"Could it be that Du Xingshou's entire mind is only on the prince?"
Du Xingshou glanced down at Qi Zhiheng, only to find that he didn't care about Song Bojian's words, but was concentrating on tasting the wine in his hand.
Her heart trembled slightly, and her eyes quietly moved to Song Bojian, only to find that he was staring at her with a trace of amusement in his eyes.
She chuckled lightly and sat back down: "Master Song, please don't make fun of the slave family. The slave family works for the prince, and they don't dare to have any inappropriate thoughts about the prince."
Qi Zhiheng put down the wine glass in his hand, turned his eyes to Du Xingshou, and glanced at her with cold and indifferent eyes: "Is there any news about what I asked you to inquire about?"
Du Xingshou didn't feel the warning in that look. He immediately restrained his caution and replied respectfully: "There is indeed something suspicious in the account book that the prince brought back from the underground black market."
"It is clearly recorded in the account book that on the night before Duke Jingguo sent someone out of the city, a man named Zhou Ke bought a young girl for fifty-eight taels of silver."
"The slave family originally wanted to investigate based on Zhou Ke's clue, but unfortunately the old woman who bought and sold girls had her neck wiped by someone."
Qi Zhiheng's mouth twitched, recalling the scene that night.
Who knew that Mu Nanxi's dead girl was so capable? When he tried to stop her, the old woman's blood was already splattered three feet high.
That damn woman ruined his affairs. Why on the way to Zui Chun Tower today, when he encountered her having an affair with the young master of Dian Kingdom, did he impulsively take him away and also give out the defense plan?
Du Xingshou noticed something was wrong with Qi Zhiheng's expression and hurriedly asked: "What's wrong with the prince?"
"Nothing, continue."
Du Xing nodded and continued: "The slave family told the sisters to pay attention to Zhou Ke's name. A few days ago, a sister told me that the young master of the Li family came to Zuichun Tower for entertainment, and one of the few people following him was named Zhou Ke. He is the son of a wealthy family in the capital."
"It would make sense if Duke Jingguo was working for the Li family." Song Pajian glanced at Qi Zhiheng with a slight glance.
Officials were worried that Qi Zhiheng was hiding something about the defense of the North, so they asked Mu Qing to conduct a secret investigation to verify whether Qi Zhiheng was hiding anything and whether he had second thoughts about the court.
It is logical to think so.
But who is that person on Zhuangzi outside the capital city? Why did Mu Qing secretly send a woman to that village?
Qi Zhiheng's eyes narrowed slightly, with a trace of suspicion appearing in his eyes.
"This matter needs to continue to be investigated and cannot be taken lightly."
Zhenbei Palace.
"Princess, come and see my new red scorpion!" Shen Yi carefully carried a box larger than the palm of his hand and came to Mu Nanxi's Shaoyunxuan with high spirits.
Shen Yi noticed the dejected Chu Ning on Luohan's bed and asked with some confusion: "Huh? Who is this?"
Mu Nanxi stood up and pulled Shen Yi out of the house, frowning and whispering: "My mother, who just got her from that old guy Mu Qing, was severely hurt by Mu Qing, and is still feeling sad. "
"Ah? Did the prince give the defense plan to the princess?"
"Ah! How about replacing someone else!"
Shen Yi wondered, didn't the prince say that he should first hold the defense map and hold the princess, and the princess should detoxify first?
He was confused and sat down on the stone drum pier in the courtyard, not understanding what the prince was thinking.
"What red scorpion?" Mu Nanxi stared at Shen Yi curiously, eyes full of expectation.
Mu Nanxi couldn't wait to urge: "The poisonous one or the huge and beautiful one? Let me see it quickly!"
"Princess, you'll know just by looking at it."
Shen Yi pushed the box to the middle of the stone table with a proud face and carefully opened the lid.
A shiny red scorpion with a red body appeared in front of Mu Nanxi's eyes.
"Oh my god!" Mu Nanxi exclaimed.
"Ah?" Shen Yi didn't understand what she meant.
Mu Nanxi raised her eyebrows with disgust and waved her hand, telling him to be quiet and not to disturb the obedient Red Scorpion.
The body of the red scorpion is about half the size of a hand. Its pincers are short and powerful, covered with dense bristles. The four tail segments near the body are crystal clear, but the farthest tail segment is as dazzling as a ruby, with stinging tail. Long and sharp.
"Where did it come from? This is not a species of scorpion that existed in the Zhou Dynasty!" Mu Nanxi couldn't help but admire, it was the first time she had seen such a beautiful scorpion.
"Haha, this comes from a place thousands of miles away! Its venom can make people unable to breathe and stop their heartbeat!"
Shen Yi carefully picked up the red scorpion with tweezers and handed it to Mu Nanxi's eyes. Its crystal clear body was glowing with a faint luster, and it was extremely beautiful.
"Okay, okay, put it on, I will feed you well."
Shen Yi hurriedly put the scorpion back into the box, sealed the lid and pulled it into his arms, all at once without any hesitation.
"What do you mean, princess?"
"You showed it to me, didn't you want to give it to me?"
"No!" Shen Yi hugged the box harder, for fear that Mu Nanxi would grab it.
Mu Nanxi was speechless and cursed: "Then why do you show me what you're doing!"
"Share my joy!" Shen Yi pursed his lips and chuckled, hugging the box tightly and stood up to leave. "I see that the old lady is empty of energy and blood. I will go to the kitchen to make a bowl of bird's nest for the old lady and the princess!"
