twin moon

Chapter 73, Scene [-], First Battle, Part [-]

In the early morning of July [-], Fanloufang, Nanshi City, was busy at work.

A strong smell mixed with alum and mineral dyes wafts from the workshop.In each dyeing village, countless freshly dyed cloths are hung on bamboo poles more than three feet high to dry.The material flutters gently in the wind, with red, yellow, green, indigo, and purple colors, as if colorful neon has fallen into the world.

A red-haired girl timidly came to the entrance of the market with a few pieces of clothing in her hands. She looked around, but she didn't dare to step in easily.After a long time, she chose one of the dye houses and walked straight over.There is no signboard hanging in front of this dyeing house, and it is the smallest in the entire Fanloufang, but the purple brocade hanging in the courtyard is the brightest among all the dyeing houses.

Ning Yue was entrusted by Sister Jia to refurbish some old clothes for her.At that time, she agreed without even thinking about it, and only afterwards did she remember that Granny Cen once said that the dyeing village she opened is in Fanloufang.Now the girl was afraid that she would inevitably be nagged after meeting the other party, but she couldn't refuse Sister Jia's request, so she stood outside the square and hesitated for a long time.

Earlier, the girl thought in her heart that Granny Cen opened the shop to conceal her identity, so her cloth dyeing skills were presumably inexperienced.It just so happens that Sister Jia is very picky about the color of the fabric, so she fell in love with this dyeing shop that seems to have the most exquisite craftsmanship.

It's still early, and the door of Ran Zhuang has not yet opened. Unexpectedly, she just knocked on the door and entered the courtyard, but Ning Yue saw at a glance that Granny Cen was directing several girls to be busy in the courtyard, and she shrank her neck in fright. back out.But her red hair was too conspicuous, and she was already held back by the girl who answered the door.Including the old woman, everyone's eyes instantly focused on this guest.

"Rare guest, really rare guest!"

Seeing that it was Ning Yue, Grandma Cen couldn't close her mouth from ear to ear. She immediately dropped the work in her hand and rushed to her in small steps:
"Miss Yue'er, I finally look forward to you today!"

Ning Yue didn't answer the conversation, but smiled awkwardly at the other party.

"Grandmother, so this is the girl you told us about. The daughter of an archpriest, she was born so pretty!"

A girl next to her also interjected.Ning Yue glanced at the other party's blue eyes, which were the same as her own, and immediately realized that all the people in the courtyard came from the Chanying Sea, and she already knew her identity.

"Unexpectedly, the young lady is quite clever, and she found the old body right away!"

"No, it's not—I just think the purple dyed by this shop looks the best, so, that's why I came in..."

Ning Yue faltered in response.Granny Cen was very happy with the girl's visit, she didn't seem to hear her explanation at all, but quickly took all the clothes in her hands that needed refurbishment:

"People on the land have a saying: Meeting by chance is worse than meeting by chance. Now that you've come, it's good to sit down for a while!"

Even though the red-haired girl was unwilling in every possible way, she really couldn't refuse the other party's enthusiasm, so she had to half push and half follow the old woman to sit under an old locust tree in the courtyard.Looking at the purple in the courtyard, she finally couldn't help but ask:
"Grandma Cen, what method did you use to dye this purple color brighter than other houses?"

"People on the land use purple clover to dye cloth. However, the purple root part of this grass is the most difficult to extract, and the color is also more crimson. The dyed color is not very bright. The dye we use comes from it—— "

The old woman smiled mysteriously, and pointed to the seventeen or eighteen large vats that were as tall as half a person placed in the room next to her.Ning Yue couldn't help being a little curious, so she leaned forward, only to see that the water in the tank was a cloudy purple.Under the turbid water, there are still fist-sized circular objects adsorbed on the tank wall.

"This is—Xiu snail!"

The girl couldn't help but exclaimed.Granny Cen nodded, then waved her hand to signal her to whisper:

"The country of Ye is close to the sea, so it is not difficult to get some live snails. But the people on the land don't know that the slime on this thing is a kind of high-quality purple dye. Therefore, the cloth we dye can All the rest are compared.”

"But ordinary snails won't change the color of the water!"

Ning Yue still shook her head to express her incomprehension.Xiuluo was one of her favorite playthings when she was a child, not only because it is the most common in the Chanying Sea, but also because of its colorful and beautiful shell.

