In the palace.

Xie Ze, who was dressed in black, had just stepped on the steps of the Yanfu Palace, and the attendant standing at the entrance of the hall with his hands down bowed and said with a smile: "The emperor has ordered, please General Xie directly enter the palace to meet you." ”

Xie Ze snorted and stepped into the threshold with his feet raised.

"Xiao Xie is here." The emperor put down the red pen in his hand and stiffened his back, "I'm really tired." Just got back from Shanxian? ”

"Yes." Xie Ze came closer and knelt down to salute.

"Get up, and speak quickly. Sitting there and saying, I don't want to look up at you, my neck is tired. "The emperor seemed very interested.

"Yes." Xie Ze stood up and sat on the brocade stool signaled by the emperor.

"Tao Zhong took that girl to Shanxian County at the beginning of November of the Yiwei year, and Tao Zhong has been dressing up as a woman in Shanxian County.

When he first arrived in Shanxian County, Tao Zhong hugged the girl and lived in the Jiefu Inn, and five days later, he bought the small courtyard where the girl lived, and found a woman who fled to Shanxian County to be a nurse for the girl.

Looking for the nurse is the hand of the innkeeper, said that he remembered very clearly, Tao Zhong looked at dozens of them in a row, before he picked it, the nurse's surname was Zou, she was only in her early twenties at the time, and the firstborn had just died of illness. ”

"The person Tao Zhong picked, it's not bad." The emperor answered leisurely.

"Yes, two years later, Zou left Shanxian and returned home, and Tao Zhong found a self-combing female gentleman from the women's school, surnamed Huang, to take care of the girl.

Two years ago, Mr. Huang died of illness, half a year before his death, Tao Zhong moved her out of the small courtyard, held in a nunnery two or three miles away, asked someone to take care of her, diet and medicine are very careful, after Mr. Huang died, according to the rules of combing women cremated and scattered ashes into the ground.

After Mr. Huang, there is now this deaf and dumb lonely widow, she fled to Shanxian County, no one knows what her surname is, where people call her deaf woman. Before taking care of the girl, the deaf woman worked odd jobs everywhere to make a living.

One of the subordinates could compare some words with the deaf man, and when she asked carefully, she could compare very little meaning, and knew very little, but she only said that the girl was pitiful, that the girl was mute, and that the girl rarely spoke.

The neighbors had never seen the girl, and the nurses, Zou and Mr. Huang, were very talkative people and rarely went out. ”

"Tao Zhongzhen didn't live with his girl?" The emperor frowned slightly.

"Yes, I lived in a rented house next door, and then I bought the two houses, and when I arrived, the houses were empty.

The two sisters-in-law who took care of Mr. Huang's last days carefully interrogated and said that Mr. Huang had never mentioned that girl to them, that Zou family, had already been asked to find it, but. Xie Ze looked at the emperor, "Fourteen years ago, when the emperor was advancing rapidly and expanding his territory, there were too many possible states and counties, and there was little hope of finding it. ”

"Don't look for it, if Tao Zhong can let her go, she will definitely know nothing."

"The minister thinks so, too."

"Tao Zhong said that the girl didn't know her background and didn't know him, what do you think?" The emperor stood in front of Xie Ze, looked down at him and asked.

"The girl's eyes were bright and flexible, but her demeanor was a little rude, and the minister thought that what Tao Zhong said was true."

"Ugh." The emperor sighed, "It seems that as Tao Zhong said, his master really hates Mingshui, so much so that he doesn't even want to look at his children, alas, why bother, alas, don't tell Mingshui about this." ”

"Yes." Xie Ze lowered his eyelids.

Tao Zhong said that his master did not hate Li Mingshui, but she was extremely disgusted and despised him, as well as the emperor.

"Where did Tao Zhong bury his master, I'm afraid no one will know." The emperor looked stunned.

"Minister......" Xie Ze was about to stand up.

