Capture the Jade: Chapter 3

The Ziyun Tower is right by the river, opposite the Moon Lamp Pavilion.

After what happened just now, no one dared to take a shortcut again, bypassing the bamboo forest to the main road, and ran for a long time before reaching the river bank.

Taking advantage of the light outside the car window, Teng Yuyi looked at the wound on her cousin's palm. The bloodstains were still unhealed, very fine and deep. She thought it was a monster injury, but the more she looked, the more it looked like a thorn in embroidery scissors.

"Look Auntie."

Mrs. Du held Du Tinglan's hand to check back and forth, and said in a trembling voice, "It was fine when I went out in the morning, but it was probably broken by that monster."

Teng Yuyi was full of doubts, and the monster's claws were as big as a fan. If she grabbed it deliberately, her cousin's hand would already be bloody, how could it leave only a thin scar?

"Auntie, did my sister tell you before she left that she was leaving the nunnery?"

Mrs. Du said tearfully, "Why did you ever tell me? I went to the front to watch Baixi, and your sister felt bored and wanted to stay in Yunhui Hall to rest. I thought I would go back to the city after watching Baixi, so I didn't force her. Who would have thought that this child turned his head and left the nunnery, and bumped into such a strange thing."

She was stunned for a moment, then grabbed Teng Yuyi's hand and asked in a low voice, "Good boy, you and your sister have written letters, have you ever heard your sister mention which Xiao Langjun in the letter?"

Teng Yuyi had thought about this question a thousand times, but she had not seen her cousin for more than half a year when the accident happened.

"Sister sends me some novel items every three or five times. I never mentioned anything in the letter. I would like to ask my aunt, is there anything unusual about my sister in the mansion these days?"

Madam Du was shocked and thought about it for a while: "It's not that you don't know your sister, she has always been steady and thoughtful in everything, even if she encounters something unpleasant, she never shows her face. I think she is a little depressed these days, and I intend to pay attention to her. I didn't see anything wrong with my daily life. I heard that you were coming to Chang'an a few days ago. Your sister moved all your blankets and quilts to her house, and gave you all the food you mentioned to her. Zhang Luo came out ahead of time, I saw that she didn't look like she was worried, so she gave up."

She beat her chest with regret: "I'm also confused. There are so many fish in the nunnery, how can I leave her alone in the backyard! If I can't be rescued, I won't be alive."

Teng Yuyi grabbed Mrs. Du's shoulder: "We have invited Daoist Qingxuzi, are you afraid that my sister can't save her? My sister is now anxiously waiting for treatment, and everything needs my aunt to make up her mind. thing?"

Mrs. Du was stunned for a moment, then nodded her tears and said, "Good boy, you still understand, aunt is in a hurry."

After saying that, he forced himself to calm down, and then ordered his servants: "Send someone to the city to quickly deliver news to the master and the eldest son! The sooner the better!"

Teng Yuyi recalled the situation in the forest with a sullen face, just as the carriage passed the Moonlight Pavilion, she subconsciously turned her head to look out.

The lights in the building were bright, and the Jinshi Banquet was held.

The guests were all seated, and the door to the attic was tightly closed, so she didn't want to see the clue from the outside.

Arriving in front of Ziyun Tower, an elderly man from the palace greeted him and said, "The head of the road was drinking in the building first. I heard that the attack at the Moon Lamp Pavilion had started, and immediately disappeared. His Royal Highness was afraid of delay. Time, let the old slave wait here, and go to the Moon Lantern Pavilion to find the Taoist priest."

Mrs. Du didn't bother to think about why an old Taoist priest was interested in smashing, and hurriedly got off the driveway: "It's all up to His Royal Highness King Lao."

The old palace people brought a few cages; "His Royal Highness is always grateful for General Teng's life-saving grace back then, and I happened to bump into it tonight. If you are worried about your life, even if you don't have the friendship of the past, Your Highness will not sit idly by."

