Chang'an, Xichi Xiaozhou, Jiang Niang waiting house.

Since the day Cui Hu received the appointment as the envoy of the Lingnan Festival, Cui Hu began to consider quitting the residence of Jiang Niang after the official residence of Yushitai. The Tang Dynasty did not provide free housing for Beijing officials, because there were 18,800 officials in the country, including more than 2,600 officials serving in Beijing. In order to alleviate the contradiction of the tension in official residences, officials were allowed to buy real estate in the capital, and Beijing officials who could not afford to buy private houses lived in their respective offices and had to pay monthly rent.

Cui Hu is an honest official, with clean sleeves, and he can't afford to buy a private house in Chang'an. Jiang Niang smiled and said that Cui Hu "received Yulu at the beginning of the month, and felt that the days and months were long." At the end of the month, I have to pay for the house, and I feel that the days and months are short."

Once a Beijing official is transferred, demoted, or returned to his hometown, the official residence must be returned immediately. Cui Hu was the imperial historian at the time, and he should lead by example.

While preparing for the transfer of the Jiedu envoy, he took the time to personally look for a waiting house for the transition of Jiang Niang, he rented a vacant land in Xichi Xiaozhou, and built an extremely simple courtyard for his wife to live temporarily. ”

※After Cui Hu left Chang'an, Jiang Niang lived in peace in Xichi Xiaozhou, regarded the maidservant Qiaoyun as her own, clothed and vegetable, and enjoyed herself. Jiang Niang has a unique eye, planted a few peach trees in the front yard and behind the courtyard, and wrote "Peach House" on the door of the small courtyard.

On this day, Jiang Niang flew needles and threads under the peach tree, embroidered one and Dilian, and embroidered mandarin ducks, one needle and one thread contained the deep meaning of Cui Hu.

Qiao Yun saw that she opened a vegetable patch several feet long in the yard, and when she loosened the ground, she clapped her hands and prepared to go to the street to buy some vegetable seedlings and plant them. Seeing this, Jiang Niang stopped her needlework and told Qiaoyun to buy a few strands of velvet thread and peacock feather thread by the way. Qiaoyun promised, like a yellow warbler who had just flown out of the cage, and went out in a hurry.

The pedestrians on the street rubbed shoulders one after another, Qiaoyun's eyes were looking forward to it, and his expression was leisurely. When she walked around the street and bought back the velvet thread, peacock feather thread and vegetable seedlings, the situation changed, and she couldn't go in and out of the peach house freely.

Qiaoyun walked a foot away from the Taolu, and found that there was a strip-shaped wooden sign half-buried in the middle of the road, and a line of blood-red words was written on the wooden card: Those who enter the Taolu will definitely die within half a day.

Qiaoyun was shocked, she didn't see this wooden sign when she came out of Taolu. Qiaoyun couldn't care so much, and was bent on seeing if there was anything wrong in Taolu and whether his wife was in danger.

She pushed open the courtyard door and saw Madame standing blankly under the peach tree, her face pale and her eyes full of fear. The embroidery, which was nearing completion, was trampled on the ground, and there was a large footprint on Tillian, apparently not of Madame herself.

Seeing that Madame was unscathed, and the stone in Qiaoyun's heart fell to the ground, she patted her chest and said, "Thank God, Madame, you are safe and sound, and you scared the slave to death." As he spoke, he put down the fleece thread, peacock feather thread, and vegetable seedlings he bought.

Qiaoyun bent down to pick up the embroidery on the ground, and Jiang Niang stopped her loudly like crazy: "Don't pick it up, otherwise I will fight with you." ”

Qiaoyun was stunned, bent over and motionless, the whole person seemed to stiffen suddenly, she had never seen Jiang Niang lose such a big temper so far after serving Jiang Niang.

"You go, go as far as possible." Jiang Niang drove her away.

