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There were many foreign merchants in the West Market, and there were countless gold, silver, jewelry, and new toys. Yuan Cihan walked and stopped along the way. At first, he chatted with Lu Shiqing from time to time, taking the opportunity to win his favor. Later, he only remembered to collect exotic treasures and handed them back one by one, forgetting for a moment that this person might be the future imperial teacher.
An hour later, when Yuan Cixian came back to her senses, Lu Shiqing's hands were already full, and even his arms were hung with several strings of red and emerald pearls. His narrow eyes were slightly narrowed, and it was obvious that he was trying his best to endure.
Because Lu Shiqing had not had time to change into his official uniform, passers-by looked at him in surprise - this young lady is really impressive, to have such a high-ranking official as her attendant!
Yuan Cihan looked at them, then at the gilded four-curved silver bowl in her hand. Thinking that Lu Shiqing might have to leave with it on his head, she gave up the idea of taking it.
She came close to him, smiled flatteringly, took some items from his hands, and then put the pearls and jade on his left and right arms back to a balanced color and position, then raised her head and said, "Minister Lu, let's go home. Let's find a store to store these items, and I'll send someone to pick them up later."
Lu Shiqing waited patiently for her to put away these odds and ends. After finishing, he wanted to part ways with her immediately. He walked towards the gate for a while, and stopped when he passed the silk shop. He said, "Lu has something important to attend to. Please go back first, county lady."
Yuan Cixian turned around and saw him stopped in front of a silk shop called "Jinxiu Zhuang". There was a word "Ji" written on the sign hanging at the door.
Remembering the way he looked at the Ji family caravan before, she pointed at the plaque and said, "If what you mean is visiting this shop, I would also like to go in and take a look."
Lu Shiqing sighed, neither said yes nor no, turned around and crossed the threshold.
Yuan Cixian smiled and followed.
At this time, there were not many customers in the store, but the shop assistants all showed up, working in pairs to carry large wooden boxes, busy coming and going. It seemed that they were arranging the newly arrived batch of goods.
When the shopkeeper saw Lu Shiqing's attire, he knew that a distinguished guest had arrived. He immediately put down the chores at hand, handed the account book to the accountant, and bowed to greet him: "This gentleman is here to buy clothes for your husband..." He was halfway through his words when he noticed Yuan Cixian's girlish bun and quickly changed the subject, "Is the young lady behind you here to buy clothes?"
Lu Shiqing didn't spoil the show. He turned around to look at Yuan Cixian and said to the shopkeeper calmly, "Just take out the new silks that came into the store today and choose from them."
The shopkeeper looked embarrassed and said, "My dear, unfortunately, this batch of silk has been reserved by a group of Hu merchants..."
Lu Shiqing pulled the corner of his mouth: "If I offer three times the price, are you willing to sell me?"
As soon as he said this, the faces of the servants around him immediately became alert.
The shopkeeper choked, his eyes flickered a few times, and he said with a bitter face: "Sir, it's not that I don't want to do it, but in this business, it's the principle of first come first served."
Lu Shiqing smiled and said, "In this way, it won't be difficult for the shopkeeper."
Yuan Cixian suddenly stepped forward and said, "But I want to make things difficult, what should I do?"
Lu Shiqing glanced at her.
She looked back at him and said to the shopkeeper with a smile, "Shopkeeper, of course you can follow the first come first served rule, but I have come all the way here and my legs and feet are sore. Your clerks are hanging around in front of me with such fanfare. I really want to take a look at the silk and satin in the box to feast my eyes. I'll just take a few glances. Will it not hinder your business?"
The shopkeeper was already old, with gray hair, but Yuan Cixian's charming smile was exactly the same as the one she usually showed to Lu Shiqing.
Lu Shiqing suddenly felt that her chattering was particularly noisy, so he turned around and left without saying hello.
