The quiet little courtyard was deserted. Gu Qinghan entered the Buddhist hall first, and soon came out to let Qining enter.
In fact, when Qi Ning walked into this courtyard, he felt a sense of depression all over his body. If there was one place in the Jinyihou Mansion that he couldn't understand clearly, it was this courtyard.
In the Jinyihou Mansion, whether it was Gu Qinghan or Duan Canghai, Qining had an understanding of the living habits of these people, but it seemed that he was still a mystery to this madam.
This madam almost never leaves home and spends all day chanting and chanting sutras in this Buddhist hall. Except for Gu Qinghan and the people who bring vegetarian meals every day, almost no one dares to approach this courtyard. In fact, this deserted courtyard is... No one wants to get close.
If Qi Ning can still guess Gu Qinghan's thoughts from time to time, then Qi Ning has no clue about the thoughts of this madam. Just like the whereabouts of the general's wife Liu Suyi, this madam seems to be shrouded in a mystery. Layer of fog.
After entering the Buddhist hall, Qining turned around and closed the door. Candles were lit above the Buddhist niche. The door was closed all day long, and candles were lit all day long. It was dark and gloomy.
There was a stove burning nearby, and the room was quite warm. The rickety lady sat in front of the Buddhist altar, huddled in a ball.
"Grandma!" Qining stood behind the madam and called in a low voice.
The madam did not look back. She was blind. Even if she turned around, she would not be able to see Qi Ning.
The madam didn't say anything. Qi Ning frowned slightly and then said softly: "Today's martial arts competition, my grandson won by luck and won the position of commander of the Black Scale Battalion."
"That's good." The old lady's voice finally responded: "It was built by your father. It should have been managed by our Qi family. You did not disappoint your grandfather and your father."
Qi Ning said: "Yes!"
"This is just the beginning." Mrs. Tai said slowly: "You have to take back all the things that your grandfather and your father shot down, so that you can be worthy of the descendants of the Qi family. Qi Yu has become a monk, and our Qi family no longer has this Man, you are the only direct descendant of the Qi family, and you should shoulder the burden of the Qi family."
"My grandson, please remember your grandmother's teachings." Qi Ning really didn't want to stay here any longer. If Gu Qinghan hadn't asked him to come over, he really wouldn't have been in the mood to walk into this courtyard.
Entering this room always gave him a strange feeling.
Talking to Mrs. Tai was completely unlike a pair of grandparents and grandchildren, and I couldn't feel the kindness and love of a grandmother from Mrs. Tai.
Although the two of them were close at hand, Qining always felt as if he was thousands of miles away from his wife.
"When you first enter the court, you don't have to be brave in everything." Madam Tai said in an old voice, "No one is worthy of your trust, and no one is worthy of your sacrifice. Get back what should belong to the Qi family, and serve the emperor well. If our family is united, it will not be ruined."
Qi Ning nodded slightly but said nothing. Madam Tai's voice was slightly cold: "Can you hear what I said?"
"I heard it." Qi Ning couldn't help cursing in his heart, but he still said respectfully: "My grandson will keep his grandmother's teachings in his heart."
The madam snorted coldly and said: "I hope so. Don't think that the old woman is blind and is just a useless person waiting to die. If you have done something wrong to the Qi family, I can make Qi Yu a monk, and I can also make you regret."
Qi Ning sneered in his heart, wondering if you, the old woman, were in a daze. I only looked at Gu Qinghan's face and worked hard to maintain the Qi family, but you, an old man, even threatened me. Now I have inherited the title of Marquis of Jinyi and taken over the Black Scale Camp. In the leadership position, you, an old woman with no strength, what can you do to me
He and the madam had no blood relationship at all, and there was no relationship at all. In addition, the madam suddenly said these words, which made him feel even more disgusted.
It's just that since this old woman is the wife of Lord Jinyi, she should also be a well-informed person, and she should know how to speak appropriately. Qining is a little confused as to why she suddenly said such strange words.
"You go down first." The madam said calmly: "Do what you should do, as long as it is for the sake of the family, the old lady will not stand in your way."
Qining was eager to leave immediately, so he agreed, turned around and went out, closing the door behind him.
After leaving the yard, Gu Qinghan was waiting outside. When he saw Qi Ning coming out, he came up to him and asked softly: "Did you tell the madam? Is the madam very happy?"
Qining smiled and asked softly: "Sanniang, does grandma always dislike me?"
Gu Qinghan was startled, frowned and said: "What are you talking about? You are the grandson of Mrs. Tai. How can any grandmother not love her grandson? Ning'er, don't think so wildly. Mrs. Tai has been concentrating on worshiping Buddha these years and not caring about worldly affairs. , sometimes it is inevitable to speak calmer, that is due to temperament, naturally it is not that I don’t love you. "
Qi Ning smiled and said: "I just said it casually." Walking side by side along the path with Gu Qinghan, Qi Ning suddenly asked: "Sanniang, do you know my mother's name?"
"Ah?" Gu Qinghan was a little surprised. Obviously, he didn't expect Qining to suddenly ask this question. He frowned slightly, hesitated, and then asked softly: "Why did you ask this suddenly?"
