suishan just agreed immediately.
Not far away, Xiao Qi led the horse and walked over. The young man took the reins and jumped on the horse's back. His tall figure quickly disappeared at the end of the long street.
…
The first lunar month is out, spring is gradually showing, and the weather is getting warmer.
When the apricot blossoms bloom, there is a feeling of spring inside and outside the capital. The female relatives put on light spring clothes, go out to the city together today for a spring outing, and tomorrow they will attend a flower viewing party organized by a certain lady, chatting and laughing about poetry and music.
Cozy and lively.
In comparison, Xu Mingyi's days have been much more monotonous recently.
She had not had many close friends since she was a child, and she never liked to deal with such occasions. So when the post was sent to her house, she probably found an excuse to decline it.
As time went by, those people had just gone through the motions when sending posts. If she suddenly left one day, the host would be surprised.
However, recently her only friend, Princess Yufeng, was obsessed with rescuing victims outside the city. She had a tendency to do everything herself, and was often nowhere to be seen.
Princess Yufeng contributed externally, while Xu Mingyi contributed money secretly. However, it was not advisable to involve too much in public, so she could only stay at home.
But I didn't feel too bored, either practicing archery and writing letters, or playing chess with my grandfather, or listening to my father and mother talk about the affairs of the court and the back house. When I was really free, I would bicker with Mingshi and feed everyone.
Bird——This kind of time when the family stays together peacefully is extremely valuable to her.
The only fly in the ointment is that there is still one person missing.
On this day, the spring was bright and beautiful.
In the small garden of Xiyuan, a girl wearing a sky-blue Luo shirt was lying on a deck chair and basking in the sun. Half of her raven hair was pulled into a bun, and the other half hung down behind her head, casually scattered on both sides of her shoulders, winding.
, black and smooth, like the finest silk. Under the moon-white silk skirt, the clean and brand-new lotus root-colored embroidered shoes with southern pearls embedded in the upper exude a faint halo in the sunlight.
The warm sun made one's bones feel lazy. The girl yawned and simply turned the book upside down on her face to block the glare of the sun. She listened to the little maid beside her talking about the latest news in Beijing.
In recent days, there are actually two things that are the most hotly discussed in Beijing.
This first thing is nothing more than the spring of this year.
The apricot list has been published, and after the palace examination, the emperor personally selected the top three among the tribute students. They just went to the Confucius Temple and paraded through the streets yesterday.
It is worth mentioning that this year's new top scholar is a young man from a poor family who has just turned twenty, named Cao Lang. It is said that he is not yet married.
After all, he is the number one scholar in a new subject. This will inevitably make many high-ranking officials whose families have unmarried daughters of the right age become interested.
Xu Mingyi naturally thought of the Xia family.
In the previous life, the number one scholar in this term was not named Cao, but Zhan.
And Zhan Yunzhu married Xia Tingzhen’s youngest daughter Xia Xi——
This time, the No. 1 pick has been replaced by another person. I wonder if the No. 1 pick’s wife will also be changed?
Presumably, we will find out soon.
Akui talked about another thing.
Recently, the unmarried ladies in Beijing have been somewhat uneasy. The reason is that "flower pickers" have frequently committed crimes near the capital -
At first, no one knew about this, until a foreign minister from the west of the city took the matter to court. This foreign minister only had a daughter in his family, and he was so painful that after being defiled by this thief, he had his daughter hanged the next day.
Committed suicide.
Out of concern for his daughter's reputation, Yuan Wai initially did not want to report to the government. However, seeing that his daughter lost her life, he did not care much anymore. He just wanted to seek justice for his daughter who died in vain and bring the culprits to justice.
After this member of the family, the same thing happened to another family.
Moreover, the same plum blossom marks were left in the boudoirs of the two girls. After analyzing many signs and details, the government finally concluded that the two cases were committed by the same person.
After that, rumors spread vaguely from several other families that their daughters had been molested, including even a family of officials.
Not every family has the courage to report it to the official. Those who care about reputation may not even have time to keep the matter under wraps. The reason why rumors spread is because the flower-picking thief not only robbed women, but also robbed them of wealth.
After committing the crime, he would empty out all the belongings in the girl's boudoir, including some personal accessories——
And after he takes it away, he will distribute it to some poor families inside and outside the capital. When many families open their doors early in the morning, they will find some broken silver and jewelry in the courtyard.
Some people who were really short of money couldn't afford much, so they took the jewelry to pawn.
There is no airtight wall in the world. If there are many such things coming and going, it will attract the attention and discussion of others.
The government summoned these people who were selling jewelry for interrogation, and then they understood what was going on.
And because someone recognized where some of the jewelry came from, the rumors spread.
Some were really guessed, and some were mistakenly hurt by rumors. All in all, the people involved in this matter have been very uneasy recently.
"... He robbed the money and distributed it to the poor people. Many people outside said that this flower picker was both good and evil." Akui knelt down on the mat nearby and made tea for her girl.
Said over tea.
Hearing the faint agreement in the little maid's tone, Xu Mingyi pulled the book off her face, revealing a pair of slightly frowned eyebrows.
"Where is the righteousness? Just because he distributed the stolen things to others, does that mean he is righteous?"
And this is not the same as robbing the rich to give to the poor in a simple sense. If those who rob corrupt officials and distribute it to the people can barely be called a chivalrous person, then this flower picker is a complete beast.
No matter whether he distributed money to the people out of so-called pity, or because he enjoyed the sense of superiority of doing whatever he wanted with impunity, or because he wanted to use it to offset his own crimes, it could not change the fact that he committed evil.
After all what was wrong with those girls?
Those who lost their innocence and personal belongings wanted to keep their reputations, but they were still forced to show their scars to the world because of these jewelry - but in the end, this might be the last thing that broke the wheels of those poor girls.
