Before dawn, Mu Qing left Tingmei Xiaozhu.
Hidden Valley's hidden piles in Suzaku City have disappeared. This is what Wang Yeqing learned in a short period of time.
Last night, Mu Qing learned for the first time from Wang Yeqing that there were some places in the city that were private properties of Hidden Valley just like the bookstores. The difference was that those places only served one person, the master Murong Yin.
When Wang Yeqing entered the city yesterday, the first thing she did was go to a certain place to "check in", only to find that the place was already empty. Then she looked for a few more places and found that there was still no one there, and no sign was left.
This is very abnormal. You must know that for an "old man" like Wang Yeqing, the meaning of the existence of those places includes surveillance and checks and balances. They are places that are more familiar than the bookstore.
All signs are confirming a guess: something happened in Hidden Valley, and Murong Yin tightened his strength.
The streets before dawn were gray and white, and Mu Qing finally gave up the idea of going to the bookstore along the clear stream. He was not on the same page with people like Li Fu, Chen Zhuo, and it would be difficult to ask for some truth.
In the lobby of Linxi Inn, the waiter was dozing behind the counter. Occasionally, there were early morning guests having morning tea. When they saw a young man coming back from outside so early, they all had a strange smile of understanding on their faces.
The location of the inn here is excellent, next to the Qingxi River, and only half a quarter of an hour away from the old courtyard. The scent of powder on this person's body cannot be faked. It is probably because someone from other places came here to hang out and have fun in the old courtyard. One night guest.
"Customers at No. 4, please stay." The waiter was very keen on the changes in the atmosphere in the lobby. He opened his sleepy eyes, saw a figure coming upstairs, and quickly called out to him.
Mu Qing stopped going upstairs, turned around, and saw the waiter approaching with a letter in his hand.
"This is the letter someone specified to leave for you after you left yesterday." the waiter said,
Mu Qing was stunned for a moment, but did not reach out to pick it up. He frowned and said, "Did you leave your name for that person?"
The waiter was a little confused: "The man had a gloomy face and only said that he was your friend, guest officer. He named Mu Qing and left him in Room 4."
"Is this your guest officer's name?"
Mu Qing nodded slightly, and the waiter breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That person is a little strange. He turned around and left after leaving such a sentence and such a letter." Of course, there was also a tael of white money.
Mu Qing calmly accepted the letter and returned to the guest room door on the far right side of the second floor with "Di4" written on it. The strands of hair caught in the crack of the door were still there. After Mu Qing opened the door and walked in, his eyelids suddenly shrank. Someone had come to the room.
On the small square table by the window, the tea set that should have been neatly placed on the tea cup has been used. The lid of the tea cup is tilted and not tightly closed, and there is still half a cup of cool tea left in it.
In this way, the other party never thought about covering up the traces, but clearly told him: I have been here.
For someone in this line of work, this is already a kind of expression of goodwill. Mu Qing thought to himself, walked to the table, opened the window wider, and opened the letter in his hand.
It's a letter from the bookstore, with two pieces of paper inside.
There was only one thing written on the first piece of paper, which was to remind Mu Qing that the employer had doubled the bounty for the task he had taken on, urging him to act as soon as possible.
The content written on the second piece of paper was simpler than that on the first piece of paper. A few words formed a sentence: Tell him that he can terminate this mission at any time and I will take responsibility.
The two pieces of paper contain conflicting contents, with different handwriting, and the ink stains on the second piece are older.
It is obvious that they were written by different writers and at different times.
Mu Qing was cautious and placed the two pieces of letter paper on the table with the backs facing up. He flattened the lower left corner and dipped his fingers into the cold tea and wiped them on.
At the corner of the letter paper, the light yellow tea quickly smudged, and as expected, a special monogram was revealed. The first piece of paper was a willow leaf, and the second piece of paper was intersecting swords.
I also figured out where it came from. Mu Qingjian frowned and didn't understand why a lower-level "Bixia" mission attracted such attention.
"One day's drive..." Mu Qing looked at the crowded street downstairs and fell into silence.
…
…
Before the hour came, it was the time for the people of Zhuque City to have their morning meal. Zhang Anping, wearing a coarse short coat, had already arrived at the door of the one-day carriage shop.
Hou Yiyong sat behind the counter, still immersed in eating a big bowl of fat sausage noodles. Zhang Anping swallowed his saliva and tapped the countertop gently, "Boss, I'm here to register."
"Ah, Lao Zhang, are you here? You are the first to come every day." Hou Yiyong stood up with a smile and took out a booklet for him.
After Zhang Anping took it, he picked up the hard bristle pen on the side, dipped it in the ink that had been dissolved several times with water, and while writing his crooked name, he sighed: "I couldn't have come earlier, I would have to earn more." Just a copper plate."
After he finished writing, he walked straight to the back of the garage, where his old buddy was still in the stable behind.
"Hey, Lao Zhang, wait a minute." Hou Yiyong stopped Zhang Anping.
He took out a beautiful summer dress for a child from under the counter, and said with a smile on his face: "I originally wanted to give it to Jiu'er with my own hands, but I couldn't find it when I went to your house yesterday. You can give it to her for me with these new clothes."
