Guessing this, Master Li treated Sang Xuanqing's family with a gentler attitude.
His face is pale and cold, with sharp features. He looks a little distant from others, but his behavior is like a spring breeze immersed in a good family.
"Sorry to bother you, is this the home of Sang Xuanqing?"
Brother Sang looked him up and down, and the other party was beyond his expectation.
He originally thought that the person who came to see Sang Xuanqing would be a rich and powerful craftsman, but he did not expect that it would be a polite and polite boy from a rich family.
Just by looking at his elegant clothes and the fair and delicate skin that represents the upper class of exploiters who do not work hard, you can tell that there is a world of difference between a person of this background and these civil servants and masons.
How could a person like him have anything to do with Sang Xuanqing?
Brother Sang murmured in his heart and said with some reservation, "What's the matter with you?"
"My name is Master Li. I am a craftsman. I met Sang Xuanqing in Guixuanling. I was specially invited by him to be a guest. Is he at home now?"
What? Was this person invited by Sang Xuanqing himself?
Brother Sang glanced at Zheng Quchi, who was hiding like a quail behind him, and stared at her speechlessly. It seemed that she had gone back on her word...
Reporting that the fault was on his side, Brother Sang apologized to Master Li: "That's it, but he hasn't come back yet."
The implication is that only the two of you have talked about this matter privately, and no one else can know about it. He will not rashly welcome a stranger into his home before seeing Sang Xuanqing to confirm the matter.
Upon hearing this, Master Li raised his eyebrows slightly, obviously doubting this answer.
"Not back? It's so late. I wonder where he went?"
Ziaozi saw with his own eyes the Guixan Ridge she left. Calculated by time, she should have returned to Hegou Village long ago.
Brother Sang just casually excused himself: "We never know much about him. Maybe something important happened suddenly, so we asked someone to bring a message, saying that he would go home later."
Since Sang Xuanqing is indeed not at home, Master Li has no reason to stay.
He lowered his eyes, with no expression on his angular face: "If that's the case, then I'll come back to look for him tomorrow."
Zheng Quchi felt numb as he listened.
Again? This person doesn't know what giving up means.
Brother Sang frowned and said crisply: "You don't have to come here every day. We are in the countryside of Hegou Village. The snowy roads are muddy and slippery. Be careful and you fall. Where can you stay? Don't wait until Ah Qing comes back." If he doesn't, I'll let him go find you."
Master Li's eyes were a little melancholy: "I don't have a fixed residence for the time being, and I have no relatives or friends in Fu County. Apart from Sang Xuanqing, I don't know anyone well. Since he invited me, I will accept the invitation." It’s just an appointment, it’s just a few more trips.”
Hearing Master Li say this, Zheng Quchi's conscience was pricked.
He is too serious and completely one-minded. If someone just said a few polite words casually, wouldn't he believe it?
However, it was not his fault. Although she reluctantly agreed to let him go home with her to spend the day, once she said it, she should fulfill it.
But she forgot.
He also made "Sang Xuanqing" suddenly disappear and let him go.
It's a pity that he braved the wind and snow on a cold night to inquire and pursue him, but in the end he ended up being dismissed casually and returned disappointed.
Zheng Quchi's guilt reached its peak for a moment, and she couldn't help but say: "Brother, how about we keep him here for one night? It's so dark and snowing outside now, and it's easy to get into trouble when walking at night."
Yes, even if her guilt was so high, she didn't plan to keep him at home tomorrow, waiting to meet "Sang Xuanqing" again.
She had been bluffed by him before, thinking that he might cause trouble for the project while she was on vacation, but when Uncle Mu told her, Yu Wensheng had already been on guard and had sent extra manpower to patrol the posts. Basically, whoever wanted to take advantage of this Doing damage at this time is equivalent to causing trouble for yourself.
Master Li, who had just taken a few steps, heard a clear and soft female voice. He turned around and his eyes fell exactly behind the tall young man... but he only saw a black head hanging on his chest.
She seemed to realize that he had turned back, and she lowered her face hurriedly, as if she was shy when facing strangers... But her voice was clear and clear, and her words were clear and precise.
"That's annoying."
Zheng Quchi: "..."
Brother Sang: "..."
So fast!
Compared with the procrastinating attitude just now, the response speed is too fast!
No, he couldn't have just been pretending to be polite. Why did she agree immediately after just one word of advice, as if she had been waiting for others to ask for help?
Brother Sang felt helpless when one of them dared to speak and the other dared to respond. He finally believed that these two people might actually have the same chemistry.