"Miss is not wrong. The mucus of the snails can't be used as a dye if you scrape it off directly. The key is to mix it with the spirit herbs. Haven't you smelled a dark fragrance since you entered the hospital just now?"

Hearing what the other party said, the girl twitched her nose involuntarily, and she really smelled a faint fragrance of plants in the air, she nodded her head in admiration:

"I never thought Granny Cen would put in so much effort!"

"Look at what you girl said, we have so many mouths, and we also have to eat and dress in this city. If we don't work hard to dye cloth, where can we get money for expenses?"

After hearing the girl's praise, the old woman smiled brighter and brighter.However, just as the embarrassment between the two gradually disappeared, the copper knocker on the door of Ranzhuang was slapped again.The people outside the door seemed to have urgent matters, and they exerted all their strength on their hands, but they always maintained a strange rhythm of three shorts and one long.

Hearing the knock on the door, the smile on Grandma Cen's face immediately subsided.She didn't speak, just winked at the two girls beside her.The two immediately understood, and quickly stepped forward to open the door with a narrow gap to let the other in.

The person who came was a girl with a knife wound.Her eyes were also blue, obviously she came out of this courtyard, but she was wearing a military uniform with narrow sleeves and narrow trousers that was easy to move around, and she was hit by three feather arrows on her shoulder.The girl was trembling all over because of the severe pain, and her clothes were drenched in cold sweat, sticking to her skin together with her messy hair, looking very embarrassed.

"Hurry up and take her to hide in the cellar. I'm afraid the pursuers will arrive in no time. Don't let them find out!"

Granny Cen seemed to have anticipated this situation, and immediately waved her hand, giving orders to the rest of the people in the courtyard.Seeing this, Ning Yue couldn't help tensing her body.But before she could ask any more questions, the old woman whispered in her ear:

"Miss, I have to ask you to cooperate with the old man later, pretending to be the guest who came back to this Zhuang for the first time, and you must not say too much. Otherwise, we will all be convicted of this today, and even lose our lives!"

Although Ning Yue still wanted to ask clearly, she could read the seriousness of the situation from the old woman's expression.Time was running out, so she had no choice but to nod, and swallowed her full of questions.Sure enough, just as the injured girl was helped into the cellar to hide, there was a commotion outside the square, and then a group of soldiers on horseback directly smashed open the gate of Ranzhuang and broke into the yard.

"Search for me immediately, even if you dig three feet into the ground today, you must find that thief!"

A soldier who looked like a school lieutenant roared angrily.And judging from the gold-plated family emblem on his chest and the handle of the knife, he was actually a mansion soldier raised by the Jinghaihou Mansion!

Granny Cen secretly squeezed the red-haired girl's hand, signaling her not to be too nervous, and then greeted the person with a smile, as if she had been in the city for many years:
"Gentlemen, please calm down. What made you so anxious this early in the morning?"

"A thief sneaked into Jinghaihou's mansion last night to steal. Lord Hou ordered me to arrest him quickly! The female thief's whereabouts were revealed at dawn, and she was shot by several arrows. Some people in the workshop also said that she hid in this dyeing village. Old lady, Get acquainted and quickly hand over the person!"

The leader of the Fubing Xiaowei was aggressive, and he wanted to rush into Ranzhuang again after speaking.Granny Cen suddenly opened her arms and stopped in front of the other party, speaking righteously:
"Officer, it's not easy for me to open such a shop. If the fabric is stained, I will have a full stomach this month. The business here is all serious business. If you want to go in and search, please bring out the court officer. The Secretary's documents are here!"

"The Marquis of Jinghai has never needed any documents to get someone! Don't stop me, my wife, or you will be punished as an accomplice!"

The captain of the Fubing school said as he pulled out a portion of the long knife from his waist as a threat.However, he also knew that if he didn't have the documents from Tingweisi, he would not be able to break into the houses without authorization according to the law, so he stopped his steps cautiously.

"Officer, many guests have come to my place early in the morning, and there are still some who have not left. If there are bad people hiding in, you will know as soon as you ask, why bother to embarrass yourself?"

Granny Cen saw that the other party was no longer forcing her way in, her tone slowed down a little, and she raised her finger to Ning Yue who was behind her.

The captain of the Fubing school looked at the red-haired girl up and down, and saw that her dress was completely different from the rest of the courtyard, so he opened his mouth and asked with some suspicion:

"Where did you come from?"