"Sanniang knows that I used to be confused and didn't understand many things." Qining sighed, "I remember too little about my mother. I... I want to know more about her."
Gu Qinghan said quietly: "Ning'er, actually... Sanniang also told you that even I know very little about your mother. It has been almost ten years since I married into your Qi family, and you were only six years old at that time. A seven-year-old child, but I have never seen your mother since the day I entered the house. I asked your third uncle, and your third uncle never said much, and I later learned that no one can mention it in Jinyihou Mansion. Your mother...!"
"Why?" Qining frowned and said, "She is the Marquis's wife and the mistress of the Jinyi Hou Mansion. Why can't she be mentioned?"
Gu Qinghan smiled bitterly and said: "Mrs. Tai has this order, so why should we ask so many questions? Let's just follow Mrs. Tai's wishes." After a pause, Qining's expression was solemn and he said softly: "Don't worry, maybe one day Mrs. I will tell you about your mother, she will never hide it from you."
"Sanniang, are you saying that only Mrs. Tai knows about this?" Qining lowered his voice and asked: "There are many old servants in the Hou Mansion who have been serving in the manor in the early years. They...!"
"They won't know either." Gu Qinghan shook his head slightly and said in a low voice: "Actually, Sanniang had asked an old servant before. He really didn't know anything about this matter. He only said that one day, you Your mother has disappeared. Since then, your mother has never been seen in the Hou Mansion. Moreover, the Tai Madam summoned the servants in the house together and warned them not to mention her again from now on. At that time, the Tai Madam was still in charge. The old Marquis and the General are away from home all the time regarding matters in the palace, so no one dares to disobey the Madam's orders."
Qi Ning nodded slightly, thinking that it seemed that Liu Suyi's mysterious disappearance was closely related to the old woman in the Buddhist hall. He really wanted to know what happened in the Hou Mansion back then, but even Gu Qinghan had no idea what happened back then. I don’t know anything, and it seems that even trying to figure it out for a moment is just a fool’s errand.
Suddenly he heard a barking nearby, and a dog sprang out from the bamboo forest. The dog appeared very suddenly, and Gu Qinghan barked. Qining immediately stood in front of Gu Qinghan like a reflex, and protected Gu Qinghan. Behind him, he saw a hound leaping past with a "ouch" sound. Qining was just wondering when he saw another shadow jump out of the bamboo forest. It was extremely fast and it actually chased after the hound.
Only then did Qi Ning see clearly that the figure turned out to be a strange man in a black cloak, still wearing the hairless black cloak.
"He... what is he doing?" Qining was startled for a moment and turned around. Only then did he realize that Gu Qinghan's face was slightly pale, obviously frightened, but two white and tender hands were holding his arms.
Gu Qinghan also came to his senses, lowered his head and saw that his hands were on Qining's arms, his cheeks were slightly red, and he hurriedly let go and said: "Now the dogs in the house are afraid of him." Thinking of the critical moment, Qining didn't even think about it. She was protecting him in front of him. Although he was slightly frightened, his heart felt warm.
"Oh?" Qi Ningqi asked, "Is the dog afraid of him?"
Gu Qinghan smiled bitterly and said: "You don't know, he got entangled with a hound for some reason a few days ago. He struggled with the hound for a long time, and finally broke all four legs of the hound. By the next day, he It seemed that he was addicted to playing, so he went to look for other hounds, and broke four legs of a dog. In the past two days, the hounds in the Hou Mansion saw his shadow, as if they had seen a ghost."
Jinyihou Mansion keeps six or seven hounds, which are actually used to cooperate with the guards in the manor to guard the house and the courtyard.
"Breaking the dog's leg?" Qining was confused.
Gu Qinghan said: "He is my savior after all. If he likes it, just let him be. There is no news from Jiangling, and I don't know where this person's hometown is, but... Ning'er, this person's speed is really It was so fast, and he passed by in a blink of an eye. It was the hunting dog in the house, and I'm afraid he couldn't run as fast as him." After a pause, he asked softly: "Do you think he was born like this, or...has he practiced martial arts?"
Qi Ning frowned and asked, "Sanniang thinks he has practiced martial arts?"
"I'm just making a random guess." Gu Qinghan said: "No one is born to run so fast. Duan Canghai has practiced martial arts, and if he really wants to run, he can't even be half as fast as him."
Qi Ning nodded slightly, thoughtfully, looking at the disappeared figure of the strange man in black cloak, and murmured: "If he has practiced martial arts, he is also an extremely light kung fu. How could such a person become like this?" Gu Qinghan's face suddenly turned pale, and she said softly: "Sanniang, weren't you scared just now?"
"It's okay." Gu Qinghan smiled softly, "Aren't you protecting me? What can happen to Sanniang?"
Seeing her beauty, Qi Ning could not help but say, "Ning'er said that I will protect you for the rest of my life, and I will keep my word and will not lie."
Seeing Qi Ning staring at him, Gu Qinghan said hurriedly: "Sanniang knows, ah, I still have something to do, so I will go and do some work first, and tonight... I will hold a banquet to celebrate you tonight." For some reason, his heartbeat was so strong that he turned around immediately, Walking towards a branch road on the side, her two slender legs walked very fast, as if they were trotting away, and her strong and plump buttocks swayed like an electric motor.