Straw, but it still has to become his so-called stepping stone for both good and evil?
In a few years, will they forget all about his violation of women and only remember that he gave money to poor people with his property, and this will become a "good talk" again?
She was asked to say that a hundred times would not be enough for such a person.
Seeing that her girl was very upset, Akui thought about it seriously and suddenly said: "That's right...the money is not his at all, it was stolen by him, and the member of the Communist Party of China who had the trouble at home is a well-known person."
What a good person!"
The little maid figured this out and showed a look of disdain.
She was almost led astray by the rumors outside.
Of course, it was not just the rumors that misled her, but also the various rumors of thieves written in those storybooks, which sometimes made her crazy.
Xu Mingyi also thought of the script he had read in the Yangzhou Courtyard in his previous life.
"Some story books also describe how the flower-picking thieves were suave and charming, and how gentle and considerate they were to the women who were victimized. They even made countless women look forward to his appearance every night, and they were free until the end.
Not a single page has been punished... Is this something written by a human being?"
She was so angry that she gritted her teeth and tore up the book on the spot. She couldn't eat for a long time, so she just had to find the person who wrote the book and have a good argument with him.
That's not to say that evil people can't have good sides, but they must not be confused together. A crime is a crime, and beautifying the crime is a secondary harm to the innocent victim.
Akui was stunned when she heard this.
Oh my god, has the girl actually read this kind of storybook secretly?!
Could it be that it leaked out from her... If Madam found out about this, she would be beaten to death with sticks, right?
She must pay more attention when selecting story books in the future!
Seeing that the girl who didn't feel that she had been exposed was still indignant, Akui, who was secretly frightened, handed her a cup of tea: "Girl, please drink some water to calm down... Such evil people will definitely be punished."
Xu Mingyi took the tea and took a few mouthfuls.
At this time, Azhu came over.
"Girl, Mrs. Prince Yong'an and two cousins are here. Madam asked the girls to come and talk with them."
Cousin Wei and Cousin Qing are here?
Since the Xia Han incident last year, Cousin Qing has not been out for a long time. This is the first time she has come to Zhen Guogong Mansion since then.
Xu Mingyi put down the tea cup and got up from the recliner.
After tidying up for a while, he took Aoi over.
In the Prince's Courtyard, I saw Mrs. Wen sitting in the inner room with her two daughters, talking to Mrs. Cui.
The cousins greeted each other.
Xu Mingyi looked at the two cousins with a smile.
I have to say that since Mrs. Yong'anbo passed away, the clothes and jewelry of the two cousins have become much more exquisite than before.
Qingqing's cousin is in better spirits than the last time she saw her, and her face has finally gained some weight.
But Xu Mingyi soon discovered that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
There was only one maid, Qingying, in the room, and everyone looked a little strange.
Xu Mingyi was doubtful, so she sat down and waited for them to speak.
Sure enough, I heard Mrs. Wen say with some hesitation: "Something happened at home last night. I didn't know what to do for a while, so I came to the door to make trouble. I want to hear what the eldest sister and Miss Xu think..."
Because Cui Yunqing was in trouble before and was saved by Xu Mingyi, this made Wenshi have an unspeakable gratitude and trust in the girl in front of her.
And because her husband is really useless, listening to him is a complete waste of life, so she has developed the habit of coming to Mr. Cui for advice when something happens.
"I wonder what happened to your mansion?" Xu Mingyi asked seriously.
Mrs. Wen then looked at her daughter.
Thinking of what happened last night, Cui Yunqing's face turned pale. She looked at Xu Mingyi and said, "Cousin Zhaozhao, last night... I seemed to have seen the flower-picking thief who has been rumored recently..."
Xu Mingyi's eyes suddenly changed.
"Did he hurt his cousin?"
She was able to ask so straightforwardly precisely because she felt that cousin Qing's ability to visit so calmly today meant that she had not encountered anything too unspeakable.
Cui Yunqing shook his head as expected.
"No..."
She whispered: "I sleep very lightly at night, and I often wake up at the slightest movement... At that time, I vaguely felt that there was someone outside the window, so I sat up and took a look. When I raised my head, I saw a black line outside the window.
film!"
At that time she screamed.
Because the shadow of the past was still there, her voice was so scary and loud that it immediately woke up the maid and sister who were keeping watch at night - ever since her accident, she often had trouble sleeping at night, and Cui Yunwei, as her sister, would often come over to stay with her.
Sleep with her.
The people outside the window must not have expected her to be so alert. Seeing that the situation was not good, they quickly ran away.
And because of his haste to escape, he also left something under the window sill.
After Cui Yunqing explained what had happened, Wen took something out of his sleeve and handed it to Xu Mingyi.
Mrs. Cui asked her daughter from the side: "Zhao Zhao is the most well-informed person. Can you possibly see what this is?"
Xu Mingyi has long been used to this, as her mother never hesitates to praise her, but everyone always looks like she must recognize this thing. Why?
Could it be that in everyone's eyes, she is still a person in the world?
However, she did recognize it.
Xu Mingyi looked at a piece of bamboo tube in his hand and said: "This is filled with poison. When lit, it can form smoke. If you get into a room with closed doors and windows, you will fall into a coma -"
But it was obvious that the one in her hand had not yet had time to be lit.
"I knew it was drugs!"
Cui Yunwei frowned and said: "There are rumors everywhere in the city that the flower picker's usual method is to stun people first, and then——"
She was a little girl after all, her face turned red and white when she said this.
"Is this true...?" Wen's voice was trembling with fear and anger.
Why did she let her Qing'er encounter this kind of thing again and again?!
Fortunately, Qing'er was alert enough, otherwise she really didn't know what kind of torture her daughter would have been in...
And this time it was a lucky escape, will there be a next time?
