The shopkeeper of Heming Tower bowed to the young man in brocade robes and said, "Your Majesty, you are here, do you want to have a meal?"
The young man's face showed a sneer, and he said to Turtle Gong: "Those who are with them are looking for people."
The shopkeeper's eyes were not filled with suspicion when the young man followed Mr. Gui to the bookstore at the east end.
Mr. Gui's eyes were sharp and he judged from his clothes and demeanor that Zheng Haizhu who was blocking the door was definitely not a low-level maid, so he greeted her politely: "My dear, I'm sorry."
Zheng Haizhu said calmly: "I heard it just now. There is a young lady from the Xu Mansion inside. You can't go in with your feet."
Her honorific title of "One Step" was addressed to the young master in brocade robes beside Mr. Turtle.
Zheng Haizhu recognized the woman's clothes in the hands of the young master. It was the red dress embroidered with tuberose flowers that Ru Li'er often wore. She guessed that this handsome and gentle young master was probably the same woman as Ru Li'er today. A deserted guest.
What she found strange was that the young master in brocade robes did not show any signs of irritation, nor was he as excited as the usual spectators.
In the young master's eyes, after the embarrassment faded away like dust leaves in the wind, there was a hint of helplessness.
He cupped his hands towards Zheng Haizhu, controlled his body shape, and did not dare to go beyond the rules. He looked into the book pavilion for a moment, and said to Gui Gong: "There is nothing weird in there."
Turtle Gong cursed in his heart: "Eggs."
Mr. Gui saw a lot of these officials and gentry scholars who came and went to Qingfeng Tower. They talked endlessly about their experiences in officialdom or their articles and poems, as if they were very capable, but in fact they were very shallow in the world of politics.
Turtle Gong smiled and shook his cheeks, and said to Xu Huizhen in the room: "Miss Xu, the person we are looking for is suffering from a serious disease, and will most likely be passed on to others. If Miss Xu sees a Don’t get close to a girl with big eyes, a melon-shaped face, and a mole between her right eyebrows.”
Xu Huizhen raised her face and looked at the two adult men outside the door with calm eyes and nodded, indicating that she understood.
This smart little girl was laughing at Mr. Turtle's clumsy tactics in her heart. She didn't want to say anything, but she suddenly saw her mother walking quickly from the flower hall, and she panicked slightly.
If her mother took her away, wouldn't this house be searched by the brothel?
So he looked like he was too lazy to talk to outsiders anymore, immersed himself in adjusting the paint, picked up the brush, and started tracing next to Zheng Haizhu's half-drawn embroidery pattern.
Gu Lanjie has walked to the door. She just heard the noise in the courtyard and was worried about her young daughter. She immediately left the table and came out to ask Cuiliu, the maid, about the situation.
At this time, of course she was too high-status to talk to Mr. Turtle. She only saw Zheng Haizhu standing guard outside the house. She felt relieved and said warmly, "How are you doing with your painting?" and then walked straight into the bookstore. .
Xu Huizhen showed her mother the Rosette Maria sketched by Zheng Haizhu with a cheerful expression, and introduced novel ideas for missionary work repeatedly.
Zheng Haizhu, who was outside the door, was nervous and secretly admired how Xu Guangqi's granddaughter, who was not even ten years old, was so calm and composed.
Seeing this, Mr. Jinpao looked relieved. He coughed slightly and politely said to Zheng Haizhu, "Farewell."
However, the turtle man rolled his eyes and walked around the east window of the book pavilion.
Zheng Haizhu guessed that he was looking under the window outside the wall to see if there were any traces of someone stepping on it. Fortunately, there is neither dirt nor shrubs outside the bookstore, only a layer of weeds.
A moment ago, Zheng Haizhu had looked around the house vigilantly, but could not see Ru Liier's footprints.
Unexpectedly, the Turtle Master suddenly raised his voice and shouted: "Ru Lei'er! You are hiding here!"
Everyone inside and outside the house was shocked.
In the moment of silence that fell, Mr. Gui put his sleeves back and held his head high. He said contemptuously into the room through the window lattice: "Ru Lier, what you put on your hair today is still the 'sailanxiang' that Mr. Ruan mixed for you!" "
Hearing his shouts, the maid Cuiliu and the shopkeeper of Heminglou from the direction of the flower hall, as well as the guards of several brothels, all ran over.
