At noon on the 28th of November, Ji Xingxuan arrived at Changchun Square as promised and stopped by the street. She got off the sedan chair and looked around the street. She didn't find anyone suspicious, so she led her maidservant through the busy street to the market on the opposite side of the street.
The anonymous letter she received only asked her to keep the appointment at Eternal Spring Square at noon today. Firstly, it didn't ask her to go alone, and secondly, it didn't explain how the transaction would be carried out. She couldn't even confirm what the other party wanted.
But Ji Xingxuan wasn't worried. Ji Huaishan had arranged for five or six guards to disguise themselves as passers-by in the vicinity. Even her maidservant knew some martial arts. As long as the person showed up, they wouldn't let him go no matter what.
Ji Xingxuan deliberately arrived a moment earlier, but it wasn't noon yet. After waiting for a long time, no one came. It wasn't fun to stand on the street in winter, and the cold wind made her face hurt. Fortunately, she was dressed warmly. A light red fur cloak wrapped around her slim figure, and a green veil covered her face, revealing only her white forehead and eyes. Even if it was only half covered, it was enough to make passers-by turn back and stare.
The winter sun was half hidden in the clouds. Hearing the ringing of the bell tower in the distance, Ji Xingxuan became alert and looked at the passers-by in front of her. Suddenly, she felt something was thrown behind her. The maidservant beside her made a sound and bent down to pick up a crumpled paper ball.
"Miss."
Ji Xingxuan took the paper ball and quickly looked behind her, but she could only see a short figure sneaking into the crowd and disappearing in the blink of an eye. She didn't ask the maidservant to chase after him, but opened the paper ball and unfolded it. On it was written: "Go south, there is a blind old beggar. Put the red string in your hand into the broken alms bowl in front of him. Take five steps back and wait for a while, and you will get what you want." Ji Xingxuan thought: Sure enough, the anonymous person with Yi Zi's test paper didn't want to meet her face to face, fearing that she would see through his identity.
Now she was very curious. Since the other party didn't show up, how did he plan to take away the Calamity Blocking Stone in her hand, and how was he going to exchange the test paper with her? Could it be that from the very beginning, that person had the intention to gain something without risking anything?
She furrowed her brows and carefully put the ball of paper into her sleeve. She whispered a few words to the maidservant and told her to inform the guards in the dark to pay attention to the beggar.
After a while, when the maidservant came back, Ji Xingxuan walked into the street south of the road. With one step, she went from the north to the south of the city.
The people of Anling said that there was a street called Qianyuan Street. It was divided into the north and south by only one street, but there were two different scenes. The north side was neat and tidy, while the south side was bustling with people. Changchun Square was originally a vegetable market. Early in the morning, farmers would enter the city to sell their wares. There were only a few types of winter vegetables, such as green and white, spinach, and radish. They were all placed on the ground. Many people who lived in the north of the city would come here to buy, so this street was always bustling during the day.
There were more and more people on the street. Ji Xingxuan had her maidservant walk in front of her to clear the way so that she wouldn't run into other people, but the crowd still made her feel a little uncomfortable. Behind her, a few guards followed.
She looked carefully on both sides of the road. After walking for about a hundred steps, she saw the blind beggar mentioned in the letter at the foot of the wall of a bun shop. This old man had white hair and a haggard expression. He was curled up at the foot of the wall, his clothes were tattered and his eyes were covered with a dirty black cloth. There was no doubt that he was blind. In front of him, there was a broken pottery bowl with only three to five copper coins.
Last year, there was a drought in the north and many beggars fled to Anling City. Because there was no lack of women coming and going to buy vegetables and meat in Changchun Square, many people felt pity for them, so there were more beggars here than other places. In the alley behind this old beggar, there were four to five beggars squatting there. There were big and small beggars, all dressed in thin clothes, their heads hunched against the cold.
Ji Xingxuan stopped in front of this blind old beggar. Her eyes showed some pity. She untied her pouch, bent down and put a piece of silver into the bowl in front of him. She then fumbled in her pouch and took out the Disaster Blocking Stone that she specially took out before she left this morning. She squeezed it in her palm, and after a short moment of hesitation, she also put it into the bowl.
Seeing this scene, the eyes of the beggars near the foot of the wall brightened at the same time. They raised their heads and looked at the old beggar's broken bowl. Some were greedy, some were greedy, and some were sneering.
Ji Xingxuan put away the bead and stood up. Her eyes didn't leave the beggar's broken bowl. She retreated step by step and stopped after five steps. Every time a pedestrian passed by her, they would be vigilant. Several guards quietly spread out and stood around Ji Xingxuan, so that they could catch the person later.
Ji Xingxuan knew that there were people following them, so she was very relieved. If the other party had the ability to take away the thing under the eyes of so many people without showing themselves, then he would be a ghost.
At this moment, the sky suddenly turned gloomy. "Boom!" There was a thunderous sound, and the whole street was filled with screams. Ji Xingxuan was also startled by the sound of thunder. She was distracted for a moment, and the sky started to rain heavily. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.
