20demayo Chapter 21
Chapter 21
This was the first time he had called himself that.
Every day, Lin Zhao called her Ah Zheng sister, But suddenly hearing the prince call her that way, Qin Zheng’s ears were caught off guard.
It has to be said, this man had quite the captivating charm.
When he was clear and cold, he was a noble young man, but when he bewitched people, he was like a malevolent spirit!
Qin Zheng didn’t know what the prince meant by asking like that.
Logically, as long as Lin Zhao didn’t let anything slip, he shouldn’t suspect her.
Qin Zheng decided to play dumb.
She glanced at the picture the prince took out and shook her head reluctantly, “If even the prince can’t understand it, then I definitely can’t.”
Stay calm, she didn’t reveal anything, even sleeping with the blueprint tucked close to her.
The prince couldn’t have seen the blueprint before this, so what could he suspect her of?
The prince met her clear and beautiful eyes, lightly pressed his temple with his slender fingers, and said, “I thought you could understand.”
As if he really just couldn’t understand the drawing and casually asked her.
Qin Zheng stood behind him, barely audible sighing in relief.
Just when she thought this matter would be passed over, the prince said, “Bring over the papers from over there.”
Qin Zheng obediently brought over the stack of papers.
The prince took out a sheet and placed it next to the engineering drawing, then asked her methodically, “Ah Zheng, does this paper look familiar to you?”
Qin Zheng: “...”
So he was waiting for her here!
Pretending to carefully examine the two sheets of paper for a while, she said puzzledly, “Aren’t all the papers the same? They all look familiar to me.”
The prince sipped his tea lightly, unhurriedly saying, “This parchment was bought by Doctor Zhao several years ago and has been unused, which is why it has turned yellow. Perhaps the paper in the old man’s house has also been bought and left unused for several years.”
Qin Zheng: “It’s possible, after all, the world has been in chaos for so long. Maybe it was bought for the younger generations at home to copy books, but then the war broke out, and there was no school to attend, so it was left behind.”
The prince put down his earthenware teacup, a rare smile appearing on his lips, “Ah Zheng, have you ever smelled this ink fragrance elsewhere?”
Qin Zheng, still holding on, replied, “Never.”
With such questioning from the prince, Qin Zheng understood why he doubted her.
After all, she was a modern person.
Before drawing this picture, how could she have expected the prince to be so sensitive to paper and ink? Moreover, she didn’t know beforehand that this blueprint would fall into the hands of the prince.
You could say that plans couldn’t keep up with changes.
With her denial, the prince wasn’t surprised.
It was just at this moment that he softly said, “That’s quite a coincidence. Yesterday, when I was preparing to write on a piece of paper, I accidentally stained it with some ink, and there are a few ink stains on this paper too.”
He paused slightly in his tone, then looked at Qin Zheng, “So where did that paper Ah Zheng received go?”
Qin Zheng finally realized what it meant to be caught in a trap.
His questioning sounded gentle, but he was waiting for her to fall in!
What can be done in the current situation?
She could only continue to struggle desperately, “Like when a match is lit.”
The prince didn’t speak for a while, just looking at her like that.
Qin Zheng felt her scalp tingling from his gaze, so she took the initiative to ask, “Does the prince suspect that I drew this picture?”
The prince didn’t directly answer, but instead asked her, “Ah Zheng, have you never seen this blueprint before?”
Qin Zheng stubbornly insisted, “Never seen it.”
The prince looked at her quietly for a while, then sighed as if resigned, “Forget it. Whatever you want to do, just go ahead and do it. Some things, you can tell me when you’re ready, it’s not urgent.”@@@@
Qin Zheng watched the prince leave, taking a while to come back to her senses.
At the moment, he only suspected that she had drawn the engineering drawing, not knowing if he had started to doubt her identity.
Qin Zheng didn’t dare to be too presumptuous.
She and the prince were nominally a couple facing difficulties, but they hadn’t reached the point of confiding everything to each other.
Although the prince respected her by not pressing her for answers at the moment, for the long run, she had to figure out a way to cover up the fact that she understood architectural engineering.
