Kaifeng Monster

Chapter 88
This night seemed extremely long.

Yao Manqing pricked up his ears to listen to the movement outside the embroidery building, the sound of the wind shaking the lantern hangers above the eaves, the creaking sound of the joints of the broken railing upstairs, the chirping of night birds passing by outside the window...

suddenly……

With a pop, it seemed that something tapped lightly on the window.

Yao Manqing turned over from the bed and sat up, put on her clothes, pulled on her shoes and hurried downstairs.When she unlatched the downstairs door, she noticed that her hands were shaking, and her thin, pale fingers had a sickly blue color.

Facing the smell of wine and cold mixed with rouge, Liu Xiangwan walked in sideways very quickly.Yao Manqing looked out the door in panic, and hurriedly closed the door.

This kind of night, this kind of scene has happened many times, but she still can't suppress her panic, every time she opens and closes the door, it feels like a mountain is pressing down on her face, making her breathless.

"Call me here in a hurry, what's the matter?" Liu Xiangwan's extremely low voice was full of impatience.Tonight's banquet at Wanhualou was not enjoyable. Before leaving, the red-card aunt named Xuejiao was full of reluctance. When she sent him to the door, her little finger scratched and scratched in his palm, so that he is now My heart is still itchy.

It's best to dismiss Yao Manqing with a few words, maybe he can rush back to warm up with Xuejiao and have a good night together.

"I..." Yao Manqing twisted her hands together, her shame and embarrassment made her unable to speak.

"What are you?" Liu Xiangwan became even more impatient, "Just say something..."

Yao Manqing's heart was broken, and she went all out: "I seem to be embarrassed..."

"Ah?" Liu Xiangwan suspected that he had heard wrong, "What did you say?"

"Guishui didn't come this month, and I always feel sick. The nanny said, I'm afraid there is..." Yao Manqing said anxiously, "That's why I asked you to come here, Xiang Wan..."

Liu Xiangwan's heart skipped a beat, and he was a little dazed.

"Xiang Wan, come to Yang's family to propose marriage..." Yao Manqing's palms were covered with sweat, "Let my father know about this, he will beat me to death..."

"You are pregnant, why did you ask me to come here?" Liu Xiangwan suddenly squinted at her, and there was a tinge of yin and yang in his voice, "Don't you know how to grab red flowers and drink them?"

"You can't drink safflower, the nanny said it would kill you." Yao Manqing didn't notice Liu Xiangwan's strange tone, but just immersed herself in her panic like drowning, "If my father finds out, he will beat me to death."

"Then what's the matter with me?" Liu Xiangwan brushed his skirt slowly, as if to clean up his relationship with Yao Manqing, "Who knows whose seed is in your stomach?"

"You, what did you say?" Yao Manqing was a little stunned. She had never heard such vulgar words in her entire life. She was caught off guard and didn't know how to get angry. She just said in a daze, "What did you say?"

"I said," Liu Xiangwan stared at her, "the door of your embroidered building can be opened for me, Mr. Liu, so it can also be opened for Mr. Zhang and Mr. Wang. I have dealt with many people, and if something happens, I will be arrested." Cheap dad, I can't take this job."

Yao Manqing's lips turned pale, trembling all over, she raised her hand and pointed at Liu Xiangwan: "You, you spit blood."

"If it's nothing to do with me, then I'll leave first." Liu Xiangwan said as if nothing had happened, "You might as well ask Mr. Zhang and Mr. Wang, maybe someone will be willing to be this cheap father." Going to pull the latch, Yao Manqing paused for a while, and suddenly rushed over like crazy, grabbing Liu Xiangwan's sleeve tightly: "You can't go."

"Scream, scream louder." Liu Xiangwan sneered, "Wake up your father and let him see the good deeds his daughter has done. Your Yao family is not an ordinary family. I heard that you have an older sister who is still in the palace. Serving the emperor inside, if this matter is publicized, I want to see if your father can afford to lose this person, and whether your emperor's brother-in-law can afford to lose this person!"

Yao Manqing's head buzzed, his mouth opened, and a look of extreme fear flashed across his eyes.Liu Xiangwan snorted coldly, shook off her hand, opened the door and walked away.

It’s not necessarily true that he walked away, after going out, he still tried his best to be careful, including when he stepped on the dimple and climbed the wall to go out.

