Above the attic, Bai Ruoxuan put her hands on the railing and looked into the distance. A white pigeon flew up the stairs with fluttering wings. She reached out with her jade palm, grabbed the pigeon, and took out a small hollow bamboo tube from its right paw. She unscrewed the lid and poured the paper roll inside into the palm of her hand.
The scroll said: Everything goes well. Bai Ruoxuan raised a smile on her lips, walked slowly into the house, picked up a sprig of purple hair, and wrote on a small piece of paper: Act according to plan. He breathed a sigh of relief at the piece of paper, let the ink dry, and then rolled the piece of paper and put it in a bamboo tube.
When she let go, a burly leader walked into the room. Bai Ruoxuan sat on the chair and frowned: "You guys came back in such a hurry, could it be that something happened on Archi's side?" The leader looked embarrassed and lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, Protector, I haven't seen Leader Archi in the past few days, my subordinates." We were very puzzled. The leader did not give us any instructions, so we turned back and asked the Great Protector for instructions."
Bai Ruoxuan stood up and said, "Have you ever gone to our branch to look for it?" The leader said, "I have asked the brothers over there and their leader Aqi has not been there." Bai Ruoxuan thought, "That's strange. Yes, Archie has always been cautious, so why would he leave his post without permission?" She turned around and asked, "Where is that box now?"
The leader said, "I'll let you take care of that box. It's downstairs now." Bai Ruoxuan said, "Take me to see it now." The two hurriedly went downstairs. The black lacquered box was placed in the middle of the hall downstairs.
Bai Ruoxuan saw that the box was locked and asked curiously: "Did you lock this box?" The leader said: "This box was not locked when we got on the ship, and my subordinates didn't know it. But when we took it off the ship, it seemed that it was locked. Locked.”
Bai Ruoxuan secretly channeled her inner strength, stretched out her fingers, and a burst of energy flew out from her fingers. With a "clang" sound, the copper lock broke. Bai Ruoxuan said: "Open it." The leader bowed down and opened the box. He suddenly stepped back a few steps: "Ah! Yes, it's Leader Aqi. Why is he in this box?"
Bai Ruoxuan's face seemed to be covered with a layer of frost. She breathed a sigh of relief and said: "You are really stupid, you didn't help him out." The leader asked his men to lift the man out and lay him flat on the ground. The leader touched Archi's pulse, then probed his breath and said, "Protector, Leader Archi seems to have been poisoned."
Bai Ruoxuan took out a small bottle from her waist and threw it to the leader and said, "Give him this medicine three times a day, and he will recover in three days. Go." The leader responded: "Yes." He asked his men to carry it. Qi went out.
Looking at the figures of several people, Bai Ruoxuan put one hand on the corner of the table and gritted her teeth and said: "You Xiao Yunfan, you actually... actually teased me. Next time you fall into my hands, I will break your hands and feet." Muscles." She then thought: "Xiao Yunfan was clearly poisoned by sorrow, so how could he be fine? It's really strange. Could it be that he was pretending to be poisoned at that time to show me?
But it's absolutely impossible. He looked in extreme pain at that time, how could he just pretend? Fortunately, the leader was quite clever and didn't see Archie coming to repay me immediately. If I really send Archie back like this, I, as a protector, will lose all my face.
In any case, Xiao Yunfan, this little thief, is too cunning, and I must be very alert to deal with him. She closed her eyes and pondered for a moment, and then said to a maid in palace clothes next to her: "Yuan Jin, go quickly and inform Ali that the plan has changed, and invite him to come see me." "As she said that, she picked up a token and handed it to Yuan Jin.
Xuanbing Villa is located at the foot of Qixia Mountain, and is the property of the Guan family within a ten-mile radius. Guan Shanyue is nearly sixty years old, and his daughter Guan Xiaohong is still young. He often thinks about getting married to his son Guan Xiaofeng as soon as possible, so that he can enjoy family happiness early.
After discussing with his wife Ding, he has married the Liu family in Hudong. The Liu family is a wealthy family in Qixia Town, and the two families also have business contacts with each other. After the Guan family proposed the marriage, the Liu family was also very happy. After the Guan family's betrothal gift was paid, both parties also chose an auspicious day to prepare for the happy event.