Afraid of tickles, Lin Zhao quickly became obedient, “I’ll sleep, I’ll sleep.”
Because Qin Zheng tickled her, they ended up leaning close to each other.
Lin Zhao sniffed forcefully and suddenly said, “Ah Zheng sister, you smell really nice.”
After all the commotion, Qin Zheng felt drowsy, and in response, she mumbled, “Do I?”
Lin Zhao nodded vigorously, “Yes!”
She suddenly thought the prince was really lucky, being able to cuddle with the sweet-smelling Ah Zheng sister every night.
But when she found herself squeezed out of bed by Qin Zheng in the middle of the night and didn’t want to disturb her sleep, Lin Zhao, with dark circles under her eyes, silently went to the next room to squeeze with Magpie.
The night was dark and windy.
Two large boats were docked on the dark and steep riverbank.
Torches were lit every ten steps along the newly built pontoon bridge.
The men from the Eastern Stockade used wooden carts to transport goods on the bridge, unloading batches of goods from the boat.
A small leader stood on the deck, shouting loudly, “Faster, faster!”
Suddenly, in a split second, dozens of torches were ignited in the distant dark water, and the water bandits who had lurked there roared and rushed over.
The men from Qi Yun Stockade didn’t expect another wave of night attacks by the water bandits.
Outnumbered, they abandoned the large boats and scattered to escape.
Several large wooden crates fell off the carts, breaking the locks, and silk fabrics spilled out.
The water bandits who had hijacked two large boats immediately boarded to inspect the cargo.
After smashing open a few crates, they found they were filled with fabrics.
Their faces lit up with smiles, “This is the cargo we’re looking for! Take the boats back!”
The group of water bandits sailed away on the two large boats.
At the dam, Wang Biao watched the water bandits leave with the large boats and laughed heartily, “Brother Cheng really foresaw this! As soon as the news of us moving goods tonight after repairing the pontoon bridge was spread, the man of the Western village immediately informed the water bandits! When the water bandits find out they’ve stolen two boats full of stones, they’ll be furious!”
Someone ran over to report, “Advisor, our men have defeated the night raiders from the West Village!”
Wang Biao laughed even more cheerfully, “Tomorrow morning, I’ll drag that group of bastards to the Western Village and demand justice from that old thief surnamed He!”
The people from the Eastern Village had been feeling oppressed because of Lin Yao’s injury, but at this moment, they felt a sense of relief.
A small leader asked, “Advisor, when should we transport the hidden fabrics back to the village?”
The prince stood at the edge of the cliff with his hands behind his back.
Without igniting any torches at the dam to avoid being noticed by the water bandits, the night wind lifted his ink-colored robe, blending him with the dark night. “Don’t transport them back to the village.”
Under the puzzled gazes of everyone, he slowly spoke, “Instead, transport them by waterway to Wu County and sell them for money.”
Compared to the silk fabrics on two large boats, a group of bandits would certainly prefer gold and silver.
Everyone was excited for a moment.
The prince’s gaze swept over the big knives in their hands and then fell on the mountains hidden in the night.
Over there was Qingzhou City.
He needed to bring up a batch of military supplies.
He needed an elite force that could be relied upon.
**
After the prince returned to the small courtyard, it was already late at night, and Qin Zheng wasn’t there, only the pigeon was still perched at the window.
The prince walked over to retrieve the letter, only to find the message tube on the pigeon’s leg was empty.
Upon closer inspection, he found the pigeon’s leg was tied to the window with a thin rope, and there was scattered rice nearby.
He suddenly chuckled and pinched his brow.
Forget it, if she took the letter, it would be considered even since he had peeked at her things last night.
Aunt Lu, who slept in the side room, heard the movement and got up to ask, “Has the master returned? Madam was taken to Miss Lin’s place by Magpie. Shall I prepare water for you to wash?”
The cocks in the distance were already crowing faintly. The prince glanced at the significantly lighter night, “No need, I’ll go out for a walk.”
Aunt Lu thought it was strange for anyone to go out for a stroll in the middle of the night.
She watched for a while at the courtyard gate and found that he was heading towards the courtyard where Lin Yao and his sister lived.