Qiao Yun remembered the shocking sentence written on the wooden sign outside the courtyard: "Those who enter the peach house will definitely die within half a day." She understood the reason why Madame drove her away, Madame was protecting her, afraid that something would happen to her.

"Madam, have any outsiders been here?" Qiaoyun asked anxiously.

Jiang Niang turned to the peach tree, and Qiao Yun found that there was an hourglass under the peach tree, and Jiang Niang's eyes were staring at the hourglass. As long as the hourglass misses the last grain of sand, it is enough for half a day, and the two women in the peach house are definitely dead.

Qiaoyun comforted Jiang Niang: "Madam, don't be afraid! With Qiaoyun, no one can hurt you. ”

Jiang Niang's body began to tremble, and tears had flowed: "You have been fired, the farther away from me, the better!" Jiang Niang's tone was resolute, colder than the spring rain.

Qiaoyun struggled and said: "Madam, you said that we are like sisters, my sister is in trouble, how can my sister steal life alone?" Even if my sister dies, she will die with my sister. ”

Jiang Niang suddenly jumped up, slapped her in the face, and sneered: "When did I recognize your sister, I am the dignified lady of the festival, you are just a girl who calls and scolds me at will, what qualifications do you have to be my godsister, please think about it with your brain." Hurry up and get out of here, the farther you go, the better! ”

Jiang Niang's words were vicious and sharp, like a knife that stabbed Qiaoyun's heart.

Qiaoyun glared at Jiang Niang, stepping back step by step, she suddenly found that she was facing a stranger, an unreasonable nervous strange woman, a woman who had no emotion and only an empty shell.

Qiaoyun's hands were clenched, and her nails had pierced into the flesh, but she didn't realize it at all, she just stared at Jiang Niang, and said word by word: "The slave will go!" Madame, don't worry, I swear that the slave will never see Madame again! Before leaving, the slave maid has one thing to do, who buries the wooden plaque in the peach house, and who the slave and maid find to fight for their lives. ”

Qiaoyun laughed, like a beast. After laughing, she suddenly turned around and ran out, even if she would die in half a day, she would have to break the net.

Jiang Niang didn't look at her, but stared at the hourglass under the peach tree, and two lines of tears flowed down her face. In less than half a day, Qiaoyun is at least safe at present.

Qiaoyun ran out of Taolu, thinking about one thing: Who has been to Taolu? Who threatened Madame? She would not abandon her wife and run for her life, vowing to fight to the death with a lurking enemy.

She was about to set aside the wooden card and step on it, but as soon as she approached the wooden card, her face changed again, and it turned out that there was also a line of bloody words written on the back of the wooden card: "Those who come out of the peach house will definitely die in half a day." ”

You have to die in and out of Taolu for half a day, the wooden card is ruthless, and the killer is even more ruthless. The most terrible thing is not the threat, but not knowing who the enemy is in the shadows?

※ Soon after returning to Qiaoyun on the street, Jiang Niang, who was dedicated to embroidery, heard someone knocking on the door. Jiang Niang moved to Xichi Xiaozhou, in addition to Jiang Tao, Lei Ting, Lei Jun, and Qiaoyun, all I knew was Cui Hu's good colleagues. Jiang Niang heard the knock on the door urgently, thinking that it was Cui Hu's colleague, she didn't think deeply, and said without raising her head: "The door is open, come in if you have something." ”

The door was pushed inward, a cardboard box was stuffed into the crack, and the door was pulled back. The person who delivered the carton was not admitted to the hospital.

Jiang Niang was so strange, put down the needle and thread in her hand, walked to the back of the door, and picked up the carton. I went back to the peach tree and opened it, and the box contained a dried flower that had fallen apart.

Jiang Niang recognized this dried flower, this is the killer weapon of her cousin Jiang Tao, and she generally never leaves her body. Now that it has been torn into pieces and thrown into the peach house, it may be a metaphor for the robbery encountered by the peach halfway, and there is more than luck.

Jiang Niang was frightened.