Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and under the watchful eyes of Xiao Qi and others, the Prince of Xiang's Mansion made no further moves.
On this day, early in the morning, in Linyun City, south of the capital, in the backyard of an inconspicuous rice shop on the corner of the street, a white pigeon flew in and landed on the stone table in the courtyard.
"Dad, another pigeon has flown back!"
A child of five or six years old ran to the front hall and said to the middle-aged man dressed as the shopkeeper.
There were no customers in the shop at this time. Upon hearing this, the man immediately raised the curtain and entered the backyard, where he saw a pigeon standing on the stone table.
He walked over quickly, but couldn't help but frown.
The pigeon called "coo coo" twice, as if urging.
The man picked up the pigeon and checked it carefully, but there was still no mailbox.
As if the pigeon had completed the process, it flew out of his hand and got into the pigeon cage on the side to eat.
"..." The man's cheeks twitched.
The letter has been lost, but I still have the nerve to eat it!
It may have been lonely during this journey!
No, in order to avoid the trouble caused by the secret letter falling into the hands of others, he still needs to write a letter immediately to inform the prince of the matter...
The man thought, turned around and went to the study.
…
At the same moment, in the Imperial Palace in Jingcheng, Xu Mingyi happened to be thinking about this matter.
Two days have passed, but there is still no new discovery in the letter from King Xiang.
In other words, there was no so-called strangeness at all. She was convinced that King Xiang was collaborating with the enemy, so she subconsciously concluded that there was something wrong with the letter - in fact, it might indeed be just an ordinary letter from home.
But in this case, the clue is equivalent to being broken.
On the surface, King Xiang seems to have no scheming attitude, but in reality he is extremely cautious. This can be seen from the frequency of patrols by the soldiers in his residence.
For this reason, she and Wu Chao had speculated yesterday that the reason why Prince Xiang's Mansion was so heavily guarded was because there might be evidence of Prince Xiang's collaboration with the enemy.
But even if the answer is yes, under such circumstances, they can't just rush in and look for it. It would be too risky to talk aimlessly...
Then there is Xiaoqi, no, the secret letter intercepted by the Tianmu——
The letter was sent to Dianzhou. Dianzhou is far away from the capital. A carrier pigeon alone is obviously not safe enough. Wu Chao said that in this case, the letter should be carried out of the capital by a carrier pigeon, and then by a carrier pigeon.
The King of Xiang's people personally sent him back to Dianzhou.
If the King of Xiang's people do not receive the agreed letter, they will definitely send a letter to the King of Xiang to inquire about the situation within a day or two, or better to say, after a long time.
By then, King Xiang will inevitably become more vigilant, and it will probably be more difficult to obtain evidence.
Thinking of this, Xu Mingyi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.
At this moment, the cry of the Third Eye suddenly reached her ears.
Xu Mingyi raised his eyes and saw the big bird flopping down from the chair, shouting and shaking its head.
Seeing the big bird seeming to be stimulated by something, Xu Mingyi couldn't help but ask: "What's wrong?"
Akui, who was standing at the table making tea, pointed to the thing at hand: "...just now, my maid didn't see it and asked Tianmu to taste this secretly."
Xu Mingyi looked in the direction of her finger and saw a plate of thinly sliced lemon fruits.
As soon as Xu Mingyi saw this thing, he felt sourness in his teeth.
Then she saw Big Bird shaking his head and mumbling as if he was cursing, and she understood.
This lemon fruit is unusually sour, and it is not meant to be eaten directly. The stupid bird wants to taste everything it sees, and this time it is kicked on the iron plate.
but--
"Where does this fruit come from?" Xu Mingyi asked.
Lemon fruit is not common in Beijing, and it is not the season when the fruit is ripe now. She does not remember that the ice cellar in Fuchu stocked it last year.
"It was given to the palace before the Queen Mother's birthday." Akui said: "I heard that His Royal Highness Prince Xiang brought it from Dianzhou and presented it to the palace along with other specialties - several princes and those who came from afar
The envoys have presented many new things, and our family has also received a lot. A few days ago, the girl went out with Princess Yufeng and was not at home, so the lady specially asked someone to keep them for the girl."
Xu Mingyi hardly listened to most of what was said later.
"Did King Xiang bring this lemon fruit?" Her attention was focused on this sentence.
Seeing A'Kui nodding her head affirmatively, Xu Mingyi stood up and walked to the table, picking up a whole lemon fruit.
The peel is yellow with a hint of green, not too big, and not smooth in appearance...
