The Dingzi bowed its head and responded.
Mei Zhongjun tucked the dagger back into the hidden slot in the armrest of his wheelchair and looked up at the roof ridge looming down at the end of the alley.
Fallen Plum Studio is located behind that rooftop.
Three days ago, the old matriarch issued a decree sealing off the courtyard, declaring that anyone who dared to trespass would have their legs broken and be sold off, regardless of whether they were a master or servant of any household.
This order stopped everyone.
Including him.
He's not stupid.
Mei Zhongjun pretended to be a cripple in the Marquis's mansion for seven years.
When he was ten years old, he deliberately fell from the jujube tree.
He then begged his wet nurse to bribe the physician, who was on good terms with him, so that in front of the entire household, he would confine himself to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
There is no other reason.
The struggle for succession to a title has never been a respectable affair.
According to the regulations of this dynasty, those with disabilities are not allowed to inherit the title of marquis.
Only by destroying his own body could he quell his elder brother's murderous intent.
In recent years,
When his father was not in the mansion, he single-handedly endured his elder brother's disdain, the old lady's cold face, and the squeezing out of his relatives, and managed to make the secret agents in the three southern wards of Luoyang as solid as an iron barrel.
Anyone who's survived this ordeal until now must have a nose that's sharper than a hunting dog's.
" Gu Li'er " had barely entered the manor when she turned Lu Xuerou into that horrible mess.
Then, taking advantage of that farce, they obtained a closure order from the old matriarch, turning Fallen Plum Studio into a secluded courtyard where outsiders couldn't enter and no one could see what the people inside wanted to do.
He pondered it for three days, and the more he thought about it, the more something seemed off; the sweat on his back soaked through his undershirt.
It's not that I'm afraid of her.
It's because I'm afraid I've misjudged the person.
He had initially thought this was an easy target, but when he reached out, he found a knife hidden in the cotton cloth.
He paused.
"Remember, those ten men have their crossbows cocked and arrows coated with gunpowder. No one is to fire them without my order."
Dingzi didn't ask why he didn't just take action.
He had followed Mei Zhongjun for seven years and knew the man's temperament well; he would never easily choose a concubine before fully understanding her background.
Mei Zhongjun kept a close eye on the salt gang leader in the south of Luoyang who was fighting the Marquis's mansion for territory for four whole months. He even figured out when the other party went to the outhouse before he made his move.
He was killed with a single blow, without even alerting the city's night patrol.
"There's one more thing."
Mei Zhongjun took a piece of paper out of his sleeve and handed it to Dingzi.
"I had someone search the saddlebag of the Qinghai horse she rode into town the day she entered the city. The stable boy didn't dare stop them. There wasn't anything valuable in the saddlebag, just these two characters embroidered on it, which I had copied down."
He took the Dingzi and took a closer look at it under the corridor light.
"The first character is hard to see clearly. The last one is "Li"?
Is she really Gu Li'er?
Could it be that she used some method to prevent us from finding out?
"I'm not sure either. Can you try to identify what the first character is?"
The hand Dingzi paused for a moment.
It's badly worn and looks like a "black" character.
In the Great Yan Dynasty, there weren't many people with the surname Hei.
Could it be that her real name is Hei Li'er?
"It looks like black ink, but would anyone really have such a strange name?"
Mei Zhongjun stared at his expression, and the corner of his mouth twisted to one side.
"It's possible that only these two fragmented characters will remain."
He pushed his wheelchair back half a step, retreating into the shadows of the alleyway.
Never mind, no rush.
"Keep a close eye on her, tighten your noose, and see what she's really after by coming to our mansion. In time, her true colors will naturally show."
The Dingzi clasped its hands and bowed its head.
"I'll arrange it right away."
"Etc."
Mei Zhongjun called out to him.
"What do you think of her martial arts skills, especially with that maid?"
Dingzi recalled the scene from that day and remained silent for a few moments.
"I glanced at it from about twenty paces away that day. When the maid helped him up, she used her knees, and the force was deep. Even with his muscular physique, the Second Young Master endured it without uttering a sound. That must have been at least a hundred pounds of hidden force."
He carefully considered his words.
"An ordinary martial artist couldn't do such a clean job. That maid doesn't seem like someone who serves others personally; she seems more like someone who specializes in close combat."
Mei Zhongjun didn't speak, but tapped his fingers twice on the armrest of his wheelchair before stopping.
"He's definitely a tough one; I wasn't wrong."
"Remember, ten crossbowmen."
He repeated it.
"If that's not enough, I'll bring in more people from the south of the city."
Dingzi bowed, turned around, and disappeared into the alleyway.
Mei Zhongjun sat alone in the shadows, staring at Fallen Plum Studio, without moving for a long time.
The wind made the corridor lights flicker, and his shadow on the wall stretched and shortened, like a skinny wolf crouching in the shadows.
He didn't know who " Gu Li'er " was.
But he knew that someone capable of using such methods was not someone he could easily mess with.
The problem was that the person had already entered the mansion; he had personally invited them back.
They can't be driven away, they can't be kept, they can't be moved, and they can't let go of them.
No, I have to think of a way to capture this stunning young woman first, then clean up the mess and destroy the evidence.
Mei Zhongjun pulled the blanket up to his knees, covering the "paralyzed leg" that had been in place for seven years, and slowly wheeled his wheelchair back towards the Pine and Crane Hall.
The wheelchair wheels creaked as they rolled over the blue bricks.
Inside Fallen Plum Studio, the lamp was still lit.
The inner room of the main building of Fallen Plum Studio.
Gu Moli sat on a futon, a half-worn scroll of the Scripture of Salvation spread out in front of her, and a writing brush resting beside the inkstone, the ink on the tip of the brush already dry.
She wasn't copying scriptures at all.
Qingwu withdrew her gaze from the crack in the window frame, quietly circled around behind her, squatted down, and her lips were almost touching her earlobe.
"Two more crossbowmen have appeared on the roof of the woodshed by the east wall, and there's also movement behind the artificial hill by the west wall."
Gu Moli turned a page of the scripture, her fingers pressing on the paper, unhurriedly.
"Crossbow?"
"Hmm. Crossbow. The arrowheads are coated with something; they smell like almonds."
Gu Moli nodded.
It tastes like bitter almonds.
Apply it to an arrowhead; if the skin is broken, it will cause numbness in the limbs within half a cup of tea's time, rendering the person unable to struggle.
It's not about killing them, it's about capturing them alive.
"He was more cautious than I thought, and he acted faster than I expected."
Gu Moli closed the sutra and pressed her palm against the cover.
Qingwu squatted down beside her, lowering her voice. "Should I take care of those crossbowmen tonight? Ten men, divided into four groups, I can clean them up within an hour."
Gu Moli shook her head.
"Don't touch them."
Qingwu didn't ask why.
Gu Moli stood up, walked to the window, and looked out through the paper window.
The courtyard was pitch black, with only the lantern under the eaves flickering.
" Mei Zhongjun isn't stupid." She lowered her voice.
"If he's really stupid, then I'll be in a difficult position."
Foolish people act without any method; once they start going crazy, you can't stop them.
Smart people are different. Smart people know how to calculate, weigh the pros and cons, and carefully plan out all possible escape routes before taking action.
She raised her hand and pressed the window paper tighter to block the cold wind that was seeping in through the crack.
"By deploying crossbowmen, he's saying he knows I'm not simple, but he hasn't figured out how to deal with me yet."
So what do you plan to do?