***
"Sir, who is Lady Hong?"
"have no idea."
"Sir, is Lady Hong beautiful?"
“Not beautiful.”
“Hehe… Haha… Young Master, you are lying… Hehe…”
Yang Zhi, who was making tea by the coffee table, seemed unintentional, but her movements had clearly slowed down, which fully demonstrated that she was actually listening attentively to the conversation between Yun Qiaoer and Qin Mu.
In the elegant study, there were classics on the left and history on the right. The back garden outside the window was quiet and silent, and the incense burner under the floor-to-ceiling screen was curling with smoke. Qin Mu put his pen on the inkstone, leaned back on the armchair, stretched his waist and said lazily: "Girl, you really are so good that you can't stop the tiles after three days."
"Young Master is lying to begin with."
"Tell me, how did I lie to you?"
"When people asked who Lady Hong was, the young master said he didn't know. When people asked if Lady Hong was pretty, the young master said she wasn't. Well, since the young master didn't know who Lady Hong was, how could he be sure that she wasn't pretty? Hehehe..."
"Hiss..." Qin Mu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his teeth.
Yang Zhi pursed her lips and glanced at him quietly, with curiosity and smile in her eyes. Qin Mu accurately caught her gentle gaze and immediately said, "My wife, you don't believe in your husband either, right? Your husband is a good man..."
Yang Zhi gently lifted her sleeves to cover her face, leaving only a pair of bright eyes exposed. However, the smile in those eyes could not be concealed. Her smiling and nodding action made Qin Mu inexplicably feel powerless.
"Yes, you are a good man." Yun Qiao'er never denied this. She would get angry with anyone who dared to say that Qin Mu was not a good man, but this did not prevent her from thinking that Qin Mu was lying. "Sir, you must have a deep relationship with Lady Hong... Ah... Don't hit me. Don't hit me. I was wrong, isn't it okay? I want to ask you, you must have a deep friendship with Lady Hong, right?"
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll roast you and eat you."
The little girl was very clever, and she was very proud that Qin Mu failed to catch her.
"I'm not talking nonsense. I heard that it was the Master who asked Lady Hong to take her people away from Xiangyang, which caused the chaos there, and then led Zuo Liangyu to Xiangyang, and then..."
"Eh." Qin Mu didn't wait for her to finish. He asked in surprise: "Who told you this?"
Yun Qiaoer was very proud, her eyes as bright as stars narrowed into a line, and she leaned into Yang Zhi's arms and smiled, "This morning, I accidentally heard what Li Shi and Niu Wanshan said at the back gate of the government office. Hum, Niu Wanshan was still talking about how good his martial arts were, but I didn't know it because I was hiding behind the rockery. Sir, what they said is true, right? Is Hong Niang pretty?"
Qin Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said seriously, "That's not the case. Girl, don't ask about these things, and don't talk about them outside. Do you understand?"
"Don't worry, sir. I won't tell anyone about it." Yun Qiaoer stuck out her tongue and didn't dare to ask any more questions.
Qin Mu still trusted her in this respect. This girl talked a lot to him, but rarely to other people. In addition, she was smart and young, but she was very sensible in doing things.
Yang Zhi brought the tea and said softly, "Qiao'er is still young, husband, please don't scare her. I'll talk to her later."
"Is she still young? She's already fourteen."
"No, I just..." Qiao'er stopped talking halfway, leaving only a pair of bright eyes blinking.
Qin Mu couldn't help but cover his forehead in pain. The little girl's age was still a mystery to him, and he couldn't even figure it out. It seemed that it would be really difficult to get her to tell the truth.
"whee... ... ... ."
"What are you laughing at? You're still accusing me of lying. You've never told the truth. I'm still skeptical whether you're from Yueyang. I don't think your accent sounds like it anyway."
“Sir, you have never been to Yueyang, so how would you know what the Yueyang accent is like...?” the little girl replied hesitantly.
Qin Mu couldn't help patting his forehead at her flickering eyes. He was in great pain. "My dear, did you see that? This girl's household registration is probably fake. I now suspect that she is a spy sent by the enemy. Oh my God, this spy has become my personal confidential secretary, and I am still in the dark. It's over, it's over."
Yang Zhi said angrily, "Husband, don't talk nonsense and don't scare Qiao'er." As she spoke, she gently rubbed Qin Mu's temples.