She had read in medical books that lemon fruit had just been introduced from foreign countries in the previous dynasty. It was only a short time ago, so not many people knew about it. As for planting, the climate in Dianzhou is not suitable for its growth.
——You can roughly know this by looking at the condition of the product in her hand.
Therefore, why did the King of Xiang bring this product to the capital as a specialty of Dianzhou?
And if it can be distributed to the government of their town, it is expected that they will bring a lot of it. It is very laborious to store these things that are out of season on the road.
If it was just for showing off, there is really nothing to show off in terms of appearance. After all, the palace is not anywhere else, so it is impossible that we have not seen fruits with truly good appearance.
Xu Mingyi held the fruit in her hand and sniffed it gently. The fresh fruity aroma was astounding to her nostrils - even though she knew she seemed too suspicious, she still couldn't help but think about it.
At this time, Azhu walked in from outside.
"Miss." Azhu bowed and said, "Miss Cai is here to say goodbye."
Xu Mingyi nodded and said: "Invite people in."
Today is the day when Cai Jin leaves for Yunyao Academy——
When Cai Jin walked in, he had a smile on his face, wearing a ginger-yellow loose shirt, and his hair was combed into a simple and neat bun, with only a pair of plain silver plum blossom hairpins on it.
Although this dress was too plain, it made Xu Mingyi's eyes light up, especially the sparkling look between his eyebrows.
She couldn't help but think of the first time she met Cai Jin. At that time, the other party tried every means to get close to her second uncle, looking gentle and petty, trying to please him, but he was as restrained as if he was wearing ill-fitting clothes.
The Cai Jin in front of her at this time was a completely different person.
And people can't help but feel that this seems to be what she should have looked like.
Therefore, only when people live in the world can they feel comfortable if they have the right position.
"On the occasion of leaving, I made some snacks to bid farewell to the girl." Cai Jin smiled and handed the food box in his hand to A Kui.
Akui took it and thought to herself: Miss Cai doesn't need to be so polite...
"I also prepared something for Miss Cai." As Xu Mingyi spoke, she motioned for Akui to get it.
Not long after, Akui brought a heavy box to Cai Jin.
Cai Jin hesitated for a while: "I have been troubled by Miss Xu in your house these days. Miss Xu has helped me too much. If it is something valuable, Cai Jin really can't accept it any more."
"It's not expensive, it's just some ordinary pen and ink. Miss Cai is going to Yunyao Academy to take up her post as a teacher, so she sent some things from the study room to match."
After hearing what the girl said, Cai Jin accepted it with confidence: "Thank you very much for the gift, girl."
She will definitely be happy and cherish it.
"Let's go to Yunyao Academy. I hope Miss Cai will be happy and happy."
Hearing these words, Cai Jin held the box and saluted the girl, saying: "I also wish the girl to be happy and happy, and everything goes well."
Xu Mingyi nodded, with a faint smile in his eyes: "Then let me borrow Miss Cai's good words."
Cai Jin wanted to say goodbye. When he stood up, he gently sniffed the fruity aroma in the room and couldn't help but ask: "This seems to be... the aroma of lemon fruit?"
"Well, I got them from the womb a few days ago." Xu Mingyi said, and then told A Kui: "Bring some to Miss Cai to the academy."
Cai Jin hurriedly smiled and said: "No, no, I just smelled the fragrance that I had smelled when I was a child, so I asked one more question - when I was in Jiangnan with my grandfather when I was a child, my family got two plants from somewhere.
The seedlings were planted in the backyard garden, and they were planted like this for several years. When they came to fruition, we sisters would use them to write letters and have fun. I still remember these interesting things."
"Writing?" Xu Mingyi was partly surprised and partly aroused to guess: "Can this fruit be used to write?"
This is not something that can be used as dye like impatiens, so how can it be written?
Could it be using peel?
"You squeeze out the juice from the fruit, strain it cleanly, and dip it into a pen to use as ink."
Isn’t it even a peel?
Xu Mingyi became more and more confused after hearing this: "Can this really be written?"
Even if it is written on, I think it will only leave some wet marks. After it dries, will there be anything left?
Cai Jin said in an interesting tone: "That's what's interesting. After it's dried, nothing can be seen. But if you put the paper on the smoker and bake it, the writing on it will appear."
, and can be kept for a long time.”
Xu Mingyi's mind seemed to stir up waves in an instant, and she murmured, "Is this really true..."
"I don't know how many times I have used this method." Cai Jin said with a smile: "I forgot which sister came up with it first. I just remember that we often used it to draw and write letters to each other."