Just at this moment, the evening wind blew up the curtain in front of the cage, Du Tinglan choked, her face was covered with a frightening golden gray, and then her nose moved and she vomited out a large mouth of black blood.

The situation was so strange that Teng Yuyi and Mrs. Du trembled at the top of their hearts. While wiping the blood with a handkerchief, they said anxiously, "I think there is no cold wind, so please take us in as soon as possible."

The old man only knew that he had hit an evil object, but he didn't know how dangerous it was, so he hurriedly said: "Come with the old slave, the second lady of the county magistrate of Wannian County was also frightened just now, and she was going to rush back to the city for treatment. I heard that His Royal Highness the Prince invited the Taoist priest to take care of him temporarily, and he also entered the Ziyun Tower."

Mrs. Du nodded. His Majesty's big ox usually only invites officials of the third rank and above to accompany you to drink. If there is no noble invitation, ordinary officials cannot enter the Ziyun Tower.

In addition to the front building of Dazhuang, there are more than ten annexes of various sizes in Ziyun Tower, covering a very large area, enough to accommodate a thousand people.

The old palace people did not take them into the main building, but went directly to the annex at the back.

Most of the female relatives of officials have a banquet in the main building in front, but there are also many noble ladies decorated with pearls and greens in the annex. In the past, if the female relatives accidentally got drunk, they would often take a cage and leave on their own. Punching eyes, specially prepared a few cages.

When passing by the atrium, the silk and bamboo orchestra was in full swing, and nearly 100 actors and actresses walked into the courtyard and danced.

Teng Yuyi did not look sideways, and followed behind the old palace man.

In the blink of an eye, we arrived at Lanxia Pavilion. This place is located in the northwest corner of the back garden. There is a rockery in front and a wall behind it. Everyone thinks that it has a poor scenery. Often only drunk female relatives are willing to come here to hang out.

The people in the old palace knew that this place was cleaner than other places, so they reserved it for the injured.

Just as the group was about to enter the courtyard, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Why is there a man hiding in the cage?"

Everyone stopped, it turned out that the palace servant fell when he went down the steps, accidentally flipped Duanfu's leg, and the boots on his feet showed that he was a servant.

Teng Yuyi and Mrs. Du looked at each other. They were afraid that there would be a lot of trouble and would cover Duanfu's pocket tightly, so they would not reveal any flaws. I don't know why the palace servant suddenly fell.

The speakers were a few ladies with hairpins and jade, and they came with drunken faces, and they seemed to be going to Lanxia Pavilion to rest.

"Eunuch Wen, how can there be such a savage servant in the back garden, so why don't you drive this thing out!"

The old man smiled and bowed: "I'm sorry, this is the wife of General Teng, the envoy of the Huainan Jiedu. This is the wife of Dr. Du, a doctor of Chinese studies. There was an accident on the way to the banquet tonight. Right now waiting for treatment, the Prince of Chun'an heard that several people were injured, so he went to ask the Taoist priest first, and ordered the old slave to place the injured before leaving. Due to the urgency of the situation, it was too late to notify everywhere, and I hope the ladies don't blame them. ."

The women's expressions turned slightly stern: "So that's the case, I was always timid, and suddenly I saw a rough servant hiding in the cage. I mistakenly thought that someone had trespassed in the backyard, so I was rude, let us apologize."

Teng Yuyi smiled lightly, lifted the soap yarn from the power fence, bowed her head and bowed back and said, "I can't afford it, it's so sudden and abrupt, it's all our fault."

Seeing her cuteness and graceful delicacy, the girls first had a good feeling in their hearts, and someone whispered, "I heard that there were demons and evil spirits a few days ago, and several young ladies died one after another, but because there was no physical injury, Fa Cao mistakenly thought it was true. He died without illness, and it wasn't until there were more people reporting to the officials that the Dali Temple was disturbed."

Teng Yuyi was taken aback. Before and after the murder of her cousin in her previous life, she had never heard of demons in Chang'an City. There were obvious streaks on her neck. Could it be that the one I ran into in the forest tonight wasn't the murderer who killed my cousin in a previous life.

