"Haven't asked for the young lady's name yet? You don't look too old. Are you 14 yet?" As their relationship grew a bit closer, Madam Zhou began to probe into Su Muqing's situation.
"My name is Su Muqing. I'll be 14 soon. What's your surname, Auntie? Are you also fleeing to Suining Prefecture?" Su Muqing was actually very curious about their identities, so she tried to probe their background.
"My surname is Zhou, you can call me Auntie Zhou. We are also heading south. We are looking for someone. Whether we specifically go to Suining Prefecture depends on whether we can successfully find the person we are looking for." Madam Zhou cast a meaningful glance at her as she said this.
Unfortunately, Su Muqing did not notice. She understood "looking for someone" as them having lost contact with their relatives on the road while fleeing.
So, she said enthusiastically, "Then who are you looking for? Your family? What's their name and age? Suining Prefecture is also on the way south. Maybe I can help you look too."
Madam Zhou looked troubled and couldn't help but wail inwardly. If only they knew her age and name! That would be wonderful! But the reality was, besides a poem, they knew nothing! They could only try their luck in the vast sea of people.
Madam Zhou had a troubled expression. In Su Muqing's eyes, she looked very sad. It seemed she had some unspeakable hardship. She quickly thought in her mind if she had hurt someone by saying that?
She definitely had! If her family was indeed lost, it was already difficult enough not to find them. How could she bring it up and rub salt into their wounds?
"Auntie Zhou, please don't be sad! If it's inconvenient to say, then don't. It was my fault for asking so clearly. You will definitely find her!" Su Muqing apologized repeatedly.
Madam Zhou: "No, it's not your fault at all. You have the intention to help me find someone, and I should thank you. It's just that the person we are looking for, we don't know her name, we don't know her age. We don't even know if she's male or female!"
"Ah? Is that so? That does make it a bit difficult to find. Aren't there any clues?" Su Muqing was confused. She couldn't help but mutter inwardly. If they knew nothing, it meant they didn't even know the other person at all! Then why were they looking for them?
Moreover, this wasn't a question of whether they could find them or not. It was impossible to find them! Unless the person knew someone was looking for her and ran into them! Otherwise, it was almost impossible to find her!
So, going to such lengths to find someone who couldn't be found? What was the point of all this?
"There are some clues. A highly accomplished monk once gave us a poem and told us to search for the person by the poem as we traveled south!" After Madam Zhou finished speaking, she suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Even if Su Muqing was the lost legitimate daughter of the Chu family, she had grown up in the countryside. Where would she have had the opportunity to come into contact with poetry? She probably wouldn't get any results today.
Unexpectedly, before Madam Zhou could finish sighing, Su Muqing asked, "A poem? What poem? Is it five-character or seven-character? Could it be an acrostic poem? It could also be a hidden ending! Have you tried reading the first character of each line, or the last character, vertically?"
Upon hearing Su Muqing's words, Madam Zhou looked at her with shock! She was just a woman from the inner chambers. Even though she was trusted by the princess in the past, she could only read a few characters. How could she understand what five-character and seven-character poems were, or poems with hidden beginnings or endings? Poems could also be hidden?
Right! Right! How could she forget? Yesterday, when she saw this girl cursing, she should have known she was educated!
Except for her voice being louder than the young ladies in the capital and her wording not being as subtle and gentle, her other sentences, wording, and clear thinking were not much different from those noble ladies.
Madam Zhou's gaze towards Su Muqing grew even more fervent. This girl was indeed extraordinary. Although she lived in the countryside, she knew so much.
Grew up in the countryside? Didn't Master Zhikong once say that the fated person of the young master also grew up in the countryside?
"What's wrong? Did I guess wrong? It's not an acrostic poem? Is it just an ordinary poem?" Su Muqing was a bit confused seeing Madam Zhou's ghostly expression. Even if she guessed wrong, did she need to have that kind of look?
Madam Zhou excitedly grabbed Su Muqing's hand and said eagerly, "No, no, no, you're not wrong! Auntie has to thank you. If you hadn't reminded me, we would have been like headless flies, not finding any clues!"
"That's good, as long as I can help." Su Muqing saw that Madam Zhou's eyes were brimming with tears of joy. It seemed that this unknown person was very important to them!
The two chatted as they walked. In just this short distance, they felt as if they had known each other for a lifetime! After entering the inn, Madam Zhou bid farewell to Su Muqing and rushed to find Xu Fu.
She ran too quickly and was too tired. She drank several gulps of water from the water pouch before she could even speak. Then she casually rolled up her sleeves and wiped herself haphazardly...! This was a far cry from her usual dignified and elegant demeanor!
"Why are you rushing like this?" Xu Fu saw Madam Zhou, who was always dignified, rush in in such a hurry. Moreover, her demeanor was unusually ungraceful! What had happened to make her so lose her composure?
After Madam Zhou finally caught her breath, she looked at Xu Fu seriously and asked, "Elder Xu, what are the first characters of each line of the poem that Master Zhikong mentioned?"
Xu Fu was baffled by Madam Zhou's abrupt question. The first character of each line? Wasn't it Qing, Mu, Gui, Lai?
Qing Mu Gui Lai?
Xu Fu sprang to his feet and looked at Madam Zhou excitedly. "Yes! Why didn't we think of that? Could this poem be referring to a person with extraordinary abilities who came from Qingmu Prefecture? Or does his name contain the two characters Qing Mu? Qing Mu... Qing Mu..."
It's not that they didn't think of this. They were all servants and didn't understand poetry and odes. Being able to recognize a few characters was already quite rare among servants!
It also depended on the master's favor and not minding if their servants were literate, and being willing to give them opportunities. Only then could they have the possibility of becoming literate. Otherwise, there were many servants who were illiterate their entire lives!
The servants of the King of Bingjian's mansion were basically literate. But after the young master chose to join the army, they didn't have many opportunities to continue studying! Other generals had strategists, while the young master relied on himself and the elders left by the prince.
But when the incident happened, they were all on the border fighting against the Dongyao Kingdom. Moreover, the young master's identity was not suitable for public exposure at the moment. After all, outsiders believed that Huo Qiyuan had already died in battle!
Master Zhikong, due to repeatedly using forbidden divinatory techniques and revealing too much heavenly secrets, suffered a backlash. After reciting this poem, he went into seclusion!
He indicated that everything that followed was destined by heaven. Therefore, when they received the poem, all the servants looked at each other in bewilderment! They could only head south mindlessly and persistently.
Regardless of whether the two characters Qing Mu were related to a place name or a person's name, they should pay more attention to people and things related to Qing Mu from now on. It should give them some clues.