Xu Mingyi clenched her fingers slightly.
King Xiang, the letter paper with too much blank space, the lemon fruits specially brought from Dianzhou...
She probably understands what's going on!
Wu Chao and the prince even thought of alum before. Letters written with alum water will reveal the writing after being soaked in water... But this method is not very concealed. Many people know it.
.
But lemon fruit is different.
Most people don't even know what lemon fruit is, so how would they have thought that lemon fruit can also be used to write hidden characters, and that it needs to be smoked and roasted before the glyphs appear?
Xu Mingyi stood up suddenly and said: "Thank you Miss Cai for clarifying my doubts. I have urgent matters and need to go out now, so I won't see Miss Cai off. I will go to Yunyao Academy to look for Miss Cai the next day."
say--"
Cai Jin was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll wait for the girl to go over and sit around when she's free."
Seeing Xu Mingyi walking out in a hurry, Tianmu hurriedly followed with unsteady steps - walking in such a hurry, why not go to eat something delicious?
Akui handed the lemon fruit to Cai Jin and said quickly: "Miss Cai, I have to go out with my girl, so I won't send it to you."
With that said, he called a second-class maid to come in.
Seeing the master, servant and bird disappearing quickly, Cai Jin stood up with the box and a few lemon fruits in his arms, shook his head helplessly, but his eyes were full of smiles.
She walked out of the front hall and Xiyuan step by step, looking around slowly.
Zhenguo Gongfu is really a good place.
Because there are a group of lovely and lively people like Miss Xu and Mr. Xu.
However, now she has to start a new life of her own.
Under the early summer sun, Cai Jin raised his chin slightly, with a faint fruity fragrance lingering around his body, raised his lips and walked forward with a smile.
…
Xu Mingyi dressed up as a man in the carriage and took Akui, who was disguised as a servant, to Pingqing Hall on Guangning Street.
At this time, the Pingqing Hall was beginning to feel lively, with five or six literati sitting at two tables in the hall, drinking tea.
When the waiter saw her, he led her to the elegant room in the backyard with ease - what did he say? Xuesheng Teahouse had better not give them a chance to show off!
These few times, this girl and Shisun have met at their place.
For Xu Mingyi, this is certainly not without reason——
If it were just her and Wu Chao, the first choice would naturally be the Xuesheng Tea House, but because Prince Yan had been there the last few times they met - Prince Yan was different from them in that every move he made was watched, so he occasionally came to this place which was usually lively.
There is nothing wrong with cleaning up the restaurant. If you go to Xuesheng Tea House, a deserted place where you don't see many customers all day long, you have to have the words "ulterior motives" carved on your face?
King Yan and Wu Chao arrived one after the other.
The difference is that the former is through the main entrance, while the latter is through the back wall.
Regarding the recent behavior of repeatedly going through the walls of his home, Wu Chao has a complicated mood.
"Have you brought the letter?" Xu Mingyi asked Wu Chao in the private room.
Wu Chao nodded and took out the bamboo tube from his sleeve.
Zhao Zhao suddenly said that he wanted to see him, so he roughly expected that it might be related to the letter.
King Yan glanced at the stove at his feet and the smoker cage covering it - ice basins were being used elsewhere, so why was there still a stove next to his daughter-in-law?
Before he had time to think deeply, he saw the girl unfolding and smoothing the letter paper, placing it on the smoker, taking the tea lid from the table and pressing it on both ends.
King Yan was a little puzzled for a moment, but he did not rush to ask questions, nor did he stop anything. He just drank tea quietly.
A daughter-in-law naturally has a daughter-in-law's way of doing things, so he just has to wait and see.
Wu Chao generally had the same idea, and just said: "Just tell me what you want to do, and stay away to avoid getting caught in the heat again."
This made Xu Mingyi feel a little strange - weren't they all curious?
While gently pressing the paper with her fingers, she said: "I heard someone say today that writing with the juice squeezed out of lemon fruit has a similar effect to alum water -"
As he spoke, his eyes lit up slightly and he whispered: "Look."
Wu Chao looked over and saw that the blank space on the original letter paper began to have faintly written words. At first it was just light yellow. As the letter paper was continuously burned, the writing gradually turned into a clearly visible brown...
!
Seeing that it was almost done, Xu Mingyi picked up the hot and hard letter paper and handed it to King Yan.
King Yan took it seriously, and after carefully reading what was written on it, his expression gradually changed: "As expected...!"
