Whether Mrs. Chu is smiling or picking up food for Fang Xie, she seems a bit stiff. From this, Fang Xie can tell that she hasn't gotten along like this with anyone for a long time, including her son Luo Wen. If she got along with her family like an ordinary mother, she would never be like this.
Fang Jie originally thought that Mrs. Chu¡¯s treat of him to dinner was just a matter of etiquette. After all, she is Luo Yao's official wife and a first-class wife, so it is necessary for her to come forward and treat the imperial envoy to a meal. But after walking into this small courtyard, he realized that it was completely different from his expectations. How could the nature of Chu's family dinner have any official meaning?
Mrs. Chu seemed a little embarrassed, and so did Fang Jie.
"It's my birthday in a few days. If you Master Xiaofang are free, come and join in the fun."
After being silent for a while, Mrs. Chu said in a very soft voice.
Fang Jie quickly put down his bowls and chopsticks: "Of course I'm here for Madam's birthday. It's really rude. I only found out about it today."
"It's okay"
Mrs. Chu stood up and poured a cup of tea for Fang Jie: "I heard the general mentioned that Mr. Xiao Fang had a lot of ups and downs when he was young. If Mr. Xiao Fang has nothing else to deal with urgently today, can you tell me about it?"
Fang Jie was stunned for a moment, but it was hard to refuse. He told a few insignificant things about his life on the run for more than ten years. When Mrs. Chu asked him if he knew his life experience, Fang Jie just shook his head and said he didn't know and didn't discuss it in depth. By the time Fang Jie finished explaining these things, the food on the table was already cold. Mrs. Chu was so engrossed in listening that she didn't realize that it was very rude for her to ask her guests to tell them this before they finished eating.
As the wife of the Duke, even if she doesn¡¯t see guests often, she shouldn¡¯t be rude like this.
"During the three years you served as a frontier soldier in Fan Gu, did you have to go out and kill thieves every day?"
If a young girl asked this question, Fang Jie would be very interested and even exaggerate about it. After all, such experience is one of the assets that men can show off, and what those girls like most are the legends of heroes. With Fang Jie's eloquence, they can completely mold themselves into an unparalleled hero.
But he really has no interest in the Chu family.
So Fang Jie just shook his head slightly: "No, there were many bandits and horse thieves near the border town in the first year. Most of them were wandering herdsmen from Meng Yuan who violated the rules and were expelled from the tribe. There are also some of our big We killed most of the scum of the Sui Dynasty in the first year, and very few in the second year. By the third year, those horse thieves basically did not dare to approach Fan Gu. "
"Ohhave you been injured?"
Mrs. Chu asked.
Fang Jie nodded: "There is no one from the frontier army who has not been injured. If there are only a few scars on the body, he will be looked down upon by his colleagues. Just like the wolves on the grassland, those male wolves in the wolf pack that do not have gaps on their ears will be looked down upon. Other wolves look down on them because it proves that they have never fought with other wolves and are cowards.¡±
When he said this, Fang Jie felt a little sad, because when he was in Fan Gu, although he was not a coward, he rarely fought against horse thieves head-on. Most of the time, he hides in the dark and hurts people with his bow and arrows. At that time, he was not even willing to kill anyone with his own hands. Only two short years had passed, and now he has undergone tremendous changes.
"Can I see the scars on your body?"
When he heard Chu's question, Fang Jie's expression changed obviously.
?????????????????????? If it was rude that Mrs. Chu didn¡¯t wait for the guests to finish before serving tea during the meal just now, then this sentence is simply rude in the extreme. Although the Sui Dynasty was not the kind of country that advocated the disengagement of men and women, it was obviously inappropriate to ask guests to take off their clothes to see the scars on his body.
Fang Jie was stunned for a moment and glanced at Mrs. Chu subconsciously.
Mrs. Chu suddenly understood and quickly explained: "It's just that I happen to have some good wound medicine in my hand. The scar will fade away after a month or two of use."
Fang Jie groaned and said, "Thank you madam, but the scars on men are not ugly in my opinion."
"yes¡¡"
Mrs. Chu murmured: "The general said the same thing. He said the scars on soldiers are a symbol of glory."
Fang Jie hummed and said nothing further. His mind was full of questions. Although he didn't know what kind of person Chu was usually, from the information he got, she should never be acting like this. Mrs. Chu saw him lowering his head to drink tea, and knew that what he just said was inappropriate and it was hard to say anything else.
After sitting like this for a while, Fang Jie bowed and said goodbye.
Mrs. Chu didn¡¯t stay any longer and sent Fang Jie out of the courtyard herself.When passing the big locust tree, Fang Jie still couldn't adapt to the existence of those dolls.
After coming out of the small courtyard, Fang Jie was led out by the servants of the General's Mansion. It was getting dark at this time. When Fang Jie passed by the small lake, he found that the lights were on in the three-story stilt building on the other side. It seemed that Luo Yao had returned. But since he didn't come out to meet him, Fang Jie didn't plan to see him.
When Fang Jie left the General's Mansion, he saw the carriage driven by Nie Xiaoju waiting outside.
¡¡
¡¡
Back to his residence, Fang Jie asked Nie Xiaoju to invite Zhuo Buyi to take a shower and change clothes first. When they came out, Zhuo Buyi Shen Qing fanned Mu Xiaoyao and they were already waiting in the living room. Fang Jie asked Nie Xiaoju, Yan Kuang and Chen Xiaoru to guard outside. There were even manpower deployed on the roof.
