But the bright moon shines on the ditch

After walking out of the second courtyard and arriving at the main entrance, Liang Peiqiu saw Zhou Yuan waiting outside.

The two of them were speechless and walked out side by side. When they reached the bustling market, Liang Peiqiu said: "It must be Sun Min's wish to ask me to burn a Guanyin porcelain. Could you please help me find out the birthday of any noble person in Beijing?" Before summer begins.”

Guanyin porcelain symbolizes holiness and serenity, and is often used as a gift to the ladies of noble houses, either to wish for longevity or to pray for the prosperity of their children. In short, it is auspicious and beautiful, and it also contains the entrustment of "official luck".

Sun Min was tricked inexplicably, and his official career was hindered. It was just when the Bodhisattva needed to appear.

Zhou Yuan understood it after thinking for a moment and nodded to her: "I understand, thank you very much."

"Sir, you're welcome. I didn't help you much."

"Just a few words are no longer available."

Liang Peiqiu sighed. If the Zhou family had not committed any crime and collapsed, how could she befriend someone like Zhou Yuan? Even if they only had a friendship for a moment or two, it would be enough for them to miss each other for a lifetime in the quagmire.

"Sir's talents, time and hopes should not be wasted on a bad person."

Zhou Yuan smiled lightly: "I'm not a good person either."

This was the end of the conversation. Both of them knew that they couldn't talk any further, as every extra minute would be dangerous. However, Liang Peiqiu was caught by those threatening words, and her thoughts were lost in "Maybe he will walk ahead of Xiaojiu." "Here, the whole person was in a state of confusion.

What does Anjiu mean? Could it be that he knew something?

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. She grabbed a straw and wanted to climb up: "I have one more thing. I wonder if I can entrust it to sir. Does he know..."

Seeing her serious attitude, Zhou Yuan immediately interrupted, "Don't say it, I can't give you the answer."

Liang Peiqiu's heart suddenly fell to the ground.

"I went overboard, sir, don't worry."

"You too, remember my words, a little impatience will ruin a big plan." This was his limit.

The two drank a cup of tea and said goodbye. After returning to An Mansion, Zhou Yuan recounted the conversation with Liang Peiqiu to An Jiu one by one. An Jiu was not surprised at her astuteness and asked Zhou Yuan to tell the truth.

"I just want to see how Sun Min plans to turn around." Finally, he asked, "Is there anything else?"

Zhou Yuan's sincerity was rare and pitiful in his life, but the woman, knowing that his identity was suspicious, still treated her sincerely, for which he felt guilty.

"She seemed to want something from me, but she didn't reveal it in the end."

An Jiu smiled: "Sir, aren't you curious about my future plans?"

Zhou Yuan said truthfully: "If you want to say it, sir, I will naturally know it."

"If I don't tell you, sir, won't you know?"

This question hits the nail on the head. For any staff, it is their duty to figure out the thoughts of the top. If everything has to be pointed out clearly by the top, then this staff is unqualified.

This is especially true for Zhou Yuan.

He is not a staff member who can be chosen at will. An Jiujiu wants more than just loyalty to keep him by his side.

"Recently, she has often been walking around the original Sanyao Jiuhui office, and she seemed to be looking for something."

Of course it was not found. The reason why she wanted to ask him, aside from his personal reasons, was most likely because this thing was related to An Jiu, or maybe she suspected that this thing was in An Jiu's hands.

Zhou Yuan had deduced this conclusion several times in his mind. Although he didn't know what it was that Liang Peiqiu wanted to find over and over again, it must be something very important. The fact that the boy who was once responsible for cleaning the office had disappeared, This further confirmed his suspicion.

He quickly glanced at An Jiu.

When An Jiu's face suddenly turned gloomy, his heart skipped a beat.

/

Zhou Yuan's guess was correct. Liang Peiqiu did go to see An Jiu with suspicion. If Xu Zhiliu's death was man-made, then almost no one except An Jiu thought about it.

Searching for an object that had no idea where it was lost in the vast sea of ​​people was no different from finding a needle in a haystack. She could only deduce it from the conclusion and test it in the opposite direction. An Jiu's private residence is of course the most suitable and most likely place to hide items, but that place is not a place she can enter and leave casually.

Judging from An Jiu's grasp of the movements of the folk kilns today, her situation is not good. It is very likely that her every word and deed is under the surveillance of the enemy, so she cannot act rashly.

