Just when Shi Qian had just taken a sip of tea, a sparrow chirped outside the yard.
Shi Qian and the Ninth Prince looked at each other. The Ninth Prince's eyes lit up and he said, "Here we come." After saying that, he stood up, unlatched the door and went out into the courtyard. The Ninth Prince raised his arms and faced the bird. As soon as he stretched his palm, the sparrow flew over with fluttering wings and stood on the hand of Prince Ninth Prince. Prince Nine took out a small roll of inconspicuous paper from the sparrow's leg and a small handful of rice from his bag. Scatter it on the ground and feed it to the bird.
The Ninth Prince came in, unfolded the note in his hand, looked at it under the lamp, and said: "Cai Yuanzi is busy with official duties and cannot come now. Please let me entertain my brother first, and he will come in person when I am waiting for you."
Shi Qian smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, I won't stay here for a long time. Caiyuanzi has established an underground organization here according to the decree. The commander is very concerned about it and asked me to bring fifty taels of gold as a turnover here. The fees are used to expand the organization, establish the church, acquire assets, etc." After saying this, Shi Qian paused and said: "Ninth Prince, the commander-in-chief knows that it is not easy for you here. The vegetable garden is in the imperial court, and most of them are I can't help but set up a palace in Tokyo, and I need you, the Ninth Prince, to carry it out alone. The brothers below don't need to know the existence of the vegetable garden, as long as you are the leader. The hard work involved is self-evident, and the commander-in-chief specially sent me Come and give the Ninth Prince fifty taels of silver." After saying this, Shi Qian paused and said, "The commander is very concerned about your comfort. Don't be careless in every move you make here. Be careful. If you don't wait for three to five years, In this situation, the commander-in-chief will definitely sweep across the Central Plains and capture Bianliang. At that time, the Ninth Prince will definitely be the founding hero of the country. The Commander-in-Chief is looking forward to the day when he meets the Ninth Prince. "
After hearing this, the Ninth Prince quickly left his seat and knelt on the ground to thank him: "The commander-in-chief looks at me with blue eyes, and I feel honored by the young man. I will definitely develop this Bianjing hall and devote myself to the green forest until my death."
After hearing this, Shi Qian nodded, helped the Ninth Prince up, and said, "You understand what the commander-in-chief means, how is the organization developing now?"
As soon as Prince Ninth heard Shi Qian asked about the current situation, he immediately reported seriously: "It didn't take long to establish the organization. Speaking of which, I am determined to do this because I admire the commander in chief and because I am a life-and-death friend of Zhang Qing. Joining the group, the elements that are developing now are all brothers who can be trusted as leaders. There are not many people, including me, there are only four, but everyone is loyal,"
Shi Qian nodded and said: "The commander-in-chief means the same thing. The choice of candidates depends on the quality, not the number. Now that the hall is built, we must pay attention to confidentiality. Let's put aside what happened before. From now on, you will be the only one." You can know the existence of Cai Yuanzi. The rest of the people will be directly dispatched by you. From now on, you will be responsible for the news in Tokyo and the connections of the gangs. The commander-in-chief will put all the power in your hands, but as time goes by What comes here is a very heavy burden."
"Brother, please tell me, I can bear it, and I will definitely live up to your instructions," the Ninth Prince said.
Shi Qian nodded and said: "The commander-in-chief gave me one more thing. After the entrance of the hall is completed, it is necessary to establish its own industry in Bianliang and acquire teahouses, restaurants and inns. On the one hand, it is convenient for people to come and go in the world. Collecting information and inquiring about it, secondly, there are many eyes on the imperial court, which can also be used to hide the identity and facilitate the transmission of information in the future."
"Understood," the Ninth Prince said.
Shi Qian finished the tea in the bowl and whispered in the Ninth Prince's ear: "The fifty taels of gold are here. You should put them away properly." As he said this, Shi Qian pointed to the baggage he left on his seat. , then he straightened up and said, "I still have things to do in the evening, so I'll say goodbye."
The Ninth Prince knew that the envoy had an important position and did not dare to stay for a long time, so he hid the gold on the floor under the two chairs and sent Shi Qian out through the back door.
Shi Qian said goodbye to the Ninth Prince and walked around the city to buy some dinner. Then he came to the vicinity of Xu Ning's house in the Golden Gun Class. He looked around and found no good place to stay. At the moment, it looked like the sky was pitch black and there was no one around. Shi Qian climbed over the wall and entered the door of the Golden Gun Squad.
The Golden Spear Class's territory is a large courtyard, with a school ground, public housing, and a single earth temple. It is located abruptly in the southeast corner, and next to it is the Golden Spear Xu Ning's house.
Shi Qian saw a big cypress tree behind the Tutu Temple. When there was no one around, he sneaked under the cypress tree silently. He wanted to step up on the cypress tree, but the branches of the cypress tree were so high that the trunk It was too thick for two people to hold together, so they couldn't climb it at that time, so they clamped their legs on the trunk of the tree and climbed up to the top of the tree, as if riding a horse, sitting on the branches, hiding among the branches and leaves. When I was looking around, I saw Xu Ning just coming back from outside, entering the first Luomen and going home. Then I saw two sergeants from the golden gun squad coming out with knives and lanterns and closing the door. He stood on either side of the door.