"Since we have invited Dali Temple and Taoist priest Qingxuzi, what exactly is at work, I think we can find out soon. Mrs. Teng, just put this manservant outside and wait for treatment, so why bring it to the hospital."

Mrs. Du smiled and said, "I can't blow the cold wind. If I leave it outside, I'm afraid that it will be gone if I can't wait for treatment. It is said that it was the protector who was seriously injured. How can I ignore it."

All the women looked hesitant: "But some of the ladies on the table got drunk and let this servant lie in the yard. What if the girls came to rest here and were bumped by this guy."

Wen Gong Gong said: "It's all old slaves who don't think carefully, only when the injured are female relatives, when they went to the door to greet Mrs. Teng and Mrs. Du, they found out that a male servant was also injured, and the head of the county magistrate's family had already been The second lady was placed in Lanxia Pavilion, and she couldn't move any other yard for a while, so she had to do it first. But please rest assured, the old slave has already ordered the Zhaolexuan next to it, and it can be placed in a quarter of an hour at most. already."

The girls loosened a little, and suddenly someone said, "What is this doing?"

A glamorous woman walked lazily into the hospital, looking around the crowd with a pair of smart and beautiful eyes as she walked.

The ladies stepped forward and saluted: "Mrs. An Guogong."

Teng Yuyi didn't stay in Chang'an for a long time in his previous life, but he also met a lot of daughters of princes and ministers. He vaguely remembered that after the death of his original wife, Duke An Guo married the widowed sister of Li's family in Zhaojun as a sequel.

Li's daughter, Yan Shuli, has been good at rhythm since she was a child. Mrs. Li regarded this daughter as the jewel in her palm and listened to her playing the piano every day.

Li Nv was also filial, and An Ran was supported by her mother until she was in her twenties before leaving the court. It was a rare and good marriage, but her husband fell off his horse and died within three years of getting married.

Li Nv was not happy to go back to Chang'an to travel. An Guogong accidentally met her, and she was shocked at first sight. The next day, she invited someone to come and say kiss.

In Teng Yuyi's impression, Mrs. Xiao Anguo's wife was weak and did not like to make friends, so she had never met her in her previous life, but when I saw her tonight, I realized that Li Nv was so bright.

Someone told what happened just now, and Mrs. Anguo raised her eyebrows: "Tonight, all the courtyards are occupied, only Lanxia Pavilion is idle, and we are not allowed to sober up here, where else can we go? Earlier they forced I drank a lot of wine, and I was panicking, and if I didn't rest, I was afraid I would get sick."

Eunuch Wen's face became tense. The wind was very strong tonight, and the light curtain of the cage couldn't block the wind. He had learned from it just now, and the little lady of the Du family had a terrifying expression when she blew the wind. If the servant was lying in the wind , it is estimated that he will die soon.

Mrs. Du went to visit Du Tinglan in the cage. She was so angry that her hands and feet were cold. She couldn't drag it any longer. She had to be carried to the house immediately.

"What are you waiting for? Throw him out, he won't die. He's just a rough servant, but he's more expensive than the master." Mrs. An Guo seemed to be quite drunk. With his hands on his forehead, he wandered into the courtyard.

Madam Du was on fire, thinking about what to say, but Teng Yuyi smiled ahead of her and said, "Mrs. Guogong doesn't know anything, Eunuch Wen placed the injured in the same courtyard, and it was convenient for the Taoist priest to come. Second, it is also to find out the origin of the evil spirit as soon as possible. This monster appears bizarrely, and its mana is strong. If it is not surrendered earlier, I don’t know who will be the next victim.”

The faces of the girls changed, and Mrs. Anguo stopped and looked back at Teng Yuyi.

Teng Yuyi said again: "You are not in the bamboo forest just now. I don't know how ferocious that monster is. Its claws are so big that it can kill people with one claws. When it pounces on people, there is no sound at all."

