Behind the kitchen, in the courtyard filled with the stench of swill, a shirtless bandit emerged from the linen tent, got off the bamboo couch, and lit an oil lamp.
He stared at Han Ximeng and Zheng Haizhu in surprise.
Like a toad in a pond staring at a pair of swans.
The mother-in-law rolled her eyes and said: "These are the rice seedlings collected by the first and second masters. They will be kept here for a few days before consummating the marriage. You open the door and escort them in. I will go to the kitchen to get some for them. Food for my son.”
The shirtless guy wanted to glue his eyes to the two women.
After a moment of confusion, he seemed to understand his mother-in-law's instructions. He sucked the saliva back from his open teeth, picked up the key chain from his waist, and opened the mottled door with a clanging sound.
At the door of the door, there were dark dung stinks than the courtyard, and the sound of "snoring and snoring, 咩 咩" sounded in the depths of the darkness.
It turned out to be a fairly small livestock shed.
The shirtless man picked up the oil lamp on a pottery plate and illuminated the wooden board in the corner which was raised by a few stones: "You guys, sleep here."
After saying that, he glanced at Zheng Haizhu's bound wrists. After all, he didn't dare to make a mistake, turned around and went out, locking the door again.
There are two small skylights near the thatched roof of the shed.
The faint light from the starry night leaked into the shed, which was better than nothing and helped Zheng Haizhu's eyes adapt to the darkness.
She tried her best to open her wrists a little to increase her mobility, then squatted down and unbuttoned the baggage, shook out three or four robes from inside, knelt on the dirty wooden board, and spread them out with difficulty.
Han Ximeng looked at her weakly.
Two hours ago, on the boat, after Zheng Shoukuan cut his own rope with a hidden pair of scissors, Zheng Haizhu did not hesitate to order his nephew to dive into the water to escape and report to the official, while he stayed.
Han Ximeng has taken in this pair of aunt and nephew from Fujian who came to seek refuge with their craftsmanship for half a year.
While watching dragon boats during the Dragon Boat Festival, she was squeezed into the water on the bridge. Zheng Haizhu jumped in with great agility to save her ashore. Therefore, she knew that Zheng Haizhu was very good at water.
But Han Ximeng is a landlubber.
Today, Zheng Haizhu did not abandon her.
At that time, Zheng Shoukuan slipped out of the bamboo screen at the stern of the boat like a loach and slipped into the river. Zheng Haizhu moved his hands with difficulty, fished out the menstrual belt from the bag, found two porcelain bottles of water red and black blue dyes, and poured them in order In the center of the piece of cloth, he said firmly to Han Ximeng, "I will put it on for you."
Facts have proved that this trick indeed deceived the bandit leader and bought time to protect Han Ximeng's innocence.
At this moment, Han Ximeng just looked at this maid in silence, who he had only just met but who had brought him a sense of security many times.
She was not going to ask the question, "Can Kuan call in the officers and soldiers from the inspection department you pointed out?"
As a master, being quiet and strong while waiting in a desperate situation is also an encouragement to loyal subordinates.
Zheng Haizhu laid out her Luo Yi, turned around and said to Han Ximeng: "Miss, just take a rest for now."
Han Ximeng sat on it, moved in, leaned against the wall made of thatch mixed with yellow mud, and said softly: "You can come and lean on it like this, it will be more comfortable. Don't sleep yet. Didn't that woman say that she would go to us?" Are you making food? We have to eat, otherwise we won’t have the energy to go out."
Zheng Haizhu was quite relieved to see that she did not lose her energy.
Then he climbed onto the wooden board, closed his eyes to rest for a moment, and said, "Miss, I dare to ask, has the Han family offended any villain before?"
Han Ximeng understood what she meant and agreed: "I also find it strange. When the one-eyed dragon robbed the ship, he broke into the hatch and called out my maiden name. But when my father was an official during his lifetime, his official reputation was clear, and my uncle always expressed his affection. Yu Danqing, how come there is talk of political enemies in the officialdom? My family has never forced or tortured tenants or employees in the shop, so who can we offend?"