Guan Xiaofeng's wedding was approaching in seven days, but Guan Xiaohong was not at home. On this day, Guan Shanyue was sitting in the main hall and after reading the account books, he ordered his servants to call Cao Kui, the leader of the hospital. Cao Kui is a middle-aged man over fifty years old. In his early years, he opened a tavern to teach apprentices. Later, due to the ignorance of his apprentices, he attracted several underworld forces and ended up with his family ruined.
When he was down and out, he was lucky enough to meet Guan Shanyue. Guan Shanyue recognized people with his giant eyes, so he accepted him as the leader of the nursing home. He got wives and concubines for him and treated him like brothers and sisters. Cao Kui has been working hard for the Guan family over the years, and Hu Longhai and his gang were also recommended by Cao Kui.
Guan Shanyue saw Cao Kui come in and said, "Brother Cao, sit down and talk." Cao Kui sat down and said, "Brother, what's the important thing to send you?" Guan Shanyue said, "Oh, it's not this girl Xiaohong. Her brother The wedding will be held in a few days, and this crazy girl has gone somewhere. Madam has not seen her around for a few days, so she is hanging up this heartless little thing. "
Cao Kui said with a smile: "As the saying goes: the hearts of parents are concerned, and the hearts of children are stone-hearted. It is normal for a sister-in-law to be worried about her. The second son of my family has only been out for a few days, and there is a lot of trouble in my family. Since my brother and sister-in-law are concerned, then the little brother Let's set off to bring the young lady back." Guan Shanyue said: "Originally, it would have been fine for Xiao Sun and the others to do this, but now Xiao Sun is ill."
Cao Kui stood up and said, "Brother, there is no need to say more. I will take care of you." He turned around and left. By chance, a servant rushed in and bumped into Cao Kui. Cao Kui was a practitioner, so he naturally stood upright, while the servant fell to the ground.
Cao Kui pulled him up and said with a smile: "Han Gou, why are you so reckless?" Han Gou stood up and gasped: "It's not good, it's not good, something big has happened." Cao Kui said: "What's the big deal?" Silly Dog trembled: "Hu...Uncle Hu, he's dead."
Guan Shanyue walked quickly to the door, his face changed and said: "What are you talking about?" The silly dog said: "Uncle Hu's body was found outside the village." Guan Shanyue and Cao Kui looked at each other and hurried to the door of the village. There were a bunch of villagers standing at the entrance of the village, and several of Hu Longhai's disciples lay on his body and howled bitterly.
Guan Shanyue and Cao Kui pushed Zhuang Ding away and came closer. When Cao Kui saw that the corpse was Hu Longhai, he couldn't help but threw himself to the ground and cried out: "Second Brother Hu." Guan Shanyue took a breath of air and swayed. A flash. He wailed: "Let's all disperse. Brother Cao will carry Brother Hu to the hall."
In the inner hall of Xuanbing Villa, Guan Shanyue said with a pale face: "Brother Cao, can you tell the cause of Brother Hu's death?" Cao Kui said: "Brother Hu poisoned someone to death." He touched Hu Longhai's body with his hand and found a letter. .
He picked up the letter and handed it to Guan Shanyue. Guan Shanyue tore open the cover and took out the letter page. He saw that it read: "Before noon tomorrow, Hongye Pavilion will hand over the Map of Mountains and Rivers. Otherwise, Hu Longhai's fate will also be Qian Jin's fate." .”
Guan Shanyue felt dizzy, the letter in his hand fell to the ground, and he fell backward. If it weren't for Cao Kui's quick eyesight and quick hands, he would have fallen to the ground. Guan Shanyue's face turned pale and he said dejectedly: "I didn't expect that after so many years of hiding from the world, my friends in the world would still refuse to let me go."
Cao Kui picked up the letter paper on the ground and read it carefully and said: "Brother, what is the Map of Mountains and Rivers that the other party wants from you?" Guan Shanyue said: "Oh, this "map of mountains and rivers" was handed down by the ancestor of my Guan family. The treasures record the distribution of mineral deposits in various parts of the Ming Dynasty.