The people in the court looked at each other, fear deepening in their eyes.

Teng Yuyi said: "This kind of evil spirit will not be eradicated in one day, and there will be no peaceful days in Chang'an. If the ladies go out, they may collide with it at any time. Now we can only hope that the Taoist priest can capture this monster as soon as possible, but even if the Taoist priest has the ability to reach the sky, I have to save this old slave first, why—"

Mrs. Anguo was intrigued: "Forgive my clumsiness, I really can't see the ability of this old servant. Tell me, why did the Taoist priest come to save this old servant first?"

Teng Yuyi smiled and said: "The Taoist priest has not met the monster, and if he fails to find out the details of the monster when they fight, it is very likely that the monster escapes by chance. This old slave is different. He not only saw the appearance of the monster, but also Knowing how it makes moves, as the so-called know yourself and the enemy, if you want to catch the demon, the life of this old slave will never be lost, not only can it be lost, but you have to find a way to wake him up earlier."

The ladies have loosened up, and Mrs. Anguo's complexion is unpredictable, and it seems that she has no intention of stopping.

"Forgot to say a word." Teng Yuyi added solemnly, "If this old slave hadn't sacrificed himself to resist for a while, then the monster might have jumped to the Ziyun Tower to make a mess. It's a small matter to spoil the banquet, but it's a big thing to hurt people."

Everyone felt chills down their spines. After hearing this, they almost screamed. Teng Yuyi glanced from left to right. Seeing that he was almost done, he asked Eunuch Wen to lift the injured person in. He went under the porch, turned around and bent his knees. Yi Li: "Thank you, Madam, for your acceptance."

Mrs. Anguo smiled lazily: "Whose daughter are you? I have never seen you in Chang'an City."

Eunuch Wen and Mrs. Du were busy arranging the injured. Teng Yuyi wanted to enter the house, so she couldn't help but laugh patiently: "If Mrs. Hui, the little girl's surname is Teng, and Aye is Teng Shao, the military governor of Huainan."

"It turned out to be General Teng's daughter. I lost my temper when I was drunk just now. If my words and deeds are inappropriate, I will apologize to Madam Teng first."

Teng Yuyi pretended to be generous: "Madam's words are serious, but it's just a misunderstanding."

Mrs. An Guogong covered her mouth and smiled: "I know that Madam Teng is still angry with me, and now I'm sober, and I understand what happened, so let me give you a good thing, and the right should be my fault. ."

She took off her purse from her waist and took out a small jade-colored clean porcelain vase: "Last year, the grandfather of the country got it from Qingxuzi Dao, it is said to be able to control hundreds of poisons. I am the most timid person. Carry it with me, it's a coincidence. A few months ago, my nurse and I went to Weiqu to play, and accidentally ran into the evil spirit. , I was quite frightened, thinking of this medicine pill, in a hurry, I fed one to the nurse, and it took only half a stick of incense to see it."

Teng Yuyi was secretly shocked, listening to this description, it actually matched the symptoms under her cousin's eyes everywhere.

Mrs. Du and the wife of the steward of the county magistrate's house heard a few words in the room and hurriedly lifted the curtain and came out.

"I don't know what kind of evil you have hit, but Qingxuzi has a profound way of doing things, and the prescription should be able to exorcise evil spirits. You can use it temporarily, or it may be able to resist for a while."

Mrs. Du was overjoyed, her daughter's life was on the line, and Daoist Qingxuzi had not shown up for a long time. This medicinal pill was undoubtedly a rain and dew for them. She hurried down the steps and bowed her head again: "Thank you, Madam."

Teng Yuyi was full of thoughts on how to save her cousin and Duanfu, so she immediately put aside her constriction and saluted seriously with Madam Du.

Mrs. Anguo asked them to help them up, and mocked herself: "Who told me that I am drunk, I should apologize, isn't this not acquaintance, the more I look at it, the more I think this child is likable, come, pick it up Let me see Mi Li."