Yao Manqing sat slumped on the ground, the ground was cold, her heart was even colder, but her face was burning hot.She raised her head and looked at the beam, imagining her thin body being hoisted by the white silk, dangling back and forth in mid-air.

Otherwise, there is an abandoned well in the front yard, and there is still water in the well, retting the stench of years.Dad thought the smell was terrible, so he sent his servants to cover it with bluestone slabs.The stone slab is not heavy, if you move it away, if you jump down cruelly, it will be over. How long will it take for someone to find your bloated and pale body?
Yao Manqing seemed to be in a daze. In a trance, she seemed to see herself wrapped in a sheet of broken reeds and thrown on the mass grave. A shoe was missing from one foot, and it stuck out abruptly. A few stray mangy-headed wild dogs , sniffing and pulling around the reed mat.

His eyes were blurred, his teeth were deeply pierced into his lips, and the taste of blood quickly spread in his mouth.For some reason, the smell of blood made her inexplicably excited.

The scene in front of him seemed to have changed again, the fire was soaring to the sky, red as blood, the sinful desire to burn everything up surged in his heart, and the shiny sharp blade stabbed into Liu Xiangwan's body one after another, making a nice sound.Warm blood splashed on his face, as kind as a mother's caress.

Her body trembled, she couldn't tell whether it was fear or excitement, it was scorching hot at one moment, and frighteningly cold at the other, and in this continuous cycle of ice and fire, she suddenly heard the nanny exclaim: "Miss , what is this for?"

Yao Manqing shuddered, and looked blankly at the source of the sound, but the sore eyes were stung by the daylight—it was already dawn.

She actually sat here all night.

The nanny Zhang Lishi quickly helped her up and half-carried her back to the room.Yao Manqing's body was limp, lying on the bed as if she had no bones.When Zhang Lishi covered her with the quilt, her eyes faintly opened a line, and suddenly she reached out to hold Zhang Lishi's hand.

"Nurse," she felt that she was about to die, "Mr. Liu, he doesn't recognize him."

Zhang Lishi was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately, and said bitterly: "I knew this was a coward!"

"Nurse," Yao Manqing slowly closed his eyes, and the two waterlines slowly slipped away from the corners of his eyes, "I'm going to die, father won't let me go."

"Nonsense!" Zhang Li spat at her, "If there is a way, there must be a way."

"Is there any way?" Yao Manqing smiled miserably.

"As the old saying goes, there is no end to the sky." Mrs. Zhang Li comforted her, "Miss, there is always a way. Why do you want to die? Listen to the nanny, even if you ask others to die, you can't make you die."

"You can't call me dead even if you tell others to die?" Yao Manqing murmured, her fine and slender eyelashes trembling slightly.

The tea is fragrant, although it is not a famous tea, it has a special taste.Zhan Zhao slapped the tea cover slightly on the edge, held up the tea bowl, agreed with Yao Zhizheng, bowed his head and sipped the tea, his eyes seemed to pass over Yao Zhizheng's face inadvertently, but his brows frowned slightly.

Yao Zhizheng, who used to be the magistrate of Long County, Lianzhou, has resigned and has no children. The eldest daughter, Yao Manbi, has been in the palace for many years and is a beauty.

Earlier he said to Duan Mucui that the emperor had lost a concubine, which was not appropriate, firstly, the level of beauty was far from that of concubine, and secondly, Yao Manbi was not lost, she knocked out the palace maids and eunuchs who were staying at night and rolled It's soft and soft, and I don't know where it ends.

When the Holy One mentioned this, he was very angry: "I didn't know Yao Meiren had such abilities!"

Fortunately, there is no intention of being implicated in the crime, and the matter is handed over to the Kaifeng government to investigate and deal with it secretly.

After some inquiries in the palace, this Yao Meiren was the most unusual master, she was indifferent, never jealous in the harem, maybe it was because she came from an ordinary family, unlike other concubines and nobles who had a powerful natal family. rely.The Holy Majesty also treats her indifferently. Although she has grace, she has never favored her.She acted according to her duty and did not dare to overstep the rules, and the Yao family never gained any great wealth because of her—this can be seen from the slightly old house of the Yao family.

After so many years of duty, why did he suddenly act uncharacteristically, knocking out the servants, curling up softly, and disappearing without a trace?Even if she could get out of her own residence, how could she get out of the huge and heavily guarded palace city?

