When he reached the steps under the corridor, Qishan took off his bamboo hat, bent over to put his clogs side by side, lifted his hem and stepped onto the steps barefoot. He took down the water scoop hanging on the wooden pillar, scooped up the rainwater from the stone basin under the corridor, and washed away the mud on his feet.
Chen Tang also took off his clogs and subconsciously went to look for indoor shoes, but he couldn't find a replacement after a round of searching. Qi Shan rolled up the dirty hem of his clothes and tied it to his knees, took out a special towel from his sleeves to wipe the water stains off his feet, and then handed the water scoop to Chen Tang.
The two of them were not slow, and the middle-aged man had already taken off the pair of wooden clogs that didn't fit him well and had worn soles, and stepped onto the wooden steps barefoot, leaving behind a few wet footprints with mud and water - although the courtyard was very clean and paved with stones in many places, heavy rain would still cause muddy puddles, making it easy to dirty feet - seeing Chen Tang and the other two busy, he laughed out loud.
"You two are welcome to do whatever you want. There's no need to go through so much trouble."
When Chen Tang heard the man's words, he washed his feet with two scoops of water, threw the scoops into the stone basin with a smile, and stepped onto the wooden steps with two clangs.
There was a hint of severity in Qishan's words.
"Youli, where are your manners?"
Chen Tang smiled and waved at him: "Isn't it said that the guest should follow the host's wishes? Brother, you are just too polite. Why don't you come up and take shelter from the rain?"
Qi Shan took a deep breath, and seemed to be at a loss for what to do with Chen Tang's behavior, so he turned around and apologized to the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was very well-mannered, smiling all the time, and said "nothing" several times, without showing any displeasure on his face. Instead, he praised Chen Tang for his lively and lively nature.
Qi Shan sighed: "But my brother is already twelve years old this year, and he is still so jumpy and unstable. I am worried that he will suffer a great loss in the future..."
The middle-aged man's expression froze slightly.
"My brother? Is this a young man?"
Qi Shan nodded: "Yes, he is my youngest brother. He looks like my mother, but he has a girlish appearance, so he has been misunderstood over the years."
The middle-aged man laughed twice and said that he had seen it wrong and actually mistook a man for a woman.
As he said this, he led the two of them to the side room and told Chen Tang and the others to wait for the rain there. If the rain did not stop, they could stay there for the night.
The middle-aged man suddenly said, "I remembered that there is a pot of ginger soup warming up in the east kitchen. Would you like to drink some ginger soup to warm your bodies?"
Qi Shan crossed his hands and thanked the middle-aged man.
The man said, "Please wait a moment."
As the footsteps gradually faded away, Chen Tang put away his cynical smile and looked serious and solemn: "This man is lying and full of flaws. Whether he went to the east kitchen to serve ginger soup or not, we have to be careful."
Qi Shan: "Of course we have to be alert. Muramasa said that Ah Yan has a brain disease and was abandoned in the village since birth. He was neglected and neglected, so that many servants neglected him. This can be seen from the children's clothes drying in the yard. But this person said that Ah Yan is his son, haha!"
Chen Tang walked around the room, occasionally touching the furnishings with his fingers, twisting them, and finding the fingertips clean and dust-free.
There were two neatly arranged bookshelves near the window, one large and one small, and the room was divided into several different areas using bookshelves as partitions. Chen Tang picked up the bamboo slips on the table and opened them to find that they were for children's enlightenment. There were both adult handwriting and children's graffiti on them.
She said, "It's quite clean, and it seems that the servants are not completely idle... But it's raining heavily, and the wind and rain are so strong that they can blow the hut up to the sky, but no one came out to take in the clothes that were hung out to dry in the yard. This is very unreasonable."
Qi Shan said calmly, "Also, that man is dressed like a scholar, but he looks fierce, with a fierce look in his eyes and blood on his body. He looks more like a ruffian than a scholar, and he is full of lies. I am worried that I don't want to accept him, but I can't accept him..."
In other words, you are too late to collect it.
Chen Tang raised an eyebrow: "Are they bandits?"
Qi Shan said: "During the turbulent times, it is not uncommon for people to become bandits and rob houses."
Not only is it not uncommon, it has even become the only means of livelihood for some people, and can also lead an entire village to "get rich."
"That's a bad omen."
"It is very likely that there is no one alive. If he is not a bandit, then he is a thief. In any case, he cannot be the owner of this manor."
Instead of finding Ah Yan, they encountered a murder case.
Shen Tang gasped.
Qi Shan said with a smile: “Young Master Shen, are you scared?”
Even he himself didn't believe what he said.
Chen Tang sat down on the mat and blinked, "I am a law-abiding citizen. How can I not be afraid of this kind of thug who is very likely to be extremely vicious and kill an entire family? Mr. Qi, we have entered a wolf's den and are the wolf's meal..."
As he said this, he took out the hatchet from his waist.
The hatchet was covered by clothes so that the middle-aged man could not see it.
Qishan didn't bring his sword with him, so the only thing they could rely on was this hatchet. Holding the handle of the knife, she felt a little safer. In fact, she couldn't figure out why she, a homely painter, had to go through such an exciting thing
although-
Although she killed a government official and calmly accepted the reality afterwards, she believed it was self-defense. In addition, the residual factors in this body made her, a homely girl who could not lift or carry anything, become so fierce and cold-blooded.
She herself is very friendly.
After all, what bad intentions could there be in an artist who is urged to submit his works and yelled at by the editor, but dares not speak out
Qishan: “…”
"We have entered a wolf's den, but it is still unknown who will be the hungry wolf's meal." When he heard the words "obey the law" from Chen Tang's mouth, his expression became numb. He unceremoniously broke the show and said with a smile, "Good citizens who obey the law will not become fugitives."
Unexpectedly, Chen Tang said, "Mr. Qi, you don't know that I have been wronged. If I die on the way to exile, or die on a couch in Xiaocheng Jiaofang, and some judge overturns the case and finds that there is an innocent person like me, by then I will be gone, leaving only regrets. In order to prevent this from happening and to defend the justice of the law, I have to save my life and become a fugitive."
Qishan: “…”
He looked at Mr. Shen who was talking eloquently, and felt that he was already old, but his face was not as thick as a young boy.
Just as he was about to say something, Chen Tang's smile suddenly disappeared, he stood up and looked towards the door, raised his hand to his lips to signal Qi Shan not to say anything. After a while, heavy footsteps came closer and closer, and the middle-aged man came over with two bowls of steaming ginger soup.
"Sorry for the long wait, both of you."
Qishan and Chen Tang nodded in thanks.
Under the gaze of the middle-aged man, Chen Tang and the other man held up their respective bowls, lowered their eyes to their lips, and were about to open their lips to drink.
Seeing that the two were not on guard at all, the middle-aged man was delighted. However, just as he was about to raise his lips to sneer, a bowl of steaming ginger soup was poured over his face the next second. Then the low table flew up and hit him in the face.
Qishan spilled the soup and Chentang overturned the table.
Then-
Qi Shan quietly retreated behind Chen Tang and said calmly, "Knowing the masculine side, guarding the feminine side, and retreating when things are impossible, this is the way to protect yourself."
Chen Tang: “???”
Chen Tang: “!!!”