"Jiayunzhai. The proprietress asked me to get some clothes to dye. I just entered the door not long ago." Ning Yue was well prepared and replied deliberately pretending to be a little flustered.

"Just came here? Then you don't know these people in the courtyard?" asked the captain on the opposite side.

"I don't know it, it's the first time I've come to Ranzhuang in my life."

"But why are you stuttering, is it because you have a guilty conscience?"

"Officer, all of you are vicious. You are a girl's family. Naturally, you will be scared when you see so many swordsmen!"

Faced with doubts, Ning Yue still behaved calmly.

After hearing this answer, a person behind the captain came forward and whispered in his ear:
"My lord, I heard that there is indeed a red-haired girl in the Naga Yunzhai, who is very close to Young Master Ziyin and General Baili. Our trip is only to get someone, and there is no need to cause trouble..."

The captain is not a reckless person either. Hearing what his subordinates said, he immediately found himself a step down:
"That's right, Jiayunzhai in Nanshi, who doesn't know this in Mulu City? I vaguely remember that the proprietress really likes to wear purple clothes. It seems that the thieves really didn't hide here, let's search elsewhere!"

Just like that, a group of people got on their horses in a hurry, and gradually went away amidst a sound of hooves and neighing.Until this time, the people in the courtyard finally breathed a sigh of relief, but their backs were already drenched with sweat.

Granny Cen walked back to Ning Yue's side, pulled her up and walked into the house before she dared to say: "Miss Yue'er, you did me a big favor just now!"

"Grandma Cen, how could you let that injured girl go to Jinghaihou's mansion to steal something? Isn't that courting death?!" The red-haired girl was still in shock, she kept rubbing her hands on her chest, and questioned with wide blue eyes. Get up to each other.

"Oh, Miss Yue'er, you don't know something. The reason why the old man acted like this is to find out one thing. Moreover, there are already some clues now—"

"What's the matter then?"

"You know that the ancestors once left a powerful weapon in this world, called the firebolt gun. Its range far exceeds any bow and crossbow on land, and it is so light that even women, children and the elderly can use it easily. However, recently, the old man has received secret reports many times, saying that these people on the land have re-mastered the method of making this kind of firearm from nowhere. The source of it is very likely to come from the Jinghaihou Mansion in Mulu City. !"

"If Ye Kingdom does have such a powerful weapon, why have I never heard of it from Ziyin?"

"As the saying goes, knowing people, knowing faces but not knowing one's heart, is related to the prosperity and decline of the country. How could that kid from land tell you so easily, such a confidential matter?"

Although Granny Cen didn't look directly at the girl beside her when she said these words, she narrowed her eyes and secretly watched the girl's reaction.

"Ziyin, he will tell me everything. But I have heard that Jinghaihou is not a good person. If he has any bad intentions in secret - no, I have to go to the palace immediately and tell them both. !"

After hearing the news, Ning Yue became uneasy.The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong, and she turned around to leave.Granny Cen, who was standing aside, did not stop her, but asked with some surprise:

"Miss Yue'er, even if you rush back now, I'm afraid you won't be able to meet the people you want to see. Thanks to you trusting those two land-born brats so much, but they are going to sail out to sea today to explore the Peng Kingdom. How come you don't seem to know anything?"

"What? You said Ziyin and Xiaojieba are going to sea today? When?!"

The red-haired girl couldn't help but thump in her heart, she turned her head and stared at Granny Cen in surprise.

"If the news I got is correct, the Ye Kingdom fleet should set sail at sunrise this morning, and it may have already left the port by this time."

The news that Jiang Yan and Qi Ziyin were about to go out with the boat master exploded in Ning Yue's mind like a thunderbolt.At the same time, a chorus of drums and horns also drifted into the courtyard with the wind, making her feel even more anxious, and she was about to cry out:

"Idiot, idiot, idiot! Why are you all hiding it from me, why?"

She looked up at the rising sun, and before she had time to say anything more, she rushed out of Ranzhuang as if flying, and ran towards Baisha Ying.

Seeing this, several girls walked out of the house again, surrounded the old woman and asked:

"Grandma Cen, we finally got the daughter of the chief priest, why did you let her go so easily now?"

The old woman shook her head, watching the flaming red gradually disappear in the gradually awakened market, but she showed a deep smile on her face:
"Miss is still very hard to let go of the two land-born teenagers at this moment. She needs to shake their mutual trust little by little. Don't worry, don't worry, when the time comes, she will have to Come with us."

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(End of this chapter)