There are many doubts, and I was going to investigate them one by one, but the sage added: "Mei Yao has no relatives or friends in the capital, so the guard Zhan might as well go to her hometown."

Only then did the trip to Long County, Lianzhou begin.

In fact, from Zhan Zhao's point of view, this line is superfluous.Premeditated escape, fearing that it would be too late to bring relatives, how could he return to his hometown?

It's just that the Holy Majesty had this intention, but he couldn't refute him, so he had to suffer this trip.

The sky is high and the land is far away, and Long County is almost desolate. It is a three-day and night journey from Kaifeng. It is dusty and sandy, and the streets are sparse.

Arrived before noon, handed over the card, only said that I passed through Long County by chance, and came to pay a visit.There must have been very few guests from Kaifeng in the house, and it was a fourth-rank military officer walking in front of the imperial court. Yao Zhizheng was overjoyed and showed great hospitality.

After a round of tea, a few greetings, and observing the words and expressions, Zhan Zhao became more convinced of his previous judgment. The Yao family didn't know anything about Yao Meiren, and he wanted to ask him for information about Yao Meiren.

Putting down the tea bowl, he already had a calculation in his heart: stay here for another day, ask the neighbors and neighbors for information about Yao Meiren's entry into the palace, and then return to Kaifeng immediately.

To investigate Yao Meiren's case, the breakthrough point is still in the imperial city.

Unexpectedly, Yao Zhizheng has not yet expressed his intention to resign, Yao Zhizheng is already trying to persuade him to stay: "The outer inn is old, I am afraid it is not suitable for the status of a guard, if you don't mind giving up the roughness, you might as well stay here for a few days, and let the old man do his best. Friendship."

It makes sense, Zhan Zhao thought for a while, then smiled and said, "It's such a bother."

Yao Zhizheng was very happy, suddenly thought of something, and hurriedly told his servants: "Let the young lady come out to meet the guests."

Seeing the puzzled look on Zhan Zhao's face, Yao Zhi was busy explaining to him: "If it's someone else, it's not easy for my little girl to show her face. It's just that Mr. Zhan is a distinguished guest in the capital, and he's walking in front of the imperial court, so it's good for my little girl to see the world. "

Yao Manqing came very quickly, accompanied by an old lady, she could be seen as a well-educated boudoir girl, well behaved, gave Zhan Zhao a little blessing, and said in a low voice, "I have met Master Zhan."

When she got up, she swayed slightly, and the old lady next to her hurriedly stepped forward to support her.This moment probably made Yao Zhizheng feel a little rude, his face darkened, it was just that there was a guest, so it was inconvenient for him to attack.

Yao Manqing and the old woman went down very quickly, everything was ordinary, like any meeting that should have had no further details.

Yao Manqing and Mrs. Zhang Li walked slowly on the corridor leading to the backyard, and a few servants came to meet them, holding new bedding items, and respectfully retreated to the side, waiting for Yao Manqing and the two to pass, and then hurried forward up.

Yao Manqing was thoughtful, stopped, looked at those people, and asked Zhang Li, "Nurse, what are you doing?"

"It's Mr. Zhan. The master wants to keep him for dinner, and he will stay here for two days." Thinking of the scene we met just now, Zhang Li clicked his tongue, "Miss, the officials in the capital are different in style and so on. The character and appearance are also outstanding, the old lady has never seen such a bright person in her life, if the young lady can marry him..."

Yao Manqing sneered.

Zhang Lishi stopped talking in a hurry to save herself from talking too much.

"The world is as black as crows. If there are any good men in this world, they should all be fed to the dogs." Yao Manqing gritted his teeth, as if he wanted to bite someone a few times to relieve his anger.

Zhang Li didn't say much anymore, and accompanied Yao Manqing back to Xiulou.At the other end of the stove, because she wanted to entertain guests, someone came to ask her for help, so she hurried away.

Yao Manqing climbed up the steps step by step, caressing the old and shaky railing upstairs and returning to the room, only then did he feel extremely tired.Only then did she hold up the last bit of strength to meet the honored guest her father had mentioned, but at this moment, she really couldn't bear it any longer.He staggered to the side of the bed, stretched out his hand to cover his upper body with the quilt, and brought the waist-shaped porcelain pillow at the head of the bed to the bottom of the bed.

