Xinjiang, Fan Di

The cold air is filled with the faint fragrance of red plums, and on the bluestone pavement, the snow of last night has been swept away in the early morning, and the flower beds on both sides of the road have been quietly covered with the snow accumulated for a winter. Inside and outside the house, the servants and maids did their work in an orderly manner, not daring to raise their voices or whisper, and closed their eyes, as if they did not exist except for the rustling of clothes.

In the warm pavilion in the house, it is quiet all around, and if you listen carefully, you can clearly hear the chirping of sparrows foraging outside the window.

Mingyun sat by the window, grasping the grains in his palms, and from time to time he scattered some for the sparrows to peck. She had been feeding the sparrows for a winter, so the birds were not afraid of her. Every day when the hour comes, a flock of chubby sparrows falls on the plum trees and snow outside the window. Sometimes, Mingyun would spread out her hands and stick out the window, as she did at this moment, and let the daring sparrows fly to her hands to eat the grain.

Bai Xin returned to the house from the outside and walked in front of Mingyun, as if he had something to say.

The sparrow was the most vigilant, and as soon as someone approached, it spread its wings and flew away from the palm of Mingyun's hand. Mingyun threw out the last bit of grain in his hand, clapped his hands, turned around, and said, "Aunt Xin and Ah Wei stay, and the rest of the people go down." ”

When the servants heard this, they retreated one by one and closed the door.

"Auntie, but what's the news?" Mingyun said.

Bai Xin said in a low voice: "I inquired, Madame went to Sanquanyi and lived in another courtyard recently. The annex was a private property that the lady bought in her early years, and there was a hot spring in the south of Samcheon-eup. ”

Mingyun frowned tightly: "Sanquanyi? Why did Mother go there? "Sanquan-eup Mingyun knows that it is a small city adjacent to the royal capital, located in the southeast of the royal capital. Although the distance is not far, it takes a whole day to travel by horse-drawn carriage. There are several hot springs in the eye king, so why brave the wind and snow to go so far in the middle of winter.

Bai Xin shook his head and sighed, "Madame's itinerary this time is secret. In the post station in the suburbs, a carriage was specially changed. We have no one in our hands, and all we can hear is these things on the surface. Hey, it's easy to find out, but it's hard to go inside. ”

Mingyun said: "Taking money to pry your mouth is a good idea." Those who can be deceived by wealth are not destined to be reused. It's good to hear this news. Aunt Xin, tell the people below not to continue listening. There are no simple people around mothers. ”

Bai Xin nodded and said: "The slave and maid also think so, those people around Madame were all trained by Luo Ying. None of the maids she brought out were fuel-efficient lamps. If they find out, it won't be good. ”

Ah Wei said: "Master, don't you want to know what's going on, if we give up that informant, we won't be able to inquire about anything." ”

Bai Xin said: "Ah Wei is right, master, do you have any other ideas?" ”

Mingyun was silent for a moment and said, "Aunt Xin, do you remember the time when Sister Quinoa came here at the beginning of the year, and she told me an interesting story." ”

"At the beginning of the year?" Bai Xin recalled it and seemed to have some impressions.

At this time, Ah Wei said: "I remember. I remember. On that day, the quinoa master came to our son's mansion as a guest. While eating dim sum, the quinoa master told a folk anecdote. ”

Bai Xin suddenly said: "I also remember what I said." ”

Mingyun bowed his head and said: "At that time, Sister Quinoa said that in our Quwo City, there is a solid family, and the eldest son of this family married a woman from another city. After the woman got married, she always found that her husband often ran out and didn't know what to do. She really wanted to inquire, but she had just gotten married, and she didn't know anyone well. So, she came up with a solution. She went out every morning to distribute bread to the beggars, and asked them to help her carry a message, each worth a loaf. Although the beggar has a lowly status and is inaccessible to many places, he can describe the people who come in and out. Soon, the woman knew exactly what her husband was doing outside, what food he ate, and who she had met. At the time, I just listened to it as a story, but now that I think about it, we can learn from it. ”

Bai Xin asked: "Master, what do you mean, let's also use this method?" Use a beggar to find out the news? ”