It was late at night, when Nan Yi came out of the Sanzhi Courtyard where Mrs. Gantang lived, and happened to bump into Xie Queshan who was returning home.
She only glanced at him, then immediately took a few steps back and saluted respectfully.
Xie Queshan could tell at a glance that the little girl was angry.
She must be angry that he let Qiao Yinzhi run away. She has been scolding him for a whole day.
But - what's wrong with clothes? Why doesn't she wear new clothes?
Xie Queshan was very puzzled. Doesn't she like new clothes? Or is the style of the clothes not good-looking? The embroiderer clearly said that all the ladies would like the color and satin material.
On this unimportant issue, a thousand thoughts were already running through his mind. There are things in this world that even Xie Queshan cannot appreciate.
"Sir, I'm going back to the courtyard first." Seeing that he didn't speak for a long time, Nan Yi couldn't figure out what he was thinking, and he wanted to run away when he saw the situation.
"I'll give you a task." He finally came back to his senses and said solemnly.
"Sir, I'm helping Mrs. Gantang organize the New Year banquet. I'm very busy these days."
"Tomorrow, the second sister will take Brother Qin and Afu to the Tiger Kneeling Mountain to worship eldest brother. You follow them secretly and come back and tell me where the second sister went and who they met."
Brother Qing and Afu are Mrs. Gantang's son and daughter. One is twelve years old and the other is only three years old.
Nan Yi was shocked and realized that Xie Queshan was suspicious of Mrs. Gantang. She did not want to be his accomplice, so she subconsciously refused: "How can I follow someone! The young master looks up to me too much."
"Just imagine that you want to steal her things, but you can't succeed, so you secretly follow her."
"You don't want me to steal anything?"
"So I let you imagine."
"But didn't you say before that I just need to stare at Xie Xiaoliu and ask where King Ling'an is?" Nan Yi was still looking for reasons to shirk.
"Did you ask?" he asked.
Nan Yi was speechless. There was no excuse for him at the moment. He had to agree even if he didn't agree.
Xie Queshan took out a small sleeve arrow from his sleeve and handed it to Nan Yi.
"Hold it to defend yourself."
Nan Yi looked at the iron arrow box in his hand curiously, it was still a little heavy: "How do you use this?"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a whoosh, and a hidden arrow was shot towards Xie Queshan. Fortunately, Xie Queshan reacted quickly and immediately turned his head to avoid it.
His face turned dark.
After a few seconds of silence, Nan Yi said: "I've learned it for a while, no need to teach me anymore, thank you sir."
Then he ran away at lightning speed.
In the newly accumulated snow in the backyard, she left a line of loose footprints.
——
Mrs. Gantang took her two children to worship at Tiger Kneeling Mountain. She did not bring any of the Xie family's servants, but only Tang Rong, the bodyguard she brought back from Yucheng.
No one dared to comment on a royal lady like Mrs. Gantang who had eight female envoys around her. However, she brought a bodyguard with her, a man no one in the family had ever seen before, which made people suspicious.
But after all, it was a time of war, and everyone guessed that Xu was arranged by Ping Nanhou to stay with his wife to protect their safety, so it was not surprising.
I brought several boxes with just the sacrificial supplies. Judging from the draft of the ship, I'm afraid there are far more than the few boxes I saw.
Nan Yi, who was hiding in the dark and observing, was almost certain that Mrs. Gantang was going to deliver supplies to the people in the mountains. It was not convenient for her to come forward for the purchase, so she let Nan Yi do it. She was just an inconspicuous little widow in the Xie family, and no one would notice her.
But who is she hiding in the mountains?
Although she only thanked Que Shan for the task given to her, Nan Yi could not help but become curious.
Mrs. Gantang was still cautious. After arriving at Hukou Mountain, she went into a restaurant to eat. She quietly changed her clothes, left all the supplies she had brought with her in the restaurant, and quietly left through the back door, for fear that someone would follow her. .
This cautiousness made Nan Yi also cautious, and sure enough, he found someone pretending to be a hunter and secretly following Mrs. Gantang and his party.
Whoever it is, they definitely have no good intentions.
Nan Yi walked into the restaurant and found that Mrs. Gantang had left all her clothes. She just changed her clothes and tricked the following people into the mountains in the opposite direction. Then the golden cicada escaped from its shell and took a shortcut to catch up with Mrs. Gantang.
It didn’t take much effort. Because Nan Yi hides in the dark and strikes unexpectedly, it has a miraculous effect.
After so much trouble, she vaguely figured out some ways to do things. Who is in the light and who is in the dark will affect the situation.
She followed Mrs. Gantang more cautiously.
At first they were indeed going to Xie Hengzai's mausoleum, but halfway there, they turned around and headed towards the valley.
When Nan Yi first arrived at the broken Taoist temple she had been to before, she was greatly surprised when she saw the scene in front of her.
The broken Taoist temple seemed to have become a military stronghold, with at least several hundred soldiers inside, training soldiers and looking out. When they saw Mrs. Gantang coming, everyone saluted her respectfully.
A military flag with the word "Yu" floated beside the camp. Nan Yi recognized this word, Yu the Great Yu controlled the floods, and thought of Mrs. Gantang's return from Yu City. Without further ado, he also knew the origin of this army.