Teng Yuyi lifted the soap yarn as she said, and inadvertently glanced down, her eyes suddenly froze.

Mrs. Anguo's every move was full of charm, and she held Teng Yuyi's hand and said: "'The prosperity of the Quartet, Chen Yuguangling', I have seen such a beauty as Lady Teng, and I know where Yangzhou's reputation comes from. I wanted to go there. Traveling in Yangzhou, how can I not live up to my expectations, and it is rare to find such a good match, is Mrs. Teng willing to tell us about the local customs?"

The girls laughed in amazement: "Usually I only know that the lady of the country is a master of poetry, wine and qin. It is rare to see a lady so interested. Several injured people have life-saving elixir. It is better to sober up and talk in the next room, and wait for the Taoist priest to come. It's never too late to go."

Just received a gift from someone, and since she couldn't say "no", Madam Du was eager to enter the house to take care of her, patted the back of Teng Yuyi's hand, and said in a low voice, "Go, my aunt will feed the medicine inside, you are new to Chang'an, Taking this opportunity to get to know more little ladies, it is also convenient to move around in the boudoir."

Teng Yuyi stared at the hand that Mrs. Anguo was holding her own, in shock, she thought about it back and forth, and squeezed out a smile.

Surrounded on the left and right, Teng Yuyi could only walk into the house with the girls. Unexpectedly, just after taking two steps, there was a clatter, and something fell from the belt around her waist, and it rolled all the way to Mrs. Anguo's feet. Fang stopped.

It turned out to be a round silver silk hydrangea, Teng Yuyi blinked: "I'm sorry, it's my sachet."

She separated the girls and went forward to pick up the thing. When she got up, she "accidentally" bumped into Mrs. Anguo's right arm. Through a layer of light and soft cloth, she felt that the bottom was too hard.

As if struck by lightning, she looked around the courtyard. The lady in charge of the county magistrate's family was already in a hurry. Mrs. Du was eager to distribute the pills to the woman. She stepped forward and snatched the bottle: "Slow. on."

Everyone was stunned.

Teng Yuyi looked at the medicine bottle, but her ears paid attention to the movement around her. I didn't know when, the Lanxia Pavilion became extremely quiet. There should be a lot of music outside, but not even a single murmur could be heard.

This situation was strange and inexplicable, Teng Yuyi suppressed the fear that was surging in his chest, and calmly said: "Madam, I have a headache and nausea, and I have also been infected with the evil energy of that thing. I don't know if this medicine pill will work?"

"It works naturally."

Madam Du just recovered her senses, and was busy coming over to check Teng Yuyi's face: "Yu'er!"

Teng Yuyi comforted her aunt: "aunt don't have to worry, I'll be fine after taking the medicine."

She tried to twist the medicine bottle, but said helplessly: "I can't open the medicine bottle, can you ask Madam to help?"

"What's so difficult about this, just bring it."

Teng Yu pointed to the right hand of Mrs. Anguo's always hidden in her sleeve: "Madam, I haven't seen you lift this hand since you entered the yard. Could it be that you are injured?"

Mrs. Anguo's color suddenly changed.

Teng Yuyi said earnestly, "I have learned some Hu people's massage techniques from Aye. If Madam doesn't mind, let me take a look at it for you."

After she finished speaking, Mrs. Anguo's tense face showed a smile: "Don't bother Madam Teng, I twisted it during the drinking order, and I couldn't do anything better. I used to have this problem, just take a break. ."

Teng Yuyi looked at Mrs. An Guogong quietly: "My wife is famous for her piano skills in Luoyang, and she is good at everything. I want to cherish my hands more than ordinary people. Why don't you seek medical attention when you are injured?"

Madam Du was stunned, and everyone was puzzled.

Mrs. An Guogong tilted her head and looked at her right arm, with a smile on her lips, "Why do you say that?"

Teng Yuyi bit her head and said, "Because I can't figure it out, I have to ask Madam for advice."

Mrs. Anguo waved her left hand: "Come here, I'll tell you why."