A few tiles on the side fell off, and the squarely wrapped paper bag hidden inside fell out.

This is an aphrodisiac brought by Liu Xiangwan, and it's called "Zhan Sheng Jiao".When the two of them were having a spring snack at night, they were a little convinced and chatted to add to the fun.Liu Xiangwan once said that it must not be used too much, for fear of losing consciousness and harming oneself.

The love scene on the bed and curtain in the past is very ironic when I think about it now.

Yao Manqing gritted her teeth, grabbed the medicine bag suddenly, and was about to throw it out the window.

Fang Yang's hands froze suddenly.

Standing by the window of the embroidery building, one can see the scene of the front yard at a glance. In the guest room of the west wing, several servants are busy in and out, waiting for the guests.

Yao Manqing retracted her hand very slowly.

She tried her best to recall the appearance of the "Master Zhan" she saw just now, but she felt vague.When we met just now, she was in a trance and didn't pay attention to the person in front of her.

"Let others die, but you can't make me die." Yao Manqing murmured, her eyes were a little dazed and confused, and she didn't even notice that her fingers holding the medicine bag were getting tighter and tighter, and the knuckles were turning white s color.

Even so, her hands are still pretty.

A large spoon full of lard paste melts under the heat of the stove the moment it is put into the pot, and it boils in a short time, overflowing with aroma.

Zhang Lishi swiftly poured chopped scallions, white garlic cloves and ginger slices on the cutting board into the pot and sautéed until fragrant. There was a prickling sound, and the smoke rose. Maybe he had already covered his mouth and nose, or was choked by the oily smoke. Coughing.While the smoke was steaming, she seemed to see the face of Second Miss Yao Manqing flashing past under the melon stand facing the window.

No way, Mrs. Zhang Li was a little dazed, why did Miss come here?

I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but there was no one there.

Mrs. Zhang Li was a little worried. What happened last night was not a trivial matter. In case Miss couldn't think about it...

It's better to be more cautious. When I thought about it this way, I hurriedly asked the woman next to me to do my job, wiped the side of my clothes with both hands, and walked to the back of the kitchen in three steps at a time.

She looked around for a while, but there was no one there. Zhang Lishi secretly laughed at herself for being unfounded, brushed off her hands, and was about to go back, when a very low voice suddenly came from behind: "Nurse."

Looking over through the prestige, Yao Manqing's slightly pale face appeared at the corner of the wall, and after only a moment, he backed away.

Depending on the situation, she let herself pass.I don't know why, the young lady's actions are so abnormal, Zhang and Li Shi actually feel shameful. When he approached him anxiously, Yao Manqing suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her over with all his strength.

This is the path between the kitchen and the woodshed. It is not more than ten feet wide, and few people come here. Even on sunny days, it is always cloudy. The bottom of the wall is covered with moss, which is damp and sticky.

"Nurse, please help me this time." Before Zhang Lishi could react, Yao Manqing had already whispered to her ear.

She talked for a long time, and Zhang Lishi listened blankly. She could hear every word clearly, but the combined content made her feel that she was just listening to a story that had nothing to do with her.

Even after Yao Manqing finished speaking, she didn't think it was absurd or scared, just ridiculous.

"Miss," she said with a funny air, "you are joking."

Yao Manqing didn't make a sound, but lightly stuffed the things in his hands to Zhang Lishi, then smiled, and left with an extremely dignified posture.

Zhang Lishi still finds it funny, where did this girl come up with such an out-of-the-ordinary idea?See the world cranky, don't be hysterical.

So he shook his head and sighed again, then looked at the paper bag in his hand, and suddenly felt a thump in his heart: If it was really a joke on a whim, why did you give her the paper bag?
Zhang Li was a little uneasy, so he cut a hole in the paper bag, put it in front of his nose and sniffed it.

As someone who has experienced it, she is no stranger to this thing: Isn't this an aphrodisiac?
Just now, the lady seems to have indeed mentioned the word "aphrodisiac".

So what Yao Manqing said to her just now, every word she thought unconscious, every sentence she listened to absent-mindedly, rearranged and combined in her mind, and gradually took shape, it seemed that Yao Manqing's voice just now sounded in her ears.

Zhang Lishi suddenly shivered.

(End of this chapter)