Mu Nanxi glanced hard at Shen Yi's leaving figure.
"When the red scorpion stings you, see if I don't watch you waiting to die!"
Mu Nanxi snorted coldly, thinking of her mother in the room, she glanced uneasily, returned to the room and sat on the cushions of the Arhat bed.
Chu Ning sat on the edge with red eyes and a haggard expression, obviously still sad for Mu Qing.
"What does mother like about father?" Mu Nanxi asked puzzledly.
The original owner never asked her mother about her father. Even if other children laughed at her for being a bastard, she never asked.
She often hears her mother's cries in her midnight dreams. She doesn't want to mention her mother's sadness anymore, hoping that time will make people forget the pain of the past.
But Mu Nanxi is not the original owner. She is not willing to wait for the passage of time and wait for Chu Ning to go through an unknown amount of time to forget those painful memories.
She decided that it was all about human effort, and she could find spiritual relief for her mother.
Chu Ning burst into tears and choked up: "The year I met your father, I was only sixteen years old. I followed my eldest brother to the capital. But I was playful and left my brother a farewell letter, agreeing to meet at the capital post in three months. See."
"When I passed through Tongmu Village, I met your father. At that time, he had just passed the scholar examination. He was a man in his prime. He was high-spirited and graceful in every move and word. No one could ignore his presence."
"When I first arrived in the Zhou Dynasty, I was curious about everything. That day, I went to see the scenery outside Tongmu Village alone..."
Seventeen years ago.
"Is anyone there! Help!"
It was difficult to walk in the forest, and Chu Ning did not understand the conditions in the mountains. He accidentally fell into a trap set by the hunters. His left leg was scratched by the sharp rocks in the trap, and blood could not stop pouring out.
She was in pain and scared, but the sky gradually darkened. When the wounds on her legs had scabbed over and tears started flowing out, no one came to save her.
"Am I going to die here today? My brother doesn't know my whereabouts, but he has ended up in a situation where no one even collects my body!" Chu Ning leaned against the wall of the pit with a pale face, desperately waiting for death to come. .
Just when Chu Ning was drowsy, the sound of footsteps could be heard overhead.
"Is anyone there?" She was so weak that she could hardly make a sound.
"who?"
"help me."
Mu Qing followed the sound to the trap and saw the weak-breathing woman inside through the moonlight.
Upon seeing this, Mu Qing immediately put down the basket full of wild vegetables and carefully climbed into the trap.
He was a man from a small village. He was strong and strong, but it took a lot of effort to pull Chu Ning out of the trap.
Mu Qing didn't care about the safety of men and women, and carried the person home. As he walked, he said comfortingly: "Little madam, just hold on. When I get back to the village, I will go find the doctor in the village and show the little madam."
His steps were unsteady, and his side face, against the backdrop of the moonlight, revealed a mixture of elegance and handsomeness. His eyes were deep and bright, full of perseverance and perseverance.
Chu Ning felt like she was being protected by warm wings. At that moment, her heart was deeply touched by his tenacity and warmth.
When Mu Qing carried him home, Chu Ning had already fainted from the pain.
It was a day after Chu Ning regained consciousness. She stood up with her weak body and noticed that her clothes had been changed and the wounds on her body had been carefully applied with herbs.
She blushed when she heard the footsteps approaching outside the house.
"Little lady, wake up!" Mu Qing came to the bed with a bowl of wild vegetable porridge.
Chu Ning shyly pulled up the coarse quilt, lowering her head and not daring to look at Mu Qing.
"Don't worry, little lady, the clothes are hand-made by my mother." Mu Qing scooped a small spoonful of wild vegetable porridge into the spoon, gently blew it to cool it, and brought it to Chu Ning's mouth. "My family is poor and we only have some wild vegetable porridge. Don't mind, little lady."
"I don't mind, I don't mind!" Chu Ning's face was like the peach blossoms in early spring, with a touch of pink passing by, shy and a little uneasy.
Mu Qing couldn't help but feel ripples in his heart when he looked at the delicate and gentle woman whose figure was as light as catkins and whose eyes were as clear as the surface of a lake.
On a sunny morning more than ten days later, Mu's mother went to the town to bathe someone, and Mu Qing brought the cooked soup into the house.
Mu Qing came in from outside the house, his back looking particularly broad in the sunlight.
Chu Ning heard the footsteps and leaned back on the bed. Her eyebrows were as gentle as water and as shy as flowers, making people want to get closer.
"It's cold in the morning, so it's better to close the windows."
Mu Qing put the decoction on the wooden shelf aside, closed the doors and windows tightly, and sat on the bedside, his eyes full of affection and love.
He gently grabbed Chu Ning's hand and pulled her towards him.
"It's merciful heaven for me to meet you. After I pass the scientific examination, I will marry Ning'er in a glorious way."
Their bodies were pressed together, and he could feel her soft skin and warm body temperature.
Chu Ning often lay on the bed. In order to make it more comfortable, Chu Ning would tie her clothes loosely. At this time, the clothes slipped off due to Mu Qing's movements, revealing her fragrant and tender skin.
Mu Qing gently stroked her arm. His fingers were as gentle as touching a treasure, sliding from her arm to her shoulder.
His touch and words made Chu Ning feel shy and happy, her heartbeat accelerated and her cheeks flushed.
Their breaths slowly blended together, and Chu Ning closed his eyes, enjoying the deep emotion and physical contact.
Desire burns in the heart, and the two of them are so deeply in love that they can't help themselves...