Teng Yuyi glanced at the entrance of the courtyard, and realized in horror that Yingshengyanyu in the waterside corridor outside had disappeared out of thin air.

The door was as silent as a solitary tomb, the wind from outside couldn't get in, and the sound from inside couldn't get out.

She sweated like rain, not only did not move forward, but secretly touched the emerald sword in her sleeve.

Mrs. An Guogong noticed Teng Yuyi's movements, pulled a noble girl beside her, and said with a tender smile, "Go, bring me the things in her sleeves."

The girl was puzzled at first, and then seemed to be stunned. After a moment of stunnedness, Mu Dazed walked towards Teng Yuyi, her joints stiff when she moved, as if someone was controlling her from behind.

Teng Yuyi was so terrified that she was about to draw her sword. Unexpectedly, a thousand-thousand-thousand-point strange force suddenly fell from her shoulders, locking her in place. After that, no matter how hard she exerted her strength, the scabbard would not move at all.

She squeezed out a smile and said, "Madam, what are you doing?"

Mrs. Anguo took care of the smoky gray cloth in her arms, looking relaxed and content: "Miss Teng, I should ask you this, what are you hiding in your sleeves?"

Teng Yuyi looked around, her aunt and father-in-law Wen were not far away, but her eyes were empty, and she was startled collectively. She sneered: "The monster in the forest is chasing it, and I plan to cut off its left claw as well."

Mrs. Anguo seemed to be slapped in the face, and her eyes skyrocketed.

The wife of the county magistrate was too far away to see clearly, but she knew that after waiting for a long time, the life-saving pills were late, and Mrs. Anguo was eager to donate the medicine, but Mrs. Teng wanted to block it.

She stomped her feet: "Ms. Teng, Mrs. Guogong has a good heart. It's fine if you don't appreciate it. Why do you say something rude?"

Suddenly, someone laughed contemptuously and said, "Because she's not stupid."

Before he finished speaking, something shot from above the courtyard, as anxious as a spark, shaped like an arrow, pierced through the dark night, and slammed into Mrs. Anguo's face.

Mrs. Anguo was startled at first, and then a look of contempt appeared on her face. When the thing was approaching, she smirked and swung the silk and brushed it off without any effort.

Teng Yuyi was greatly disappointed, the man was quite powerful, who knew that he could not withstand a single blow, he thought it was Daoist Qingxuzi coming, but it seemed that he was someone else.

She glanced to the side secretly, and under the bright moonlight, there was a person standing under the courtyard wall, with that lazy and calm look, it really didn't look like she had just suffered a setback.

Mrs. Anguo smiled while covering her sleeves: "What kind of magic weapon do I take, it turns out to be a horse scorpion. I often hear that the prince is fond of playing. Did you send this thing to play with me?"

The boy stepped on the moon and said with a smile, "Are you worthy?"

Mrs. An Guogong's eyes were full of spring water: "The prince is uninvited, he is considered to be very courageous, but unfortunately his ability is too poor, and he will join me as soon as he arrives, whether it is worthy or not, is it you who has the final say?"

The young man sneered, and Mrs. An Guogong swept her eyes over her feet, her complexion suddenly changed, I saw that the inconspicuous horse was suddenly split into two halves, and a scarlet-black insect sprang out from the electric light and flint.

The worms turned towards her five-colored clouds and twisted her body, then swam around her feet.

Mrs. Anguo turned pale in shock. This move was impossible to guard against. If it were attacked from the air, she would have jumped outside the hospital with her ability. How could she expect this person to be so bad that she used blindfolding to confuse her first.

It was too late to escape, and she hurriedly walked back.

But the worm seemed to have spirituality. She jumped up an inch, and the worm climbed an inch; retreated an inch, and the worm moved forward an inch; gradually elongated and thickened, and suddenly turned into an iron chain to slap her from the beginning. tied to the foot.

"Is it fun?" The boy had a beautiful voice, and his laughter was full of irony.