Before Ximen Tong jumped in earlier, he had been listening outside the wall for a long time. When he climbed up the wall, he looked into the garden again, but he didn't find this girl at all. This was really because she had been sitting quietly by the wall, not only
No sound was made, and the branches and leaves of the almond trees above the head were blocking the view, so one could not even see down from the wall.
"Are you Qi Ruyi?" When Ximen Tong asked, he actually felt extremely embarrassed.
From the girl's attire, Ximen Tong could guess that she was probably the eldest lady of Qijiazhuang, the apple of Qi Kongshan's eye, Qi Ruyi. At this moment, Ximen Tong suddenly thought that the small red-painted building in the garden was clearly the
A boudoir where a daughter's family lives.
A grown man quietly climbed over the wall and entered the boudoir courtyard of the eldest lady. This was no longer the work of an ordinary thief. It would not be an exaggeration to call it a flower-picking thief who stole jade and fragrance. Fortunately, this girl
Although there was a hint of panic on his face, he didn't shout loudly for a while.
"You...you know my name?" the girl trembled.[
"I'm just guessing." Ximen Tong said.
"Yes, I am Qi Ruyi," the girl's expression calmed down a bit. After all, Ximen Tong, a handsome young man, does not look like a bad guy. "You... what is your name, can you tell me?"
"My name is Ximen Tong." Ximen Tong has no habit of changing his name, even in the current situation.
"Ximen Tong... Ximen Tong..." Qi Ruyi murmured, "So, you are not from the 'Iron Elephant Gang', why are you here?"
This was really a difficult question to answer. Ximen Tong couldn't say that he just wanted to go into Qijia Village to investigate, so he jumped over the wall and jumped in. He looked at Qi Ruyi's face and asked: "Why are you quietly doing this alone?"
Where are you hiding under the almond tree?”
"Hide? I'm not hiding! I'm just sitting under the tree and thinking about things..." A smile appeared on Qi Ruyi's face, but it was not natural, and a wisp of blush appeared on her originally pale cheeks.
What could an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl think about while sitting quietly under the apricot tree? Could it be that she was thinking about the person she met in her dream last night, who was talking to her under the flower tree on the green grass.
A troubled handsome boy?
Ximen Tong was standing on the green grass, with the golden sunlight slanting on his cheeks, which was so beautiful that it was intoxicating.
Qi Ruyi's eyes lit up and she said, "I finally remembered who you are. You are indeed not from here!"
Ximen Tong said: "Of course not, I just arrived in Huaiqing City today."
Qi Ruyi was sitting under the tree, but now she stood up with her palms on the ground, ran towards Ximen Tong quickly, and said, "Ximen Tong, can you take me away?"
Ximen Tong was startled again and asked: "You said you want me to take you away? Where do you want to go?"
Qi Ruyi almost ran into his arms, and the two of them separated as soon as their bodies melted. Ximen Tong quickly reached out to hold her, and he could already smell the delicate fragrance of a girl on her body.
Qi Ruyi lowered her head and said: "You just need to take me away from here. I will follow you no matter where you go, okay?"
If this was a confession, it was indeed extremely bold and forthright. It was completely unlike what a young lady from a well-known family like Qi Ruyi could say. Ximen Tong didn't know how to respond for a moment. He and Qi Ruyi had just met each other.
By the time they had a cup of tea, it would be too unbelievable to say that this girl had fallen in love with him at first sight and was willing to elope with him.
But Qi Ruyi seemed to be unable to wait any longer, her eyes were full of longing, and she actually reached out to hold Ximen Tong's hand.
At this moment, there was a sudden cough. Ximen Tong turned his eyes and immediately saw a figure flashing out of the crescent door not far away.
This person is a woman, wearing a blue-gray coarse cloth dress, with a green cloth scarf wrapped around her head, with a bamboo hairpin stuck in her bun. She is the attire of an ordinary servant in a wealthy family. She has a slim figure, but she has a face.
But it was full of pockmarks and uneven spots, making it really disgusting and ugly.
Precisely because she is so ugly, it is impossible to tell how old this woman is from her appearance. She may be only in her twenties, or she may be thirty or forty years old.[
Qi Ruyi also saw this person, and quickly retracted her hand. The blush on her face disappeared instantly, and she returned to her previous paleness. She said cowardly: "Aunt Ping, I...I...
…”
The servant girl called Pinggu came forward, gave Qi Ruyi a bow, and said: "The eldest lady is not resting in the house, why did she come to the garden? If she gets cold again, I will blame the servants."
I can’t afford to suffer.”
Qi Ruyi bit her lip and said: "I... I just... felt a little bored staying in the house, so I came to the garden..."
Her voice was weak and trembling.
Aunt Ping looked at Ximen Tong and asked, "What do you call this young master? Is he a friend of our eldest lady?"
Ximen Tong really didn't know how to answer, but Qi Ruyi whispered: "He is Ximen Tong, he is... he is my good friend."
In fact, the two of them had only met for a while. It was difficult to call them friends, and it was even more difficult to call them "good friends".