"Crack!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that at this moment, a few beggars who had been squatting at the entrance of the alley all rushed towards the old beggar who was at the foot of the wall. They scrambled to stretch out their hands, and their target was the broken bowl at his feet. The first beggar, who was short, nimbly grabbed the broken bowl in his arms and was about to run into the crowd in front of him!
Not good!
This sudden situation made Ji Xingxuan's expression change. She didn't need to shout, and several guards in the crowd had already moved. One by one, they pushed through the crowd and chased after the beggar. However, the rain suddenly fell, and the street was full of pedestrians running around to hide from the rain. They pushed and shoved, which became an invisible obstacle, making it difficult for several men to chase after a child.
"Stop!"
"Don't run!"
The beggar ran with his head down and accidentally bumped into someone. He almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Fang Zhong reached out and pulled him. The beggar used the force to stand firm, and his hand left a black handprint on the other's white sleeve. He didn't notice that the sleeve flew past the alms bowl in his hand. When he heard the sound of people chasing behind him, he ran away again.
Standing on the noisy street in the heavy rain, Ji Xingxuan's eyelids twitched. She was afraid that she would lose the stone, so she pulled her maidservant and ran towards the south. The rain became heavier in the blink of an eye. She didn't run far before she was separated from her maid. The fluff on the collar of her cloak was soaked and stuck pitifully to her slender neck. She shivered and was hit by a passerby who was trying to hide from the rain. She slipped and fell on the road. "Hiss —"
The stinging pain from her knees and palms made her face pale. She tried to stand up, but she found that she had twisted her leg. The heavy rain poured down, and the rainwater flowed down her forehead. The veil stuck to her face, and a few strands of her hair fell into a mess. Passersby pointed at her, so she turned her face away in embarrassment. She lowered her wet eyelashes and was no longer in such a sorry state.
However, at this moment, the cold wind suddenly stopped and the heavy rain stopped. She raised the back of her hand to wipe the rainwater from her eyes. She saw a pair of wet black boots and white trousers. When she looked up, she saw a hand holding an umbrella and a blurry face under a bamboo hat.
"Here you go."
Ji Xingxuan was in a daze. She subconsciously reached out to take the umbrella handle. At the same time, the other person let go of the umbrella handle and straightened up. He turned around and walked past her. The black robe lightly brushed past her shoulder.
She quickly turned her head to look, but the white figure had already disappeared into the crowd.
"Miss, miss!"
The anxious shout made her come back to her senses. She responded and the maidservant squeezed through the crowd and hurriedly helped her stand up.
"Miss, are you hurt anywhere?"
Ji Xingxuan grabbed the maidservant's hand and asked, "Where is he? Did you catch him?"
"They've all gone to chase after him. They definitely won't let him escape. Don't worry. Go back to the sedan first."
The maidservant tried to persuade her. Although Ji Xingxuan was anxious, she was afraid of losing the topaz. However, she also knew that she couldn't help much here, so she nodded and passed the oil-paper umbrella to the maidservant.
"Everything was fine when we left the house. Why did it suddenly start raining? Miss, where did you get the umbrella? "
"Just now …" Ji Xingxuan answered as she raised her head. Her voice paused because she saw a small bamboo tube tied with a red string in the middle of the umbrella stand.
She took it down suspiciously and fiddled with it in her hands. Soon, she realized that the bamboo tube was as thick as two fingers and could be unscrewed. After pulling off the top, the contents inside were revealed. Her expression tightened and she took it out to take a look. It was an old and yellowish paper. She suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"This is … Yun Hua Yi Zi's examination paper!
"Miss, Miss?"
Ji Xingxuan took a deep breath. Her hands trembled slightly as she rolled up the test paper again. She tried it a few times before stuffing it back into the bamboo tube. She should have been happy that the other party had kept their promise, but the image of the white figure holding the umbrella flashed through her mind. She became somewhat resentful and tightened her grip on the small bamboo tube with the red string tied to it.
It was still raining. Yu Shu, who was unkempt and dirty, squatted under the eaves at the entrance of the alley to hide from the rain. She saw Jing Chen's figure appear on the street and smiled. She took out a string of copper coins from her bosom and covered it with her sleeves. She turned her head and grabbed the old beggar's hand and put it on the coins. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Master, keep it well. If you're hungry, take some to buy steamed buns. Don't let anyone see you."
"Ah … You, you are?"
"Hehe, I'm the one who thanks you."
After saying that, she left the blind old beggar, who had a surprised look on his face as he fumbled with the string of copper coins. She waved at Jing Chen and pointed at the alley behind her, gesturing for him to follow her.
The two of them entered the empty alley one after another. Yu Shu looked around before stopping. She moved closer to Jing Chen and widened her eyes that were filled with anticipation. She asked excitedly, "How is it? Did you get it?"
It was still raining. Jing Chen pulled off the string of his hat with one hand and took off his bamboo hat. He put it on top of her head to block the raindrops that fell on her head from the eaves. Then, he reached his left hand into his bosom and took something out. He handed it to her and opened it.
"…" Yu Shu looked at his empty palm and opened her mouth wide. She was dumbfounded.
"Hehe."
However, with a light chuckle, he flipped his hand and a bright yellow bead appeared in the center of his palm.
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