Lady, escort the emperor! 23
Chapter 23: Surveillance
The next morning, Li Nuo awoke to find the bedding by his bed neatly put away, and Song Jiaren gone.
After a quick wash, Li Nuo sat before the mirror, effortlessly styling his hair. He carefully memorized the steps. Styling men’s hair was far simpler than women’s; he was confident he wouldn’t need the help of the maidservants, even if his memory failed him tomorrow.
Another day passed, leaving only twenty-four days according to the lifespan indicated in the Treasured Tome.
Li Nuo looked unwell, sporting heavy dark circles under his eyes. It goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover. Song Qian’s seemingly frail husband had been anything but weak the previous night.
Li Nuo mentally referred to him as “Brother Muscleman.”
As he stepped out of the room, he saw two figures emerging from the neighboring room.
Song Qian glanced at Li Nuo, her expression complex, before leaving without a word.
Li Nuo gave Brother Muscleman an admiring look. Though Song Qian’s husband was utterly bewildered by the source of Li Nuo’s admiration, he politely nodded in return before following Song Qian.
Standing in the courtyard, Li Nuo stretched before preparing to leave the Song residence for the Chang’an County Magistrate’s office, when a figure dashed in from outside.
Song Muru grabbed Li Nuo’s hand, saying, “Brother Li Nuo, my hair is messy, could you style it for me again?”
The Flying Immortal bun Li Nuo had styled for her the night before was now a complete disaster. Styling her hair wouldn’t take long. Song Muru had just sat down on a stone bench in the courtyard when another figure rushed in.
Seeing Li Nuo styling Song Muru’s hair, Song Ning’er immediately declared, “I want one too!”
“I was here first!”
“No, you went first yesterday, I should go first today!”
“I’m first!”
“I’m first!”
…
The two identical girls argued endlessly over who should go first. Li Nuo, feeling a headache coming on, had them play rock-paper-scissors. Song Muru won. Young as she was, Song Ning’er accepted her defeat gracefully, though she muttered resentfully from the side, “Next time I’ll beat you!”
Two Song family maids stood behind Li Nuo, diligently observing his hairstyling technique. Once they learned, they could style the young ladies’ hair themselves; they couldn’t keep summoning the young ladies’ brother-in-law every time.
The maids occasionally chatted, and Li Nuo overheard that the Song family had investigated the theft of the birthday gifts the previous night but had found nothing.
Li Nuo, however, had a way to almost certainly identify the culprit, but since it wasn’t a murder case, and for two Jade Ruyi, it was impossible to throw everyone present last night into the county jail.
After styling the sisters’ hair, one of the maids, without a word, excitedly ran off, while the other stayed, sweetly thanking Li Nuo, “Thank you, Brother Li Nuo.”
Needless to say, the one who stayed was Song Muru.
Though Li Nuo couldn’t tell them apart visually, he could easily distinguish them by their personalities.
The sisters were the same age, looked exactly alike, and even dressed identically, yet their personalities differed greatly.
Song Muru was sweet, cute, understanding, and polite; Song Ning’er was somewhat spoiled and willful. This was Li Nuo’s initial impression of the pair after brief interaction.
Song Muru took a sweet and sticky pastry from her small bag and personally fed it to Li Nuo to express her gratitude. Then, she pulled out a small box and began applying its contents to her face.
Li Nuo curiously asked, “What are you doing?”
Song Muru raised her index finger, whispering, “Shh, keep your voice down. This is rouge I painstakingly stole from Mother…”
Vanity is inherent to women, regardless of age.
However, makeup is a skill. In no time, she had painted herself like a little cat.
Watching the little girl’s application, a strange feeling arose in Li Nuo’s heart again.
This feeling had surfaced when he played kicking shuttlecocks with her and when he styled her hair.
To verify his hunch, Li Nuo picked up the rouge box, saying, “Let me help you.”