Gui Gongyue began to express his determination to win, walked back to the main entrance of the book pavilion, and said to everyone with a sinister smile: "I would like to teach you that the boy named Ruan is really not a good thing. He has a man named Ruan Dacheng. Brother, who is a Jinshi this year, yesterday sent people to Songjiang to find him, recruit him as a follower, and sent him to Yingtian Mansion to cater to the officialdom. What’s even more coincidental is that our owner of Qingfeng Tower is actually related to the master who supported Ruan Dacheng. . The boy surnamed Ruan was thinking about his own future, so naturally he did not dare to kidnap my girl again. So he came to my house at noon to report the letter, and also gave me a bottle of this, saying that it was made from orchids grown at home. Perfume made for Ru Lier."
Mr. Turtle took out a porcelain vase from his arms, pulled out the cloth stopper, and proudly issued an ultimatum to the people in the room: "Miss Lii'er, your sweetheart told us, everyone in the world knows that the fragrance of orchids is far away. Qing, the orchid he grows at home has a pungent smell. Not to mention Songjiang City, even in the entire Jiangnan, there is no second best. Just now, I can smell it clearly. The orchid over there by the window is more fragrant than yours. The smell on the red dress that came off was even stronger."
"Ah? Really?" The brocade-robed young man picked up the skirt in his hand, smelled it, and said seriously, "Why can't I smell anything pungent?"
Mr. Gui was not a decent person, and he didn't care about his face. He simply laughed and said: "Master Tao, I have been working in Qingfeng Tower for eighteen years. What girl has never smelled the smell of perfume and powder on her body? Naturally, her nose is sharper than that of a dog. Ouch, Miss Li'er is finally out!"
Following Mr. Gui's last words, everyone at the door turned to look into the room, only to see Ru Liier appearing at the desk with messy buns and an earthy face.
She smoothed her temple hair, waved her sleeves, knelt down to Gu Lanjie, kowtowed and said loudly: "Grandma, when the young lady and the girl came in, the slave family was already hiding in the house. The slave family is stupid and annoying, so now I have disturbed the young lady, please forgive me."
Gu Lanjie is so smart. When Ru Li'er came out a moment ago, Xu Huizhen's low "Hey" sounded more annoyed than frightened. It was obvious that she already knew who was hiding in the box. How could her mother, who was so close at hand? You won't be able to hear it.
My own daughter, Miss Zheng, and even this infatuated Ru Lier are all kind-hearted children.
With this thought in mind, Gu Lanjie raised his hand to signal Ru Liu'er to get up. Then he walked out of the room, glanced at everyone, and said to Cui Liu first: "Go back to the flower hall and report to the old lady that there are foreigners looking for you. It’s no big deal.”
"yes."
Cuiliu was far away, Gu Lanjie put on a straight face and said to the turtle fairly: "In our Ci'en Hall of the Xu family, girls from the Yue River area often come to pray. This girl, although I look unfamiliar, But at any rate, today happened under my nose. Now that you, Qingfeng Tower, have found her, there is no need to do anything for her."
As soon as Mrs. Xu Gu finished her words, the young master named Tao in Jinyi nodded his head and said as he meant, "This grandma is right. Don't worry, grandma. I will follow them and send Miss Lii'er back to the city."
He walked up to Ru Liier and handed her the skirt that he had been holding conscientiously.
Ru Liier took off her gorgeous clothes and ran away under the pretext of urinating. At this moment, she felt very owed to this new guest who had been deceived by her.
He thought of Ruan Lang, whom he had sworn to forever, and turned around because of his uncertain future. His affection became less affectionate. It was not as good as Mr. Tao, whom he had known for only three days, who knew how to pity him.
Ru Liier said softly, "I'm sorry, Mr. Tao," and looked at Zheng Haizhu at the moment when she turned around and put on her red jacket.
That look was self-deprecating to the extreme.
Immediately, Ru Liier understood the worry expressed by Zheng Haizhu, turned to Mrs. Xu Gu and said: "I will go to Ci'en Hall to help with the cleaning. I just ask grandma not to dislike it."
This shows that although I am sad, I will not have the stupid idea of committing suicide.
Gu Lanjie said gently: "God said, I am willing to show kindness and mercy to flow like a river. Girl, how could I dislike you? Come back when you have time."
After the group of people went out and walked away, Xiao Huizhen ran out, ran up to Gu Lanjie, and called "Mother" in a low voice like a cat.
Gu Lanjie gently stroked his daughter's hair, turned his head to Zheng Haizhu, who was standing solemnly, and said, "I just said, it's not a big deal. You can continue to go in and paint."