Yuan Cixian uttered an "Ah!" and in a hurry, she grabbed his sleeve and said, "You are not allowed to leave!" Then she lowered her voice and said, "The mission assigned by the saint is not completed until I finish speaking."
He frowned and looked at his sleeves that were wrinkled by her, then shook her hand off, took a deep breath, and stood there with his hands behind his back.
Yuan Cixian didn't pay much attention to his impoliteness and continued to persuade the shopkeeper, making the old man sweat. He nodded and said, "Okay, okay! Wait a moment, young lady. I will arrange it for you right away."
She tilted her head to look at the two shop assistants who happened to be coming this way. Her eyes fell on their labored steps and she pointed at the wooden box in their hands and said, "No need to bother the shopkeeper. I'll just take a look at that box."
The shopkeeper smiled apologetically and waved to stop the two men. The two clerks looked at each other, worked together to move the box, and carefully put it on the ground.
The moment the box fell to the ground, Yuan Cixian's ear tilted slightly.
Unexpectedly, just as the shopkeeper opened the box, someone came running from the backyard and whispered in his ear, "Shopkeeper, the Hu merchant has arrived and is eager to see the goods."
Yuan Cixian pricked up her ears when she heard this and took a closer look into the half-opened box.
The shopkeeper turned around, closed the box, and wiped his sweat: "My dear, I'm so sorry, Mr. Hu has arrived... How about... "
"Or I'll come back next time." She smiled and said that if she didn't want to be obsessed, she wouldn't be obsessed.
When Lu Shiqing saw that she had finished reading, he walked away.
Yuan Cixian didn't know why he was so angry, so she trotted over and said, "Minister Lu, wait a minute."
He stopped and looked back at her.
She didn't seem to have any other intentions. She asked him to wait here for a while, then went across the street. When she came back, she had two oil-paper bags in her hand. She handed one of them to him and said, "You didn't have lunch, so this Hu pancake will fill your stomach on your way back."
Seeing that he seemed to be about to refuse, she immediately said, "Whether you eat or not is your business, but whether you give or not is my courtesy."
Lu Shiqing looked down and said, "No need."
She had no choice but to bring up Emperor Huining again: "Take it, then you can go back and report."
He frowned and took the oil-paper bag: "In that case, goodbye." After that, he ignored her and walked towards the gate.
Yuan Cixian pouted as she looked at his back. When she returned to the Yuan Mansion, she hurriedly ordered Shi Cui to prepare a set of casual clothes for her.
Shi Cui glanced at the sky outside, and while helping her untie her complicated dress, she said worriedly, "Young lady, you just came back and you want to go out again? The sun will set in less than an hour."
She nodded nonchalantly: "Minister Lu seems to be investigating a case. I'll go and take a look. If you're worried, just come with me."
Yuan Cixian could probably guess that there was something fishy about the silk from the Ji family in Wuxing.
Just now, she took a quick look at Jinxiu Manor and estimated the depth of the box. She didn't think such a large amount of silk and satin could make the box movers so tired. Comparing the height of the outer surface of the box, she felt that there might be a hidden layer underneath.
Thinking back to the waiter's extremely careful movements when he put down the box, and the slight crisp sound when the box hit the ground, she felt that there might be something like copper or iron inside.
Of course, in addition to this, what is more important is Lu Shiqing's attitude.
She didn't care what was going on with the silk shop. She wanted to know why Lu Shiqing was investigating it. If she guessed correctly, he would probably go and find out what was going on.
Shi Cui said, "Of course I will go with you, but I'm afraid you will be angry if you find out."
"What are you afraid of? I'll leave a note." Yuan Cixian plucked out all the hairpins in her hair and asked, "Have you finished with the Hu biscuits?"
The two packs of Hu bing she bought were both coated with a rare sauce with a unique and rich flavor. If Lu Shiqing took it back to the carriage, there would be some traces.
