However, there was no time for her to think about these issues at this time, because the two people had almost reached the downstairs of the waterside pavilion, and the sound of their voices could be heard faintly.
"Sir Qian, please come here. This is a garden I bought from a local businessman before. The scenery is pretty decent, and no one comes here. It is quiet and secluded, which is convenient for us to talk about things."
"Master Chu, you have such good eyesight!" Qian Poxin's voice sounded, "I've looked along the way and the scenery in your garden is really nice."
"A small place is far less prosperous than the capital city, but it's still passable."
"There is a waterside pavilion in front of you. Once you go upstairs, you can have a panoramic view of most of the garden. It's very cool. Let's go upstairs and talk!"
Shen Tianshu was sitting on the waterside pavilion. When she heard this, she could no longer think about why Qian Poxin was here. She was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
The purpose of the two people downstairs was very clear, and they were about to enter the water pavilion.
Shen Tianshu looked around anxiously. The second floor of the waterside pavilion was a large flat floor without any obstruction. There was not even a pillar that could allow her to hide her figure.
Qian Poxin obviously came here hiding his whereabouts. If the two of them found out that she had caught them, it would be difficult for her to walk out of the Chu family courtyard alive today.
The backer of Prince Rui's Mansion is usually a life-saving talisman, but at this time, it will become her life-saving talisman.
All they had to do was fake drowning.
What should we do? You can't jump off the waterside pavilion the moment the other person goes upstairs, right?
I heard that the two of them had entered the waterside pavilion and even started to climb the stairs. Shen Tianshu turned his head and looked at the water to the side, and actually began to think about the possibility of jumping.
But how to cover up the sound of jumping off the building, how not to be discovered, and how to get ashore after falling into the water are all problems.
At the same time, the sound of footsteps going up the stairs became increasingly clear.
When Shen Tianshu began to feel desperate, Gao Xiuer suddenly grabbed her and quickly walked to the west corner of the waterside pavilion.
The west side is the farthest corner from the stairs, but the entire second floor of the waterside pavilion is unobstructed, so it will only be a matter of time before it is discovered.
After arriving at the west corner, Shen Tianshu felt the water droplets splashing on his body. He immediately looked at the waterfall in front of him and began to think about the feasibility of climbing down the rockery.
Gao Xiuer found a depression in the ground, stretched out his hand to grab it, and lifted up a square wooden board from the ground.
A narrow space was exposed under the wooden board, and there was a wooden ladder inside.
Shen Tianshu was surprised, but there was no time for her to ask.
Gao Xiuer supported Shen Tianshu and wanted her to go down first, but Shen Tianshu pushed her down with his backhand, and then followed him down.
Just as Shen Tianshu was climbing down the ladder upside down, there was a slight tremor on the wooden floor on the second floor. She looked up and saw Qian Poxin and Chu Yichen already walking up to the second floor.
Fortunately, the two of them had their backs to her, so they didn't notice her presence.
Shen Tianshu quickly retracted his head and gently restored the wooden board above his head to its original shape.
The space under the wooden board was very small, it was close to the waterfall and there was no ventilation. It was extremely humid and hot, and it also exuded an unpleasant smell.
But Shen Tianshu obviously didn't care so much at this time. The two people upstairs had already started talking. She tried hard to put her ear close to the wooden board, trying to hear what the two were talking about in their private meeting.
But this location was really not good. Her ears were filled with the sound of rushing water, and she could only vaguely hear a few words such as Northwest, Chen Family, and News.
If she weren't afraid of exposing her identity, she would have wanted to push the board open a crack and listen carefully.
But Gao Xiuer was already anxiously tugging at the hem of her skirt to urge her.
"Madam, let's leave quickly. The Chu family's maid will come back soon and can't find us. I'm afraid trouble will happen again."
If Gao Xiuer hadn't reminded him, Shen Tianshu would have forgotten about it.
She immediately didn't care about continuing to eavesdrop, and quickly climbed down the stairs.
The space where the ladder is located is separate from the first floor of the waterside pavilion. It should be a specially made mezzanine.
Gao Xiuer explored the road ahead, followed the ladder all the way to the bottom, and groped around.
It took a long time to find a very hidden door.
She gently pushed the small door open, and then she discovered that this place was actually below the first floor of the water pavilion. Directly outside the door was the water's edge. There was only a limited narrow path that was slightly wider than one foot. If you were not careful, you would fall down. Into water.
Gao Xiuer arched her body as much as possible, lifted up her skirt with one hand and held it in her arms, raised the other hand to maintain balance, and walked carefully to the open space next to her.
After she walked over by herself, she turned around and reached out to help Shen Tianshu.
Fortunately, there are lush vegetation everywhere in the garden. With the cover of various scenery, the master and servant finally moved little by little to a position where they could not see the waterside pavilion.
At this time, Qian Poxin, who was on the second floor, seemed to hear something. He suddenly stopped talking, raised his head and looked around.
Chu Yichen said with a smile: "Don't worry, Mr. Qian, there is no one else in the garden today. The official has already sent everyone away."
Qian Poxin felt a little relieved after hearing this, nodded and said: "Master Chu, don't blame me for being vigilant. The main reason is that the matter is serious and it is better to be careful."
"What Mr. Qian said is true." Although Chu Yichen disagreed in his heart, he kept making promises. After all, Qian Poxin had promised that as long as he did well this time, he would transfer him back to the capital afterwards.
At his current age, he still has a chance to work hard after returning. Otherwise, he would have wasted his time in Huguang until he died.
Shen Tianshu took Gao Xiuer for a long distance in hiding before finally straightening up. He breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "How did you know that there was such a secret passage in the waterside pavilion?"
Gao Xiu'er whispered: "This slave is actually a blind cat who met a dead mouse.
"When I went upstairs, I thought the construction method of this waterside pavilion looked familiar.
"Generally, water pavilions are open on three sides for the convenience of viewing, but here the first floor is only open in two directions, and the west side is sealed tightly. It feels like I have seen it before somewhere.
"Later, after going upstairs, I found that the area of the second floor platform seemed to be larger than the one below. But when we walked over before, it seemed from a distance that it was as wide as the top and bottom.
"Then the servant suddenly thought that the maid of the Chu family had said that this garden was built by craftsmen from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so she guessed that there might be a secret secret.
"In the past, this practice was popular in some merchant homes in the south of the Yangtze River. When the slaves were still in the Liu family, they followed their masters to the rented garden to escape the summer heat. The children discovered this secret passage when they were playing hide and seek.
“I was young and didn’t understand it at the time, I just thought it was fun to have a secret passage.
"Only when I grew older did I realize that this secret passage was originally thought up by men who were looking for fun and were afraid of being caught by their wives at home.
"My wife came up the stairs to catch her, so she let her escape through the secret passage below."
After Gao Xiu'er finished speaking, she felt that she shouldn't taint Shen Tianshu's ears by saying these things. She quickly raised her head to check the direction and said, "Madam, let's go back to the pavilion quickly."
But Shen Tianshu shook his head and said, "We can't go back to the pavilion. Let's go in the opposite direction and take a detour directly back to Miss Chu's room."
Chapter 703 The life-preserving talisman becomes the life-saving talisman (1 update)