Ping Gu said: "It turns out to be Mr. Ximen. The eldest lady has been ill these days. The doctor has told me not to leave the house, let alone see guests. The young master is a good friend of the young lady, so he should think about her health.
I think the young master should go back first and wait until my young lady recovers from her illness in a few days before coming back!"
Although Ximen Tong was not as proficient in medical skills as Hua Bushi, looking at Qi Ruyi's face and listening to her voice, she did look like she was sick. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I'll take my leave first.
"
Aunt Ping said: "Master Ximen is indeed considerate and courteous. Please come with me and I will guide you out of the hospital."
At this time, Qi Ruyi looked at Ximen Tong with faint eyes and said: "Master Ximen, actually I...I..."
Before she could finish her words, Aunt Ping interrupted: "Miss, please don't forget the master's instructions. Go back to the house and rest as soon as possible!"
Qi Ruyi seemed to be quite afraid of the maid named Pinggu. She did not dare to say anything at the moment and walked towards the small red-painted building with her head lowered. Pinggu turned to Ximen Tong and said: "Master Ximen, please go
This way."
Ximen Tong followed Aunt Ping, walked through two courtyards, and came to a corner door. Aunt Ping took out the key and unlocked the iron lock on the door, stretched out her hand to open the wooden door, and outside was indeed the main street of Huaiqing City.
"Please, Mr. Ximen, I will send you off not far away," Pinggu said.
Ximen Tong was about to go out when he heard Aunt Ping say: "Although Qijiazhuang is not a dragon's den or a tiger's den, it is still a powerful place for the 'Iron Elephant Gang'. I just hope that the young master can take care of himself and stop trespassing after he leaves."
"
It turns out that Aunt Ping already knew everything about his previous climb over the wall into the courtyard!
Ximen Tong glanced at the other party with a sharp look, only to see Gu Ping's uneven and pockmarked face. Her expression was calm and there seemed to be no more hostility. She snorted coldly and walked out of the door. And that door
The wooden door closed behind him with a clang.
After such an episode, Ximen Tong no longer had the interest to continue exploring, and he expected that Qijia Village would be on guard, so he walked straight back to Fulibao Inn without stopping.
After returning to the inn to take care of things, Ximen Tong meditated and practiced in the room until after dark, when Mo Yu came back.
Unlike Ximen Tong who returned from Qijia Village empty-handed, Mo Yu came back with a baggage.
She entered the room and opened the bundle, but there were dozens of pieces of paper and rolls inside. They were all pictures of Huaiqing City's military defense layout. They not only showed the distribution of officers and soldiers, but also the terrain of various parts of the city.
The shape of the city wall and the location of various defense weapons.[
Mo Yu spread all the pieces of paper on the table, sorted them one by one, and picked up the ink pen to mark some drawings.
Ximen Tong casually took one or two of them and looked at them. He saw that the ink on them was very new, and it was obvious that they had just been painted today. The lines and handwriting were very sloppy, but they were very clear and subtle.
The number of soldiers stationed at each checkpoint was also marked in detail. With these pictures, the situation of the officers and soldiers defending the city in Huaiqing City can be said to be very clear.
Ximen Tong couldn't imagine how a little girl like Mo Yu could obtain so many graphics and information in just one afternoon. Although he was extremely competitive, he had to admit at this time that when it came to his ability to detect intelligence,
Mo Yu is actually much higher than him and cannot be compared to him at all.
Mo Yu was busy for half an hour before he sorted out all the graphics, marked them one by one, gathered them up, and put them back into the baggage.
After doing all this, she smiled at Ximen Tong and asked, "I wonder if you found anything when you went to Qijia Village today to investigate?"
Compared with Mo Yu's gains, Ximen Tong felt that his exploration was not worth mentioning, so he said: "I see that the guards at Qijiazhuang are very tight, but there is nothing unusual about it."
Mo Yu was not someone who could fool someone with just one word. She blinked her big eyes and asked, "Really? Why is it that Qijia Village is so tightly guarded, but there are many gangs outside the village gate or walls?"
Are the disciples patrolling and defending?"
Ximen Tong said: "That's not true. There are only two villagers outside the gate of Qijia Village, and there are people guarding outside the wall, but there are people watching inside the village wall, so the defense is very tight."
Mo Yu said: "There is someone watching inside the village wall, but how did the young master know about it? Could it be that the young master climbed over the wall and was discovered by the other party?"
The little girl insisted on breaking the casserole and asked, Ximen Tong had no choice but to reply: "Yes, I once jumped over the wall and entered a garden in the village. After only a moment, servants rushed over. It can be seen that someone must have been watching.
Only by standing on the wall can you react so quickly."
Mo Yu said: "Oh? But I don't know what the specific situation is?"
Ximen Tongnai had no choice but to climb an apricot branch and climb over the wall. He met Qi Ruyi, the eldest daughter of the Qi family, in the garden and was escorted out of the manor by the servant girl Ping Gu.