Song Muru, having absolute trust in her Brother Li Nuo, sat beside him, tilting her face up to look at him, saying, “You have to make me prettier than Song Ning’er…”
Li Nuo dabbed and smoothed the rouge on her face, borrowing lip rouge and floral headdresses from a maid. In a short while, a brand-new Song Muru appeared before him.
No wonder women used so many cosmetics. There’s a world of difference between makeup and no makeup.
Simply using a little rouge, lip rouge, and a floral headdress transformed her from a pretty girl into a pretty princess.
Of course, from the surprised gasps of the two maidservants, Li Nuo could tell his seemingly simple application was not something everyone could do.
This sparked a great deal of curiosity about Zheng Yuanwai’s concubine.
What else did this woman know? Not only was she proficient in mathematics, achieving master-level expertise in each branch, the Song family’s maids, certainly not ordinary individuals, still displayed such awe-struck expressions.
No, when he went to the county office today, he had to ask carefully what other talents the woman possessed that he didn’t know about.
Not just her; in the future, whenever he encountered a criminal whose portrait lit up in the Treasured Tome, he would ask them on the spot.
“Young Master.”
Wu Guanjia’s figure appeared from outside.
It wasn’t early; Li Nuo should go to the county office to earn his life.
With only twenty-odd days left to live, he couldn’t keep playing with little girls.
Song Jiaren was out somewhere. Li Nuo had a Song family maid inform her that he had something to attend to and was leaving first.
Waving goodbye to Song Muru, Li Nuo and Wu Guanjia left the Song residence.
As soon as he was gone, Song Muru ran to a courtyard. Song Ning’er, swinging on a swing in the courtyard, stared at her. Although they looked alike, wore identical clothes, wore identical jewelry, and had identical hairstyles, she felt that Song Muru was infinitely more beautiful…
Song Muru smiled at her, saying, “Isn’t it pretty? Brother Li Nuo did it for me…”
…
At the gate of the Song residence, Li Nuo’s carriage was waiting, Wu Guanjia sitting inside, and four elderly men standing around it.
Leaving the Song residence, Li Nuo glanced back.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he heard someone crying, but upon listening again, he heard nothing.
Shaking his head, Li Nuo dismissed the thought, climbed into the carriage, and instructed Wu Guanjia, “To the county office!”
Wu Guanjia, who was about to return to the Li residence, was taken aback. “Ah, the county office again?”
His young master was truly strange these days; instead of staying home, he kept running to the county office. Did he plan to revise the Da Xia Law?
Despite his bewilderment, he turned the carriage around, heading towards the Chang’an County Magistrate’s office.
As the carriage turned, Li Nuo felt a sudden urge and lifted the carriage curtain, looking back.
His gaze fell upon the bustling crowds of Chang’an street.
Seeing him distracted, Wu Guanjia asked, “Young Master, what’s wrong?”
Li Nuo shook his head, saying, “Nothing, let’s go.”
The successive assassination attempts had made Li Nuo sensitive; he felt like someone was watching him.
However, since even a skilled person like Wu Guanjia hadn’t detected anything unusual, it was more likely he was just on edge.
Since the previous two assassination attempts, his security detail had been enhanced. Though outwardly, there was only Wu Guanjia and four old men, there were undoubtedly many more hidden. Any passerby near the carriage could be an undercover guard.
Wu Guanjia flicked the reins, and the carriage slowly drove away.
Meanwhile, at a street corner not far from the Song residence, a shadowy figure wiped the sweat from his brow, muttering, “Almost got discovered. Damn it, this kid’s perception is too sharp, almost as good as a butterfly. Tracking a butterfly is not much different…”
A voice beside him asked, “What should we do? Should we continue following?”
The man waved his hand, saying, “Forget it, this kid’s uncanny. If he catches us and we fall into Li Xuanying’s hands, we’ll be doomed. That incident was probably an accident; it’s just bad luck for the butterfly. Let’s go back…”
(Chapter End)
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