C143

The shopkeeper stared unwaveringly at Jin Lan's outstretched hand. He saw an oval jade pendant that was the size of an egg lying quietly on his white palm.

This, this was the black jade pendant Master had always carried with him since childhood. To the Yan family, this was the symbol of the next generation's inheritance. How did it end up in the hands of this little girl?

The shopkeeper's face was green and white, but he quickly regained his composure. He looked at Jin Lan with a complicated gaze and said with a deep voice, "This jade pendant is indeed my master's."

That being said, he could tell her the whereabouts of Manager Shi? Jin Lan blinked. Before he could rejoice, he keenly noticed that the aura of the rice shop owner in front of him had gradually changed.

The people who had been standing in front of him were busy making a living, but at this moment, the momentum that had erupted was majestic like the warriors of the Jin Gang-Tie Ma who had gone to war!

This person was no ordinary servant at all!

Jin Lan's pupils contracted slightly. Somehow, she suddenly recalled the bloody night that she had forgotten for a long time. The people who were dressed in ordinary clothes but battling to the death with the assassin in black.

The thick smell of blood still lingered in her nose, and the dull sound of sharp blades stabbing into flesh seemed to echo in her ears once again. There was also that murderous cold glint and the hand that had suddenly appeared in front of her …

In that instant, her face hidden behind the azure veil turned white as snow, and her slim body trembled. That night was a nightmare that she had deliberately forgotten but had never shaken off.

"Miss, what's wrong?" Mama Tang had been guarding Jin Lan the entire time. She immediately noticed that something was amiss and immediately reached out to support her trembling body, but the ice-cold feeling in her hands caused her to turn pale with fright. "Miss, where are you feeling uncomfortable?"

She had only taken two steps when she was stopped by Jin Lan, "Mama, do not worry, I'm fine."

"But …" Mama Tang had a face full of worry. Although she couldn't see Jin Lan's expression, but through her cold little hands, she was able to find out that the young lady was hiding something.

Jin Lan took a deep breath, stabilizing his churning thoughts, he slowly pushed away the hand that the Mama Tang was supporting and comforted softly: "Don't worry, Mama." With that, he turned his head to look at the pair of probing eyes, and tried his best to speak in a calm tone: "Since the shopkeeper has already confirmed the evidence, do you want to inform me of Manager Shi's whereabouts now?"

As she spoke, she didn't seem to notice that her small hand was tightly grasping the jade pendant.

"Of course." The shopkeeper nodded his head, a look of admiration flashing past his eyes. He seemed to have watched Yan Ye grow up bit by bit, and was also clear about what Master was thinking.

Just his determination was enough to make people look at him in a new light. One had to know that he was a soldier that crawled out from a pile of dead people on the battlefield. Even if it was an adult male, they would still not be able to withstand his pressure, let alone a ten year old girl.

As he thought about it, his expression gradually slowed down, as if he had once again become a plain and simple commoner within the Yangzhou City. Only that pair of long and narrow eyes still flickered with a faintly discernible light.

"It's you?" Jin Lan and the Mama Tang looked at Manager Shi in shock. Didn't the shop assistant outside say that the shopkeeper's surname was Zhou? Why did he say that he was Manager Shi now?

As if seeing through the doubt in Jin Lan's heart, Manager Shi laughed out loud. "Regardless of whether I'm surnamed Zhou or Shi, Miss only needs to remember that I am the person you are looking for." With a wave of his hand, Jin Lan and his companion waited patiently in the inner hall. Then, he turned and entered the inner room.

"Miss." Mama Tang looked at Manager Shi's cold and passionate appearance and felt really uneasy. She had the thought of persuading Jin Lan to take this opportunity to leave.

Jin Lan shook her head, ever since she had guessed that Yan Ye's identity was not simple, Manager Shi's act of deceiving others was actually extremely appropriate in her eyes.

Sighing silently, she carefully put the black jade pendant back into her bag, then firmly tied it to her body.

With regards to the jade pendant he was wearing, Jin Lan was somewhat confused. She should have returned it to its original owner in the capital, but after entering the ancestral home, everything became the same. She forgot about it in her panic.

Fortunately, he had forgotten about it. Otherwise, he really would not know how to obtain the trust of this cautious Manager Shi.

Just as Jin Lan kept his jade, Manager Shi carefully walked out with a purple brown wooden box that was about half a finger wide and about a foot long. In an instant, a faint fragrance filled the entire hall, causing everyone's spirits to rise.

"This is …" Despite her two lifetimes of experience and experience in the capital, she could not see anything unusual about the wooden box. However, when she thought about the contents inside, no matter how hard she tried to remain calm, she could not suppress her pounding heart.

Manager Shi gently placed the wooden box on a carved round table at the side before letting out a sigh of relief, "This is what the young lady is looking for."

"Snow, Snow Twig!" She wished that she could immediately open it and see if it was the Snow Twig that she had been waiting for. But she finally understood in her heart, these precious herbs, there might be some sort of special method, but she did not want to rashly ruin the medicine, and then it would be too late for her to cry.

After thinking about it for a moment, she calmed her agitated heart and bowed to the Manager Shi with a serious face, "I will not say my thanks for this great favor. In the future, if there is anything I can do to help, the Ye family will not refuse it even if it costs them their lives!"

