The small streets in the inner city were also paved with stone, but they were worn out. This place was not near the market, so there were few people who were not related to the area. There were few pedestrians on the street, most of whom were people who lived here.
In the attic of a tiled house, a young man in gray clothes with his sleeves rolled up beside a small window muttered: "I am getting dizzy from staring at it like this. What are we staring at?"
On the simple wooden bed at the back, there was an elderly middle-aged man and a young man playing cards for money, with some copper coins piled beside them. The elderly man said: General Dong asked us to keep an eye on him, so we will keep an eye on him. It's not bad for you, but his eyes are blurry. It's your turn. Let him come over and play a few rounds.
I just started to win and you want to change people, said the young man sitting opposite the bed.
Stop talking nonsense. The older man scolded, there is a woman with big breasts and a nice butt inside, she is pretty, stare at her.
The person who got the cards back breathed a sigh of relief, reached out to grab the cards, and said: This job is really boring, and we were so sneaky that we almost got into trouble. The day before yesterday, we were spotted by government officials, who thought we were spies.
The older man said casually: It seems that he is not from the government, but is managed by the palace. It is said that there are spies from the Northern Han Dynasty coming to Tokyo, and more suspicious people are more likely to be targeted; but we are not afraid, General Dong is a general in the imperial army, what can we do
Hey, just at this moment the young man next to the window shouted, "Come and see, she has big breasts and a big butt, and she's riding a horse, she's really got some personality."
The older man hurriedly got up and ran to the window, and sure enough, he saw a woman wearing a veiled hat riding a horse out of the yard. He immediately said, "You, go back and report to General Dong. I'll follow to see what's going on."
Jingniang was riding on a horse, her eyes hidden in the gauze of her veil as she glanced at the house diagonally opposite, hummed softly, and rode slowly towards the street corner.
She thought: I always stare at others, why are you staring at me
There were few people involved in taking care of Gao, and Jingniang had no capable subordinates around her, so she usually had no time to investigate the surrounding situation. However, the day before yesterday, a spy from the court happened to come over, and Jingniang noticed it, so she suspected that there was an eyeliner nearby.
She walked onto the street, and there were more pedestrians around her. Jingniang rode slowly on horseback. Horse racing was not allowed in the inner city, but there were many people riding horses and donkeys. She wandered around for a long time and came to a medicine shop. She glanced sideways and saw Bai Xiangu sitting on a bench in the lobby with a bag of medicine.
Jingniang ignored him and didn't go to find the doctor on duty. She went to the medicine dispenser to ask for some things and left after a while.
After a while, Dong Zunhui arrived at the door of the pharmacy in a horse-drawn carriage.
A man lifted the curtain at the back, walked up with bent waist, clasped his fists and said: My lord, the man we are targeting is buying medicine here.
Dong Zunhui nodded in response, but did not speak immediately. His mother had been away for a few months, saying that she believed in Taoism and wanted to find a place to retreat and recuperate; but Dong Zunhui could not ignore his own mother, so he had to know where she was and how she was doing.
It was Jingniang who came to pick him up. Jingniang had been in the army twice before, and Dong Zunhui knew her and of course knew her identity. By looking for Jingniang, he found the courtyard where Gao's family was resting, which was in a relatively secluded place.
Gao would bring back letters every once in a while, but Dong Zunhui had already become suspicious. He thought over and over again, wondering if his mother was pregnant and was going to give birth to a younger brother or sister. Apart from thinking this, Dong Zunhui could not think of any other reason to explain Gao's strange thoughts.
If it was true, Dong Zunhui felt that the child's father might be the current emperor Guo Shao. Otherwise, why would he send Jing Niang to take care of the matter? Jing Niang was someone close to Guo Shao, and she would definitely not handle ordinary matters personally.
Dong Zunhui thought this matter was a bit troublesome, but he was not angry. Instead, he thought it was a good thing. Gao was his mother, not his wife, and Dong Zunhui did not want to interfere in her private life. Moreover, the other party was Emperor Guo Shao, who was also the benefactor who saved Gao. Dong Zunhui had no reason to be unhappy. He even thought that since his mother was a widow, it would be a good thing if she could enter the palace and be crowned as an imperial concubine.
But he thought again, it doesn't matter if Guo Shao summons a widowed noblewoman to the palace as a concubine. At most, people will envy a widow in her thirties for being able to marry a rich man. But if people knew that Gao had an affair with the emperor before she had a legitimate status and that she had a child, and Guo Shao had not yet become emperor and was not a good wife, it would be bad for the reputation of the Dong and Gao families. Besides, Gao and Guo Shao had a sworn brother-sister relationship before.
Dong Zunhui weighed the pros and cons and said to the people in the carriage: I will go and ask them myself. No one is allowed to come to this place again. Everyone will be removed soon and you are not allowed to interfere in this matter anymore.
The subordinate hurriedly said: Yes.
As long as the subordinates who do this are restricted from paying attention for a period of time, there are so many people coming and going in the pharmacy every day, who will remember it
Dong Zunhui got off the carriage, took a handful of copper coins and went into the pharmacy, bought some things and asked about what Jingniang had bought not long ago. Jingniang's dress and figure were unusual, and the clerk who dispensed the medicine remembered it, and after getting the money, he revealed what Jingniang had bought.
There were things like realgar and saltpeter, which were strange and bizarre. Dong Zunhui looked at the list and thought they were materials used by Taoists to make elixirs.
He felt a little confused for a moment. He was not sure whether Gao was really a Taoist or was just giving birth to a child as a cover. Dong Zunhui planned to give up and wait for his mother to come back and ask her in person.
Bai Xiangu walked into the yard and saw Jingniang in a side room. Jingniang sat calmly on a chair and sipped her tea.
Bai Xiangu whispered: Someone really came to the pharmacy to ask what medicine the Saint Aunt bought. The Saint Aunt is very smart.
Who is it, Jingniang said.
Bai Xiangu said: I sent someone to take a look, and it turned out to be the imperial guard general Dong Zunhui.
After hearing this, Jingniang suddenly realized and said: Don't pay attention to him.
Yes. Bai Xiangu responded, and seeing that Jingniang had no intention of talking anymore, she did not ask why she stayed in this place for so long, and quickly said goodbye.
Jingniang had asked Lu Xiaoniang to prepare the medicines for the pregnancy before she met Gao. She had helped Guo Shao before, organizing people to do spy work in the battles against Zhao Kuangyin and in the Qin, Feng, Cheng and Jie four states. She had the experience and would not reveal any clues in such an obvious matter.
When they were planting spies in Qinfeng, something went wrong and the entire nunnery was massacred by the enemy. Jingniang was deeply impressed and was very careful when she did such things later.