Jiu Zhang Ji: The Daily Life of the Reborn Daughter

Chapter 19: Demons and Ghosts

In a dilapidated courtyard a few streets away from Duke Dingguo's Mansion, there stood a masked man. Although his face could not be seen clearly, it could be seen that he was young and had a heroic figure.

One after another, several beggars, lazy men, and scoundrels came to the broken yard to report to him, and he took out some change to reward them.

"The carriage from Duke Dingguo's Mansion went to Nishang Pavilion."

"The carriage from Duke Dingguo's Mansion went to Zhenbaozhai."

"The carriage from Duke Dingguo's Mansion went to Huichun Hall."

"The carriage of Duke Dingguo's Mansion went to Centipede Alley."

"The three young ladies from the Duke Dingguo's mansion got off the car at the entrance of the alley and walked in. One of the young ladies is as beautiful as a fairy. I almost melted at the sight of her." This was a middle-aged beggar with a limp on one leg. He drooled as he spoke.

"Get out!" The masked man threw a piece of silver on the ground. For some reason, he suddenly became angry, and murderous intent was revealed all over his body.

The beggar was so scared that he pissed himself and picked up the silver coins on the ground and ran away crawling. He was afraid that if he ran slower he would die.

He had been doing this surveillance job for several days and originally thought that the income was not bad, but he did not want to do it anymore as he was afraid that his life would be in danger sooner or later. He clutched the change and did not return to the shabby doorway where he usually lived. Instead, he went out of the city and went to the dilapidated temple where he had lived before, while the city gate was still open. He had a bad feeling and wanted to stay out of the spotlight for the time being.

"Brother Zhe." A young woman walked out from behind the ruins of the dilapidated house. It was clearly Lou Xinyue. She called the masked man in a delicate voice, "Brother Zhe, can't you see? This Zhenbaozhai, Nishang Pavilion, and Huichuntang are all the property of that bitch. She also bought the Bai Mansion at a low price. She made up those debts and so on. She is just trying to trick you."

"Brother Zhe, she has left you without a place to live, let alone rewards. You don't even know if you can keep your official position. You risked your life to get it on the battlefield. Are you going to let her go like this?"

Seeing that Bai Junzhe didn't answer her, with a gloomy look in his eyes, Lou Xinyue leaned into Bai Junzhe's arms softly and raised her arm in front of Bai Junzhe: "The humidity in the east wing is too high, Yue'er has a rash on her arm." There was a red rash on the fair arm.

Bai Junzhe mechanically held her arm in his hand, but his eyes were still unfocused.

Lou Xinyue retracted her arm, lowered her head, and fiddled with the knot on his collar with her slender white fingers, "Brother Zhe, have you forgotten what happened in Xiguan City?"

Bai Junzhe's body trembled slightly. "Brother Zhe, she's just a little girl. You're a general who's been on the battlefield. Can't you handle her?"

*

It was dusk when we left Centipede Hutong. As the guards protected the carriage on the way to Duke Dingguo's Mansion, the sky gradually darkened.

At this time, everyone who should go home has gone home, and it is time for the family to sit together for dinner. It may be a banquet with more than a dozen dishes including chicken, duck, fish and meat, or it may be an ordinary meal with four dishes and a soup including both meat and vegetables, or it may be a simple meal with a few bowls of porridge, a pot of coarse flour steamed buns and a plate of pickles.

As long as all the family members can sit together and eat together, they will taste the taste of happiness.

This is the time of the day when there are the least pedestrians on the road. It is almost dark but not completely dark, or as the saying goes, "it gets dark as soon as the eye blinks." The evil spirits that have been dormant all day are eager to become active.

A whistle sound that broke through the air flow seemed particularly abrupt at this moment, "click", a feather arrow broke through the air, and the arrow shot the butt of the horse pulling the cart on the outside. This was a cart pulled by three horses, "whimper, whimper" the horse neighed in pain, jumped up with its front hooves, and ran forward quickly after landing, dragging the other two horses to run as well.

The driver was thrown off the carriage without paying attention. Without his control, the carriage ran even faster.