At this time, looking down from the sky above Jingdezhen, we can see that several forces hiding under the undercurrent, intentionally or unintentionally, are concentrated in one place. The flood season of Changjiang River was exceptionally long this year, reaching its highest level before summer.

The common people saw that Jingdezhen was still the Jingdezhen of the past. Even under Yang Gong's effective supervision, Jingdezhen had never been more prosperous. However, the shallow water was noisy and the deep pool had no waves.

Liang Peiqiu couldn't sleep that night.

She had a vague premonition that another war without gunpowder had begun. This was a race against time and competition, which extremely tested a person's patience, wisdom, sense of smell and planning ability.

Even though she could afford to wait for spring and autumn to come again and again, the current situation could not last any longer.

Opening her eyes, she jumped up from the bed, dug out a set of women's clothing from the cage, and expertly transformed herself into a woman. The old tricks can no longer be used, and even the side door in the backyard used for shopping is not trustworthy enough.

She thought over and over again, closed her eyes, and dug out a narrow dog hole under the lush spring grass.

There were no fewer whistles in front of the county government office than in Anqing kiln, so she went to the back door of the inspection department alone. In that battle a few months ago, Anjiu suffered heavy losses and must not have enough manpower. If there was a choice, the inspection department's defense would definitely be lower than that of the county government. Moreover, the inspection department is an armed department, and there are a group of military men living in it. , with the natural ability to conduct surveys, the whistlers would definitely not dare to get too close, which gave Liang Peiqiu a chance.

She waited until dawn and saw a carriage coming to collect water. Covered by the morning mist, she stuffed a bucket of money and a letter into the buyer's hand. As long as Wu Yin successfully gets the letter, Xu Zhiliu will be able to read it. To prevent leakage, only she and Xu Zhiliu could understand the contents of the letter.

In the water, fish play with lotus leaves.

This was their agreement.

They had all missed their appointments before, but this time, she hoped they would not break their appointments again. However, something unexpected happened, and what she didn't expect was that Wu Yin had not been on duty for several days.

She waited for a day and a night, but finally came back disappointed. On the way back, she kept thinking, what went wrong? Was it that Wu Yin didn't deliver the letter for her, or that he still refused to see her?

With no way to obtain evidence, Liang Peiqiu threw herself into the blank room and began to develop Guanyin porcelain day and night. If the subsequent events could be verified in advance, she would find that the restless, impetuous, nervous and anxious mood these days was not without warning.

When I heard someone coming to the front yard to report that "Wang Yunxian fell into the river", I immediately took away the Guanyin porcelain body that had just been fired in the kiln and broke it to pieces on the ground.

She ignored the mud all over her body and ran outside.

Why is this happening? Why is it Wang Yunxian? How could it be Unzen? Just a few days ago, he excitedly told her that he had finally obtained Miss Su Jiafan's extrajudicial favor and obtained two jars of plum plums, which he planned to send to Jujiu Mansion on a good and auspicious day.

What happened next? She recalled carefully, oh, later it was said that while waiting for the day, a jar of Mei Zisu was actually stolen, and Wang Yunxian was so angry that he cursed her all afternoon.

Fortunately, the little wine thief had not lost his humanity yet and left a jar for him. He couldn't wait for the so-called auspicious day and immediately sent the wine to Jujiu's house. As a result, the wine was put away and no one was seen. Wang Yunxian cursed again.

He scolded her for a day until his voice became hoarse. When he spent time with her in the rough room at night, he drank two full pots of bitter chrysanthemum tea. She couldn't quite remember what she said later.

When the man was unsteadily dismounting by the river, he felt a sudden feeling of nausea in his chest. She suppressed the bloody smell that surged into her throat, and in this flash of lightning, scattered memories came back.

Although Wang Yunxian had a loud voice that day, his mood was not bad. He said that it was a good sign that Ju Jiu could accept Mei Zisu. Everything is difficult at the beginning, you have to take it step by step, "You can't make me become fat in one breath? If I can easily bite off a piece of the empire that the Hui Gang has built over decades, the Duchang Gang won't even touch every door." It’s gone.”