The guard beside her, Tang Rong, seemed to be from the Yucheng Army. He ordered a group of people to go out and let them go to the restaurant to carry supplies.
Nan Yi was so shocked that her jaw dropped—Mrs. Gantang actually hid an army in Tiger Kneeling Mountain? !
Everyone in the Xie family is ruthless.
Nan Yi didn't dare to look any further, fearing that making any noise would lead to death, so he left in a hurry.
——
The riverside ferry in Lidu Prefecture supports a shabby teahouse.
In winter there is no traffic at all.
But there was a young man who had been sitting in a drafty teahouse for several hours, with his face completely covered by a hooded cloak. When the waiter brought hot water, all he could see was a pair of careless eyes.
His eyes were like those of a lonely ghost who was far away from this world.
The waiter didn't dare to take another look. He put down the teapot and hid behind the curtain.
A small boat stopped at the ferry, and a young man got out of it.
Luo Ci hurried over and whispered in Zhang Yuehui's ear: "My boss, I've lost track."
Zhang Yue took a sip of tea and asked, "All lost?"
"The widow of the Xie family was originally following Mrs. Gan Tang, but she discovered our eyes and led us away without even noticing... There were too many obstacles in the mountains, so she lost her. "
Zhang Yuehui frowned in a rare way.
The Qi soldiers did not have the excuse to search for tigers and kneel down the mountain on a large scale, because the Yucheng army was a well-trained army after all. Once the enemy was alerted, the two sides would fight fiercely, which would not be beneficial to the situation in Lidu Mansion.
The best thing is to be able to unknowingly touch the opponent's position and annihilate them in one fell swoop.
After a while, Zhang Yuehui raised his hand and stroked the Chinese character "Chuan" on his forehead. His expression relaxed again, with a faint smile on his lips: "What a troublesome woman."
Luo Ci knew his boss's habits, so when he said this, he must have murderous intentions.
"Don't touch Mrs. Gantang, let this little widow die in Tiger Kneeling Mountain. It's very annoying to do things for me every time." Zhang Yuehui left a silver coin on the table and decided that since he did it, he wouldn't do it. We have to wait here. "Killing her is no big deal. If we turn around, we'll assume it was bandits."
Even if Luo Cidian understood, if the young lady of the Xie family died in Hukou Mountain, Lidu Mansion could use the pretext of suppressing bandits to send troops to search the mountain in Hukou Mountain.
From the beginning, isn’t this the case?
At this moment, Nan Yi was on the way back, thinking about how to return to Xie Queshan, completely unaware that the danger had quietly arrived.
From the bottom of his heart, Nan Yi admired Mrs. Gan Tang so much.
The moment she saw the secret of the second sister, she was shocked. Unlike Xie Xiaoliu, who was happy to grudge and fight with each other, the second sister did not show off her appearance and took care of her family. She thought she was just an ordinary housewife. , but there is so much energy hidden under the skirt.
So she wanted to help the second sister keep this secret. Xie Queshan was on Qi Ren's side after all.
Xie Xiaoliu and Third Uncle, in the final analysis, it’s not a big deal. It’s understandable that he saved his family easily, but Mrs. Gantang’s matter is not a small matter, it’s an army!
If Qi Ren discovers it, the second sister's life may not be saved.
But she wanted to lie to Xie Queshan, and she felt really unsure.
Or else - just say that you have lost Mrs. Gantang?
She had to be more realistic and get hurt a little, so she could use the excuse that she fell in the mountains and was lost.
Thinking of this, Nan Yi stopped and looked around the Western Zhou Dynasty, trying to see which slope was suitable for a fall without causing serious injuries.
It didn't matter if she didn't look carefully, but when she looked carefully, she discovered that there was a faint thread under the sun.
If she takes one more step forward, she will step into a trap and become the turtle in the urn.
Nan Yi's heart trembled - there was an ambush!
She wanted to run away, but she held back before taking action. She realized that since there was a trap here, there must be eyes nearby watching her. Once she ran away, those people would have to catch up.
To run away is to give your back to the enemy.
Under Xie Queshan's subtle influence, she has discovered that running away is not the first choice when encountering trouble.
Nan Yi pretended to be nonchalant and scratched his head, rummaging around on his body as if he was looking for something.
While rummaging around, he said, "Oh, I left my purse with Mrs. Gantang! I have to go back and get it."
Nan Yi turned around and walked back, walking as usual, but her heartbeat was already in her throat.
Every gust of wind seemed to bring with it a murderous aura that made people's hair stand on end. Not far away is a withered forest, and the branches extending towards the sky are like ghost hands with teeth and claws.
Nan Yi walked forward, holding her right wrist tightly. On her wrist was tied the sleeve arrow that Xie Queshan gave her for self-defense.
With her life hanging on a thread, she was highly nervous and her brain was spinning rapidly. No matter who set the trap, it was just to catch her or kill her.
And she is just a minion, she is not important, only the Yucheng army hidden in the mountains is important. She probably just ran into this killing situation.
Now she goes all the way back to where the Yucheng Army is stationed and seeks help from Mrs. Gantang. She can stay safe, but it will also expose the Yucheng Army's position to those eyes.
How to do?
If it were Xie Queshan, what would he do?
Hiding in the dark, killing people with borrowed knives, and eradicating the roots.
