Soon after, Fan Qi also discovered this problem.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Zhou Shaojin: "Second Miss, what should we do?"
He had no hatred or resentment, but he actually ran to someone else's house and set fire to it, and it was his relative's. What would happen if he was caught
Zhou Shaojin didn't know what to do.
According to her original plan, they quietly set the fire and then quietly returned, without anyone knowing, waiting for the elders of the Cheng family to discover the problems of the fifth room and rectify the fifth room...
But now, they are trapped here!
She asked Fan Qi: "Can we go back from another place?"
She had only been to Room 5 twice and was not familiar with the terrain at all.
Fan Qi was about to cry.
He had only been in Jiuru Lane for a few days, how could he dare to run around casually? If it weren't for Zhou Shaojin's order, the Fifth House was the weakest of the Cheng family's several houses, and the maids didn't really take care of things, otherwise, even if he was given a brave heart, he wouldn't dare to wander around the Fifth House casually!
As for the first and second houses, he only dared to hang out outside. Before he became familiar with the maids in the first and second houses, he would never dare to move around casually.
But now that Zhou Shaojin had spoken, he couldn't say he didn't know!
"Second Miss," he said with a trembling voice, "We can only go south. There is a road that leads to the west group of houses..."
There are two groups of houses in Jiuru Lane, one in the northwest, near the fifth house, and one in the east, near the third house, where the maids live. The west group of houses is a little different from the east group of houses. Everything in the world has always been respected in the east. In addition, the Cheng family school is located in a secluded area of the original east group of houses, adjacent to the east group of houses. Those who can live in the east group of houses are either well-known and capable of taking charge of their own affairs, or accountants and attendants. The west group of houses is much more complicated. The maids who have a say in each house, the small stewards who have been servants for generations but have never been able to make a name for themselves, the servants, coachmen, and carriages of the masters... It is a mixed crowd, like a slum.
"No!" Before Fan Qi finished speaking, Fan Liushi said, "How can we lead the young lady to the outer courtyard? The night patrols in the outer courtyard are all guards, not like our inner courtyard, they are much more powerful! Moreover, to get to the West Group of Houses, we have to pass through the entire Fifth House. What if we are discovered on the way? Even if we get to the West Group of Houses smoothly, there are all kinds of people in the West Group of Houses. As long as we show up, everyone in Jiuru Lane will know about it tomorrow. We rashly ran there in the middle of the night, and the Fifth House was in trouble again... How do you want us to explain to the ancestors of the Cheng family?"
Many families lost everything because of fires, which burned up their ancestral property.
Therefore, every wealthy family would have a large water tank under the eaves to prevent fire.
"Then, what should we do?" Fan Qi said.
Everyone's eyes fell on Zhou Shaojin.
Zhou Shaojin's palms were sweating.
Since she was the one who started this matter, she couldn't give up at the critical moment...
She hesitated and said, "How about we try to get to Jing'an Zhai?"
The small garden of the Wufang inner house and the garden of the Cheng family's inner house face each other across the water, and there is a nine-curve stone bridge in the middle to connect them.
As long as she arrived at Jing'an Zhai, no matter where she went, she could avoid the night patrol and lead everyone back to Wanxiangju.
Everyone's eyes were looking at the dark lake.
The Nine-Curve Railing Bridge is vaguely visible.
Shi Xiang couldn't help but say, "It would be nice if the moon wasn't so bright today!"
If there is no moon, we can't see that side clearly at all.
When I came, I complained the moonlight was too dark, but when I wanted to escape, I complained the moonlight was too bright.
All in all, I just thought things were too simple.
Zhou Shaojin sighed.
There was a clattering sound of footsteps coming over and stopping in the corridor not far from them.
"The leader of the Fourth House, what's your name? Take the people from the Fourth House and go put out the fire." Steward Qin's majestic voice sounded again, and he gave orders calmly, "Go and see what's going on over there in the waterside pavilion?"
Everyone responded in unison and headed towards the waterside pavilion.
Manager Qin was standing in the aisle with two other people.
Shouldn't he go and check on the group of people in the pavilion himself
Zhou Shaojin complained in his heart and couldn't help but turn his head slightly to look over there.
In the firelight, Manager Qin had a rough face, wore a Hangzhou silk robe, a cloth belt around his waist, and was tall and strong. He looked not only smart and capable, but also a strong and powerful man.
In Zhou Shaojin's mind, managers should be like Ma Fushan, always smiling even when they are not speaking.
She couldn't help but ponder in her mind.
Where did this person come from
I didn’t expect that the Cheng family has such a manager!
Everyone calls him "Manager Qin". Could he be related to the chief steward Qin Shouyue
Zhou Shaojin shrank his shoulders, but felt a little scared.
They have to find a way to get out of here quickly.
If General Manager Qin found out, things might be worse than she imagined.
But Manager Qin was not far from her, and she really didn't dare to move.
Fortunately, the person who went to the waterside to check came back soon: "Manager Qin, it was Second Master Yi from the Fourth House, Master Nuo and Master Ju from the Fifth House, and a few classmates who were gambling there. As for how the money went bankrupt, they don't know."