After hearing what he said, her heart, which had been hanging around for several days, seemed to relax a little, and she sat down to drink a cup of tea with him. While they were drinking, Wang Yunxian leaned close to her ear and said slyly, "I discovered a secret about Ju Jiu. What do you think it is?" He was impatient, and by the time she could speak, he would have already collapsed. He came out and said, "That old man! Half of his body has been buried in the loess, but he still has a good relationship."

Most people are naturally curious about romantic matters. When she heard this, she forgot about the Guanyin porcelain in her hand and opened her eyes wide to wait for the next chapter.

Wang Yunxian said: "You still remember the Crane Pavilion, right? In order to see the scenery inside, I even drilled through a dog hole. That place is indeed gorgeous and luxurious, and there is nothing in the whole Jingdezhen that is more like the Golden Cave than that boundary. I thought that It was a private garden used by eunuchs to do shady activities. Now it looks more like Ju Jiu's back garden...

You don't know, but there is a group of beautiful little ladies inside. Whenever distinguished guests come to the door, they come out to perform, drink and have fun with the distinguished guests. Those women are unusual for those seen in ordinary flower houses, and their tricks of coaxing people are endless, which is very shocking.

Once I observed carefully and found that they all had a special female official to teach them about their words and deeds, and that female official was Ju Jiu's best friend, and it was said that she came from the palace.

It is also strange that a rough man like Ju Jiu can actually make friends with female officials in the palace! "

Even though the Huibang Bank accounts for the largest currency circulation in Jingdezhen, and Ju Jiu is the leader of Fu Zihao, in this small place, it is difficult to appear in the same picture as those in the Imperial City.

Wang Yunxian always felt that something was wrong with the relationship between Ju Jiu and the female officer.

Liang Peiqiu vaguely felt the same.

If she could connect what Zhang Wensi said about Wang Jin and the bank when she was at the Taoist Temple, perhaps she would be able to detect the special nature of Ju Jiu's identity and warn Wang Yunxian to be careful. It's a pity that at that time, she was only focused on Guanyin Porcelain. In the secret battle with the enemy, she never thought that one day Wang Yunxian would also be affected and involved in the smoke of gunfire.

"As for the appearance, it's not that outstanding, it's far worse than you." She still remembered Wang Yunxian teasing me, and then said, "He must have some knowledge and ability, look at how arrogant he is, with his eyes on the top of his head! Unexpectedly, Ju Jiu, an old widower, loves nothing else and prefers sour and spicy food!"

"Maybe Mei Zisu is the female officer's favorite?"

"You're right! He is indeed my clever little god."

He didn't know whether he was praising her or himself. After saying that, he slowly crossed his legs and said with a contented look, "Then Ju Jiu is hiding from me? I don't believe that he can resist not seeing his sweetheart!" From tomorrow onwards, I will squat at the entrance of Heguan and won’t leave. One day I will be told to catch him!”

His cleverness is used for things that may not be right in the eyes of others. However, in troubled times, it is not easy to survive. It is better to be clever than not to be clever. This way, he can make people feel at ease when he goes out to explore. For this reason, she seemed to have teased a few words, wishing him to break the hard bones as soon as possible and revive the glory of the Duchang Gang.

Looking back now, it was only a few days before and after, how could the person who kept saying that he wanted to squat in Shukakukan suddenly fall into the river? Is this related to Ju Jiu?

Some thoughts quickly flashed through her mind, about the parts that she had not thought through at the time. Now every time she thought about it clearly, her heart dropped an inch.

Seeing her appearance, the crowd of onlookers automatically moved out of the way. She walked quickly to the river, where the river was still roaring. The surging river and rolling waves were full of people standing everywhere, but among the crowds of people, no one was Wang Yunxian.

Suddenly, a strong feeling of dizziness hit her face, her vision went dark, and she fell straight forward.

Someone in the darkness pulled her, and she felt her forearms tighten. A hand was wrapped around her waist, half dragging and half hugging her. With a twist, she returned to reality.

A reality that has to be faced.

She endured it again and again, swallowed the sour taste, opened her eyes, and looked at the person in front of her.

He seemed to be a little thinner than the last time we met. His face was haggard and without any blood. It seemed that he had neither eaten nor rested well. She couldn't help but think of his broken appointment and Wang Yunxian's fall into the river. She was full of doubts and didn't know where to start or if she could start.

With so many pairs of eyes looking at her, in her peripheral vision, she could even detect An Jiu's gaze not far away, with a chill in her chest, and her chest was finally forced to hover.