Qiao Lili in the carriage was caught off guard and was shaken by the sudden bumps and acceleration. She quickly reached out and grabbed the handrail on the inner wall of the carriage to maintain her center of gravity. The teapot, teacups, and snacks in the carriage crackled and shattered all over the floor.

Caiwei and Caiqin were just ordinary little girls. They were not as quick to react as Qiao Lili, who practiced martial arts. They fell down in the carriage, bumping into things here and there, and were scratched by the broken pieces of porcelain, screaming in pain.

Caiqi and Caixing, who were following the carriage, were left behind by the sudden acceleration of the carriage. The two of them ran quickly to catch up with the carriage. The guards also drew their swords and searched for hidden dangers around them while running.

After the first few seconds of panic, Qiao Lili quickly pulled Caiqin and Caiwei up and asked them to steady themselves and sit down. Then she lifted the curtain and observed why the horses suddenly went crazy. She saw an arrow stuck in the butt of one of the horses.

Qiao Lili pulled out the dagger from her body and waved her hand to cut the rope pulling the carriage on the injured horse. The horse, freed from its restraints, ran away at high speed. Qiao Lili grabbed the reins and controlled the horse to slow down the carriage and stop it.

At this time, Cai Qi and Cai Xing caught up with them. The horses were running so fast, faster than their lightness skills.

"Young master, how are you? Are you hurt?" Cai Qi asked anxiously. It was the first time she protected the young master when he went out, and she encountered such a thing. She didn't even notice the danger and let the young master solve it himself.

Cai Qi jumped onto the carriage and took the reins from Qiao Lili.

"I'm fine. Caiqin and Caiwei are injured. Let's go to the clinic first." Qiao Lili saw Caiqin covering her bleeding forehead and Caiwei's arm was also scratched. They probably had other wounds in places that couldn't be seen.

"Miss, let's not go to the clinic. Let's go home quickly. We just have some scrapes. We can go back and ask Doctor Li for some medicine." Caiqin knew that going to the clinic and returning to Duke Dingguo's Mansion were in opposite directions. Someone wanted to harm the young lady, so it would be safest to return home quickly.

"That's right. The doctors in the clinic are not as good as Dr. Li." Caiwei saw that the young lady was still hesitating, so she quickly made the decision for her: "Caiqi, get the carriage and go back home quickly."

At this time, the guards also caught up. Qiao Lili saw that Caiqin and Caiwei were indeed fine, and the enemy situation was unclear, so she thought it was best to return home first. She ordered a few people to find the injured horse, carry the injured groom back, and look for clues about the assassin in the surrounding area, and then the rest of the group returned home with her.

"Young master, please sit down." Cai Qi was in charge of driving the carriage, while Cai Xing stood on the other side of the shaft with his arms folded, keeping watch. The carriage was pulled by two horses and drove towards the Duke Dingguo's Mansion.

From then on, Qiao Lili never used a coachman when going out. Caiqi and Caixing would drive the carriage while the other would guard. This became a special symbol of the young ladies of Duke Dingguo's Mansion traveling by carriage.

*

Several beggars and scoundrels were waiting at the turning of the street. If the injured horse pulled the carriage here at high speed, the carriage would overturn at the turning.

When Cai Qi drove the carriage steadily past here, this small group of people hid in the shadows. The woman standing on the carriage was holding a knife, so no one dared to provoke her.

After the carriage passed by, they came out and stretched their necks to look forward, muttering, "He was supposed to come, why hasn't he come yet?"

"I've been waiting for so long, I'm hungry."

"If we wait any longer, we'll waste time and the meal won't even be hot."

"They say a pretty young lady will fall out of the carriage. You can touch her as you like. Go find something to eat. I'll be waiting."

......

After seeing the carriage of Duke Dingguo's Mansion pass by, a man with a heroic figure on the roof also quietly left.

"Brother Zhe, what do you think of my heroic plan to save the beauty? Did she cry in your arms? You should strike while the iron is hot and bring her back. She has lost her virginity and can only be a concubine. She has been abused by beggars. Haha, now that she is in our house, she is at our mercy. Let her return the Bai Mansion first..."