"Gambling?" Zhou Shaojin heard Manager Qin sneer and said, "The arsonist has not been found yet, and I'm afraid he is still wandering around the inner courtyard. In order to prevent you from getting into danger, please temporarily go to Master Nuo's house in the fifth room to rest. Don't move around casually. It won't be too late to disperse after daybreak." Then he said to the two people holding lanterns beside him, "Let's go over and take a look. The fourth room has discovered that there is a flood here, but there is no movement in the fifth room. It seems that the internal affairs of the fifth room are in a mess..."
Several people followed Manager Qin to the water pavilion.
Zhou Shaojin almost said "Amitabha".
It would be great if all the elders of the Cheng family thought this way.
She felt that although Mr. Qin looked rough, he was actually a very considerate person.
However, they couldn't stay in this place any longer.
That Qin Zongguan is so powerful, maybe he will come looking for me soon...
Zhou Shaojin said in a deep voice: "Mother Fan, let's go over the Nine-Turn Railing Bridge... As long as we get to Jing'an Zhai, they can't do anything to us... That's the place of the fourth room, if we hide anywhere, will they be able to find us until dawn?"
When it's daybreak, Butler Qin will definitely have to report back to the elders of the Cheng family.
Without him present, Zhou Shaojin felt that there was a high possibility that they would escape.
Several people heard what Manager Qin said, and they all felt that it was too dangerous to stay here. They would feel more at ease returning to their familiar environment. They also felt that they would not be able to think of a better solution... They all nodded.
Fan Qi was in front, followed closely by Zhou Shaojin, and the group quietly slipped out from under the willow tree.
Fortunately, the courtyards in the south of the Yangtze River are characterized by small bridges, flowing water, and winding paths.
They looked for secluded places and secretly headed towards the Nine-Curve Bridge.
At this time, the fire had been put out, and the people in the fifth room reacted. The night patrol rushed over here for unknown reasons, concealing the presence of Zhou Shaojin and others.
Looking at the Nine-Curve Railing Bridge in front of them, Zhou Shaojin and others all smiled with joy.
"Let's run over there quickly." Zhou Shaojin said, "Even if Manager Qin finds us, we will be gone forever."
Fan Qi and others nodded repeatedly.
Zhou Shaojin and others ran up the nine-curve railing.
But they were discovered just halfway through their run. A man from the waterside exclaimed, "Manager Qin, look!"
It’s over, it’s over!
Zhou Shaojin's heart sank, but she also knew that if she continued to run, she might still have a chance of escape. If she stopped, she would only be caught.
"Run!" She shouted to Fan Liu and others behind her, and quickened her pace.
But just when they were about to run across the Jiuqulan Bridge, Manager Qin had already led his men to the Jiuqulan Bridge.
The torches in the sky exposed their figures.
Manager Qin shouted coldly, "They are women! Capture them alive."
Zhou Shaojin's legs went weak and she staggered. If it weren't for the quick action of Fan Liu behind her, she would have fallen to the ground.
"Hurry up!" Zhou Shaojin shouted, his body felt like he was falling into an ice cave.
Fan Qi didn't care about anything anymore. He turned around, supported Zhou Shaojin and rushed into the bamboo forest of Jing'an Zhai.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and ran towards Wanxiangju.
Zhou Shaojin listened to the increasingly noisy voices in her ears, and she made a bold decision: "Let's go to Hanbi Mountain House."
Old Madam Guo lived over there, so even if they were very bold, they wouldn't dare to barge in like that.
As long as she was not caught by Chief Steward Qin, she would take the initiative to confess to Madam Guo. Even if she was punished by Madam Guo, hated by the elders of the Cheng family, or even kicked out of the Cheng family and her reputation was ruined, it was better than being pulled by the hands and clothes by these men...
However, Fan Liu and the others thought that Zhou Shaojin was sure that he could get Old Madam Guo to rescue them, so they all looked happy and without thinking, followed Zhou Shaojin and ran towards the Hanbi Mountain House.
The noise behind me gradually disappeared.
Zhou Shaojin was secretly happy.
Suddenly, a gentle but somewhat teasing voice came from the front: "Who is this? Why are you not sleeping in the middle of the night and running around in the woods? Aren't you afraid of encountering robbers?"
Zhou Shaojin was so frightened that his whole body stiffened and his mind went blank. He didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
When she came to her senses, she discovered that a dim melon lantern had been hung on the treetops in the forest at some point. A young man was sitting at a stone table drinking tea under the lantern, and two followers were standing behind him, their faces dimly visible.
Zhou Shaojin was sweating profusely.
She had seen it clearly just now. It was pitch black here, without any light. How could a man drinking tea appear? And the lantern, who would hang it so high for no reason? What was it hung on? Is there a bamboo pole that high
Could it be that she...did she encounter a ghost
Zhou Shaojin wanted to scream.
But there was a gurgling sound in her throat—she was so scared that she couldn't even scream.
The man waved at her leisurely: "Come, come and make me a cup of tea!"
Make tea
Zhou Shaojin opened his eyes wide.
At this time? In this place? Make tea? What should I use to make tea
She couldn't help but look around the man.
There was only a stone bench next to the stone table where he was sitting, and nothing else!
How does she make tea
Where did the tea in his hand come from
※
Sisters, you vote pink very quickly, but I update pretty fast too!
Tomorrow will be 180...
O(∩_∩)O Haha~
※(To be continued)