"Sir, there are a few things that I have to trouble your people to check. Now the people in my hands are all on the surface, and every move is being watched by Luo Yao's people. Big Dog and Qilin are arranged by me to do it For other things, they won¡¯t be able to come back for a while.¡±
Zhuo Buyi didn¡¯t know that he had ten elite men from outside the palace, so Fang Jie naturally wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to tell them.
"Now your people are the only ones we can use secretly."
"What's up?"
Seeing the solemnity of his words, Zhuo Buyi sat up straight and asked.
"The first priority is naturally to find out where the monk named Shi Yuan is. He must be in Yongzhou City. Judging from the fact that he found two women to have sex with in a short period of time on the way, it is impossible for this person to He can hide in one place. The brothel in Yongzhou City is the first target. He is a bald man. Even if he goes to the brothel to do that, it will not be difficult to find out as long as he goes to the brothel. We also need to check whether any women have disappeared in the city recently, and if so, find out who and where they disappeared. "
"Well, I've arranged for someone to keep an eye on it."
Zhuo Buyi nodded.
"The second thing"
Fang Jie looked outside and lowered his voice: "Send someone to carefully check how many children have disappeared every year in the past twenty years, that is, since Luo Yao was stationed in the southwest and lived in Yongzhou. The range is from children who are one month old to three It shouldn't be difficult to find out these things for a boy who is about 10 years old. In addition, let's check out a place called Su Ji Mingwu Shop, which specializes in the business of dead people. This shop should have some connection with Luo Yao's mansion. What I heard unexpectedly in the house was a direction. "
Zhuo Buyi nodded: "I will give instructions on this matter. There are far more people in the Ouchi Guards Department in Yongzhou than the ones I brought. The second thing is that the two things to be checked are not too difficult to check. They are missing. You can find out more about the child by just chatting with someone at a food stall on the street. As for that shop, you can find it as long as it exists."
"but¡¡"
Zhuo Buyi asked: "What do these two things have to do with Luo Yao?"
"I'll explain it later, let's talk about the third thing first."
Fang Jie looked at Zhuo Buyi and asked, "What level of cultivation is Luo Wen?"
Zhuo Buyi said: "The record in the imperial guard's office is seventh grade. What's wrong?"
Fang Jie asked again: "Judging from your current recovery of cultivation, can you use mind-reading skills to dig out things from the brain of a seventh-level practitioner?"
"It's too difficult for you to attack Luo Wen. This is Yongzhou!"
Zhuo Buyi frowned and said: "With the cultivation level I have recovered now, it is not difficult to spy on the mind of a seventh-level warrior. But in Yongzhou City, you will never find the opportunity."
"Luo Wen is not in the city, he went to Cangman Mountain."
Fang Jie said: "It will be the birthday of Luo Yao's wife Chu in a few days. Luo Wen is a filial son. He went to a place called Luhou Cave in Cangman Mountain to find rare things as birthday gifts for his mother. Although Luo Wen was around With a team of soldiers and the old man carrying the stainless steel sword case, this is relatively a chance. "
"If you can do it now, we need to take a trip to Cangman Mountain."
Zhuo Buyi shook his head: "Now our every move in Yongzhou City is being watched. As long as you leave the city, no matter where you go, can you hide it from others? I'm afraid that before you have time to take action, Luo Yao has already arrived with his people. "
"Fake"
Fang Jie smiled: "When I was in the imperial capital, I discovered that Wu Yiyi had a lot of masks. I always felt that this was a good thing, so I asked Wu Yiyi to find someone to make a few for me, and now I happen to be able to use them. If we do it, find someone with a similar build to me, and take the escort to the beautiful places outside the city every day. Isn't it possible that you, me, and Chen Heng and Chen Ha can't deal with a team of A's?A guard carrying a sword case? "
¡°That being said, it¡¯s still a bit risky.¡±
Zhuo Buyi hesitated for a moment and said: "But it is indeed a rare opportunity. Since you have already thought about it, I will follow you. Anyway, if you are going to die, you will not die later than me."
Fang Jie shrugged: "You are also a senior in the martial arts world, so why can't you speak with dignity?"
¡°No amount of grace is worth anything when I¡¯m with you.¡±
Zhuo Buyi glared at him: "Just now you asked me to send someone to investigate the missing children in the past 20 years, and why is that Su Ji shop?"
Fang Jie was silent for a moment, and then he breathed a long sigh of relief: "You are well-informed, do you know that there are people in this world who can make dolls indistinguishable from real people? Even the black and white eyeballs, eyelashes, teeth, and even Can you create pores on your skin?¡±
"It's difficult. There is a difference in making a human skin mask. The mask is just a face, and it is very difficult to make it look like a real person. What's more, it is impossible to even make eyelashes and eyebrows on the mask. The corresponding There are holes everywhere, and the eyebrows, eyelashes and eyes that are exposed when glued on are from the person themselves and not from the mask.¡±
"so¡¡"
Fang Jie shook his head: "I'm still scared now, thinking that I'm going to have a nightmare tonight Although I was scared and sick at the time and had to pretend, I still took a closer look secretly. It's because I don't believe this. The world now has the technology to make dolls so lifelike, so I was scared. Because she is the First Grade Lady, no one will doubt what she said, but I met a person like me who didn¡¯t believe her.¡±
"Ifnothing goes wrong, the dolls hanging on the big locust tree in her yard are all real children. It just so happened that I learned one more thing from her maid todayThe He people have a kind of The secret method can keep a person's head incorruptible for many years, and it is not difficult for a skilled wizard to ensure that a corpse does not rot for decades. It is possible to use poisonous poison to turn a living person into an invulnerable zombie. Preserving the corpse is very important. It's too simple for them, not to mention there is no shortage of such skilled wizards in Luo Yao Mansion."