In the past, our ancestors used this picture to establish Xuanbing Villa, which laid the foundation of the Guan family. When our ancestors were here, they burned this picture. My brother had a very good memory and later silently recorded a copy. It's a pity that he died young and gave me this map before he died, hoping that I could consolidate the foundation of Xuanbing Villa.
Although I got a lot of benefits from this picture. However, I often have a little worry. The mineral deposits involved in the picture belong to our Ming Dynasty, and it is a serious crime for my Guan family to exploit the mines privately. Furthermore, weapons are dangerous objects after all, and dangerous objects can cause great harm.
An eminent monk from Dajue Temple once advised me, and from then on, I decided to wash my hands of myself in a golden basin and no longer forge weapons for my friends in the world. I also destroyed the drawings and molds of the forged weapons one by one. Who would have thought that someone would ask me for this today. "
After hearing this, Cao Kui sighed: "The common man is not guilty, but he is guilty of carrying the treasure. Then brother, how many people know the secret of this treasure map?" Guan Shanyue said: "Only my brother and I know the secret of this treasure map. My brother After his death, only I know now. How could the other party know that I have this plan when they hold Hong'er hostage?"
Guan Shanyue was wondering when Cao Kui asked: "Brother, does the eldest brother of the Guan family have any heirs?" Guan Shanyue said: "After my brother died, I originally wanted to leave my sister-in-law and nephew to live at home, but my sister-in-law insisted on remarrying. I I'm afraid the only male members of the next generation of the Guan family are Xiao Feng and my nephew."
Cao Kui lowered his head and pondered for a moment and said: "Brother, do you think the eldest brother of the Guan family will tell your nephew the secret of the picture, and your nephew will come back and ask for this thing from you." Guan Shanyue pondered for a moment and said: " Brother, what you say may make sense. My brother gave me this picture before he died that day. I think his intention was to let me consolidate the Guan family's property. On the other hand, he also wanted me to treat his wife well based on this picture. Son.
You know who I am. It's not that I can't tolerate my sister-in-law, but that my sister-in-law insists on remarrying. I wanted to keep my nephew by my side, but she wouldn't let me. If you say that my nephew came back to seize the treasure map, he killed Brother Hu. Then all this is considered my fault. "
Cao Kui said: "Brother, this is just my guess and cannot be taken seriously. However, I have a question. If it was really your nephew who asked you for a picture, would you give it to him?" Guan Shanyue said: "This picture is mine. Brother, as long as my nephew asks for it, I will naturally give it to him.
But if I give this picture to him, it will inevitably harm him. My eldest brother only has such a bloodline. If my nephew gets this picture, he will naturally return to the Guan family's old business. Once someone reports to the court about illegal mining, there is no guarantee that our group will not be implicated. At that time, my entire Guan family will be executed. "
Cao Kui said: "Brother said this, and I understand very clearly. Now you are the only one who has seen this picture, so why not ask someone to forge a fake picture to get through. This way, you can save the young lady and keep this picture intact." In the wrong hands."
Guan Shanyue thought for a moment and said, "That's very good. Mr. Han from the accountant is the best at this, so he can show off his skills. However, I am still worried that Hong'er is in the hands of the other party. When the other party takes the map, we should not hand it over to anyone." What should I do?”
Cao Kui solemnly said: "If the other party insists on refusing to hand over the person, then we will tell him where the real picture is. If we can't see the lady, the real picture will not be given to them. The other party wants the picture, but they can't get it. Figure, will naturally talk to us again. At that time, the handover location will be agreed upon.
Once they leave, my little brother will track them down personally, find out their lair, and then try to save people. As for the elder brother, in addition to a few of our experts, there must be many guests who will come to attend the young master's wedding and will arrive early. With these friends from all walks of life around, I understand that the other party will not dare to make mistakes. When we rescue the young lady, we will catch them all in one fell swoop to eliminate our worries. "
Guan Shanyue breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Brother, this plan is feasible, I will do it as you wish."