Zhang Anping frowned at the summer clothes, was silent for a moment, then raised his face and smiled with great gratitude: "The money from last time has not been used up, so let me thank you, my boss, for Jiu'er!"
"Thank you, thank you. When I first saw Jiu'er, I felt like I liked this child very much. By the way, where has she been recently? I haven't seen her for a long time."
There was a hint of murderous intent lurking deep in Zhang Anping's eyes, but he said with a familiar look on his face, "This child is just too naughty, so I sent her to a relative's house in the countryside to be educated."
"Oh, then you have to remember to find time to bring this dress to Jiu'er. I'm afraid that this summer will pass in a blink of an eye and it won't be suitable again in autumn. Children always grow up very fast."
Zhang Anping said "Of course, of course" repeatedly, walked to the stable in the backyard, took out the horse, put on the harness skillfully, connected to the carriage, and headed towards the South City Gate again.
The south city gate has only been open for half an hour, but there is already an endless stream of carriages loaded with medicinal materials and other goods.
Where there are many people, there is also a lot of customers. Zhang Anping stood by the city gate, squinting at the people coming and going. He still remembered that about a month or two ago, it was still early in the morning, and he picked up a young and kind-hearted guest.
At that time, for some unknown reason, Hou Yiyong began to pay "special attention" to him.
Today we waited for a quarter of an hour before we had our first guest.
This passenger has a beard and sharp eyebrows. He is probably around thirty years old. He is wearing a green shirt, which is a common businessman dress in Suzaku City, but he also exudes an elegant temperament.
The man came to Zhang Anping's carriage and glanced at him up and down, as if to confirm whether he could take on the job.
"There are always people who want to take a carriage here or there." Zhang Anping complained in his heart, but with a flattering smile on his face, he straightened his back silently, bulging his thigh and arm muscles, and the guest nodded with satisfaction. Enter the carriage.
There was no words during the whole process. Zhang Anping's smile froze on his face. After the man sat firmly, he wiped his face and asked first, "Boss, are you going to the medicinal materials trading market in the north of the city?"
"No, go to Qingyun Street."
"Okay, sit still!"
Zhang Anping turned his back, curled his lips, and drove the carriage very quickly.
The wheels of the carriage "knocked" over the bluestone road. On both sides of the peach and plum lane, there would be a peach tree and a pear tree at a distance. At this time, the fragrance was gone, and the thumb-sized green fruits were dotted on the branches, which was full of interest. Full of life.
Mu Qing kept the car curtains drawn and silently looked at the world outside the window.
Behind Taoli Lane is Nijiuzi Lane, which is still lively in the morning. The golden sunlight shines on the steaming heat, and the aroma of steamed buns seems to be a little stronger.
A group of children seemed to have been kicked out again. Mu Qing looked at them and saw that they all seemed to be young and unfamiliar faces. This time he did not stop the carriage. When the carriage arrived at Qingyun Street, he got out of the carriage and paid a dollar. Broken silver, turned and left.
"Hey, sir, wait a minute!" Zhang Anping raised the broken silver in his palm, felt its weight, and quickly called to Mu Qing.
After the disguise, Mu Qing turned around, narrowed his eyes, and showed a fierce aura. Zhang Anping quickly came up and said: "The fare from the south of the city to here only costs 100 Wen, and you have at least half a tael of silver."
Mu Qing was thinking deeply in his eyes and asked: "If you don't tell me, I won't know. Why are you stopping me?"
Zhang Anping quickly shook his head and said: "Everything you do must be done with your heart in mind. Although this is a small thing, it is these small things that can make my business last for a long time. Sir, please wait, I will change it into copper coins for you now." ." As he said that, he looked towards the shops on the street.
Mu Qing chuckled and said: "A random stack of rice paper here is worth more than half a tael of silver, so forget it."
Zhang Anping was a little embarrassed. He knew from his cousin that the four treasures of these literati were indeed very expensive.
Mu Qing pointed to the carriage and asked, "Is your carriage a one-day trip?"
There is a rising red sun on the top of the carriage, which is the symbol of a day's journey.
"Yes." Zhang Anping thought he understood what the other party meant, and suddenly smiled and said: "Young master, you can come to the car dealership to find me, and I can pay you back when I exchange it for copper coins."
Mu Qing shook his head, stroked his beard and smiled: "A junior in my family once said that when he came here once, he also rode in your carriage and did something elegant on the way."
"Why don't you follow suit today? You don't have to give me the extra copper coins."
There were quite a few wage grooms in the car dealership, so Zhang Anping was a little curious and asked, "I wonder what you want me to do, sir?
"When you go back, just stop by the Mudleg Alley that you passed just now and buy some coarse grains that can last for a long time and give them to the little beggars."
Zhang Anping's pupils dilated. For a moment, he thought the person in front of him was Hou Yiyong's subordinate. Later he realized that the person in front of him was much more temperamental than Hou Yiyong. He laughed twice before recovering. Come over and say, "Sure, I'll do it when I get back."