"Other than Shou Kuan and I, who else knows about Miss sneaking out this time?"
Han Ximeng denied: "How could anyone else know? If they went to report to uncle and aunt, when we arrived in Suzhou, uncle and aunt would have been so anxious that they would have sent a housekeeper to chase us. The embroidery senior had a perverse temper and did not like such publicity. But I was afraid that my uncle and aunt would be frightened and report to the official, so I only left a letter saying that I came to Suhu area to visit an expert."
Zheng Haizhu nodded and said thoughtfully: "In Gusu City, when we visited the senior, we also concealed his identity. Shou Kuan was very tight-lipped, and he was helping to clean the court in the embroidery workshop every day, so he would not reveal anything. Ah yo...hiss"
While Zheng Haizhu was talking, she was suddenly bitten by a mosquito. Mosquitoes at the beginning of autumn are as fierce as tigers. Mosquitoes in this waterside place are especially poisonous. They sting people like thorns piercing the flesh. It stings and itches, making her scream out instinctively. The sound comes.
Han Ximeng smiled bitterly and joked: "Mosquitoes only like you? I have been bitten several times."
The two of them were raising their hands to kill mosquitoes, but suddenly they heard a man's voice from the other end of the sheep pen and pig pen: "You two, I'll give you the mosquito net."
Despite the mellow and pleasant voice, Han and Zheng were also completely shocked.
There is actually a man locked up in this thatched shed?
…
There was a soft squeaking sound deep in the greenhouse, as if the man was stepping on the bamboo couch. Then, the sheep in the pen, which had been sleeping at night, sensed someone walking by and started barking again.
The sound of iron chains came from far and near. It was only when the figure approached the skylight that Zheng Haizhu could clearly see the general outline of the man.
He is of medium build and wears a long robe that is probably the most common type of jacket worn by men in the Ming Dynasty. He is holding a ball of something in his hand and holding it up on a long pole.
The man stood still seven or eight steps away and said slowly, "Just now, I was afraid that I might have made you two confused and confused late at night. I didn't say anything right away. I thought I'd wait until daybreak to talk. I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your discussion." , plead guilty to the crime. A busy girl comes and gets the hemp tent. There are bamboo poles at the four corners of the tent, just stick it on the ground."
Han Ximeng saw that this man was also a prisoner with the same illness and spoke politely, so he didn't want to brush off his good intentions and told Zheng Haizhu, "Go and thank this gentleman."
Zheng Haizhu hurriedly stepped forward and when he took the mosquito net, he bowed to thank him and asked curiously: "Those gangsters actually gave Mr. mosquito net?"
The man said: "It was brought by a young gangster during the day. I heard the guard call him the second in charge. It's really strange. The gangsters who robbed me were all fierce and vicious, but the second in charge that I saw after being locked up was kind and cheerful."
Han Ximeng stood up, and regardless of whether the other party could see or not, he made a blessing ceremony and said, "Excuse me, sir, why were you kidnapped by them?"
The man sighed and said, "They robbed me of my livelihood and killed my servants, but they didn't kill me. Instead, they tied me up and locked me up in a gangster's den. They didn't let me write a letter home to ask for ransom. I I guess they want to hand me over to my enemies. My deadline may be within these few days."
When Han Ximeng heard this, he couldn't tell whether it was a feeling of compassion for an animal that hurt its own kind, or whether it was the chivalrous spirit in his heart that suddenly emerged in the dangerous situation. He said calmly: "Sir, don't give up on yourself. If you act according to the opportunity, you may be able to escape. Even if something unexpected happens to you, please tell us your identity right now. If you guess who your enemy is, please let us know. If the maid and I can go out, we can inform your family and report to your official position."
