Upon seeing the pair, a table of customers couldn't help but laugh, pounding on their table.
Siniang heard this. With a look of embarrassed annoyance, she glanced around and snapped, "Crude! Unreasonable!"
Her reproach seemed a bit forced, and her face flushed as red as if someone had caught her by her pigtail.
Her handling of the details was absolutely exquisite.
Zheng Fan continued to follow Siniang expressionlessly, clutching his sword. He didn't possess Siniang's acting skills, nor did he dare attempt to embellish his role at this critical moment.
The "young lord's" apparent embarrassment only made the customers at the tables laugh harder, and some foul language was hurled their way with even less restraint.
The young lord quickened his pace and hurriedly left the inn, as if he couldn't bear to stay in this place a moment longer.
Just as they stepped out of the inn, they saw Blind Bei coming back from outside.
In one hand, he carried a wrapped package of pastries, and in the other, some fine silk cloth.
One could imagine that Blind Bei had 'attended to' the city patrol captain's wife exceptionally well. Not only had she kept him as her guest late into the night, but she had also prepared fine gifts for him upon his departure.
The parties met at the entrance and exchanged barely perceptible nods. Then, Blind Bei, who was entering, continued inside, while Siniang and Zheng Fan, who were exiting, proceeded out.
Zheng Fan followed Siniang as they walked along the street.
Truth be told, this was the furthest Zheng Fan had ever gone; the farthest he had previously strayed was to Blind Bei's fortune-telling booth at the entrance of the inn.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Siniang suddenly slipped into an adjacent alley, and Zheng Fan naturally followed her inside.
This alleyway was somewhat reminiscent of the hutongs of old Beijing, with the doors of each house packed closely together.
Siniang took out a key, opened a door, and gestured for Zheng Fan to follow her in.
"My lord, this is another of our safe houses in this city. Let's change clothes first, then we'll go back. Take off your clothes; I'll handle them."
"Oh, alright."
「 」
"So, things nearly went awry?"
Sitting by the bathtub, Blind Bei held an orange in his hand, peeling it as he asked.
"More or less. We somewhat underestimated this world," A Ming, sitting in the bathtub, said calmly.
"Yes, that was my miscalculation." Blind Bei readily admitted his error in planning.
"It was your error, true, but it doesn't matter. Because I feel that only a world like this can truly excite us."
Blind Bei popped an orange segment into his mouth and nodded, then offered another segment to A Ming's lips.
"If I eat it, it will spill out," A Ming said.
"I want to see."
A Ming didn't open his mouth.
Liang Cheng was still mopping the floor, handling the clean-up.
Blind Bei said thoughtfully, "We're still short-handed... Hmm, right. Later, we'll need to get some powdered ash from the stove and spread it around here. The stench of blood... it's still present."
Liang Cheng nodded, indicating he understood.
"Fortunately, it was a close call without any real danger. Now we just wait for Xue Three to return from his thieving. However, I still believe that what's truly useful to us is this 'big fish' you all just caught. After all of tonight's commotion, our initial understanding of this world should be considered successfully established.
You all carry on with your work. I'm going to interrogate that young master."
"Still, it would be best to wait for My lord to return and conduct the interrogation personally," A Ming suggested.
"But I suspect My lord won't want to do it. He'll likely delegate it to me in the end."
"Nevertheless, the proper procedure should be followed," A Ming reminded him.
Blind Bei drew a sharp breath, surprised. He turned to look at A Ming in the bathtub, a smile slowly spreading across his lips as he said, "So, is that why you're the first to have recovered some of your strength?"
"What?"
"We agreed we'd all act reserved, yet you've secretly started currying favor."
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This is the author's second book on Qidian. Your support with recommendation votes would be greatly appreciated!