Qin Mu noticed that the ten fingers as white as spring onions were bruised and red, so he ignored Qiao'er and immediately grabbed her hands and scolded her, "Wife, why don't you listen to your husband? I told you not to make those shoes. Look, you hurt your hands like this. If you don't know, you would think I was abusing you."
Yang Zhi lowered her head and pleaded in a low voice: "Husband, please let me make you a pair of shoes, just one pair. Husband, you are busy all day long, I see it all, and I always think in my heart..."
"Don't think about it. Just listen and don't do it."
“Husband… … ..”
"I appreciate your kindness, but this matter is not negotiable."
“But it’s already half done.”
"Well, you are not allowed to do it in private. I will help you tap the soles of your shoes when I have time in the evening."
Yang Zhi had tears in her eyes, not because she was sad, but on the contrary, she felt warm inside. However, she still insisted, "My husband, you are talking nonsense. How can a man do this?"
"I did it, whoever wants to say it can say it." Qin Mu patted the back of Yang Zhi's hand, then waved to Qiao'er who was hanging her head, "Girl, come here."
Yun Qiao'er didn't dare to look at him. She lowered her head and walked to his side in small steps. She looked like she was about to cry. Qin Mu couldn't help but hug her in his arms and comforted her, "Don't be sad, girl. The young master was joking with you. When we met, the young master was still begging for food on the roadside. How could you be a spy arranged by the enemy? You are such a smart person, can't you even tell that the young master is talking nonsense?"
Qin Mu thought that the little girl would get better after a few words of comfort, but he didn't expect that she would burst into tears with a "Wow!". Even Yang Zhi came over to comfort her, but the little girl wouldn't stop crying and became more and more sad.
"Girl, don't be like this, I was wrong, just hit me..."
"Wuwuwu... Sir, you are right. I... I lied to you..."
"It's okay, it's okay. Hiding something doesn't count as cheating. The young master doesn't care about these things."
"But I care... Wuuwuwu... The Master was so good to me, and I still lied to him... Wuuwuwu..."
From Yun Qiaoer's subsequent intermittent words, Qin Mu finally understood her life experience. Her father was originally a scholar in Yuezhou City. His family was well-off, but because of the darkness of the imperial examinations, he failed repeatedly and became a little cynical about the world. Later, he took the initiative to defect to Li Zicheng's rebels.
Qiao'er's mother could not persuade him, so she took her daughter to stay in Yueyang, and was determined not to follow her husband to join the bandits. Later, the news leaked out, and the government arrested Qiao'er's family and executed them. Qiao'er's mother asked her personal maid who came with her as a dowry to take her to escape;
But less than a year later, the personal maid died of illness and hunger and cold, leaving Qiao'er alone and helpless. Fortunately, she was smart and begged for food everywhere, and she managed to survive until she met Qin Mu.
Talking about this, Qiao'er cried heart-wrenchingly.
If you think about it, she is still a wanted criminal by the government. No wonder she has been hiding her background. At the beginning, she was able to tell Qin Mu her real name, which was the greatest trust she had in Qin Mu.
After hearing Qiao'er's life story, Qin Mu couldn't help but sigh, and Yang Zhi kept wiping away tears, feeling very sad.
"Okay, girl, don't be sad. When I have time, I will take you back to Yueyang to pay respect to your mother. By the way, tell her that I will take good care of Qiao'er in the future so that your mother's spirit can rest in peace."
“Wuwuwu… ... ... ” Qiaoer nodded while crying. She didn’t even have the strength to stand and fell softly into Qin Mu’s arms.
After finally comforting her, Li Shi came in hurriedly and reported: "Sir, there is an imperial decree."
"Imperial edict?" Qin Mu asked doubtfully, then followed Li Shi to the front hall.
This time, a team of Jinyiwei came, wearing Feiyu uniforms and embroidered spring swords on their waists. If it had happened in the past, the sudden appearance of this team of Jinyiwei would have caused panic in the entire yamen.
But now, not only did Qin Mu ignore them, even the guards at the gate did not take them seriously. This team of Jinyiwei were blocked outside the door and could not even enter the yamen.
It was not until Qin Mu arrived that he ordered people to enter the yamen. The eunuch in charge of announcing the imperial edict also knew that the situation was different now, so he didn't dare to argue with Qin Mu. He just wanted to read the imperial edict quickly and leave.
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ps: When you read the book, don't forget to vote for it and support Hao Yuan. (To be continued.)
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