Shi Cui nodded: "I have taken the branch to Xiao Hei to smell. Let's follow it along the road from the West Market. If everything goes well, we should be able to find Minister Lu by following the smell. Just wait patiently."
…
When Jianzhi brought back the news that he had found the whereabouts of Hu Bing, Yuan Cixian took Shicui with him and slipped out of the house.
But in the end, she saw the oil-paper bag in a patch of grass not far from the West Market Gate.
Yuan Cixian looked down at the black dog with its mouth full of sauce and choked.
This Lu Shiqing is really... ungrateful, ungrateful, and unromantic!
A girl standing by looked embarrassed and said, "My dear lady, this is all I can find out. I failed in my duty."
She shook her head and looked up at the sky dejectedly. If she had known earlier, she would have taken a risk and followed him directly.
Shi Cui said, "My dear, since Minister Lu is on guard, we probably can't catch up. We should go back to the mansion. If we are late, the gentleman will be worried."
Yuan Cixian nodded, turned around and was about to get on the carriage, but saw a caravan coming out of the West Market Gate.
They were a group of foreign visitors dressed in colorful clothes, looking like the Uighurs. The camel riders in the front were all tall and strong men, and at the end were a few veiled girls who looked like maids.
The mules and horses pulled a full cart of goods, among which there were several sandalwood wooden boxes that looked very familiar. The emblem of the Wuxing Ji family was engraved on the corners of the boxes. They were exactly the ones that Yuan Cixian had seen in Jinxiu Manor.
It had been a long time since the shop assistant said "the Hu merchant has arrived", but she did not find it strange. She thought the shopkeeper had no intention of showing her the goods, but just asked the shop assistant to perform a play as an excuse. The real Hu merchant must have arrived later.
Yuan Cixian smiled and sighed.
Lu Shiqing, ah Lu Shiqing, man's plans cannot compare to God's plans.
…
An incense stick later, Yuan Cihan and Shicui mixed into the Uighur caravan, and Jianzhi stayed behind to take care of the two maids who were knocked unconscious and to clean up the mess.
The dusk was dim and a blood-red sun hung high in the sky.
The winding caravan came out of the Golden Light Gate and headed westward slowly. Yuan Cixian covered her face with a thin veil and walked to the end of the caravan in an inconspicuous position. The first few men with high noses and deep eyes sang along with the crisp camel bells. As for what they were singing, she couldn't understand it, but she thought it was probably Uighur.
At first, they all took the common road, but when they were far away from the city gate, they changed their route and went to a remote area. Yuan Cixian had followed his father in the army, so he didn't find this road hard.
When it was getting dark, the caravan settled in a slum in the suburbs.
The houses in this area were low and dense, all of them were simple adobe houses. When the Uighurs arrived, they carried the goods down one box at a time and transported them to a bungalow.
Yuan Cihan followed the other maids to fish in troubled waters. They started a fire and boiled water in front of a mud house. They waited until the leading men let down their guard and sat by the fire playing musical instruments, drinking and roasting meat. Then they gestured to Shi Cui to stay here, and then quietly went around to the back of the house.
She had just memorized the location of the bungalow, and she found the right place with just a glance. She avoided several guards in front of the door, crouched down and came to a half-open rear window, pulled up her skirt that was in the way to her calves and tied it into a knot. Just as she was about to spread her arms and jump in, something licked her ankle.
It felt wet and hot, and a little thick. Her scalp numbed and she almost jumped up. She turned around suddenly and saw it was Xiao Hei.
It was sticking out its big tongue and looking up at her in a very honest manner.
“…” Why did this stupid dog follow me
Yuan Cixian swallowed hard to calm herself, realizing that dogs can really scare people to death. She shushed it, pointed downward, and told it to stay here and not run around. After that, she turned around and jumped into the house, not caring whether it understood or not.
Unexpectedly, before her feet touched the ground, a pair of hands appeared out of nowhere and she was flipped over by the waist, and she felt dizzy.
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