"I was so anxious that I couldn't stand still. Thank you for your help. I'm fine."

She took a step back and calmly shook off his hand on her waist.

Zhou Qiguang looked as usual, nodded and replied: "The reason why Wang Dadong's family fell into the river is still under investigation. I believe everyone will be safe and sound. You... don't have to worry too much."

"Okay, I see."

That being said, the situation at hand is not optimistic. Most of the porcelain in Jingdezhen came from the river. This river is not only their survival, but also their nightmare. In the Changjiang River during the flood season, even if a ship capsizes, the wreckage may not be found, let alone live people.

Being knocked unconscious by waves, having your internal organs broken by rocks, and being swept away by unknown whirlpools in deep water are all common phenomena during the flood season. There are too many people who have died on this river, too many to count.

No matter how good Wang Yunxian's water quality is, he may still be in bad luck.

This is an indisputable fact.

The Anqing Kiln and Wang family members who came later seemed to have expected this outcome. They all looked ashen and sighed, and their hearts were shrouded in strong uneasiness.

The scene fell into an eerie silence.

At this moment, Liang Peiqiu ordered the housekeeper beside him: "Go back immediately, ask everyone to stop what they are doing, and search for traces of the big boss with all their strength. No possibility will be missed. Tell them that all the relatives and friends around you can We launch a search, and as long as we can find someone, I will be responsible for any losses caused by delaying the construction period, and I will also reward you with a hundred gold."

She said the last sentence to everyone present. Everyone was a witness and everyone could participate. As long as Wang Yunxian is found, she will not be able to cheat the reward worth a hundred gold.

In this way, the enthusiasm of the people who came to join in the fun, even if it had nothing to do with them, was aroused, and they hurriedly pushed their men and women to rush to the river beach.

Everyone who originally thought that Anqing Kiln was going to have another disaster, after hearing this and looking at the situation in front of them, couldn't help but feel refreshed, and their sagging morale was suddenly restored. The steward was inspired and responded loudly, running to deliver the message. The heads of the Wang family also called on the masses to take action.

For a time, people were walking, running, shouting, pushing and talking, completely breaking the dead silence on the river embankment. Across the sea of ​​people, Liang Peiqiu glanced at Zhou Qiguang and walked quickly towards the downstream river bank without saying anything.

The wind was strong by the river, and her blue-gray gown stained with porcelain clay moved with the wind, outlining her figure like a thin willow that could be broken by the wind at any time. She was talking to her clan members as she walked, and the frown between her brows seemed to be full, and she could no longer contain any more sorrow.

Xu Zhiliu took a long time to look away. At this time, there were only a few people left on the river embankment. Amidst the sound of hunting with his clothes, An Jiu smiled and said: "Master Zhou is really well-informed and always one step ahead of others in everything."

Zhou Qiguang said: "I am a parent official. If something happens, what is wrong with the people reporting it to the Yamen immediately?"

"is it?"

"It's true that Mr. An has been very busy recently. Do you still have time to join in the fun?"

"How can Tao Wu ever end his life? I can barely live a happy life. I don't want to stumble upon such a big case while walking around casually! Lord Yi Zhou, do you think there is something fishy about the case of Dadong Wang's family falling into the river?"

In just a few words, he defined the possible accident as a man-made case. Zhou Qiguang was not surprised by his sensitivity: "It is related to official business and it is inconvenient to tell others."

An Jiujiu smiled: "Dong Wang's family has a special status, and they are very easy to handle. It is always related to the future of Anqing Kiln and the little god. Mr. Zhou must not be careless."

"I don't need to worry about this matter, Lord An."

The two of them were chatting happily and walked back without saying a few words. A long embankment has many people's hearts.

Halfway there, Wu Yin caught up with him and drank a whole pot of tea in one breath. His smoky throat was relieved. He breathed a long sigh of relief and asked, "How is Wang Yunxian?"

"Not found yet."

These four words can also mean uncertainty about life or death. Wu Yin sighed, and then Xu Zhiliu noticed that his clothes were stained with blood, and his expression tightened: "How are you doing there?"

Wu Yin shook his head: "I'm afraid it won't be better than Wang Yunxian's situation."

At such a time of year, at such a juncture, the so-called whereabouts are unknown, life and death are uncertain, but in fact they all know that a better explanation should be more harmful than good.