Shi Qian was still hiding in the tree. After observing patiently for a while, he saw several groups of sergeants carrying golden guns and swords at their waists, holding lanterns, patrolling left and right in front of Xu Ning's house, back and forth, but he didn't feel anything. It was so tight that Shi Qian saw that it would not be easy to attack, so he simply waited in the tree. There must be a time for the officers and soldiers to change shifts.
After waiting like this for an hour, I heard that the drums were banned in Qiao Tower, and the night came. At this time of the year, the clouds were cold and the stars were dim, the dew was scattered, and the frost flowers were gradually whitening. I saw that the courtyard was quiet, and the man guarding the door was The two officers also leaned against the door and nodded their heads, taking a nap, and the officers and soldiers patrolling the night were not so diligent. When the shift was changed, Shi Qian had time to move, and Shi Qian slipped down from the tree and walked to Xu. Next to Ning's back door, Shi Qian got down and quietly climbed up the wall. He leaned on the wall and looked inside. There were no guards, and there was not even a single figure. Shi Qian got down from the wall and walked slowly along the wall. Then he realized that the place he was in was actually the small courtyard where Xu Ning's room was.
Shi Qian hurried away, crouched outside the kitchen table and peeked inside. He saw the light on the kitchen table, and two maids cleaning and washing the dishes after the meal. Shi Qian followed the pillar next to him to put dishes on the table. We went to the wind board and knelt down together. When we looked upstairs, we saw the golden gunner Xu Ning and his wife sitting opposite each other by the fire with a six or seven-year-old child in their arms. Aware of the presence of Shi Qian, the children were still there talking and laughing.
When Shi Qian looked into the bedroom, he saw that there was indeed a large leather box tied to the beam, and a pair of bows and arrows, a waist knife, and various clothes hanging on the hangers at the door. He wanted to have a clear view of the surrounding environment so that he could start, but the window was so big that Shi Qian couldn't see anything. He felt anxious and simply jumped from the pillar to the eaves. Just as Shi Qian's front feet landed When he was on the tiles, he suddenly heard a cough in the room, which made Shi Qian tremble all over.
Hearing Xu Ning call out: "Meixiang, come and fold the clothes with me," Shi Qian listened, and his heart fell to the ground. He breathed out slowly, and gently moved up to the ridge of the roof. He opened a tile and had a clear view of the scene in the house through the gap.
At this moment, a maid came up from below and turned her head. First, she folded a round collar embroidered with wood embroidery, then folded an official green-lined jacket, and underneath it she folded a five-color flower embroidery kick string and a colorful brocade handkerchief to protect her neck. , a red and green knot and a handkerchief, and a small yellow handkerchief, wrapped with a double otter tail lychee gold belt, put them together in the bag, and put them on the drying cage.
The couple chatted some more, and after the second watch, Xu Ning packed up and went to bed, leaving Shi Qian waiting outside scratching his head.
The lady asked: "Husband, I won't be on duty tomorrow."
Xu Ning said: "Tomorrow is the time when the emperor will visit the Dragon Talisman Palace. He must get up early at five o'clock to serve him."
After hearing this, the lady turned around and gave Mei Xiang some money and said, "The officials will get up at the fifth watch tomorrow and go out to follow the shift. You guys will get up at the fourth watch to make soup and arrange some snacks."
Shi Qian looked at it and said to himself: "I can see the leather box on the beam with the treasure armor in it. However, the box is not big or small. I am afraid of attracting people's attention when I carry it. It is better to wait patiently. It is best to wait for it." If we start in the middle of the night when people are fast asleep, if we are too impatient to eat hot tofu now, and if there is trouble in the future and we can't leave the city tomorrow, wouldn't we miss a big event? It's not too late to wait until the fifth watch to start," Shi Qian originally thought. Using incense, Shi Qian was the best at using it, and it was also the most convenient for Shi Qian. However, before leaving, Shi Jin repeatedly told him not to use the side door on the road, and Shi Qian knew it. The incense will soften people's bones when used. If you inhale too much, it will leave hysteria. Shi Qian didn't want to hurt Xu Ning for a moment, so he had to endure it in the cold night.
I heard Xu Ning and his wife go to bed, two maids were making a bed outside the door, and a bowl lamp was lit on the table in the room. After a while, the five people fell asleep. Mei Xiang stayed with her all day long, and she was full of energy. He was sleepy and snoring for a long time. Shi Qian stayed there for an hour, but the cold was really biting. When he saw that everyone was fast asleep, he sneaked down along the roof, took a reed pipe from beside him, and put it on the window lattice. In the eyes, with a gentle blow and a whoosh, the bowl of lamp had already been blown out.
When it got dark around the fourth watch, Xu Ning got up and called the maids to get up and cook soup. The two maids got up from their sleep and saw that there was no light in the room, shouting: "Oh, why are there no lights tonight? "
Xu Ning said: "It's probably because we ran out of vegetable oil. How long will it take if you don't go to the back to get some to light the lamp?" Then he heard Mei Xiang open the door and come down, and the stairs creaked.
When Shi Qian heard that the maid was about to come out, he hurried forward and slipped down from the pillar. He quietly came to the dark shadow beside the back door and hid himself.