"Sit down, sit down." The emperor raised his hand and pressed it on Xie Ze's shoulder, "What's wrong with you?" Tao Zhong is a person who has run out of oil and lamps, and there is no trial to judge, besides, I have told you, and I will listen to as much as he says.

Don't mention this matter, that girl, you pick a few people to watch it, Mingshui has already arranged for someone to watch her, your people are far away, don't let Mingshui know. ”

"Yes."

"Go and meet the prince, tomorrow morning is nothing serious, you have worked hard for the past few days, you don't have to get up early tomorrow, sleep well." By the way, don't forget to mention to the prince that I'm tired. The emperor pointed to his face.

"Yes." Xie Ze showed a slight smile on the corner of his mouth, stood up and withdrew.

The emperor watched Xie Ze go out, stood for a long time, and then sat back, and then watched the recital.

……………………

Li Ran dried her hair, ate a few snacks, drank two or three cups of tea, and saw that this collapse was much more spacious than the bed, with cushions and a thin quilt, so she simply lay down and fell asleep.

She had been bumpy on the road for two days, and she had not slept well at night, and she was tired and sleepy.

Qiu Yue watched Li Ran lie down by herself, pulled the quilt to cover her, and breathed for a long time, obviously asleep, and was stunned for a while before she came to her senses.

This girl was completely different from what she expected, she was a monster!

"Aunt Zhou, the girl is in a hurry, I'm in a hurry to come, I haven't packed up a lot of things, the girl is asleep now, please look at it for a while, I'll go get something urgent." Qiu Yue laughed with Zhou E and said.

She turned out to be a second-class girl in the old lady's yard.

Zhou E smiled clearly: "You have to arrange someone else to watch, I won't wait for people." ”

"It's me who is confused." Qiu Yue hurriedly responded with a smile, explained a few words to a few little girls, and hurriedly went out.

In the current situation, she must hurry to report to the old lady and ask for instructions.

In Rongxuan's courtyard, Chang'an's wife Zhang was also there.

Qiu Yue started from seeing Li Ran's first glance, what she did and said, what her expression was, and even where Li Ran walked a few steps, she made it clear, until Li Ran fell asleep, and she came to report.

“…… Old lady, ma'am, this girl," Qiu Yue's words paused, she didn't know how to describe the strange feeling, "It's a little scary. ”

"Let Zhou E wait for her?" Old Madam Chen looked at Mrs. Zhang and said.

Her focus is not on what Qiu Yue said about Li Ran.

Mrs. Zhang pursed her lips tightly and did not speak.

Zhou E is a personal soldier who charges into battle with Hou Ye, she has a position to receive a salary, she is not a servant and slave in the house, she will not wait for people, she can only go to protect the girl.

"Go back, wait for that girl first, and don't let her find fault." Old Madam Chen also thought of it, was silent for a moment, and ordered Qiu Yue.

"Aunt Zhou?" Qiu Yue hesitated.

Originally, the old lady asked her to take charge of Cuiweiju, but now that Hou Ye has ordered Aunt Zhou to go over, who should take charge of Cuiweiju? She can't control Aunt Zhou.

"Didn't she say that she wouldn't wait. You just do your thing. The old lady was a little impatient.

Although Qiu Yue felt that the old lady didn't say this, she didn't dare to ask again, bent her knees and withdrew.

"Zhou E's matter, I told Hou Ye for a while, the people in Cuiweiju were all picked from me, and if he doesn't worry, he won't worry about me. Don't think about it. Old Madam Chen looked at Mrs. Zhang and said.

"Hmm." Mrs. Zhang hummed in a low voice, was silent for a moment, and said with a forced smile: "A-Niang, if he wants to protect, let him protect, a girl's family, she is already seventeen years old, and it is irrelevant to marry in one year or two." ”

"Alas," Old Madam Chen sighed, "you can always see better than me, too, then send her to marry early, and marry far away." ”