"Then come in."
Brother Sang nodded to Master Li and let the door open, but when he turned around, he couldn't help but knock Zheng Quchi on the head.
Net trouble.
Zheng Quchi held her head, feeling that she must have been scolded by her brother.
Master Li shook his heavy robe, and as soon as he stepped into Sang's house, he smelled the aroma of cooked food coming from the kitchen, which was particularly tempting.
He guessed that they were preparing New Year's Day meals at home just now. I wonder what people in Fu County would prepare for New Year's Day?
I guess it should be quite abundant, otherwise I wouldn't be so busy so late.
He stepped into the courtyard and glanced around the Sang family inadvertently.
There was insufficient light at night, and the gray illumination from the oil lamp on the ground was reflected on a wall, a section of eaves, a wooden corridor, halls and halls... half-exposed, partial and complete, it all made him aware of the construction of the Sang family. Be different.
When he was outside the courtyard wall just now, he was a little surprised at the height of the Sang family's courtyard wall.
Other people's fences, white-grey brick walls, etc. are all "like holding a pipa to half-cover the face", which is like covering the face to death.
There is no room for imagination. Looking at the Sang family from the outside, except for a plaque on the door that can identify it as a house, from other directions it looks like a fortress surrounding the center. Nothing can be seen.
No wonder when he asked for directions in Hegou Village, others pointed him in the direction casually. At that time, Saw questioned the other party's perfunctoryness, but they all said that as long as he was not blind, he could find Sang Zhai.
It's because its existence has become a benchmark for Hegou Village.
Out of professional habits, Master Li inspected the wall.
The workmanship used is not the soil ramming method commonly used in towns and counties, nor is it built with burned bricks, but it is as strong and hard as cutting out square stones of the same size. It is probably Sanhe soil... Then what about the outer layer of paint? What is it?
He came closer and smelled it. After applying it for a long time, there was only a faint pungent smell of grease. However, he was experienced and knew that this could not only prevent the wall mud from cracking, but was also very useful for preventing insects and damage. .
These...are all things that Sang Xuanqing himself researched privately?
Master Li is becoming more and more curious about her now, and also very interested in these new things she made.
While he was admiring Sang Xuanqing's house design, he suddenly noticed a sight that could not be ignored.
He raised his eyes and saw the person standing in the corridor.
His dark blue hair on the temples was blown by the wind. He was dressed in white clothes, covered with a silver fox fur coat. Under the lamp, his contours were impeccable, especially his lips, which were as red as rouge. .
What is even more dazzling and beautiful is the red gauze at his eyes, dancing enchantingly behind his ears.
It's still clear when it encounters snow, but even brighter after frost.
Just when Master Li was secretly shocked, how could such an unusual person appear in the Sang family, an ordinary country craftsman, when he heard an urgent female voice coming from the side to reprimand him.
"Liu Fengmian, how long have you been standing there blowing the wind? Aren't you afraid of the cold?"
When Master Li saw the "shy" little girl from before, he ran over in a few steps and took the man's hand.
The man, who exuded an aura that made Master Li uncomfortable, looked away from the strange and deep gaze that was focused on him, and he meekly accepted the little girl's hard-spoken and soft-spoken education.
"who is he?"
Yu Wensheng asked knowingly.
Zheng Quchi was surprised: "Did you hear it?"
Yu Wensheng smiled harmlessly and gently: "Don't you think that I don't know about the presence of a stranger in my family?"
"Are you unhappy?"
"How can I see it?"
"Do you mind Master Li?"
"Oh, his name is Master Li."
Of course Yu Wensheng knew about this Master Li. He even sent someone to check on this person before.
Although nothing suspicious was found on him in the end, Yu Wensheng did not think that this person named Master Li was really as clean as the investigation background showed.
The two of them were just like playing Tai Chi. No one was willing to talk properly. In the end, Zheng Quchi couldn't stand it anymore and told him directly.
"He...he is a craftsman that my second brother met in Guixuanling. He came here specifically to see him."
"Your second brother is not at home, but you let a stranger into the house. Aren't you afraid that he will tell lies and deceive you?"
If she hadn't been Sang Xuanqing herself, she might have been stunned by his questioning.
Well, how to explain to him? She was really sure that the other person was not a liar, so she asked her brother to let him in.
Seeing that Zheng Quchi was silent and speechless to avoid his questions, Yu Wensheng thought to himself, there is a wild man out there who didn't know where, and he didn't even say a word to her, and she started to favor him?