He was saying this to the Manager Shi, but the promise he made was towards Yan Ye who was far away in the capital.

He slightly pushed the wooden box towards Jin Lan, "The Snow Twig lives in an extremely cold place, if you don't have this top-grade water as the box and the cold jade as the base, it would not last more than a day, let alone the Yangzhou that is thousands of miles away. When all the other medicinal ingredients have been prepared, they can be opened before the pot is boiled. Quickly, take out the Snow Twig and throw it into the jar, don't open it too early. "

"Thank you, Manager Shi, for telling me." Although Buddhist Abbot Hui Wu's antidote had also mentioned the use of Snow Twig, the other details were not made clear. Snow Twig were extremely difficult to obtain, if something were to happen to it, there would probably be no second one coming to save it.

After explaining the situation, Manager Shi sent Jin Lan and Mama Tang out of the shop. At the same time, he also sent a small bag of Jade Gym Rice as a cover.

Jin Lan tightly gripped the wooden box hidden in his sleeve. Even though a thin layer of sweat was already seeping out of his palms, he didn't dare to relax even a little.

With the Snow Twig, the poison in his mother's body could be completely cured!

The fate of his previous life had changed. As long as he could capture the murderer who assassinated his mother, then, then …

"Miss?" Mama Tang placed the bag of rice onto the horse carriage and was about to help Jin Lan up, but when she turned his head, he found her standing there, lost in thought.

Mama Tang's call caused Jin Lan to quiver, and she immediately regained her senses. The surrounding noise was like a tide that flowed back into her ears, and when she blankly raised her head to look at Mama Tang's concerned eyes, she was shocked to find that she had been too agitated.

Even if his mother could successfully cure the poison, if he wanted to recover after losing so many years, it was definitely not a one day achievement. Furthermore, other than the murderers that he had not yet found, there was still the old lady and Ye Lin.

She definitely could not be careless!

After taking in a few deep breaths, the excitement in her golden eyes gradually faded and they regained their clarity. She held onto Mama Tang's hand and agilely got on the carriage.

Just as Jin Lan sat down to remove the Drapery Cap, the carriage's curtain moved, and was then opened by someone, and Mu Lan's round red face appeared in front of him.

"Miss, I've already bought all the sweet honey and pastries." Mu Lan painstakingly carried everything onto the carriage, and then climbed up and sat down close to the door, patting her chest as she panted. Although the pastries were not heavy, they were all exquisite items that could be easily broken into pieces. As a result, she had been extremely careful on the way, and it was inevitable that she would have to work harder than usual.

"Look at you, is there even the slightest rule?" "Hurry up and sit down. If that old granny Wang sees this, the old lady will peel off your skin." Mama Tang couldn't help but scold her when she saw her bedraggled look after placing the pastries and the fragrant honey.

Upon mentioning the old lady, Mu Lan immediately put down her hands. She looked very upright, which made Jin Lan and the Mama Tang unable to hold back their laughter.

The green carriage slowly drove back along the road they came from, back to Meng Mansion. The driver, who was Madam Meng's trusted aide, had long been informed that he would only take care of the carriage and not the rest of the matters.

Jin Lan heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't want to lie to her aunt, but she couldn't say too much about her mother. Only by doing this wouldn't harm their relationship.

The moment Jin Lan and the others got off, Qing Yu, who had been waiting at the back door, immediately welcomed them and led them back to the garden.

Therefore, the number of girls they had to invite this time was not as many as last year's. However, when Meng Ruhan pulled and turned it, Jin Lan also felt that he was a little disoriented.

After finishing their meal with great difficulty, the young ladies of each clan left one after another, leaving Jin Lan at the back. Firstly, she had to personally thank Madam Meng, and secondly, she had to find a suitable method to bring the items back to the mansion.

Waiting until the last girl boarded the carriage and left, Meng Ruhan then found her mother's instructions and brought Jin Lan to the Side Chamber.

"Thank you Aunt for your help, Lan Er is extremely grateful!" The moment Jin Lan entered and saw Madam Meng in the hall, she immediately bent her knees and bowed.

"Good child, what are you doing? Hurry and get up! " Madam Meng Madame Qin hurriedly helped her up and said in a strange tone, "You came to my aunt's house to admire the flowers. Is your mother well? "

When Meng Zhanxuan first arrived in the capital, he wrote a letter back and indistinctly pointed out the matter of meeting Jinlan. Madame Qin was grateful that Jinlan had helped his son, and because of that, under the circumstance of not asking any questions, he did not hold back to help Jinlan.

Jin Lan nodded, and continued to chat with Madame Qin for a while, before asking her for a few Jade Tasselflower stalks that were in perfect shape.

Madame Qin's eyes flashed. Just now, when she held Jin Lan up, she could smell a faint fragrance, as she was experienced and knowledgeable, Madame Qin immediately recognized that this was an extremely rare fragrance of water.

However, she did not ask any more questions, but was generous enough to allow people to carry the three best blossoms of the Jade Tusk Flower.

With the rich fragrance of the Dai Yu flowers, it was enough to cover up the smell of the Agarwood, causing Jin Lan to feel relieved in his heart. He thanked the Madame Qin again and was pulled by Meng Ruhan to chat for a while longer before boarding her horse carriage and returning to the Ye Mansion.