"Even if he is familiar with your second brother, but your second brother is not at home, is it possible that he will stay here to celebrate the festival with us on the first day?"
She glanced at Master Li in the yard and whispered to him: "Second brother is determined not to come back tomorrow. He won't be able to wait for anyone, so I guess he will realize what he wants and leave."
"Then where are you going to arrange for him to sleep tonight?"
You know, the Sang family only has three rooms in total.
"Let him sleep with my brother."
Yu Wensheng heard this, but said nothing more.
He had a smile like spring breeze and drizzle on his face, but his eyes were cold. Why did Master Li suddenly come to Sang's house and stay shamelessly even though he knew that Sang Xuanqing was not at home?
"Tonight I need to follow the rules of my Liu family and copy the memorial prayers at the ancestral hall without being disturbed. You and Yaomei can sleep in the same room first."
With that said, he returned to the room and naturally closed the door in front of her.
Zheng Quchi: "..."
Is she noisy? What kind of prayer did he have to keep vigil and copy, so he had to drive her away?
Seeing the interaction between the two, Li Shi was confused until Brother Sang explained to him: "I am Sang Xuanqing's eldest brother, that is my third sister, and the other is my third sister's husband."
Only now did Master Li understand the relationship between the two people.
But at the same time, he increasingly felt that the man named "Liu Fengmian" was weird.
Maybe Sang Sanmei's appearance, except for the black spots... I didn't take a close look at it, but overall, because of "Liu Fengmian"'s outstanding appearance and temperament, she married a country girl, which really makes people wonder what's going on. Any problem.
For Sang Xuanqing's sake, it seems necessary to check the background of this person named "Liu Fengmian".
"Your third sister-in-law looks quite special..."
The feeling that that man gave him was that he was either rich or noble, and he had an indescribable aura in his every move, because he had met too many such people every day, but he was even deeper than the abyss, making it difficult to fathom.
He was sure that this man named "Liu Fengmian" was anything but simple.
As for Sang Xuanqing's third sister, who is so simple and ignorant of world affairs, it is very likely that she was deceived by his deceptive appearance.
Brother Sang thought he was talking about the gauze on Liu Fengmian's eyes, so he explained: "He has an eye disease and cannot see bright light."
After saying that, when he saw Zheng Quchi coming over, he was very satisfied with Yu Wensheng's understanding this time and said: "We only have three rooms in our house, so please stay with me tonight."
However, Master Li hesitated and said, "This is too troublesome for Brother Sang."
"The visitor is a guest. Let's spend the night first."
——
Late at night, when everything was quiet, there were two groups of people circulating, one after another "visiting" the Sang family.
But in the end, with varying degrees of injuries on their bodies, they managed to sneak into Sang's house.
When Yu Wensheng saw Wei Yao coming late at night, he asked, "Why are you injured?"
At this time, Wei Yao was in a miserable state, his hair was messy and tangled with dead grass, his clothes were covered in mud, and most importantly, his arms and thighs were injured.
"It's too scary. Is Madam's house some kind of prison city? Hidden weapons are hidden in the trees, and there are also hidden weapons in the grass. Even the walls are covered with stinging wooden thorns. It's really hard for me to be alive and see the general now. Died."
Yu Wensheng looked at Wei Yao with disgust and cried and complained.
He really didn't expect that the ordinary Sang house would secretly lay so many traps...
It seemed that Sang Xuanqing was not wronged. He had done too much detailed work, which gave rise to an extreme sense of crisis. He was afraid of being assassinated at home without knowing it.
——
On the other side, after Brother Sang fell asleep, Master Li opened the door and walked to the corridor. He saw the saw lying on the ground in pain, tearing out a bloody calf from the iron tool.
As soon as he saw that Gongshu was about to lose, Zaozi complained in a miserable voice: "Master, this Sang family is too dangerous!"
Gongshu Jiruo squatted down and looked at it with the faint light: "Is this...a bear trap?"
"Yes, I never expected that I would avoid the thorns embedded in the courtyard wall and the wooden thorn barbs on the wall, but I could not escape the animal trap buried in the grass!"
Master Li saw that his injuries were fine and only caused pain in the flesh, so he asked, "Didn't you alarm anyone?"
"No, I tried my best to stabilize the string that was pulled around the inside of the courtyard wall. Fortunately, we public losers are good at cracking the mechanism, otherwise ordinary people would definitely..."
"Dang-dang-dang--"
His face turned pale.
(End of chapter)
